Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 50

The Great War (8)

The next morning, just after 11:00 AM, Hou Longtao slipped out of his office. He had already sent people to figure out Chen Qian’s work schedule, knowing that she usually came out for lunch with her colleagues after 12:00 PM. Still, Hou Longtao arrived very early, sitting in his car, waiting like a hunter. After a long wait, he finally saw three young women walking out of the CAAC [Civil Aviation Administration of China] business hall, arm in arm. Because of the cold weather, they huddled together, their long coats wrapped tightly around them, collars turned up, and three pairs of identical black high heels and six sections of legs in flesh-colored stockings showing from under the hems of their coats. It was obvious that they hadn’t changed out of their uniforms. The one on the far right was Chen Qian.

Hou Longtao straightened his clothes, pressed the window button of his SL500 [Mercedes-Benz SL500], and leaned out. “Qianqian,” he called. By the time the three women turned around, he had already closed the window and gotten out of the car. “Get in the car, let’s talk.” A trace of disgust appeared on Chen Qian’s face. She completely ignored him, tightening her grip on her colleagues’ arms. “Let’s go, don’t pay attention to him.”

“Who is he?” both colleagues asked curiously. After all, the man looked quite dashing, and he was driving a very eye-catching Benz [Mercedes-Benz]. But looking at Chen Qian’s reaction, it seemed like she was full of animosity towards him. It was human nature for women to pry into other people’s secrets, especially matters between men and women. The pace of the two women slowed down instead of speeding up, not even minding the cold.

Hou Longtao caught up in a few steps, grabbing Chen Qian’s arm. “Qianqian.” Chen Qian originally wanted to shake him off and continue walking, but both of her colleagues had already stopped. She had no choice but to stop as well, but she still snatched her arm back. “What do you want?” “Let’s find a place to talk.” He had a look of sorrow on his face and grabbed her wrist again.

“We have nothing to talk about.” Chen Qian tried to pull away, her grip firm. She struggled a few times but couldn’t break free. “You… let go of me.” “No, if you don’t listen to me, I won’t let you go.” “You… you… are shameless. If you don’t let go, I’m going to shout.” “Shout, then. I don’t care about anything now. The woman I love hates me to death, what face do I have left?”

Being entangled by a man in public was not a glorious thing, after all. Several passersby had already cast curious glances. Chen Qian’s face flushed, and she had no choice but to compromise. “Okay, I’ll talk, hurry up.” “Really? You want me to talk here?” Hou Longtao let go of her wrist, glancing at her two colleagues.

“This…” Chen Qian had a bit of a premonition about what he wanted, but she couldn’t be completely sure. What if he brought up the matter from the night before? She couldn’t afford to lose face like that. “Let’s just go to your car.” She then said to her colleagues, “You guys go ahead, I’ll be there soon.” “Okay.” The two women turned and left, still whispering to each other as they walked.

As soon as they got in the car, Hou Longtao repeated the same words to Chen Qian that he had said to Chen Xi yesterday, saying that he could give his life for her. He was indeed using real emotion, speaking with a sob in his voice. If it were a woman who didn’t know about his history of womanizing, she would definitely be moved by him. But Chen Qian just snorted with contempt, neither speaking nor showing any expression on her face.

“Qianqian, say something.” “Are you done?” “Yes.” “Then can I leave now?” Chen Qian was about to open the car door. “Wait.” Hou Longtao reacted quickly, grabbing her coat. “Are you really not moved at all?” “You are so shameless!” She turned her head, her face full of anger.

“Wh… what’s wrong?” Hou Longtao looked at her “innocently.” “I always thought you were very smart, well-educated. I didn’t expect you to use the same sweet talk on two girls who live together.” Chen Qian’s tone carried a hint of mockery. “…Xi told you?” He was shocked. Actually, he would have been really surprised if Xi hadn’t told her.

“Man proposes, God disposes [idiom meaning plans don’t always work out]. You racked your brains to deceive us sisters, but in reality, you don’t understand us at all. Xi and I have always been frank with each other. How could she not tell me about your rogue behavior yesterday?” Chen Qian pulled her coat out of his hand, opened the car door, and left on her own.

