8
The moment Jiang Fan first saw Si Yuan, he knew he was doomed. That beautiful woman was someone a small-time hoodlum like him could never have, yet he had fallen madly in love with her.
In truth, he would never have had the chance to meet Si Yuan in his entire life. At seventeen, he was a low-level hoodlum in the Fujian "Fuqing Gang," engaged in petty theft and other lowly activities. He had no opportunity to meet a wealthy young lady from high society. However, this time, a high-ranking member of the North American Fuqing Gang came to Fujian, drawing almost all the local elites, creating a grand spectacle. He only caught a glimpse of the woman who took his breath away, through layers of bodyguards surrounding him. At that time, he was in the transitional phase between adolescence and youth, completely powerless against a woman several years older than him, young and beautiful. And Si Yuan, at that moment, was like a blooming rose, radiant and captivating, utterly enchanting.
He stared at her, completely unable to look away. Ah Si, standing beside him, slapped him on the back of the head: "Stop looking! That's the eldest daughter of the Si family, someone we can never hope to be close to!"
"The eldest daughter of the Si family?" Jiang Fan murmured, repeating.
"Her name is Si Yuan. I heard she's already engaged to the young master of the Shen family and will be getting married soon," Ah Si sighed.
“Si Yuan…” Jiang Fan savored the name, as if a subtle fragrance emanated from it.
However, no one expected that while things were in full swing here, shocking news came from North America. The North American Fuqing Gang held a grand gathering in New York, with high-ranking members flying in from all over North America, and almost all the important figures from various regions in attendance.
This was an unprecedented emergency gathering in the history of the Fuqing Gang, which even alarmed the FBI, who dispatched a large number of agents to monitor the situation. The Fuqing Gang was forced to use every means possible to temporarily evade the authorities and hold an emergency meeting in this stronghold. It wasn't until two days later that the FBI finally tracked them down.
When they stormed into the villa's grounds, armed to the teeth, they found all the high-ranking underworld figures present dead, their bodies perfectly preserved in their final poses. One detective who was among the first to enter recalled that it felt like entering a wax museum, a group of wax figures maintaining their poses and postures from life, but without a single living person—an eerie and sinister sight.
The high-ranking officials who remained in Fujian rushed back to New York, but it was too late to reverse the situation, and the North American Fuqing clique collapsed.
Of course, this matter has nothing to do with Jiang Fan, a petty hoodlum.
Six months later, another piece of news brought him an even greater shock. The eldest daughter of the Si family was discovered to be pregnant before her wedding, and the child was not the Shen family's son's. Si Yuan refused to abort the child and was kicked out of her home late at night. She then jumped into a river and committed suicide. The Si family searched for her for half a day without success and had no choice but to accept their fate. Jiang Fan went to great lengths to find her downstream, and miraculously found her unconscious in a garbage dump under a bridge.
He took Si Yuan back to his dilapidated house in a narrow alley and took care of her. A few months later, Si Yuan gave birth to a son and, unwilling to accept his kindness any longer, insisted on moving out of his house.
Three years later, however, Si Yuan somehow learned that an American smuggler would be using a cargo ship to smuggle passengers into the United States in February—a process commonly known as "illegal immigration." Having no connections, she had no choice but to bring her three-year-old son and beg Jiang Fan for help to go to America. Only then did Jiang Fan realize that the man who had impregnated Si Yuan was actually one of the North American Fuqing gang leaders who had come to Fujian years before! Si Yuan's purpose in going to America was likely to find that man.
By this time, Jiang Fan had risen to a mid-level leadership position within the gang, enjoying the boss's favor and poised for promotion to a senior position. He was familiar with those smuggling boats; not only were they expensive, but they were also usually extremely crowded, unsanitary, and sometimes lacked food and water. Helping Si Yuan wouldn't be difficult, but how could a frail woman endure such hardship? Looking at her beautiful, pale face, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He eventually spent all his savings and, together with Si Yuan, boarded the smuggling ship called the "Golden Adventure." In May, they reached the Atlantic Ocean near New York City. With his help, Si Yuan and her child successfully escaped, while he was imprisoned. He wasn't granted parole until 1997.
