Because of my strict orders, all the guests today appeared to be impeccably dressed. Even the flirtatious mistresses of the gangster bosses, who usually flirt with everyone, were dressed like noble ladies.
However... it still felt a bit strange after all...
Especially before the wedding even started, many guests in the courtyard were exchanging greetings and making friends—it's quite common for them… But I happen to be involved in both the legitimate and underworld circles. With such a large group of guests mingling together, it's inevitable that some funny things will happen…
"This guy looks like a big shot! I wonder where he's making his fortune?" a gang leader laughed.
"Yes, I am a judge from the local prosecutor's office. Mr. Chen has always cooperated strongly with our judicial organs, and I have come here today to offer my congratulations..." A prosecutor politely smiled and said, "May I ask who you are...?"
"Oh! Prosecutor? Aha, perfect timing. I have some business in the North District. You've heard of the 'Terrifying Butcher' of the North District, right? That's me! Sigh, one of my brothers was recently charged with drug possession and assault. I wonder if you could do me a favor..."
"..."
*****************
"Huh? This guy looks familiar."
"Um...you look familiar to me too..."
"Aha!" a burly man shouted, "I remember now. Last month, my cargo at sea was seized by the Coast Guard! And you were the one leading the team, weren't you?"
"It really was you! I remember now! That day you led a bunch of your men to violently resist law enforcement, and then you even jumped into the sea and ran away!"
*****************
"Oh? I heard you're in charge of the cultural industry in the government? That's great! Let's keep in touch and help each other out in the future."
"Please don't be so polite... Uh, it seems you're also involved in the cultural industry? May I ask what you do? Do you invest in theater performances? Or are you involved in entertainment culture? Or the electronic entertainment industry?"
"Ahem... Um, I deal in pirated goods... Absolutely no censorship on adult films... Whether you want Japanese stuff or stuff from various underground companies popular in Europe and America, I can get it all, all genuine materials shipped in by sea!!"
*****************
"Sigh, it's getting harder and harder to catch criminals these days," a senior police officer sighed. "There was a shooting in the West End last week, and the perpetrator still hasn't been caught. Actually, the case wasn't that serious. There were no injuries, and the property damage wasn't significant. If they had a good lawyer, they might have been able to just pay a fine and get some community service... It's just that the shooter has disappeared somewhere. My men have practically turned the entire block upside down, but they still haven't found him..."
Just then, a burly man with a hooked nose stepped forward, patted his chest, and laughed loudly, "Good! Officer, don't worry. We've hit it off so well today, I'll take care of this! It's just arresting someone, right? I'll make him turn himself in at the police station tomorrow!"
"Uh...who are you?"
"Hehe. I'm the boss of the West District. That case you mentioned was handled by one of my underlings. Since you've put it that way today, I'll give you face and have him come knocking on my door to drop the case tomorrow!"
“…”
*****************
"Huh? What did you say? You're from the Women's Protection Foundation? Aha, we should get to know each other better! My business has a lot of women! Black, white, Asian, Asian, European, African, South American—basically, women from all over the world, I have them! I just wanted to ask if your Women's Protection Foundation provides any financial assistance to women? Can I apply for relief on behalf of the women under my care… Ah? No financial assistance? Oh, but there are regular free health checkups? That's great! We must protect these girls well; they're our money-making treasures! Ah? What? You're asking what kind of business I do? You're too kind! We're doing the most environmentally friendly business: saving countless men, purifying social morals, rescuing divorced families, and eliminating pollution and waste! As the saying goes, no land needed! No house needed! All you need is a bed! I'm the biggest pimp in all of Vancouver… Hey! Don't run away!!!"
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Four: Girl, Give This Old Man a Smile...
Hiding behind the glass balcony upstairs, I stood side by side with Bucktooth Zhou. He had a cigar between his fingers and looked down at the guests who were having a “enthusiastic” conversation in the courtyard below. He smiled and sighed, “Hmm, it seems everyone is getting along very well.”
I watched the scene below in silence. If my men hadn't intervened, several people would have almost started fighting...
"Don't worry, it's your Fifth Master's wedding today. In Vancouver, no one will refuse to give you face. Everyone knows you have connections in both the legal and illegal worlds. The authorities are also relying on you to manage the underworld, so there won't be any problems." Buck-toothed Zhou smiled confidently.
I thought for a moment and said, "I do have a question for you... What exactly is your relationship with Xu Xin? Is she your illegitimate daughter? The cunning look in her smile is just like yours!"
Buck-toothed Zhou sighed and said with a wry smile, "Boss, do you think I could possibly have such a beautiful daughter? This girl is indeed related to me; she's the daughter of an old friend..." Then he looked at me warily, "What's wrong? You're not interested in her too, are you? Boss, you have one confidante after another; please leave my little niece alone..."