“Qianqian,” Hou Longtao also got out of the car, wanting to chase after her. “Everything I said was from the heart. Even if it’s the same to you two sisters, that’s because my feelings for you are equal.” “Save it. We will never believe you again.” She didn’t even stop, walking away without looking back.

After Chen Qian’s figure disappeared around the corner, he returned to the car, took out his phone, and first called Shi Ya, telling her that the Chen sisters had agreed not to pursue the matter, and their only request was to never deal with Shi Long or Shi Long’s family again, only seeking to forget everything peacefully. Hou Longtao’s second call only had one sentence, “Everything according to the original plan, be careful.”

Chen Qian walked into the McDonald’s in Xidan [a major commercial district in Beijing]. Her two colleagues quickly greeted her. “Here, come quickly, the food is almost ready.” “Almost ready?” Chen Qian didn’t want to let what happened just now spoil her colleagues’ mood, putting on a smiling face. “Did you guys pay?” “Yes, we’re treating you.” “Hey, what are you plotting?” Usually, they each paid their own way.

“Sit down, sit down,” one of the women put her arm around Chen Qian’s shoulder. “Who was that guy just now?” Chen Qian had expected them to ask, and there was nothing to hide. They were friends who saw each other every day. “Someone I used to know.” “Is he pursuing you?” “Yeah.” “You don’t want him?” “No.” “Really?” “Really.” “Why?” “Don’t like him, why else?”

“Tch, never mind then.” That colleague pretended to be angry, pouting her lips. “Didn’t I tell you?” “Okay, okay, then what about your current boyfriend, what’s his name again? Shi Long, right, Shi Long, what do you like about him?” “I… I’ve already broken up with him.” As soon as Chen Qian heard someone mention that bastard, her face immediately darkened. She wasn’t really in love with Shi Long in the first place. After finding out that he had ulterior motives towards her, she immediately started to hate him.

“Broke up? When did that happen?” “Just a couple of days ago.” “Then that’s even more unreasonable. You don’t have any feelings for that guy just now?” “No, how is it unreasonable?” “If you had a boyfriend, it would be understandable that you didn’t agree to him, but now you’re single, how could you not accept him?” “Why must I accept him?” “You even accepted that Shi Long kid, he can’t be worse than a playboy, right?”

“You guys don’t know, he’s not a good person.” “, .” “Nothing good about him.” Although Chen Qian had said bad things about Hou Longtao behind his back, that was because it involved her sister, and she had no choice. But now she was facing her colleagues, and she couldn’t violate her principles of being a good person again. “He doesn’t seem like a bad person, he looks quite refined, and he seems to be very devoted to you.” “You can know a person’s face but not their heart. Looks can’t explain everything.”

“Wow, what did he do to make you say something like that?” “He…” Chen Qian suddenly stopped talking. She couldn’t talk about Xi’s matter, but she couldn’t talk about her own matter either. She always felt that Hou Longtao had done many things to wrong her, but thinking about it carefully, since he returned to China, other than deceiving Xi, he didn’t seem to have done anything particularly unforgivable to her. Not only that, but he had also saved her twice.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” A colleague nudged Chen Qian, who was frowning slightly. “Are you really not going to take him?” “No.” Chen Qian was still in thought, unconsciously answering. “Then… then introduce us, I think he’s not bad, I’ve been broken up with my boyfriend for more than two months.” “He… he’s married.” “Ah!? So that’s how it is, no wonder you didn’t agree to him.”

“Yes… yes.” Chen Qian didn’t even understand why she would give such an answer. She knew that if Hou Longtao only had a girlfriend, her colleague, who thought highly of herself, wouldn’t give up. Did she not want to be with Hou Longtao, and also not want anyone she knew to be with him? Chen Qian really felt confused. With Hou Longtao’s conditions, if he sincerely loved her, she might not be unmoved. “Oh, why think about these things, he’s just someone who uses any means to trick women into bed.” Chen Qian shook her head, driving the figure of the man who had saved her twice out of her mind…

In the following four days, the Chen sisters would receive twenty jasmine flowers sent by Hou Longtao every day, but they always returned them as they were. Finally, on February 14th, a “holiday” fabricated by a foreigner to swindle money arrived. The flower shops in Guomao [Central Business District in Beijing] were doing much better business than at this time in previous years. They received a large order, 1998 long-stemmed roses.

