The food street was packed with early-riser office-workers in the early morning. Long queues had already formed outside the breakfast stalls. Chefs making buns opened their steamer baskets repeatedly. Steam rose into the air and the smell of meat filled the entire street.
It was finally Chen Anyang’s turn after an arduous wait. Gripping the fifty yuan in his palm, he stuck his head out from among the crowd. “Five boxes of soup dumplings. Pack them separately, thank you–”
The shop owner opened the steamer basket to do a count. “What a coincidence, I just so happen to have five sets of soup dumplings left. Give me a moment while I pack them up.”
Before Chen Anyang could even thank the owner who was still in the midst of packing everything up, a middle-aged man who’d originally been standing at the end of the line suddenly cut the queue, walking towards them with a limp.
He made his way to the front of the breakfast stall, took out a fistful of coins from his pockets, and handed them to the shop owner. “Child, I have a few young children at home who also need to eat, can you give me the remaining sets?”
The honest Chen Anyang was stunned upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words. “B-But–”
There was Captain Zhang, Captain Ruan, Yu-ge, himself, and the other brothers who’d been on night duty. A bunch of great lords were currently sitting ravenously in the office after a morning meeting. He’d also queued for a very long time before finally welcoming his turn, yet he had to give way to this person just because they wanted to cut in line?
The people queueing behind Chen Anyang saw that he hadn’t replied even after a long while and couldn’t help making a few comments. “His mobility is limited, it must have been exhausting to queue for so long. Why don’t you just give it to him?”
“That’s right. Young man, be a bit more magnanimous.”
Plastic bag in hand, the stall owner momentarily faced a conundrum. Their gaze cycled between the middle-aged man and Chen Anyang. “Ai, look at this…”
As the recipient of words of blame from the people behind, the tips of Chen Anyang’s ears gradually turned burning hot. His shoulder still bore the official police badge that he’d just attained. If he argued in public for such a small matter, Captain Zhang and Yu-ge would definitely give him a harsh scolding when he returned.
“Okay then…” Chen Anyang silently stuffed the cash in his hands back into his pocket. “Take all of these.”
Squeezing out of the crowd, he gave a sigh. Preparing to return to the bureau with empty hands, he had taken less than two footsteps when a series of tapping sounds abruptly came from behind, as if something were pounding against the ground.
[Tap–tap–]
A young man’s polite voice could be heard in front of the stall selling buns. “Five boxes of soup dumplings, thank you.”
Chen Anyang came to a halt, standing there blankly for a few seconds. He looked back and saw a familiar figure standing in front of the shop from which steam emanated.
Captain Yu’s didi had appeared near the food street at some point. There was a cane in his hand, and a skinny beggar-like youth was beside him, supporting him by the arm. Their appearance at the stall attracted the attention of quite a few people.
They completely disregarded the group of people queuing behind them as well as the middle-aged man at the side, who had a rather bizarre expression. They readily handed the money to the shop owner. “It’s exactly fifty yuan, no need for change.”
Ten minutes later.
The little beggar handed a few plastic bags to Chen Anyang at the entrance to the municipal bureau. “Wan-ge asked me to give these to you.”
Chen Anyang shot a glance at the alley opposite, where Ying Wan was stuffing a soup dumpling into his mouth. He said weakly, “Just now, that person…”
Captain Yu’s di had appeared from who-knew-where, but given the situation, Ying Wan had probably long been secretly listening in on the commotion at the steamed bun stall.
“He went next door to buy pineapple seed oil,” The little beggar’s cheeks bulged. It was obvious he’d just eaten two buns. “He didn’t fight with Wan-ge for it and it’s not like Wan-ge chased him away either.”
After giving it some thought, Chen Anyang realized that it indeed couldn’t be considered Ying Wan’s fault.
After all, he couldn’t see anything. He’d come over purely to lend Chen Anyang a helping hand.
The little beggar added, “Wan-ge wants me to tell you that Yu-dage doesn’t like soup dumplings. You can get him steamed dumplings next time.”
It was nearing work hours, so Chen Anyang didn’t intend to linger for long. He hesitated for a moment with the soup dumplings in hand and then walked along the sidewalk to the alley opposite. He thanked Ying Wan, who was leaning against a corner of the wall. “Many thanks for your help today, I’ll let Yu-ge know when I return–”
“Officer Chen, help me keep this a secret,” Ying Wan smiled. “If my ge knew that I snuck out in the wee hours of the morning, he’ll start worrying again.”
Chen Anyang: …
So you know that too?!
