Chapter 3: Drunken Disaster
Twelve noon. Dragon City’s Imperial Grand Hotel.
In the ground-floor hall, Fang Qiang and the man with glasses were still drinking heavily.
The table was piled high with empty bottles. You could smell the alcohol on them from a mile away.
It had been nearly fifteen hours since 9:30 the previous night. Both men were completely wasted, had thrown up countless times, and had earned the silent curses of the cleaning staff, who were nevertheless unable to kick them out.
Annoyingly, though they were incredibly drunk, neither had passed out. At most, they would slump over the table for a short nap before waking up to continue their marathon drinking session.
Meanwhile, in a small private room on the second floor, the cheerful melody of “Happy Birthday” was playing.
On a clean white tablecloth sat a cream birthday cake, a single candle flickering on top.
The red candlelight illuminated the incomparably beautiful, smiling faces of two sisters.
“Happy birthday, Sis! Make a wish!” Yu Xin clapped her hands happily, her face beaming.
Standing next to her was Yu Lan, the woman known as “Zhongnanhai’s Number One Female Bodyguard.” Today happened to be her twenty-fourth birthday.
That the nation’s top female bodyguard and its top fashion model were biological sisters was a secret known only to a few close friends.
Even the omnipresent paparazzi had only managed to dig up that Yu Xin’s older sister worked for an important department in the capital and was a commissioned military officer. The specifics of her job remained a complete mystery.
Both sisters were incredibly busy people, often going half a year or more without seeing each other as they traveled across the country for their respective work. This time, the older sister had been sent to Dragon City for a mission, and the younger sister just so happened to be here for her first-ever “beautiful legs” photobook shoot, giving them a rare opportunity to meet.
And since it was also Yu Lan’s birthday, Yu Xin had ditched the reporters that morning and rushed over to celebrate with her sister.
“Thank you, Xin. You’re always so thoughtful,” Yu Lan said with a smile, standing up. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them, leaned over, and blew out the candle in one breath.
“Sis, what did you wish for? Can you give me a little hint?” Yu Xin asked curiously.
“No way. If I say it out loud, it won’t come true!”
“Hmph, I know even if you don’t tell me. You wished that you and my future brother-in-law will get married soon and walk down the red carpet together…” Yu Xin said mischievously, looking as if she knew her sister’s heart completely.
“You silly girl, what are you talking about!” Yu Lan’s cheeks flushed slightly. She laughed and reached out to pinch Yu Xin’s lips, but her sister shrieked and dodged away. The two of them roughhoused, their deep, intimate bond on full display.
“Cake time, cake time!” Yu Xin picked up the plastic knife and began slicing the birthday cake. “Sis,” she chattered, “I had this ‘Red Leaf’ cake custom-made for you. It’s amazing. You have to order it days in advance…”
As she spoke, she put on an adorable, greedy expression. She passed a slice to her sister, then hastily grabbed another piece with extra cream for herself and began to savor it.
Yu Lan couldn’t help but laugh. This little sister, with whom she had relied on since childhood, might put on the arrogant air of a superstar in public, but in reality, she was still a girl with a child’s heart. In front of her older sister, her innocent nature would always reveal itself.
“Be careful, all that cream will make you fat!” Yu Lan teased.
“Don’t worry, we sisters were born with perfect figures. We can’t get fat,” Yu Xin said nonchalantly, taking an even bigger bite.
It was true. Both sisters were not only beautiful, but they also possessed demonic figures that would make any woman burn with jealousy. The older sister’s full, magnificent breasts, which strained the fabric of her uniform, and the younger sister’s long, straight, sexy legs, peeking out from under her short skirt, were without a doubt the kind of divine treasures that every normal man on earth dreamed of, causing countless lechers to drool in secret and suffer spontaneous nosebleeds.
After finishing the cake, the sisters chatted for a while. Before they knew it, it was two in the afternoon, and it was time for both of them to get back to work.
After settling the bill, Yu Xin put on a pair of large sunglasses and wrapped a scarf around her neck and lower chin, obscuring most of her face. Only then did she and her sister walk out of the private room.
To avoid the public eye, she had to keep herself thoroughly concealed. Otherwise, if someone recognized her as the nation’s top model, the hotel would instantly be mobbed by a frantic horde of fans.
