Chapter 52

Xie Wendong was moved by Gao Zhen’s words. He felt himself to be despicable, far too selfish compared to Gao Zhen, and sincerely said to him, “Brother Gao, no matter what decision you make, I hope you can be happy!”
“Thank you!” Gao Zhen took Xie Wendong’s hand and said cheerfully, “I also hope you’ll treat Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu well. I really can’t figure out your relationship now. Maybe it’s because I’m a few years older than you, creating a generation gap, haha!”
Strictly speaking, Xie Wendong certainly couldn’t be considered a good person—he was outright a scoundrel, cunning and ruthless in his actions, willing to risk his life to seize opportunities. It was precisely these traits that allowed him to rise quickly in the underworld. But when it came to emotions, he was incredibly naive. Hearing Gao Zhen’s words, his face turned red all the way to his neck. He now wasn’t even sure if he liked Gao Hui Mei, and even doubted his feelings for Gao Hui Yu. He wondered if he had fallen in love with both of them at the same time or if he didn’t like either of them. If it was the latter, it would be much simpler, but the former was something Xie Wendong couldn’t accept. As mentioned earlier, Xie Wendong was a very conservative thinker; even he couldn’t justify falling in love with two women.
Seeing Xie Wendong’s mouth opening and closing without him saying anything, Gao Zhen shook his head and thought to himself that it was best to let the young people make their own choices. He changed the subject and said, “Wendong, Ying and I have made a decision.”
Xie Wendong asked curiously, “What decision?”
“We plan to get married in November!” Gao Zhen was a bit shy but full of excitement.
“Really?” Xie Wendong asked in surprise. He never expected these two to progress so quickly—how could they get together despite such big differences in personality! Xie Wendong widened his eyes as he saw Gao Zhen nod seriously. He jumped up happily and said excitedly, “Congrats, Brother Gao! Although Ying is a bit cold in personality, she’s definitely a good girl!”
“Mm! I know. Actually, no matter what kind of person she is or what she becomes, there’s no reason for my love—I just love her!”
Xie Wendong looked at Gao Zhen with envy and said, “Brother Gao, you’ve finally found your happiness! What about me…?”
At that moment, a sobbing voice came from the door. Gao Zhen turned around and saw Ying standing at the door of the ward, her cheeks covered in tears. Gao Zhen hurried over, hugged her, and asked, “Ying, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
“I’m fine, Brother Gao! I’m really fine!” Hearing Gao Zhen’s words, Ying couldn’t control her emotions.

Gao Zhen held Ying’s face and gently wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry anymore. I’m most afraid of your tears—they hurt my heart when I see them…” Xie Wendong took Gao Zhen’s things and quietly left the ward, closing the door behind him. He smiled at Sanyan and the others standing outside. “Let’s go first. Don’t disturb them.”

Li Shuang stepped forward to take the bag from Xie Wendong’s hands. As they walked, Sanyan asked, “Brother Dong, Gao Zhen has been discharged. Are you really planning to hand over the Qingbang to him?”

Li Shuang replied indignantly, “Brother Sanyan, that’s not right. The Qingbang belongs to them originally. Brother Dong is just helping Brother Gao manage it temporarily, right?!?”

“Nonsense! Damn it, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It would be a shame to let it slip away!”

Jiang Sen nodded. “Sanyan is right. It may not be very honorable, but if we miss this chance, we’ll regret it too late!”

Li Shuang said, “If we’re going to fight, let’s do it openly!”

Xie Wendong listened to their argument with a smile before suddenly saying, “You three go back and discuss with the other brothers how to integrate the Qingbang into the Wendong Club.”

The three were stunned. Sanyan asked urgently, “Brother Dong, do we have to take it by force?”

Xie Wendong shook his head. “Brother Gao has given up his position as the leader of the Qingbang. From now on, I’ll be the legitimate leader. Merging them is only a matter of time.”

After a while, the three jumped for joy. Li Shuang exclaimed excitedly, “Great! Haha!! From now on, the Wendong Club will be the only powerful gang in J City, haha!”

Jiang Sen asked, “Brother Dong, what will Gao Zhen do then?”

“Brother Gao is going to marry Ying and lead a normal life.”

“I see. Hehe, Brother Dong, it seems I’ll need to find a new bodyguard, haha…” Xie Wendong: “……”

From then on, Xie Wendong’s reign in J City came to an end, and he became the absolute king of the underworld there.