Everyone in the team knew just how much Yu-ge worried over this didi who he had no blood relations with. The misfiring incident that nearly injured civilians last week had resulted in quite a few days of overtime for Yu-ge. His black eye circles had increased significantly.
Chen Anyang bid goodbye to the adult and child standing at the entrance to the alley before hurriedly jogging towards the municipal bureau. But before he stepped through the doors, he came to a halt for some unexplainable reason and glanced back at the street opposite.
The little beggar had eaten and drunk their fill, and was standing in front of the young blind man, gesticulating in excitement as if sharing something interesting. The young man was hidden from view by the shade of a tree. His head was angled slightly as he listened attentively to the little beggar.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Those eyes concealed a ray of morning sun. It was calm, and also gentle.
–
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“Boss, why don’t you guess who this kind-hearted sponsor is?”
Ying Wan: “You’re done eating?”
“Hehe, I just wanted to add some suspense,” Scratching his head with a hand, Ah Bu hastily hid the bag full of soup dumplings behind him. “They’re a senior accountant by the name of Gong Jin. This person just returned to the country in May this year and is currently Heyu Real Estate’s CFO.”
“I even found out his other identity. This one is quite interesting.”
Ah Bu didn’t keep Ying Wan in suspense this time. “Gong Jin is He Guanyu’s current boyfriend. The two of them have been in a secret relationship for almost two years. Reportedly, their relationship has almost progressed to the stage of getting married overseas.”
Ying Wan’s chest moved slightly. The corners of his lips hooked up a smidgen. It was unknown what he was smiling at.
“What should we do next? Continue to bide our time?” Ah Bu asked.
Ever since returning to Fan City, they’d remained hidden in the darkness, waiting for their boss’ orders. However, more than a month had passed and their boss still had yet to take any action, as if he really intended to give up on everything and continue his days of manning his stall.
Ying Wan opened his mouth, but answered evasively, “The two incidents that occurred at Heyu’s construction site were caused by someone deliberately imitating the serial murder cases last year. On the surface, it’s an attempt at misdirecting the police investigation.”
“What is this person’s motive for imitating the cases? Who does he, or she, want to scare?”
Ying Wan looked up, gazing at the street opposite that was bustling with people. “In other words, who is the only person who will be scared?”
Ah Bu turned Ying Wan’s words over in his mind for a while. Inspiration struck. “Could it be…someone with a guilty conscience?”
“Boss, you mean that He Guanyu is deliberately concealing something?”
Ying Wan nodded. “Don’t forget – no matter what surnamed He does, he always has a reliable accomplice.”
He Guanyu’s current boyfriend and imminent marriage partner, Heyu Real Estate’s Chief Financial Officer – Gong Jin.
Ying Wan picked up his cane that had been leaning against a corner of the wall. He gestured at Ah Bu. “Let’s go.”
The two of them walked out of the alley, one after the other. They followed the early morning crowd out of the food street, circled around two blocks, and stopped in front of a public telephone booth located beside a bus stop.
Ying Wan inserted two coins into the public telephone operating machine. Then, he took out his phone, randomly pressed a few buttons, and an icy female AI voice started loudly reciting a telephone number. “Meddlesome He’s office landline. One, three, three, six, four, two, eight, seven–”
The eight numbers were input into the public telephone. The call was picked up very quickly. However, it was not He Guanyu.
“Hello, Director He is currently in a meeting. May I know how I can help you?”
A man who appeared to be a secretary asked in a businesslike tone.
Everybody familiar with He Guanyu knew that the busy Little Director He had numerous assistants and secretaries by his side. Any calls from unfamiliar numbers would be filtered through to avoid wasting Director He’s precious time.
“Good morning, I’ll have to trouble you to convey to Mr He that ‘N’ is looking for him,” Ying Wan said.
“…N?” The person on the other end paused. “Do you mean the English letter ‘N’?”
There were several starred numbers in Director He’s personal directory. The person with the name of ‘N’ was listed right beneath Director He, who had previously instructed them to inform him right away if this person ever called.
It was the first time in two years that this person had called.
A moment later, Ying Wan heard the secretary respond in a somewhat hasty tone, “Please wait a moment, I’ll put you through to Director He right away.”
The sound of footsteps rushing into the distance could be heard from the other end. The secretary left the office swiftly.
Knocking on the door of the meeting room, the secretary made his way to He Guanyu. He stooped over and whispered a statement into the ears of his boss, who was looking down at some documents.
