The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 47
by Little PandaHugging in Public
Hearing this, Song Linlin also turned her head to look at Chi Qianning, and indeed saw a red mark on the other’s fair neck. Although the mark was very faint, just a pale color, it was quite obvious against that dazzlingly white skin.
It was as eye-catching as a single red petal falling onto snow in winter.
Seeing this mark she herself had made, Song Linlin felt a bit awkward for a moment. Fortunately, Zhang San hadn’t seen anything clearly and didn’t think too much of it.
Chi Qianning raised a hand to touch her neck; she clearly hadn’t noticed before leaving that a mark would be left there. Her palm covered the spot, fingertips rubbing it a few times. When her hand came down again, the red mark had already vanished, as if what the others had seen just now was merely an illusion.
“You saw wrong,” Chi Qianning said faintly, her tone calm and unruffled, as peaceful as if none of that had happened at all.
Zhang San’s eyes widened. She took two steps closer and looked carefully again for several seconds, discovering that there really was nothing on Chi Qianning’s fair, slender neck. Not even a trace of the red mark remained.
She couldn’t help but doubt her own memory. Could she really have seen wrong? Otherwise, how could there be no trace of it now?
Finally, Zhang San nodded, speaking with some hesitation, “Ah, maybe I saw wrong then.”
Beside them, Song Linlin quietly breathed a sigh of relief. As the culprit1 behind it all, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when such a small secret was discovered.
Now that the matter was resolved, Song Linlin couldn’t resist looking at Chi Qianning again, only to meet the other’s gaze. Chi Qianning’s red eyes were filled with reproach. Her gaze met Song Linlin’s for only two seconds before she looked away.
Zhang San didn’t dwell on these trivial matters anymore. She chuckled, saying eagerly, “Let’s go out for dinner!”
“Okay, let’s go!” Song Linlin nodded. She was also very keen to stroll around the city and was extremely interested in everything about the outside world.
The three of them walked out of the inn together. Looking at the streets, which were still bustling despite nightfall, crowds followed one after another. The light shining from the buildings along the street illuminated the area, so there was no worry about not being able to see outside after dark.
Song Linlin squinted, looking around. Of course, she didn’t know where the good restaurants were here, but finding the biggest one would surely be fine.
She wandered down the street based on feeling. Zhang San thought Song Linlin knew the way, so she obediently followed behind her, constantly looking all around2 along the way.
They reached a lively area. The wide road was full of bustling crowds, and the tall buildings were brightly lit, with all sorts of noisy sounds coming from within.
Song Linlin led the way at the front. She turned her head and subconsciously reached out, grasping the cool hand of the person beside her, sliding her fingers between the other’s to interlock them, fingers intertwined.
Chi Qianning lowered her eyes to look at their joined hands, then looked at Song Linlin with puzzlement in her eyes. Only now did Song Linlin realize she had taken the other’s hand.
Looking at their clasped hands, her fingers could feel the coolness of the person beside her. Her own warm palm pressed against the other’s, losing some of its heat.
Song Linlin could only smile and explain, “There are too many people. Holding hands prevents us from getting separated.”
After speaking, she turned her head again to look at Zhang San, who had already run off to a street stall. She called out somewhat helplessly to Zhang San’s retreating back, “Zhang San, what are you running over there for?”
Zhang San turned back, quickly paid, and ran over holding a sugar figurine. “Coming!”
Perhaps because Song Linlin and Chi Qianning were standing very close, Zhang San didn’t notice their clasped hands. She skipped ahead, eating her sugar figurine while saying, “Let’s go, let’s keep going!”
Eventually, the three arrived at the largest restaurant in the area. Song Linlin requested a private room; a booth upstairs could effectively block out the noisy sounds from outside.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill3, Song Linlin felt it would be too much of a waste to just go back after eating. The three wandered aimlessly outside.
Suddenly, Zhang San looked towards a place not far away where a crowd had gathered, pointed there, and asked curiously, “What’s that place?”
“Hm?”
Song Linlin followed the direction of her finger and immediately saw the three large characters: Zui Chun Lou4. On the second-floor railing leaned many women dressed in light gauze skirts, holding handkerchiefs, striking coquettish poses5, teasingly waving at the passersby below.
Even from this distance, one could smell the mixed scent of rouge, powder, and various perfumes drifting in the air. Song Linlin, of course, recognized what kind of place this was at a glance.
Song Linlin reached out and covered Zhang San’s eyes, forcibly turning her body to walk in the opposite direction, muttering, “Little kids shouldn’t ask so many questions. Asking about everything will only harm you!”
“Hey hey hey!”
