Through the earpiece, Jin 2 chuckled and said, "Now that he mentions it, I realize that it does have that meaning."
I was dumbfounded and said, "Damn, you spent all night coming up with this revenge line, didn't you?"
Jin Shaoyan chuckled, "Don't misunderstand, I wasn't talking about looks. My grandmother is a very lovely old lady. Even now, she only eats vegetables she grows herself, calls the toilet 'outhouse,' and when she's angry, she points at my nose and calls me 'bastard,' regardless of whether my parents are present. I think you two are very similar." A gentle and affectionate look naturally appeared on Jin Shaoyan's face as he spoke of his grandmother. I think if he could have continued living with his grandmother, he wouldn't have become like this today.
“Her 80th birthday is in three days, and I hope you can attend. She’ll like you. Besides, many of my friends are interested in horse racing, and your name is already well-known there. You can make friends with them.” Jin Shaoyan didn’t say anything more: he was clearly promoting me, lifting me up from the lowest working class and throwing me into their circle—a circle full of ingrates.
This time, instead of using the Kim 2 teaching method, I said, "I'd be more than happy to. What does she like? I'll bring her a gift."
Jin Shaoyan waved his hand: "Just go. Come to my office at 10 a.m. on the 17th." He said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I've already paid. Enjoy your meal. I have to go now." After he left, Jin Shaoyan No. 2 said excitedly, "I had the accident on the 17th while driving from a hotel to a villa in the suburbs. If he had left from the office, he would probably have been much safer."
I said casually, "Now shouldn't you give me half of the deposit? Two and a half million."
Jin Shaoyan said, "Anyway, you're just one step away from success. What's wrong with waiting two or three days? We'll pay you in full then."
I abandoned my gentlemanly demeanor and yelled into the phone, "Then you'd better pay my phone bill for this month first!"
For the remaining two days, we stayed at the hotel. During the day, I would occasionally (!) go to check on the shop, and at night, Liu Bang and I would play all night long. Sometimes we played mahjong, rat rat rat, sometimes we played Texas Hold'em, bull bull bull, sometimes we played Dou Dizhu, tiger tiger tiger... and sometimes we played Texas Hold'em, pig pig pig (if you don't understand this part, go and watch Hengyuanxiang's latest advertisement).
Unlike Li Shishi, who needed time to familiarize herself with things before turning the tide, Liu Bang could dominate any situation from the start. Being with them always reminds me of my carefree and idle days in the past.
These past two days, Jin Shaoyan had Baozi drive his Ferrari to work. Baozi wasn't confident in his driving skills, but Jin Shaoyan said, "You can crash the car however you want, as long as you're okay." This was exactly the opposite of what Baozi was worried about. After Jin Shaoyan said that, Baozi drove his car like a rocket and emerged completely unscathed. Driving his Ferrari to greet customers at his shop, Baozi was living a very idyllic life.
On the evening of the 16th, Jin Shaoyan drank a lot of alcohol at the dinner table and said many inexplicable things. Everyone could tell something was wrong. I felt very sad too, so I stood up and said, "I have something to tell everyone. Shaoyan is leaving the country tomorrow, and I don't know when he will be back. After we finish this farewell drink tonight, we may meet again someday."
I really hate that sentence. In the days to come, it will be easy to see Jin Shaoyan, but it will be impossible to drink Moutai with jam with him, eat barbecue at a street stall, or discuss liquid condoms with him again.
As soon as I finished speaking, Li Shishi's eyes widened, and I could see the astonishment and disappointment in her gaze. Jin Shaoyan stumbled away from the table, and I followed him out. Jin Shaoyan was sitting at the bottom of the hotel stairs, his face flushed. When he saw me coming, he said to me, "Do you have a cigarette?"
We were both smoking soft white cigarettes when Jin Shaoyan rubbed his face and said in a hoarse voice, "What I'll miss most is you and Xiaonan. I'll miss them too. Take Ying-ge to get his blood sugar checked sometime—"
I forced a smile and said, "You've got it backwards, haven't you? It's actually Xiaonan who I'll miss the most."
Jin Shaoyan suddenly started sobbing. He buried his head between his legs and hissed, "I really wish I had a brother like you."
I hugged him, my eyes a little sore, and said, "I'll come looking for you often after Brother Qiang saves you tomorrow. We'll still be brothers."
Jin Shaoyan said painfully, "Brother Qiang, have you ever thought about this? If this memory is lost, I will no longer be myself, and I will become that arrogant bastard again."
"I'll help you, but I'm afraid you'll act the same way again."
"After being together for so long, I don't know what else to give you besides money. I originally wanted to buy the shop where Baozi works and give it to her, but I was afraid it would ruin your current happiness. You should treat her well, she's a good woman, and she's pretty... Anyway, you can take her to get plastic surgery when you have money in the future."
