APR 32

When Xiao Lao Dao saw Zhong Su get out of the car, he thought he was coming to help him, so he straightened his back even more confidently and argued with the driver: “Zhong Su, tell them, no one honked just now, right?”

Zhong Su felt like burying Xiao Lao Dao alive. Were his two eyes just for decoration? Couldn’t he see that menacing figure standing right there staring at him?

“Shh… Keep your voice down, don’t rush.”

“Why are you shushing me? It’s clearly their fault—” Xiao Lao Dao was both aggrieved and angry, but then he noticed Zhong Su’s slightly wary gaze fixed in one direction. He instinctively looked over and saw Chen Huan standing by the car. Immediately, he stammered like a chicken with its neck wrung: “Ah, y-you are…?”

Chen Huan tilted his head slightly and gave him a faint, ambiguous smile. “You crashed into my car out of the blue, and you still think you’re in the right?”

Xiao Lao Dao hurriedly protested: “B-but your car came out from the side road. You should have yielded to the through traffic…”

Zhong Su slapped the back of Xiao Lao Dao’s head, pushing his big round head down, and said, “I told you to stop talking. Hurry up and apologize.”

He then looked up to meet Chen Huan’s gaze and said, “My friend admits his mistake. He didn’t mean to hit your car.”

The scene was somewhat comical, but Zhong Su, who knew Chen Huan’s temperament all too well, couldn’t bring himself to laugh. The more amiable Chen Huan’s smile, the more likely he was to turn hostile the next second.

He hoped Chen Huan would overlook Xiao Lao Dao’s mistake, given their cooperative attitude.

Chen Huan casually eyed the rigidly standing Zhong Su, catching a faint, familiar whiff of “Blue Mist” cigarette smoke from him. He narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly.

Finally, he let out a low, mocking laugh. “Even though you know you’ve offended me, I don’t see you begging for mercy.”

“Seems like you’re only conceding on the surface, not in your heart.”

Chen Huan’s stare sent chills down Zhong Su’s spine, one wave after another.

What had he done to upset him this time?

Zhong Su didn’t want to show his emotions and replied as coldly and indifferently as possible, “Strictly speaking, both of us share responsibility for this accident. There’s no clear primary fault. Dragging it out would just waste everyone’s time.”

“Why don’t we each drive off and call it even?”

Chen Huan looked as if he’d heard some absurd joke, his lips quirking slightly, but his eyes held no warmth. “You wrecked my car like this, and you think a simple ‘let’s call it even’ will make it go away?”

He might as well have thrown the contemptuous “Who do you think you are?” right in Zhong Su’s face.

“Eek—?!” Xiao Lao Dao’s hands trembled uncontrollably as he clutched the hem of his shirt, looking like a coward who wanted to back Zhong Su up but didn’t dare.

Zhong Su knew he couldn’t count on Xiao Lao Dao for anything. He locked eyes with Chen Huan for a moment, the darkness in the other man’s gaze deepening dangerously.

Zhong Su pressed his lips together almost imperceptibly. “Fine, you win. We’ll take full responsibility.”

He conceded outright, returned to the car, and pulled a pen and paper from the driver’s side storage compartment. After writing down a phone number, he handed it over and said, “But we’re in a hurry to make a delivery right now and can’t wait for the insurance. Here’s my number. Contact me after you’ve assessed the damage to your car, and I’ll pay whatever is owed.”

After all, he would be discarding this phone number soon anyway, no harm in giving it to Chen Huan.

Chen Huan glanced at the neatly written digits on the paper and casually tossed it to the driver beside him.

He lit a cigarette, lifting his gaze through the pale blue smoke as he glanced sideways at Zhong Su. “Fine words, but why should I believe this number will actually get you to show up?”

Zhong Su couldn’t answer immediately.

Chen Huan turned to the trembling Xiao Lao Dao, crooking his finger at him as if summoning a dog. “Fatso, come here.”

“Ah, me?” Xiao Lao Dao didn’t dare disobey.

He had barely taken a step when Zhong Su, too late to intervene, watched Chen Huan take a deep drag of his cigarette and press the burning tip against Xiao Lao Dao’s face.