By the time Song Linlin released her hand, they had already started walking in the opposite direction. Zhang San still wanted to look back curiously, but her view was now blocked by other buildings, making it impossible to see the place from before.
Chi Qianning felt that Song Linlin had finally done something right and nodded silently. At this moment, Song Linlin squinted, gazing towards the deepest part of the street. It seemed very lively there; even from this distance, various sounds could be heard coming from within.
“Hey, what’s that place? Let’s go check it out!”
Song Linlin led the way towards the end of the street. When Song Linlin got closer, she saw the sign read: Gambling Den.
This time, Zhang San recognized what kind of place it was. She stood outside the entrance, looking at the motley crowd6 inside, where bursts of laughter and angry curses were constant. She hesitated, “Song Linlin, isn’t it kind of bad for us to go in here?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
Song Linlin, however, was extremely curious about the inside. She pulled the two beside her and walked straight in.
Chi Qianning decided to retract her earlier thought.
Entering through the main door, the building’s interior was quite spacious. The ground floor was filled with various tables, while upstairs consisted of various private rooms, their doors tightly shut, obscuring the situation inside.
Song Linlin glanced around nearby and noticed they were playing different kinds of games. She approached a table playing Sic Bo (dice size comparison), where there happened to be an empty spot.
The people nearby didn’t mind someone suddenly squeezing in. A group surrounded the table, and someone who was clearly a gambling den employee said, “Five taels of silver per turn.”
Song Linlin was slightly taken aback by the price but still silently paid. Anyway, with so many people at the table, the winnings would be substantial if she won.
Zhang San curiously watched from behind Song Linlin the entire time. Chi Qianning didn’t want to get too close and kept some distance from the others.
After paying, Song Linlin received a dice cup. This round was betting on ‘Big,’ meaning whoever rolled the highest total points won.
Holding the dice cup, Song Linlin felt inexplicably confident. Seeing that the points rolled by the people before her weren’t high, she felt she could roll the highest.
When it was her turn to roll the dice, Song Linlin gripped the dice cup, shook it vigorously for several seconds, and then, under the watchful eyes of the surrounding crowd, slowly began to lift the cover.
Song Linlin lifted a corner of the dice cup, revealing a four.
Seeing it wasn’t a six, she silently consoled herself that a four seemed pretty good too, at least it was the third-highest value. Then, Song Linlin swiftly lifted the entire cup.
A glance revealed five dice. Apart from that four, the rest were all glaring ones.
“Holy crap!”
Song Linlin was shocked. The total points of the five dice were only eight. Earlier, she thought the others had rolled low scores, but it turned out that after a full round, hers was the lowest.
“Hahahahahaha!” The surrounding people couldn’t help but burst into merciless laughter. Seeing four ones in a row was a rare sight, and they didn’t expect someone could actually roll it.
Zhang San, behind her, hadn’t understood anything the whole time. She tugged at Song Linlin’s clothes and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? What’s everyone laughing at?”
Nearby, Chi Qianning saw the points Song Linlin rolled and couldn’t help but facepalm and sigh.
Song Linlin naturally couldn’t explain to Zhang San why everyone else was laughing – she wasn’t shameless enough for that. She could only force a couple of coughs and stubbornly say, “Ahem, ahem, I just didn’t perform well just now, didn’t have the feel for it. Just a small mistake.”
Hearing this, Zhang San understood, her voice lowering, “Ah, so you lost then.”
In the end, Song Linlin could only watch as the five taels of silver in front of her were collected and piled in front of a young man holding a folding fan. So, for the next round, Song Linlin decisively handed the dice cup to Zhang San, placing high hopes on her. She patted Zhang San’s shoulder and said, “You roll!”
“Oh, okay!”
Zhang San was quite happy to participate. Holding the dice cup, she shook it vigorously for several seconds before putting it back on the table. She snatched the lid off, and upon seeing the numbers inside, Song Linlin was completely dumbfounded.
Inside were five black ones!
When this result appeared, the surrounding people immediately burst into loud laughter, some even doubling over.
“Kid, how is your luck even worse than mine?!” Song Linlin was shocked. This round was still betting on ‘Big.’ Zhang San rolling five ones meant she was destined to be dead last.
“Huh?”
Zhang San scratched her head, still not quite understanding the rules. She asked tentatively, “Did I lose?”
“You lost so badly it’s hard to watch!” Song Linlin couldn’t bear to look at those five glaring ones.
“Okay, sorry…” Zhang San said weakly.
Song Linlin sighed silently. Now she could only resign herself to bad luck. She had lost ten taels of silver right at the start. She watched as the silver in front of her was collected again and piled before the man who had won the previous round. This guy seemed to have exceptionally good luck; the silver piled in front of him was almost a small mountain.
