Chapter Eighteen: Frolicking

  When Er Qi's second aunt arrived at Er Qi's new residence, she was filled with emotions. It had been half a year since she last saw her big brother, and he seemed to have grown ten years younger. His complexion was much better than the last time she saw him, his face was rosy, and the age spots on his face seemed to have faded.

  Take another look at the decoration of the elder brother's new house, just like a city family on TV, with a dedicated kitchen and dining room that are bright and clean, a bathroom for bathing, a flush toilet, all so fresh in Qi Er Gu's eyes.

  The little brother sat on the sofa, holding a pear as big as his mouth, and staring at the tea table. On the tea table, there were four or five fruit plates, with golden pears, red apples, purple grapes, and fragrant sugar-roasted chestnuts.

  Qijie and Erniang chatted for a few sentences before saying they wanted to go back and cook, Qier asked strangely: "You're not staying here?" Qijie's face turned red, although she had told her parents that she was living with Xiaohong, sometimes going to cook for Tang Yi, but after all, she felt guilty, fearing that her parents would suspect something. Her mother was okay, but if her father knew that she was already cohabiting with Tang Yi, he would definitely pressure her into getting married.

  Junzi smiled and said: "Second Auntie, come on, I'll take you to see your room." He pulled away Qi Er Gu, relieving the siege for Qi Jie.

  ……

  Qijie and Tang Yi sat on the sofa watching the news after dinner. Tang Yi glanced at Qijie, who was curled up on the sofa, and felt a little itchy in his heart. Qijie's head rested on the soft armrest of the sofa, with a lazy posture, wearing light blue silk stockings on her feet, and her toes occasionally pinched Tang Yi's thigh.

  Tang Yi leaned on the sofa, comfortably enjoying Qijie's "teasing", but without any actual action, as if African refugees in TV news were more attractive than Qijie. Qijie felt a bit angry, originally wanting to seduce Tang Yi, and then told him about today's events, at most, she would agree to use that shameful posture, thinking about it made her face hot, but unexpectedly Tang Yi seemed like an old monk in meditation, ignoring her, Qijie became angry, every time he was half-forced and half-jokingly asking for intimacy, this was the first time she took the initiative, but he put on a pretentious attitude, Qijie's self-esteem was hurt, she suddenly sat up, biting her red lips, angrily staring at Tang Yi.

  Tang Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing at Qi Jie's angry little face, and he reached out to pull her into his arms, saying: "If you have something to say, just say it. Trying to use your charm to seduce me? No way."

  Qijie didn't expect him to see through her thoughts, and her pretty face turned red: "How did you know I had something on my mind? Can't I take the initiative for once?"

  Tang Yi smiled and said, "I don't know what's going on in that little head of yours, tell me, what's up?" He gently kissed Qijie's cheek, then leaned into her ear and whispered a few words, making Qijie's face turn bright red as she pushed him away, "You're so annoying!"

  Tang Yigang wanted to pull her into his arms again, but the doorbell rang inopportunely. Tang Yi frowned and said, "Who is it? It's so late?"

  Qijie hastily put on her leather boots and then wore her red windbreaker, only then did she go to open the door. Through the peephole, she took a look at the unfamiliar middle-aged couple, both over 40 years old. The man had a clean-shaven face, wore glasses, and looked refined and courteous. The woman was wearing a green woolen coat, with light makeup, exuding some elegance, and must have been quite beautiful when she was young.

  Qijie looked at them and didn't think they were bad people, so she opened the door and asked: "Who are you looking for?"

  Two people outside the door saw that Qijie was stunned for a moment, and the man reacted quickly, immediately smiling and saying: "You are Miss Qi, we are here to see Secretary Tang."

  Qijie stepped aside and smiled, saying: "Please come in, please come in." Turning around, she said: "Tang Yi, we have guests." This was the first time outsiders had visited their home, Qijie thought to herself that they must be his close friends, and added: "No need to change your shoes, just come on in."

