Chapter 15
Tang Zefei, due to some bleak childhood memories, was rather indifferent to family ties. When Yu Congyi looked at him, he sensed something strange – he couldn't discern any particular emotion on the other's face.
He turned his head away, and because he was listless, he spoke in a low voice, "I didn't kill your father."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jin clenched his fist, walked over, and waved it at Yu Congyi, saying, "Don't you fucking give it to me..."
“I’ve never killed anyone, no matter what you’re saying.” Yu Congyi sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do at the moment; how to get out of here was the question he should be thinking about right now.
The handcuffs made it difficult for Yu Congyi to even adjust his posture, while Tang Zefei remained squatting in front of him, her gaze never leaving his face since their conversation began. Being stared at made Yu Congyi inexplicably uncomfortable; Tang Zefei's gaze always felt like a snake's, a chilling, piercing sensation, like thorns on his back. Yu Congyi turned his face away.
"What do I have to do for you to believe that I didn't kill him?" Yu Congyi said, yielding.
"I can't believe it." Tang Zefei said this and finally stood up. He stood up slowly, but quickly leaned against the wall after he stood up. Yu Congyi didn't know what was wrong with him.
Lu Jin quickly went up to help Tang Zefei, but Tang Zefei waved her hand, indicating that she didn't need it, and then said to him, "You can go down first."
Lu Jin accepted the order and left, while Tang Zefei remained where he was, gazing thoughtfully at the open iron gate. Then he paced a few steps, dragged a stool out from somewhere in the darkness, pulled it next to Yu Congyi, and sat down.
He crossed his hands on his knees and said to Yu Congyi, "Go and kill someone for me."
Upon hearing this, Yu Congyi frowned and looked up at him. Tang Zefei, as expected, slightly twitched the corners of his mouth, but it wasn't a smile. His eyes held a hint of amusement. "Help me get rid of this person, and I'll trust you and shut them up."
He lowered his voice and smiled genuinely. "The sergeant major of the military police is truly loyal and righteous. He didn't hesitate to kill so many guards for his men. You wouldn't want others to know that you've made such a mess for personal reasons, would you? Or do you simply not care? Or why didn't you just let that unlucky guy fall and end it all on his own? Why did you go and save him?"
"Why do you think this is a private matter for me?" Yu Congyi pointed out the key point and looked at him sharply. "Don't make wild guesses."
“My brother never gets involved in military or political matters.” Tang Zefei changed his posture and casually crossed his legs. “He’s a businessman, he has nothing to do with you, you have no reason to kill him.”
“Or rather,” he leaned closer, his voice even lower, “who are you working for?”
Hearing him bluntly reveal the truth, Yu Congyi snorted coldly, knowing that further words with this man were pointless. He had no reason to admit any connection between himself and Tang Lishu's death; what difference did it make if one more or one less charge were leveled against him? Let him guess what he wanted. He had killed so many people; if everyone asked him the same questions, he wouldn't be able to repay his debts even with dozens of lives.
"Enough with the nonsense," he said coldly, knowing what was most important to him at that moment. "Who do you want me to kill before I can leave?"
"Exit." Tang Zefei slowly uttered these two words.
Yu Congyi often felt a sense of unfamiliarity and reluctance towards Tang Zefei. His intuition told him that they were not on the same path, and each time Tang Zefei met him, he felt something very different, which made Yu Congyi feel very strange and want to stay away.
He could understand that people are multifaceted, and no one can remain unchanged. Before you fully understand someone, every interaction with them—the unfamiliarity they intentionally or unintentionally display in front of you—is perfectly natural. Yu Congyi wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed a dull, uneventful life. His personality had a certain tendency to enjoy excitement, but that didn't mean he wouldn't feel restless and uneasy about other rapidly changing things. His life was partly conservative and conventional, and partly thrilling and exciting, yet both could be categorized into the part of life that Yu Congyi had long been accustomed to. He lived the conventional life day after day without complaint, and he had long ago mentally prepared himself for the thrilling and exciting aspects without resentment.
But like Tang Zefei, every time he saw the other person, he felt a completely different feeling from the last time, which made him very uneasy. At this moment, he listened warily to the name the other person spoke, and his heart skipped a beat.
Who is Zhan Chu? He's a business tycoon in the French Concession of Tianjin, who made his fortune in his youth through export trade. He owns a department store and several large hotels. His identity is self-evident. Having been established in Tianjin for so long, he has cultivated connections with various gangs. Yu Congyi remembers him because he had some dealings with Jiang Fengming. This is a troublesome person. The other side wants to deal with him, but instead of doing it themselves, they're sending him along. The purpose is obvious. With Master Tang dead, Tianjin's business world is bound to descend into chaos. Tang Zefei, as Master Tang's only son, will certainly be in a difficult position. This Zhan Chu is likely to be a major element of this chaos.
That's why Tang Zefei is so eager to get rid of him right now.
"The other one at Tongque Spring Deep last time was his son," Tang Zefei said nonchalantly, a slight smirk playing on her lips as she saw Yu Congyi remain silent.
