I finished the last cup of tea in front of me, and then we prepared to leave. I suddenly realized that throughout our conversation, although Ouyang had been performing the tea ceremony the entire time, he had repeatedly poured tea for me but hadn't drunk a drop himself. I couldn't help but glance at him and say, "Eh? Doesn't Mr. Ouyang drink any himself?"
Ouyang sighed. His smile was calm as he said lightly, "My hands are tainted with the killing intent from killing someone today. The tea I brew will inevitably have an impure taste. I'm a very picky tea drinker, so I won't drink it."
……Oh shit!
I cursed inwardly.
Dinner was simple. Ouyang, Old Man Qiao, and I chatted and laughed as we passed the time. The food prepared by the top chef of Huaiyang cuisine was naturally exquisite. With two small pots of wine, the three of us drank together, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Ouyang had a very high alcohol tolerance, almost emptying his glass completely after each drink. He drank more than a dozen cups without changing his expression. Finally, Qiaoqiao's father laughed and said, "You can't drink too much, or you'll get dizzy and won't be able to play cards tonight."
Although I'm not very good at playing mahjong, in this situation, with Qiaoqiao's father and Qinghong's big boss (the "Di" character) in charge, how could I refuse to play?
What's more, I invited Yang Wei to join me, and the four of us played mahjong all night, but I lost over 600,000 yuan. What surprised me was that Qiao Qiao's father seemed to have gone easy on me, and Mr. Ouyang rarely won either, but Yang Wei, on the other hand, won several big hands against me, leaving me utterly defeated.
But she was very cold to me. Whether I won or lost, she rarely spoke to me. I had a lot to say, but there were four people at the table, so I couldn't say anything.
Finally, when I found an opportunity to go to the restroom, I blocked Yang Wei outside. Ignoring her frown, I pulled her aside and said, "Let's talk!"
Yang Wei remained calm: "What are we talking about? Business?"
One sentence shut me up. Just as I was about to speak, Yang Wei gently broke free from me and whispered, "You've been losing all night... Why don't you take out your ring and wear it? If you wore your ring, who could beat you?"
After saying that, she turned and walked away. I couldn't help but call out softly from behind, "Weiwei..."
Yang Wei's body stiffened, and she immediately stopped. She turned back to look at me, then suddenly sighed: "From now on... just call me Yang Wei."
These words, upon reaching my ears, immediately made my vision go black. When I looked again, Yang Wei had already quietly left.
Back at the card table, I lost even more badly. I didn't win a single big hand all night, not even a single small one. Finally, just before dawn, Old Man Qiao pushed the cards aside and laughed, "Alright, everyone's tired. Let's call it a day."
A bowl of refreshing ginseng soup was brought over, and we each drank a cup. After settling our betting debts, Yang Wei, who had won big tonight, took the 800,000 yuan check I handed him, flicked it lightly, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Xiao Wu."
Mr. Ouyang patted my shoulder gently and chuckled softly, "A card game is like a battlefield. You were too distracted. You're lucky to have only lost 800,000 tonight. If it were me, I would have knocked out at least twice as much."
Everyone went to rest, and someone naturally led me to my resting place. Old Man Qiao had already prepared a place for me in this luxury club—a detached villa. My group of men had been waiting there all night.
Tu has returned, along with Hammer and the others. Hammer and the others also looked like they hadn't slept all night, clearly anxious because they hadn't seen me. Tu, on the other hand, appeared calm, still the same killing machine. I noticed he had changed his clothes; he'd probably washed off the bloodstains from yesterday's battle.
I didn't say much to them. Last night's scheming and haggling with Ouyang had already exhausted me. Being soundly defeated by Yang Wei in the gambling game made me even more depressed, and I didn't want to say anything more at the moment. I simply waved my hand, letting everyone go and rest, and then went back to the room I had prepared. Without even taking off my clothes, I went straight to sleep.
I don't know how long I slept, but in my sleep, I suddenly heard the door to my room being gently pushed open.
