He Yu was a little worried. Once this kind of emotion came up, he became so anxious that he couldn’t read properly anymore.
He went out of the study and took a carton of milk from the refrigerator. He planned to heat up a glass of milk and then drink it before going to bed. However, just as the microwave started turning, it also started to rain heavily outside.
He Yu stood in front of the window, frowning as he looked at the torrential rain waterfall under the light in the distance.
The microwave oven made a “ding” sound at this time. He Yu was startled. He finally couldn’t help himself from picking up his cell phone and calling Qiao Mudong once again. Qiao Mudong picked up the call fairly quickly this time.
He asked He Yu, “What’s wrong? Why haven’t you gone to bed yet?”
He Yu asked back, “Has your car been repaired?”
Qiao Mudong answered, “No, we’ll find someone to tow it tomorrow. We’ll just spend the night at the gas station.”
He Yu walked to the window and said, “It’s raining, isn’t it?”
Qiao Mudong obviously heard the sound of rain. “It’s a little bit rainy here too, but it’s not that strong, don’t worry.”
He Yu asked again, “Where are you?”
Qiao Mudong replied, “On the Chongnan Expressway, there’s a gas station closest to Chongfeng here. Don’t worry. Maybe later, we can catch a vehicle that gives free rides going to town. It’ll be more convenient that way.”
He Yu said, “Wait there, I’ll take a taxi to pick you up.”
Qiao Mudong was stunned as he quickly reprimanded him, “Don’t come!”
But He Yu had already hung up the phone.
He Yu changed his clothes, took his wallet and keys, and then took an umbrella before going out. As soon as he entered the elevator, Qiao Mudong’s phone number had already gone through the line. Qiao Mudong insisted, “It’s already so late, don’t come out.”
He Yu only replied, “Good boy, don’t stir up trouble with me.”
Qiao Mudong cursed, “Oh, fuck!”
He Yu has already hung up the phone.
He walked to the gate of the community downstairs, wanting to take a taxi. This residential community was a little bit quiet, so except for the owners, there were only a few other vehicles passing by. He had no choice but to hold an umbrella and walk out of the community. Even then, it was still difficult to take a taxi. Because of the sudden heavy rain, there were few empty taxis passing by. It was even rare for two taxis to stop by for him. When they heard that He Yu wanted to leave the city, they both refused. Although He Yu was alone, it was almost twelve o’clock, and the taxi drivers were unwilling to take the risk just for the sake of earning some money.
He Yu had no choice but to call Li Tang in the end. He knew that Li Tang had a second-hand van that he rarely drove and kept at the small vegetable market near Renxin Street. He only used it when he bought goods and wine. He was planning to ask Li Tang to let him borrow the van.
In fact, there was a moment when He Yu thought of Fu Chenshan first, but he quickly rejected the idea and dialed Li Tang’s number instead.
“This late? You want to borrow a van?” Li Tang was a little surprised.
“Nn.” He Yu explained, “Qiao Mudong’s car broke down and he was stranded on the highway. I want to pick him up. If it’s inconvenient to borrow one, then I’ll take a taxi to go there right now.”
“What inconvenient?” Li Tang replied. “You don’t need to take a taxi anymore. Just wait there and I’ll come out to pick you up.”
He Yu was stunned for a moment. He understood that Li Tang meant to go with him, so he quickly said, “There’s no need for you to bother, I can go alone. It’s so late, Brother Li, there’s no need for you to accompany me.”
“It’s okay.” Li Tang seemed to be getting dressed. “Just tell me the address, and I’ll drive there right now. Qiao Mudong is such a big man, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
He Yu breathed out softly. “Thank you, Brother Li. Sorry for causing you trouble again.”
Because it was already late at night and it was raining heavily, there were very few cars on the street, so Li Tang came over quicker than usual.
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.
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He Yu put the umbrella under his feet and said, “Thank you, Brother Li.”
“Alright,” Li Tang stopped him. “You’re saying that over and over again, I’m getting tired of hearing you say it.”
The traffic in the city was extremely smooth in this late night, and the traffic lights changed faster. The only problem was that Li Tang’s broken van couldn’t drive very fast.
“If I drive fast, once it becomes unstable, we will surely drift off the road,” Li Tang advised.
He Yu knew how to drive himself, so he nodded to express his understanding.
All the way out of the city to the Chongnan Expressway, He Yu kept looking at the time and saw that it was only half past twelve. Qiao Mudong was at the nearest gas station to Chongfeng, which was probably less than half an hour’s drive away. However, because it was in the opposite direction, Li Tang had to drive to the exit in front of the toll station, get down, and then go around to the opposite side.
Originally, when He Yu and Qiao Mudong were talking on the phone, they could hardly hear the rain from this place, but now it was raining much harder. The rain kept washing against the van’s window glass and was scraped to both sides by the wiper, sliding down along the edge.
The field of view is not very good, and the condition of the van is not good either. It can only be said that they were still lucky, probably because Li Tang’s driving skills aren’t that bad.
