81 Dark Little Corners
Before we knew it, a rehearsal at the school was held on Saturday afternoon.
Li Wei and her team's program was approved smoothly, and they didn't have to participate in the second rehearsal the next day, even though they didn't wear makeup or formal performance costumes.
Li Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief, having completed her mission. She no longer had to jump around every afternoon; six or seven days in a row had been quite a lot for her.
After watching Zhou Xiaoyan and Li Lin's rehearsal, Li Wei returned to the classroom without a moment's delay. She saw Luo Da still there, doing his homework—it was rare to see him so diligent. However, he didn't seem very focused. Li Wei saw him looking up outside as she returned. Without any pretense of politeness, Li Wei asked, "Is something wrong? If not, why don't you go home?"
Luo Da nodded and started packing his things. Li Wei's schoolbag was already packed, and she followed Luo Da out. Just as they stepped out of the classroom, Shen Tao, with his arm in a sling, came up to them, smiled at Li Wei, and tried to grab Luo Da with his free hand. Unfortunately, Luo Da didn't like being pulled around like that and subtly avoided him: "What's going on? Why are you acting so suspiciously?"
Shen Tao didn't care. He glanced at Li Wei, leaned close to Luo Da, whispered something to him, and then asked, "So, are you going or not?"
Without even thinking, Luo Da rejected Shen Tao outright: "I'm not interested. Go find someone else."
After saying that, she patted Shen Tao on the shoulder, left Shen Tao behind, and Li Wei hurriedly followed.
Shen Tao shook his head in disappointment at Luo Da's retreating figure, thinking to himself that although the kid was quite good at fighting, he was a bit stubborn and boring.
Li Wei was very curious and wanted to ask Luo Da what kind of mischief Shen Tao wanted from him. But then she thought about how Luo Da might not tell her, and she'd be embarrassed and lose face, so she decided against it. But this curiosity was quite torturous, though.
Finally, when they arrived at her doorstep, Li Wei couldn't help but ask, "Luo Jianhua, what exactly does Shen Tao want from you? He's being so mysterious." She had already decided that if Luo Da didn't tell her, she would pretend she hadn't asked and go inside immediately.
Luo Jianhua was just lifting his supporting foot to leave when Li Wei asked him a question. He spoke in a tone that made Li Wei feel quite annoyed: "Oh. It's nothing serious. It's just that some people from the city are coming to gamble on football. He wanted me to go over… Of course, I didn't agree. It's not that I'm worried about taking you home for lunch every day. It's just that those people are gambling way too much."
Seeing Luo Da's nonchalant attitude really annoyed Li Wei. She glanced at Luo Da sideways and said, "You make it sound so easy. Anyway, I can't control your family. I went inside, and you turned around and went to that pool hall. I didn't know. You don't need to come here and try to prove your innocence."
Luo Da hadn't expected Li Wei to say that. His previously expressionless face suddenly broke into a smile. He decided not to leave: "Looks like you don't trust me. How about... you come with me and supervise me? See if I behave." Li Wei had never seen Luo Da so unserious before. She was momentarily taken aback. However, since Luo Da had mentioned supervision, she still had some reservations: "People aren't cattle or horses. What's with the supervision? You need self-discipline, you know! Besides, I'm not your parents. Why would I go and supervise you? Come on."
Li Wei turned to go inside, but Luo Jianhua stopped her: "Wait a minute. You're much more capable and useful than my parents. You were so good to me when I was little. I have to repay that kindness tenfold. How could I deceive you behind your back? Why don't we go to the scene together and see for ourselves? Then you'll know how innocent I am."
Li Wei frowned and stopped. "See? The fox's tail is showing. I knew it. You wanted to go see for yourself. Why make up so many excuses? Hehe... But I have to be responsible to Grandma Luo. I'll keep a close eye on you and make sure you don't go the wrong way. Wait for me, we'll go together." Li Wei hurriedly ran into the building to deliver her schoolbag. She was genuinely curious. In both her lives combined, she had never been to watch someone gamble live. Mainly, she wanted to keep an eye on Luo Da. She just wanted to see what would happen. She really wanted to know how much those city people could gamble.
Li Wei and Luo Da arrived at the place where they had caught Li Lianhui the night before—the arcade and billiards hall called "Passion." Even though it was daytime, both the first and second floors were packed with people and shrouded in mist, just like the day before.
It turned out that this atmosphere was all day long. Li Wei was a little puzzled. She had little experience with video games and billiards, and she really didn't understand why so many boys and even young people were obsessed with this. Was it really that fun?
The two arrived at the billiards hall on the second floor. Luo Da knocked directly on the door near the stairs. Like a spy making a rendezvous, a young man cautiously opened the door a crack. Seeing that it was someone he knew, he opened the door completely and let Luo Da and Li Wei in.
Basically, among the local underworld and legitimate youths, there's no one who doesn't know Luo Da.
