Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 407 406 Heart-to-heart Talk Between Brothers

The old owl showed remorse and his attitude was good, so Feng Xiuhu calmed down and helped him sit up.

The old owl-man rubbed his bald spot and sighed, "I really can't admit this. What kind of person is Madam Xu? Would she even look at you?"

"I already said it wasn't me!"

Feng Xiuhu made a move as if he was about to attack again.

The old owl quickly changed his tune: "Your friend! But whoever it is, you yourself said, how could Madam Xu possibly look down on roughnecks like you?"

Feng Xiuhu felt that his words were somewhat discriminatory towards her and Shunzi, and said unhappily, "Have you ever met Madam Xu? You don't even know what kind of person she is, so what makes you think you look down on her?"

Unexpectedly, the old owl stiffened his neck and said, "How could I not have seen her? I even saw her having a secret rendezvous with Da Shuanzi the other day!"

Feng Xiuhu was stunned—what on earth was this? A secret rendezvous? And who was Da Shuanzi?
The old owl, thinking he didn't believe him, stood up angrily and pointed into the distance, saying, "It's right there!"

Feng Xiuhu also quickly got up and looked in the direction he was pointing.

It was near the earthen slope of Mianlupu. On the side of the mountain below the slope, there was a—Feng Xiuhu tilted his head. He wanted to say it was a drafty earthen house, but upon closer inspection, it actually looked more like a simple and rough pavilion.

It doesn't even have eaves or tiles; it's right next to the mountain, and if you don't look closely, you could easily mistake it for part of the mountain.

The old owl said smugly, "It's a remote place, few people go there, and the terrain is low, so it's the only place in the whole village that can be seen from here."

"That day I saw Da Shuanzi and Madam Xu sitting in the pavilion drinking tea."

Feng Xiuhu knew that the owl-man had good eyesight, but this distance was indeed too far: "How did you know that was Madam Xu?"

"Hey!" the old owl said matter-of-factly, "I might not recognize Madam Xu, but how could I not recognize that tomboy next to her? A woman with short, choppy hair and dressed in a Western-style dress—she's the only one like her in the entire Thousand Island City!"

Feng Xiuhu frowned slightly, thinking that Shunzi's love life was too unlucky. It was not even close to being settled yet, so he couldn't have been cheated on, could he?

This needs to be clarified. He stared at the old owl: "Tell me properly, don't exaggerate. It was just a tea party, how did it turn into a secret meeting?"

The old owl chuckled twice: "I can't really say for sure whether it was a secret meeting or not, but Madam Xu is a big businesswoman, and her business can't possibly have anything to do with us owls. Since it's not business, then it can only be friendship—what kind of friendship could a lone man and woman have?"

Feng Xiuhu's face darkened: "Who exactly is that 'Big Shuanzi'?"

The old owl was astonished: "You don't even recognize Da Shuanzi? How did you get into the village?"

"Enough with the nonsense." Feng Xiuhu grabbed the old owl by the collar; he had to get to the bottom of this for Shunzi today.

The old owl quickly replied, "It's the boss who led the young lads on strike! Ye Liushuan!"

Feng Xiuhu was also surprised: "Isn't his name Ye Liushuang?"

The old owl smiled ingratiatingly: "You must have misheard. On the day Da Shuanzi was born, his parents were so happy to see that it was a boy that they forgot to lock the door, which led to a burglary. That's why they named him Liu Shuan!"

……

Shunzi didn't get home until it was getting dark.

Upon entering the house, one sees only a kerosene lamp lit in the living room. Feng Xiuhu is sitting on the sofa smoking, and there are already several cigarette butts in the porcelain bowl on the coffee table in front of him.

Shunzi, oblivious to the somber atmosphere, hung up his coat, took off his gun sling, and excitedly said to Feng Xiuhu, "Brother, shooting is really exciting!"

Feng Xiuhu didn't answer, but just nodded, then pointed to the side, gesturing for Shunzi to sit down.

Shunzi finally sensed something was wrong. He sat down and looked around: "Where's Fang Youliu?"

“I told him to go back to his room and rest first.” Feng Xiuhu said in a deep voice, “Let’s have a heart-to-heart talk, brother.”

Seeing Feng Xiuhu's serious attitude, Shunzi also became serious and nodded vigorously: "Brother, go ahead, I'm listening."

Feng Xiuhu remained silent.

He hadn't really figured out what to say or what to say.

Regardless of whether the old owl man's words are true or false, even if they are true, what does that prove?
From a personal standpoint, Xu Liansheng made it clear from the beginning that she only wanted to make friends. She and Shunzi hadn't reached that point yet, and it was fine for her to associate with whomever she wanted. Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi had no right to interfere.

Logically speaking, Xu Liansheng is a businesswoman, and business people are bound to have contact with all sorts of people. She and Ye Liushuang were just sitting together drinking tea, not fighting shirtless. No one could find fault with her.

But regardless of sentiment or reason, if this had happened to someone else, Feng Xiuhu would have ignored it completely—but this time the person involved was Shunzi.

It was precisely because it was a sequence that Feng Xiuhu couldn't say anything.

After holding back for a long time, Feng Xiuhu finally spoke.

His first words made Shunzi blush bright red: "Shunzi, do you like Xu Liansheng?"

Shunzi's face flushed red at a visible speed, and under the light of the kerosene lamp, it looked like a ripe tomato.

He could barely speak, only waving his hands frantically: "No, no, no—that's not true!"

"Really do not have?"

Feng Xiuhu stared at him: "I saw you two being quite sweet in Beitaiji today, I'm even a little smitten with you two."

Shunzi panicked: "Where did you see that?"

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand: "Don't worry about me, I'm talking to you."

Shunzi lowered her head and picked at her nails, her voice pitifully soft: "Sister Asheng isn't on our side, I know that. So brother, please don't say anything carelessly, or you'll ruin someone else's reputation."

Feng Xiuhu said irritably, "Why didn't you think of these things when you were ruining my reputation? You only became clever when it came to Xu Liansheng."

Shunzi muttered to herself, "She is, after all, a woman, and a widow, so of course we have to be careful."

Feng Xiuhu sighed and patted Shunzi on the shoulder: "Forget it, you know she's not one of us, that's enough. I'm glad you understand."

Shunzi breathed a sigh of relief and looked up: "Big brother, have you misunderstood something? I didn't mean that to Sister Asheng."

Feng Xiuhu asked, "What does that mean?"

Shunzi thought for a moment, but didn't say anything too profound. She just said earnestly, "When she smiles at me, she really looks like an older sister."

Feng Xiuhu glared: "So you fall for this?"

Shunzi's face flushed red again: "I already said that's not what I meant!"

Feng Xiuhu sneered: "If she said she wanted to marry you, would you agree?"

Shunzi's face was almost glowing red: "I...I...I'm not worthy of you..."

Feng Xiuhu slapped him on the forehead: "You'd be a fool not to agree! She's so rich, whether she's after your body or something else, do you think you'd be at a disadvantage?"

(End of this chapter)