Chapter 153
Chapter 153
After Shen Shi was taken to the station, Qiao Yu happened to see the human traffickers from that morning there as well.
Seeing those scumbags under arrest put his mind at ease.
Several peaceful days passed. During that time, Shang Yan took Qiao Yu to have his hair dyed back to its original color.
Tony gazed happily at the handsome young man restored to his full glory in the mirror and even trimmed his bangs for free. “This really looks better. You seem much livelier now.”
“Thanks!” Qiao Yu stood and slapped Tony’s frail shoulder hard.
He looked as if he were trying to start a fight.
Tony grimaced in pain. “You’ve got quite a strong hand, young man.”
Qiao Yu raised a brow with a smile. “Be honest. Are you angry that I hit you?”
Tony blinked in confusion.
“There. Now you’re angry, so you’re more lively too. Isn’t that great?”
Tony was speechless.
Shang Yan hurriedly dragged Qiao Yu away, afraid the entire salon would gang up on him.
Back home, Shang Yan pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. “Why do you always have to ask for it?”
Qiao Yu tilted his head, menace in his eyes. “Ask for what? Be specific.”
Shang Yan blew him a kiss through the air. “Kisses.”
Qiao Yu fell silent.
What did one do when one could not out-flirt the other person?
Give him the silent treatment!
It lasted less than three minutes.
Qiao Yu looked helplessly at the man standing in the doorway with a pillow in his arms.
For someone so tall to put on that innocent little-bunny expression from their school days was simply too incongruous.
“Seriously… Aren’t you a little old to be pretending you’re young and cute?”
Shang Yan felt personally attacked.
He shamelessly climbed onto the bed while nagging in Qiao Yu’s ear. “Am I really that old?”
“Yes.”
Qiao Yu said it without the slightest shame. His soul might be the same age as that old dog Shang, but his body wasn’t.
That’s right. He was still young.
As for Ren Yan’s claim that he was an underworld officer who had committed some offense, he could disregard it entirely.
Without concrete evidence, he refused to admit a thing!
Thoroughly wounded, Shang Yan wrapped an arm around Qiao Yu’s neck without warning and bit hard into that relentlessly argumentative mouth.
Qiao Yu flew into a rage!
He kicked at Shang Yan, only for the man to catch his ankle and give it a hard tug. Qiao Yu lost control and tumbled straight into his arms.
For an instant, they both froze.
Their thoughts drifted back to that summer at the very same time.
Ring, ring, ring-
The electronic bell on the classroom wall had lost most of its paint and let out a dying howl.
Qiao Yu had been unable to sit still for ages. Before the teacher could dismiss the class, he grabbed his schoolbag and bolted.
By the time Shang Yan stood and looked to the side, all that remained was an empty desk and a fountain pen that had accidentally fallen to the floor… its barrel, anyway.
Qiao Yu was the first to race out of the teaching building. He waved at the group of young thugs across from the school, then called to the man at their head, “Seventh Brother!”
That man was the big brother who watched Qiao Yu’s back-Qian Lao Qi.
Qian Lao Qi was not entirely a good man, but neither was he completely bad.
He could be called bad, yet he paid Qiao Yu’s school fees and constantly reminded him to study hard. He could be called good, yet he took Qiao Yu along to smoke, drink, and fight.
All in all, he was a walking contradiction.
Qian Lao Qi carried himself like a proper gang leader. He gave Qiao Yu a cool nod and asked, “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
Qiao Yu shook his head.
Qian Lao Qi generously handed him three hundred yuan. “Use this for now. When we’re finished, buy yourself something to eat.”
Without waiting for a reply, he raised his hand and signaled the group forward. “Come on. Help me take care of some business first.”
Money in hand, Qiao Yu eagerly trotted after him. “Seventh Brother, who are we taking out this time?”
“Why does a kid like you have such murderous instincts?” Qian Lao Qi lifted a foot to kick him.
