Beauty of Beauteous Hair Salon

Xia Lei hesitated; he could not decide whether to turn left or right. He looked at his watch and it showed that it was already 11:00 p.m.

‘Forget it. I probably won’t find that guy if I keep on looking. I should go back.’ Xia Lei gave up.

At that moment, a Yamaha motorcycle came roaring past his little Polo. He looked over and stared at the motorcycle. He was particularly sensitive to motorcycles now and he had taken note of over a hundred motorcycles on his way here.

The Yamaha motorcycle did not go far. The rider did a dazzling sideways-drift and the motorcycle charged up the pavement at a slant. The rider then did an abrupt stop, lifting the rear wheel of the motorcycle and slamming it heavily back down on the ground.

The rider dismounted and parked the motorcycle, then took off his helmet.

Xia Lei was suddenly nervous.

The rider was none other than the tranny who had sneaked into Liu Ying’s home to steal the patent information!

Round buttocks, slim waist, a beautiful face and a set of gaudy gender-neutral clothing – he was only missing the ‘transvestite’ stamp on his face.

A trace of a smile appeared in the corners of Xia Lei’s lips. At that point, he was almost sure that it was the tranny who had entered his own home.

The tranny must have changed directions midway or gone somewhere else for Xia Lei to arrive at this point before him. If Xia Lei had chosen one of the two directions to go in earlier, he would not have discovered the tranny. If he had also changed directions midway, it would not have been possible for him to run into the tranny here. It was a strange thing and so coincidental it was like winning a five-figure sum in the lotto!

The transvestite carried his helmet into a beauty salon by the road.

Xia Lei looked at the signboard. The sign was written in cursive and read: Beauty of Beauteous Hair Salon. It was a unique name.

Xia Lei got out of the car and walked quickly towards Beauty of Beauteous Hair Salon, thinking as he walked, ‘Is he going in to do his hair or is it something else?’

He quickly dismissed the thought, however. Even if he was a pervert tranny who was very vain, he wouldn’t get his hair done at 11:00 p.m, would he?

The doors to Beauty of Beauteous Hair Salon were open but Xia Lei did not go in immediately. He stood outside the salon window and watched the tranny go into the salon work area.

There was also a woman in the work area. She had heavy makeup on and was in a pair of tight-fitting flesh-coloured shorts and she wore a cropped racer-back top which showed off a pierced navel. Her exposed chest area sported a black rose, lending her an evil image.

A tranny and an evil woman – this hair salon was obviously not normal.

Xia Lei focused quietly on their mouths and lip-read their conversation.

“Why are you back so late?” asked the woman.

“I had something to do. Don’t ask. How’s my mother?” said the tranny.

“The situation is a little bad. The doctor wants you to pay the fees tomorrow and sign before they can schedule the surgery,” said the woman.

“Got it. Let’s close up. There aren’t any customers now,” said the tranny.

“I’d have closed the doors long ago if I weren’t waiting for you to come back,” said the woman.

Xia Lei looked away and walked into Beauty of Beauteous Hair Salon, then entered the work area.

The woman discovered Xia Lei who had suddenly walked in and asked in alarm, “Who are you?”

The tranny turned to look at him and surprise was written all over his face as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

He had seen Xia Lei’s face before but Xia Lei had not seen his. He’d thought all along that Xia Lei had no idea what he looked like, let alone be able to find him here!

“What’s wrong with you? I’m asking you a question. What do you want?” The woman spoke fiercely.

Xia Lei pointed at the tranny and smiled, “I’m looking for him.”

The tranny’s expression changed but he quickly controlled his face and said, “What are you looking for me for? Do we know each other?”

“Let this lady move somewhere else for a while. I’d like to talk to you about something private,” said Xia Lei.

This was a very obvious hint.

The tranny was silent for a bit before he said, “A-Lan, why don’t you go home first. I’ll talk with him.”

The woman called A-Lan said, “Okay, I’ll be going then. I’ll be back early tomorrow to open up the shop.”

She left the shop, hips swaying and the tranny and Xia Lei were alone in the hair salon.

Xia Lei’s gaze went to a wall where a business licence hung. His left eye twitched and the picture and small words on the license were made clear in his vision.

The picture was of a bald man with exquisite features and he was just a little unreasonably beautiful. The man in the picture was the tranny before him and the licence had his name too – Qin Xiang*.

The transvestite had a tranny name too.

Xia Lei had not expected the hair salon to belong to Qin Xiang. He’d thought that the owner of the salon was the woman when he was lip-reading earlier.

Qin Xiang looked Xia Lei in the eye, his gaze ice-cold, “There’s no one else around now. Say what you want to say and get out!”

Xia Lei looked at Qin Xiang’s face and looked him in the eyes, “You entered my home tonight didn’t you?”

Qin Xiang’s gaze wavered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Xia Lei gave a mirthless smile “There’s no use pretending. I know that the one who entered Liu Ying’s house that night and threatened her with a knife was also you, wasn’t it?”

Qin Xiang sneered, “Have you got evidence?”

“I wouldn’t be here without evidence,” said Xia Lei, “Your footprints are all over my flat and your claws too. How much evidence do you want?”