Yu Congyi quickly realized that he was referring to the other person he had seen on the sofa in the dance hall earlier. He merely sneered, not responding, but saying only, "You get along so well with his son, yet you secretly killed his father?"
“There’s no need for you to worry about that, Sergeant Major,” Tang Zefei said softly. “If you get rid of Zhan Chu, you will be doing my father a great favor.”
“I will then believe that you did not kill my father. Since you did not kill him, then everything is negotiable.” His face was no longer smiling as he stared at Yu Congyi. Yu Congyi glared back.
In fact, Tang Zefei's gaze wasn't glaring at him, but rather a kind of staring expression, her eyes so deep they seemed to burn him through.
After a moment, Yu Congyi turned his face away, remained silent, and only nodded slightly. This meant the deal was done. Seeing this, Tang Zefei continued to make demands, "You must kill him with poisoned wine."
Yu Congyi looked up, his expression a mixture of bewilderment and helplessness. "Why poisoned wine?"
“Because his son always tries to get me drunk,” Tang Zefei said without beating around the bush this time, “this time it’s my turn to get him drunk.”
Yu Congyi fell silent. To him, knives, guns, poison, alcohol, and drugs were all the same; the goal was still to kill, only the methods differed. Shooting was simply more convenient for him, but that didn't stop him. He lowered his gaze to ponder, when Tang Zefei stood up and walked to his side.
Tang Zefei pulled an iron key from his coat pocket. Yu Congyi's gaze fell on his hand, and he spoke, "Are you all so brazen in arresting people?"
Tang Zefei remained silent, neither confirming nor denying. He squatted down, grasped Yu Congyi's wrist, and a small key turned twice in the handcuff's latch. Yu Congyi's hands were freed, and he felt a tingling, numbing sensation coming from his wrists—his limbs were about to go numb from being handcuffed for too long. Tang Zefei then took out another key and compared it to the one on Yu Congyi's ankle.
But this wasn't the right key. Tang Zefei narrowed his eyes slightly, rummaging through the remaining twenty or so iron keys. As he unlocked the door, he held Yu Congyi's ankle and gently squeezed it.
This action made Yu Congyi somewhat uncomfortable. Then, he inexplicably felt that the other person's hand was probably very cold; he could sense it even through the trouser leg. The lock opened, and Yu Congyi was free. Tang Zefei stood up and stepped aside to make way for him. Yu Congyi said nothing more and got up to leave. Before leaving, he thought of something and stood at the iron gate without turning back. "Should I prepare the poison myself?"
"Three days from now, at 10 PM, at the back entrance of HSBC on Victoria Road. I'll have someone give it to you." Tang Zefei leaned against the wall, staring at his back. Yu Congyi didn't reply, and left after hearing this. Tang Zefei's gaze, however, was deep and thoughtful. His memory was excellent. Seventeen years had passed, and if he wasn't mistaken, the other person should be the older brother who had saved him and taken him to play at the church school when they were children. He vividly remembered those dark yet joyful times, feeling he could never forget them in this lifetime. Yu Congyi must have been a teenager then. Although he remembered the other person's youthful features as immature, upon closer inspection, he felt there wasn't much difference between then and now.
He had searched for him for a long time. Tang Zefei never imagined that many years later, he would stand before her again in this guise. It was him, it was him all along. Had Yu Congyi ever harbored any doubt or resentment towards him for leaving without saying goodbye? Tang Zefei wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin. How could they explain their fate?
Fortunately, he found it.
One thing at a time.
After returning home, Tang Zefei dispatched three or five men to keep an eye on Yu Congyi's movements, wanting to have a thorough understanding of the progress of his assassination attempt on Zhan Chu. Whether or not Yu Congyi killed his father, Tang Zefei didn't know and couldn't uncover the truth. It was regrettable that although he cared about the matter, he was unwilling to delve into it for various reasons. At the same time, he was deeply embroiled in various problems due to his father's unexpected death—although his father's many businesses could still operate normally without his immediate instructions, he was, after all, the only son of the Tang family, and inheriting the family business was unavoidable. At the same time, he would inevitably have to take on various tedious tasks, and his carefree days as a lazy playboy would likely come to an end soon.
On the other hand, Tang Zefei seemed to have inherited his father's intelligence. Although his body was not good, his mind was very clear. Moreover, he was the only one in the Tang family who could take charge. No one caused trouble. He was able to carry out things in an orderly manner under such unexpected circumstances. Tang Zefei was able to gradually adapt to this kind of life. However, all of this is a story for later.
During this time, his cronies, like Zhan Yuewei, heard about the changes in his family and sent people to the Tang family villa to offer empty words of condolence and sympathy. Tang Zefei saw through their true colors and didn't care much. They were all business people caught up in the same boat, with considerable interests intertwined; what genuine feelings could there be? He wondered how many families were gloating over his father's death. However, after that, Zhan Yuewei found it increasingly difficult to get him to go out, no longer allowing him to casually wander around bars and dance halls as before.