Laughing and talking, the two sisters descended to the ground floor.
“Wait a second, Sis, I need to use the restroom.”
Yu Lan nodded and found a seat to wait.
Yu Xin hurried down the corridor, rounded a corner, and entered the women’s restroom.
Just as she went in, a dark figure staggered after her.
It was Fang Qiang, who was so drunk he couldn’t tell north from south.
His face was flushed red from alcohol. He swayed toward the restroom, his feet feeling as if they were walking on clouds. He had just reached the entrance when he carelessly tripped and fell.
“Shit! Waiter… why is the floor… so slippery…”
Muttering incoherently, Fang Qiang pushed himself back up and, with bleary eyes, walked into the restroom.
It was at this moment that he made a fatal mistake.
He had already used the restroom multiple times since last night and was familiar with the layout. But that fall had completely turned him around. When he got up, he instinctively walked forward, and as a result, he ended up walking straight into the women’s restroom.
Huh, the urinals… where’d they go?
Fang Qiang forced his drunken eyes open. He looked around for a long time but couldn’t find the familiar fixtures. Figuring he must be too drunk to see straight, he gave up and simply stumbled toward the nearest stall.
BANG!
His heavy body slammed against the door, and the impact actually forced the lock open.
A woman’s terrified scream rang out.
Fang Qiang focused his eyes and froze.
A beautiful woman in sunglasses was sitting on the toilet, shrieking in horror. Her floral-print skirt was flipped up, completely exposing a pair of long, slender, snow-white legs.
Hooked around her knees was a pair of bright red G-string panties. From his angle, he could see right through the red fabric to the dark patch of thicket between her legs.
Fang Qiang rubbed his eyes in disbelief, let out a foul-smelling burp, and slurred, “Miss, you… what are you doing… in the men’s room? Get… get out!”
As he spoke, he swayed into the stall.
“What do you want? Don’t come near me—”
Yu Xin screamed in panic, her face pale with fright. The last few drops of urine were scared right back inside her.
It was just the supermodel’s bad luck. She had chosen the cleanest stall, but its lock was also the flimsiest, breaking with just a slight push.
But she cut her scream off halfway, instinctively stopping herself. If I cause a big scene, will it ruin my image?
In that moment of hesitation, Fang Qiang had already closed in. He reached out and roughly pulled Yu Xin to her feet.
“Don’t!”
Yu Xin trembled with fear. Her bare bottom was forced off the toilet seat, a cold chill running through her. The red panties slid down her smooth legs and pooled at her feet.
She thought he was about to assault her, her clear eyes filled with terror.
To her surprise, Fang Qiang only pulled her up and pushed her aside. He didn’t touch her again. As if she weren’t there, he unzipped his fly, pulled himself out, and aimed a torrential stream into the toilet bowl.
“Ugh, an exhibitionist!”
Humiliated and furious, Yu Xin quickly pulled up her panties, intending to bolt from the stall. But the door was blocked by his body, and she couldn’t pull it open. She stomped her feet in frustration.
“Let me out! You pervert… let me out!”
No matter how much she yelled, the dazed Fang Qiang paid her no mind, continuing to relieve himself with gusto.
The thick stench of sweat, alcohol, and urine mingled in the air, creating a truly nauseating odor.
Yu Xin pinched her nose in disgust. Falling back on habit, she put on her superstar airs and shrieked, her voice sharp but her courage failing, “If you don’t move, I’ll have someone beat you to death later! To death!”
Although Fang Qiang was completely wasted, her words still managed to sting him. The image of the rich kid knocking him down the previous night flashed in his mind. He spun around, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, “Don’t… push me too far!”
Even being provoked like this, the good-natured Fang Qiang had no intention of hitting her. His roar was less a threat and more a cry of grievance. But Yu Xin misunderstood. Thinking he was about to attack, she forgot everything else and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Help!… Sis, help! Somebody… help me!”
Fang Qiang was bewildered. His breath reeked of alcohol, his mind was a complete blank, and he stood there stupidly, not knowing what to do. Then he heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from a distance. Several people seemed to be running into the restroom.
Suddenly, an angry, cold shout from a woman exploded in his ear. At the same time, the stall door was kicked clean off its hinges and slammed into his back.
