Chapter 19

Before Pei Huai could take any action, there was a sudden bang of a wine bottle breaking from the direction of the booth, and fragments flew all over the floor.

The middle-aged man, who had been smiling brightly just now, suddenly stormed up, smashing bottles of wine. He pointed at the two of them with a ferocious expression and roared, "I didn't order this at all, bah!" He spat on the ground and jabbed his fingers in their faces. "How are you all doing your jobs? Go get the manager!"

"Of course this is not what you ordered." Pei Huai answered as a matter of course, wiped the wet ends of his hair with a towel, and walked towards him briskly.

Seeing that his arrogance was increasing, the middle-aged man panicked and pretended to be determined not to give in. He poked the newcomer's nose with his hand: "Are you deaf? I'll let you--!" Halfway through his words, his index finger was intercepted in mid-air, without even giving him a chance to see the trajectory clearly.

Pei Huai's five fingers gradually closed together, exerting force upwards, gripping his finger bones and bending them. The force was incredibly strong, causing the thin flesh between his fingers to tear with excruciating pain.

The skinny young man waved his hand and told the boys on his left and right to scatter.

His hand slammed against the side of his head with a bang. Pei Huai moved closer to him and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "This is a special service." After he finished speaking the last word, he slapped him on the cheek, causing the man's cheek to tremble and his head to buzz for a long time.

The person being beaten instantly looked like a plucked rooster, his mouth and eyes twisted, and he curled up on the sofa, his bloated body stuffed into an ill-fitting shirt trembling continuously.

"Point at me again." Pei Huai pressed his knee against his thigh, put his hand on his shoulder, and whispered a warning into his ear, "I'll break your fingers one by one."

"Isn't that handsome guy from here?" As Xiang Mingqi stretched out his arms and herded the others in the booths toward the corridor, a curly-haired guy in a casual suit clung to the doorframe, refusing to let go. His face flushed, and he peeked shyly into the inner room. "Who is he? What do you do?"

"Didn't my brother say he was sent here by the Mediterranean? Let me tell you, he has a rule when it comes to things, and that is to make sure the area is completely cleared. Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"You're talking nonsense! We don't have anyone this handsome in our store!"

"You have good taste... No, that's because you're ignorant. Go away and have fun somewhere else!"

"Why would I leave? I'm not! Let me take one last picture of this handsome guy." The camera shook, the crosshairs failing to focus several times. The boy anxiously tapped the screen with his index finger, "Don't push me. The picture is blurry. Oh, by the way, you're not his agent, are you? Does he have a business card? Give me one."

One hand tightly covered the camera lens: "You are not allowed to take pictures of my brother!" Fingers were tightly pressed together, and the shout was unusually exaggerated. "His photos are only mine to keep privately. I advise you not to daydream. Hand them over immediately."

"Why are you like this? ...Hey, your nose is still bleeding."

"What do you care?"

Xiang Mingqi struggled with the others, finally clearing a large area of ​​the room after a long effort. He leaned his shoulder against the door, covering his ears tightly, using his weight advantage to fight the voyeur who was filming from just across the door. Even through the door, the two of them engaged in a penetrating argument. Meanwhile, Pei Huai was almost done with work.

He put the mortgage contract into the storage bag, sealed it, and found a clean set of clothes that was one size larger to change into. Before leaving, he went over to pat the face of the man who was kneeling and sobbing.

"stand up."

"Where are you taking me?" the middle-aged man gasped for breath, shaking uncontrollably. His body, hollowed out by years of alcohol, lost its balance and he collapsed forward. "I'll pay you back, I promise. Look, I've already signed that contract. How dare I run away? I..."

Pei Huai was too reluctant to even give him a glance.

Xiang Mingqi had no idea what tricks his senior had used. He only knew that after leaving the private room, the target had completely changed his previous arrogance, not only slumping his shoulders and remaining silent, but also showing an unexpected degree of cooperation.

Someone passing by curiously asked about the target, why he looked so grim, and what his relationship was with the other two. The old man was already bound by the contract and was paranoid about everything. This question frightened him so much that he could only nod along with Pei Huai.