Life could only go on like this, day after day. One day, Jiang Fengming suddenly told Yu Congyi that Yang Ruinian had found the real culprit who killed Jiang Jiejie, and then threw out a stack of photos.
Yu Congyi took the photos and saw that they were probably taken secretly from street corners. The angles were very tricky, and one of them was even taken from the perspective of looking down from a Western-style building, only capturing the top of the target's head.
However, he still recognized him. It was none other than Lu Jin, and the main subject of the other photos was Tang Zefei.
“This man is called Lu Jin,” Jiang Fengming walked over, picked up a photo, looked at it, and handed it to him. “He works for Boss Tang’s son, the Italian businessman Boss Tang. Some people have speculated that he is the murderer of Jiang Jiejie. According to Yang Ruinian, his whereabouts that day were also witnessed by others.”
His finger pointed to another photo. "This is Boss Tang's son, Tang Zefei. The Tang Lishu you were sent to assassinate at the Lin Mansion last time is his younger brother, but he's adopted." Jiang Fengming touched the corner of his mouth and sighed sincerely, but without any emotion. "It's truly a case of karma. We killed his son, and they killed my aunt."
Yu Congyi asked him, "What does Yang Ruinian mean by giving you these photos?"
“He wants us to get rid of these two,” Jiang Fengming said. “He doesn’t want to do it himself.” He put down the photo and glanced at Yu Congyi. He narrowed his eyes and said disdainfully, “He’s very shrewd. He’s unwilling to provoke someone so powerful. He made excuses, saying that he doesn’t have anyone as good a fighter as you under his command.”
Yu Congyi knew what Jiang Fengming meant. Jiang Fengming said, "I agreed to him. After all, our Jiang family and the Yang family have a lot of dealings. It wouldn't look good if we broke off relations. Besides, Jiang Jiejie is our aunt. So, brother, you have to get rid of them. No, no, the newspaper recently published that this Master Tang just happened to die. You should kill Lu Jin first. His son is in the limelight right now and is too conspicuous. He probably has a lot of bodyguards around him, so it won't be easy. We can plan this out later."
Yu Congyi was unsure whether to agree or not, but thought that this was what he should do, and that was how he always did it. Jiang Fengming then smiled and said, "After all, Aunt is a daughter-in-law of the Yang family. Yang Ruinian said that if we resolve things with them, he will agree to marry his sister to us. You must agree to this."
Yu Congyi had already seen through Jiang Fengming somewhat. He nodded and agreed, his emotions a bit complicated, unsure of what to say. Jiang Fengming then moved closer, changing the subject with a smile, "His little sister is pretty good, and quite attractive too. I've tried her out. Want to have some fun too?"
"Huh?" Yu Congyi asked, somewhat incredulously, "You and her..."
"After that last time, I went to see his sister, took her shopping at a department store, had a meal, and bought her some jewelry. She seemed to have taken a liking to me, and even slept with me. You know how women are," Jiang Fengming smiled meaningfully, "to me, it's just like that..."
“Then what do you mean now?” Yu Congyi interrupted him with a frown and scolded, “Don’t let me hear what you just said again. Since she’s interested in you and is a decent girl, you should treat her well. What you just said was utter nonsense.”
“But she’s not my type,” Jiang Fengming said, his smile widening and his mischievousness rising. “After a few times, I feel she’s not as good as before. We’re going to help Yang Ruinian with this, but we can’t refuse his sister who insists on marrying into the family.”
"I'm just asking you, is she truly sincere towards you?" Yu Congyi asked.
"Of course, she..."
“Since you are sincere, you should treat her sincerely too. If you really can’t get along, just tell Yang Ruinian. It’s not something that can’t be explained,” Yu Congyi glanced at him. “I can’t stand seeing someone start something and then abandon it.”
"Big brother!" Jiang Fengming leaned closer, his voice carrying a hint of a little boy's coquettishness, "Are you her older brother or mine? Why are you always taking her side?"
He was well past the age of a teenager, a proper young man, but when he acted spoiled, he was exactly the same as when he was a child. Yu Congyi sighed, "I'm just telling you."
"Okay." Jiang Fengming hugged him on the back. "I heard you, big brother."
Yu Congyi turned around and squeezed his arm. With Jiang Fengming so close to him, Tang Zefei's face suddenly flashed into his mind, and he was startled. The matter she had asked him to handle was urgent.
Yu Congyi took a deep breath, mentally prioritizing the matters before finally feeling less chaotic. He had been doing these things for so many years; why should he be afraid of killing a few people? He hadn't felt apprehensive while doing these things, always feeling that he was in control. But in recent years, he had always felt a vague unease; if he continued down this perilous path, he feared he would increasingly slip into an abyss beyond his control.
Yu Congyi suddenly felt a little tired. He turned around, patted Jiang Fengming on the shoulder, and walked away. Jiang Fengming, with a pile of photos under his hand, reminded him, "Brother, don't forget to deal with these two."
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