Chapter 12: Waiting for Li Wu

The clatter of mahjong tiles echoed through a modest, unassuming room. The pleasant afternoon hours were quietly passing as a few people whiled away their time in this small town.

At the mahjong table, two men and two women focused intently on their tiles, while beneath the table, a hand persistently wandered to one man’s upper thigh.

Smack—

A delicate hand slapped the unruly one, forcing it to retreat.

"Misty, your performance on the TV media was truly spectacular. The boss said that if you can sully Duanmu Feng’s reputation or divert the Du Gu family’s attention away from the Duanmu family, your reward will be generous. Director Qu’s place will surely be a swift ascent then," whispered a woman sitting in the corner of the square table close to the man who had been taken advantage of for quite some time.

The man, one hand on the mahjong tiles, pushed the hair sliding near his cheek back.

"Hah, you think it’s just the money that interests me? Didn’t she say if I helped her this time, she’d give me a proper status? I believed her, gave her everything, and she still wants me to suffer under that deadbeat?" This man, Li Wu, was the other man who appeared alongside Duanmu Feng and Du Gu Yi in the newspaper that day. His eyes and brows exuded a seductive charm, far from the pitiable image he projected on television.

He was 45 years old. Not young by any means, but well-maintained; if his age wasn’t known, people might think he was just over thirty. His naturally fair skin and alluring peach blossom eyes had enticed countless women.

The woman sitting beside him was one of many women under his influence. She was noticeably voluptuous, her bosom barely contained by a tight, ill-fitting shirt. Her round face seemed hardly a match for Li Wu, yet she was his intimate companion. Before Li Wu married Director Qu, they had a murky, ambiguous relationship. After the marriage, they cut off contact for two years until rekindling their secret romance at a banquet.

Since Li Wu’s marriage to Director Qu, she had abandoned any illusions of affection. Though they still maintained a physical relationship, it was primarily a business partnership aimed at mutual profit.

"Misty, should I say you’re too naive or just plain foolish? She’s a woman with such a background—what status could she possibly give you? And even if she did, would you dare accept it?" The woman’s hand crept back onto the man’s thigh during his momentary distraction, and this time, he did not stop her.

Yet in his expression flickered a trace of confusion, quickly masked by an overwhelming charm and a hint of disappointment beneath his eyes.

"Ah... you’re so bad..." The man flushed suddenly, unable to hold his tiles steady.

The woman leaned close to his ear, whispering softly, "Misty, everything else is fake—only this pleasure is real. Why not seize the moment?"

The other two players at the table were by now accustomed to such antics. As the couple half-embraced and left the table, two new players immediately took their seats. The clattering continued, while the pair had already retreated to a small room at the back of the game hall to indulge in the pleasures they sought.

Not far from the game parlor, Gu Xinyao stood beneath a tree, intently waiting for someone to emerge. She had been staking out this spot for three days. The man she sought, Li Wu, had only appeared twice during that time. Perhaps the place was too secluded, difficult for most to find. Those who came to play here were generally people without status or position—mostly unemployed drifters.

The first time she saw Li Wu, she wanted to approach him but soon realized it wouldn’t be easy. On her first day, she seized an opportunity to enter the parlor, but the regulars didn’t welcome a stranger like her. Some questioning was inevitable. Moreover, Li Wu’s table seemed fixed with regular companions, making it hard to break in.

Still, she gained some insight—Li Wu really had many close women around, as Qin Rou had said. Which of them was his secret lover was not immediately clear.

Li Wu’s pale, slender face was even more handsome in person than in photos, and his ambiguous interactions with the women there were apparent.

She noticed some women trying to take advantage of him, and he did not refuse, but no real physical intimacy occurred.

After waiting so long, she felt a bit discouraged. Finding a solid lead on him was proving difficult.

“Hey! Misty, you’re so anxious you forgot this,” came a voice as someone emerged from the parlor. Li Wu was leading, followed by a plump woman with slightly disheveled hair and rosy cheeks, clutching a small cloth.

Gu Xinyao’s face flushed as she realized the “small thing” in the woman’s hand was clearly a man’s underwear.

Though embarrassed by the scene, a fierce desire to help Du Gu Yi instinctively made her clutch the camera she had scavenged from a grocery store. The camera was good quality; with a click, she captured their recent actions.

Nearby, Li Wu took the underwear from the woman’s fingers and stuffed it into his pocket. He wore casual clothes that day—a mid-length coat concealing beige trousers underneath. No outsider could tell what was under the trousers.

The plump woman kissed Li Wu on the ear, still unsatisfied, and patted his lower back.

Li Wu brushed her hand away and, outside the parlor, a white sedan waited. He turned and got into the car. The woman said something beside the car as the window slowly rolled up.

She stepped aside, and the car quickly reversed and sped away.

The woman seemed reluctant to leave, licking her lips and wearing a deeply satisfied expression before sulking back inside.

