Chapter 79
Chapter 79: Receiving Guests
After leaving the hospital, Yang Chen still felt stuffy so he drove his car at high speeds on the highway for a while before feeling more at ease.
It was already between around 11 or 12 at night. Most of Zhong Hai’s suburbs’ various kinds of lights were already lit up. If it was a month ago, perhaps Yang Chen would be interested in those hair salons with pink lights, but he wanted to indulge himself this night, and going to ROSE bar to look for Rose was obviously more worthy for him.
[TL: I think the hair salon with pink lights should mean special services. ???? ]
Occasionally, he thought about how unfathomable his actions were. There was Rose who wholeheartedly treated him well, who always cared for and cherished him. There was also Li Jingjing, that little girl, who could make him happy for a whole day just from seeing her once. There were women like that who he usually didn’t take good care of. Instead, he took care of the ice lady Lin Ruoxi, and even thought about making a trip to a snack store to buy glutinous rice balls for her in the middle of the night.
Perhaps it was because she was too similar to that woman deep in his memories…… Or perhaps, things that are beyond one’s reach are the best. This sentence truly suits all of mankind.
Since he harbored such guilt towards Rose, Yang Chen decided not to look for her. He drove the car to a supper place in the west region and got off. He intended to find a stall where he could drink beer and have a bowl of noodles.
When midnight came, other than on the highways of Zhong Hai City, unlicensed peddlers began selling supper everywhere else. If they were lucky, they would peacefully conduct their business, but if they weren’t lucky, they might have their stalls torn apart by the city’s management and police.
Yang Chen casually chose a small noodle store that was relatively cleaner, and called out to the stall owner who was cooking noodles, “Boss, a bowl of shredded meat noodles and two bottles of beer.”
The owner was a middle aged man. After he heard this he earnestly smiled and replied, “Oh, I’ll bring it to you shortly.”
When Yang Chen heard these words, he suddenly felt that this voice was rather familiar. When he gazed over and took a careful look, he could not help but smile, “Why is it you!?”
The noodle stall owner bewilderedly raised his head and carefully looked. When he finally recognized Yang Chen, he nearly fell onto the ground from fright. His face turned incredibly bitter, “So……. So it’s you huh. Haha…… haha…… what a coincidence.”
The noodle stall owner was actually the person who had brought Yang Chen into the police station in the beginning, Feng Biao, Team Leader Feng.
Originally wearing a police uniform, living arrogantly with a bossy demeanor, he was a police officer of the West Region Police Station. Yet today, he was wearing filthy clothes, donning an apron and cooking noodles at the side of the road as a licenseless hawker.
Yang Chen pondered for a moment, and asked with uncertainty, “Did you change professions, or were you fired?”
Feng Biao’s face flushed as he embarrassedly replied, “I was…… I was fired.”
“It’s karmic retribution.” Yang Chen smiled while shaking his head, “However, don’t you worry, I never brooded over what happened that time. You should continue cooking; don’t let the noodles turn soggy.”
Feng Biao, who had thought that Yang Chen would hit him while he was down, instantly turned happy. He was very clear of the fact that if things went awry, he wouldn’t be a match for Yang Chen. His stall didn’t have a license either, so he would definitely lose. This was what he was worried about. Since the opposite party didn’t mind what had happened previously at all, how could Feng Biao not be overjoyed?
“Thank you! Thank you pal!” Feng Biao was nearly touched to the point of tears, “I have no choice either, I know that I made many mistakes in the past. Thank you for not brooding over my past mistakes pal.”
Yang Chen didn’t mind at all and said, “Go and continue cooking your noodles.”
“Alright alright, this meal is on the house for you pal, I won’t accept any money.” Feng Biao continued working as if he just received amnesty.
Yang Chen was a little conflicted, this old dude can be considered to be rather pitiful. When Cai Yan previously said that Feng Biao would be severely punished, he had thought that was all talk; he never imagined that that girl would really fire Feng Biao. This wasn’t something that could be done just by holding a superior post; it can be assumed that Cai Yan had an unordinary background. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to keep her word and have Feng Biao punished to the point of falling this low.
He thought of the words Cai Yan spoke in Lin Ruoxi’s ward, and what she had said regarding Lin Ruoxi’s grandpa. Yang Chen couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Since the two of them were childhood friends, could this mean that his wife’s family had relations with the government? Why would Lin Ruoxi hate her grandpa so much?
While thinking of such things that could never come to a conclusion, Feng Biao had already prepared the noodles. He carried it along with two bottles of Tsingtao Beer and smiled as he walked over, “Pal, please enjoy. If there’s anything else you want, please let me know.”
Seeing how accustomed to working in a noodle stall Feng Biao was, Yang Chen no longer felt that this person was a disappointment. At the very least, he understood the situation he was in, and could give and take. Anyhow, he wouldn’t live too terribly.
After slurping a few mouthfuls of noodles and gulping several mouthfuls of beer, Yang Chen felt carefree and relaxed. But suddenly, there was noise coming from an alley close by.
“Brat don’t you run!!”
“Stop!”
“If you run some more we’ll beat you to death!!”
“Stop!!”
Several loudly yelling men abruptly scuttled out from the alley. They chased after a relatively scrawny figure while shouting angrily.
Yang Chen had sharp eyes and was able to recognize who it was in an instant. He couldn’t help but suspect that he was hallucinating, because the figure being pursued wore a white short sleeved shirt, had white skin, and was a man. It was none other than the other man in the office, Chen Bo!
