Otherworldly Merchant

Mrs. Qi was enraged and chased after him. “What did you say?! I dare you to say that again!”

However, Mr. Qi seemed to have made up his mind, and he slammed the door shut.

Mrs. Qi had almost lost herself in rage. She cursed and cried by the door, but it was to no avail. Mr. Qi didn’t show the faintest reaction.

My furrowed my brows and had a bad premonition. Mr. Qi looked too strange. Everybody knew that although Mr. Qi was a cunning businessman, he wholeheartedly loved his wife. It was rare that he would get angry at her. As such, I wondered what had gotten into him tonight. How could he treat his wife so badly?

Mrs. Qi cried her heart out. “Little Brother Zhang, why am I so unlucky?! It’s this late, and I have nowhere to stay. Even my purse is still inside the house...”

I stood bewildered for a while. Then, I got a hold of myself and replied, “I’m going to talk to Mr. Qi.”

Mrs. Qi grabbed my arm. “Little Brother Zhang, please don’t go. I lost my hope in him. I don’t want to live with him anymore.”

I was reluctant, but I still did my best to cheer her up. Unfortunately, Mrs. Qi was too disappointed in her husband, so I couldn’t talk her out of it. I was eventually at a loss for what to do.

“Little Brother Zhang, can I stay at your shop tonight?” Mrs. Qi said, “Please, help me this time.”

My heart sank. Is this a joke? She wants to sleep at my shop tonight?

I knew what she had in mind by looking at her seductive eyes. This woman was a real vixen. I waved my hand continuously. “No, Ma’am. Xinyue’s sleeping in my shop. It wouldn't be convenient.”

Mrs. Qi smiled even more charmingly. “Then we should go to a hotel.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “The hotel facing your house isn’t bad. You should go there. It’s really late now, and I have to go home.”

“B-But I don’t have any money or IDs. Little Brother Zhang, can you help me and rent a room for me?” Mrs. Qi gripped my arm and begged. She didn’t want to let go of me.

My hands were tied now. She was a hot sweet potato that I couldn’t shake off. Left with no choice, I could only nod. “All right, I’ll get a room for you.”

Mrs. Qi smiled happily and pulled me toward the inn.

I had goosebumps all over. It was improper to mess around with my friend’s wife. Moreover, I wasn’t even interested in her. I hurried to free myself from Mrs. Qi’s grip.

She didn’t get angry. Instead, she turned and smiled at me instead. “You don’t have experience with women, do you?”

I was speechless. I didn’t know how to deal with this ambiguous situation.

Eventually, I had to take Mrs. Qi to the inn and use my ID to rent a room for her.

I wanted to leave right after, but Mrs. Qi grabbed my arm again. “Little Brother Zhang, can you stay and talk with me for a while? I feel very sad. Please, I’m begging you.”

Mrs. Qi cried nonstop, and the nearby hotel clerk gave me an odd look. I was embarrassed, so I had to agree with her.

I followed Mrs. Qi, and the atmosphere immediately turned awkward as we both entered the room.

I wanted to know more about her husband’s situation. From his behavior, I suspected that he was being haunted by something.

However, before I could ask, Mrs. Qi began complaining.

“Sigh... Little Brother Zhang, you tell me, why is it so hard to live as a woman? The reason I married Old Qi was that I appreciated his character, and I’ve always done my best to fulfill my obligations as a wife. But what about him? He’s not a decent man at all!”

I sneered inwardly. His character? I think you appreciate his money more!

She continued, sobbing, “It’s okay if hygiene is not his forte, or if he likes bragging all the time. My only gripe is that he can’t even last thirty seconds in bed. He usually finishes before I can feel anything. You don’t know how hard it’s been for me to carry on all these years…

“I’m a woman, and I want to know what it really feels to be one. Am I wrong to wish for this? I can’t stand him. He has never satisfied me, not even once.”

Mrs. Qi had sobbed for a while. I could see her tears and even her nose running as she was telling me about her sorrows.

However, I wasn’t fooled by her actions. She wanted to put up a struggling front while actually tempting me. That was her real purpose.

I said helplessly, “Ma’am, both of you two have a big age gap. You should have considered his health and body condition when you married him. Anyway, if you’ve made up your mind, you can just divorce him and marry someone else! I can’t help you with this.”

Mrs. Qi looked at me as if she couldn’t believe what she had heard. I guessed she was surprised that I didn’t bite her tempting hook.

However, she didn’t give up. She lay in bed and flashed her pink panties, making me speechless.

