Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wang Yao just smiled. Just because nothing happened didnât mean everything was fine. Diarrhea and vomiting could also be caused by drinking too much or eating unclean food. Normally, people wouldnât consider the bad consequence of drinking with certain foods.
âTry this, Dr. Wang,â Pan Jun said.
âOK,â Wang Yao replied.
The three of them had a wonderful meal together. Pan Jun and Zhong Liuchuan both drank some wine.
Pan Jun wanted to invite Wang Yao and Zhong Liuchuan to Karaoke after lunch, but both of them declined. They didnât like noisy places.
âThatâs fine. Drive safe, Dr. Wang,â Pan Jun said.
âIâll be fine since I didnât drink. You probably shouldnât drive. Call a taxi,â Wang suggested.
Pan Jun called a taxi after seeing Wang Yao and Zhong Liuchuan off. As he was about to get into the taxi, a man passed by him and vomited in the garden bed nearby.
âHave you drank too much?â Pan Jun asked.
âNo, I didnât drink too much,â the man said. âI just had one glass of wine. Normally, I can drink at least three glasses normally. It was the food!â
âWell, I guess you just didnât drink enough.â The manâs friend handed over him a bottle of spring water.
Maybe he also ordered that dish, Pan Jun thought as he got into the taxi. He believed whatever Wang Yao said.
âHopefully youâll be OK, Dr. Wang,â he murmured.
âThe restaurantâs business is good,â Pan Jun said to the taxi driver.
âOf course, you wonât be able to get a table if you come too late,â the taxi driver replied. âAlthough they say economics nowadays is not good, those expensive restaurants are still very popular. I thought the government was strict with spending money on work-related meals. How come there are still so many government officers there?â
âItâs not as strict as you think,â Pan Jun said with a smile while sitting in the back seat. He had drunk a little bit more than usual.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao was driving Zhong Liuchuan back to the village.
âDrink too much?â Wang Yao asked.
âJust a bit too much.â Zhong Liuchuan smiled and rubbed his forehead.
He hadnât drunk for a long time. His occupation didnât allow him to touch alcohol since he needed to be vigilant all the time.
âAdjust your breath,â Wang Yao said. âTry to breathe the way I taught you. It will make you feel better.â
Although he was sitting in a car, which was different from sitting still quietly, Zhong Liuchuan tried to change the way he breathed. He inhaled and exhaled slowly and deeply. The rhythm of his breath also changed.
âGood, youâll get it soon.â Wang Yao nodded as he was driving.
Zhong Liuchuan was gifted when practicing kung fu. He had progressed quickly and steadily. Most importantly, he knew his capability and never rushed.
They soon reached the village. Zhong Liuchuan got out of the car and walked home. As soon as he reached the door of his house, he heard his sisterâs voice.
âThis is unfair! You are messing up my horse!â Zhong Anxin complained.
Is someone playing chess with Anxin?
He pushed the door and saw an unexpected guest.
âHow come you are here?â Zhong Liuchuan asked.
âIâm just here to pay you a visit,â Jia Zizai said with a smile. âDid you have a drink? I thought you didnât drink. You must have had a drink with Dr. Wang. How could you leave Anxin alone at home?â
Zhong Liuchuan took a glance in the room and spotted the KFC family box.
âAnxin wanted to have fried chicken, so I bought her this,â Jia Zizai said.
âKids shouldnât eat too much fried stuff. Itâs not good for their health,â Zhong Liuchuan replied.
âI see,â Zhong Anxin said.
âOut, now,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âOK, wait for me, Anxin, Iâll be back soon.â Jia Zizai appeared to be very nice to Zhong Anxin as if she was his sister.
âWho gave you permission to come to my house?â Zhong Liuchuan had a stern look as soon as he walked out of the room.
What Jia Zizai did touched his bottom line. At the same time, he was scared. He couldnât imagine what would have happened if it had been someone else, such as an enemy coming to his house when he was not at home.
âDonât worry. We are now work partners,â Jia Zizai seriously said. âBesides, I always want to learn kung fu from Dr. Wang. Although he hasnât accepted me, Iâll wait for him to change his mind. Anxin is a lovely girl. I always wanted a sister.â
âI donât believe you,â Zhong Liuchuan coldly said.
âIâm telling you the truth! God, the sun, and the moon are watching me.â Jia Zizai pointed toward the sky.
âThere is neither a moon nor sun now,â Zhong Liuchuan coldly replied.
âLook at you. You should change your attitude toward me,â Jia Zizai said. âWe will eventually learn from the same teacher. We will be like brothers. How do you think Dr. Wang will rank us? Based on capability or age, or when we started to learn from him?â
âArenât you thinking too much about irrelevant things?â Zhong Liuchuan sarcastically asked.
