Book 4: The Return of the King


    Chapter 20


    The three of them arrived at the hotel where SP was staying.


    Ai Qing took out her cell phone and called Solo.  She knew that Solo should


    have already checked in by now.  After a short wait, it was Gun who answered


    the phone. “Ai Qing?”  Gun’s voice was a little coarse.


    “Han Shangyan?”  She was surprised.


    “Is Xiao Bai with you?”


    “Yes.  Should I give the phone to him?”


    Ai Qing said and passed her cell phone to Dt.  Gun and Dt began to talk on


    her and Solo’s phones.  Gun only spoke briefly to Dt. The first thing he said


    Dt didn’t even make a sound before he hung up the phone directly.  He gave


    the phone back to Ai Qing. “Han Shangyan is in Solo’s room.  He wants to talk


    to you. Go up now, I’ll wait for you here.


    His words came as a surprise to Ai Qing.  Yi Qian patted her shoulder, he would


    be staying behind too.


    She turned around, about to go in.


    “Wait.”  Dt spoke suddenly.


    She turned her head back.


    “Give me your backpack.  I’ll hold it for you.” Dt pointed to her backpack.


    Ai Qing blushed and handed him her backpack, then she took the elevator all


    the way up to the twelfth floor.


    Gun’s young girlfriend, who had only appeared a few times during competitions,


    was hugging her own backpack outside Solo’s room.  She nervously reported to


    Ai Qing in a low voice as soon as she saw her. “Seven bottles of beer and two


    and a half bottles of hard liquor.”  The girl pointed to the room after she spoke,


    “Han Shangyan wouldn’t let me go in. He’s inside with Solo.”


    “Uhm, he told me to come up over the phone.”  Ai Qing patted the young girl’s


    shoulder and comforted her in low voice,  “Don’t worry. Both of them have a


    good tolerance for alcohol.”


    The young girl still looked quite worried.  She took out her cell phone. “Can


    you save my number?  If everything’s alright after you go in, could you send me…...


    just send me a period.”


    Amused, Ai Qing saved the girl’s cell phone number before she knocked on the door.


    The door quickly opened.  There was light inside.


    She walked in and closed the door…...hotel rooms had one disadvantage.


    Once you walked in the room, you saw everything inside the room. It wasn’t


    like at home, where a person could hide in the bedroom or study.  But right now


    she had a full view of Solo lying on the sofa with his face covered by one arm and


    Gun leaning on the side of the sofa smoking. It was as if time had pulled back and


    dragged her back to that day in ‘05.


    Han Shangyan seldom smoked unless he was especially irritated.


    “Gou Gou……”  Han Shangyan raised his head.  His eyes were bloodshot, she


    couldn’t tell if it was because he had drunk too much or was too emotional.  “Come


    over here.” He slowly waved his hand.


    She walked over to him and asked lightly.  “Is he ok?”


    “He’s fine.”  Gun’s dark glazed over eyes stared at the door.  “We won our first


    This was what she really wanted to say to Han Shangyan after suppressing it


    for so many years.


    The view of the city was filled with light.


    When they first came to Beijing, they were just like Taotao’s team today, though


    perhaps in a worse state, since the living standards now is much higher than before.


    That was the beginning of the peak of Han Shangyan’s professional career at the time.


    “Ai Qing.”  Solo suddenly spoke with his face still under his arm,  “I’m sorry.”


    His voice was soft and weary.