Caught completely off guard, Fang Qiang was sent tumbling head over heels—his third fall in twenty-four hours, and by far the most humiliating. His head cracked right against the toilet bowl.
“Ah, who… hit me again?”
The sharp pain cleared his head slightly. Annoyed, he propped himself up and turned to look.
The first thing he saw was a stunningly beautiful woman in a military uniform. Her chest was exceptionally full, and she was glaring at him, her face a mask of rage. The long-legged girl from before was sobbing in her arms, looking utterly terrified.
“Sis, boo hoo… this pervert… he tried to molest me… boo hoo…”
“I did not…”
Before Fang Qiang could get the words of his defense out, Yu Lan strode forward, grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him to his feet. Then, she drove her knee hard into his groin.
Fang Qiang let out a bloodcurdling scream. Tears and snot streamed down his face, and he nearly passed out from the pain.
Still not satisfied, Yu Lan dragged him out of the stall like a dead dog and planted her right foot on his chest.
“You shameless pervert! I’m going to cripple you…”
Fang Qiang was already breaking out in a cold sweat from the pain, unable to speak. He could only watch helplessly as a delicate black leather shoe pressed down on him, his ribs groaning under the pressure.
His vision started to blur…
“Kill him, Sis! Kill him…”
Through the haze, he could hear the long-legged beauty’s gloating cries.
“Stop! You’re going to kill him…”
“I think the guy’s just drunk. He went into the wrong restroom by mistake. He didn’t mean to assault the young lady…”
“Hey? Aren’t you… the model Yu Xin?”
A cacophony of voices reached his ears. Waiters and onlookers must have arrived. Then someone recognized the long-legged girl…
“Oh my god, it really is her! It’s Miss Yu Xin…”
“Miss Yu Xin, I’ve admired you for so long! Can I have your autograph?”
“That bastard dared to offend Miss Yu Xin! He deserves a good beating!”
The scene seemed to be spiraling out of control…
Fang Qiang’s head swam even more, but a tiny flicker of clarity in his mind told him he had gotten himself into some serious trouble.
“No pictures! Stop taking pictures!… Ah, Sis, get me out of here! Let’s go…”
The last thing he heard was the long-legged beauty’s anxious crying. Then, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
A ladle of cold water splashed onto his head.
Fang Qiang jolted awake.
He opened his eyes. The first thing he felt was a splitting headache. The alcohol clearly hadn’t worn off, and his vision was blurry.
“Give him another one!”
Another ladleful of cold water was poured over his head, flooding his nose.
Fang Qiang sneezed and instinctively recoiled. The scene before him finally came into focus.
To his horror, he found himself in a closed interrogation room.
The cold metal chair, the wide interrogation table—it all looked just like what he’d seen on TV. Across from him sat two police officers, a man and a woman, smirking at him with contempt.
“Awake now? You exhibitionist…” The male officer lit a cigarette and slowly blew out a puff of smoke. “Alright, talk. What’s your name? Age? Where do you work?”
The tone, used for interrogating criminals, made Fang Qiang extremely uncomfortable. “On what grounds did you arrest me?” he protested. “I just had too much to drink. What law did I break? You can’t just arrest a good person for no reason!”
“A good person? Hahaha…” Both officers laughed.
The female officer, who looked to be in her early twenties and was quite pretty, pointed her pen at Fang Qiang arrogantly. “You’re a lowlife who gets drunk all day, makes a scene, and then goes into the women’s restroom to molest a celebrity and expose yourself. And you have the nerve to call yourself a good person? Ha! Let me tell you, even good people have to confess when they end up here!”
Fang Qiang felt like he’d been struck by lightning. He leaped to his feet, shouting with a mixture of shock and anger, “This is a setup! A shameless frame-up! Let me go, or I’ll file a complaint against you…”
As he shouted, he glanced at their name tags. The man’s read “Second-Class Sergeant: Zhou Cong,” and the woman’s, “Third-Class Officer: Ruan Lin.”
“Well, well, the pervert is crying foul now. And he wants to file a complaint against the police…” The female officer, Ruan Lin, feigned surprise. She stood up, walked over to Fang Qiang, and said with a saccharine smile, “So we framed you, arrested the wrong person. How about we apologize?”