I've grown accustomed to living a life of constant danger. My vigilance is naturally heightened; even in my sleep, the moment someone approaches, I wake instantly. The footsteps are very light, as if deliberately trying not to disturb me, and the breathing is soft, almost like a woman's.
Could it be Yang Wei?
A surge of joy welled up inside me: Could it be that her behavior towards me yesterday was a deliberate attempt to mislead others? Ah, that's it! This is Old Man Qiao's place. She couldn't be too intimate with me here, which is probably why she acted that way. Now that she has some free time, she's come to meet me privately.
I was so happy that I immediately jumped out of bed.
"ah!!"
I suddenly jumped out of bed, startling the person who came in. There was a clatter, the sound of a plate falling to the ground, and a glass also fell to the floor. Although the thick carpet didn't break, the milk had already spilled all over the floor.
The newcomer looked panicked, her pretty face flushed red, and she clutched her chest with both hands, staring at me in bewilderment. After a long while, she finally came to her senses, widened her eyes, and shouted, "Chen Yang! Who are you trying to scare by suddenly jumping up like that! Don't you know that scaring someone can be deadly!"
“Little money-grubber…” I looked at the girl in front of me, opened my mouth, and then said with a wry smile, “It’s…it’s you.”
"Of course it's me." Amei's eyes darted around, looking at me suspiciously. "Otherwise, who did you think it was?"
I was speechless and didn't know how to answer. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and she looked at me and asked, "What are you doing in my room?"
As I spoke, I frowned.
While I was sleeping, Ah Mei, a woman, was able to easily sneak into my room! Are all the people around me dead?
Thinking of this, I suddenly felt unhappy.
"Don't frown." Ah Mei knew me well after all. Seeing my expression, she smiled and said, "A big, dark-skinned guy is guarding you outside. But he didn't stop me... Hmm, there's also a guy with a face full of scars sitting in the living room outside. When I came to find you, Miss Yang Wei accompanied me. That guy with the scars seemed very polite to Miss Yang Wei. Miss Yang Wei said I was your friend, and they let me in."
When Amei said this, her expression was a little awkward. I immediately understood and couldn't help but smile wryly.
My men, including Hammer, have all witnessed me surrounded by women. They probably already see me as a "womanizer" in their eyes. Yang Wei introduced Xiao Caimi as my friend, but I suspect these guys misunderstood and thought Amei was my woman, which is why they let her into my room.
"Sigh, you..." Amei sighed, "I heard you played mahjong all night and went to sleep without eating anything. I was worried you'd be hungry and would wake up looking for food. I figured you should be up by now, so I brought you some food... and you glared at me like that!"
I rubbed my cheeks to relax the numb muscles a little before forcing a smile and saying, "Thank you..."
Ah Mei snorted, looking at the food scattered all over the ground: milk, eggs, and a few pieces of bacon.
"Alright, stop messing around. Someone will clean up in a bit." I got up and pulled her out of the room.
Sure enough, outside, Hammer was guarding the living room. When he saw Ah Mei and me come out together, a strange expression appeared on his face. He grinned and said, "Fifth Brother, you're awake."
"Go and get ready, we'll be back at the company in a bit," I said casually.
"Wait a minute." Just as the hammer was about to strike, Amei called out to him, then looked at me and said, "Um, Miss Yang Wei asked me to tell you... Mr. Qiao wants you to stay here for two days. He said that it will take two days to completely resolve your troubles. For your safety, it's best to stay here and not go out during these two days."
"..." I sighed: "Did Yang Wei ask you to tell me this?"
"Um."
I nodded and glanced at Hammer: "Alright, that's settled then. Hammer, you should go and rest too. Don't worry, this place is perfectly safe."
I was very unhappy... Yang Wei, Yang Wei, are you not even willing to talk to me anymore? Instead, you have to have someone else relay your words.
Hammer noticed my unpleasant expression and knew I was in a bad mood. He immediately left, leaving only Ah Mei and me in the room. I sat on the sofa, but felt a surge of unease and couldn't resist reaching for the cigarette case on the table. Ah Mei slapped my hand away.