I couldn't help but laugh and said, "Do you have any 'last words' to say? Tell us everything."
Jin Shaoyan grabbed me, his eyes sparkling, and said, "My last request—Brother Qiang, you must introduce me to Xiao Nan!"
I smashed the lighter hard on his head, and he covered his head and said aggrievedly, "You won't even agree to this little thing, will you?"
I sighed: "Do you know who Xiaonan is?"
Jin Shaoyan immediately understood what I was talking about, and asked in a trembling voice, "Who is it?"
Her real name is Li Shishi.
Jin Shaoyan remained unmoved: "So what? I really like her, and I will even marry her."
"That's why I can no longer introduce you two. She only has a year left, so whether you dump her or she leaves you early, it will hurt both of you."
Jin Shaoyan groaned sadly, "Why am I so unlucky?"
The next day, we went out together. At 9:40 AM, we arrived at the Jinting Building. After he hid in a safe place, I went up to the 16th floor alone. Ru Hua told me that Jin Shaoyan hadn't come to the company at all that day. I checked my watch; five minutes had passed. I was sweating profusely and immediately called Jin 1. The phone rang for a long time before Jin 1 answered. I talked to him for a while before he remembered who I was, and then he exclaimed, "I completely forgot about this. Here's what you do: come to the Regent Hotel and wait for me at the entrance for a bit. I'll be right down."
Fortunately, the situation was still under control, but when I told Jin Shaoyan the news, his face turned pale. He stammered, "I left Regent Airport at 10 o'clock... I never thought we would go through such a big detour and end up back at the starting point."
I grabbed Jin Shaoyan and ran: "Lijing isn't far from here, we still have time."
When we arrived at the Regent Hotel, panting, we immediately spotted the culprit: the Porsche 911 that had been given to Jin Shaoyan. Jin 2 stayed in the corner, and we kept in touch by phone. As I entered the Regent's lobby, I saw Jin Shaoyan 1, his face flushed, walking downstairs. I went up to him, sniffed him, and asked, "Have you been drinking?"
He casually remarked, "I only drank two glasses of foreign liquor."
"What kind of alcohol do you drink so early in the morning?"
He chuckled lewdly, "You wouldn't believe it, would you? Alcohol can sometimes act like an aphrodisiac." It seemed he had spent yesterday with some pretty young actress, and this morning he was still going strong.
Jin Shaoyan walked straight to his car, looking relaxed. I rushed up and grabbed his arm, saying, "Young Master Jin, don't drive after drinking." He didn't take it seriously at all, thinking I was just trying to flatter him, and even smiled and said, "It's okay, you can ride with me, I'll introduce you to some young masters from billionaire families."
He had already reached the steps outside, and with a flick of his wrist, 911 grunted again, the inner lock unlocking. This time, I grabbed him tightly: "Young Master Jin, let's get a taxi." Jin Shaoyan easily shook me off, his tone still very friendly: "I'm really fine." He was already less than a meter away from the car. Jin 2 panicked and shouted into my earpiece: "Stop him!"
I lunged at Jin Shaoyan with my whole body, resolutely saying, "You're not getting in the car today, as long as I'm here!" Jin Shaoyan got a little angry and shouted, "Let go! I'm furious!" Seeing that I didn't move, he completely lost his temper. He swept my elbow and kicked me, sending me sprawling down the steps with a bruised and swollen face. As he pulled open the car door, Jin Shaoyan pointed at me and cursed, "You really think you're something special? To put it bluntly, you're just a clown. I'm just making fun of you. Get out!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the car door with one hand. Jin 2 yelled, "Think of something quick! We're doomed if he gets in the car!"
I sat up halfway, forgetting all my anger, my eyes darting around—it was so clean, not even a brick. Jin Shaoyan had already opened the car door and stepped inside. In that critical moment, I instinctively patted myself all over, and then I found my phone, worth tens of thousands of yuan. I swear, you couldn't find anything more brick-shaped within a 10-mile radius.
I grabbed it and quickly took a few steps to get behind Jin Shaoyan, who didn't even notice me. Suddenly, I shouted, "Take this brick!"
With a crash, I smashed my phone against the back of Jin Shaoyan's head, and he collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.
After I finished doing this, I nervously looked back at Kim 2. He was behind a wall, so I could still see him. The guy was giving me a thumbs up.
I've said it before, I've never seen anyone so ruthless to themselves. I seriously suspect this is a trap he set, and his real purpose is to make me murder his twin brother who's fighting him for his inheritance.
Jin 2 disappeared as soon as he stepped out from behind the corner, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt a cool breeze drift towards me, and he said earnestly, "Thank you, Brother Qiang. I've put the 5 million card under your pillow; the PIN is today's date."
I looked at the unconscious Kim I and said, "What do we do now?"
"Don't worry about it, I'll take him to the hospital. You just need to call and let them know."