It was nearly midnight when they arrived at the back door unimpeded. It was pitch dark. Heading west, they found a dark alley with broken streetlights. This was the pre-arranged meeting point.

Pei Huai contacted the client via the Bluetooth headset, while Xiang Mingqi held the shivering man and waited in the cold wind, arguing with him intermittently.

A few minutes later, an old car with its right headlight damaged was lying across the alley, its hood still creaking and steam coming out.

The person who came down was a high school student, about 1.82 meters tall. He wore a blue and white school uniform over a gasoline-stained T-shirt. He had a crew cut and a dirty face.

There were bruises and scars, both old and new, from his cheekbones to his arms, and his skin was a tanned tan. He looked rather arrogant and domineering.

Pei Huai said nothing and went forward to help him prop up the trunk.

The young man didn't hesitate, bending over and sweeping out the pile of fishing nets, fishing rods, bait, and other gear, tossing them all in a corner. When he reached out his hand, rudely pulling at the man, a hand firmly restrained him.

The young man shrank back and stared at Pei Huai with hostility.

"What are you doing?" He said, his voice feigning maturity. "Change your mind? Want to pay more? I knew people like you weren't trustworthy."

Xiang Mingqi took a step forward confidently: "What should we do? Why don't you call the police?"

"You are not my client." Pei Huai pulled the arm away from his chest, looked at him closely, and took practical action to stop the younger generation's overly childish behavior.

"So what?" The young man saw that he couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried. He opened and closed his lips dozens of times and roared through gritted teeth, "I'm going to take this man away now. You have no business here. Get out of the way!"

"The person handing over the child must be the client himself, or someone with a personal authorization letter." Pei Huai remained calm, like a teacher who remained unmoved by a child's unprovoked temper. "If there is no reason, I won't let you take him away."

"—Fuck you, because my dad's dead!" The boy finally couldn't help but curse. "He committed suicide! I'm the only one left at home. What kind of power of attorney is this? What kind of handover person is this? I don't have anything. Do you need me to say it again?"

Pei Huai didn't let go, didn't say anything, and didn't show any unnecessary emotion. Seeing his reaction, Xiang Mingqi just frowned and kept silent.

"Fuck, I knew this would happen. You want to see some ID? Here, my dad's ID and his death certificate. I've got them all in my pocket." The boy roughly pulled out his pocket, shaking out the contents one by one: crumpled paper, a magnetic card, car keys. By the end, he was practically ready to tear the seams off.

"Isn't this what you want? This, this, and this." He spoke faster, his tone both tough and irritable. At the end of his outburst, he turned his head with a fierce look, only to be met directly by a pair of dark eyes.

The color of her eyes was an unfathomable deep black, yet so blank, so blank that it seemed almost lifeless. The boy suddenly realized that even if he were to give them the strongest emotions, the most profound pain, this person would not have the slightest sympathy for him.

Just like that, he stared at Pei Huai silently for a long time, bit his lip, bent down to pick up the things that fell on the ground one by one, unfolded them one by one, and smoothed out the wrinkles one by one.

"Take this and have a look." The report was handed to Pei Huai. This time, he no longer shouted at the top of his lungs.

Pei Huai didn't comment, merely meticulously scanning the certificate, checking the documents. As he examined the penultimate page, a small photo tucked between the pages of paper fluttered to the ground. The boy hurriedly tried to pick it up. He squatted, removed his hand, and at his feet lay a photo that looked quite old, its edges beginning to fade.

It clearly showed a father and son wearing denim overalls. The child, who was missing his two front teeth, was riding on his father's shoulders with his mouth wide open.

He picked up the photo, suddenly looked up at the sky, choked up a few times, and then his tone returned to rationality: "It's okay now, right?"

Pei Huai confirmed it and handed it back to him: "Are you an adult?"

"No, there are still three months left." He threw the certificate into the back seat, took a few steps and roughly kicked the man with his hands tied into the trunk, slammed it shut, and went back to the driver's seat.

