Li Tang returned the house he had rented for more than ten years. He used all the savings in the bank to rent two adjacent shops on Renxin Road and open a small restaurant.
Hong Xiangfeng promised him a house. But when Hong Minhang later asked Li Tang to transfer the property to him, Li Tang directly refused, saying it was not necessary.
Sitting in the small room on the second floor of Shiyouwei, looking down from the window, Li Tang felt that this was the life that suited him. If he hadn’t met Hong Xiangfeng when he came out of his hometown, he would have been like most people from the countryside. Like the young people who came out, they would find a place to work, save some money, marry a wife, and have children. They might be able to stay in the city in the future, or maybe go back to their hometown and build a house for the rest of their lives.
As for meeting He Yu and Qiao Mudong later, it was an unexpected surprise for Li Tang.
When Hong Minhang was victimized by Hong Xiangjun and his brother and was lying in the hospital almost dead, it was Qiao Mudong who stepped forward to help Li Tang, so that Li Tang had the opportunity to see Hong Minhang again. Li Tang was most afraid of owing favors to others in his life. If he had already paid off what he owed to the Hong family, then he really didn’t know how to repay what he owed to Qiao Mudong.
He thought that after Hong Minhang was discharged from the hospital safely and returned to Dihong, he would have nothing to do with him. But unexpectedly, something happened to Qiao Mudong, and he was imprisoned in the detention center. Li Tang felt uncomfortable seeing He Yu like that, so in order to help He Yu and Qiao Mudong, he went to see Hong Minhang again.
Hong Minhang was not too surprised that Li Tang came to see him about Qiao Mudong. He sat behind his big desk and asked Li Tang, “Is that He Yu very important to you now?”
Li Tang thought about it seriously, “I consider them very important friends.”
Hong Minhang tapped the table with his fingers, then picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. After the call was connected, Li Tang heard Hong Minhang say, “Lao Gao, please do me a favor, it’s about a friend. ”
After saying a few words briefly, Hong Minhang hung up the phone and tore off a piece of note paper from the table. He wrote his name and phone number and handed it to Li Tang. “This is Lawyer Gao, Dihong’s legal advisor. He’s from the PPP and is the most sought-after. I told him to contact you later.”
Li Tang looked at the name on the note. He didn’t recognize it. After Hong Xiangfeng died, Hong Minhang no longer had any scruples. He had eliminated many of Hong Xiangfeng’s old subordinates in Dihong. Hong Xiangjun and his brother, who remained, were, after all, accounted for their shares in Dihong, so Hong Minhang couldn’t touch them for unknown reasons until something happened to him.
Li Tang said thank you.
Hong Minhang put his elbows on the table and said with a smile, “You’re welcome. If you have time, can you have a meal with me?”
Li Tang had just asked Hong Minhang for help. Naturally, it was hard to refuse at this time, so he stood up and said, “Okay.”
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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Li Tang looked at Hong Minhang in a daze. When Hong Minhang noticed his gaze and raised his head, Li Tang did not avoid it.
Hong Minhang smiled and asked Li Tang, “What do you want to eat tonight?”
Li Tang said “whatever he wants”.
As he finished speaking, it suddenly started to rain heavily outside. There was a crash, and then dense raindrops suddenly fell down. Both of them were stunned and turned to look out the window.
Li Tang stood up and walked to the window, looking at the people on the street outside hurriedly running to take shelter from the rain. He gently pressed his palms against the glass window.
Hong Minhang also stood up and said, “It’s raining, so we can’t go outside. Let’s go to my place instead.”
Hong Minhang moved out of the Hong family’s old house. After Hong Xiangfeng’s accident, Sister Hua felt scared to be alone at home every day. She didn’t even dare to go up to the second floor. Two months later, she handed her resignation to Hong Minhang.
Hong Minhang sat alone in the study room where Hong Xiangfeng died, thinking about what Li Tang said about nightmares. He wondered if Li Tang, like Sister Hua, was also afraid of the ghost of Hong Xiangfeng’s death. If that was the case, if he wanted Li Tang to return to him, did he have to stay far away from Hong Xiangfeng so that Li Tang could no longer think of Hong Xiangfeng?
Thus, Hong Minhang found a new house. It was in the most prosperous area in the south of the city. There was a large park next to it. From the balcony of his home, he could see the clear artificial lake in the park and the green plants everywhere.
The entire home was decorated in warm colors, with light yellow walls, soft fabric sofas, and even the lights were all bright and warm orange.
Li Tang was a little surprised when he followed Hong Minhang in. This house was more suitable for a family of three with children, not for a single man like Hong Minhang.
Before going home, Hong Minhang called a nearby supermarket to ask for help with delivery. When he got home, the food he ordered was delivered. They were all fresh ingredients. Hong Minhang told Li Tang that he brought him here to cook food for him.
Hong Minhang put on an apron and went to the kitchen, while Li Tang sat alone on the sofa and looked at his house.