He Guanyu’s expression underwent a sudden change.
Standing up from the chair, he patted his companion Gong Jin, who was seated beside him. After telling Gong Jin that he had to answer an important client’s call, he hurriedly left the meeting room.
He Guanyu didn’t return to his office. He took the elevator down to a middle floor in the building and came to a large, unoccupied landscaped terrace.
“…” The line had been transferred to He Guanyu’s personal number. He took a deep breath. “You’re looking for me?”
After a moment of silence, the person on the other end uttered slowly, “9pm tonight, the usual place.”
He Guanyu’s clenched fist gradually tightened even further. The hand gripping his phone started trembling. “F*ck–”
“You disappeared without a word back then and now you’re suddenly contacting me after so long, what do you f*cking mean by this?” His tone of voice suddenly chilled, yet his breathing became increasingly hurried. “Let me tell you, I already have a–”
There was no change in the other party’s tone of voice. They merely repeated their words. “9pm tonight. I’ll be waiting for you.”
And then, the other party hung up.
He Guanyu’s expression turned exceedingly ugly upon the abrupt disappearance of the person’s voice.
The breeze blowing into the terrace swept up his clothes. He took out his lighter and lit a cigarette. But before even taking two puffs, he flung the cigarette onto the ground in what seemed like despair, fiercely grinding it to bits with his expensive leather shoes.
Half an hour later, his secretary walked through the terrace door. “Director He, Director Gong asked if you have something urgent to attend to and why you haven’t returned to the meeting after so long.”
“…”
He Guanyu deleted the record of his last call from his phone. His expression gradually returned to normal. Placing his phone back into his pocket, he replied expressionlessly, “Nothing’s wrong, let’s go back.”
After ending the call, Ying Wan opened the telephone booth’s door. He asked Ah Bu, who was standing outside keeping a lookout, “Can Grayback and the rest find out surnamed Gong’s personal email address?”
Ah Bu grinned. “You don’t need to ask for it, we’ve long gotten ahold of it.”
“Get Grayback to send an anonymous email to Gong Jin’s email address. Use a fictitious IP,” Ying Wan instructed. “Tell him that at 8.40pm tonight, He Guanyu will be having a clandestine meeting with his old flame at LEON. As long as he doesn’t make this information public, he’ll be able to obtain evidence at the scene itself.”
“Oh right.” Ying Wan added, “Find an old photo of me and Meddlesome He at the club and attach it with the email.”
–
At night, LEON was a mortal’s heaven.
This high-end club used a membership system, so not any person could enter just by paying a fee. The midnight show hadn’t started and customers sat in groups of twos and threes in booths. They were covered in luxury brands from head to toe. During this time of indulgence, excitement was never something they were short of.
Several opened bottles of good liquor could be seen on every glass table. A model or elegant-looking university student would be seated at the corner, accompanying these people in drinking. All these people were at LEON to make some extra income, particularly the generous tips that these big bosses gave.
Under the dim lighting, a slender figure was seated alone at the counter, clad in a jet-black silk blouse. From time to time, he would exchange a few words with the bartender standing at the counter. The young man’s left hand rested on his knee while his right hand held a stainless steel stirrer, slowly mixing the Hot Toddy placed in front of him.
The gold-medal bartender on shift today was an old acquaintance of Ying Wan’s. He knew the rules of the trade and therefore did not ask Ying Wan where he’d been.
Since ‘N’ had chosen to return to this circle, there had to be a reason he was not willing to share.
“Your new hair color is not bad,” The bartender added a slice of lemon to his glass. “Is it dyed?”
Since it’d been seen through with a single glance, Ying Wan did not refute him. He nodded, looking down at the light gray shade of his hair reflected in the glass of alcohol. “It’s a one-time dye, I’ll wash it off after going home tonight. My ge doesn’t allow me to dye my hair.”
The bartender shook his head with a smile before turning to the side to wait on a customer.
Most of those who returned were either short on money or owed huge debts. He had also once heard of the rumor that ‘N’ had immigrated abroad with a rich merchant. But since the person involved was now back, there was no need to specially mention these old scars.
Ying Wan could sense the probing gazes from numerous booths, but did not pay them any notice.
A new batch of people had long replaced the ones who’d mixed into the club. Most of the new ones shouldn’t recognize this face of his, though he could not eliminate the possibility of there being any old customers.
There were already people in the club pondering over his identity. However, he had changed a fair bit over the past two years, so apart from the familiar hair color, these people shouldn’t be able to confirm that he was ‘N’ for the time being.
