WHF Ch 11 – Wanna hang out?

At four in the afternoon, in the sultry ambiance of a pleasure house, amidst a neatly arranged forest of stockings, the young master rose calmly to his feet, slapping the wall switch to turn on the light:

“Who picked this lighting?”

Of course, his expression wasn’t as composed as his actions. Xiu Ma squinted for a good while before rubbing his temples and pulling out his phone.

“Is there a projector in this room?”

The professional smiles of the women began to crumble, and they exchanged glances, all wondering about the whims of this wealthy young master.

The big spender, hands in his pockets, walked behind the sofa, tilting his head to pull a plug from a gap.

“Ah, found it.”

The power was connected, the machine powered on, and Xiu Ma flopped back onto the sofa, holding his phone and pointing it at the projection screen.

“This guy, have any of you seen him… or, let’s say, serviced him?”

On the dark-patterned wall, a massive screen displayed a one-inch ID photo blown up to fill the entire surface, showing Yu Tianbai grinning broadly.

Speaking of the origin of this photo, Xiu Ma really had to thank himself for keeping a trick up his sleeve.

After the Songhua River car retrieval incident, he’d been locked in a van by Yu Tianbai. While that guy was giving a statement at the police station, Xiu Ma was in the van, warmed by the heater, which made his wrists itch. Absentmindedly scratching the itch, he glanced at the back seat, realizing it was probably the first time he’d seriously looked at the guy’s vehicle.

There wasn’t the stereotypical driver’s trio of Buddha statues, amulets, or jade pendants, nor the lingering smell of cigarette oil. The back seat was cluttered with stuff, but there was no dust. Though he didn’t want to admit it, it was pretty clean—cleaner than Xiu Ma’s own room, at least.

In the vast, snowy emptiness, Xiu Ma’s courage grew. He leaned toward the driver’s seat, catching Yu Tianbai’s distinct scent—not that he wanted to memorize it, but Yu Tianbai always hovered close, neither too far nor too near, and it was annoyingly pleasant.

Xiu Ma wrinkled his nose and spotted Yu Tianbai’s driver’s license tossed in the storage compartment.

People are like that: when the person’s standing there, you might not care, but when something related to them is around, no one can resist curiosity. Leaning back in the seat, Xiu Ma flipped open the black booklet.

The dazzling smile on the license hit him, and Xiu Ma nearly burst out laughing. The Yu Tianbai in the photo was carefree, beaming with springtime radiance, one collar slightly askew.

This sure as hell wasn’t the shady businessman who’d landed him in the police station.

Xiu Ma pulled out his phone from his pocket, decisively snapping five photos from different angles. Satisfied, he pocketed the phone, thinking he’d unintentionally secured some leverage—never imagining he’d use it in a situation like this.

The day after he got in the van, got kicked out, got back in, and got kicked out again.

A crowd of women in stockings and high heels peered at the screen, murmuring among themselves. Half a minute later, a voice from the left side of the group asked, “Who’s this guy?”

Xiu Ma glanced up briefly, then returned to his phone, answering the short-haired woman who’d spoken:

“An unlucky driver.”

“What do you want with him?” someone from the middle of the group asked.

“He owes me a favor,” Xiu Ma replied without looking up this time.

“He’s kinda hot.”

Xiu Ma fell silent for a long moment, slowly raising his face, unable to pinpoint who’d said it.

“If you’re looking for a driver, why not go to the bus station?” the short-haired woman on the left asked again.

The big spender on the sofa put away his phone, pursed his lips in thought for a moment, then looked up to answer:

“Already tried that.”

Six hours earlier, at ten in the morning, Xiu Ma stood by the minibus station heading north from Shulan. The border town had no traffic regulations to speak of—black cabs, taxis, and illegal transport vehicles were all there, fully stocked. Navigating through this pack of burly, predatory middle-aged Northeastern men might require the survival instincts of a primal jungle.

Luckily, Xiu Ma never lacked courage.

The sun blazed brightly, the weather as fine as the day he’d first punched Yu Tianbai. He held up his phone to the rough-and-tumble illegal transport drivers, getting a few answers worth considering.

“This guy owe you money?” a tall driver asked.

“Or maybe you owe him money?” a potbellied one nearby chimed in.

Xiu Ma felt his scalp ache; he wasn’t quite versed in the survival laws of this primal jungle.

Why couldn’t it be a romantic debt? He thought it but didn’t say it. If he did, it’d sound too much like Yu Tianbai, and just the thought made him want to leap up, hijack a car, and chase Yu Tianbai down the highway.

He should’ve just trashed that shady businessman’s van—smashed it to bits! But then again, he didn’t want to actually pay for his own car’s damages.

“None of you have seen this guy?” Xiu Ma pressed his temples, forcing himself to keep talking with these primal bros.

At that moment, a blue-vested guy who’d been sitting silently nearby finally spoke up:

“If you’re looking for a man, you’d better ask women.”

The ways of the world run deep, and that was indeed the wisdom of experience. But this was the jungle outside Shulan Station, where only the shouts of men echoed.

In the ways of the world, you’re not always in control. Xiu Ma pocketed his phone—not because he didn’t want to keep looking, but because Shulan was just too damn cold.

“So where should I go to find women?”

He thought it was a perfectly normal, earnest question, but once the words left his mouth, laughter rippled through the jungle.

“Young man,” the blue-vested guy stood up, no longer sitting on the base of a van but on the grand chair of a gang’s headquarters, “it’s time for you to grow into a man.”

With that, he solemnly pressed a stack of business cards into Xiu Ma’s hand. Xiu Ma looked down, his expression immediately turning grave.