…Why do I see a hint of triumph in his eyes? I glared at him and said irritably, “Don’t worry! I’m not interested in your niece, but Xiluo is pursuing her very aggressively. I don’t object to that. But since you recommended her to us, we should ask if you’re willing to give your approval first.”
"Xiro?" Zhou with buck teeth was taken aback for a moment, then he thought for a moment and smiled, "I have no objection. As long as he has the ability to handle Xu Xin."
“It’s a deal.” I laughed and patted Zhou with buck teeth on the shoulder: “Look, Xiluo is my brother, and Xu Xin is your niece. I’m afraid it won’t be long before we become family.”
"I have no problem with it. Anyway, this girl will find a good family sooner or later." Buck-toothed Zhou grinned as I slapped him, glaring at me, "But let me make this clear beforehand, I won't be contributing a single penny of the dowry!"
A few minutes later, one of my men knocked on the door and whispered something in my ear. I instantly perked up, my face beaming with joy! Forget about my protruding teeth, I leaped out the door!!
I rushed downstairs. Just as I reached the corner, I saw two familiar figures standing in the living room!
The first one was tall and slender. A handsome face, with a hint of wickedness and a lewd smile, that intoxicating smile carrying a touch of untamed spirit—who else could it be but A-Ze?!
The one behind him remained completely calm. At his feet sat an old-fashioned leather suitcase, looking utterly ancient – who else could it be but a blockhead?
I cheered. Ignoring the stairs, I leaped over the railing and landed, then pounced on them, catching them both in a hug.
The three of us hugged and burst into laughter. Then I released the other two, punched each of them hard in the chest, and laughed, "Good heavens! I've been waiting for you for ages! And you two too. Why didn't you come sooner? You had to come at the last minute! If you hadn't made it to my wedding, I'd be coming back to China to hunt you down!"
Aze chuckled and said, "Come on, there's the Pacific Ocean in between, and the plane ride took more than ten hours. I was exhausted. If the flight attendants weren't pretty, I would have been depressed to death."
Wood bent down, opened his suitcase, and took out a small red paper packet, handing it to me: "Here, this is your wedding gift." I took it and noticed the thick stack, frowning as I said, "Why are you doing this to me too?"
Aze suppressed a laugh and said, "Go ahead and open it."
Without any hesitation, we opened the red envelopes on the spot, only to find that they contained not banknotes, but two round-trip plane tickets!
Wood sighed and called out loudly, "Come on! Who's going to reimburse my plane ticket here?"
I laughed, but then suddenly tore the plane ticket to shreds: "Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving so soon. You won't be leaving for at least ten days or two weeks!"
Aze crossed his arms and chuckled, "I don't mind. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the charm of the pretty girls in North America... Hmm, you're doing so well in Hollywood now, when are you going to introduce me to some actresses?" Then he deliberately glanced at Mu Tou and whispered with a malicious expression, "I'm not in a hurry to leave, but someone else is just itching to go home... Sigh..."
With a calm expression, Mu Tou said indifferently, "Summer vacation is almost over, and I need to take YoYo to school."
I was completely stunned!
Looking at Aze's malicious expression, I suddenly remembered that I had always suspected that Mu Tou's recent changes might be due to some romantic troubles. My biggest suspicion was that he might have found another woman, because in my opinion, only the nourishment of love could bring this blockhead back to life!
But...YoYo?
I was dumbfounded... Uh... YoYo, although this little girl is indeed exceptionally beautiful, and a beauty in the making... But, she's only a little over ten years old, right?
Although I've always thought Wood was an extraordinary person, extraordinary people should be treated as extraordinary things!
But... damn it, could this guy really like young girls? Joking aside, this is not a good thing.
I was about to speak with a strange look on my face when Aze, seeing that I had misunderstood, quickly explained, "Damn! You're thinking the wrong thing! Although that little loli is indeed cute, our Mu Tou isn't that kind of beast! Hmm... in another six or seven years, it'll be about right." Seeing Mu Tou's murderous expression, Aze quickly changed his tune, "Well, Xiao Wu, don't misunderstand. Someone isn't just feeling romantic... but has inexplicably developed a fatherly instinct! I don't understand why, but this guy really treats YoYo like his own daughter... Sigh, it's really unbelievable. He's still a virgin who's never even touched a woman, yet he's taking on the role of a father, and doing it quite well!"
I was amazed, but now wasn't the time to discuss it in detail. Sure enough, Aze then shouted, "I want to see the bride! I want to see the bride!!"
Then they rubbed their hands together, looking very excited.