  Tang Yi looked at the two people entering the house with a hint of curiosity, wondering why he had come to see him. His face remained expressionless as he smiled and walked over to shake hands: "Director Zhou, you've arrived, please come in."

  It just so happened that Director Zhou and his wife were in the government office when he received a call from his hometown before work ended. His sister-in-law was crying, saying that their new house had been demolished and his nephew, Shuangzi, had been detained by the county bureau. Director Zhou was furious, but after asking around through an acquaintance, Vice-Director Wang, he found out it was actually Bureau Chief Chen who led the team. After finding Bureau Chief Chen, he learned that Shuangzi was being held for suspected molestation of a woman and assault on a minor. Upon further inquiry, cold sweat broke out - the woman Shuangzi had allegedly molested was Secretary Tang's girlfriend. At that moment, Director Zhou would have liked to beat his good-for-nothing nephew to death, but he couldn't bear his sister-in-law's pleas. After some thought, this actually turned into an opportunity to get acquainted with Secretary Tang. He didn't care much about how Shuangzi was handled; if he could use this chance to get close to Secretary Tang, that would be a blessing in disguise. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh and scold: "Shuangzi's mistake really is a lucky mistake."

  Tang Yi's home address and phone number were all registered in the office, so Director Zhou went to his doorstep according to the registered address. Of course, to ease the atmosphere, his wife had to come along, and they didn't dare buy anything expensive, after all it was their first visit. Two bottles of Hongtashan and two bottles of Jingzhi 46 degree Changbaisan, totaling less than 400 yuan.

  Director Zhou smiled and shook hands with Tang Yi, while Qi Jie's face changed. She hadn't even had time to talk to Tang Yi when the master of the matter came to her door. What if he thought she was sincerely deceiving him?

  Director Zhou introduced his loved one's name, smiling and saying: "Secretary Tang, my lover's milk name is Er Ya, just call her Er Ya." Tang Yi smiled and said: "That won't do, I'm younger than you, let's just call her Ma Dajie instead." But in his heart, he was amused - Er Ya? Not afraid that people would spit out their food from the night before.

  Ma Dajie was particularly good at doing things, warmly pulling Qi Jie to praise her for being beautiful, and then followed Qi Jie into the kitchen to help her make tea and fetch melon seeds.

  Tang Yi invited Director Zhou to sit on the sofa and smiled: "Director Zhou, you must have come for a reason. What's up?"

  Director Zhou immediately looked painful: "Secretary Tang, I am here to admit my mistake. It's all my fault, my arrogant nephews are lawless and have frightened Miss Qi. I, on behalf of the whole family, apologize to Secretary Tang, please forgive us..."

  He wanted to continue, but Tang Yi had already stretched out a hand to stop him, "Wait, wait, wait."

  Tang Yi asked in surprise: "What did you say? Qi Jie was frightened? What do you mean your nephews are lawless? What's going on?"

  Director Zhou only then knew that Secretary Tang did not know about this matter, and thought that it would be easy to handle. He estimated that it was Chen Da and himself who had caused the trouble. Secretary Tang was a young cadre who emphasized awareness and fairness, and from his usual style, he wouldn't resort to framing or retaliating against others. There was even a chance that not only could Director Zhou win over Secretary Tang this time, but also get his nephew off scot-free.

  Director Zhou hastily made a remorseful face and said: "It's like this, I have a nephew named Shuāngzi, he was detained by the county bureau today for allegedly molesting Miss Qi. I..." Just as he was about to continue, he inadvertently glanced at Tang Yi's face, Secretary Tang's expression was stern, his eyes also slowly became sharp, Director Zhou swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue, his heart racing, he had never seen Secretary Tang reveal such a severe expression before.

  Tang Yi stared at Director Zhou for a while, then waved his hand: "I'm very tired, you go back first."

  Director Zhou was stunned for a moment, wanting to say more, but saw that Tang Yi had already leaned back on the sofa and slowly closed his eyes.