He lacked the legal right to reside in the United States and was supposed to return to China after his release from prison. However, in order to find Si Yuan, he chose to join the Fuqing Gang in California. After the collapse of the Fuqing Gang in North America, its remaining members reorganized and became a considerable force, establishing a foothold in California. Starting as a low-ranking member, he quickly rose through the ranks, joining Yao Yinxiang, one of the gang's high-ranking members, in the fierce competition for the next leader. Ultimately, Yao Yinxiang emerged victorious, and he, as a key figure, rose to become one of the gang's new high-ranking members. Over the years, Yao Yinxiang had come to regard him as a confidant, and this time he even sent him to New York with Yao Jinghan.
For 19 years, he secretly searched for Si Yuan, but to no avail. After all, the main power of the Fuqing Gang was in California, and they couldn't openly search for someone in New York. Moreover, such a search couldn't involve too many people; otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives seized upon it, he would lose his footing in the gang. This time, taking advantage of his trip to New York, he intended to investigate more thoroughly, but unexpectedly, he encountered Si Yuan's son during Yao Jinghan's usual campaign to eliminate rivals.
"She told you?" Jiang Fan asked excitedly, staring intently at Qiangwei.
“As I thought. My mother once told me that if I met you in the future, I must repay your kindness.” Rose lowered her eyes and sighed softly. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid I won’t be able to fulfill my mother’s last wish. I am now in grave danger, so I can only repay your kindness in the next life.”
He spoke pitifully, but a glint of light flashed in his lowered eyes. He knew that Jiang Fan wouldn't let him be slaughtered by this perverted woman today.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan's face drained of color: "Last wish? Could it be..."
"Uncle Jiang, my mother passed away from illness nine years ago." Thinking of her poor mother, Qiangwei's voice became extremely heavy.
Jiang Fan stared intently at Qiangwei, somewhat unable to believe that the beautiful woman was already gone!
The woman who had been ignored all along—Yao Jinghan—finally realized what was happening and stepped forward to ask, "Uncle Jiang, do you know this man?"
Jiang Fan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned around and bowed deeply to her: "Miss, I have a favor to ask."
Yao Jinghan was taken aback, then gave a wry smile: "Uncle Jiang, I understand what you mean. Since you've asked, how can I refuse to release them?"
Jiang Fan maintained his bowing posture: "Thank you for your kindness, Miss. I know I have overstepped my bounds and will accept my punishment upon my return."
Yao Jinghan shook her head: "Uncle Jiang is my father's right-hand man and also my elder. How can this request be considered presumptuous?"
After saying that, she waved to the people behind her and led the way out: "Uncle Jiang and this gentleman must have something to say, so I won't disturb them any longer."
As Rose watched her retreating figure, she sighed inwardly: This woman is something else!
An hour later, when the "Dragon Underworld" men found Rose, Jiang Fan had just left, and Rose was sitting on the ground with her eyes closed, resting and preparing to return to the Xu family. When that tall figure appeared before Rose, she almost thought she was dreaming.
Why did he come? On the way back, exhausted Rose lay on her side in the back seat, secretly gazing at Xu Qi's cold profile. This way… he would have something to look forward to. But she was afraid. Afraid that this tiny bit of expectation would soon turn into an overwhelming disappointment.
In fact, aside from asking about his health at the beginning, the man beside him didn't say a word to him on the way home. His heart sank lower and lower. Until he returned to the Xu family home, and saw the tenderness and doting in the man's eyes when he looked at his younger brother, he finally fell into the abyss of despair once again.
However, no matter how sad and distressed he felt, the physical strain made him fall asleep in bed very quickly.
In his dream, his mother's pale, beautiful face appeared before him again. The cold touch of her withered fingers on his face brought tears to his eyes. This was a despair he had never felt before in his life.
Xu Qi gently walked to the bedside and looked at the slender body curled up in a ball, his delicate eyebrows furrowed, his fair face flushed red, and large tears constantly seeping from his thick eyelashes. He realized with frustration that he had truly failed.
When he received news of Rose's kidnapping today, he immediately questioned Antonio, only to be told that they knew nothing about it. Antonio was frantic upon learning of Rose's disappearance, but his forces were limited, making the chances of finding her extremely slim. Surprisingly, the usually composed Xu Qi, disregarding the emptiness of headquarters, frantically dispatched almost all his men to conduct a thorough search for Rose. Finally, when they found Rose unharmed in the dilapidated warehouse, the usually non-religious man silently thanked God.
He knew something must have happened to the child, but he didn't know how to ask. He could freely dote on and care for his younger brother, because he was used to his brother's dependence and trust, and also because he harbored an unspoken love for him. But with Qiangwei, he often didn't know what to do. This child was like a younger brother to him, yet different. He never knew what was truly going on in this child's mind.
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