Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 171

“I thought I could reason with him or appeal to his emotions, and he’d see my point,” Yuqian said, snuggling into Ai Rao’s arms. “But he got so worked up. I told him I’d do anything for him, and he just slapped me across the face and ran off like a madman.”

Hou Longtao gently touched her smooth cheek, as if to soothe the sting.

Yuqian felt his warm hand trembling slightly, sensing his affection. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision. “Brother Tao…”

Hou Longtao lowered his head, his lips meeting hers in a sweet, lingering kiss, their tongues dancing together.

Yuqian kissed him deeply, until she was breathless, then reluctantly broke the kiss, nuzzling her face against his neck.

“What happened next?”

“I was furious, almost fainted. No one had ever hit me like that. I ran after him, wanting to hit him back, but he was too fast. It was pouring rain, so I stopped at the hotel entrance. I went back to the room to wait, planning to give him a piece of my mind when he returned. But he brought someone back—Shi Chun. They tied me up, gagged me, and locked me in the bathroom. I was helpless.”

“Those two bastards.”

“A few hours later, five Japanese people—three men and two women—showed up. Tian Donghua knew I wouldn’t listen, so he had them escort me out, telling them to kill me if I disobeyed. Then he left. They took me to a villa, and Tian Donghua visited every day. They took my phone, kept it off, and only let me call Mom every few days to say I was okay. Tian Donghua was never there when I called; Shi Chun and the Japanese people watched me. They threatened to rape me if I tried anything…” Yuqian shuddered, recalling the threats, and snuggled closer to Ai Rao. “They said such awful things. I was terrified and did everything they said.”

“That day we talked…”

“I didn’t expect you to answer. As soon as I called out to you, Shi Chun squeezed my wrist so hard. It hurt so much…”

Hou Longtao already knew most of the story and didn’t want to cause her more pain. He lifted her chin and kissed her, stopping her from saying more.

Yuqian leaned against her lover, tilting her head back, drawing moisture from his mouth. Her left hand unbuttoned his shirt, caressing his firm chest muscles.

Hou Longtao’s hands were no longer still, pulling up her tight shirt.

Yuqian obediently twisted, raising her arms to help him remove her T-shirt, then hugged him tightly, rubbing her head and body against him. “Brother Tao… Brother Tao…”

Hou Longtao gently stroked her smooth back. With two fingers, he unclasped her bra, and the last layer of fabric fell to her legs.

“Mmm… mmm…” Yuqian moaned softly. She had missed his warm, strong body so much. She dreamed of holding him every night, and now it was a thousand times better than her dreams. “Brother Tao… Brother Tao… I miss you… so much…”

“Sister Qian…” Hou Longtao kissed her passionately, his left arm around her soft body, his right hand lovingly kneading her full breasts, teasing her nipples. “I’ll never… never let you run off again…”

“Ah… mmm… I… I won’t run…” Yuqian licked his neck, her hands pulling his penis from his pants, stroking it. “Brother Tao… so big… Brother Tao…”

Hou Longtao lavished attention on her breasts with his lips and tongue, his right hand sliding down her thighs, two fingers entering her wet opening.

“Ah! Mmm… mmm… mmm…” Yuqian bit her lip, her chest heaving. Her left arm clung to him, her buttocks contracting. His fingers scraped against the inner walls of her vagina, teasing her uterus, making her feel hot all over. Her right hand stroked his thick cock, as if only that could relieve her.

Hou Longtao fell backward, flipping her over, pressing her beneath him, kissing her deeply. His hard penis pushed her skirt aside, and his hips sank down.

“Mmm…” Yuqian arched her head back, pushing her chest upward, scratching his back.

Hou Longtao pressed her back onto the bed, the hot, tight space enveloping him, the tender flesh “massaging” him, waves of pleasure flowing through him. Yuqian’s breathing was restricted, but she held him tightly, feeling secure being completely enveloped by him.

“So good…” Yuqian stiffened, trembling, then hugged him again, rubbing against him. “Brother Tao, so good…”

“You’re the good one,” Hou Longtao laid her flat, lying on his side, propping himself up, brushing her hair from her forehead, gazing at her.