“Ah—! My face!” Xiao Lao Dao let out a piercing scream.

“Hey, what are you doing!” Zhong Su quickly pulled the boy behind him, seeing a charred burn mark now seared into that pale, plump round face.

“Wuwu, it hurts so much.”

Zhong Su held the whimpering Xiao Lao Dao steady, his expression dark as he said to Chen Huan, “You’ve vented your anger now, and I’ve guaranteed I’ll answer your calls. So I wish you a smooth departure—no need to see you out.”

Genuine fury stirred within him, his hazel eyes gleaming too brightly in the night, deep within them sparks like scattered embers.

Chen Huan smiled faintly, unaffected by Zhong Su’s sarcasm. He tossed his cigarette aside and crushed it underfoot.

The driver, recognizing that an agreement had been reached, perceptively opened the car door for Chen Huan to get in.

The black car disappeared into the depths of the night, leaving behind only the half-smoked cigarette trampled on the ground.

Zhong Su briefly comforted Xiao Lao Dao. “I’ll handle the delivery myself. You go to the hospital for some ointment. It’s just a minor burn, why are you crying like such a baby? Quiet now, no more howling.”

Xiao Lao Dao covered his face fearfully, worrying aloud, “Zhong Su, what do we do now? That big shot clearly won’t let this go easily.”

Zhong Su shook his head. “Don’t scare yourself yet. I’ll try to negotiate with him. It’s just some minor scratches—the repair costs aren’t high. He’s not the type to care about such small change. If we can reason with him, maybe we won’t have to pay much.”

Just as hope flickered in Xiao Lao Dao’s eyes, Zhong Su doused it with cold water. “But don’t get your hopes up too high.”

Recalling how Chen Huan had sunk his teeth into his shoulder, savagely enough to crush bone and swallow it, Zhong Su lowered his gaze, his voice dropping softly. “That man… never lets himself come out at a loss.”

Zhong Su himself felt uncertain, regretting somewhat that he’d given Chen Huan his number. It might have been better to stubbornly refuse compensation earlier and endure whatever punishment Chen Huan dished out.

It would have hurt, but at least it would have been clean and final.

After sending the dejected Xiao Lao Dao to the hospital, Zhong Su drove the refrigerated truck to its destination alone.

The contact person waved a flashlight in front of the warehouse, using its beam to signal him to pull over.

Once parked, several masked men, opened the container and climbed in to count the frozen meat.

“All the goods accounted for?”

“Fifty units, not one missing.”

The contact nodded, pulling a thick envelope from his bag and handing it over. “The payment’s all there. Count it.”

Zhong Su opened the envelope, thumbed through the bills to confirm the amount was correct, then tucked it into his jacket.

He nodded to the contact, left the industrial area, and boarded the night bus at the nearest stop back to his rented room. He planned to give Xiao Lao Dao his share of the money the next day.

After experiencing so much in one night, Zhong Su was utterly exhausted. He took a quick shower and went straight to bed.

Before sleeping, he deliberately turned off his phone to avoid the misfortune of receiving Chen Huan’s debt-collecting call first thing in the morning.

This body had low blood vitality and couldn’t withstand being frightened twice in such a short time.

The damage assessment process on Chen Huan’s side seemed to be moving rather slowly, which was why the call hadn’t come yet.

Thanks to this, Zhong Su enjoyed two peaceful days, and his tightly wound nerves temporarily relaxed.

At 9:30 in the morning, the golden sun had already brightened the entire sky, and the old residential area gradually grew lively.

Zhong Su was lying in bed, catching extra sleep, not fully awake yet. In his half-asleep state, the noise from the neighboring wet market seeped into the room through the window cracks, shouts, haggling, mixed with car horns, making his head buzz.

“So noisy…” Zhong Su mumbled unconsciously, burying his face deeper into the pillow, trying to sleep a little longer.

Suddenly, a burst of fierce arguing exploded like thunder in his ears, completely waking him up.

A woman was vigorously pounding on the thin door of the rental unit, her powerful curses piercing through the door: “Whoever’s in 402B, come out! Don’t think hiding will solve anything! You shameless pair, daring to cheat but too cowardly to face people?”

