Translator: Yuyj
Rewriter: Nyamh
“You are Liu Biao?” Xiao Yuan Xing suddenly blocked Liu Biao.
Zhang Yang could only stop with him. He was surprised that, in an instant, Xiao Yuan Xing’s gaze had turned gentle again.
“Yes, yes…Big Bro Xiao. I-I’m Liu Biao,” Liu Biao stuttered, starstruck.
“You know Seventh Brother?” Xiao Yuan Xing gently laughed.
“Right, right. I know Seventh Brother.” Liu Biao repeated.
“Very good. If you have problems, you can come find me.” Xiao Yuan Xing patted Liu Biao on the shoulder with a smile as his gaze fell on Zhang Yang. He simply nodded his head at Zhang Yang before returning to greeting his guests.
After Liu Biao and Zhang Yang left the hotel, Liu Biao’s face turned red from excitement. He repeatedly muttered under his breath, “Big Bro Xiao remembered me. Big Bro Xiao remembered me…”
Zhang Yang believed that if there weren’t so many people around, Liu Biao would’ve already opened up his stupid mouth and howled like a wolf.
“Yep, he’ll definitely remember you,” Zhang Yang drawled. “You gifted him two 100 yuan red envelopes in exchange for two Diamond Furongwangs.”
Liu Biao’s expression changed as he looked at Zhang Yang without saying a word. His eyes were dazed. “I’m not afraid.” He laughed. “It’s enough that he remembers me. It looks like we met a VIP today. If it weren’t for Seventh Brother, Big Bro Xiao wouldn’t have remembered me. Strange…it seemed like most of the people in that hotel knew Seventh Brother, but how come I’ve never even heard of him?” Liu Biao’s skin was as thick as the city walls. [1] He laughed creepily to himself and continued to mutter about Seventh Brother.
“You grew up in C City and never even heard of Seventh Brother?” Zhang Yang stared at him blankly.
“Nope. From when I started in my teens until now, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone called Seventh Brother. In fact, C City was under Big Bro Xiao’s management even then.”
“Maybe Seventh Brother was the previous boss of C City?” Zhang Yang wondered. “Perhaps, he had given Big Bro Xiao provisional leadership before he left, and now that he’s back, he’s completely handed all of C City’s business over to Big Bro Xiao…Anyway, let’s go.” Zhang Yang still couldn’t figure out the relationship between Seventh Brother and Big Bro Xiao, but he was too lazy to keep thinking about it.
This matter was not related to him at all. They were from two different worlds. Furthermore, Zhang Yang’s earlier encounter with Xiao Yuan Xing left him feeling a sense of danger. This proved that Xiao Yuan Xing wasn’t as kind and trustworthy as he appeared to be. Zhang Yang disliked that kind of person.
“Okay. Go, go…” Zhang Yang didn’t care about the answer anymore.
And Liu Biao couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried. Liu Biao, with his bold and careless personality, naturally wouldn’t think too much about this matter. At that moment, he was just eager to return and brag about the banquet to his other delinquent friends. As soon as Zhang Yang said go, Liu Biao began taking large steps towards his crappy motorcycle.
“Slow down!” Right as the two were almost at Liu Biao’s motorcycle, Zhang Yang suddenly pulled Liu Biao to a halt.
“Xiao Yi Ran…” The two said her name simultaneously in surprise.
Xiao Yi Ran stood by herself near the motorcycle, facing away, as if she were waiting for something or someone.
Although the sky was already dark, C City’s public lighting was very good. Added to the fact that Bai Jia Yuan hotel was surrounded by government facilities, the street lights made it seem as if it were daylight. Xiao Yi Ran’s graceful bearing was extremely eye-catching, so of course Zhang Yang and Liu Biao instantly recognized her.
“What do we do?” Zhang Yang asked, his nerves getting the better of him. Although Liu Biao said that there wasn’t a possibility of Xiao Yi Ran telling her brother, Zhang Yang was still afraid. His fear was even amplified after personally meeting Xiao Yuan Xing.
“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’! Just walk over there. You can’t possibly avoid her for an entire year, right? This is only the beginning of your senior year!”
“No way, nuh uh…How about you go first, and I’ll just walk back to school?”
“… How about, I’ll just drive the motorcycle over there, and you meet me?” Liu Biao pointed to some ritzy parking lot decor in the shape of a little mountain.
“Yes, okay. Hurry!” Zhang Yang rushed toward the fake mountain. Although it wasn’t very high, it was big enough to hide Zhang Yang’s body. Liu Biao would be able to drive his motorcycle around to pick up Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang glanced at Liu Biao, who was walking toward his motorcycle, before he leaned against the fake mountain with an unhappy expression on his face. While staring blankly at his feet, Zhang Yang thought that he had been especially unlucky recently. He had merely wanted to work over the summer, but then his summer job had been caught in an explosion, leaving him on the brink of death. The worst, though, had to be running into Xiao Yi Ran twice in less than a day. He had to say, his own luck was bad to the extreme.
Liu Biao’s motorcycle revved in the distance and Zhang Yang glanced up, wondering if Liu Biao was headed toward him yet.
“Crap,” he uttered.
“Zhang Yang!” It was Xiao Yi Ran. While he had been staring at his feet, she’d caught sight of him and started walking towards him.
“Zhang Yang! My book, my book…”
As their eyes met, Zhang Yang suddenly became an olympic champion. To Xiao Yi Ran, in just the blink of an eye, Zhang Yang had disappeared without a trace into the nearby flower garden. The darkness of night fully covered his tracks.
“Zhang Yang, you deserve to die! Let’s see you run! Let’s see you run!” Xiao Yi Ran took one glance at the dark flower garden and was too afraid to follow. She was so angry that she furiously gave the fake mountain several kicks.
“Yi Ran, what’s wrong?” A deep male voice sounded out. It was Xiao Yuan Xing.
“Brother…” After hesitating a bit she said, “It’s nothing. Let’s go. It’s brother’s birthday today, and the cake is still at home.” There was a trace of anticipation on Xiao Yi Ran’s face.
“Okay, let’s go. Tonight, big brother will celebrate his birthday with you, and we’ll eat the cake together. It’s been a long time since you’ve come home, too. It’s rare for us, siblings, to catch up.” Xiao Yuan Xing sighed.
He grabbed Xiao Yi Ran’s hand and turned her toward a white car parked nearby. Even as she was getting into the car, Xiao Yi Ran glared hatefully at the dark flower garden.
Watching the dust trail of the departed car, Zhang Yang, who was hiding inside the flower garden, exhaled a heavy breath and wiped the sweat from his face. Earlier, when he saw that Xiao Yuan Xing had come over, nervous sweat soaked through his clothes. If Xiao Yi Ran had mentioned him, he probably would’ve been shredded to pieces.
And then Zhang Yang saw the empty parking lot and the vacant street. “Fuck me—I gotta walk again!” Zhang Yang cursed, angry. Liu Biao had disappeared without a trace. Zhang Yang figured that Liu Biao had probably circled around and left after not finding Zhang Yang. At this time, what Liu Biao most wanted to do was brag to all of his delinquent buddies. He didn’t really care where Zhang Yang went.
Translator’s Notes:
[1] The direct translation was “Liu Biao’s face was as thick as the city walls,” which, in Chinese culture, is the same as saying Liu Biao has thick skin.