"Hey!" Amei glared at me with her hands on her hips. "You're smoking right after you get up! You'll smoke yourself to death sooner or later! Go brush your teeth and wash your face first, then eat."
I was taken aback, feeling that Ah Mei's glaring and scolding expression looked very familiar. After a moment of hesitation, I remembered that when I was injured and Ah Mei was my caregiver, she disciplined me in the same way—of course, I also remembered the details of her secretly watching me when I went to the toilet.
Recalling the past, my mood improved somewhat, and I couldn't help but smile, saying, "Alright, alright. I'll listen to you."
Ah Mei seemed to have returned to her role as my former personal nurse, helping me wash my face, brush my teeth, and change my clothes. She had taken care of me for a long time back then, and being a professional private nurse, she did these things with great skill. She even shaved me at the end.
Looking at my refreshed self in the mirror, I couldn't help but sigh and sincerely said, "Ah Mei, this is the cleanest I've looked since I came back to China. I'm usually too lazy to even shave."
Ah Mei smiled smugly, but held out her hand and said, "Give me the money!"
I waved my hand dismissively: "Make a note of that."
"Damn it! You're such a rich person, yet you're trying to cheat me out of a little nurse's bill." Amei made a face at me.
After washing up, I was a little stunned. I was staying at Qiaoqiao's father's place, but I didn't know what to do... Hmm... Should I go see Yang Wei?
Although I knew that I would inevitably run into a wall if I went there, once the thought took hold, I could no longer suppress it.
"Sigh..." Amei sighed as she looked at my expression. "You're thinking about that Miss Yang, aren't you?"
My face turned awkward... Putting aside Amei's strange attitude towards me... Don't forget, she is also my wife's good friend!
"I really don't know, you seem so smart, how come you're acting like a pig right now?" Amei sighed softly and snorted, "That Miss Yang Wei, she's obviously deeply in love with you! Don't you know that?"
I shook my head with a wry smile: "Well... maybe that was true before, but now..."
"Hmph! You philandering man!" Amei said irritably, "You have Yan Di, yet you still go around flirting with other women! You..."
Seeing that I didn't speak, Amei kicked me and shouted, "You're so stupid! That Miss Yang Wei is probably dying to love you. Her attitude is just an act! The colder she is to you, the more it shows that she can't forget you. This attitude is just to deliberately suppress her feelings... Don't you understand?"
A thought struck me, and suddenly everything became clear, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun!
Yes! If Yang Wei were truly heartless towards me, why would she be so cold? Given her personality, if she had truly forgotten me, she should treat me with the most normal attitude. Her increasingly cold and indifferent demeanor only suggests that she is not at peace inside.
"What are you standing there for?" Amei glared at me fiercely. "If you want to go find her, then go. Why are you looking at me? Do you think I can stop you?"
I was so excited that I immediately stood up, but Amei turned her head away and wouldn't look at me. I didn't want to talk to her anymore, so I left immediately.
The villa I was staying in had a long corridor outside. As soon as I stepped out, staff from the club came over and respectfully asked if I needed anything. I asked where Yang Wei was, and someone immediately made a phone call to inquire, only to be told that Miss Yang Wei had gone out and was not at the club.
Disappointed, I sighed and turned back. Once inside the villa, I entered and saw the little money-grubber sitting on the sofa, hugging her knees, her head buried between them, sobbing softly. Hearing me push the door open, she hurriedly looked up, forcefully wiping her already swollen glasses, and glared at me: "Why are you back...you...what are you looking at! What's so interesting! Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman cry before!"
After saying that, she jumped off the sofa, strode past me, and was about to leave. Seeing the little money-grubber's tearful face, I felt a pang of guilt and couldn't help but tug at her. That tug, however, led to disaster...
Amei tried to struggle, but she was no match for my strength. I used too much force and pulled her down into my arms. Then, Amei suddenly raised her knee and aimed it at my groin. I dodged, but her knee landed on my stomach. In pain, I couldn't help but look down, and my teeth hit Amei's head...