Qin Xiang’s face darkened. Xia Lei had actually used his left eye to see those traces and the police forensic experts could possibly not have picked anything up, but he didn’t know that.

“I believe you know that I have a police station Chief as my neighbour. She and I are very good friends. I just have to make one phone call and she’ll bring her people over to arrest you immediately,” said Xia Lei.

“What do you want?”

“Who told you to draw a cross on my sister’s picture? What are you planning?”

“Someone wanted you to behave and not meddle in things you shouldn’t,” said Qin Xiang. This implied that he had indeed entered Xia Lei’s home and done something.

Xia Lei suppressed the flames of anger in his heart, “And if I don’t agree to that?”

“Then I don’t know what will happen. I am just an underling. I have no quarrel with you,” said Qin Xiang.

“I know you’re working for Gu Ke-Wen even if you don’t say it. Call her now. I want to talk to her,” said Xia Lei.

“If you want to talk to her you should just go to Distinguished Gathering. Why come looking for me? I have no idea how you managed to sniff out this place – are you a dog?” Qin Xiang mocked.

Xia Lei took out his phone, “I’m going to call my friend now and she will bring her friends. You still have some time to make a choice.”

Qin Xiang laughed, “Arrest me? The most that I’ve done is breaking and entering. I didn’t steal anything. Even if the police arrest me they can only detain me for a few days. You think you can use the police to threaten me?”

“Who will pay your mother’s surgery fee if you are detained? Who will sign for her surgery?” said Xia Lei.

“You-” Qin Xiang’s expression changed, “How did you know about my mother’s condition?”

Xia Lei did not respond; he started dialling numbers on the screen. The key tones echoed between him and Qin Xiang, each key tone sounding particularly loud.

After seven key tones, Qin Xiang suddenly swung the motorcycle helmet in his hands at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei had actually been watching Qin Xiang in his peripheral vision while he dialled. He had seen Qin Xiang’s intention and moved aside when Qin Xiang moved, avoiding the helmet that came smashing at him just in time.

“Die!” Qin Xiang took a step forward and leapt, twisted his body and kicked with his right leg, shooting his entire body like an arrow, the arrowhead his small vulcanized rubber shoe-encased foot.

Xia Lei dodged sideways and held onto Qin Xiang’s right leg before he could touch the ground, then threw with all his might. Qin Xiang’s body was thrown aside and he smashed into a mirror.

Crack! The mirror broke and the floor was littered with shards of glass.

Qin Xiang fell to the floor and his buttocks were pricked full of glass.

The faster person in a fight usually gains the upper hand. Xia Lei’s left eye was an unimaginable miracle and its reaction speed wasn’t something that could be calculated. Add to the fact that he had crossed fists with Qin Xiang in the past and gained experience, and Xia Lei was not worried at all about defeating Qin Xiang. Qin Xiang had got the worse end of the stick this time.

“Fuck!” Qin Xiang rolled and got up from the floor. His buttocks had started bleeding. He reached and grabbed a razor, then slashed at Xia Lei’s chest.

Xia Lei jumped backwards and dodged the quick razor. This move scared him and he did not dare get close to Qin Xiang to attack.

Qin Xiang looked back at his red-stained buttocks and suddenly let out a howl, “I’m going to kill you!” He brandished the razor and charged at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei hurriedly moved backwards but a swivel chair blocked his way. He grabbed it without thinking and swung it at Qin Xiang.

Qin Xiang had no time to dodge and the base of the swivel chair smashed into his shoulder. The razor in his hand fell to the ground. He quickly reached for the razor but another swivel chair came flying at him before he could grab it. Qin Xiang was startled and dodged hurriedly.

The swivel chair went sailing past and hit a work-station. Glass was broken instantly, hairdryers were flattened, hair conditioner bottles were broken and everything was in a mess.

Whoosh! Electric hair clippers came flying at Qin Xiang, followed by a chair, bottle – anything that Xia Lei picked up was sent flying to Qin Xiang.

“Enough!” Qin Xiang was at his wits’ end, “Stop throwing things!”

Only then did Xia Lei stop. He looked coldly at Qin Xiang and asked, “What benefits are you getting from Gu Ke-Wen? Why are you trying so hard for her?”

A bitter smile appeared on the corners of Qin Xiang’s lips, “You’re smart but you haven’t figured out the easiest problem. Gu Ke-Wen is from Jing-Du. I am a fucking native, born and bred. We’ve never met before so how can I know her? And, she’s one of the elite – can a person like me make friends with her? She has so many underlings already, so why should she get me to settle scores with you?”

Xia Lei felt like Qin Xiang was throwing his thoughts into disarray.

Qin Xiang shrugged, “I know you don’t believe me because I was indeed in Liu Ying’s house that night to steal things. However, the person who told me to do so was not Gu Ke-Wen. Though I work for Gu Ke-Wen, I am just a little foot soldier. I have no qualifications to even look upon Gu Ke-Wen’s face.”

“Who is that person? Was it him who told you to draw the cross on my sister’s picture as a threat to me?” Xia Lei badly wanted to know the person’s name.

*The ‘Xiang’ in his name means ‘fragrant’ or ‘sweet smelling’. Not very manly.

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