Frozen Harbor (5)
Dante lived in the countryside of Monreale, a small town southwest of Palermo. He and Gianni drove ahead to lead the way, while the three of them followed behind.
Just as on the way there, A-Kun was driving, while Tan Guhong and Luo Jingming sat in the back. The two of them did not speak for a long while.
Tan Guhong was still simmering with anger. She deliberately turned her head toward the window, refusing to look at the person beside her even once.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Luo Jingming slowly took the hand she had placed on her knee. She shook him off without mercy. He took it again, and she shook him off again. After several repetitions, he suddenly tightened his grip and pulled her directly into his arms, holding her tightly as he asked in a low voice:
“Are you angry?”
“What do I have to be angry about?” She gave a mocking laugh.
He had neither told her that Dante had summoned him here because of the unfinished match from ten years ago, nor told her that the letter had originally been a wedding invitation. He had simply let her worry herself sick, only for her to barge in and cause such a huge misunderstanding.
How impressive!
“Then you were worried?”
“In your dreams!”
He smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her hair. In a soft voice, he said:
“I’m sorry about what happened just now.”
“Although the letter said that, I wasn’t certain of Dante’s real purpose either. I know you don’t want to get involved in these things, and I don’t want you to put yourself in danger with me.”
She was an ordinary person born in a peaceful era and raised in a peaceful country. Even though her family background was unusual and she had once been in the military, she had never been anything like him. He knew that.
She struggled a few times, but in the end, she gradually leaned into his warm embrace and slowly sighed. Somewhat dissatisfied, she said:
“This is the second time. How many rotten debts from back then do you have to settle?”
He smiled. “I told you a long time ago. There are many people in this world who want me dead.”
She gave a cold snort. “I’m actually starting to regret getting on the ship with you.”
At worst, they would have wasted one ticket. That would still have been better than this complete mess.
“But it’s too late. You’re already on board.”
He smiled, took a mint from his pocket, and asked,
“Want one?”
To some extent, the warmth of his embrace eased Tan Guhong’s mood. Her expression softened a little. She lowered her eyes and glanced at the mint in his palm, muttering:
“It’s not like I need to quit smoking…”
But he clearly had no intention of listening to her. He simply tore open the plastic wrapper, put the mint into his own mouth, then lowered his head and kissed her.
He cupped her face in both hands, forcing her to raise her head and accept the kiss. The rich, biting scent of mint passed from his mouth into hers, instantly filling her nose and breath.
It was an incredibly pungent flavor. She immediately choked until tears sprang into her eyes, but he still would not let her go. His tongue continued to move inside her mouth, and the extraordinarily delicate skin of her mouth could not withstand such intense stimulation. Every touch was unbearable, painful, yet somehow so intoxicating that it was impossible to resist…
When the human body encounters a burning sensation, it produces a feeling of heat and therefore releases pain-relieving endorphins. To a great extent, this release brings people pleasure. That was probably why people loved eating spicy food.
When he finally let her go, she looked at the person before her through misty, tear-filled eyes, somewhat dazed as she thought.
He wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and said quietly:
“Like this, will you feel a little better, hmm?”
She knocked his hand away and hastily wiped her tears herself. When she looked up and saw A-Kun staring straight ahead, pretending not to hear or see anything, she felt somewhat embarrassed.
She glared fiercely at the man in front of her. She wanted to curse him out, but somehow could not bring herself to do it.
Knowing exactly what she was thinking, he gave a low laugh and whispered into her ear:
“Otherwise… want to bite me again?”
At the end of her patience, she finally blurted out:
“Fuck off!”
What a fucking beast in gentleman’s clothing. A shameless degenerate!
Still, there was no denying that after all this commotion, the lingering shock and apprehension she had felt earlier had indeed vanished without a trace.
Once she had calmed down, she could not help asking:
“Are we really staying for the wedding?”
What about their trip? In fact, the Queen Anne would be setting sail in less than three hours.
Why was it that the daughters of all these godfathers were either getting married or on their way to getting married?
“Back then, he joined forces with me to avenge my father. I owe him a favor. Since he has asked me today, I can’t refuse. But don’t worry. Three days from now, the Queen Anne will dock in Alexandria. After attending the wedding, we’ll fly directly from Sicily to Egypt. We’ll still make it in time.”
But that meant they were bound to miss Athens, Greece, and Corfu, where the ship would dock tomorrow and the day after.
Tan Guhong sighed softly to herself. But things had already come to this. It was the only solution.
……
Sicily had a long-standing wine culture and exquisite winemaking techniques. The Mediterranean’s abundant sunshine and warm climate gave the region uniquely favorable natural conditions. The Monreale area south of Palermo was one of Italy’s famous wine-producing regions, and in the countryside here, almost every household grew grapes.
After turning a corner, they saw a wide expanse of vineyards nestled among the hills and low valleys ahead, dotted with stretches of low houses rising and falling with the terrain. In summer, everything was lush green, the scenery picturesque, suffused with a pastoral, idyllic beauty.
The cars came to a stop, and everyone got out one after another. Standing before the vineyard, Dante laughed loudly at Luo Jingming:
“Welcome to my estate, my old friend. These days, my energy isn’t going into the heroin business, but into the wine business!”
Perhaps because a happy occasion was drawing near, the village was bustling with people coming and going. Men and women, young and old alike, called out to Dante without the slightest hesitation, addressing him as Old Dante and congratulating him. Those who knew him better would even tease him with a few jokes, which Dante would just as readily laugh and curse them back for.
Here, he seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary farmer in the Sicilian countryside who sold wine, completely different from the composed man at the bar earlier, whose lingering authority had not diminished in the slightest.
“Hey! Old Dante, didn’t you say you were going into the city today to deliver wine to the bars? How come you’re back so early?”