âWell, Iâll stop joking,â Jia Zizai said. âWhere is Dr. Wang?â
âHeâs at the clinic,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âI see. I need to talk to him after I have finished the chess game with Anxin,â Jia Zizai said as he walked back into the room. âShall we continue, Anxin?â
âSure!â Zhong Anxin happily clapped her hands. âUncle Jia, you are not playing by rules again!â
âOh, I didnât see it,â Jia Zizai said.
He lost the game eventually, but he was happy.
âI got to go. Iâll drop in another time,â Jia Zizai said.
âBye, Uncle Jia,â Zhong Anxin said.
âAm I old enough to be your uncle?â he asked. âI think you should call me brother.â
âBrother?â Zhong Anxin took a glance at Zhong Liuchuan.
âUncle is fine. Stop pretending, old man,â Zhong Liuchuan coldly said.
Jia Zizaiâs face twitched. He waved at Zhong Anxin with a smile and left.
âAnxin, I donât think itâs a good idea to meet with him too often,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âWhy?â she asked. âI think Uncle Jia is nice. He said heâs your friend.â
âAnxin, do you member what I told you?â Zhong Liuchuan asked. âDonât ever trust anyone strange. He looked nice, but it doesnât mean he is nice inside. Donât open the door for him next time. If Iâm not at home, you call Dr. Wang or the police.â
He was not sure what Jia Zizai would think if he heard that.
âHello, Dr. Wang,â Jia Zizai said.
âHello, what brings you here?â Wang Yao asked.
âOur CEO is in Dao at the moment, and the Japanese guy is here again,â Jia Zizai said. âI think they just made a big deal.â
âI see. Thank you for telling me,â Wang Yao said.
âBy the way, I brought a gift for you. I hope youâll like it.â Jia Zizai took out an old book and placed it in front of Wang Yao.
The book of Lieh TzÅ?
Wang Yao was surprised to see the book, which appeared to be very old. The book was not that famous. He picked up the book and browsed through it.
âHmm, itâs an antique,â Wang Yao said. âHow much did it cost?â
âWhat?â Jia Zizai asked with surprise. âI didnât pay for it. Itâs a gift to you anyway.â
âI canât accept it. Thank you for bringing it.â Wang Yao returned the book to Jia Zizai.
âI just want to express my gratitude,â Jia Zizai said.
âI didnât do anything for you, and we are not friends,â Wang Yao said. âTo be honest, you should consider me your enemy since I kept you in prison for some time and made you suffer.â
âI did hold a grudge against you in the beginning,â Jia Zizai said. âI even wanted to kill you, but I have changed my mind. I donât hold any grudge now, and I really want to be your student.â
Wang Yao shook his hand with a smile. âThis is a really good book. Iâve read it before. I suggest you read it. Take it back.â
Jia Zizai didnât insist. He put away the book, which had taken him a while to obtain.
âIs there anything else?â Wang Yao asked.
âNot really. I have to go. Bye for now, Dr. Wang,â Jia Zizai said.
âBye for now,â Wang Yao said.
Jia Zizai sighed after he walked out of the door. He wanted to learn from Wang Yao, but he knew he didnât trust him. It was understandable given what he had done.
How can I make him believe I sincerely want to learn from him? This question had troubled him for some time.
Soon after he had left the village, he made a phone call. A car arrived 10 minutes later to pick him up.
âIs everything alright?â Inside the car was a pretty woman.
âI told him, but he still didnât believe me,â Jia Zizai said.
âDo you really want to be his student?â the pretty woman asked.
âI told you I mean it. Never mind, letâs get one thing done at a time,â Jia Zizai said.
âDid he agree to do it?â the pretty woman asked.
âYes, I think so. Iâve given him all the information,â Jia Zizai said.
âDo you think it will work?â the pretty woman asked.
âIt has to work,â Jia Zizai said. âI canât live like this forever like a dog on a leash.â
He lit a cigarette and looked at the woman sitting next to him emotionally. âIâll marry you after we get this done. Letâs move to a place where no one knows us, and weâll have a lot of children.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âSure,â the woman gently said.
âLetâs go back to Dao. We still need to attend the meeting in two days,â Jia Zizai said.
The car left the village quickly.
Wang Yao was reading the material Jia Zizai gave him in the clinic. All of it was about one person: the CEO of the company Jia Zizai worked for. The CEO had a common name, Zhang Wei. Wang Yao supposed it was the most used name in China.
Zhang Wei was a man in his 40s. He was a bit bald and wore glasses. He looked like a clerk working for any government department. The material Jia Zizai gave Wang Yao documented what Zhang Wei had done but not in great detail. A lot of the content was just speculation because all the people who offended him had died. It also documented what Zhang Wei was doing at the moment. He was selling human organs in the black market. He would get the death penalty out of it since it was considered a big crime.