The room was quite spacious and better decorated; at least it had air conditioning, flooring, and chairs. The pool table in the middle of the room also seemed to be of higher quality. Although Li Wei couldn't quite tell, she could tell it was clean and tidy. Luo Da found a relatively quiet corner to sit down, and Li Wei also took a seat in an empty seat next to him.
There weren't many people in the room, just over ten. Besides the young man from yesterday who came over to greet Luo Da, there was also Shen Tao. When Luo Da came in, a housekeeper followed behind him. She gave Luo Da an ambiguous smile and then quietly introduced the three unfamiliar faces.
As he introduced them, Li Wei also took a closer look at the three young men, who were also under twenty years old and supposedly from the city.
One of them, tall and fairly handsome, was said by Shen Tao to be the leader; the other two were of average height and somewhat thin, supposedly the henchmen. This confused Li Wei. The henchmen seemed rather small; who was protecting whom? Besides, how much money did they bring that required bodyguards?
Before Luo Da could say anything, Shen Tao looked at Li Wei with a smile, as if she were a child: "Looks like Luo Jianhua didn't tell you about the fight. Look at those two short guys. Don't let their smaller stature fool you; look at their eyes, gleaming with ferocity. They've clearly seen blood and blood before, maybe even spent time in a reformatory. They're really ruthless in a fight. When it comes to fighting, it's not about size, it's about who's more ruthless. So, don't underestimate their strength just because they're small."
Li Wei thought about it and agreed, nodding, "I've learned my lesson. It seems I need to be more careful around shorter people, especially you. You always seem to be looking for trouble, so you need to be more discerning. Now that you mention it, I do remember something. Did you think Luo was big and therefore looked down on him, which led to the fight?"
Shen Tao scratched his chin somewhat awkwardly and chuckled twice: "How could that be? Actually... it's just that I'd heard a lot about Luo Jianhua before, and I was a little unconvinced, so I found an excuse to test my skills. It wasn't just a momentary impulse, hehe..."
Li Wei: "Oh, impulsive? Well, you went all out. You broke your arm in the process. I'm impressed!"
Shen Tao could tell that Li Wei wasn't saying anything nice; she was acting like a stubborn pig that couldn't be reasoned with, so he shut up.
Li Wei was truly amazed. She wondered aloud, "What are these guys thinking all day? They fight over the smallest things, breaking legs and arms, beating each other so brutally. They're savages, utterly unreasonable! They're a harbinger of social discord!"
Having learned about the relationship between the three city folks and... right: "That tall, good-looking city guy, what's his background?" Li Wei continued to ask Chen Tao, a local expert.
"That guy, I heard his family is very rich, they own a factory, and he has an uncle who's supposedly influential in the police station. I don't know how he got to know Brother Gang, but he's gambled with some local rich guys twice and won both times. He's pretty good at it."
Shen Tao's words reminded Li Wei of Chen Wei's husband, who seemed to be a local rich kid. He was a gambling addict, and it was said that he had been gambling since he was a child. His surname seemed to be Huang, but she didn't know his real name. She wondered if she had ever gambled with this guy.
Soon after, the other party from the local betting ring arrived. They came in groups of three or five. The leader was a tall man of about eighteen or nineteen, though a bit dark-skinned and with small eyes. He seemed honest enough, not at all like someone who was good for nothing.
The two sides didn't need to say much upon meeting; they each took out a bag of money and threw it to the guy called Gang Ge. Gang Ge checked it all and then said, "Same as always, let's begin." That officially started the gambling.
Although their presence was less imposing, it still had a hint of gangsterism. Li Wei looked at Luo Xiao and said in a low voice, "Aren't they afraid the police will come and arrest them? Gambling is illegal!"
Luo Da stared at the field and whispered to Li Wei, "He's probably scared too, so didn't you see how cautious Gang Ge is? But as long as a fight doesn't break out and something serious happens, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Judging from Luo Da's tone, it seemed like he thought this was a trivial matter, so Li Wei couldn't help but take the opportunity to lecture him: "Let me tell you, nine out of ten gamblers lose. Gambling is not a good thing. You should stay away from places like this in the future. Don't lead Xiao Er and Xiao San astray. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too. If you affect their healthy growth, you will be letting down your ancestors, your brothers, and yourself..."
Luo Dayang watched as the game was about to start, and the only person left in the room was Li Wei whispering in his ear. The atmosphere was so discordant that everyone else was too afraid to breathe. He quickly covered Li Wei's constantly opening and closing mouth and whispered, "Shh, be quiet. If you anger everyone, you won't be able to leave."
Luo Da genuinely wanted to scare Li Wei, but that's underestimating him. Is he the kind of person who doesn't know what's good for him and is always lecturing others?
Li Wei nodded with wide eyes. It was too common for gangsters in TV shows and movies to start fighting at the drop of a hat.
I couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Why was I so curious? I was just asking for trouble. I won't do it again.
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