Wood perfectly exposed the guy's ulterior motives: "I think you want to see the bridesmaid... Hmm, just now outside, your subordinate casually mentioned that the bridesmaid is very pretty."
I laughed and said, "You can forget about being the bridesmaid, Ze. Her boyfriend is Xiluo, whom you all know... Ze, Xiluo can take on a dozen people at once, so be careful... Hehe."
While joking around, I led the two of them to the bridal dressing room at the back.
Although the custom dictates that the groom cannot see the bride before the wedding, I've always been a rule-breaker, and the girls around the bride are used to it. They just couldn't help but click their tongues in curiosity when they saw me bringing two more grown men.
The dressing room wasn't big to begin with, and Aze, being the most cunning guy, saw Yan Di dressed up beautifully as soon as he entered. His eyes lit up, and he cheered enthusiastically, shouting, "Ah! Sister Yan Di, long time no see! Please accept the warm greetings from your motherland and friends!!" He then opened his arms to hug her. I quickly stepped forward, just in time to block his wicked attempt to take advantage of the situation.
However, this guy was shameless and didn't care at all. Seeing that he couldn't hug Yan Di, he turned around and opened his arms to the group of girls around him, shouting enthusiastically, "Please accept the warm greetings from our motherland and friends..." After saying that, he pounced on her, which immediately caused the girls in the room to scatter and laugh.
Aze spent half the day trying to hug anyone, but failed. He returned smelling only of perfume, and couldn't help but feel dejected: "Sigh, the girls here aren't enthusiastic at all... It's really disheartening for my relatives and friends from our homeland..."
Yan Di blushed, but she held back her laughter and snuggled up to me.
Everyone else in the room left, leaving only the four of us. Aze and Mutou started acting silly again, deliberately staring at Yan Di from head to toe, occasionally letting out strange sighs.
Yan Di is shy and couldn't stand being stared at, so I hid behind her. I couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You two, what are you looking at!"
With a stern face, Mu Tou said, "It's different! It's completely different! We're looking at her now because we're looking at our good friend, Sister Yan Di. Later, she won't be 'good friend, Sister Yan Di' anymore, but will become 'Fifth Sister-in-law.' Of course, we should take a good look now! Otherwise, wouldn't we be missing out big time!"
I chuckled and made a couple of sarcastic remarks, then pulled the two of them down to sit and chat. Although smoking wasn't allowed in the bride's dressing room, we couldn't care less about such things after being reunited for so long... Anyway, we're not exactly rule-abiding people, and Yan Di wouldn't mind these things.
The four of us actually sat down here, puffing on cigarettes, and started catching up on how we hadn't seen each other in a long time.
As we talked, three of the four of us were present, and the absence of one naturally felt a bit awkward. Inevitably, the conversation turned to Qiao Qiao… Aze and Mu Tou, being clever, deliberately avoided mentioning Qiao Qiao, probably afraid of making Yan Di feel awkward. However, Yan Di was very considerate and took the initiative to speak, “Hmm, why didn’t Sister Qiao Qiao come this time? Hmm… she… she doesn’t still hate me, does she?” Her expression couldn’t help but show a hint of melancholy.
Aze and Mu Tou exchanged a glance, and Aze quickly laughed, "Yan Di, don't worry! That female bandit Qiao Qiao is living the high life in Nanjing! Don't worry, she definitely doesn't mean any harm to you! But she really can't come this time. Her old man has put her under house arrest, and she's constantly being watched. She can't escape... She also asked us to pass on a message to you, wishing you a long and happy marriage, and..." Aze gave a bitter smile, looking strange, and said, "Also, she said you can call her, and she can teach you a few tricks to make sure you drain Xiao Wu completely in bed, so he'll never have the energy to philander again... Hahahaha."
Although the words were quite blunt, they were indeed Qiao Qiao's style. Yan Di blushed with embarrassment upon hearing this, but her inner turmoil eased somewhat.
Speaking of Qiaoqiao, Aze and Mutou couldn't help but beam with joy. They said that Qiaoqiao was causing trouble in Nanjing, always trying to find ways to anger her old man, and always stirring up trouble for no reason. She had tried to escape several times, but without success.
"Last time she tried to escape through the ventilation duct, but recently she got stuck inside, unable to move forward or backward. Her bodyguard had to rescue her. As a result, Miss Qiao was furious, thinking she had gained weight. She went back home and didn't eat meat for a month, managing to lose seven pounds! It turned out that a button from her skirt that day had gotten stuck in the ventilation duct; otherwise, she would have escaped long ago! In her anger, Miss Qiao ate a whole bowl of 'Braised Tiger Skin King Pork Knuckle' that day! She said she wanted to eat back the weight she'd gained in a month..."
