Don't be a Kept Man

Chapter 14: Together

Lu Qi tried to think over and over again, but he could not recall when he owed Huo Ming Chen money. He sat on the bed, contemplating, and his eyes gravitated towards the phone beside the pillow. He scrutinized it for a second, and then a lightbulb went over his head.

The coffee shop was quiet, and had separate tables and plants for privacy. It was a perfect location to talk business. It seemed like it was the first time Wang Jian Guo had stepped into a place like this. No matter how he sat, he felt restricted, especially when staring at the man opposite of him who had a blank face but gave you the feeling that he was the devil telling you your time was up.

Wang Jian Guo felt so relieved that he could breathe again,

"You finally remembered to return the money."

And then said,

"That, um, you don't have to return the money anymore. These are all your identification papers that I had. If you ever head out into society, make sure to take care of your brothers."1

He smiled crookedly and handed a stack of paperwork over. His hands fidgeted nervously while Lu Qi blankly checked over the papers, making sure nothing was missing. Then he said,

"Say it straight. Who helped me return the money."

"This this this......"

Wang Jian Guo laughed nervously, face full of hesitation,

"You don't really owe me anything anymore, what's the point in asking questions?"

Lu Qi didn't reply. He only played with the lighter in his hand, knocking it on the table, one beat at a time, sending the rhythm straight into Wang Jian Guo's heart. He waited until Wang Jian Guo's heart was in his throat before he finally said,

"Don't blame me for not warning you, but there are some kinds of money where if you take it without knowing its origins, it can come back to bite you. Banks have transaction records. I'm asking you one last time, who helped me return the money...... Of course, if you don't say it, it doesn't matter. Just, if it ever becomes a problem, don't come and find me."

Lu Qi was good at playing with people's minds. His words hid some things, exposed some things, making it easy to incite the deepest fear inside someone's heart. He could see Wang Jian Guo break out into a cold sweat, and his mouth twitched, and did not say anything else before rising up to leave —

"Don't!"

Wang Jian Guo hurriedly shouted, turning a lot of heads towards them. He clumsily stood up, and like he was guilty of something, dragged Lu Qi back.

"Oh you little brother, I didn't say I wouldn't tell you, why did you take it so seriously."

He looked left and right, and then struggled to say,

"But I really don't know who it was. It sounded like it was a young man. He asked me how much you owe, and after I told him, he hung up. Then after that, our place was visited by Biao-Ge2, the gangster boss of this area, and his gang, and they returned the money on your behalf."

He pulled out his phone history to show Lu Qi, and the phone number was extremely familiar – it was Huo Ming Chen.

Lu Qi could guess that Huo Ming Chen would not show up personally. One phone call from him, and there would be people lining up to run errands for him.

"And the debt slip?"

"They've already ripped it up. Biao-Ge also told me to keep my mouth shut, and not to let you know anything. Please little brother, don't tell anyone that I told you this."