Chen Qian returned home from work. As soon as she entered the door, she saw a strange smile on her mother’s face. “Mom, what’s wrong?” “My daughter is just so lovable.” “What are you talking about?” “Still pretending to be stupid? You just broke up with Shi Long, and someone is already pursuing you again.” “Ah? How… how did you know?” “You’ll know when you go back to your room.”

Chen Qian quickly entered her room and was immediately stunned. The bed, the table, the windowsill, the floor, were all filled with brightly colored roses. Chen Xi was sitting at the table, holding her face in her hands, looking out the window, not knowing what she was thinking. “Xi, this… this is…” “Ah! Sister, you’re back,” the girl turned her head. “These were sent by Tao… that person, a total of one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight flowers, nine hundred and ninety-nine for each of us.”

“Xi, you…” Chen Qian closed the door. “Didn’t we agree not to accept his gifts?” “I… I…” The girl pouted her lips. “They’re so pretty, I really couldn’t help it, and he must have spent a lot of money, if we return them again, then… then it would be such a waste.”

Chen Qian could tell that her sister hadn’t told her everything. “Xi, are you still thinking about that person?” “Sister, I… I…” Chen Xi suddenly hugged her sister’s body. “I miss him so much…” “Xi, why are you so stubborn?” “I… I think he really loves me.” “Really loves you? Those flowers were sent to both of us, he wants both of us to be with him, are you willing to share a man with me?”

Chen Xi lowered her head. She didn’t dare to tell her sister her true thoughts. If she did, she would definitely be scolded. Moreover, she wasn’t so sure that Hou Longtao really loved her, and she wasn’t sure that she could accept serving one husband with another woman. “Then what do we do now? I’ve already accepted them.” “Oh, where are we going to put them?” Chen Qian picked up a rose from the table, gently touching the soft petals…

Hou Longtao was a very busy man this day. The reason why he had to break up with Chen Xi before Valentine’s Day was because he was afraid that he would be too busy today. He had lunch with Ren Jingyao at noon, and then fooled around with her again. Although she was just a sex slave, she was a beautiful woman after all, and he still had to coax her occasionally. In the evening, he had a romantic dinner with his five wives, and then, of course, he staged the good show of “Five Phoenixes Welcoming the Dragon” again.

Hou Longtao originally wanted to call Zhang Yuqian at 12:00, but the girl called before that. Fortunately, he had “confessed” the existence of Zhang Yuqian to his five wives, of course, omitting the “air **” part. Nevertheless, he still spent a lot of effort to coax Xue Nuo, who was jealous, to be happy again…

On February 15th, “Dongxing Group’s” car exhaust purifier was officially launched. Because the date for the municipal party committee to formally issue the media announcement had not yet arrived, in the entire three days, the fifteen specialty stores only sold less than one hundred sets. Hou Longtao could only helplessly sigh that the environmental awareness of the people was not very strong. For the future development of the company, “Dongxing Group’s” headquarters was located on the fifteenth floor of the Guangda Building. Tian Donghua rarely went to the Yizhuang factory, only contacting foreign sales matters in the high-end office. However, he did do some practical things. Some government agencies that received the notice from the municipal party committee wanted to lower the purchase price, and he made the most limited concessions depending on the background of the other party.

Tian Donghua’s work during this period was really quite satisfactory to Hou Longtao, so he basically didn’t go to “Guangda.” The two formed a situation of not interfering with each other. In addition, there was another noteworthy thing. Hou Longtao’s factory was not large, but it hired 100 security guards from a newly established security company, more than 80 of whom were veterans. The legal representative of that security company was Liu Hongda…

“Damn it, we’ve been guarding for three and a half days, and we haven’t even seen a shadow of her. How long do we have to wait?” “Why are you talking so much nonsense? The boss told us to wait here, so we have to wait. Play your cards, play your cards.” Four men were playing cards in the back of a semi-enclosed “Jinbei” [a Chinese minivan brand] van.

