"Is that 'fish' Yang Yi in there?" The door handle creaked and turned, leaving a crack open as a voice laced with a slight grin drifted in.
The piercing light from the living room shot through the gap, followed by a head poking into the brightness—a face so gaunt the cheekbones protruded. Against the backlight, the brightest spots on his entire face were the whites of his eyes.
Even in the dim light, Yang Yi could tell from the silhouette alone that it was Little Lin. It seemed Brother Hei had come prepared today, having notified Little Lin in advance.
Little Lin clearly hadn't washed his hair today. His large eyes scanned the room with a nervous twitch. His hair was slicked back, but unlike Brother Hei, Little Lin wore a headband. The mustache at the corners of his mouth was at that awkward length—too short to be called a beard, but too long to be called clean-shaven; it was the kind of scruff that made you wonder if he was being lazy or just hadn't noticed.
Little Lin was going for a Hawaiian vibe today: a multicolored T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops—his usual favorite style. Combined with his dark, thin frame, Yang Yi sometimes felt a genuine illusion of being on a beach vacation when walking down the street with him.
Little Lin's gaze landed on Yang Yi, and his nervous look suddenly turned playful. His body seemed to catapult in from the doorway as he straightened up and walked toward Yang Yi, chatting and laughing.
"Yo, how many sessions did you drop today, CEO Yang?"
"Eight... sessions."
"Only eight? That's some staying power. So what's the move—settle up and get out of here?" Little Lin's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
Yang Yi didn't look at Little Lin; his mouth hung slightly open as he tilted his head back toward the ceiling.
The fat man took a cigarette from the desk and handed it over. Little Lin kept his eyes on Yang Yi as he reached out to take it.
"Three of those eight were put on your tab," the fat man said, flicking his lighter to offer Little Lin a light.
"Oh?" Little Lin saw the flame, cupped his hands quickly around the cigarette to meet the fat man's fire, and tapped his index finger twice in thanks. "They told you to put it on the tab, and you just did it?"
"Well, Little Lin introduced him, he's gotta have some perks, so..." The fat man intentionally left the sentence hanging, staring straight at Little Lin.
"So, what's the plan? You're ready to make a call?" Little Lin tilted his head toward Yang Yi, pressing him to make a decision. He then spotted the contracts on the desk. "How much are we looking to borrow?"
"Hmph, he didn't borrow. Said it was too expensive."
Yang Yi knew perfectly well that Little Lin was here to bail him out, but the string of frustrations today made it hard to swallow his pride. He had to say something to save face. "I had money in the card. Before coming here today, I went to someone else's place and lost a lot."
"Give the man a clear answer," Little Lin nudged Yang Yi toward the fat man.
"Then borrow ten thousand here. We'll deduct the three-thousand service fee and the three thousand owed on the tab."
"Wow, CEO Yang, so generous. Heh heh heh." Little Lin laughed until his eyes squinted into slits, looking every bit the shifty character.
The voices outside grew louder, accompanied by the sound of chairs dragging across the floor. Yang Yi knew today's session was breaking up. Hearing the noise, the fat man stood up with a stack of chip cases to go out and collect the remaining pieces.
As the human voices gradually faded, only the rhythmic clicking of sorting chips remained outside. Yang Yi looked at the silent Little Lin and said, "Just too much bad luck. QQ ran into two sets of AA..."
Little Lin ignored him, looking down at his phone. The only sound in the room was the ping of messages being sent out.
The door handle creaked again. The person standing there was Brother Hei.
"Still here? Look what time it is, pack up and go to sleep!" Brother Hei held the handle with one hand and waved the other toward them—a gesture that was part soothing, part dismissive.
"Just waiting for CEO Yang to finish the paperwork," Little Lin replied.
"Sign what contract? Just write an IOU. Hey, someone get him a piece of paper," Brother Hei said to the fat man outside.
"Coming!" The fat man hurriedly put down the chips, walked into the room, and handed the ledger to Yang Yi. "Here, write it here. Name, ID, date, amount, and when you'll pay it back."
While looking at his phone, Little Lin whispered: "Write down three thousand borrowed, to be paid in full in one month."
Yang Yi, writing an IOU for the first time, was clearly out of his element. He started by carefully writing: 'Loan Agreement Terms'.
Little Lin burst out laughing. "Bro, wait a sec. What 'Loan Agreement Terms'? Just write 'IOU' and be done with it."
The fat man laughed too, placing a tin of red ink on the desk.
Yang Yi nodded, flipped to a new page, and continued writing. He felt like he was signing a deed of sale for his own soul. At this moment, all he wanted was to go home and sleep.
Outside, Brother Hei and the others were eating breakfast. The dealer sat there too—still with those blood-red nails—holding a burger and taking large bites.
With his pockets empty, Yang Yi probably wouldn't even be able to afford breakfast this month.