“Forget it, I don’t want to argue. Just let me…”
Before he could finish, Ruan Lin suddenly picked up a bucket from the floor and, without even using the ladle, gleefully dumped the entire contents over him.
“Wha—!”
Fang Qiang couldn’t dodge in time and was soaked from head to toe.
“Still not sober? Let me help you with that!” Ruan Lin’s delicate eyebrows shot up, her pretty little face filled with menace.
Fang Qiang was stunned.
“Xiao Ruan, don’t be too rough. We’re not supposed to use torture to extract confessions, you know…” the male officer, Zhou Cong, said sarcastically, blowing smoke rings.
“Who’s torturing him? I’m just helping him sober up. I didn’t punch or kick him, didn’t use the finger press, and I certainly didn’t pour chili water down his throat or anything…”
Fang Qiang’s blood ran cold. He knew she was most likely just trying to scare him, but it was working.
“What… what do you want me to confess?” he asked, his teeth chattering.
“Name? Age? Place of work? Prior convictions? Why were you peeping and exposing yourself in the women’s restroom? Tell us everything, one by one…”
With a miserable look on his face, Fang Qiang had no choice but to answer truthfully.
“…I was drunk. I walked into the restroom and saw a woman in there. She suddenly started yelling that I was molesting her and screaming, and then another woman ran in and hit me… After that, I don’t remember anything…”
“Ha, you’ve got a clean story, don’t you? Did you not know that was the famous model Yu Xin?” Ruan Lin sneered.
“What?”
Fang Qiang’s face instantly turned pale. Though his mind was still fuzzy, he vaguely realized that he must have gone into the wrong restroom.
“We believe you were drunk. But as the saying goes, even a drunk person is thirty percent sober. How could you not tell the men’s room from the women’s? Besides, Miss Yu Xin went in just a moment before you. Are you saying you didn’t see her?” Zhou Cong said, eyeing him sideways.
“I really didn’t see her go in!” Fang Qiang was frantic, not knowing how to explain himself. “I don’t know what happened. I just stumbled upon her in a daze…”
“Lies!” Ruan Lin raised her voice. “I think you recognized her from the start. You had wicked thoughts about the beautiful celebrity, and being drunk gave you the courage to follow her in and assault her…”
“You’ve got it all wrong! I didn’t even know who she was at the time…” Fang Qiang’s face was red as he argued desperately.
But no matter what he said, the two officers refused to believe him. Instead, they started berating him.
“If you don’t confess, you’re not going home today!” Ruan Lin slammed her hand on the table and announced he was being detained. Several burly officers came in and dragged Fang Qiang away.
“You can’t do this… You have no right to detain me before I’m convicted!” Fang Qiang struggled and yelled.
Ruan Lin chuckled. “Who says? Even if you only drunkenly stumbled into the women’s restroom, according to local public order regulations, we have the right to detain you for fifteen days!”
Zhou Cong added sinisterly, “Use those fifteen days to think it over. The sooner you confess, the sooner you get out. Don’t try to be a hero…”
“This is a crime you’re forcing on me! I will never admit to it!” Fang Qiang shouted in grief and indignation. He already suspected that there had to be some ulterior motive behind the police forcing him to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.
Before he could think any further, the officers had already hauled him off and locked him in a cell at the station.
Just three days later, Fang Qiang surrendered.
Those three days were hell on earth. The dark cell, the damp and cold air, the foul-smelling food, the cockroaches crawling everywhere, and the blood-sucking mosquitoes made Fang Qiang feel as if he had fallen into the abyss. Though he wasn’t physically beaten, he was tormented all the same.
He knelt and prayed countless times, confessing to the Almighty Lord, begging for salvation from his sea of suffering, or for a path forward.
The Lord did not answer.
In the end, he could only surrender. With tears streaming down his face, he signed his name and pressed his fingerprint onto the confession the police had prepared.
“There, that’s better…” Officer Ruan Lin collected the confession with satisfaction. “It’s no big deal once you’ve confessed,” she said, as if lecturing a child. “At most, it’s attempted rape. You’ll be locked up for a few years and then you’ll be out…”
Attempted rape!