As soon as the key turned, I heard the rumble of the engine, interspersed with a series of knocking sounds. It was so subtle that if you didn't listen carefully, you might miss it.

He looked back at the sound and saw Pei Huai knocking on the car window with his index finger.

The boy's face suddenly turned cold. He rolled down the window, put one hand under the dashboard, and grasped a dagger fixed with tape.

The swirling wind swept through the alley, carrying fallen leaves and rolling towards the night scene made of lights above the city.

Pei Huai leaned his elbows against the window, his loose hair twirling gently as if he were strolling in the sea breeze. His tone was calm and normal, "Don't go to the West Bridge. There's a traffic inspection going on during this time. Take the southwest route. It's best to put your backpack in the back seat. It'll be very troublesome if you get caught."

He nodded his chin towards the passenger seat, reminding him that there was a tattered schoolbag there.

"I'm not going to school anymore. I'll throw this thing away after I cross the bridge." The boy gripped the steering wheel tightly, hunched his shoulders, and hid his head in the shadow of his shoulder blades and the windshield. "I'm not going to school anymore. I want to pay back the money my dad owed. He even asked all the relatives for money to lend to that bastard. He's gone, but at least I can't owe him anything."

Pei Huai just looked at him.

Before leaving, the young man looked at him deeply and squeezed out a few words awkwardly from between his teeth: "My name is Duan Heng, um, you..." Before he finished speaking, Pei Huai took out a business card from the cigarette box, stuck it into the gap between the car window, and left without looking back.

Watching the figure reflected in the rearview mirror getting farther and farther away, Duan Heng took out the business card, glanced at the name on it, and casually flipped it behind him.

There was a line of words written there.

A line of beautiful, gentle and clean words.

——That's Life.

As if all his strength had been drained from him in an instant, his forehead slowly rested against the steering wheel, never to be lifted again. He lay down, clutching the card tightly to his chest, tears welling up in his eyes.

On the way back to the company, Xiang Mingqi followed him, sometimes running and sometimes walking. Seeing that Pei Huai ignored him and had no interest in listening to jokes, he sighed deliberately, trying to attract his senior's attention.

"Brother, you didn't give him your business card just because you felt sorry for him, did you? What if you get harassed? What if he wants to pursue you?" He thought for a moment, then said smugly with his hands on his hips, "I'm different. I'm harassing you openly."

Pei Huai ignored him, listening to him sing a monologue with relish while crossing the shopping street. When passing a coffee shop, a drop of water splashed on the side of his cheek. He initially thought it was water leaking from the air conditioner outdoor unit, but soon, the continuous drops of water merged into a drizzle.

Pei Huai pulled up his hood and ran as fast as a rocket.

"Oh, it's so cold! Wait for me, brother. I don't have an umbrella or a hat today." Xiang Mingqi covered his head with his hands and hurriedly chased after him. "Let's find a place to hide. I heard that getting wet in the rain can cause hair loss. What if I get a receding hairline and develop baldness when I'm old? ...Don't walk so fast!"

Just as they were about to step out of the archway of the commercial street, two or three pure black Bentleys cut through the night, parked in a haphazard manner, and blocked their way in a quite direct manner.

Pei Huai didn't move, nor did he notice Xiang Mingqi's slightly changed expression. He glanced around. The windows were mostly covered with anti-peep film, so he couldn't see clearly.

The few bodyguards in suits who got out of the car first just surrounded them, without moving forward or saying a word.

Xiang Mingqi quietly moved over and asked him.

"Brother, do you have any enemies? The kind that like to make a big fuss?"

"Mr. Pei, what a coincidence." A familiar figure pushed open the door of the right rear seat of the third Bentley, held up a black umbrella, walked across the pond, and came towards them.

The newcomer's features became increasingly clear under the streetlights. Shan Li tilted the umbrella over Pei Huai's head, looked at his wet shoulders, and said gently, "Your clothes are soaked. This rain won't stop for a while, let me take you back."

As the breath approached, Pei Huai suddenly noticed that the person in front of him extended his left hand.