89's Ace in the Hole

Flathead Bull suddenly made trouble of his own, leading his men to block my path. It was obvious he was not willing to let me leave so easily. Now that the money was in hand, they had no more scruples. Otherwise, he would have worried that if they beat someone badly, Sister Yang would have an even better excuse to refuse repayment.

That old fox Uncle Kun was the first to turn to Sister Yang and say, “Sister Yang, I was only the middleman on the loan matter, and I’ve helped you settle it. Whatever grudges that boy has with them have nothing to do with us. I’ve got something to do at home, so I’m leaving first.” With that, he got into his own car and slipped away.

The male employees who had come with the boss lady were led by Workshop Director Yang Tianfeng. He said to her, “Sister Yang, let’s stay out of this grudge between them. If we get involved, we may well bring trouble down on ourselves. Besides, that boy is said to have done time before, so he can’t be any good.” In truth, he was jealous that Sister Yang had been unusually close to me these past few days. He was practically hoping I would get beaten up.

The other male employees, of course, had no desire to get dragged into the conflict. They were all just drawing a salary; why should they meddle and invite trouble?

Since even the people she had brought were refusing to get involved, Sister Yang felt powerless. If she tried to help me herself, it would not only be useless, it would only bring her suffering.

Seeing her hesitation, Bald Leopard threatened her, “If you insist on meddling, watch your daughter.”

At the worried look on Sister Yang’s face, I gave a bitter smile. “Boss lady, go on back. This is a private grudge between Bald Leopard and me. It has nothing to do with you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Sister Yang said in a low voice, “Then be careful.” I said, “It’s fine. Go on.” In the end, she still led her employees away.

I thought to myself that this woman really was unreliable, the kind who burns the bridge after crossing it. I had offended Bald Leopard only because I was trying to help her, but after thinking it over, I could also understand her predicament. After all, she did not dare offend Bald Leopard and the others at all. Now that the loan shark matter had been settled, the knot in her heart had been untied. If she offended them again at this point, she would be putting both herself and her daughter in danger.

Compared with her daughter, of course her own child mattered more. So her abandoning me after crossing the bridge was understandable.

After Sister Yang left with the male employees, Bald Leopard waved his hand and his people immediately surrounded me, though they did not rush in at once.

At first I thought Bald Leopard and the others were wary of my skill, so I prepared to break through.

Then a figure stepped forward and said with a chuckle, “Ha ha! A pleasure, a pleasure! I never expected you to throw yourself into the net and come to me on your own.”

At that familiar voice, I instinctively looked up, and sure enough, Jin Baoqiang was walking toward me with a smug grin.

So this loan shark company was actually run by Jin Baoqiang. No wonder he had been so eager to recover the money he had lent out; clearly he was short on cash.

I said, “Jin Baoqiang, what are you trying to do? You think I won’t call your sister?”

Jin Baoqiang sneered. “Even if you tell my sister, it’s useless. Today, unless you crawl between my legs, don’t even think about leaving.”

Suddenly I remembered the drinking party in Cloud City, and the video I had taken of Jin Baoqiang’s girlfriend, Fang Nana, kissing that rich young man Qian.

So I said, “Jin Baoqiang, whatever happens, we’re still old acquaintances. Besides, this fighting and killing has grown meaningless.”

Jin Yulian smiled and said, “That’s right. Today we won’t be playing at fighting and killing. But you have to kneel and beg for mercy, or this matter of you injuring my employee will not be left alone.”

I said, “Jin Baoqiang, I’m giving you face in front of your employees today. If you push me too far and force me to use my trump card, then you’ll be the one going to prison.”

Jin Baoqiang laughed loudly. “Who are you trying to scare?”

I gave a cold smile. “Jin Baoqiang, if your sister had not begged me herself, if I had not been giving her face, I would already have sent you to prison.”

Jin Baoqiang sneered. “Stop bragging. If you’ve got the ability, send me in.”

“What you did back then,” I said, “has already been reopened and investigated. You should know what that means.”

Still forcing himself to sound tough, Jin Baoqiang said, “Don’t think you can smear me with made-up nonsense. The old case was already settled. It won’t be so easy to overturn it.”

I sneered. “If you don’t believe me, call your sister and ask her.”

Jin Baoqiang’s face changed. I guessed that Jin Yulian had already informed him, which was why he was afraid. If I brought out the truth about what had happened back then, he might well end up in prison.

All at once, Jin Baoqiang said, “Fine. For my sister’s sake, I’ll let you off today. But you still have to pay the medical expenses for the employee you injured.”

I said, “Jin Baoqiang, I’ll also give your sister face and send you a video. Once you’ve seen it, you’ll know whether those medical bills are worth it.”

Jin Baoqiang approached me, half in doubt and half in suspicion. I said, “Give me your WeChat account. I’ll send it to you.”

Jin Baoqiang gave me his WeChat account, and I sent him the video of Fang Nana kissing Qian Shao.

The moment Jin Baoqiang saw it, his expression changed drastically. He blurted out, “That filthy bitch, she actually put a ... on me. I won’t let that slut off!” In the end, he barely managed to swallow the last word. With his men standing there, he did not want to expose himself in front of his employees. That would have been too humiliating.

I said, “Jin Baoqiang, shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

With that, I was ready to leave.

Bald Leopard was unwilling to accept it and said to Jin Baoqiang, “Mr. Jin, you’re just going to let that bastard go?”

Jin Baoqiang slapped him across the face and cursed irritably, “If you’ve got the guts, go challenge him one-on-one! If you’re useless, then stop making trouble for me.”

After being slapped, Bald Leopard naturally did not dare come at me for a one-on-one fight. He could only swallow the loss.

I walked out of Jin Baoqiang’s company, and suddenly Sister Yang appeared in front of me. Seeing that I was unharmed, she said with delight, “A Feng, you’re all right? That’s a relief! I came back secretly just now and hid outside to watch. If they had tried to lay hands on you, I would have called the police.”

Hearing that, I felt somewhat comforted. At least it showed she was not the sort to forget a favor and betray kindness.

Sister Yang opened the car door and let me get in, then thanked me warmly. “A Feng, thank you so much today. At last we’ve settled that loan shark mess. Tonight, let’s go back and celebrate properly.”

I had originally wanted to go find Fat Wang and visit Iron-Head Lin with him, but since Sister Yang was being so gracious, I could not really refuse. Besides, I had been eating and staying at her place all along; now that I had helped her resolve the matter, I felt at ease too.