Fang Qiang, his face deathly pale, repeated the words in a mumble. A chill ran through his entire body, as if he had fallen into a nightmare from which he could never awaken. Everything around him became unreal.
After what felt like an eternity, he regained some of his senses. The face before him was once again Ruan Lin’s—pretty but merciless, fair but malicious.
“Attempted rape? You’re actually framing me for attempted rape!”
A rage he had never felt before surged through him. Fang Qiang was suddenly seized by a frantic impulse to throw this beautiful female officer to the ground, rip her uniform to shreds, and truly, brutally rape her.
“What? You dare to glare at me like that? Not happy about it? You look like you want to eat me alive,” Ruan Lin mocked, deliberately puffing out her chest in a provocative gesture. “Go ahead if you have the guts. What are you afraid of?”
Although the young officer’s chest wasn’t particularly large, it was firm and perky, pushing against her uniform to create a full, enticing contour.
Fang Qiang could barely resist the urge to reach out and squeeze one of her breasts. But then he snapped back to reality and slapped himself across the face. How could I have such a wicked thought? Oh Lord… please forgive my sins…
“Coward!” Ruan Lin pursed her lips, then waved over an officer to move Fang Qiang to a detention cell with better conditions.
The next afternoon, Fang Qiang was notified that he had been bailed out. He could go home but was not allowed to leave the city. He was to wait for the court’s indictment and then find a lawyer for his trial.
The person who bailed him out was Father Luo.
Fang Qiang, his eyes vacant, numbly followed Father Luo out of the police station, only to be stunned once more.
The area outside the station was swarming with reporters. The moment they saw him, they all surged forward, shoving microphones and recorders in his face. Camera flashes went off nonstop.
“Mr. Fang, we’ve heard that you had just been through a breakup. Is that true?”
“Did Miss Yu Xin remind you of your ex-girlfriend, leading you to act so impulsively?”
“Mr. Fang, do you have anything you’d like to say to your ex-girlfriend or to Miss Yu Xin?”
“Mr. Fang… Mr. Fang…”
Father Luo took off his coat and draped it over Fang Qiang’s head. “Excuse me, please let us through,” he repeated, struggling to pull Fang Qiang through the crowd and into a small car.
The reporters chased after them relentlessly.
“Father Luo, do you believe the police’s accusations against Mr. Fang?”
“We heard you recommended Mr. Fang to join the church. Do you regret that decision?”
The car forced its way forward, pulling away from the crowd and speeding off. The reporters were gradually left behind until they were out of sight.
“Father!”
Inside the car, Fang Qiang finally lost control and broke down, sobbing.
“I had no evil intentions… I was drunk! I didn’t mean to assault her… I really didn’t!”
Looking at the remorseful Fang Qiang, Father Luo was suddenly reminded of a tenet in Catholic doctrine: Gluttony, too, is a cardinal sin! Alas, if only he hadn’t been drinking to excess…
Father Luo sighed and took his hand with compassion.
“Don’t say anything, Fang. I believe you. I have always believed you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bailed you out.”
Fang Qiang felt a small measure of relief. He recounted how the police had coerced his confession, his expression filled with indignation. Father Luo comforted him, promising to hire the best lawyer to clear his name. The car dropped Fang Qiang at his home. Father Luo urged him to rest well and consoled him for a while longer before leaving.
Exhausted in mind and body, Fang Qiang took a shower and lay down, intending to sleep. But he tossed and turned, unable to rest. Seeing that it was getting late, he got up to go out and buy some takeout for dinner.
The moment he stepped outside, however, he found that many reporters had already tracked him down and began to hound him again. Fang Qiang had no choice but to grab some soy milk and steamed buns from a street vendor and hurry back home, deadbolting the door behind him.
Several newspapers had been shoved under his door.
Fang Qiang picked them up and casually opened one, the Dragon City Evening News. The headline on the front page was emblazoned in bold, eye-catching characters:
HEARTBROKEN DRUNKARD STORMS WOMEN’S RESTROOM IN ATTEMPTED ASSAULT ON SUPERMODEL YU XIN!
Below it was a full-page report, complete with color photos depicting his pathetic, unconscious form slumped on the floor of the women’s restroom.
Fang Qiang’s hands trembled. As if possessed, he tore all the newspapers into tiny pieces.