"Last time, she tried to trick her henchmen into running away. She came up with a plan to pretend to go to a women's clothing store to buy lingerie. She tried to sneak out of the fitting room, but while she managed to shake off her henchmen, the lingerie store owner chased her for several blocks! She almost ran herself out of breath, but in the end, she was caught and pinned to the ground in public. In the end, she was even taken to the police station as a thief because she took the lingerie without paying... Miss Qiao was extremely frustrated. She never expected that she could shake off several professional bodyguards and be chased back by a middle-aged woman from a lingerie store."
They talked and laughed, and finally Aze couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, what a pity. If Qiaoqiao could come, it would be ten times more fun. That female bandit is a born troublemaker..."
I didn't speak, but my mind was filled with the funny stories they told about Qiaoqiao's escape and the mishaps she caused. Although they were amusing, they also stirred a tender feeling within me… Hmm, Qiaoqiao… Qiaoqiao. Were you in such a hurry to run away to see me?
Hmm! Maybe after this is over, I'll try to go back to China! I have to see her at least once!
Aze and Mu Tou were still talking: "At the airport, Qiao Qiao saw us off, but she was accompanied by her old man's men. That poor girl watched us go through airport security with such a pitiful look on her face. Sigh, she looked like she was about to cry. Her expression was even more pitiful than a dog's... Hahahaha..."
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a voice from outside the door that sent chills down their spines!
"An old lecher! A piece of rotten wood! Who do you think is pitiful! Who do you think is like a little dog!"
The words had barely left her lips when a loud bang resounded! A long, slender, beautiful leg kicked open the dressing room door! Then, a stunning figure with flowing long hair descended from the sky! Her left hand formed a tiger's claw, while her right hand clenched into a fist the size of a clay pot! Her feet moved with perfect poise, her stance perfectly balanced! Her gaze was like lightning, her aura overwhelming!
The person before me had arched willow-leaf eyebrows, slightly upturned phoenix eyes, and an expression that seemed to hold both joy and reproach. Her cherry-red lips held a hint of a smile and a touch of fiery passion. Her long dress was torn at the shoulder, revealing a patch of her fair, white shoulder. And looking at her feet, things were even more bizarre: one foot was wearing a slipper, while the other was bare! Her face was covered in a noticeable streak of black ash, it was unclear where she had rubbed it on…
The four of us in the room were all stunned for a moment! Aze's mouth was wide open, and he didn't even notice that saliva was dripping onto his sleeve. Mu Tou's cigarette fell from his hand and burned a hole in Aze's pants!
The person in front of me is none other than Miss Qiao, the leader of the Four Great Wolves of Nanjing! She's known as the unparalleled and fierce Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Qiao Qiao suddenly appeared before them, like a divine being descending from the heavens. Her captivating eyes swept across the entire room before landing on Yan Di, where a sudden spark of light ignited within them. The female bandit immediately beamed and laughed heartily three times: "Aha! What a beautiful bride! It wasn't for nothing that I endured countless hardships and trekked all the way here... Come, beautiful bride, please accept the warm greetings from your relatives and friends back home!"
After saying that, Miss Qiao opened her arms, drooling, and pounced on Yan Di to hug him.
I was stunned, but then I saw Qiao Qiao rush to Yan Di's side, first hugging her tightly, then hooking her delicate chin with one hand, a wicked smile on her face, and maliciously saying, "Come on! Girl! Give this grandpa a smile..."
Yan Di was already stunned by Qiao Qiao's teasing, but Qiao Qiao, taking advantage of everyone's momentary lapse in judgment, quickly planted a kiss on Yan Di's left cheek. Yan Di finally snapped out of her daze, gasped, and hugged Qiao Qiao tightly, tears streaming down her face: "Qiao Qiao, you... how did you get back? You..."
Seeing the bride holding Qiaoqiao, the two beauties embracing each other, Aze and Mutou were stunned. Mutou coughed and was about to ask a question when Qiaoqiao glared at him: "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen the friendship between beauties?! And who said I was pitiful just now? Who said I was like a puppy!"
That one glance and those one sentence immediately startled Aze and Mutou, who quickly turned their heads away. Aze muttered, "I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything!"
Wood, looking completely at ease, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the ceiling, and sighed affectionately, "Ah, the moon is so round tonight..."
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Five: Four to Two
Miss Qiao's sudden appearance is such a surprise that it could probably give anyone a heart attack.
After a while of commotion, things calmed down. I looked at Qiaoqiao; although she was radiant, she looked quite disheveled. Her clothes had a hole in them, revealing a large section of her shoulder, her face was covered in soot, and she had lost one of her shoes.