Nan Nan said slowly, “Oh, now you know how to sweet talk? When I came into the internet café earlier, weren’t you sleeping soundly? I called you for ages, but you didn’t wake up. I even sat on you, and you didn’t react at all.”

“That was earlier.” Yu Chengfei continued to speak painfully, “You came into the café at noon and have been sitting on me for several hours! Think about it, it’s been a full six hours!”

I was shocked to realize they had been in this position for six hours. I thought back and figured it must have been around the time Nan Nan left the police station and came straight to the café to find Yu Chengfei. He had fallen asleep and refused to wake up, so she sat on him in anger and hadn’t moved since. Six hours! I shivered at the thought. Of course, any man would be happy to have a beautiful woman like Nan Nan sit on him, but six hours was a bit much.

Something didn’t add up though. Yu Chengfei, a man who would leap out of bed at the mere mention of Nan Nan’s name, somehow didn’t wake up when she was right there calling him? Either he was no longer afraid of her, or he was pretending to sleep. I was inclined to believe the latter.

Sure enough, Nan Nan rolled her eyes and said, “How do you know it’s been six hours? Didn’t you wake up two hours ago and pretend to be surprised, saying ‘Oh my dear, when did you get here’? You’ve got the timing down quite well.”

“Heh, heh.” Yu Chengfei laughed dryly, giving me a look that begged for help.

I could only return his look with one of helplessness, indicating that if he couldn’t handle her, I certainly couldn’t.

Nan Nan continued, “I went to the police station to get Hao Zi out, and you didn’t even appreciate it. You just stayed here playing games. And not only that, you pretended to sleep the moment I walked in. Even when I called you repeatedly, you kept pretending. You pretended for a full three hours. Why don’t you keep pretending? I bet you didn’t think I couldn’t deal with you, you ungrateful jerk.”

Yu Chengfei grinned sheepishly, “You shouldn’t say that. I have complete faith in you! If you go to the police station, you can handle three of them at once. With you personally taking charge, it doesn’t matter if it’s the police station or the government building. I just fell asleep because I was too tired. You know how much I love sleeping. If I don’t sleep for more than ten hours a day, I have no energy…”

“Keep making excuses.” Nan Nan was completely furious now, bouncing up and down on Yu Chengfei’s lap, making her ample chest jiggle as well. Yu Chengfei cried out in pain, “Ouch, ouch!” I quickly turned my head away, feeling embarrassed by the intimate scene.

“Honey, please get up.” Yu Chengfei begged, “If this goes on, my organs will be damaged.”

“Hmph.” Nan Nan stopped moving, continuing to play her game without any intention of getting up.

The students from the vocational college sitting nearby didn’t dare to look over or say anything. They were clearly terrified of Nan Nan, the little firecracker. I decided to follow their lead and stay silent, avoiding the conflict.

“Hao Zi...” Yu Chengfei looked at me pitifully, placing all his hopes on me.

I looked back at him just as pitifully, shrugged, and shook my head, conveying the message, “I understand, but there’s nothing I can do,” and “Forget it, I’m not getting myself into trouble.”

“Yu Ge,” I squatted next to the chair, resting my arm on the armrest, “Why don’t we talk here? After all, Sis isn’t an outsider.” I was anxious to know Yuan Shao’s whereabouts and how to handle the situation with Mai Zi.

“No, no.” Yu Chengfei said weakly, “There are too many people here, and walls have ears. We need to talk outside.”

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Out of options, I braved the risk and said to Nan Nan, “Sis, could you let Yu Ge come outside to talk with me for a bit?”

I was prepared for her to pull my ear, but she smiled sweetly and said, “Sure, since Hao Zi asked, I can’t say no. But make sure to bring Yu Ge back. I’ve finally caught him.”

“Okay, okay, no problem.” I didn’t expect her to be so agreeable. Sometimes, little firecrackers weren’t so scary after all. Nan Nan’s smile was beautiful, and her voice was pleasant. She was a good match for Yu Chengfei.

“But let me warn you.” Nan Nan’s face darkened, “If you don’t bring Yu Chengfei back, I’ll castrate both of you and send you to Thailand to become ladyboys, and I’ll organize annual trips for students from Cheng Gao, the vocational college, and North Seven to visit and see you!”

