1146 Someone’s Story (1/2)
He Province, Zheng City.
Right after Tang Xiu arrived in Zheng City with Wolf Head and took a cab, Wolf Head whispered to him, ”Boss, I have a comrade-in-arms here, but he retired earlier than me due to the serious injuries he got from a mission. I've read the intel on He Province and found his name on it, so I know that he has family in Zheng City.”
”Which family?” asked Tang Xiu.
”The Fans,” said Wolf Head in a whisper.
Tang Xiu had read the information on He Province before coming. He knew that only a few intel agents had been assigned to this province, hence the cause of the scarce information. It would indeed a good option to have some locals who were familiar with the situation here.
”Contact him and arrange to meet him.”
”He used to be my comrade-in-arms, Boss. You can say that we're brothers for life, but I have no idea if the current him has changed since I never met him in the last six years,” said Wolf Head.
Tang Xiu pondered for a while and replied, ”I can understand your concerns. The situation you faced in the army was very different as it was much simpler. Even those who used to be unyielding and such may have changed their mindset after entering society. But you mentioned him to me, which means you still believe in him. Just contact him! You can naturally find out whether or not he has changed.”
”Understood!” Wolf Head complied and fished out his phone.
Yuhong Alley, Zheng City.
Fast Leisure and Relaxation Motel was said to be the best motel and pub in Yuhong Alley that provided the best service and entertainment. Its owner, Fang Gang, was well-known as a popular and respected figure due to his sense of justice, kindness, and loyalty—a perfect blender in society who could socialize with all walks of life.
At this time, the general manager's office of the Fast Leisure and Relaxation Hotel was full of smoke, its pungent smell filling every corner of the room. However, the curtains inside were still closed even though the sun was already high in the sky, sending its light to illuminate the room.
”Playing with you is no fun, Brother Gang. You won nine times in a row, you know that? Do you really want to poach everything from your brothers or something?” A man with a bareback full of tattoos dropped his mahjong cards on the table and wryly smiled.
Another big man with a black vest and clamped a cigarette in his mouth echoed. ”I know you got lucky today, Brother Gang, but this is way too much, isn't it? Even if you're that lucky, it's way too suspicious to make us throw the game like this!”
”Yea, my thoughts exactly!”
Fan Gang, who wore a sleeveless sweater and a thick gold chain around his neck, let out a smile on his tough face while sweeping away some stacks of notes on the table in front of him. He quickly grinned and said, ”Your nephew is gonna go to the primary school this year, but why do I have to earn him some money to pay him his tuition? Well, how much did you lose? Come on, stop bickering noisily and just quickly shuffle the cards! I'm gonna set a ten-game winning streak record here.”
”Bah…”
”You got enough money to send my nephew to school on the moon.”
”You really got a black heart, dammit!”
Fan Gang simply ignored their expressions and just lit up his cigarette while smiling.
Ring, ring, ring…
A cell phone on the table suddenly rang and Fan Gang quickly grabbed it while one of the men shuffled the cards. He looked at the number displayed on the screen and found it unfamiliar. As he was about to reject the call, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't returned home for dinner tonight and also forgot to tell his wife. Therefore, he directly connected the call and planned to call his wife after taking this call.
”Fan Gang here, who is this?”
”It's me.” Wolf Head's low and deep voice replied from the phone.
The voice made Fan Gang dazed for a second. It felt familiar, though he couldn't remember whose voice it was. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, ”And… who are you?”
”Wolf Head,” the voice replied again.
Fan Gang seemed to recall something and his expression dramatically changed the moment after. He abruptly pushed the table in front of him and immediately got up and called out, ”You're… Cap'?”
”It's me.”
Fan Gang's face instantly turned red and he excitedly shouted, ”W-where are you now… Cap'? I've been really missing you all these years!”
The three strong men around immediately exchanged glances after seeing his expression. Fan Gang was someone who always looked collected and calm in their eyes. It was the first time they saw him lose his cool.
”I just arrived in Zheng City. You got someplace to meet?”
Fan Gang turned around and headed outside and hurriedly asked while striding to the door, ”You're in Zheng City now? That's great. I'm in Yuhong Alley. Where are you? I'll catch up with you right away.”
”Just text me your address and I'll come to your place.”
”Got it!”
Fan Gang hung up, then quickly typed a text message and sent it out. He turned back to the room and saw that everyone's gazes were trained on him. While suppressing his excitement, he spoke in a deep voice, ”I can no longer play mahjong since I got something important to tend to, Brothers. I'll invite you for a meal and drink as an apology later, okay?”