It took him five hours of mental preparation to stand on the foot massage street outside the bus station. What followed was a repetitive cycle:

Enter the shop, call everyone in, turn on the light, show the photo, turn off the light, pay, move to the next place, and start over.

This shop was the second-to-last on the entire street. The last one sounded like a brawl was happening inside—shattering glass, breaking bottles—so it didn’t seem like anyone could get in there anytime soon. If he left this shop without any useful information, today would officially be a complete bust.

A complete bust. Xiu Ma sank into the sofa cushions, rolling the phrase over his tongue.

As he’d once boasted to Yu Tianbai, he was a guy who liked to compete, and if he couldn’t win, he’d steal. But if even stealing left him with nothing, he’d be pissed—genuinely pissed. He tilted his head back, staring at the peeling paint on the ceiling, and let out a heavy breath.

Wait, it wasn’t entirely a bust. By the next day, everyone around the bus station would know about the idiot big spender who’d gone through every massage parlor on the street—and a good-looking one at that, though the last part was Xiu Ma’s own addition.

And all just to show people a photo.

“Honestly, if you didn’t find him at the first shop, there’s no point checking the rest,” the woman on the far left spoke up again. “Men who don’t come will never come, and those who do won’t stick to just one place.”

Xiu Ma blinked, lowering his face, catching the deeper meaning in her words.

Men are complicated creatures. Yu Tianbai was unexpectedly clean, while he himself was predictably foolish.

Silently, he downed the chrysanthemum tea on the coffee table in one gulp. The tea hit his stomach like it was falling into a fire. Staring at the cup, Xiu Ma muttered, “Who says this stuff cools you down?”

Just as he put on his jacket, turned off the light, and pushed the door to leave, someone in the group spoke up again:

“If you can’t find him at the massage parlors… how about trying the bars?”

A few seconds later, the big spender at the door turned his head back, his expression calm.

“Tell me,” he said, looking into the room, not at anyone specific but at everyone, “are you all in on some kind of commission racket?”

But three hours later, Xiu Ma still showed up obediently at the entrance to the bar street.

Calling it a bar street was generous—it was more like a street with a single bar. At seven in the evening, most of Shulan was already sinking into sleep, with only the bar flickering with a bit of light, much like the night Yu Tianbai had kicked him out of the van.

Xiu Ma couldn’t remember how many times he’d sighed today, but he decided not to sigh this time. Instead, he sucked in a breath and popped a piece of cantaloupe from the fruit plate into his mouth. Chewing, he glanced beyond the bar counter. The bar was decently crowded—probably all the young people in this city who couldn’t sleep were here.

Happy? They should be happy, while Xiu Ma, by all accounts, shouldn’t be. But when the lights dimmed and the music kicked in, his mood seemed to settle a bit, maybe even improve. It improved enough that when a group of young people approached to share his table, he didn’t immediately scowl at them.

“Alone? Wanna hang out?” The leader was a young-looking girl, completely free of social anxiety, which left Xiu Ma stunned for a few seconds before he realized she was talking to a total stranger—namely, him.

He glanced behind her. There were three or four others, guys and girls, probably just starting college, brimming with such youthful energy that passersby might start studying the floor.

Though the leader was bold, Xiu Ma had never been one to shy away. Normally, he’d have no reason to refuse, but today was today—the second day after Yu Tianbai kicked him out. He propped his arm on the bar counter, offering the group a polite half-profile.

“I’m waiting for someone,” Xiu Ma said.

“Waiting for someone? Heard that excuse before,” a young guy behind the girl piped up.

Trying to rile him up with some bro camaraderie? Xiu Ma lifted his eyes to meet the guy’s gaze, answering slowly:

“I’m waiting for a man. Wanna keep me company?”

After the group—likely Shulan’s only pack of youngsters—walked off, the bartender came over. A cloth was set down, and the bartender slid him a drink. Xiu Ma hesitated for a moment but decided to accept it graciously. After all, it was something you’d have to pay for.

But seriously, why were so many people hitting on him tonight?

“Can bartenders hang out with customers?” Xiu Ma took a sip and asked the black-haired bartender—maybe an older sister, maybe a younger one—while she was wiping glasses.

She looked up, flashing a professional smile, warm yet distant: “How’s the taste?”

“Not bad.” That was the truth; it was sweet.

“This is our shop’s apology for disturbing our guests. We hope you can keep waiting for the person you’re looking for.” With that, the bartender dropped the professional smile and moved to the other side.

The person he wanted, the person he was waiting for. Xiu Ma gripped the glass, squinting.

“Hang on,” he called after the bartender. “I want to ask about someone.”

He pulled out his phone. The bartender stared at the screen for a long while before giving a firm answer: “Don’t know him.”

But she quickly added something that reignited Xiu Ma’s hope: “He looks familiar, though. Maybe some other customers have seen him.”

Walking around? Here to hang out or just drink? Smiling or losing it? Or maybe just ask outright: alive or dead? But no, no need to get that worked up. He could listen to what the people in the bar had to say first.

The bar’s lights flickered, and the bartender’s slow speech made his teeth itch.

“If you stick around a few more days, you might hear something. Plenty of people pass through here.”

Xiu Ma let out a long breath, his fingers tapping the counter: “Do you guys get a kick out of letting customers get harassed?”

“Or put it this way,” the bartender continued in her leisurely tone, “if you’re willing to stay a few more days, my business is guaranteed to do pretty well. In exchange, my customers can help you find him.”

She smiled and shrugged: “How’s that?”

Xiu Ma heard the ice in his glass clink, and in that moment, he felt himself sinking deep into the ways of the world.