Gu Xinyao photographed the entire scene, watching Li Wu drive off alone. She then packed her camera and headed down a small path behind.

Li Wu’s car sped through the West District—not a wealthy or upscale area but rather a slum, avoided by those with status. This was likely why he came here occasionally—to unwind. He had been happy just now; bodily pleasures were rare. But the thought of returning home to face that old woman dampened his spirits.

Screech—

The tires squealed as he slammed on the brakes, glaring at the woman blocking his car. Though not strikingly beautiful, she was clean and delicate-looking.

Li Wu opened the door and stepped out.

“What do you want?” he frowned, uncertain if she was some kind of robber, though he was unafraid.

Gu Xinyao lowered her arms from the car’s path and met his gaze, forced to admit this man was undeniably attractive. His medium-length hair, stirred by the breeze, curved with an alluring flair. His faintly furrowed brows added a sense of righteousness to his otherwise seductive face. Were it not for his earlier actions, she might have believed he was truly a victim.

“Why are you trying to harm Du Gu Yi?” Gu Xinyao’s voice rose several tones as she stared directly at him.

Li Wu paused, then his frown slowly eased. He bit the tip of a stray lock of hair at his lips and flashed a rakish smile. “How do you know it was me? That man looks righteous on the surface but is filthy underneath!”

His words held disdain, as if he knew all of Du Gu Yi’s private dealings.

Gu Xinyao thought this man was truly infuriating. If she were the old Gu Xinyao, she would have beaten him senseless without hesitation. But now, she knew violence was not the answer.

“Don’t tell me you’re some good guy. I saw what you did just now. You’d better tell the truth, or I won’t hesitate to expose your deeds to everyone,” she said, showing him the photo she had taken of the little underwear.

Seeing the underwear in the photo, Li Wu’s expression was one of shock. He was usually careful, which was why outsiders thought him a respectable and dignified director.

“Is that a threat? Let me guess—you’re probably Du Gu Yi’s lover, right? Otherwise, why go to such lengths to investigate me? A rare little pink lover for such an icy figure,” he said, then quickly calmed his nerves and smiled lightly.

Gu Xinyao could almost feel his warm breath as he spoke, this man constantly exuding charm.

She took a step back to create some distance. Such a man was dangerous; she might get entangled with him if she stayed too close. This was her truest thought at the moment.

“Don’t ask who I am. What do you gain by doing this? You’re a man too. If you have a conscience, how can you watch another man fall into trouble and feel at ease?” Gu Xinyao knew reasoning with such a man was probably futile, but she wanted to try.

Li Wu looked amused. Where did such an old-fashioned little woman come from, lecturing him about conscience?

“Tsk tsk tsk. Had you said this twenty years ago, maybe I’d have been moved. But now, it’s too late. That man isn’t the only one I want to see disgraced—there’s Duanmu Feng too. But I doubt the Duanmu and Du Gu families will fall so easily. You’d better save your energy,” Li Wu said, glancing at the photo and shaking his head. He had initially thought to leverage that man’s influence for some gain, but after what the fifth brother said today, it was clearly impossible. He was a man of sense who knew what to do and what not to do. His little jibe at the girl was just his lingering dissatisfaction.

Gu Xinyao watched the man flash a devilishly charming smile as he prepared to get into the car. It was the most genuine and beautiful smile she had seen from him yet—perhaps he wasn’t as wicked as he seemed.

In that moment of distraction, the car started and slipped away.

“Hey! You…” Gu Xinyao took a few hurried steps forward, but how could a person outrun a car? She watched it vanish like smoke at the end of the broad road.

She lowered her head to the photo in her hands, frustrated. It seemed all her efforts over the past few days had been in vain.

***

In the following days, Gu Xinyao staked out the game parlor several more times, but perhaps Li Wu had caught on to her presence, as he never reappeared there.

She felt quite useless—after a few days of roughing it outdoors, she was unwell, her head foggy and stomach bloated, feeling miserable.

To avoid dying inexplicably on the streets, she took a fast train back to Connor Village at dusk a few days later.

“Ugh—pfft—” The continuous sound of vomiting made Qin Rou, watching Gu Xinyao in the bathroom, worried. She hadn’t seen her for over ten days and now she was so sick.

“A Yao, I think I should take you to the hospital,” Qin Rou urged from the doorway for the tenth time.

Still bent over the toilet, Gu Xinyao waved her hand. After a fresh round of retching, she lifted her slightly swollen face. “Sister Qin, no need. Just write down the clinic’s address for me... I can go myself.”

Qin Rou wanted to say more, but Gu Xinyao was already leaning over the toilet again.

“Well, alright. If you really can’t go, call me and I’ll take you,” Qin Rou said. Though inexperienced, she had seen others in similar states.

Gu Xinyao’s symptoms resembled some illness, though Qin Rou wasn’t sure. She decided not to pry and abandoned her insistence on taking her to the hospital.

Gu Xinyao nodded against the nausea. Qin Rou, still worried, quietly left the room.