“Hold me…” Yuqian pouted, almost crying. She never wanted to be apart from him again.

Hou Longtao pulled her close, kissing her face. “Good girl, if you’re ever angry, just hit me. I won’t fight back. Hit me until you feel better, but please don’t run off, okay?”

“I… I won’t be willful. I’ll listen and won’t act spoiled.”

Hou Longtao didn’t really care about her willfulness and knew her promise was unlikely to last.

But none of that mattered, as long as she was with him.

“You haven’t asked me yet,” Yuqian pinched his arm.

“Asked what?”

“You know Tian Donghua wanted me, and the people watching me weren’t good. You haven’t asked.”

“I don’t need to ask,” Hou Longtao said, his expression gentle but firm. “I don’t care.”

“You don’t care?”

“It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that it doesn’t affect us, or my feelings for you.”

“You didn’t ask about Shi Chun?”

“No,” Hou Longtao kissed her forehead. “If you want to tell me, you can, but my love won’t change.”

Yuqian cupped his chin and kissed him. “I’m all yours… I’m all yours…”

Hou Longtao held her tightly. They embraced and kissed for a long time.

“I have another question.”

“About my mom?”

Hou Longtao looked surprised. “You’re too smart.”

“You want to know how I knew?”

“You don’t have any real evidence.”

“Hmph,” Yuqian pouted. “No wonder my mom helped you so much back then.”

Hou Longtao smiled.

“With Sister Ping and Nuonuo there, and my mom being so beautiful, she was always speaking up for you. But it was just a thought, and I didn’t think much of it.” Yuqian poked his chest. “Later, I noticed the changes in my mom. She was happy every day, her eyes sparkling, interested in everything, as if her life had become beautiful. And her lingerie was getting sexier, more to your taste.”

“Oh… do I have a taste in that area?”

“Do you?”

“I won’t say, you go on.”

“My mom told you a lot about Tian Donghua, which must have been in private. And my mom isn’t the type to gossip. If she told you about other people’s affairs, it must be because she considered you close. Although it’s not tangible, based on my understanding of you and my mom, your relationship is not simple, right?”

“What do you think?”

“How did you start?”

“The first time was a misunderstanding. I mistook your mom for you.” Hou Longtao told her about his and Feng Jie’s beautiful mistake, and how Feng Yun brought them together.

“Hmph, I knew Auntie Biao [Biao Jie, mother’s cousin] would be involved.” Yuqian bit his chest. “Are you good to my mom?”

“This… how do you want me to answer?”

“If you’re not good to her, I won’t forgive you. Even if I do, Auntie Biao won’t.”

“Can you accept it?” This was his biggest concern.

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve never seen my mom as happy as she’s been in the past few months. I’ve always known she wasn’t happy, and I thought it was because my dad was fooling around. Last time, she and Auntie Biao spent the night trying to persuade me not to mess with you, and I finally understood that she wasn’t happy because she never knew what love was, never tasted the taste of love—the love between a man and a woman. But now… it’s amazing. I can see that her whole person is changing.” Yuqian frowned. “What’s so good about you? Why do women lose themselves when they fall in love with you?”

“Sister Qian, I won’t let you down.” Hou Longtao understood.

Yuqian knelt on the edge of the bed, pulling her panties up, picking up her bra and clasping it. “Help me fasten it.”

Hou Longtao walked over, buttoning his shirt, helping her fasten the hooks, hugging her, and inhaling her hair fragrance. “It’s so good to have you here.”

“Really?”

“Of course, it’s true.”

Yuqian turned with a smile, hugging his neck. “What’s up with Shi Chun? Is he your man?”

“Hehehe,” Hou Longtao said, picking her up. “Let’s go settle things with Tian Donghua now.”

“Okay,” Yuqian put on jeans and jumped onto him. “Now you can carry me.”

Hou Longtao caught her, carrying her out the door.

This was a three-story villa in Long Island’s wealthy area. Feng Yun, Long, the Xingyue sisters, and Zuo Wei were chatting, and Feng Jie had just arrived from downtown New York.

Hou Longtao carried Yuqian down from the third floor. “Let’s go see Tian Donghua.”