Then, Mrs. Qi directly got to the point. “Little Brother Zhang, we should make things clear. I need a man, and you’re a nice looking fellow... so let’s do it! I promise I will never disclose this. We can go our separate ways after tonight.”

It seemed she no longer cared about face or dignity. As such, I stood up and looked at Mrs. Qi with a serious expression on my face. “Ma’am, I hope you’ll behave yourself. You know that your husband and I are neighbors, right? I can’t do this.”

Then, I turned around and prepared to leave.

Mrs. Qi stormed forward and hugged me. “Little Brother Zhang, how can you be so heartless? You know how lonely and scared I am at this time. Old Qi has treated me badly, and now you’re doing the same. Men are so heartless!”

I forced a smile. “Ma’am, all right. As long as you behave, I can sit here with you and talk about Mr. Qi. Do you feel that he’s been acting strange lately?”

Mrs. Qi was somewhat confused, and her voice shook as she replied, “Little Brother Zhang, you… are you saying that Old Qi is possessed?”

I nodded and said, “It’s possible. Old Qi has changed a lot.”

After a while, Mrs. Qi began to feel worried. “Actually, I still love my husband... I wouldn’t be able to go on if something bad happened to him.”

I knew that Mr. Qi was like a money printing machine in her eyes. She was worried about the money, not his well-being. I sat down and asked her to tell me what had happened to them in recent days.

Mrs. Qi began to sob again as she told me their story.

Recently, she had taken her husband to her hometown. Mrs. Qi was from Hunan, which was pretty far away from here. Since she was pregnant, Mr. Qi didn’t feel okay about her traveling alone, so he decided to drive her there.

My heart felt a chill right then, thinking I was lucky for having kept a clear mind and not falling prey to her advances. It would have been a horrible mistake if we had done something that could cause the loss of Mr. Qi’s child.

I couldn’t believe how daring she was.

Mr. Qi couldn’t sit still after staying for a while in his wife’s hometown. Whenever he had time, he would run around to collect antiques. When he eyed something nice, he would pester the owner and use any and all means to get it.

That ink slab was also something he bought in Mrs. Qi’s hometown.

That ink slab he bought for one thousand renminbi was actually worth around one hundred thousand renminbi in the market. Mr. Qi decided to go home first after he struck the deal since he was afraid that the seller would change his mind.

Mrs. Qi began to feel bored after staying close to a week with her parents, so she decided to go back home shortly after.

It was said that a little time apart brought more passion than the first wedding night. Mrs. Qi was in her prime, and her heart itched since she had been lonely for several days. She was looking forward to having a good time with her husband once she got back home. Although their rounds only lasted for thirty seconds or so, this could ease her thirst somewhat.

However, Mrs. Qi saw that her house was a mess when she got back home. Sheets of Xuan paper were scattered everywhere, with drawings of beautiful women or calligraphy. The ink from some drawings had yet to dry; she guessed they had been just painted.

Mr. Qi was so absorbed in his drawings that he didn’t notice that his wife had returned. He kept drawing the beautiful ancient woman. This scene looked too strange!

Mrs. Qi was startled. She knew her husband’s academic level. He hadn’t even graduated from high school, and his handwriting was absolutely terrible; drawing was out of the question. He didn’t have any artistic sense, so how could he create these masterful drawings?

Mrs. Qi was stunned. “Old Qi, what’s going on?”

But her husband ignored her and kept on drawing.

Mrs. Qi tried to ask him more, but he just gave her some vague answer. Mrs. Qi didn’t bother to ask again as she thought that her husband had just joined some drawing classes.

Eager for a passionate night, she went to prepare nice food and red wine for a romantic dinner with candlelight. It would be excellent to boost the mood.

Mr. Qi seemed interested in the delicious wine. While drinking, he composed a poem on the spot, which gave him the look of a poet from ancient times. Mrs. Qi was enthralled and aroused by his scholarly aura.

However, she discovered that things weren’t that simple when they went to bed. Mrs. Qi had used everything in her arsenal to seduce her husband, but Mr. Qi didn’t understand her romantic approach and scolded her for being of easy virtue. Then, he ran outside to continue drawing.

Mrs. Qi was furious, and they began quarreling.

I got there right when they were fighting, and I already knew the rest of the story.

I nodded and fell in deep thought after listening to Mrs. Qi’s story. There was no doubt about it... Based on Mrs. Qi’s retelling, it was quite possible that Mr. Qi was under someone’s influence!