Inside Pi Xiaoqian’s shop in Panjiayuan, several people were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
A whole night had passed, and Guo Xuyang’s phone was still unreachable, with no replies to messages.
“Could those two girls have stolen Boss Guo’s phone?” Pi Xiaoqian said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be like this. What time is it? Even if he were sleeping, he should have woken up by now.”
“If his phone were truly lost, he’d likely come here or to Zhenbao Pavilion to find us later. Xiao Bing, go wait at Zhenbao Pavilion. If Boss Guo shows up, call us.” Wu Youzhi said.
“Alright, Uncle. I’m going right now.” Wu Bing agreed and got up to go downstairs. Before he reached the door, he saw Guo Xuyang walking in with two young girls.
“Boss Guo is back.” Wu Bing shouted upstairs. Then he said, “Boss Guo, you’re finally here. If you hadn’t come, we would have called the police.”
“It’s not that serious. I don’t know where my phone went missing yesterday. These two beautiful ladies helped me get back here.”
Before the two could finish speaking, Pi Xiaoqian rolled downstairs like a ball and hugged Guo Xuyang in a bear hug.
“Oh dear, Boss Guo, where were you enjoying yourself so much yesterday? You really worried us guys.”
“What are you talking about?” Guo Xuyang broke free from Pi Xiaoqian’s embrace.
“You don’t know, we almost turned the club upside down looking for you yesterday, and we were just about to call the police. We only stopped when we saw you leave with two girls. Those two girls were quite something. Heh heh.”
Pi Xiaoqian didn’t notice Li Minxi and Su Ran following behind when he said this.
“You rotten ball of skin, you fat loser, who are you talking about?” Li Minxi strode over and twisted Pi Xiaoqian’s ear.
“Auntie, it hurts, it hurts, let go quickly. What are you doing?”
“Who were you calling quite something just now?”
“Huh? You guys? No way! Xiao Xi, you weren’t with Boss Guo last night, were you?”
“It was me. So what?”
“No? That? You…”
“What you? Your mind is full of all sorts of nonsense, it really needs a good wash.”
“Alright, Xiao Xi. Isn’t he just worried about you?” Cheng Xiuping said from behind.
“Uncle Cheng, when did you get back?”
“I came back with Boss Guo yesterday. It was dark yesterday, and I didn’t get a good look, only saw two young girls accompanying Boss Guo when he went out. Who would have thought it was you two? Why did you go to the club?”
“It’s over, I’ve been caught red-handed again,” Li Minxi muttered.
“My dad just lectured me a few days ago, and today Uncle Cheng caught me again. Why is my luck so bad?”
Su Ran called out “Uncle Cheng” and stood to the side without speaking.
The official circles are big when they need to be, and small when they need to be. Beijing is such a small place, with so many people in various government departments, it’s impossible for them not to know each other.
Cheng Xiuping’s father, Cheng Liguo, worked in a major ministry before retiring. Li Minxi’s father, Li Shengyun, was a subordinate of the elder. Because of this connection, the two families were quite close.
Although Cheng Xiuping did not pursue a career in politics, he knew Li Shengyun, and the two families had a very good private relationship.
Seeing that the two girls were not speaking, Cheng Xiuping felt it was inappropriate to ask further, so he said, “Brother, what happened yesterday? Why weren’t you answering your phone or replying to messages?”
What else could Guo Xuyang say? He could only tell the truth.
“Yesterday, Li Minxi and another girl dragged me out to watch a car race. I don’t know how I lost my phone on the way.
If it weren’t for Su Ran, I would have had to sleep on the streets last night. I didn’t have your phone numbers either, so I had no way to contact you.
These two girls brought me back this morning. I really need to thank them.”
“No wonder! We almost turned the club upside down yesterday, but we couldn’t find you anywhere.
Later, we checked the surveillance footage and found that you had gone out with two girls.
I didn’t expect you to still be missing by now. We were just about to send Wu Bing to Zhenbao Pavilion to wait for you, and then you showed up.
It’s really troublesome to not have a phone. Let’s go buy one right away.”
“Okay. I’ll go after lunch. I’m treating today, to a good meal for these two beauties. Don’t hold back, just tell me what you want to eat later,” Guo Xuyang said, looking at Li Minxi.
“You’ve come all this way, how can we let you treat? I’ll treat this morning. Xiao Xi, brother was talking nonsense earlier, don’t hold back at noon, gouge him hard.” Pi Xiaoqian said.
“Here, take this girl to pick out a bracelet and a necklace later. It’s all on me.”
It must be said, Pi Xiaoqian really knew how to handle things. This move not only made up for Guo Xuyang’s trouble but also apologized to Xiao Xi, earning him a generous reputation.
If he hadn’t won back two hundred million at the club last night, he wouldn’t have been so generous.
“Really? Fatty Brother. I won’t be polite then.”
“No need to be polite, just take whatever you like.” Pi Xiaoqian added, “Only one set per person, though.”
“I was just about to praise your generosity, and now look at your stingy attitude. How can you look the part?” Li Minxi seized the opportunity to tease Pi Xiaoqian again.
“Alright, at most two sets. I really can’t do more. Your brother needs to eat too.”
“Okay then, two sets it is.” Li Minxi said, linking arms with Su Ran and going to choose jewelry.
“This little grandma can be quite ruthless,” Pi Xiaoqian said, rubbing his ear and gesturing towards Li Minxi. “Let’s go upstairs to talk. They’ll take some time choosing things.”
Guo Xuyang knew he was talking to him and was also curious about their relationship.
So, as they went upstairs, he asked, “You know Li Minxi?”
“It’s a long story, I almost became her brother-in-law.”
“What? Your taste is quite intense.” Guo Xuyang was surprised that Pi Xiaoqian had almost become Li Minyu’s husband.
“You know Li Minyu?” Pi Xiaoqian seemed to have caught something.
“I heard Li Minxi say her sister is a shrew?” Guo Xuyang had no choice but to expose Li Minxi.
“We came out of the same military team. I wasn’t so fat back then. I got fat after I was demobilized.
Her sister was younger than me. Originally, we were supposed to be demobilized together. Then, for some reason, her sister was scouted by the higher-ups, and I was demobilized while she continued to stay with the team.
Later, due to various reasons, we didn’t end up together.”
“Is her sister married?”
“No.”
“And you?”
“I’m a bachelor, so when I eat, the whole family is full. What’s the meaning? You want to be a matchmaker?”
“Don’t you want to start over?”
“She doesn’t have time. I’m afraid she’ll be an old maid for life. Let’s not talk about our matters anymore, it’s all in the past. What exactly happened to you yesterday? How did you get involved with Xiao Xi?”
“What kind of talk is that? What do you mean ‘got involved’? Weren’t you guys upstairs? I saw them playing the slot machines and wanted to play a couple of rounds too, but the club staff were looking down on me for wanting to exchange so few chips. Those two girls gave me the remaining chips…”
Guo Xuyang explained the whole sequence of events clearly, so that the others wouldn’t overthink things.