Ji Shuqin was completely dumbfounded; this Brother Niu was just too... obsequious, with his nods and bows that were so different from the haughty air he had put on during their previous encounter.
"Ji Shuqin," Ling Dong waved the promissory note in front of him.
Ji Shuqin came back to his senses, took the promissory note, and looked it over carefully. It was his handwriting, and the handprint was also his. He nodded and said, "Yes, this is it."
Ling Dong tore up the promissory note right there and then, at the same time handing Brother Niu two hundred yuan.
Brother Niu hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Ling Dong, how can I take your money? I can’t accept this. Consider this money as a way to calm Ji big brother’s nerves."
"The borrowed money, naturally, he should return," Ling Dong said with impatience in his eyes; at the Liunian Factory, a new perfume was being launched, and he had many things to busy himself with.
Brother Niu waved his hands, not daring to take the money. How could he dare to accept Ling Dong’s money? It wasn’t like he was tired of living.
"Take it," Ling Dong insisted, stuffing it into his pocket. He turned to leave, saw Ji Shuqin still foolishly standing there, and said, "Aren’t you leaving?"
Ji Shuqin hadn’t expected the issue to be resolved so quickly and smoothly. He walked a few steps, threw away the stick he was holding, and said excitedly, "Ling Dong, why is he so afraid of you? When I saw Brother Niu before, he acted like his nose was in the sky—so scary. But in front of you, that smile..."
"It really gives me the creeps, it’s so servile," Shuqin shuddered at the thought of Brother Niu’s fawning, obsequious smile, sensing something was extremely amiss.
"Maybe because I look fierce?" Ling Dong said nonchalantly.
In the courtyard, after Ling Dong had left, Brother Niu finally let out a long sigh of relief, looked at the two hundred yuan in his hand, and with a gleam in his eye, said, "Do you know where Ji Shuqin sells discs? I’ll buy two hundred yuan’s worth tomorrow."
The second brother was even more baffled and asked, "Brother Niu, who was that man just now? Why are you..." so afraid of him?
"He is like King Yan; we must absolutely not offend him. It’s one thing to lose a small life, but not being able to live or die, that is truly terrifying," Brother Niu thought about a previous encounter and shook his head. He decided not to meet him again—every encounter could shorten his life by several years.
The second brother wanted to ask more, but Brother Niu kept silent, merely warning everyone to never confront Brother Niu head-on.
A few days later, when Ji Shuqin’s DVDs were suddenly stolen and then turned into two hundred yuan, Ji Shuqin felt even more like the world had gone awry; it was as if the sun was rising in the west.
Speaking of which, Ling Dong had driven Ji Shuqin right to the front of Medical University. As soon as Ji Shuqin got out of the car, Ling Dong drove away, leaving Ji Shuqin watching the smoke from the tailpipe.
"Nianhua’s boyfriend is no simple man," Ji Shuqin thought to himself, walking cheerfully into the Beautiful Boutique. He saw Xu Nian’an and excitedly said, "The matter is resolved, so smoothly too. About those two hundred yuan, I need to owe it first, I’ll pay it back once I’ve earned the money."
Ji Shuqin looked somewhat embarrassed as he glanced at Xu Nian’an.
"You can pay it back after you sell the radio," Xu Nian’an said, busy with the store full of customers, not asking details but glad to know the matter had been perfectly resolved. It was the first day of school, and the boutique was especially crowded.
Xu Nian’an and Xu Nianhua, siblings Ban Lin and Wei Hong—the four of them were all hustling about, running out of stock and needing to fetch more from upstairs.