The next round hadn’t even started yet, but Song Linlin already wanted to leave. Her luck today was too terrible; it was better not to waste it all here.
Just as she was about to withdraw, a hand suddenly reached out from the side. The fingers were fair and slender, with a silver snake-shaped ring on the middle finger. That hand pressed down on the dice cup.
“I’ll take the next round,” Chi Qianning’s cool voice sounded beside her.
Song Linlin quickly stepped back to make room for her. Since Chi Qianning wanted to roll the dice, Song Linlin certainly had no objections. After all, both she and Zhang San had already tried once; it was just a matter of five taels of silver.
“Okay,” Song Linlin nodded and paid for the next round.
Song Linlin stood to the side. This round was still betting on ‘Big.’ She first looked at the points rolled by the guy who often won: two fours, two fives, and a three, totaling twenty-one.
None of the others after him rolled a number higher than twenty-one. When it was Chi Qianning’s turn to roll, everyone turned their gaze towards her. After all, this spot had produced the lowest score twice in a row; finding someone with such bad luck in this gambling den was quite rare.
Song Linlin also watched Chi Qianning nervously, but the other person still maintained that calm and composed7 appearance, facing the gazes of so many people with ease.
She lifted the dice cup and just casually shook it lightly a few times. The dice collided with each other as they tumbled, making crisp clicking sounds. Then Chi Qianning put down the dice cup and lifted the lid.
Song Linlin immediately craned her neck to look. She saw that all five dice showed the bright red sixes.
“Wow!” Song Linlin was stunned.
She and Zhang San seemed to be possessed by bad luck, rolling the lowest scores. Especially Zhang San, who managed to roll the staggering number of five ones.
She didn’t expect Chi Qianning to be a hidden ‘Ou Huang’8?!
The others were also in an uproar. Even the man with the folding fan, who had won the most, changed his expression upon seeing this score. He had been leaning back lazily in his chair, but now felt the pressure and shifted his posture.
This round, Song Linlin delightedly saw the gambling den staff transfer the silver from the others over to her side.
“Want to go again?” Song Linlin asked.
They had already recouped their losses now and could leave at this point.
Chi Qianning said faintly, “One more time.”
“Alright,” Song Linlin nodded.
It just so happened that they had lost twice, so Chi Qianning winning twice would count as getting even.
As the new round was about to begin, the man with the folding fan spoke up, “Wait, this time we bet on ‘Small’.”
He had clearly been shaken by Chi Qianning rolling five sixes.
Chi Qianning showed no reaction; to her, big or small didn’t matter. In the end, no one objected, and the rule changed to whoever had the smallest total points wins.
This time, Song Linlin, standing to the side, felt no pressure. Anyway, the previous win had already covered their losses, and they even made a profit. It wouldn’t matter even if they lost this round.
Song Linlin continued to watch with Zhang San from the side. The man opposite them rolled a total of only six points this time. This was a very low number. After seeing this number, he also silently breathed a sigh of relief, already feeling that victory was assured.
Unless someone could roll five ones, the smallest possible score, that man would win.
Zhang San had indeed rolled such a staggering number before, but Song Linlin didn’t dare let her play. Song Linlin felt that if Zhang San played again, she might very well roll five sixes, which would be incredibly embarrassing.
Her own luck probably wasn’t much better either. Song Linlin could only cheer for Chi Qianning inwardly.
Chi Qianning picked up the dice cup, again shaking it only a few times before opening the lid. Inside lay five quiet ones.
This result stunned everyone again. The man opposite stood up in disbelief, staring blankly at the points.
Zhang San couldn’t understand the turn of events. Seeing everyone so agitated, she could only turn and ask Song Linlin, “What’s going on? Did we win or lose?”
“We won!”
Song Linlin looked at the dice in pleasant surprise, utterly impressed9 by the scores Chi Qianning had rolled these two times.
Chi Qianning turned around, showing no excitement about winning twice. She reached out and gently patted Song Linlin’s arm, saying, “Don’t just stand there stunned, collect the money. We should go.”
“Oh, oh! Okay!”
Song Linlin gathered all the silver in front of her, then followed Chi Qianning out of the gambling den.
As soon as they stepped outside, although Zhang San hadn’t understood the proceedings at all, she couldn’t help but exclaim loudly, “Wow! Lin Qianqian, you’re amazing!”
Chi Qianning, however, shook her head and said unhurriedly, “There was something wrong with those dice. That’s why you couldn’t win against him.”
“What?” Song Linlin really wanted to go back and beat that man up. She said indignantly, “That guy was actually a cheat11?!”
“In the future, play less of these frivolous things12 with others,” Chi Qianning didn’t forget to lecture.
