Rice pot next door

Chapter 2: Revenge

Qiao Feng (乔风, same name as the famous Beggar Sect Leader in Louis Cha’s novel “Demi Gods and Semi Demons”) cannot believe that there are such blatant, female hooligans around who would dare molest a man in broad daylight. In broad daylight at a crowded, international exhibition no less.

He is here for a blind date – some girl dabbling in arts – but she is late due to traffic jam. He remembers feeling bored and has decided to check out the exhibition. As he is walking, his mind wonders to an interesting topic totally unrelated to the topic of the exhibition and he is grateful to find a chair to rest and ponders more on the subject…

And get really lost in thought.

Forgot to mention, Qiao Feng is an associate professor in quantum physics

And next thing he knows, he is being molested by 2 she-wolves attempting to take off his pants. Gathering his wits, he looks around at the dolls surrounding him and figures what she-wolf #1 means when she tells him to continue “shop around” and quickly left the dolls section in embarrassment.

When he finally meets up with his date, they decided to go for lunch and the girl starts to quiz him with the usual questions. What do his parents do for a living? Does he have any siblings? Does he own a car? Does he own his house or is it financed?

Qiao Feng answers honestly and concisely – his parents teaches in high school, he has 1 older brother, he does not owns a car, he stays in a house which has been fully paid off. When she asks more, he answers accordingly – no, his house is not located within the city centre , no, he has no idea how many asset he owns .

The girl thinks to herself that he barely passes all the essentials, but given his outstandingly handsome look… let’s find out more!

As they toured the exhibition, she is pleased to note that his eyes do not linger on the many sexy models or objects on display (Qiao Feng thinks that when a woman is scantily dressed, it is rude to stare). He has really pretty eyes, clear, black iris.. and his glance is very steady. Whenever he looks at her, his intentness makes her feel as if she is soaked in a pool of warm water.

And he listens patiently to her opinion on Foucault, Derrida, etc. Thinking that he may find the subject boring, she smiles at him coquettishly “Do you feel bored when I keep talking about the arts?”

“No. What you said is quite interesting. Do tell me more on what you think about Jean-François Lyotard, Jürgen Habermas, Paul Karl Feyerabend.”

Is this guy really a physics teacher? The girl is no longer so certain about her initial assessment. Qiao Feng changes the topic to cultural revival but something seems to have changed and conversation no longer flows smoothly between them.

Qiao Feng seems quite accustomed to such situations and is not the least bit concerned. They continue to walk he get distracted by some fine porcelain on display, followed some rare ancient paintings.

When they were near the exit, he spotted the 2 she-wolves whacking each other with a giant foam x [note from Moonblossom: I’m going to assume ‘x’ means a giant foam penis here]. Looking at the giant advertising screen above their heads, he took out his phone.

1 minute and 30 seconds later, he checks back at the big screen.

His date asks softly “Why are you ignoring me?”

“Huh? I beg your pardon. What did you say?”

“I said, these girls are so bold!”

“Yes, they are pretty bold.”

The atmosphere in the hall has changed and there seem to be a collected bout of murmurings and pointing fingers. Qiao Feng wastes no time to admire his handiwork and says to his date “Let us go.”

On the big screen, the original advertisement has been replaced with a video clip of 2 ladies engaging in a lewd battle. When Xiao You Cai sees the big screen, she shouts to her friend “Lan Shan! Look! There are 2 whackos fighting on screen!”

When Lan Shan realizes they are the said whackos on the screen, she grabs Xiao You Cai and sprints for the exit. In her haste, she steps on a flyer and fell, landing on her shoulder and spraining her neck in the process. As they continue towards the exit, the 2 attracted many eyeballs with their disheveled looks.

When they manage to flag a cab, the driver sees Lan Shan clutching her neck and asks if she is ok?

Xiao You Cai: “Gosh, I rather not bring it up! Mr Driver, can you help to send us to the hospital please?”

The driver agreed and as they meandered through the heavy traffic, Xiao You Cai notices their driver’s strange pallor.

Xiao You Cai: “Mr Driver, you seem to have a dark shadow on your forehead*. It seems to be turning …green?” So green, in fact, that she believes it is going to start sprouting leaves soon.

“Miss has no need to worry. I am not being harassed by ghosts, just a jinx. I met a pretty girl this morning and when I tried to chat with her, who would guess that the gal has a fierce temper and even threw a rock at me.”

“Wow, that must be some gal!”

“It is not a big deal actually, except for the bruise. But it did affect my business and several potential customers change their mind about boarding my cab when they see my forehead.”

Xiao You Cai is tickled pink at the way he recounts his tale and the driver continues to say that if that girl dares board his cab, he will drive her to the deserted outskirts, drop her off, and let her walk back to civilization.

“Aw…What if she meets a bad guy?”

“No worries, I’ll follow her discreetly from behind.”

And the 2 broke into laughter.

And Lan Shan pulls more hair over her face and sinks deeper into her seat.

*usually used to describe someone who is being harassed by a spirit  or ghost