Qiao Yu was no fool who would stand still and obediently let himself be kicked. Naturally, Qian Lao Qi’s foot struck empty air.
But Qian Lao Qi doted on him and did not try again. “Stop talking about fighting and killing all the time. We’re negotiating with Zheng Laohu today. You just need to stand in the back and make up the numbers. Studying hard is what really matters for you, understand?”
Qiao Yu shrugged indifferently. The sight of his impervious, devil-may-care attitude infuriated Qian Lao Qi, who continued fussing like an old mother. “An education is still useful. You’ll understand when you’re older.”
Qiao Yu was exasperated. “Seventh Brother, you’re the boss of the East District. Is it really appropriate for you to tell me that?”
Qian Lao Qi sighed. “Forget it. Just keep your mouth shut!”
Their destination was not far. They reached it after a five-minute walk.
It was a karaoke club at the corner called Shining.
The moment they reached the entrance, the greeter stationed outside froze. Suppressing his fear, he approached and asked, “Are you gentlemen here to sing? We still have private rooms available.”
Qian Lao Qi tossed his unfinished cigarette onto the ground and ground out the ember beneath his shoe. “We’re here to see Zheng Laohu. We made an appointment. I’m Qian Lao Qi.”
Understanding dawned on the greeter’s face. He nodded. “Brother Laohu told us you were coming. You can go straight to VIP Room Three on the sixth floor. He’s waiting for you there.”
Qiao Yu swaggered into the club with the others, a black schoolbag still slung across his back. Among the motley collection of crooked young thugs, he stood out like a sore thumb.
The riot of colored lights in the sixth-floor VIP area hurt Qiao Yu’s eyes. When the door opened, a dense cloud of cigarette smoke rolled over him.
He immediately spotted the gaunt man seated in the center of the sofa. The man’s features were harsh, with an undercurrent of cruelty. Most conspicuous of all, however, was that he had only one leg. The other had been replaced from the knee down with a steel prosthesis.
His trouser leg was rolled halfway up, leaving it openly exposed without the slightest attempt to hide it.
Once Qian Lao Qi and his men entered, Zheng Laohu pushed away the heavily made-up woman beside him. Rolling a strand of collector’s beads in one hand, he smiled mockingly. “Qian Lao Qi, impressive. You bring this many people for a single visit?”
“Hardly. None of us live as comfortably as you. Guarding Shining must be much easier than running around outside in all weather. You even get to detain a couple of people for ransom now and then, don’t you?”
Zheng Laohu clicked his tongue. “That’s not how it happened. Your men started a fight and caused trouble in my establishment. Forget everything else-the damaged tables and chairs and the liquor they smashed still have to be paid for, don’t they?”
Qiao Yu blinked blankly. Tilting his head, he whispered to the person beside him, “Who did they detain?”
The man lowered his head. “Yanan and Fatty.”
Yanan was a good friend of Qiao Yu’s. He often showed up outside the school with a head of blue hair to hang out with him, but he had a terrible temper and was easily provoked.
Could someone have set him up…?
Knowing his side was in the wrong, Qian Lao Qi gritted his teeth and asked, “How much? Give me a number.”
Zheng Laohu jerked his chin at one of the men beside him. The man took out a bill and walked forward. “The tables, chairs, flooring, and imported liquor they smashed come to a total of 70,954 yuan.”
Qian Lao Qi’s eyes bulged. He kicked over the round stool in front of him. “Do you take me for an easy mark?”
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Zheng Laohu remained seated, utterly unruffled. “Qian Lao Qi, if you don’t have seventy thousand today, you won’t be taking your men with you.”
“And if I refuse to pay?”
Zheng Laohu smiled. “Then don’t blame me if they end up missing an arm or a leg.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
There was little Zheng Laohu did not dare to do. He tossed out a small square box.
It flew straight toward Qiao Yu’s head. He instinctively caught it and passed it to Qian Lao Qi.
Qian Lao Qi opened it. Inside lay a severed little finger…