  At this time, Qi Jie and Ma Dajie carried the tea tray and fruit plate from the dining room. Director Zhou slowly stood up, gave his wife a wink, and she understood, smiling and saying goodbye to Qi Jie until the couple left the door. Tang Yi didn't move at all, and the couple didn't dare say anything extra, nor did they dare leave anything behind, and they slipped out of the door gloomily. Ma Dajie then asked: "Just now wasn't everything fine? How come it suddenly turned around? What did you say to offend Secretary Tang?"

  Director Zhou was also puzzled, shaking his head and sighing: "Let's talk about it tomorrow, I'll ask around to find out more about Secretary Tang's temperament."

  Qijie closed the door and turned to look at Tang Yi, her heart racing with anxiety. She silently cursed herself for not telling him about it when she got home, which made him so angry. He must think she had intentionally kept it from him.

  At this time, Tang Yi picked up the phone on the tea table and started dialing. Qi Jie walked over and sat down beside him on the armrest of the sofa, softly asking: "So late? Who are you calling?"

  "Public Security Bureau." The tone was so stiff that it made Qiao Jie's heart ache, and she stretched out her hand, wanting to put it on Tang Yi's shoulder, but ultimately didn't have the courage.

  *Ringing... ringing..., no one answered the phone, Tang Yi let out a cold hum, pressed down the hook and started dialing again. This number was familiar to Qi Jie, it was Chen Da's home phone number.*

  On the other end of the phone, Chen Dahe's loud voice suddenly rang out: "Hey, who is it?" Tang Yi had already lost his temper: "Chen brother, you're so heartless! You didn't even tell me that Qijie was being harassed? Now you can still go home and sleep peacefully? Drink your wine? I'm telling you! No one can bully my people without consequences! If that bastard touched Qijie with which hand, I'll cut off which hand of his! If you can't do it, I'll hire someone to do it! Even if it's the king himself, there's no room for mercy!" After finishing, he slammed the phone onto the tea table.

  Qijie was stunned, how could such a cruel and bloody remark come from someone who was usually gentle and refined? Qijie had never seen him lose his composure like this before, and while she was afraid, she also felt a little sweet in her heart, after all, it was because he cared about her. But looking at Tang Yi's iron-cold face, Qijie ultimately didn't dare to speak to him, didn't dare to explain.

  Tang Yi turned his head and saw Qi Jie's pale face, immediately understanding that he had scared her. He held her hand and laughed: "What's wrong? You're also afraid of me sometimes, haha, it seems like I should lose my temper a few more times in the future."

  When she saw Tang Yi smile, Qi Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to speak, Tang Yi had already pulled her soft body into his arms. Tang Yi's hands wrapped around her slender waist, and he slowly lost his smile, saying in a low voice: "Were you scared today? Don't be afraid, whoever bullies you will have to pay tenfold or even a hundredfold." Listening to Tang Yi's firm words, Qi Jie's fear gradually dissipated. She had thought that he was angry with her for hiding the truth from him, but it turned out that he really believed someone had been teasing her.

  Qijie suddenly found it funny that she had such a strong desire to monopolize this man, but she really liked his dominance. Perhaps it was because she had always been the weak one and lacked protection from others. Qijie smiled and nestled her face into Tang Yi's chest, feeling safe and comfortable in his arms. However, by her ear, she heard Tang Yi say, "Qijie, this isn't good, are you afraid of me?"

  Qijie smiled and shook her head, Tang Yi sighed and said: "Anyway, I don't like this feeling, you'd better have a fight with me one day... Ah..." Before he could finish speaking, his ears were already pinched by Qijie's small hands. Qijie giggled and said: "I'm afraid of you, ghost!"

  Tang Yi looked at the charming beauty in his arms, feeling an itch and numbness in his ears, and smiled slyly: "Aren't you afraid of me? I'll make you fear me right now!"