The minute hand on the clock at a corner of the wall jumped to 8.30pm. Ying Wan saw a man dressed in a dark gray suit and vest walk into the club. The man handed his coat to the doorman at the entrance before scanning the entire club. His gaze stopped on Ying Wan.
He was five minutes earlier than the stipulated time.
Ying Wan swirled the hot alcohol in his glass with lowered eyes. He ignored the deep gaze Gong Jin cast at him.
The fish was about to take the bait.
–
At a booth in a corner, Gong Jin accepted the wine menu from a waiter, his fingers tapping lightly against the surface of the glass table. He seemed a little apprehensive.
Five minutes passed. The CFO of Heyu Real Estate finally couldn’t take it. He stood up and went to the bar counter, telling the bartender, “One glass of gin tonic, no ice. Thanks.”
He sat down on a bar stool as he waited for the bartender to mix his cocktail. He raised his head in pretense, casting a faint glance at Ying Wan, who was seated beside him. “Waiting for someone?”
Ying Wan’s eyelashes trembled. His gaze remained calm as he looked straight ahead. “I’m waiting for my ex-boyfriend, we haven’t met in a long time.”
Seemingly recalling something, he angled his head. His tone took on an added layer of curiosity. “What about you?”
Gong Jin’s gaze turned frigid immediately upon hearing Ying Wan’s words, though the smile on his face didn’t wane in the slightest. “What a coincidence, I am also waiting for my lover.”
Ying Wan smiled. He sucked on his straw and no longer said a word.
Time went by. The minute hand on the clock in the corner jumped to 8.50pm..
Ah Bu’s voice sounded from Ying Wan’s earphones. “Boss, Meddlesome He has already arrived at the carpark. He seems to have brought two bodyguards along.”
“Got it.”
Ying Wan removed the bluetooth earphone from his left ear. He stood up leisurely and approached Gong Jin.
He told the bartender, “Lucas, this gentleman’s alcohol is on me.”
Gong Jin stiffened for an instant. It seemed he had not expected this move from Ying Wan. But he could only look on as Ying Wan sat within arm’s length from him.
The person beside him appeared to be slightly tipsy. A pair of eyes looked frankly at him. Despite its brightness, there was a faint alienation and distance contained in the gaze.
The light from the lamps overhead illuminated the other party’s inclined face. The other party raised his wine glass at him, swirling the faint yellow liquid in the glass. He lowered his head and took a sip of the liquid. “I wish you a delightful evening today.”
This person sitting before him might be Guanyu’s old flame, but Gong Jin had to admit that there was indeed a unique beauty about him. His words and actions were not deliberate, yet he firmly captured the attention of those around him. He wasn’t quite like what Gong Jin had originally imagined him to be.
Time passed relentlessly. The minute hand on the clock in the corner jumped to 8.55pm.
The person beside Gong Jin put down the wine glass in his hands and abruptly turned to the side, slowly approaching him. The other party stretched a hand into his own pocket while the other hand rested gently on Gong Jin’s waist.
“…”
Just when Gong Jin realized that there was something off about this, he felt an icy metal object pressing against his lower abdomen.
A mini handgun had somehow appeared in the hands of the other party. The gun just happened to be concealed by Gong Jin’s cuffs. The handgun pressed firmly against his body. Even the bartender standing at the counter did not discover anything unusual.
The distance between the two of them was almost negligible. They were so close that they could even smell the liquor on the other’s breath.
Gong Jin’s lips moved. He slowly released his grip on the cocktail glass. “You–”
“I know you meddled quite a bit with Heyu’s results this year, behind the backs of Heyu’s other higher-ups and auditors,” The gaze of the person in front of Gong Jin continued to remain gentle and harmless, but the words he uttered stabbed directly into his heart like a sharp blade. “If you don’t want to end up sitting in jail and still want to leave this place with all your limbs intact, do what I tell you next.”
The sound of a bullet loading came from the metal instrument pressing against Gong Jin’s abdomen. Gong Jin’s pupils contracted abruptly.
This person was serious.
The hour hand on the clock jumped to 9pm.
The club’s doors swung open. A familiar figure appeared at the door, with two bodyguards behind him.
Ying Wan glanced from the corner of his eye at the person approaching them in the distance. He moved closer to Gong Jin’s ear.
“Mr Gong,” He said. “Hug me.”
Hehehe , the trap twist is so unexpected. Thank you for translating
You definitely don’t wanna mess around with ying wan 😳 what a badass troublemaker hehe