“Hey, stop playing, come over and see if it’s her.” The driver, who was sitting in the front, pointed to a woman who had just walked out of the gate of a residential area not far away, with a slightly excited voice. “Let me see, let me see,” one of the people in the back seat quickly took out a photo and compared it, then sat in the seat next to the driver. “That’s right, it’s her, let’s do it.”

Chen Xi had been feeling stifled at home for several days, always thinking wildly. Although Hou Longtao had people send flowers every day, he had never shown his face or called again. On this day, the girl really couldn’t bear it anymore, so she left a note for her family, saying that she wouldn’t be back for dinner, and then went out alone, wanting to see a movie and then find a few girlfriends to have a meal and change her mood.

It was now Tuesday afternoon, a little after 3:00 PM. There were not many pedestrians on the road leading to the residential area. Chen Xi strolled slowly, full of thoughts. Suddenly, a “Jinbei” [a Chinese minivan brand] stopped on her left. A man’s head poked out from the window on the passenger side. “Miss, do you know where No. 6 Princess Tomb Courtyard is?”

“Huh?” Chen Xi stopped and looked up. “No. 6? I don’t know. That courtyard is No. 5,” she pointed to the residential area where she lived. “It seems like there’s no No. 6 Courtyard around here.” “Really?” That person got out of the car, but didn’t close the door, taking up half of the narrow sidewalk. He took out a piece of paper from his back pocket. “Look, we’re delivering plywood, the address written on it is No. 6.”

Chen Xi was usually a very helpful girl, but she really wasn’t in the mood right now. But the other party had already handed the note to her, so she couldn’t refuse. She had no choice but to take it and look at it. It was indeed written No. 6 Courtyard. “Is it written wrong?” “That’s strange.” The man took two more steps forward, stopping at the side of the car door, looking around, with a look of bewilderment. This blocked the girl’s face completely.

At this time, the back door of the van opened, and another man got out of the car, holding a piece of plywood, holding it up behind the girl, and said to the previous man: “Boss, did you ask clearly?” That piece of plywood was more than one person tall. Passersby coming from behind couldn’t see Chen Xi. With the high wall on the right, she was completely “surrounded.”

Chen Xi felt that something was wrong. Why would they unload the goods when asking for directions? She handed the note back. “Sorry, I can’t help you.” After saying that, she wanted to leave, but the man in front of her didn’t mean to move out of the way. The side door of the van suddenly opened, and two more men jumped out, pulling the girl into the car with lightning speed. Chen Xi didn’t even have time to scream before her mouth was covered, and a sharp knife was held against her throat. “Don’t make a sound.”

The first man pulled the door shut and returned to the car. The “Jinbei” [a Chinese minivan brand] drove away. The man holding the plywood got into another identical “Jinbei” [a Chinese minivan brand] parked not far away. They had practiced this set of actions for more than a month, doing it with ease, completely without attracting the attention of several passersby.

Chen Xi stared with horror in her beautiful eyes. Her mouth was already taped shut, and her hands and feet were tied up. She was thrown in the middle of the two rows of seats, only able to make “woo woo” sounds. Everything happened too fast. More than ten thousand question marks swirled in her mind…

Chen Qian got off work at 5:00 PM. By the time she got to the road leading to her residential area, it was already past 5:30 PM, and it was dark. At this time, there were obviously more pedestrians on the road than in the afternoon. Two men approached Chen Qian, who was alone. “Excuse me, are you Chen Qian?” “I am, what’s the matter?” She stopped.

“Our boss invites Miss Chen to come for a visit.” “What?” As soon as Chen Qian heard this, she immediately became alert. “I don’t know you, please move aside.” “Miss Chen, don’t be so rude, take a look at this first.” One of the men took out a Polaroid photo. “Ah!” She cried out softly. By the dim light of the street lamp, the photo showed Chen Xi with her hands and feet tied up. “You… my sister… you…”

“Shh…” The man held a finger in front of his mouth. “Miss Chen, we don’t want to attract other people’s attention. If you make a fuss, I’ll make a phone call and immediately have your sister raped to death. If you cooperate, I guarantee the safety of you two sisters.” “You… you…” Chen Qian didn’t dare to make a sound. A “Jinbei” [a Chinese minivan brand] van stopped by the side of the road. The two men pulled the distraught Chen Qian into the car. To outsiders, there was no sign of coercion.

