Chapter 253

Xie Wendong smiled calmly and said politely, “I’m still far behind Uncle Peng!” He turned to Jiang Sen and the others, “Wait for me in the car; I’ll be out in a moment.” With that, the two entered the villa side by side. In a dark corner not far from the villa, someone was hiding, watching everything clearly. After glancing around, they slipped away silently. No matter how smart Xie Wendong was, he was still just a human being, and there were things he couldn’t predict. Du Tingwei seemed like an idiot in his eyes, but Du actually had his clever moments too.

Xie Wendong said it would be “in a moment,” but he and Peng Shulin talked inside for nearly two hours before coming out. No one knew what they discussed, but when he came out, it was Peng Shulin who saw him off at the door, and the two waved goodbye. Sitting in the car, Ren Changfeng yawned and asked, “Brother Dong, what did you talk about with him? It took two hours!”

Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Everything that needed to be discussed has been covered.” Jiang Sen asked doubtfully, “Who exactly is this kid Du Tingwei? Judging from his followers, he doesn’t seem like an ordinary person!” Xie Wendong nodded. “He indeed isn’t ordinary. Those people are elites from the Special Operations Unit.” “Special Operations Unit? No way!” Jiang Sen pondered. He himself also came from the Special Operations Unit, so he was somewhat surprised. He asked, “Then what’s Du Tingwei’s status? He can even mobilize the Special Operations Unit—how terrifying!” Xie Wendong raised the corners of his mouth and said, “His status is quite ordinary—just the son of a high-ranking official’s family. But his father is truly remarkable. If I tell you, over 60% of people in the country have heard of his name!”

“Huh!” Jiang Sen and the others took a breath simultaneously and asked in hushed tones, “From the Central Government?” Xie Wendong nodded without saying anything. “Oh no!” Jiang Sen suddenly exclaimed in panic. “Du Tingwei’s father is so powerful. If we beat his son so badly, he might come after us anytime!” Ren Changfeng knew he shouldn’t laugh at such a time, but seeing Jiang Sen, who was usually so composed, become anxious, he couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. Patting him on the shoulder, he said disdainfully, “What can the military do? What can the Central Government do? If we really go too far, we just fight. If we can’t win, we run. If we can’t stay in the country, we go abroad. Even if it’s terrible, it’s just a scar—nothing serious!”

“Damn!” Jiang Sen glanced at him from head to toe and nodded. “It’s easy for you to say that. You really seem like someone who’s been through the roughies.”

“Hehe!” Ren Changfeng puffed out his chest and said confidently, “Besides, it’s not that easy for anyone to deal with us. With Dong Ge’s Wendong Hui and the Hongmen, even if the army attacks, we can hold our own for a while!” Jiang Sen was helpless about Ren Changfeng’s unfounded confidence. Before he could say anything else, Xie Wendong waved his hand to interrupt them. He asked the two, “Stop arguing. Simply answer—has the central government taken action against us?”
“Oh…” Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng shook their heads simultaneously and said in unison, “So far, there are no signs of that.” “That’s exactly it,” Xie Wendong said with a smile. “It shows that Du Tingwei still has concerns, but it’s by no means our so-called mighty gangs. In the eyes of the central government, eliminating the Hongmen and Wendong Hui is no different from stepping on two ants.” “Then what are they worried about?” Ren Changfeng asked, somewhat unconvinced. Xie Wendong rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s most likely due to the Political Department.” At the mention of the Political Department, Ren Changfeng became even more confused. Frowning, he asked, “Dong Ge, just how much power does the Political Department really have?”
Xie Wendong took a deep breath and sighed, “I myself don’t understand just how much power it has.”
Gao Qiang, who had remained silent and been driving quietly, suddenly asked, “Dong Ge, will the police continue to seal off our places in the future?” He wasn’t interested in who Du Tingwei’s backers were, nor did he want to figure out what the Political Department was. He just wanted to know what concerned him most. Xie Wendong smiled upward and said, “Yes, they will keep checking for a while longer.” Gao Qiang remained expressionless, his eyebrows twitching slightly as he said coldly, “If that’s the case, I’ll make Peng Shulin pay.” Jiang Sen helplessly rubbed his temples. Gao Qiang was becoming more and more like an ice block—emotionless. Didn’t he know that Peng Shulin was actually like Xie Wendong’s father-in-law?! To his surprise, Xie Wendong immediately replied, “Okay, Qiangzi, as long as you don’t go too far.” He patted Gao Qiang’s shoulder and gave him careful instructions.
“Mm!” Gao Qiang nodded, glanced at Xie Wendong in the rearview mirror, his lips twitching slightly as he said, “Dong Ge, I understand.”