Song Linlin nodded, “Alright, I know. I won’t go to casinos again.”
After saying that, Song Linlin couldn’t resist reaching out and wrapping her arms around the waist of the person in front of her, hugging Chi Qianning from behind. She nuzzled her head against the other’s shoulder, “But I really feel like you’re so amazing!”
Seeing Song Linlin suddenly hug Chi Qianning like this in public, Zhang San quickly turned her head to look around. Fortunately, not many people were looking their way. She immediately said, “Song Linlin, how could you do that?!”
“What?”
Song Linlin wasn’t keen on letting go. “This is adult business. Little kids should butt out!”
LP: With that ‘Ou Huang’ explanation, I’ve been thinking, why is Africa associated with ‘bad luck’ or a ‘punishment’ for someone?
This is me just sharing what I searched, just for curiosity’s sake:
- Cultural Distance & Exoticism: Africa is often portrayed in Chinese media as extremely far away, both geographically and culturally. For many Chinese people (especially in older or rural generations), Africa can represent the “unknown” or a place so distant and different that being sent there feels like exile.
- Stereotypes About Harsh Conditions: In some novels, Africa is shorthand for “a harsh place” – think dangerous animals, tough climate, underdeveloped infrastructure. This stereotype is not accurate or fair, of course, but it’s a common trope in popular media, especially in older comedies or action novels.
- Business Slang: There’s a bit of real-life basis too: In some Chinese companies, being assigned to work in Africa (especially in construction, mining, or aid-related work) is seen as a tough job. Workers may get paid well, but the conditions are often described as challenging. So, in workplace slang, being “sent to Africa” can be a form of punishment or at least a hard task. Some people joke about it the same way Westerners might joke about being transferred to Antarctica.
- Internet Meme Culture: This trope has also become a meme in Chinese internet culture. In web novels, it gets exaggerated for humor or drama. For example, a villain being “exiled to Africa” might just mean they’re being removed from the main plot or humiliated.
This doesn’t mean that Chinese people hate Africa or Africans. In fact, there are strong economic and diplomatic ties between China and many African countries. But pop culture doesn’t always reflect that nuance — especially in fast-paced, melodramatic, or comedic novels online.
So it’s less about Africa itself, and more about how it’s symbolically used.
TL;DR:
In Chinese web novels, “being sent to Africa” is often used as a joke or threat to symbolize exile, punishment, or hardship. It’s not necessarily about Africa itself, but rather reflects stereotypes of it being far away and tough to live in. This trope comes from business slang, internet memes, and exaggeration for dramatic or comedic effect — not actual racism or hatred.
Footnotes
- 罪魁祸首 | zuì kuí huò shǒu | Lit. “chief criminal, source of disaster”.
- 东张西望 | dōng zhāng xī wàng | Lit. “gaze east, look west”; To look in all directions.
- 酒足饭饱 | jiǔ zú fàn bǎo | Lit. “wine sufficient, rice full”; To have eaten and drunk to one’s satisfaction.
- 醉春楼 | Zuì Chūn Lóu | Lit. “Drunken Spring Pavilion”; Name suggests a place of pleasure, likely a brothel given the description.
- 搔首弄姿 | sāo shǒu nòng zī | Lit. “scratch head, arrange posture”; To act coyly or flirtatiously, often by adjusting one’s hair or striking poses.
- 鱼龙混杂 | yú lóng hùn zá | Lit. “fish and dragons mixed”; A mix of good and bad people, a diverse and potentially unruly crowd.
- 风轻云淡 | fēng qīng yún dàn | Lit. “wind light, clouds pale”; Describes a calm, breezy, and carefree atmosphere or demeanor.
- 隐藏的欧皇 | yǐncáng de ōuhuáng | Lit. “hidden European emperor”; Internet slang originating from games. ‘Ou’ (欧) sounds like Europe (欧洲 Ōuzhōu), associated with luck/good drops in gacha games, contrasting with ‘Fei’ (非) for Africa (非洲 Fēizhōu), meaning unlucky. ‘Huang’ (皇) means emperor. An ‘Ou Huang’ is someone with exceptional luck.
- 五体投地 | wǔ tǐ tóu dì | Lit. “five limbs/body parts thrown to the ground”; Originally referred to prostration in Buddhist worship; Idiomatically means to admire someone greatly.
- 太牛了 | tài niú le | Lit. “too cow”; Slang meaning “awesome,” “amazing,” “badass.”
- 老千 | lǎoqiān | Slang for a cheat or swindler, especially in gambling.
- 不务正业 | bú wù zhèngyè | Lit. “not attend to proper duties/business”; To neglect one’s proper job or studies, to engage in improper activities, or to idle.
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