She grew angrier as she yelled, lifting her foot to kick the door. With a loud bang, the entire rental unit seemed to shake from the impact.

“Open the door! If you don’t, I’ll really break it down!”

Zhong Su hadn’t intended to get involved at first, but the more he listened, the more he realized something was off. The woman was clearly pounding on his door, and she was only getting more energetic, with no intention of stopping.

He endured it again and again, until he couldn’t take it anymore. He threw off the covers, got out of bed, and pulled the door open, only to find three or four middle-aged women blocking the entrance aggressively. The leader, a woman with a jade pendant around her neck, stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him as if shooting fire from her eyes: “Finally decided to open the door, huh? Call out that vixen and Zeng Minjian!”

Suppressing his anger, Zhong Su tried to reason with them as much as possible: “You’ve got the wrong place. This is 402A. 402B is at the other end of the hallway—”

“Wrong, my foot!” The woman didn’t listen at all. She grabbed his arm and tried to drag him inside, her voice sharp and shrill: “You bastard, you dare hide from me even after I’ve come in? I brought Xiaozai today specifically to show him what a ‘responsible’ and ‘conscience-free’ father you are!”

“Don’t push, don’t push! I told you, your husband isn’t here.” Zhong Su quickly braced against the doorframe, forcefully blocking the woman from entering.

Zhong Su was overwhelmed by the other party’s unreasonable pestering and, for the first time, felt a strong urge to call the police.

Just then, one of the women behind the leader caught sight of a figure darting across the hallway and called out in surprise, “Sister Qian, I think we really got the wrong room. Your man is over there, protecting that vixen and trying to sneak downstairs.”

The leader turned her head and happened to lock eyes with her husband and the woman beside him. She froze for a moment, then let out a piercing shriek like a slaughtered pig: “You damned vixen, you cheap slut! How dare you seduce my man? I’ll tear your face apart!”

Her husband hurriedly shielded the other woman behind him, pushing back the advancing leader while cursing foully: “Stop causing a scene here. Go home!”

“Me going crazy? You’re the one who’s lost your mind, keeping a mistress outside and never coming home.”

Several adults were engaged in an ugly brawl, with curses and cries of pain filling the air incessantly.

The little boy brought by the middle-aged woman trembled in fear at the scene, instinctively clutching Zhong Su’s leg tightly while pleading tearfully, “Brother… brother, I’m so scared.”

Zhong Su looked down at the little one clinging to his pants and felt his headache worsening. “Stop calling me that. Who’s your brother? Let go of me.”

“I don’t wanna, wu wu…”

Unable to reason with the child, his pocket phone chose that moment to add to the chaos, vibrating with an incoming call.

Zhong Su answered to hear Chen Huan’s familiar hoarse voice: “Third day now. Got the car repair money ready?”

“Chen Huan,” Zhong Su responded distractedly, struggling to peel off the octopus-like child wrapped around his leg, “Wait, can I call you back later? I’m busy right now.”

Before he could finish speaking, the commotion from the middle-aged woman and the mistress wrestling grew louder, even drowning out his voice. The mistress screamed hoarsely: “He said he only loved me!”

Even without trying, Chen Huan heard it clearly.

Chen Huan let out a low, raspy chuckle, laced with undisguised mockery: “Seems you’ve got quite the side business going. Not making enough from shady deals, so you’re moonlighting as a kept man?”

Without giving Zhong Su a chance to explain, his voice turned cold: “Come to Tianye Shooting Range. I’ll give you twenty minutes. Face the consequences if you’re late.”

The call ended abruptly.

Listening to the dial tone, Zhong Su’s already foul mood from being woken up worsened considerably, his face darkening completely.

He stared at the darkened screen, the corner of his eye twitching twice: “Bloody lunatic.”

The mistress-catching drama continued noisily for quite some time, only coming under control when the police arrived.

Zhong Su had no interest in the aftermath. After finally handing the clingy child over to police care, he returned indoors for a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, then went downstairs to hail a taxi straight to the Tianye Shooting Range Chen Huan had mentioned.