Lin Yuezhen gestured to her, "Are Guoqiang and the others back?"
Lin Lan nodded. "They're back. If anyone asks, don't say they went out. Just say they got drunk and crashed in the east wing."
Lin Yuezhen nodded solemnly. The two of them lay down and went to sleep.
****
Liu Jinbao limped home, slamming the front tire of his bike against the courtyard gate and making it bang loudly.
"You little bastard! Why didn't you just die out there? What'd you come back for?"
Sun Xiuhua opened the gate, cursing and grumbling. When she saw Liu Jinbao slumped listlessly over his handlebars, she jumped in fright. "Jinbao, what happened to you?"
Liu Jinbao said weakly, "Some son of a bitch threw a sack over my head and beat me with a club. My whole body hurts like hell."
"Ah! That damn bastard! If you've got guts, come fight at my door, you cowardly turtle..." Sun Xiuhua began to rail as she helped him into the house.