Although the decorations looked soft and warm, there were actually very few things in the house. If one looked closely, they would notice that it did not feel like a family house. There was not even a photo. The sofa and coffee table were very clean. The owner did not seem to stay at home often, simply hiring cleaning workers to do regular cleaning.
Li Tang wandered around on the balcony. He returned to the living room and walked to Hong Minhang’s bedroom, gently pushing the door open. The room was very tidy. The quilts were folded on the pillows and there were no wrinkles on the blankets. They were all light green in color. The only thing that stood out a little bit was a stuffed toy cat lying on Hong Minhang’s bed. The fur on its body was yellow and white. It was the same color as the cat that Hong Minhang had on Xiangzhu Street before. It was just that it was big and had a sweet smile on its face.
The toy cat was very big, half as tall as an adult, and was big enough for Hong Minhang to hold in his arms and sleep.
Li Tang suddenly felt as if his heart had been poked by something, making it sore, numb, and swollen.
While Hong Minhang was still busy in the kitchen, Li Tang closed the door to the room and went back to the balcony to smoke a cigarette.
Dinner was very simple. Because Hong Minhang himself was not very good at cooking, he only fried two steaks. The taste was not particularly good, and the cooking was average. Moreover, Li Tang did not like to eat Western food. He preferred fried vegetables and stir-fried Chinese food.
But Li Tang still ate very cleanly.
After dinner, when Hong Minhang was clearing the table, Li Tang helped him put away the plates. “I’ll do it.” He moved quickly, rolling up his sleeves as he entered the kitchen. He quickly washed a pile of dishes, chopsticks, and a frying pan. He cleaned them and then wiped the cabinets with a rag.
When leaving, Hong Minhang originally wanted to give Li Tang a gift, but Li Tang refused. After selling his car, he only had a second-hand van used to buy goods. He didn’t drive it much at ordinary times. He took buses or taxis, and gradually he only used them for buying goods.
In the end, Hong Minhang didn’t insist. Li Tang left alone.
After that, he didn’t see Hong Minhang for a long time. Li Tang accompanied He Yu until he found evidence and rescued Qiao Mudong from the detention center. During these times, Li Tang was taking care of all the business under Qiao Mudong. Li Tang was so busy that after waiting for Qiao Mudong, he returned everything to him and asked for a few days of leave.
Li Tang went back to Xiangzhu Street without any special purpose. He just wanted to see if Hong Minhang’s beloved lazy cat was still there. However, after arriving, he learned that the cat had passed away two months ago. So Li Tang went to the pet market again and found a kitten with a coat color very similar to Hong Minhang’s cat. Li Tang hesitated at first before he bought the kitten.
Li Tang did not give the kitten to Hong Minhang. Hong Minhang had left Xiangzhu Street for so many years, and it seemed that he had never planned to take his cat back to him. In Li Tang’s view, what he needed might be the real one. So Li Tang just planned to keep this cat with him.
The kitten had been biting Li Tang’s slippers since it followed Li Tang home. Li Tang didn’t even think about giving it a name. He poured out the cat food and milk bought at the supermarket and put them in front of it, not knowing what else to do.
Now, this house was rented separately by Li Tang. As Shiyouwei became lively, he couldn’t live in it anymore, so he rented a small apartment with an elevator and lived alone.
Looking at the kitten spinning around under his feet every day, Li Tang would think of Hong Minhang. In fact, Hong Minhang was not a kitten at all. He was clearly a decisive and brave big cat. However, he was young at the time. He looked gentle and harmless, just like a cute kitten.
Then one day, Li Tang suddenly received a call from Hong Minhang. Hong Minhang only asked him one question, “Did you have nightmares when you saw me that day?”
Li Tang was stunned at the time, and it took him a long time to react. Hong Minhang still remembered what he had said. At that time, he told him that whenever he saw him, he would think of the shot in Hong Xiangfeng’s chest. That it was like a nightmare.
Li Tang replied, “No.” He had no nightmares, and he hadn’t thought about Hong Xiangfeng for a long time.
Hong Minhang seemed to be relieved, “Are you free then? Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
Li Tang hesitated for a moment.
Hong Minhang said, “It doesn’t matter. If it’s inconvenient, let’s just try next time.” After that, he hung up the phone.
Li Tang held his cell phone and stood there in a daze for a while.
The kitten was at his feet, scratching his slippers with its paws. Li Tang knelt down and touched its furry head. The kitten raised its head and looked at Li Tang for a while, then lowered its head and continued to scratch.
The author has something to say:
What I want to say is that it’s almost the end. In fact, the two of them didn’t have much conflict. Hong Minhang shot to save Li Tang. Li Tang didn’t have many reasons to struggle with. As time passed, he let go of a lot of things… I’m sorry that the extra chapter took so long. The original plan was to be 10,000 to 20,000 words, but I couldn’t control it——, there are probably one or two chapters left to finish.
I just love these two so much …thank you for translating their part also🌺