When they were approaching the gas station, He Yu immediately called Qiao Mudong.
Qiao Mudong cursed, “Fuck! You really didn’t listen to what I said, why are you here?!”
He Yu simply said, “We’re almost there. We’re driving Brother Li’s white van. You can come out later.”
When he hung up the phone, He Yu also saw Qiao Mudong’s car parked on the side of the road, only about a hundred meters away from the gas station.
Cao Xia was trapped in the 24-hour supermarket at the gas station with Qiao Mudong. The two of them had not been exposed to much rain and were still dry when they got in the van. When Cao Xia saw He Yu, he kept saying, “Brother Yu, I’m really sorry for troubling you. You’re so kind to our Brother Dong.”
Qiao Mudong and Cao Xia were sitting in the middle row of seats. As soon as Qiao Mudong got on the van, he frowned and commented, “Why does it smell so fishy?”
Li Tang replied, “This was used to load some fish, the smell will be gone soon.”
“Brother Li,” Qiao Mudong greeted him. “We’ve been bothering you over and over again. I already told He Yu not to come, but he still insists on causing trouble for you.”
“It’s okay.” Li Tang smiled. “If you don’t come back, he won’t be able to sleep anymore, so don’t be polite.”
Li Tang drove out of the gas station.
He Yu turned around from the front seat and asked Qiao Mudong, “Where did you go? Why did you come back so late?”
Qiao Mudong answered, “I went to Nanzhu to do something, but I was delayed on the way and came back late.”
Qiao Mudong actually followed the recommendations on the Internet and magazines and went to several famous small restaurants in Nanzhu, next to several counties. Firstly, he wanted to learn from their business methods, and secondly, he wanted to find out if there were any suitable chefs. He told Li Tang that he would not take over Shiyouwei but would only let him invest in another way. Now that Li Tang was not free, he would start the business again according to his own wishes and then wait for Li Tang. When things are finally over, he can come back and take it over again at any time.
He was indeed serious about this matter—even more seriously than the construction of the new Lingyun building.
He didn’t speak in detail, so He Yu didn’t ask any more questions. He and Qiao Mudong had always gotten along like this. In comparison, Qiao Mudong would pay closer attention to his whereabouts.
Cao Xia saw that Qiao Mudong didn’t want to say more, so this time, he smartly took out a cigarette from his pocket and gave it to them. He first flattered his Brother Yu, then Brother Li, and finally his own Brother Dong.
Li Tang took the cigarette, and He Yu reached over to help him light it. He was a little tired from driving at night, and smoking could help refresh him.
He held the cigarette between his fingers and took a drag. He glanced at the left rearview mirror and suddenly spotted a car approaching them from behind.
The car’s license plate was blocked, perhaps because it wanted to avoid surveillance after driving on the highway at night.
However, Li Tang’s many years of experience still made him feel tense instantly. Almost reflexively, he stepped on the brakes and turned the steering wheel to the right.
The car was traveling very fast; it actually hit the left rear of Li Tang’s van. The impact was so strong that the van tilted to the right and hit the guardrail next to it.
Fortunately, because Li Tang slowed down in advance, the van had stopped by this time.
He Yu was wearing a seat belt. At that moment, he felt his body jump forward, and then he was pulled back by the seat belt and hit himself at the back of the chair. His first reaction was to turn around and look at the back seat. He exclaimed, “Qiao Mudong!”
“I’m okay,” Qiao Mudong assured him. “Are you okay?”
The van had three rows of seats. The rear compartment was dented by the impact, but luckily, the second row was unaffected. After Li Tang’s van was hit, the steering wheel turned to the left, and the right front of the van grazed the guardrail. The collision was not too serious, and no one was injured.
However, He Yu still felt shocked. He raised his head and saw that the car that hit them and had already driven ahead suddenly stopped on the highway.
Qiao Mudong said in a deep voice, “Be careful.”
Li Tang stretched out a hand and pressed He Yu’s head. “Get down.”
Qiao Mudong also said quickly, “Unbuckle your seat belt and squat under the seat!”
However, the expected attack did not happen. The right door of the car in front opened, and a young man came out. Because of the heavy rain, his clothes were now soaked as he walked towards Li Tang’s van.
Li Tang pressed a hand on He Yu’s back with some force, so He Yu lowered his body obediently.
The man walked to Li Tang’s side of the van’s door and knocked on the window.
Li Tang rolled down the window and looked at him calmly.
The man looked into the van’s window. He didn’t seem to expect that the van would have so many people inside. He was a little surprised, but he quickly smiled and said, “Li Tang, right?”
Li Tang replied, “It’s me. From which high-ranking person are you?”
The young man put one hand on the van’s door and said with a smile, “Mr. Hong asked me to warn you. Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask and don’t do what you shouldn’t do. Otherwise it won’t be the same next time. For now, it’s just as simple as a minor car accident.”
Li Tang asked calmly, “Which Mr. Hong?”
