Ye Chong burrowed into an idle taxi by the roadside, just as the sky darkened. As he let out an ear-splitting burp, the driver, a man with a pair of small black mustaches, trembled involuntarily due to the overpowering scent of alcohol.
The driver glanced at his passenger, a man in his early twenties wearing shabby, dust-covered clothes, hair long and unkempt. He looked like one of those construction workers from the nearby job site.
"Brother, find another car," he said. "I'm about to get off work."
"Why, looking down on me, are we? How'd you like a complaint lodged against you?" Ye Chong, bleary-eyed from alcohol, squinted at the supervision phone number displayed in the car and the photo of the legal owner. He turned to man with the small black mustache, saying, "You don't look like the owner."
The driver's face changed slightly, "I'm a substitute driver. Where do you want to go, buddy?"
"Ye Lai Xiang."
The little black moustache driver took another glance at his passenger. The destination seemed rather disjointed from his persona. "Are you planning to hit a western-style bar, brother? To my knowledge, that's not an accessible place for everyone."
"To settle a bill."
"What? You're going to Ye Lai Xiang to claim a debt? Haha…”
"What's so funny?"
"I fear you might step in alive, but might not step out.”
"Even if it's hell’s door, I must go there."
The black mustache driver not having time for a full-blown discussion was treating his passenger as some drunkard spewing nonsense. "Alright then, exception for this time, but also have to take along two of my friends on the way. You don't object, do you?"
“No problem, I’m not unreasonable...” He reeked of booze, capable enough to make someone choke without even realizing it, “Why do you stutter while speaking, did you also drink?”
“Me? You've got to be kidding…”
"Why are you nervous then?"
The man turned his face to the dim light, making it difficult for the other party to see his expression. "Bro, you're drunk."
Ye Chong pointed to his nose, his words a little slurred: "I'm drunk? I think you're the one who's drunk, how about you find a place to drink with me and let loose."
Xiao Heihu gave a faint smile, without uttering a word.
At this moment, there were figures moving outside. In the dim moonlight, two men came, one in front and one in the back. The man behind was shouldering a woman in red, but her face was not visible behind a light veil.
Two men, one with a pockmarked face, the other with a cock-eyed look, got into the car and gently laid down the woman. Seeing a stranger in the passenger seat, they immediately became a bit more alert.
"Who is he?"
"Oh, a customer I picked up earlier, he wants to go to the YeLaiXiang pub. It's on your way anyway." Xiao Heihu signaled to the two men through the rearview mirror.
Ye Chong let out a belch, "This girl is hot, where did you snatch her from?"
As soon as the words were out, Xiao Heihu, Pockmark, and Cock-eye's expressions changed drastically. Pockmark discreetly reached for something in his coat.
Ye Chong laughed: "Just kidding, look at how scared you all got."
As the three sighed in relief, Ye Chong suddenly said, "Hey, let's make a deal, give me this girl."
Xiao Heihu hummed, "Bro, you really know how to joke. She's our friend, we're just helping her home because she's drunk..."
"Really? It looks like you’ve kidnapped her. Hey, brothers should share. How about you just give me a million or two, and I'll act like I didn't see anything..."
A murderous intent flashed across Xiao Heihu's face. Through the rearview mirror, he signaled to Pockmark, who took out a dagger with a hideous look on his face, and unexpectedly plunged it into Ye Chong's back!
Suddenly, a gleam of coldness flashed across Che Li before Xiao Heihu shouted, "Hold on! This kid has fallen asleep."
Upon closer inspection, they found Ye Chong laying sprawled out on the seat back, a long trail of drool trickling from his mouth, and even snoring in just the blink of an eye.
"How should we deal with this brat?"
With a cold voice, Xiao Heihu indicated, "This kid must have figured out something by now. We're at the point of no return, we must silence him!"
Freckle-face was about to raise his knife when he was stopped by Xiao Heihu, "Don't harm him in the car, take him out."
Cross-eyed, who had been eyeing the red-clothed woman for a while, couldn't help but clear his throat forcefully, and said with eyes ablaze, "You two deal with him, this chick is too damn attractive, I can't resist anymore..."
Just as he was about to pounce, Xiao Heihu slapped him in the mouth without saying anything and shouted, "We want to live longer; you know how valuable this woman is. The boss has repeatedly ordered us that if anyone dares to touch her, none of us will survive. Go and do your job!"
Cross-eyed still mumbled resentfully, "If I could have a night with her even once, it would be worth dying a thousand times over."
Although the lust was burning inside, he had to swallow it, followed Freckle-face and dragged Ye Chong out of the car.
On a moonless and windy night, the taxi was parked on a narrow, rural road lined with tall, disorganised grass swaying, rustling back and forth in the strong wind.
The two people—one grabbing the head, the other the foot—dragged Ye Chong into the thickets of grass, losing sight and sound of him quickly.
Xiao Heihu lit a cigarette and glanced at the woman in the back seat who still showed no sign of movement.
As time ticked away, he kept checking his watch and gazing towards the grassy area, with no signs of movement from them for quite some time.