I shuddered, vividly imagining a tragic scene of Yu Chengfei and me in heavy makeup in Thailand. I believed Nan Nan was fully capable of carrying out her threat. I nodded quickly, “I promise, I promise.”

Nan Nan finally stood up. Yu Chengfei rolled off the chair like a pile of mush, gasping for air, as if he had narrowly escaped death. Nan Nan crouched down to massage his stomach gently, saying softly, “Darling, does it hurt a lot?”

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Everyone knew that when Nan Nan started being gentle, it was a prelude to something more vicious.

Yu Chengfei clearly understood this too, immediately saying, “It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt. It’s an honor to have you sit on me. How could it hurt? And you’re so light, only about ninety pounds, right? Like a feather, no weight at all!”

Nan Nan’s face bloomed into a smile, “Really?”

"Really, really." Yu Chengfei nodded vigorously.

"Hehe." Nan Nan rubbed Yu Chengfei's stomach again and softly said, "Alright, I know you're uncomfortable. Just don't always lie to me and avoid me. I just want to be by your side and won't cause you any trouble, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Yu Chengfei put on a harmless smile and even reached out to touch Nan Nan's face.

I widened my eyes, thinking I must be seeing things. Nan Nan's face actually blushed slightly! This fearless little firecracker was capable of feeling shy, which was quite a surprise to me. It turned out Nan Nan was actually easy to appease.

Nan Nan helped Yu Chengfei up and happily said, "You two go outside and talk. I'll be waiting right here."

Yu Chengfei, having lain there all afternoon, seemed to have numb legs. He leaned on my shoulder as we slowly walked out of the internet café together.

Outside, Yu Chengfei plopped down on the stone steps, "Quick, give me a cigarette. I can't take it anymore."

I quickly pulled out a cigarette and lit it for Yu Chengfei. He took a satisfying drag and, after glancing back cautiously at the café, whispered to me, "We’re heading back to Dongguan Town in a bit. It’s getting late, but there should still be buses running."

I was surprised and asked, "Why are we going back to Dongguan?"

Yu Chengfei looked at me even more surprised, "Didn't you see Nan Nan inside? We need to avoid her!"

I looked at him with even more astonishment, "Why do we need to avoid Nan Nan? I think she's a great girl."

"Great? How?" Yu Chengfei's eyes widened in disbelief at my words.

"Sister Nan Nan is beautiful and straightforward. Although her temper isn't the best, she treats you well." Without Nan Nan around, I felt it more natural to call her Sister Nan Nan.

"That's because you haven’t been with her!" Yu Chengfei said, distressed, "I've never met someone so clingy. She follows me everywhere, even to the bathroom! Tell me, as a man like the wind, how can I be expected to wander freely with a girl sticking to me all the time? Have you ever seen someone roaming the world with a girl in tow? It’s such a hassle."

I made a gagging gesture, "More like a 'crazy man'. Where do you even pick up these phrases?" Having grown up with Yu Chengfei, I was used to joking around with him. Even though we hadn’t hung out for a long time, the old feeling gradually returned once we were back together.

"From the internet, of course." Yu Chengfei took another drag of his cigarette and continued, "Nan Nan is indeed a good girl, but she’s not right for me."

"Why not?"

"First of all, we’re not a good match. Hao Zi, you know my family, we’re dirt poor. Nan Nan's family is different. Her father is the deputy mayor of Beiyuan City. The disparity is just too great. There’s no way it would work out between us."

With Yu Chengfei’s explanation, I finally understood Nan Nan’s true background. No wonder she could navigate the police station so effortlessly. And if someone like Brother Li knew her, it meant she’d been there often, probably because of Yu Chengfei and his friends.

"Secondly," Yu Chengfei continued, "Nan Nan is famous for her fiery temper at the vocational college. She's the kind who'll start a fight at the slightest provocation. Of course, with her father being the deputy mayor, she has the right to be arrogant, but I just don’t like it."

"Oh." This was something I could easily imagine. With Nan Nan's personality, most people probably didn’t like her.

"But the most important reason is that she's too clingy." Yu Chengfei shook his head, "Wherever I go, she follows. Even if I hide, she'll dig me out!"