  In the midst of Qi Jie's screams, the red windbreaker had already been pulled down and thrown aside by Tang Yi. Qi Jie punched and kicked, but was pressed onto the sofa by Tang Yi. Her slender waist jeans were violently pulled down to her knees, revealing her pale legs and the yellow strap of her thong underwear at the base of her thighs. Seeing the snow-white, high-arched buttocks with a faint yellow line, Tang Yi's lower abdomen felt a burning heat, and he laughed, saying: "Haha, didn't you say you'd rather die than wear the lingerie your mom sent?"

  Qī Jié's face turned bright red with shame, her two hands pummeling Táng Yì, her body twisting and dodging his advances, her mouth loudly saying: "This isn't for you to see!"

  Tang Yi's hand was casually placed on Qijie's snow-white sweater, while the other hand was resting on Qijie's elastic buttocks, pinching them a few times before gently pulling on the yellow strap of her underwear. With a smile, he said: "I'm going to pull it down now, tell me, is this for me to see? If you say it's for me, I'll spare you for another minute before pulling!"

  Qī jié qì dé yǎo zhe hóng chún dèng zhe Táng Yì, kě jiàn Táng Yì màn màn lā qǐ huáng sè xì dài, yǎn jiàn zì jǐ sī chù jiù yào chūn guāng wài bō, dà xiū zhī xià máng yòng lì diǎn tóu: "Shì, shì gěi nǐ kàn de." Shēng yīn bǐ wén zǐ háo xiǎo.

  Seeing the beautiful woman's shy and soft appearance, Tang Yi was overjoyed in his heart and nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to unbutton her pants, the phone suddenly rang "ding ding ding".

  Tang Yi was taken aback, looking at the charming Qi Jie who gave him a triumphant smile, winking her big eyes and throwing him a flirtatious glance. Infuriated, he gritted his teeth but had no choice but to let her go, answering the phone instead. On the other end, Qi Jie quickly put on her clothes, tightening her belt with a dead knot, and then wore her red windbreaker. She pinched Tang Yi's arm hard several times, laughing loudly: "You're sleeping outside tonight!" With that, she slipped into the bedroom and locked the door from inside.

  Tang Yi picked up the phone, and Chen Da's loud voice came on: "Secretary Tang, I did as you said. I just called the bureau and took care of it. Xiao Yang's case is settled - Zhuāngzi and those four joint defense team members each got a broken arm. If you're still not satisfied, I'll go ahead and disable their other arms too!"

  Tang Yiqi said: "Lianfangyuan? What Lianfangyuan?" He didn't know there was anything about Lianfangyuan.

  Chen Da coughed a few times, then slowly told the story to Tang Yi. Finally, he said: "Your sister didn't suffer any losses, otherwise I, old Chen, would be able to rest easy at home? And I wouldn't not tell you about it. Look, you scolded me harshly, and my wife even heard it and blamed me for not standing up for your sister. Alas, I had to explain it to her for a long time."

  Tang Yi felt a bit apologetic, earlier he really thought Qi Jie was at a disadvantage, and didn't ask clearly before arguing with Chen Da. He sighed: "Brother Chen, I was too hasty just now, don't mind it."

  Chen Da and Haha burst out laughing: "You're getting angry, but I feel relieved in my heart. It means you really don't treat me, old Chen, as an outsider. Like before, when we were polite to each other, I always felt like we were drifting further apart."

  Tang Yi smiled and said that Chen Da was also right. The feelings between friends can sometimes be elevated through quarrels.

  Tang Yi asked again, "Do those several joint defense team members have a hard background?" Chen Da He smiled and said, "Don't worry about this, I'll get Xiao Yang to invite them for dinner in a few days, calculate their work injury compensation, and consider the matter settled. Whoever is not satisfied, I, Old Chen, will have a good talk with him. I don't think those several bastards dare to fart."

  Tang Yi nodded slightly, and with that, the matter was settled. He hung up the phone and glanced at the tightly closed bedroom door, a faint smile on his face. His hand rummaged through his pocket for a few moments, and when it came out, there was an extra key in it.