“Understood?” Jiang Sen stared at the two of them as if they were monsters. After a long while, he said, “Brother Dong, he’s Peng Ling’s father!” Xie Wendong burst into laughter. After a while, he said with a smile, “So what? I’ve said it before—no matter who it is, if they get in my way, I’ll knock them down. It was like this before, and it won’t change in the future!” “Great!” Ren Changfeng nodded repeatedly, giving a thumbs up in approval. “When you’re in this world, you have to ignore all family ties!” Jiang Sen glanced at the three of them, took out a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled a ring of smoke. “You guys are crazy.”

Xie Wendong being crazy? Even a madman wouldn’t believe that. The car drove back to the villa in the suburbs. By now, most of the gang members who had gathered had left. Just a few hours ago, the yard was crowded, but now it was eerily quiet. It seemed that Three-Eyes’s eloquence wasn’t any worse than his swordsmanship. Xie Wendong nodded in admiration. The black-iron gate was slowly pulled open by two burly men, and the car drove in. Inside, it was deserted, with only one man and two women. The man was Li Shuang, looking annoyed, while the two women were Peng Ling and Jin Rong—the very ones who gave Xie Wendong headaches. When they saw him return, only Li Shuang weakly said, “Brother Dong, you’re back.”

“Ah!” Xie Wendong glanced at Peng Ling and Jin Rong, who were frozen in front of the TV, staring at it intently. Sighing inwardly, he asked Li Shuang, “Where are Brother Zhang and the others?”
“They went drinking and courting girls!” Li Shuang said, puffing out his cheeks in anger. “Oh?” Xie Wendong laughed. “It’s surprising that Little Shuang would miss such an opportunity.”
Li Shuang raised his chin but said nothing. Gao Qiang got along best with Li Shuang. Seeing his expression, he already understood roughly what had happened. Taking off his coat, he said, “It must be that Brother Three-Eyes didn’t take him. Some people just can’t handle alcohol.” “Hey!” Li Shuang, already full of anger, felt embarrassed by Gao Qiang’s words. He slammed the table and shouted, “You guy, do you want to fight?” Gao Qiang paid no attention to his bluffing and sat down on the sofa, calmly saying, “If you want to, go ahead!”

“You damn bastard! If I hadn’t had a cold these past few days, I would’ve kicked you into oblivion already,” Li Shuang cursed before sitting back down. If he really fought Gao Qiang, he would almost certainly lose—this was also the main reason why he “endured” in front of Gao Qiang. Seeing Ren Changfeng staring blankly, Jiang Sen explained, “Don’t be surprised. Get used to it—it’s their main way of strengthening their bond through arguments.” Xie Wendong shook his head helplessly. When these two got together, there were few times when they didn’t argue. He then looked at Peng Ling and Jin Rong. The two seemed to have some unspoken understanding; neither of them took the initiative to talk to him, not even glancing at him the whole time, instead focusing on the TV filled with ads. He stepped forward, picked up the teapot from the coffee table, poured himself a cup of tea, and said nonchalantly, “It seems much more attractive than me.”

“At least it doesn’t cheat on both sides and seduce others,” Peng Ling replied coldly without even lifting her head.

“Gulp!” Xie Wendong almost spat out the tea he had just drunk. Raises his eyebrows in confusion, he asked, “What do you mean by that? Who have I seduced?”

“Me!” Peng Ling stood up abruptly, glaring at Xie Wendong. “Oh…” When Peng Ling got serious, Xie Wendong really felt unsure. In fact, she wasn’t entirely wrong—he did have some faults. Could it be that Peng Ling knew about his feelings for Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu? Before getting to know Peng Ling, he had only felt affection for those two sisters. He wondered who could have told Peng Ling about this. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Li Shuang, who was watching the scene as if enjoying it, almost showing a look of schadenfreude. He turned to look at her. Li Shuang clearly misunderstood Xie Wendong’s meaning, thinking he was referring to the relationship between Peng Ling and Jin Rong. Seeing him looking at her, she waved her hands repeatedly, saying, “Brother Dong, it’s not me who said this—it’s something that comes from communication between people.”

