Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

With the weather clearing up, the number of customers coming to the shop for car repairs and washes has increased exponentially.

Erniu counted money until her hands were sore, but Yuechuan suffered terribly—under the corrosive effects of the strong cleaning agent, not only did his hands peel off several layers of skin, but his eyes and nose also burned with pain.

During the day, he could relieve the discomfort by rinsing off whenever he was working, but at night, no matter how he lay on his side or flat, his nose always felt like it was stuffed with cotton, keeping the boy awake all night long.

He could manage for a few more days, but after more than a month of continuous hardship, Yue Chuan's health completely collapsed. The once energetic young man had sunken eyes and a pale face, looking exactly like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness.

Seeing that the young man's condition was deteriorating day by day, Jin Haiquan decided to settle his wages early. Early that morning, two crisp hundred-yuan bills were slapped into Yue Chuan's palm: "Little Chuan, Brother Quan keeps his word. This is the wages paid according to the master craftsman's rate. Here, take it!"

Yue Chuan's eyes burned, and his throat trembled. No one knew better than him how much blood and sweat was soaked in those two thin pieces of paper.

"Thank you, Brother Quan..."

"Don't mention it! It's been hot lately, and there are a lot of car washes, so you've really had a hard time." Boss Jin patted Yue Chuan's shoulder lightly, and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I'm going out of town to buy some auto parts later, and your sister-in-law is out running errands. How about you watch the shop for a while, and then we can pack up and go home when we get back? Is that alright?"

"Okay! I'll wait for you!" The wages were settled without a penny's difference, how could he not give them this favor? Yue Chuan agreed without even thinking.

With the shop owner and his wife both away, Yue Chuan didn't sit idle. He spent the whole morning organizing the shelves until the shop became unbearably hot at midday, at which point he locked the door and went back to the house in the backyard to rest.

The cicadas chirped incessantly, the sweltering heat was unbearable; sitting in a pheasant's nest, disaster struck from the sky. The house was as hot as a steamer; Yue Chuan tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so he grabbed a bucket and headed to the front yard for a shower. Just as he was about to push open the iron gate between the front and back yards, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from inside the shop.

"Huh? I clearly locked the shop door, could a thief have broken in?"

Yue Chuan immediately became alert and peeked through the crack in the door. That one glance revealed two figures stacked on the steps of the drain—the man below lay on his back, the centipede-like scar on his right cheek gleaming in the shadows; while the woman straddling him, swaying her lithe waist, was none other than his cousin, Qin Erniu!

"My darling, I haven't touched you for over a month, I've missed you so much!"

The scarred man gripped the woman's lower back, his rough hands roaming beneath her thin shirt.

"You idiot! You have a perfectly good bed, but you insist on doing it in this filthy place. You're really crazy..." Erniu pretended to struggle to get up, but was held back by the man's iron-like arms, and his wet tongue went straight for the woman's ear.

"Your man is fixing his car here, and I'm fixing you here, hehe, this is fucking exciting!" The scarred man lewdly laughed, but his hands never stopped moving.

"You bastard, don't go too far. That...that little guy is still missing...you...you let me go to the backyard to take a look first, and then you can do whatever you want, okay?" Erniu's eyes were glazed over, her cheeks were flushed, and the man had already torn open her clothes.

"The shop's locked, they've definitely taken the money and run! Besides, what do you care about a shit-eating kid? Let me have my fun first!" With that, the scarred man unconsciously increased the pressure of his tongue, hands, and waist. At this point, he had become a ravenous beast; it seemed impossible to stop him from unleashing his lust. Half-heartedly resisting, half-willing, Erniu completely succumbed to the man's fierce onslaught…

The woman's soft moans and the man's heart-wrenching roars mingled together, making Yue Chuan, who was just a door away, blush with embarrassment. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the bucket of water in his hand fell to the ground by sheer coincidence.

With a sharp "thud," the whole world fell silent, and Yue Chuan's heart seemed to skip a beat. The adulterous couple also seemed to stop what they were doing and looked in the direction of the sound.

Yue Chuan dared not stay there any longer. He picked up the bucket and ran straight back to his dormitory. Given the suspicious circumstances, he should hide now!

In his haste, the boy didn't have time to think. His only thought was to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. But just as he was hurriedly packing his luggage, the landlady's shrill voice came from outside the door.

"Stop hiding! I know you're in there! I'm here to ask you, your brother gave you all the money? Why aren't you back home yet?" Erniu kicked open the iron gate, her hand on her hip as if to say, "Who gave you permission to be here! Who allowed you to stay here! You took the money and you'd better get out of here, instead of getting in my way!"

Yue Chuan glanced at his cousin and noticed that the buttons on the collar of her cheongsam were undone. He quickly looked away. "Quan'er... Brother Quan'er told me to watch the shop a little longer. I worked this morning and have been resting in the house. I... I didn't go anywhere! Really... really! I didn't even leave the house! I didn't see anything!"

Even though Yue Chuan was clearly not at fault, he was now lying with a shifty look in his eyes. However, no matter how he explained, the other party would not believe him.

"Hmph! Stop making excuses! Laziness is laziness! If you're sleeping soundly in your room and someone gets into the shop and something goes missing, you'll have to pay for it!"

As the old saying goes, too much talk leads to mistakes. Erniu seized on the loophole in Yue Chuan's words and began to attack him fiercely. At this moment, she was using the trick of the villain accusing the victim first. If she didn't get this kid under control, once he went to the village and talked nonsense, wouldn't her reputation be completely ruined!

Just as he was grumbling, a car horn blared outside the shop. Yue Chuan knew that sound all too well—if it weren't for that Jinbei van, he'd eat shit on the spot!

"Why is that scarred man showing up here now? Is he here to cause trouble again?" Before Yue Chuan could think further, Er Niu shouted sharply, "What are you all standing there for? We have a guest, go and greet him!"

Even though he knew a big tiger was coming, Yue Chuan still had to bite the bullet and go for it. Without understanding what the other party was up to, he could only do as the landlady said.

It truly is a case of "being the butcher and the fish on the chopping block"!