Chapter 74: Why Are You Lying on Top of Her?

When it was time to pay, Fan Lulu held the receipt for 4,019 yuan, inspecting it from all angles and exclaiming loudly that it wasn’t worth it. In truth, Xiao Ma was quite pleased—this little pretense hadn’t had any grandiose flair, but instead carried a gentle warmth. The little girl had played a crucial role, and Fan Lulu herself was refreshingly genuine.

Compared to the proprietress, people like Feng Chenchen felt almost illusory—after all, a femme fatale has an air of mystery about her.

They left Yingjiang Tower.

Xiao Ma never did things in just one go—it was always at least a “one-two punch,” just like when shopping. Without any unnecessary chatter, he led the two girls, one tall and one small, straight to the nearest “Twelve O’Clock Karaoke.” Among the popular karaoke venues in Haizhou, this was considered just below the top tier, quite decent; Xiao Ma had been there maybe twice before.

The wild little girl was truly remarkable. She knew nothing, yet managed everything, chattering her way through negotiations. Despite the place being packed, she somehow talked a young hostess out of a reserved spare room—a luxurious VIP suite, no less.

Such suites have their perks: spaciousness, plenty of mysterious corners to hide in. The little girl took the lead, hogging the microphone at the front, singing who knows what.

Xiao Ma and Fan Lulu hid themselves in a corner at the back, whispering together in an intimate huddle. Xiao Ma was still composed, but at dinner, Fan Lulu had gotten herself tipsy on red wine—he hadn’t even finished one glass, while she’d nearly downed half a bottle herself.

Now, with half a dozen beers on the table, the proprietress—still in high spirits—began drinking heavily. Xiao Ma had a feeling she might end up drunk, so he tested the waters, saying, “You reek of booze. If you go home this late, won’t your man beat you?”

Fan Lulu snorted, “You make him sound as manly as you. He wouldn’t dare take it out on me, can’t control me, and certainly has no right to. Back then, he was even wilder himself; it’s just that no one pays him any mind anymore. Only two things make him come home and go crazy: one, when he’s drunk; two, when he’s been humiliated outside and comes back to drown his sorrows.”

Xiao Ma was surprised to hear so much candid “domestic gossip” this time. He felt a twinge of sympathy for her, and as someone who’d once worshipped her, he sat there rather dumbly.

After a few drinks, the proprietress became bold. Face flushed, she reached for the icy edamame, making a show of her movements, pressing close to Xiao Ma. Emboldened, Xiao Ma brushed his arm against her a couple of times. With that, the proprietress abandoned the edamame altogether and simply collapsed against him on the sofa.

Impressive.

The wild little girl truly had a presence—her very existence kept even the “great demon king” in check, and now, even Xiao Ma’s body didn’t seem to object to this intimacy.

After a bout of flirtation, Xiao Ma decisively pinned Fan Lulu down on the sofa.

Damn!

Just as they were getting lost in each other, faces slick with kisses, the door to the private room was kicked open. A group of people burst in—police officers, with someone carrying a video camera behind them.

Instantly, a chill swept over them.

Without so much as a question, they were dragged out and lined up against the wall to squat.

Despite Xiao Ma and Fan Lulu’s repeated explanations—“We know each other, we’re friends”—the officers remained unmoved, sneering, “That’s what everyone says. If we believed that, how could we do our jobs? Stay put.”

Well.

This was the one downside to this place; had he known, he’d have gone somewhere less upscale. In Haizhou, it was a quirk: only the high-end and seedy establishments saw “illicit transactions”—ordinary karaoke bars never did, and were never subject to police raids.

This was really Xiao Ma’s fault for wanting to show off as someone with money—the environment and sound system here were indeed top-notch. And as luck would have it, the police were conducting a sweep that night.

It wasn’t a huge problem, but Fan Lulu was so scared she almost cried; she felt it would ruin her reputation.

Xiao Ma felt the same. Being caught here wasn’t the real problem, but having it get out would be a blow to his image, especially if the news reached Ni Feihong and Yu Chengmin—it would ruin his swagger.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here again. You’ve got a knack for showing up wherever there’s trouble, don’t you?”

Suddenly, a familiar female voice rang out, and Xiao Ma’s head began to throb painfully.

Zhang Jing had arrived. Passing by and seeing Xiao Ma squatting there, she grew furious and immediately launched into personal attacks.

Damn.

One of the police officers documenting the scene was a friend of Zhang Jing’s, and quickly turned the camera away.

“If you hit me again, I swear I’ll fight back,” Xiao Ma retorted.

Zhang Jing was slightly embarrassed, having spotted the same nemesis-like little girl from last time, who was now filming with her phone. Damn, the girl had evidence of her “crime” once again.

A wave of dread washed over Zhang Jing—every encounter with this girl spelled trouble.

Unable to lash out at the little girl, Zhang Jing coldly asked, “So, you’re really something now—caught here doing something shady. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I know the proprietress, all right? Last time you called me a hero for stepping in. This time, we ran into each other by chance and were catching up. What’s the problem with that?” Xiao Ma replied.

Zhang Jing paused, scrutinizing Fan Lulu more closely—it really was the same woman from last time.

She took the camera to check the footage, seeing Xiao Ma in a rather compromising posture atop the woman.

It wasn’t illegal, but it made Zhang Jing even angrier. Using the “hero saves the beauty” angle as a pretext to start an affair? That was even less tolerable than picking up a random girl here.

Who knew why Zhang Jing’s mind worked this way, but she was itching to drag Xiao Ma out and give him a beating.

Although not the team leader, she spoke with authority, “I know these two—they’re not involved in anything shady. Let them go.”

Fan Lulu breathed a sigh of relief. After a brief discussion, since it was late, she took Wang Xiaoai home.

But why didn’t Xiao Ma leave? Because Zhang Jing, clearly up to something, told him to “wait.”

She wasn’t leading the operation, just temporarily assigned as support, so after explaining, she “took leave to go first.”

“Come with me.”

Dressed in plain clothes, Zhang Jing led the way.

After leaving the KTV, she stopped on a quiet stretch of road, looking at him with ill intent. “Showing off again, are you?”

“No,” Xiao Ma shook his head vigorously. He instinctively feared her—she really would resort to violence, a certified female thug—though he couldn’t quite categorize her as a femme fatale.

“No? Then what were you doing on top of Fan Lulu?” Zhang Jing pressed.

Xiao Ma wanted to say, “None of your business,” but worried she’d smack him.

Discretion being the better part of valor, he argued, “Her marriage is already falling apart—her husband beats her all the time, and you police do nothing. As a knight, I felt sorry for her and looked after her, but you guys still arrested me, and you personally roughed me up.”

Zhang Jing hesitated, then asked, “I heard from the precinct that Fan Lulu has twice caused a scene at the station. Was it because of this?”

Xiao Ma nodded. “Yes, both times she reported domestic violence. Whether the police believed her or not is hard to say—no one intervened. After getting frustrated, she had a verbal altercation and made a scene.”

Zhang Jing frowned. “Zhu Timing isn’t much of a person. But unless domestic violence gets really serious, it’s hard for us to get involved. That’s just how society is—everyone has their troubles.”

Xiao Ma had nothing more to say.