About to curse and get out, a hand came out of nowhere, breaking through the glass window and gripping his neck!
With a "whoo" sound, the car window shattered all over the place.
Xiao Heihu's throat was tightly gripped, making a wheezing sound. His hands and feet flailed helplessly as his kicking feet almost shattered the windshield. With a swift jerk, he was ripped from the vehicle by a strong hand, leaving the area in utter silence.
The car door swung open, a figure flashed, and Ye Chong plopped down onto Xiao Heihu's seat. Glancing at the woman in the back seat, Ye Chong pushed the gear stick and the car slowly moved forward.
In this city, there were those who led a nine-to-five life, and those who indulged in hedonistic pleasures.
This not so big yet not too small city, where just a single street could divide two different worlds. Migrant workers huddled together in clusters on one side, while the other side was awash with urban glitz.
Men, especially the wealthy ones, are always drawn to nightlife, even if it was hidden in the depth, they'd know it better than the route back to their homes.
When Ye Chong arrived at Ye Lai Xiang, the night was just starting to liven up.
Looking at the affectionate couples chatting sweetly, he only had one thing on his mind: Debt collection.
He glanced at the red-dressed woman still in a stupor, her graceful figure, calm breathing, snowy plump legs, and delicate face peeking through the veil all transformed into a fatal attraction, making Ye Chong's heart skip a beat, the one drink he had began to take a toll on him.
With a steadied mind, he stepped out of the car and approached the entrance of Ye Lai Xiang, only to be stopped by a burly man who shouted, "Who are you?"
With a forceful push to the man's head against the wall, the burly man fell silent then collapsed to the ground.
Stepping into Ye Lai Xiang, ignoring the puzzled looks around, he walked straight to the front desk, and asked abruptly, “Where’s Ma Hong?”
The receptionist who was flirting with a male guest was startled by his approach. When she saw saw him, she yelled in annoyance, "Security, who let this man in, get him out quickly!"
Another security guard rushed over, shouting as he tried to grab him, Ye Chong, quick as a cat, grabbed a wine bottle and flung it backwards, hitting the security guard in the head.
Crack!
The wine bottle shattered, and the security guard immediately collapsed, his head split open and bleeding heavily.
Ye Chong grabbed the woman's arm before she could scream, his eyes bloodshot, "I'll ask again, where's Ma Hong?"
Tears squeezed out from the woman's anguish, but she didn't dare to call for help, timidly responding, "He's...on the second floor...in room 8...".
Ye Chong flung her aside, not even glancing back while stepping up the stairs.
He arrived directly at the door of room 8, just about to push the door open, when he heard a male and a female voice from inside.
"Miss Su, drop the act. You just want money, right? I have plenty. If you're with me, you can have as much as you want."
"You jerk! If you don't let me go, I'm going to scream..."
"I'm a regular here. Even if you scream your lungs out, nobody will dare to come. Beautiful lady, I've had my eye on you for a long time. I think about you day and night, my heart aching all the while. Now that I finally have this opportunity, could you really bear to reject me?"
"Let go...."
"Darling, as long as you follow my instructions, I guarantee you'll be comfortable."
"Ma Hong, you'll regret this! You'll definitely go to hell..."
"Haha, even if I go to hell, I'll drag a beauty like you with me. Now stop being stubborn! Soon you'll be begging me for more, for me to go deeper... Hahahaha...."
Ye Chong frowned, hoisted his foot, kicked open the door, and stepped in.
A bald, short, and stout man had cornered a beautiful young woman against a couch, persistently puckering his disgusting lips to kiss the woman, who was unable to break free due to her weaker strength. It looked like the situation was about to escalate if it continued this way.
The middle-aged man halted in surprise, looking at a tall man who was now stepping into the room from the door, emerging into the light.
The long hair, as sharp as if cut with a knife, almost covered his entire face, but the threads of intoxication were still discernible. Underneath the extensive strands of hair, those eyes that intermittently seemed hidden, yet visible, occasionally reflected an incongruous melancholy and indifference!
Caught off-guard, the woman forcefully pushed away the middle-aged man and withdrew to a corner, biting her own hair and hugging her knees.
"It's you!" Ma Hong exclaimed exasperatedly.
"Indeed, it's your grandfather me." Ye Chong glanced at the woman, who was naturally elegant and charmingly vulnerable. He retracted his indifferent gaze and said, "I'll just say this once, when are you going to pay the six months' salary you owe me?"
"I haven't yet made you pay for stirring up trouble, and now you're actually ruining my good matters over some measly money. You just wait, I'll have people deal with you later!"
"So, you're not planning to pay me, is that it?"
"I'll give you a fart! Are you leaving or not, I'm calling people over!"
Ye Chong, his eyes filled with a cold, icy redness, flexed his fists, "Since you're not paying, there's no need for us to say anything else."
"What are you doing, if you dare touch me..."
Before he could finish his words, Ye Chong, in one swift stride, grabbed Ma Hong's collar and raised his clenched fist, its veins bulging ominously!
