Novel Bin Chapter 367 - Green Plum Meets Wine (18)
‘These people are so tiresome. They always beat around the bush and make things harder than it has to be.’
[......] ‘Do you think everyone’s as straightforward as you are, to pull out a sword at the slightest disagreement?’
A hint of surprise flashed in Long Run’s eyes. ‘She’s quicker than most people.’
“If your luck’s so good, then demonstrate by picking one for me.” ‘Would I believe nonsense like that? Think I’ve been living my life fooled by others? You think I’ll believe you just so happened to pick an Emperor Green?!’
Shi Sheng raised a brow. “Are you paying me?”
Long Run, “...” ‘You’re asking me to pay you for picking my ore?! What kind of logic is this?!’
“Since that’s not the case, why should I pick for you? People get paid for selling their skills, y’know? You want a free show[1]?”
“Pfft—” Yu Jiu couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.
He covered his mouth with the back of his hand in an attempt to stifle his laughter, but his quaking shoulders gave him away.
Long Run glared at Yu Jiu. ‘How disrespectful!’
But Long Run didn’t have a chance to speak, before he heard the girl’s rebuke. “What’re you laughing at?!”
Yu Jiu coughed. “Mr Long, are you finished? If there are no more questions, then we’ll be heading off.”
Long Run, “...” ‘I didn’t even ask anything yet!’
But Yu Jiu didn’t give him a chance to speak, as he beckoned towards Shi Sheng. “Xiaoxia-meimei, let’s go.”
Shi Sheng got up and walked towards the door.
“Stop!” Long Run gave a low snap, his eyes seeming about to spit fire.
He hadn’t been this enraged in years.
Yu Jiu frowned and turned to speak to him. “Mr Long, I won’t give a damn about who you plan on recruiting, but you’d best not have any designs on my Xiaoxia-meimei.”
“Other people would grovel and beg to join my family, yet you two scoff at the chance?!” Long Run had been angered so much that he started laughing.
“As a carp jumps over a dragon’s gate[2], eh? But even so, it’s still a carp. Even if it leaps past the dragon’s gate, it’s still a fish. It will never be a true dragon. Besides...” Yu Jiu looked at the girl that had nearly made it to the door.
“My Xiaoxia-meimei is no fish, so she doesn’t need a stepping stone like you. Mr Long, think carefully before you act.”
Though Yu Jiu’s immature face was all smiles, his eyes caused Long Run to receive a shock. Those were the eyes of a predator that had spotted prey and gleamed with hungry light.
‘Just how old is this kid... How could such eyes appear on a young man?’
But when Long Run looked again, the youth remained a youth. His eyes were lowered, covering the ripples in their depths.
“Goodbye, Mr Long.” ‘You’re dreaming if you think you can have any ideas about my little green plum!’
Veins bulged up on the back of the hand clutching on to his cane. He trembled with anger as he the two leave.
‘My Long Family was called a stepping stone?!
I was planning to take a look at how capable that lass was, and possibly even allow her to study at my side. Who knew she’d be this ignorant and arrogant?!
Newly born calves are truly unafraid of tigers ah!
But in this world, you can’t just care about your own opinions!’
After Shi Sheng and Yu Jiu left, Long Run dialled a number.
“Give me the details on those two brats.” ‘No one’s ever dared to oppose me this much!’
The person on the other end made a sound of affirmation. The Long Family did things swiftly and efficiently. The dossiers soon made their way to Long Run’s hands.
There wasn’t anything that stood out about Yu Jiu’s. He was Yu Xingyun’s only child and had been out of the country in recent years, having never returned till now.
Although the Long Family had connections overseas, it wasn’t as easy for them to get information there as it was within the country.
The other dossier was on Sheng Xia.
She was adopted at the age of ten by Gu Yan, but no information on her prior to that could be found.
‘No information on one after he left the country... And none on the other from before she was adopted...’
“Investigate! I want to know the details!” Long Run threw the dossiers onto the floor. “I don’t believe a couple of brats are enough to overturn the heavens!”
His aide hesitated. “Mr Long, if we investigate Yu Jiu any further, Yu Xingyun is sure to find out. This...”
The Long Family and Yu Family had businesses in sectors that overlapped. Had Yu Xingyun not returned, the domestic market practically belonged to the Long Family.