Chen Bo looked extremely exhausted. His face was full of fear as he fled towards the noodle stall with at least 7 or 8 men following behind him in hot pursuit. In addition, it was obvious that they were running slightly faster than him, and he was about to be caught.
Yang Chen may not understand what was going on, but he was definitely going to help Chen Bo. Therefore, he picked up a wooden bench beside him, and casually threw it with force!
The wooden bench spinned and abruptly smashed onto the thighs of the two men who were in front. After those two men miserably shrieked and fell, the startled flock of people stopped to look at Yang Chen.
Quite a number of customers of the noodle stall witnessed this scene and felt that things were going to turn awry, so they quickly dodged to the side and didn’t dare to approach.
When Chen Bo suddenly noticed Yang Chen, his face was filled with surprise. As he was afraid, he didn’t give a damn about why he was there and ran behind Yang Chen while gasping for breath. He shuddered, unwilling to face the group of men.
“Chen Bo, where were you going?” Yang Chen turned his head and asked with a smile.
Chen Bo’s face was completely red, and it was unknown whether it was because he felt shy or because he was tired from running. He explained, “They…… They want to catch me, I…… I don’t want to go with them……”
“Catch you? Why would they want to catch you?”
Without waiting for Yang Chen to receive an answer, the group of men had already flown into a rage and showered curses on him.
“You must have eaten the heart of a bear to have such nerve! Do you know who we are!?
“He’s my colleague, so I must protect him even before I know for what reason you guys want him.” Replied Yang Chen.
After hearing these words, Chen Bo’s eyes turned red, evidently touched.
“Brat, since you’re courting death, we’ll give it to you!”
Several hoodlums who were on the brink of losing control charged forward, but how could their random punches and kicks amount to anything in Yang Chen’s eyes?
With just lightly flinging a few palms, and throwing some kicks onto the hoodlums’ stomachs, the ones who fiercely charged over tasted retribution and fell down onto the ground.
Chen Bo blankly watched how Yang Chen easily solved such a big problem, and could only gaze upon Yang Chen with reverence.
“You have guts, brat! Wait for our boss to come and he’ll put you in order!” A hoodlum who wore a silver chain hooted.
Without waiting for him to finish speaking, another hoodlum shouted, “The boss is here! The boss is here!!”
Looking towards the direction these people chased from, there was indeed a bunch of people walking over. While the man who led the way wore a white shirt, with both hands in his pockets, and a face of arrogance. This was the person they called their boss.
The hoodlums quickly got up, and beamed with joy as they went up to their boss to make a complaint, hoping that their boss would deal with Yang Chen. But before they walked over, that ‘boss’ had already taken the initiative to meet him.
“Mr Yang! It’s been a long long time! We meet again!”
“Good evening Boss Guo, I never expected to see you again in a place like this.” Yang Chen nearly laughed. So the boss they mentioned was the one who had previously ‘given money’ to him, Guo Ziheng. Guo Ziheng was also the boss of that gangster company.
That day he couldn’t scare Yang Chen even with a rifle, and had been completely defeated.
“Fate brings people together even if they’re a thousand miles apart; it seems like there’s fate between you and me, Mr Yang.” As if he had already forgotten their feud, Guo Ziheng refreshingly took the initiative to shake hands with Yang Chen.
Yang Chen magnanimously shook hands with him as well, as if they were truly good friends who haven’t met for a long time. Little did the others know that in these two people’s hearts, things were totally different.
“Since there’s an old friend like Boss Guo here, I believe there’s no need to speak further.” Yang Chen indifferently replied.
The few hoodlums who were still incredibly arrogant a moment ago were stunned. Why does the boss wear such a warm expression when talking to this man? This caused them to have no other choice but to remain silent.
Guo Ziheng’s face turned stiff. With a forced smile he said, “Mr Yang may not know of this. Actually I’m just entrusted with a task by someone else, and under orders to drag this person behind you back. Otherwise, this Guo would have difficulty reporting back.”
This was somewhat unexpected to Yang Chen. Guo Ziheng was aware of his strength, and should understand that he would definitely lose if they fight, but he was still persistent in bringing away Chen Bo. Just who was Chen Bo?
“Boss Guo, could it be that this friend of mine did something that is taboo in the underworld? Or does he owe you money?” Puzzled, Yang Chen asked.
Guo Ziheng smiled guiltily. With a sigh, he said, “Why don’t Mr Yang ask your friend what the matter is?”
Yang Chen nodded, and looked towards Chen Bo.
Chen Bo’s legs were shivering, and sweat soaked his back. Seeing Yang Chen’s enquiring glance, he opened his mouth, “I…… I…… I…… They want me to receive a guest……”
“Receive a guest?” Yang Chen creased his eyebrows.
Chen Bo’s face turned as red as an apple. He looked down and said in a nearly inaudible voice, “They want me to serve a man.”
Yang Chen was startled for a moment before he understood what Chen Bo meant. To be honest, he felt weird inside. He never expected the usually ‘feminine’ Chen Bo to truly be taken a fancy to by a man.
But it wasn’t right to laugh. Luckily, he had seen a number of such things while overseas, so Yang Chen didn’t find this too hard to accept. Turning back to look at Guo Ziheng, he said, “This isn’t a good idea, right? This friend of mine doesn’t want to do it so you guys shouldn’t force him.”
Guo Ziheng bitterly smiled, “Mr Yang, with you around, I don’t dare to force him. But….. I can’t afford to offend that person either……”