The young man slammed the van’s door hard. “Stop pretending! Don’t you already know which Mr. Hong you have offended?”
Li Tang said, “Oh, I remembered which Mr. Hong it was. So, did Mr. Hong tell you—” He deliberately prolonged the ending.
The young man listened attentively to his words.
As a result, in the next second, Li Tang unexpectedly slammed the van’s door open by raising his leg to knock it up. The man came so close that his body was suddenly knocked back because of this.
Li Tang stepped out, grabbed his arm, and pushed his body against the rear door. He sneered and said, “Did he tell you that you have to be smart when going out?”
Suddenly, two or three more people got out of the car in front, all holding bright long knives in their hands and shouting restlessly, “Stop! Let him go!”
Not only did Li Tang not back down, but he even grabbed the man’s hair with one hand and pulled his head back forcefully. Then he clasped his arm, raised his leg, and hit him on the waist. After that, he grabbed him while walking away, still facing those people.
Li Tang didn’t get too close. He didn’t mean to anger those people in the first place, so he just said, “Tell Hong Xiangjun that if he wants to play with me, then he can play with me for real. He should stop finding a few bastards just to scare me away.”
At this time, Qiao Mudong forcefully opened the van’s door at the back and stepped into the rain.
Qiao Mudong was tall, and there were no street lights on the highway. A faint outline of his figure could be seen through the headlights, which also gave people a strong sense of oppression emanating from him.
Li Tang finally let go of the person in his arms.
The man quickly took a few steps back, turned around, covered his arms, and looked at Li Tang nervously.
Li Tang uttered, “What? Are you still going to deal with me? When the matter is done, you will still go back to your boss Hong to get your money. So along the way, help me convey what I just said.”
Someone waved their arm and said, “Let’s go!”
Those people all got back in the car, quickly started the car, and disappeared on the highway.
Li Tang returned to the van and asked, “Is everyone okay?”
Qiao Mudong replied, “We’re okay.”
Both of them were wet. Li Tang went around to the back to see what the van looked like after being hit. Qiao Mudong asked him, “Can it still be driven?”
“Yes,” Li Tang said, “get in the van first.”
Back in the van, Li Tang put on his seat belt and said, “I’m sorry, those people originally came after me, but you guys got hurt along the way.”
Qiao Mudong snorted. “Hong Xiangjun have been around for a lifetime, but he still only knows some gangster tricks.”
Li Tang smiled. “The two of them weren’t famous from the start, so my father didn’t even look at them back then.”
Qiao Mudong reached around his arm from the back seat and touched He Yu’s head. “Are you okay?”
He Yu shook his head. “I’m okay.” He quietly covered his right wrist. When he crashed into the van, he was scratched with a deep wound from the door’s edge. He didn’t notice it at first, but later on, it started to hurt all the time, so he found out that it was actually bleeding when he tried to touch it with his other hand. But it wasn’t a serious injury, and the bleeding gradually stopped. Looking at the empty highway, he decided to go back to the city first.
The author has something to say:
… Here’s the extra story about Li Tang (ps: I didn’t say that Li Tang was the shou, nor did I say that he was the gong):
Hong Minhang’s cat was sick. He was weak for several days and didn’t eat much. He took the cat to the pet clinic, but others wouldn’t show up for him because he didn’t have enough money.
Hong Xiangfeng rarely paid attention to Hong Minhang, so he naturally didn’t have much pocket money. He thought it was enough to feed him, live with him, and support him in his studies.
Hong Minhang finally plucked up the courage to ask Hong Xiangfeng for money. Hong Xiangfeng asked solemnly, “What do you want money for?”
Hong Minhang answered, “I want to give my cat medical treatment.”
Hong Xiangfeng slapped him in the face, almost sending him flying. “It’s just a cat, let it die! Why does it have to be treated for its disease?”
Hong Minhang didn’t dare to look for Hong Xiangfeng anymore. He pestered Uncle Wang for a long time before he finally found out where Li Tang lived.
Li Tang did not live here on Xiangzhu Street, but he lived alone in a small apartment outside. He would only come here once in a while. The small apartment was built in the 1980s. The corridor was low and dark. Hong Minhang climbed to the fifth floor and knocked on the door while panting.
After a while, a gap opened in the door. Li Tang looked through the door’s gap warily before he finally opened the door wider. “Minhang, why are you here?”
After opening the door, Hong Minhang discovered that Li Tang was only wearing a pair of trousers and that his upper body was naked. He suddenly choked on his breath in surprise.
——To be continued
As they were driving on the highway I was anxiously waiting for them to get into an accident. The way the author described the weather in such detail really made me think this was what’s gonna happen but in the end it was a bit different of an accident.
Thank you for the update!
He yu don’t get hurt. Tell him he’s hurt
Wrist cuts are dangerous
Thank god no one was severely injured! Qiao mudong is gonna kick up a storm soon as he found out his baobei got hurt! D:<
Thanks for the chapter 💕