A young man with a head of red curls, riding a bicycle, called out to Dante.
“The bar is closed for a few days. I just went to pick up some old friends from far away myself. They’re staying for Alessandra’s wedding.”
“Haha, then Alessandra and the girls’ party tonight is ruined!”
“What party?”
“While you were gone, Alessandra invited all the girls in the village to the abandoned warehouse in the vineyard for a bachelorette party. My sister said they even hired a band from town and male strippers!”
“What! I told her not to copy that city nonsense!”
The former San Francisco godfather flew into a rage at the news, like an old lion with its mane standing on end.
The curly-haired man stuck out his tongue and repeatedly shouted, “Don’t you dare say I told you!” before hurriedly pedaling away on his bicycle.
Dante could not help repeatedly glancing in the direction of the warehouse. He wanted to go over and stop his daughter’s outrageous antics, but he could not very well show up himself. He paced around on the spot like a trapped beast for a long while, and in the end, could only sigh.
“Sorry you had to see that. When it comes to this youngest daughter of mine, I really have never been able to do anything about her.”
The old father gave Luo Jingming a bitter smile.
Luo Jingming nodded. He had not even started a family, let alone had any children, but out of courtesy, he offered a perfunctory word of consolation:
“Such is the heart of parents everywhere.”
Dante helplessly nodded, then turned to Tan Guhong beside him.
“But I’m still not entirely at ease. Once the girls get together and start drinking, they go wild. Miss Tam, could you go over on my behalf and keep an eye on them? Make sure they don’t take things too far?”
Tan Guhong gave Luo Jingming a deep look, then nodded in agreement.
“No problem.”
……
At dusk, as night fell, the abandoned warehouse deep within the dense vineyards could be seen from far away, its multicolored lights flashing while deafening electronic music and shrieks rang out. A whiteboard stood at the entrance, covered in all kinds of exaggerated lettering:
I’M GETTING MARRIED!!!
Girls’ Night, NO MEN ALLOWED! PS. Except for the eight-pack male strippers from Night Paris!
Girls’ Night = A Night of Letting Loose!
Nobody tell Jason! And especially NOT MY DAD!!
……
Tan Guhong walked into the warehouse and instantly felt as though she had stepped into a disco from the last century.
A disco ball spun and flashed overhead. A knockoff Rolling Stones band played with abandon. On the makeshift stage, several muscular men wearing nothing but their underwear were performing pole dances, while the excited screams of the girls below were loud enough to tear the roof off.
Mr. Dante, your concern was entirely justified.
In such a remote little village, an outsider was bound to attract attention, especially when Tan Guhong was such an unmistakably Asian face. Her arrival quickly drew everyone’s notice.
“Who are you?”
“Are you a foreigner? Can you understand what I’m saying?”
“Does anyone know her?”
“Are you Chinese or Japanese?”
Tan Guhong was quickly surrounded by the girls, one question after another coming at her.
A young woman in a floral dress and a bridal veil pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of Tan Guhong. With her arms crossed over her chest, she demanded bluntly:
“Who are you? I don’t remember inviting you.”
She was very young, probably only recently an adult. Her round face still had a trace of childishness, while she had a full, sturdy figure and healthy, glowing skin. She looked like a very typical Sicilian girl.
“You’re Alessandra?”
“Of course.”
Tan Guhong smiled. “I’m your father’s guest. He asked me to come and see whether his daughter’s bachelorette party was getting a little too out of hand.”
“My dad’s back?!” Alessandra exclaimed. “Oh my God, if he finds out I hired strippers from Night Paris, he’ll kill me!”
The girls erupted into a commotion and sprang into action. Some rushed to close the doors, others shouted for the pole-dancing band to stop. Then, for some reason, someone shouted, “Grab the spy!”
In the blink of an eye, Tan Guhong found her path blocked by the girls, who pinned down her hands and feet. They were only a step away from tying her up.
“Hey, hey, hey, I wasn’t planning to rat you out.” Tan Guhong was caught between laughter and tears, raising her hands in surrender. “Besides, do I even need to tell him? Your dad only has to take one look and he’ll know everything.”
“So Dad is giving us tacit permission to have our party?” Alessandra hesitated.
“But I’m pretty sure this part isn’t tacitly permitted.”
As she spoke, Tan Guhong glanced at the few male strippers onstage, who were looking on in confusion and enjoying the spectacle.
“Who cares? I’m already an adult, and I’m about to step into the grave of marriage. I have the right to enjoy one last night of wild partying.”
Alessandra threw her arms into the air and shouted:
“Girls’ night!”
The girls throughout the warehouse responded:
“Girls’ night!!!”
The band obligingly played a short chord progression for them.
Tan Guhong was helpless.
“Fine. As long as you girls are having fun.”
“Since you’re Dad’s guest, you’re my guest too. We haven’t had an outsider come to the village in ages. You’re staying for the wedding, so this can count as the ‘new thing’ at my wedding!”
“That works too?”
Alessandra grabbed Tan Guhong by the hand and laughed.
“Come on, join our celebration. I’ll let you be the first lucky girl!”
“What lucky girl?”
While Tan Guhong was still bewildered, the band began playing again. Several male strippers jumped down from the stage one after another and came toward her, their expressions seductive, their movements suggestive, constantly showing off their muscular physiques.
Alessandra stuffed a blindfold into her hand and laughed loudly.
“Blindfolded manhunt! Whichever handsome guy you catch, you have to slow dance cheek to cheek with him. If you don’t catch anyone, you have to drink as punishment!”
Amid the girls’ cheers of “playtime!” and the accompaniment of the old-fashioned YMCA, Tan Guhong looked down at the blindfold in her hand, her expression stiffening slightly.
“How about I just drink instead?”
After all, she was already deaf without the music blasting in her ears.
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