In a certain corner of G City, within an old, dilapidated community, inside a dim and cramped room with all the curtains drawn, a man who appeared disheveled and gloomy spoke with a heavy expression into the phone:
“I’ve sent you the photos and the address, Huzi. Do me this favor. When it’s done, the agreed one million won’t be a cent short.”
“Brother Dong, how could some kid have pissed you off? And… where are you right now?”
“Heh… Huzi, I’ve got plenty of dirt on you too. If you report me, you won’t get away either. Don’t try anything clever.”
Li Dongze’s face was dark, his voice icy: “Cooperate well this last time, and it’s good for you, good for me, good for everyone. The money won’t be short.”
“Brother Dong, you know you can count on me. I’m just asking one more time—that kid’s from an ordinary family. How could he have possibly crossed you?”
Li Dongze knew Huzi was suspicious of the half-true, half-false information he’d provided, afraid of offending the wrong person. He didn’t panic but calmly fabricated a story: “That kid’s a reckless fool. I just touched his girlfriend, and he brought some guys to corner me in an alley and beat me up. I can’t swallow this anger.”
“You know what’s been happening lately. I can barely protect myself. Help me with this, let me vent this rage, and then I’ll be making a run for it.”
Li Dongze knew that saying more risked mistakes. After a brief explanation, he stated he was going on the run to sound more convincing—the other man was aware he was wanted by the police.
He and Huzi were from the same place. While he had managed to put on a respectable front, Huzi had entered the gray areas of society. It was with Li Dongze’s financial support that Huzi had become a minor ringleader.
The incident with Tingting—it was he who had Huzi take men to kidnap her, deliver her to his room, where he raped her, coerced her, took nude photos to blackmail her, forcing Tingting to submit obediently.
A well-behaved high school girl couldn’t withstand the darkness of human nature and was gradually conditioned into a plaything to be manipulated at will.
Miss Shen, somehow, found out about this and brought it to the board of directors, demanding he hand over the leverage he had over Tingting.
How could Li Dongze dare admit it? Miss Shen was also a shareholder of the resort island. Though her stake wasn’t large, she was still far beyond what a small fry like him could handle. He refused to admit it.
Later, to keep his job, he had no choice but to stomach his disgust and service Sister Hong once to suppress the matter.
But trying to suppress it only blew the lid off the situation. Not long after, the resort island was surrounded and raided by both military and police forces. Fortunately, he hadn’t been there during that time; he caught wind of it and went into hiding.
In a way, it was this small fry, Li Dongze, who had screwed over the board members. If they had settled it peacefully earlier, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.
Li Dongze knew this matter was related to Miss Shen, but he didn’t dare provoke her. Instead, he thought of that damn kid who had made him suffer recently and decided to vent his anger before going on the run.
Li Dongze knew that moving against this kid was undoubtedly like poking a hole in the sky over G City. The kid’s grandmother was the mayor—he was outright from a high-ranking official’s family. But he didn’t care. Given what he’d done in the past, if caught, it would be enough to have him executed a hundred times over.
Miss Shen, Miss Liu—if he had managed to latch onto either of them, he would have had a lifetime of wealth and privilege. But that kid ruined it all.
How could Li Dongze not hate him?
After discussing a while longer, Li Dongze had no choice but to grit his teeth and wire the one million to Huzi in advance—it was an unregistered card.
…
On the other end, upon seeing the payment notification, a scar-faced man with a fierce, meaty complexion, who was smoking, let out a sigh. Smoke wreathed his rugged face as he murmured, “Taking money from both sides… it’s the only insurance I’ve left myself.”
“Mom… have you eaten?”
The scar-faced man dialed his hometown number and, once connected, cautiously asked.
On the other end seemed to be an elderly woman, her voice kind and cheerful: “I’ve eaten. Is work going well there? If you’re tired or suffering, come home for a visit. Mom misses you~”
That familiar voice stirred childhood memories. The man with the fierce face suppressed his emotions and said cheerfully, “It’s going well. The company is sending me abroad, so I might not be back for quite a while. I’ve asked someone to send you some money—don’t scrimp on spending…”
After chatting for a while, the scar-faced man hung up. With a click, smoke curled around him.
“Mom… I really want to come back… to have another bowl of your hand-cut noodles… but I can’t go back anymore…”
He was Huzi. He knew Li Dongze wouldn’t get away. And as an accomplice, whether Li Dongze would rat him out—often, no one is a fool.
Only money is real.
…
On Monday, as final exams approached, class discussions revolved around exams and the winter break. Even Wei Ming was sharing his plans with Yang Haoran:
“Haozhi, during the break, should we hang out? Me and Lili, you can call Xiao…”
Suddenly, Wei Ming noticed Ji Youxi, sitting in the front left seat, glance back. Her exquisitely flawless face, her beautiful eyes gazing over, those deep pupils calm and unruffled, yet they exerted immense pressure on Wei Ming. Flustered, he hurriedly corrected himself: “I mean, Haozhi, you can invite Ji Youxi, and we can all go out together. What do you think?”
He was afraid of getting Haozhi in trouble. Ji Youxi might not know Haozhi was still involved with Xiao Shaowan. Why did he have to run his mouth?
Yang Haoran didn’t overthink it. Seeing that Ji Youxi seemed interested as she turned around, he asked his girlfriend, “Youxi, would you like to go?”
“Go where?”
Ji Youxi’s beautiful eyes returned to her boyfriend, a serene smile on her face. Her exquisite, captivating features, bright eyes and white teeth, made one feel as soothed as by a spring breeze.
Seeing this, Wei Ming looked enviously at Yang Haoran, who was speaking effortlessly. That damn Haozhi—what did Ji Youxi even see in him?
“It’s simple. We’ll just eat, sing, or hang out, watch a movie, go to an arcade—nothing shady or disreputable.”