"oops……"
They both cried out in pain at the same time, one covering her mouth and the other her head, both crouching down. Because they were so close, they lost their balance and fell to the floor. Ah Mei, being small, ended up in my arms. We sat on the floor in an undeniably intimate position; to onlookers, it would appear as if I were sitting on the floor, holding Ah Mei in my arms…
The worst part is that someone actually saw it!
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a loud voice came from outside: "Where's Chen Yang? Hurry up, come out! This old man is taking me back!"
That voice... it could only belong to Miss Qiao!
The door opened, and Qiaoqiao rushed in, only to see me "holding Amei in my arms." Worse still, the way I was looking down made it seem like I was about to kiss Amei. Amei, in pain, closed her eyes, yet she looked like a passionate young girl welcoming her lover…
Qiaoqiao paused for a second, her eyes darting around several times, and then...
A chill ran through me...
A murderous aura! Such a heavy murderous aura!!!
Part Three, Peak Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Happy Life of the Four Jackals
Qiaoqiao is very generous. Basically, she's willing to share anything with anyone she considers a good friend. Good friends can barge into Qiaoqiao's house in the middle of the night—of course, if no other girl is staying overnight, we can drag Miss Qiao out of bed in the middle of the night, drink all the alcohol in her house, eat all the food in her refrigerator, and smoke all her cigarettes—Qiaoqiao won't get angry at all. Instead, she'll happily shout and laugh with her friends until dawn. At this time, even if you throw Miss Qiaoqiao's newly bought LV handbag on the ground like a football and kick it, she definitely won't be angry with you. On the contrary, she might even laugh and kick it a couple of times with you.
At times like these, Miss Qiao is very generous.
On the other hand, Qiaoqiao is very stingy—stinginess in many ways is a woman's nature, an innate quality, a trait deeply ingrained in a woman's DNA by God! For example, when eating, if there's only one cup of tiramisu left on the table, absolutely no one can take it from Qiaoqiao! The only time was when Aze recklessly reached for the last piece of tiramisu, and Qiaoqiao almost pinned his hand to the table with a fork! Another example is when we were hanging out at a bar, and Aze and Qiaoqiao both had their eyes on the same girl. The audacious Aze actually dared to steal a woman from Queen Qiaoqiao…it was simply unforgivable! That night, Aze was forced to drink so much that he vomited bile, and ended up hanging in the back corridor of the bar, sprawled on the floor with an empty Chivas Regal bottle stuck in his mouth…
This is the consequence of failing to snatch something from Miss Qiao... What if you had succeeded?
There have been similar cases. Again, the victim was Aze. In a battle to pick up a girl, Aze, with his newly bought Jaguar sports car, outshone Qiaoqiao and finally took a girl who loved racing back to her hotel that night. But the next day, Aze was devastated to find his new car lying pathetically on the street, its four wheels missing, a Crayon Shin-chan drawing scratched on the hood, and a lifelike Luffy from One Piece on the windshield…
Therefore, we all know very well... unless Miss Qiao is willing, never try to take anything from her!
So, when I was sitting on the floor, holding my little money-grubber in my arms, and Miss Qiao caught me in the act, when the chilling murderous aura filling the room made my hair stand on end, I thought I was doomed.
Hmm... There's a saying: The most tragic thing in the world is encountering a strong woman. (Don't ask me who said this; it was said by the famous dancing master... *sweat*)
So, what's more miserable than encountering a strong woman?
I can tell you the answer very clearly: what's more tragic than encountering one strong woman is... encountering two very strong women!!
Putting aside all the complicated relationships, if we only consider the relationships in the current environment, then no one can deny this: I am Qiaoqiao's man, and Qiaoqiao is my woman.
In this situation, when a woman catches her man secretly embracing another woman in their room, even if she's furious, she often hates not her man the most, but rather the vixen who seduced him!
So, although Miss Qiao is filled with murderous intent, the one in the most danger right now is not me, but Ah Mei in my arms!
Because, if we're talking about stealing, then what I belonged to Miss Qiao was what was being stolen from Ah Mei, while Ah Mei was stealing Miss Qiao's man! At least that's how it could be judged at the time.