“Mom.” Yuqian jumped down and ran to her mother.

“Qian.” Feng Jie had just heard about her daughter’s danger. Seeing her alive was a relief. She pulled her over, looked her over, and lightly slapped her arm. “You girl, you’re so disobedient. You really worried me.”

“Mom,” Yuqian said, looking at her mother’s tearful eyes, and lowered her head, pouting. “I know I was wrong. Don’t be angry.”

“Sigh…” Feng Jie hugged her tightly.

“Where’s Shi Chun?” Hou Longtao patted Long.

“Taking a bath with a Japanese chick.”

Hou Longtao frowned. “Take them to the basement.”

“OK.” Long got up.

Hou Longtao led them into the basement, guarded by bodyguards. Tian Donghua was slumped on a sofa, despondent. He was handcuffed, and his wounds were bandaged.

“President Tian,” Hou Longtao said, pulling up a chair and sitting across from him. “Anything to say?”

“How could this be?” Tian Donghua was confused. He had been trying to figure it out, but the more he thought, the more confused he became. “How could Shi Chun be your man?”

Long brought Shi Chun in.

“You can ask him.”

“You… you…” Tian Donghua turned to Shi Chun. “You…”

“You… you… you… you you you, you stupid idiot,” Shi Chun cursed. “You’re going against money, you’re a stupid idiot. The general manager of Dongxing, damn it, can earn tens of millions a year, right? And you’re still doing this and that, you’re really lacking in brains.”

Tian Donghua didn’t say a word. He didn’t care about being cursed at. He just wanted to know where he had gone wrong.

“Hmph,” Shi Chun curled his lips and lit a cigarette. “I just hate your arrogant attitude. Just because I’m hired by you, does that mean I’m your property?”

“Get to the point, don’t talk so much nonsense.” Hou Longtao said, holding Yuqian’s hand, dissatisfied with Shi Chun’s rambling.

“Originally, I took your money, and it would have been over if you had let me go. But you insisted on seeing the expression on President Hou’s face when he saw me, and that was worth three million. So I thought, you always think you’re like President Hou, but President Hou has a lot more money than you. How much money would President Hou pay to see your expression when I put a gun to your head? And I can also show your trump card to President Hou. Five million, five million US dollars, hahaha.”

“You… you defected at the last minute?”

“Originally, I wanted to go directly to President Hou, but I didn’t expect to see President Lin in Dongxing’s office yesterday morning. I knew then that you were done for, and President Hou was going to screw you over. You didn’t trust me anyway, and you didn’t tell me where you took Sister Zhang until the last moment. Otherwise, President Hou would have rescued her last night.”

“Hmph hmph hmph,” Tian Donghua shook his head with a bitter smile. “I never thought I would be ruined by such a mercenary person like you.”

“Hehe, didn’t you always look down on me and treat me like an idiot? Who’s the idiot now? I took two million from you, and another one million as a deposit. President Hou gave me five million, and I suddenly became an eight million millionaire. Do you know how I can enjoy that? But you suddenly went from a billionaire to worthless, and you probably won’t have a good death. You’re a complete idiot.”

“You’re the idiot, hahaha,” Tian Donghua laughed contemptuously. “You don’t understand Hou Longtao at all. Do you think you’ll have the life to spend that eight million? You’ve been working against him for so long, and you’ve said so many dirty things to Yuqian. Do you think he’ll let you live? Hahaha, you’re stupid.”

Shi Chun couldn’t help but look at Hou Longtao. He was scared. Tian Donghua’s words made him consider it seriously.

“Why are you looking at me?” Hou Longtao frowned and waved his hand. “You can go now. This is none of your business. There’s a car outside to take you to the airport.”

“Okay, okay.” Shi Chun didn’t want to stay. He turned and left. Tian Donghua’s words were alarming.

“Sigh, you’re really good at pretending. Give me a cigarette.” Tian Donghua rubbed his nose.

“I didn’t know the specific situation of Yuqian, so of course I couldn’t let you see that Shi Chun had contacted me so early. Besides, I can’t let your one million go to waste, I have to let you have some fun.”

“You’re really going to let him go like that?”