At the end of May 1996, Xie Wendong officially merged the Qingbang into the Wendong Club. The members of the Qingbang had little resistance to this, as they were satisfied working under Xie Wendong. The number of members in the Wendong Club soared to five thousand, with eight out of ten areas in the city under Xie Wendong’s control. He truly became a regional tyrant—his mere presence could shake the entire underworld of J City. At that time, he was still just a seventeen-year-old boy.

In August, Gao Hui Mei graduated and went to study at the Foreign Languages College in City D. The day before she left, Xie Wen Dong, Gao Zhen, Gao Hui Yu, Ying, and Gao Hui Mei had a meal together. They enjoyed themselves greatly, drank a lot of alcohol, and eventually all got drunk. Xie Wen Dong was no exception. He vaguely remembered Gao Hui Mei hugging him, crying bitterly, and he couldn’t recall how he comforted her; all he remembered was her asking him to wait for her.

The next day, Gao Hui Mei took a train to City D, while Xie Wen Dong stood on the platform, watching the train disappear into the distance for a long time.

On October 1st, Gao Zhen and Ying got married. Even Gao Hui Mei, who was in City D, rushed back to attend. There weren’t many guests, but the wedding was lively and extremely heartwarming.

A month later, Gao Zhen and Ying opened a small bar not far from home, named “Love Shadow Cottage.” It was tastefully decorated, and it soon gained some regular customers. Li Shuang once joked, “This is the only place in City J not under the control of the mafia, but it’s also a place where no one dares to cause trouble.”

At the beginning of 1997, Xie Wen Dong’s influence gradually spread to the areas surrounding City J. The various factions under Wen Dong’s leadership kept expanding their territories, with the Long Tang led by San Yan being the most active. With the help of their undercover agents, they once swept through two counties in just one day.

In August, Gao Hui Yu also went to City D to study at the Women’s College of City D University. On the day she left, Xie Wen Dong once again experienced the pain of separation.

One month after the college entrance exams in 1998, Xie Wen Dong received news that he had been admitted to the Law School of City H University. His gang members held a grand celebration for him, and the two sisters of the Gao family also attended. But Xie Wen Dong decided to give up City H University’s law school and choose an adult education law program instead. He had his own reasons: adult education had looser regulations, allowing more free time, even though the curriculum was the same.

Two days before he left, Gao Hui Yu went to the Northern Hotel to see Xie Wen Dong. The two spent a long time in a private room. Gao Hui Yu spoke first, “Wen Dong, I’m returning to DL tomorrow. You’re going to City H too. I don’t know when we’ll be able to see each other again.”

Xie Wen Dong just smoked without saying anything.

Gao Hui Yu lowered her head and said softly, “Wen Dong, would you come to my house tonight? I want to have a sweet night before I leave!” As she spoke, her head dropped even lower.

“Oh…” Xie Wendong was stunned; the cigarette in his hand accidentally fell to the ground. He understood what Gao Huiyu meant. Though he had never done such things himself, he had heard enough to know a bit about them. San Yan once joked that if Brother Dong were a girl, she would definitely be a delicate and beautiful young lady! But since he was a man, and yet refused to “taste” his two excellent sisters, it was hard to understand what he was thinking…

After saying that, Gao Huiyu left with a flushed face. Xie Wendong stood in the room for a long time before finally making up his mind to go. The whole afternoon, he couldn’t concentrate. Finally, when night fell, he arrived at Gao Huiyu’s house but hesitated, not daring to knock. He had no choice but to turn around and go to the nearby Lianying Shack to drink and gain courage. He couldn’t remember how much he drank, but in the end, he stumbled his way back to Gao Huiyu’s house. Later, Xie Wendong remembered lying in Gao Huiyu’s bed. When she took off her clothes, he unfortunately fell asleep… But no one believed that nothing could have happened between the two who slept in the same bed all night.

Many years later, Xie Wendong asked Gao Huiyu what he had done that day. Gao Huiyu showed him with her actions. When they went to bed, Xie Wendong saw patches of blood on the white sheets and realized helplessly that he really hadn’t done anything that day! He had been such a coward back then, at least when it came to matters of the heart… Xie Wendong had thought he was a true man by the time he turned eighteen…

Xie Wendong’s black notices were spread among the powerful gangs in the area. Within three days, the leaders of the gangs that received them were either assassinated or killed in battle—none survived. The gangs feared these black notices as much as they feared the devil, and some even imitated them to scare others.

Xie Wendong’s black notices brought endless bloodshed. He commanded all the heroes—who dared not obey?

Xie Wendong: I’m not a hero; I’m a villain! But I promise that one day I will become China’s underground emperor!