“What did you do to my sister?” “Don’t worry, no one has touched her, at least no one has touched her yet, hahaha.” The men in the car laughed loudly. “What do you want to do? I don’t know you.” “You’ll know when you get there, be patient. Call your family and tell them you won’t be home for dinner, don’t let them worry.” Chen Qian had no choice but to take out her phone. “By the way, don’t try anything funny, otherwise, you know the consequences,” the man sitting next to her warned.

The car drove into the mountainous area of Mentougou [district in Beijing] and stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. Chen Qian was taken inside. The door closed behind her, and Chen Qian was even more afraid. There were more than a dozen people gathered in the warehouse in groups of three or two, most of them were children under twenty, and there were also three or four women. Chen Xi was sitting on a sofa, looking like she hadn’t been wronged. “Xi.”

“Sister!?” Chen Xi had been here for several hours. Those people neither let her go nor arrested her to do anything. It was driving her crazy. Suddenly hearing someone call her nickname, she looked up and it was her sister. She was really surprised, happy, and worried. She quickly ran to Chen Qian, and the sisters hugged each other. “Sister, you… you were also caught by them?”

“Xi, are you okay? Did they bully you?” “No.”
“What do you want to do?” Chen Qian turned to the man who had “invited” her. “Don’t ask him, ask yourself.” A man’s voice came over. The sisters turned around and saw a man with crutches walking out of a door at the innermost part of the warehouse. “Bitch, you wouldn’t recognize me so soon, would you?”

“Sister, do you know him?” Chen Xi looked blank. Chen Qian looked carefully at the man. His left leg was in a cast. “You… you were half a month ago…” “That’s right, half a month ago I touched your butt, and your boyfriend broke my leg. Today I’m going to get it back with interest.” “That’s right.” “That’s right.” More than a dozen hooligans who had been very honest just now also suddenly shouted and surrounded them, each holding a can of unopened drink and shaking it non-stop.

“Sister…” Chen Xi was frightened, holding her sister’s arms even tighter. “Xi, don’t be afraid.” Chen Qian pretended to be calm, but she was also very scared in her heart. “What do you want?” “What do I want? Today I’m going to teach you how to spend the nightlife, let’s play slowly.” The “cripple” shouted like crazy, “Do it!”

Before the sisters could react, the dozen or so hooligans had already aimed the drink cans in their hands at them. With a pull of the ring, colorful drinks immediately sprayed out. “Hahaha…” The sisters’ screams were mixed in with the laughter of a group of people. “Sister…” Chen Xi had always been a “proud daughter of heaven,” how could she have suffered such “abuse”? She was already crying. Although Chen Qian had often been bullied by boys before, she had never been humiliated like this, and there were also tears in her eyes.

Once the force of the drink spray was over, those hooligans jumped and jumped, pouring all the remaining drinks on the heads of the two women kneeling on the ground. When they separated, the sisters had become drowned rats. The man who had caught Chen Qian just now walked to the “cripple’s” side. “Brother Quan, Brother Qiang didn’t tell us to do this.”

“My brother hasn’t come yet, I’m in charge here now.” “Brother Qiang will be unhappy.” “What the hell are you talking about?” The “cripple” ignored that person and came to Chen Qian’s side, using his right crutch to poke her round and tempting butt wrapped in wet pants. “How is it? Fun?” “Don’t touch me!” Chen Qian sobbed and pushed the crutch away with her arm.

“Ouch!” Quan lost his balance and fell backward, fortunately someone supported him. This time, Quan was furious. “Damn you, I just like the ones who can jump, strip them naked!” With his order, the dozen or so hooligans who had already dispersed rushed back like hungry wolves. The poor sisters had no ability to resist except for crying and screaming…(Golden scales are not things in a pond) [idiom meaning someone with great potential is trapped in a small place]