Xie Wendong stomped his foot inwardly, thinking that trouble was coming. With Peng Ling’s temper, today would be a tough day for him. He wisely chose to stay silent—anything he said now would be useless. He sat back down, shoulders slumped, head lowered, looking like he admitted fault. Seeing him like this, Peng Ling was on the verge of losing her temper. She looked around frantically, hoping to find something hard enough to smash his lowered head to the ground. She was furious, while Jin Rong was beaming with joy, her heart pounding like a little rabbit. Unable to hide her happiness any longer, she rushed into Xie Wendong’s arms, her face filled with joy, saying, “I knew it! You must have feelings for me!”

“Huh?” Xie Wendong was held by her in confusion and asked blankly, “Must I have you in my heart? What about you?” “Pfft!” Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng couldn’t hold back anymore; if they continued to suppress it, they feared internal injuries. They turned their heads away, covering their mouths to laugh secretly. Seeing Xie Wendong and Jin Rong “intimately” together, Peng Ling lost her temper and lifted the coffee table with both hands. Li Shuang, who was closest to her, quickly stepped forward to stop her, while also explaining for Xie Wendong, “Sister-in-law, please don’t be angry. All men are like this.”

“Crack!” Blocked by Li Shuang’s broad frame, Peng Ling had nowhere to vent her anger. She swung the coffee table at his head, shattering the nearly one-centimeter-thick plexiglass. Tears in her eyes, she stormed out of the room in fury. Jin Rong quickly stood up, anxiously saying, “Actually, Sister Ling is really nice. Big brother, you should go after her. I don’t care about you and her… or me…” Xie Wendong’s mind was in chaos as he stared blankly at Jin Rong, not moving at all. “Oh! Big brother, you’re so stupid!” Jin Rong stomped her foot helplessly and ran out of the room, shouting, “Sister Ling, wait for me! Listen to me—it’s not what you think!”

It took a long time before Xie Wendong regained his composure. His mind calmed down a bit, and he sighed deeply, “What the hell is going on here?”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Li Shuang said, shaking his head. “I only know my head is very hard. Such thick glass hitting my head didn’t hurt at all. No dizziness, no blurred vision—hehe!” “Is that so?” Gao Qiang looked at Li Shuang worriedly, pointed at his head, and said leisurely, “Is your head really that hard? Then why is there still a piece of glass stuck in it, and it seems to be bleeding too!” “Impossible!” Li Shuang hesitantly touched his forehead. His palm was sticky. Realizing something was wrong, he looked down and saw his palm was red. Instantly, he collapsed on the sofa, screaming loudly, “Doctor! Call a doctor quickly!”

Xie Wendong sat motionless in his chair, Li Shuang was lying on the sofa screaming, and Ren Changfeng shook his head and sighed, saying, “Women…”

He had thought he could have a good time on New Year’s Eve, but Li Shuang could only lie in bed, sighing deeply. When Sanyan and the others returned the next day, they burst into laughter at Li Shuang’s miserable appearance. Xie Wendong didn’t sleep well that night; his eyes were red in the morning. After washing up and getting dressed, he planned to have a serious talk with Peng Ling. There were some things he didn’t want to hide any longer—like Jin Rong, and the ambiguous relationship between him and the sisters Gao Hui Mei and Gao Hui Yu. Keeping the status quo made him feel guilty and exhausted; he was ready to accept whatever punishment Peng Ling might give him. After getting dressed, Xie Wendong slowly walked down from the second floor. There weren’t many people in the hall; most of those who had drunk heavily overnight were too drunk to move and had gone back to their rooms to sleep. Li Shuang, with a bandage around his head, was chatting animatedly with Jiang Sen. When they saw him come down, they stopped talking and stood up, asking, “Brother Dong, is there something?” “Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded. “I’m going to talk to Peng Ling.” “I’ll go too!” Li Shuang and Jiang Sen said in unison. Xie Wendong glanced at them and said calmly, “No need. It’s better if I handle this alone.” Just then, there was a knock at the door. Li Shuang turned his head and shouted, “Come in!” The door opened, and a tall young man in a black suit stepped in. He leaned forward toward Xie Wendong and said respectfully, “Brother Dong, someone’s looking for you outside.” “Oh?” Xie Wendong was surprised. Who in City H would come looking for him by name? Everyone who knew him also knew his subordinates. Li Shuang asked, “What’s his name?” “Nameless!” “Damn it,” Li Shuang laughed angrily and frowned. “Are you an idiot? Are there still people without names these days?” “No, no…” The man hurriedly explained, “Brother Shuang, you misunderstood. That person said his name is ‘Nameless’.”