But Yu Xingyun’s return meant that the Yu Family would take a sizeable slice of the pie.
The Yu Family’s influence could not be looked down upon. The only reason Long Run knew Gu Yan’s name was because the latter had seemed close to Yu Xingyun in the past year, and as a result had caught the attention of the Long Family.
Otherwise, would Long Run even deign to look at the boss of such a small real estate company like Gu Yan?
......
“So, Uncle Gu, you gotta hold on tight to Uncle Yu’s big thigh.” Shi Sheng patted Gu Yan’s shoulder. “Our livelihoods are at stake!”
Shi Sheng had given Gu Yan a rough explanation of what happened just now, and naturally wouldn’t leave out the part where she offended Long Run.
In the original plot, the FL had initially received help from Long Run. However, she later found out that he was actually selfish and very ambitious.
They didn’t go so far as to end up becoming enemies, but the FL never had any dealings with him again. Meanwhile, when the other members of the Long Family persistently courted death, the FL taught them a very severe lesson. The only reason she didn’t end them was because Long Run had once helped her.
Would this kind of person have any good intentions when he approached Shi Sheng? Of course not!
Yu Xingyun burst out laughing at Shi Sheng’s words. “With your Uncle Yu here, the Long Family wouldn’t dare to lay a finger on you! I respectfully called him Mr Long on account of his status as an elder, but I hadn’t expected him to set his sights on Xiaoxia! Does he really think I’m a vegetarian?!”
“Uncle Yu’s the big thigh; Uncle Gu, you gotta hold on tight!” Shi Sheng reminded Gu Yan.
“My thigh’s thick and long enough for you to hug.” Yu Jiu interrupted.
Shi Sheng eyed up his legs. They were the epitome of smooth and straight.
“Xiaoxia-meimei, why don’t you consider my offer?” ‘I’m enough for you to play with for a lifetime~’
“Well, we two old fogeys are gonna leave first. Xiaojiu, here are the keys; go send Xiaoxia home.” Gu Yan was quick to catch on as he handed the keys to Yu Jiu.
“Thank you, Uncle Gu.”
“Aye, help me take care of her.”
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘Shady deals going on here...’
Gu Yan and Yu Xingyun left together, leaving Shi Sheng behind with Yu Jiu. He dangled the keys in front of her. “Xiaoxia-meimei, shall we go home?”
‘Go home your head.’
Shi Sheng waited outside the venue of the event for a bit. Yu Jiu didn’t know what she was waiting for.
After roughly about half an hour, she turned and walked towards a telephone booth.
When they reached the phone, Shi Sheng suddenly turned to ask him. “Got any change?”
Yu Jiu shook his head. Why on earth would he keep change on him?
“Wait for me here.” Yu Jiu rubbed her head before jogging off to a store in the distance.
Shi Sheng’s brows were tightly knit as she stared at his back. She decided to speed up her plan.
Yu Jiu soon returned and handed her a few coins.
Shi Sheng inserted them into the payphone and dialled 110[3].
Yu Jiu, “...” ‘What’s lil green plum doing?’
Shi Sheng told the police that there were people with guns planning a robbery at the venue of the event before hanging up.
During this period of time, the law was enforced very strictly. Hence, having received a tip-off about illegal possession of firearms, even if it was a false one, they’d still send people over.
“Xiaoxia-meimei, you’re very bad ah!” Yu Jiu leaned on Shi Sheng, forcing her back against the telephone booth, as he stared down at her.
“But I like it.”
Shi Sheng aimed a kick over. ‘This idiot!’
“Xiaoxia-meimei, if you’re this violent, you won’t be able to marry anyone else but me, y’know?”
“Scram!”
“Onto the bed[4]?”
“...”
[1] Shi Sheng’s phrasing here...makes it sound like the guy didn’t want to pay for watching a strip show...
[2] This is a saying that describes the myth where a carp can turn into a dragon if it leaps past the legendary dragon’s gate. It’s used as an idiom in this context to mean a sudden transformation/elevation in status.
[3] For Americans, it’s 911. The police, basically.
[4] The ‘scram’ from before literally translates to ‘roll’. So he’s saying, roll onto the bed?