Hou Longtao leaned over and lit a cigarette for Tian Donghua. “Have you seen ‘The Godfather’?”

“I have.”

“Do you know how Michael dealt with his brother-in-law?”

“Hehehe,” Tian Donghua spat out smoke. “He deserves it?”

“You hope so too?”

“Given my current situation, of course. I’ll ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“After Lin Long disappeared, I was very careful. Every time I met with Shi Chun, I had to go through a lot of detours because I was afraid you had already sent people to follow me. But after a while, I realized that I wasn’t being watched at all. If you had sent people to watch me, Yuqian probably wouldn’t have been captured by me.”

“Is that a question?”

“Why didn’t you send people to watch me? With your power, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Hou Longtao didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer. The only explanation was that he was too self-righteous, thinking he had figured out the other party’s way of doing things. “I won’t make the same mistake again.”

“Is that your answer?”

“You don’t really want to know. You’re just looking for a final opportunity to humiliate me.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Tian Donghua threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out, then lit another one.

“Give me some advice.”

“You know, It’s just business, nothing personal.”

Hou Longtao lowered his head, playing with the lighter. “Bullshit, Americans just use that kind of talk to deceive people. Everything is personal. If I like you, I won’t harm you. If I harm you, I definitely don’t like you. How can it not be personal?”

“I’ve completely lost to you, and there’s no chance to turn the tables. To be honest, I’ve done a lot for Dongxing. I can return that one percent of the shares to you, and I will do my best to contribute to the development of Dongxing.”

“I admit that you have made a great contribution to Dongxing and are a rare talent, but I cannot agree to your request.”

“People who do great things must appoint people based on their abilities, not based on favoritism. But you have raised a bunch of such useless people,” Tian Donghua pointed to Long. “You’re squeezing out capable people like me. How long can you last?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Long was no longer calling him “Brother Hua.” “Who the hell are you calling useless?”

“Hey,” Hou Longtao stretched out his arm to block Long. “Tian Donghua, you’re wrong. In this world, there are as many wise men as there are hairs on a cow, but relatives are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. If I lose one wise man like you, I can easily find ten or eight more. What I value most is not ability, not how much profit you can bring me, but two words: loyalty and righteousness. People’s abilities can naturally be great, but they can all be cultivated later. Through hard work, they can all be improved. But whether a person is loyal and righteous cannot be changed when they are in their teens.”

“Hahaha,” Tian Donghua laughed loudly. “Loyalty and righteousness!? Are you living in the Three Kingdoms era [a period in Chinese history known for its emphasis on loyalty and honor]?” His body leaned back, then bounced forward, pouncing, his eyes full of madness, his hands clutching the cigarette, and stabbed it towards Hou Longtao’s face. “Go to hell!”

“Bastard!” Long kicked Tian Donghua in the waist, sending him flying three meters and falling to the ground.

“You want me to die!?” Hou Longtao jumped up, throwing the chair he had been sitting on, hitting Tian Donghua. “Be careful of your head, don’t touch the wound.”

“It’s okay, I’ve wanted to beat him up for a long time!”

Like brothers fighting tigers, like fathers and sons going into battle, these two brothers had finally tasted blood. They went up and started punching and kicking.

Pity Tian Donghua, despite his talent, he couldn’t resist the beating of two billionaires. In less than two minutes, he was bleeding from his head and his skin was torn.

“Okay, okay, stop fighting.” Yuqian pulled the two cursing men away, squatted down, took out tissues, and helped Tian Donghua wipe the blood from his forehead. “Sigh…”

“Yuqian… you know I love you, right?” Tian Donghua stared at her.

“Why did you have to do this?”

“They’re going to kill me.”

“Brother Tao,” Yuqian stood up and looked at her lover. “Let him live, I’ve been friends with him for over ten years…”

“If I can’t have you, no one else can!” Tian Donghua didn’t know where the strength came from. He jumped up, clamping Yuqian’s neck from behind, his eyes full of crazy brilliance, his fingers tightening.

“Cough cough…” Yuqian grabbed his hands, but couldn’t open them…(Golden scales are not things in a pond [a Chinese proverb meaning someone with great potential is trapped in a small place])