Chapter 104
Yan Hongsha returned to Lijiang in low spirits.
She went to consult Huo Zihong. The two of them sat in a small corner of a bar, both looking heavy-hearted. Yiwansan deliberately found an excuse to pass by and overheard Yan Hongsha asking, “So, I have to pay it all back? What if selling the house still isn’t enough?”
When Yiwansan came back around, Cao Yanhua was craning his neck, eager to catch news. He quickly pressed him, “Well? Well?”
Yiwansan said, “Life’s unpredictable. Not long ago, she was living like a rich lady, and now her whole world has collapsed. Of course, her uncle and grandfather weren’t exactly saints either.”
Cao Yanhua muttered, “It’s all her uncle’s debt. My poor Hongsha shouldn’t have to carry that burden. If anyone deserves retribution, it should be that old man Yan.”
Yiwansan didn’t quite agree. “The older generation plants the tree, the next one enjoys the shade. She enjoyed her rich-lady shade long enough—so now taking on some of the fallout is only fair.”
Cao Yanhua glared at him.
The talk at the other table seemed to have ended. Yan Hongsha walked over, head hanging.
Cao Yanhua said warmly, “Don’t be discouraged, Hongsha. You’ve got us. As long as we have food, you won’t starve. If you really do get taken away, we’ll figure out how to scrape the money together and bail you out.”
He started listing her options: “Your family home must be worth quite a bit. If that’s still not enough, I’ll go with you to Fourth Village. Don’t forget—we still have all those gemstones. If it comes to it, there’s still real estate!”
He waved dramatically, pointing toward the Phoenix Building.
Yan Hongsha sighed. “I’m not upset. Too much has happened lately. I just… feel drained.”
She sat down at the table closest to the bar, rested her head on it, her braided hair sticking up stubbornly.
Yiwansan stared at her for a while and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.
Thinking about it, Hongsha really was the most unfortunate one.
He was just a street punk—so long as he had food and a place to crash, nothing mattered. Fatty Cao was about the same, tough as nails and resilient. Luo Ren wasn’t even human—no matter how bad things got, he never panicked. The little boss lady had somehow developed multiple personalities, but at least she had people who cared for her, doted on her…
When you thought about it, Hongsha was actually a bit younger than Mu Dai. She’d lived carefree up till now, only to suddenly lose her family, learn the ugly truth of their wealth, watch it all vanish, and end up alone. Yet she didn’t cry, scream, or hang herself. She was still thinking about paying off the debt…
Yiwansan suddenly realized he admired her.
He made a cup of coffee, drawing a big smiling face in the foam, and brought it over. “On the house.”
Hongsha lifted her head and eyed him suspiciously. Then she picked up a tiny spoon and started stirring. “You’re being nice? You didn’t do this, did you? I bet it’ll give me diarrhea…”
Damn it!
Cao Yanhua piled on mercilessly, “Brother San, everyone knows your villainous face. What’s with the fake kindness? If you’re being nice for no reason, you must be up to no good…”
That bastard Cao really had a death wish!
Yiwansan snatched up a sugar packet and hurled it at him. Cao ducked quickly, tucking his neck in. The packet whizzed over his head and smacked right into a painting hanging on the wall.
Cao marveled at his own reflexes. Perfectly instinctive! Guess all those days of basic training hadn’t gone to waste.
Smug, he opened his mouth to jab back at Yiwansan—but then noticed Yiwansan wasn’t even looking at him.
He was frowning, staring at the painting that had just been hit. Then he got up and walked over for a closer look.
Hongsha frowned in puzzlement and mouthed at Cao: What’s he doing?
Cao looked just as confused.
Was there something special about that painting?
The bar’s side wall had a few decorative paintings hung up here and there, nothing unusual. In fact, “Gather and Scatter at Will” had even set aside a whole wall for guests to doodle and leave messages.
This painting was just a reproduction of a Japanese ukiyo-e: Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Simple enough—a fishing boat caught in the belly of a massive wave, Mount Fuji calm in the distance.
Cao leaned closer, baffled at Yiwansan’s reaction. Yan Hongsha felt uneasy and lifted the coffee cup, gulping down a mouthful.
The bitter taste hit her, and she suddenly remembered—oh, right. Yiwansan had thrown away the sugar packet.
But still, what was he looking at?
Just then, the door swung open, jingling the Dongba-style wind chime above it. A crisp, lively voice called out, “Brother Xiaodao!”
Yiwansan jolted as if electrocuted, stumbling back three steps.
Luo Ren walked in with Pingting at his side. With just one glance, he took in the entire scene: Cao Yanhua’s confusion, Yan Hongsha’s daze, and…
His eyes flicked back and forth between Yiwansan and the painting. “What are you looking at?”
Pingting had been pulled into the bar counter by Uncle Zhang to wash dishes. She didn’t mind the work—humming a tune with the faucet turned up high, water splashing all over her face.
She giggled, leaned against the bar, tilted her head back, trying to show Luo Ren and the others her messy, dripping face.
Then her smile fell, leaving her sulky.
No one was paying attention to her. They were all seated around the ukiyo-e painting that had just been taken down.
Yiwansan pointed to the left side of the picture, where the waves surged like giant claws.
“All of a sudden, I saw the waves turning over, like they were forming a whirlpool. It kept spinning and spinning until it became an empty hole, pitch black—like a cave.”
“Then I heard a sound. Bang, bang—like a heartbeat. And then that hollow turned with it, rising and falling to the same rhythm. Like inside the darkness… There was a huge heart beating.”
Cao Yanhua was so excited he could barely find the words. “I knew it—I saw the same thing… the same…”
He pressed further. “Was there wind, Brother Sansan? There should have been wind too.”
Wind? Yiwansan blinked.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152