This time, however, I was ready for it. When I called Zhao Zichen, I had already made preparations that the boy would come to me.
I said, “OK, I’ll give you your payment. This is the only time we will work together.”
Zhao Zichen was a bit excited: “Good, Chao, as long as I have your word! What do you say, what should we do next? As long as we can get rid of Jiang Ming, you can ask me to do whatever you want. I’m already prepared, the brothers have been very motivated lately, and the Green Dragon Gang has obviously subsided, so it’s the right time to go after them with a bang.”
“I’ll pay your reward, I, Zhang Chao, won’t renege on my debt, but not now, if you can’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do.”
Zhao Zichen frowned, “Brother, you have to reveal something, right?”
“You can’t reveal it beforehand, it won’t work if you reveal it beforehand.” I laughed mysteriously.
Zhao Zichen tried two or three more times, but when he saw that I really didn’t want to say anything, he had to give up. I asked him if he had eaten dinner, and if not, he could join us for a casual meal.
“I didn’t come to see you to have a casual meal.” Zhao Zichen said, “I have some important news for you.”
I really didn’t want to work with Zhao Zichen very much, this guy was indeed very smart, but the downside was that he was too smart. It’s true that you can get twice as much done with such a person, but you also have to watch out every day for when he’s going to set me up.
However, I hesitated for a while, but I couldn’t refuse Jiang Ming’s message. This was a man I would have to send to prison myself one day to avenge my parents’ death!
“It’s something to do with Jiang Ming, you say?” I asked, afraid that he would shake me up with something inconsequential.
But Zhao Zichen shook his head and said, “It’s about you.”
“Something to do with me?”
Zhao Zichen nodded and looked around to make sure no one was around before whispering a few quick words close to my ear.
The more I listened, the harder it got inside me, clenching my fists with an indescribable sense of depression.
“Are you telling the truth?” I confirmed once more.
“A thousand times true. There are our eyes and ears in the Green Dragon Gang, and I can’t hide how their people move.”
I believed this from Zhao Zichen, because he was very good at knowing the movements of the Green Dragon Gang every time and catching them off guard.
“Brother Chao, whether you believe it or not, tomorrow you will be able to verify whether my words are true or not. Anyway, you take care of yourself.”
I was so torn in my heart that I certainly understood very well that Zhao Zichen had not come to say these words to me for no reason, he was trying to sell me a favour.
If what Zhao Zichen said was true, then I would have to seek help from the Red Lantern Society tomorrow, and with Junran in this situation and Han Kun missing, Junran’s people would not be that easy to deal with.
Xia Gehuai might be able to put out a few people for me, but none of the triads in Tongcheng are afraid of the police.
Zhao Zichen was standing off to the side waiting, and even though he didn’t say anything, I already understood what he meant.
I said: “Good, our cooperation can become two. I, Zhang Chao, will definitely return any favours.”
Zhao Zichen laughed: “Don’t let me think so badly of you, Chao. I really want to help you this time, selling you a favour is just a pa*sing hand.”
“There’s no need to say anything else. I have it in my heart. Hopefully we don’t have to meet tomorrow.”
I waved my hand and just wanted to turn my head and leave.
Zhao Zichen shouted behind me, “Chao, you can’t be so heartless, abandoning people when you’re done using them. What are you going to eat? I want to dine.”
I shouted, “Sha Xian Snack.”
I was in a terrible mood and Qingqing could see it.
When I got back to the car, I suddenly remembered why I had just climbed on top of Qingqing to help her unfasten the safety belt. Obviously, I could have gone around to the other side and just opened the car door to undo it.
It seems that the old saying that S*x makes you lose your mind is true.
Fortunately, I had Zhao Zichen to do that, otherwise I really don’t know what I would have done. If she was by my side, I wouldn’t have to be like an unwanted male dog who can’t help but have his heart beat faster when he sees a woman.
I had hoped that Chu Xiaoxia would return to me sooner, but when I thought about what Zhao Zichen had said to me just now, I wished that she would not return to me so soon, at least to stay at home and be safe.
That night, perhaps because I was in a bad mood, I stayed silent afterwards, and Qingqing kept peeking at my face all the way. When I got to the place, she even asked me what was wrong. I opened my mouth, but I still couldn’t tell her about it.
I fell asleep when I got home and didn’t wake up until the alarm went off the next day, or the sound of the phone woke me up.
“Hello?”
“Honey, are you at the bottom of my building yet? I’m ready.”
I thought to myself, “Who is this? It can’t be a scam call, so I took the phone away and looked at it, and when I looked, it was Lin Fang’s phone number.
“Lin Fang?”
“We agreed to be lovers for a day, did you forget?” Lin Fang reminded slyly.
Of course I had forgotten, and had put it completely out of my mind.
After all, I had promised Lin Fang, so I couldn’t go back on my promise, so I told Lin Fang to wait for me, and I would be right over.
When I got downstairs, I remembered that I didn’t have a driving licence anymore and that I had let Qingqing take the car, so I was dumbfounded.
But then I thought, “Lin Fang tore up her driving licence anyway, so it’s not my fault. I promised Lin Fang that I would be a fake couple for a day, but acting is acting, so I don’t have to be so realistic.
I called a car on my mobile phone and then quickly washed up.
A soldier won’t be able to primp as well as other men and will be out the door in no time.
When I got downstairs, I had just gotten in the car when Old Gump’s call came in.
“Are you still coming to the office today?” Old Gump asked.
I thought, “I’m afraid I won’t be available today, so I told Lao Gan I wasn’t coming.
Lao Gan said, “Hey, you’re not coming, I still want you to come to the office.”
“What’s happened with the audit? Did Liu Rong come and mess up last night?” I asked hastily.
“Nothing happened with the audit, it went very well, and Liu Rong didn’t come to make trouble …… just.” Old Gan let out a long sigh and said, “Maybe I’m just getting old and confused and starting to get paranoid, I feel so out of place, how could it have gone so smoothly.”
I gave a bitter laugh, “Don’t worry Uncle Gan, it didn’t go so smoothly.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s something in your words?” Old Gan asked, “I always felt something was wrong. Liu Rong is not that easy to deal with, we must be careful, he must be holding back his pocket tricks.”
I rea*sured Lao Gan and hung up the phone with a bitter smile, of course I understood the meaning of Lao Gan’s words.
I soon arrived at Lin Fang’s house and she asked me to pick her up.
After she lost her job, she no longer lived in the house she rented, but the lease hadn’t expired yet, so her things were still inside.
I didn’t want to go to her house because she lived with her parents and her brother Lin Kang. I don’t want to see any of her family.
But Lin Fang insisted that I go upstairs to pick her up, and if I didn’t agree, she pouted at me.
I couldn’t have imagined that I would ever dream of hearing Lin Fang pamper me, but now I just find it annoying.
As I walked upstairs, I saw big letters painted in red in the hallway, all with words like pay your debts and kill your whole family.
Suddenly, the door of a house on the third floor opened. I had met the residents on this floor a few times when I used to come to Lin Fang’s house, so I had a nodding acquaintance with them.
“Aiyo, it’s you, Zhang Chao, long time no see.” When that uncle saw it was me, his face full of anger turned a little kinder.
“Hello ah Uncle Jane.”
“Hey, you’re here to see Lin Fang, aren’t you? Can you help me persuade her to either let her, or move out of here. Look at this corridor, with this kind of writing all over it, who can stand it? We have to make a living too. My son is still so young and is scared every day. It’s horrible. Forgive us! Will you please persuade her to move out? We really can’t take it anymore! How can a little girl who looks like a human being every day owe a debt and not pay it? It’s disgraceful.”