  Tang Yi sang a little tune as he walked over, inserting the key into the keyhole of the bedroom door. With a "click", the bedroom door was pushed open by him. He swaggered in, singing his tune, and immediately, a surprised cry from Qi Jie came from inside, followed by the sound of struggling, and Tang Yi's triumphant laughter...

  ……

  On Sunday, Tang Yi went to the university for the first time. The temporary classroom for economics majors was set up in the biology lab of No. 1 Middle School. At that time, all the classrooms in No. 1 Middle School were bungalows, while the student dormitories were buildings. Of course, it wasn't that they couldn't afford to build teaching buildings, but rather because No. 1 Middle School had always believed that bungalows provided better teaching quality than high-rise buildings. And indeed, Yanshan No. 1 Middle School had been ranked first in the city for five consecutive years in terms of college entrance exam results. Getting into Yanshan No. 1 Middle School was equivalent to having one foot already in university. This also carried the ardent hopes that parents in Yanshan held for their children.

  The biology lab was also a flat house, with about 80% new tables and chairs, and the environment was not bad. Tang Yi casually found a corner to sit down, until the teacher called his name, Tang Yi only then realized that there were only five students in this major. Tang Yi sighed, thinking that even if he wanted to slack off, it wouldn't work. He had originally thought that if he didn't want to come in the future, he could just grab Chen Da or Li An to fill in for him, but now looking at it, it would only take a few days for the seemingly very smart female teaching assistant to become familiar with the five students, and even finding someone to impersonate wouldn't work.

  It was another formulaic teaching video, and Tang Yi had been drowsy all day. At noon, he casually ate some dumplings at a small eatery outside, and finally managed to hold on until the last lecture ended at 5 pm. With renewed energy, Tang Yi stood up and prepared to leave the classroom, but was stopped by his counselor, Lin Laoshi: "Everyone, wait a minute!"

  Teacher Lin was only in her thirties, looking quite elegant with glasses on, and that light blue cheongsam suit matched her refined temperament.

  "Everyone, today is the first time all of our classmates are present, and it's also the first time we're implementing roll call. To deepen our mutual understanding, how about having dinner together tonight? Each person will split the cost of 10 yuan, and the location will be Ermei Xiaochi outside the school gate."

  As she spoke, Teacher Lin's eyes shifted onto Tang Yi: "This classmate of ours, you're a newcomer, right? I've never seen you before."

  Tang Yi nodded slightly, thinking about how to get rid of this boring dinner party in her mind.

  "Hey, buddy, I've been wanting to ask you, how old are you and why did you come to read at the university? Why didn't you retake classes and participate in the college entrance exam?" The middle-aged fat man sitting in the front row asked Tang Yi. Tang Yi smiled: "I'm 23, a bit tender-faced." At noon, these students chatted and laughed, although Tang Yi was dozing off at his desk, he also got a general understanding of them through their conversations. The first impression of these people on Tang Yi wasn't bad, especially the fat man, who was quite generous, although a bit boastful, but much better than those slick and cunning people.

  Several male and female students started asking Tang Yi questions one after another, they were all curious about this quiet and handsome young man who hadn't spoken much for the whole day.

  "Alright, alright, classmates. Let's save the questions for dinner tonight. Attendance is mandatory; anyone who doesn't show up will be considered absent from class once." She added this last sentence after noticing Tang Yi's lips move slightly and winked at him, looking like she still had a playful streak in her. Tang Yi shrugged helplessly.

  Five students and Teacher Lin introduced themselves on the road. The fat one, surnamed Li, does business and has an engineering team under him. The other three students are two men and one woman: Hei Zhou, who is dark-skinned, is a workshop director at a fertilizer plant; Xiao Gao, another little fatty, is a staff member of the Enterprise Bureau; and Chen Jie, the only female student, is over 40 years old and works in the administration office of a blanket factory. She is studying by correspondence to be evaluated for professional titles.

  Tang Yi introduced himself as an unemployed vagrant, studying at the correspondence university in order to find a job. This made Teacher Lin look at him with half-doubt and half-belief: "You actually think highly of the correspondence university's diploma."