I was preparing how to continue the conversation with Ke Yingying when Old Tie called. He wanted to meet at the arcade where we used to play as kids.
The place was the same, but the games were no longer the King of Fighters or Street Fighter of yesteryear. It had been turned into a children's playground with a few nostalgic game machines. When I arrived, Old Gui was already there, locked in a game with a young lad and getting thoroughly thrashed.
After I arrived, he used his "Iron Leg" to chase the kid away and then played against me, losing again.
"My skills are rusty. A tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs."
"Spare me, you were never a master to begin with."
Exposed by my bluntness, Old Tie laughed instead, "We still have a telepathic connection, we can't let this die. I tried to understand your thoughts and approach, pulled some strings to investigate Qingzi, and indeed, this guy has issues."
"You misunderstood. Before I invested, I had no doubts about Qingzi; I just wanted to help him."
"You misunderstood too."
"Where did I go wrong?"
I looked at Old Tie, puzzled, and stopped playing. Old Tie, however, didn't stop, mashing the buttons furiously before cheering, "I won."
"That counts too."
"You were wrong because you thought I understood that you suspected Qingzi, but that wasn't it. Do good deeds without asking for rewards. I felt that since the good deed was on Qingzi's side, the consequences should also be on his side, so I went to investigate him."
Regardless, Old Tie's reasoning made sense. I pulled my hands off the joystick, "Is the ice cream shop we always go to still there?"
"Yes!"
"Same old rule, loser pays."
"You pay!" Old Gui said with a grin.
"Cheating now? How many games did you lose? Don't you have a clue?"
"Let's settle it in the last game. We're adults, admit it."
"Fine, you're something else. Let's go, I'll treat you."
We went to the ice cream shop to eat, and then we talked about Qingzi. Qingzi took the fall for Zhuzi, the reason given being that Qingzi had no family while Zhuzi was married. But that wasn't the case at all. Qingzi had a wife and child, whom he married before going to prison. Crucially, Zhuzi didn't know Qingzi was married.
"Why did Qingzi hide it?"
"We don't know. I also found out that Qingzi's wife is living comfortably, in a three-bedroom apartment, with her parents staying there. The child is also attending a private school."
"So, Qingzi isn't short of money?"
"Correct. But he still pretended to be a weakling and opened a pancake shop with Zhuzi. Isn't that strange?"
Qingzi was the one who led me to Ke Yingying, and now Old Tie had uncovered Qingzi's background. I needed to share what I learned today with Old Tie. After Old Tie processed what I said, he offered a suggestion, "If this Qingzi is truly a schemer in the Stanislavski system, then perhaps he is the Two of Spades or the Ten of Spades. If we find him and expose him, threatening him with his family, we might be able to figure out the structure of the secret order?"
"Threaten?"
I frowned, looking at Old Tie. I couldn't believe he casually uttered the word "threaten."
"Tang Nan, I know what you're thinking. But we stopped being good people long ago. In this Jianghu, one cannot control oneself. Besides, it's just a threat, not like we'll actually do anything to their family."
Seeing my silence, Old Tie finished the last of his ice cream and declared loudly, "It's settled. Your wife's safety is the top priority right now. If we don't find the secret order, this pursuit won't end. We can defend against it once, but not a second time."
"Let's test it," I said.
…
Old Tie and I went to Qingzi's home. The neighborhood was nice. Two elderly people were looking after Qingzi's child, a five or six-year-old girl, who was cute and lively. We watched from a distance. I asked, "When will Qingzi be back?"
"Midnight. Dressed in a suit, acting like a successful person."
"And his wife?"
"She gets off work at five. It's about that time."
As expected, not long after, a well-dressed young woman appeared in the complex. She hugged her lively daughter and complained to her parents with some displeasure, "It's so cold, why are you still bringing the child out to play? It's almost dark."
"She was having too much fun to come back."
It was indeed quite cold. I stood in the distance, rubbing my hands. Suddenly, the woman looked familiar.
"Hey, is she..."
"Xu Xiaoting!"
Old Tie's answer resolved my confusion. It really was home, running into someone I knew. Xu Xiaoting was my classmate, the class beauty. Many classmates had crushes on her back then. Unfortunately, I was clueless then, my mind consumed by games, indifferent to romance.
Seeing Xu Xiaoting made me even more bewildered. Qingzi was a few years older than us, but he was a known troublemaker. Xu Xiaoting came from a good family. How did she end up marrying Qingzi?
"Suspicious, isn't it?" Old Tie whispered in my ear.
"I'll go ask."
"Just ask directly?"
"Yeah, Old Tie, don't follow. I'll ask myself."
Xu Xiaoting was about to go home with her child when I stopped her. I smiled and said, "Xu Xiaoting, do you still recognize me? It's Tang Nan, an old classmate."
"Tang Nan, it really is you. How many years has it been?"
"Let's chat."
Xu Xiaoting looked embarrassed, "I should be treating you to a meal, but look how red your child's face is from the cold. How about we exchange numbers and arrange it for another day?"
"I'll treat you to a meal. I recently discussed a big deal with Brother Qingzi."
As I spoke, I watched Xu Xiaoting's face. Her expression changed drastically. There was indeed something fishy going on.
"You~"
"Just a casual chat. How about we go to a nearby KFC or McDonald's? The child can play for a while."
Before Xu Xiaoting could reply, her parents spoke up, "You go ahead. He's Qingzi's business partner and your classmate. Take the child to warm up for a bit. Treat him to a hot pot or something."
I saw Xu Xiaoting's face darken, and she looked somewhat helpless. She grudgingly agreed.
…
There was a KFC nearby. The child ran happily into the play area. Xu Xiaoting and I stood outside. I ignored her sullen expression and instead looked at the cheerful child, smiling, "The girl takes after her father, she looks exactly like Brother Qingzi. It's a pity she didn't inherit her mother's beauty."
"What's the point of being so beautiful? Happiness in life is what matters."
Hearing Xu Xiaoting's icy words, I changed my tone, "Xu Xiaoting, what's wrong with you? You seem to be guarded against me. I really did do a big business deal with Brother Qingzi. We're opening a chain of stores together. Hasn't he told you yet?"
After saying this, Xu Xiaoting looked at me in surprise, "You're that big shot who invested in the pancake shop?"
"What big shot," I chuckled.
"Why are you helping Qingzi?"
"And why did you marry Qingzi?"
"Qingzi is a good person."
"Since you say so, then our reasons are the same."
Hearing me say this, Xu Xiaoting's expression softened considerably. She told me, "Qingzi has been to prison."
"I know. Why did he go to prison? Wasn't it to take the fall for Brother Zhuzi? Zhuzi has a family and a career. Wait, that's not right. Your child is this old, didn't you get married before Brother Qingzi's assault incident?"
Hearing this, Xu Xiaoting sighed deeply, "If I tell you the truth, can you spare Qingzi?"
"I haven't done anything to Qingzi."
Up to this point, Xu Xiaoting still believed I was there to harm Qingzi. I felt helpless, but seeing Xu Xiaoting's determined eyes, I decided to get the truth from her first.
"Tell me, I promise not to ruin your family."
The story began eight years ago. At that time, Xu Xiaoting, in pursuit of wealth, was having an affair with a powerful figure. Although Xu Xiaoting was naturally beautiful, the market for mistresses was primarily about youth. After a few years, that powerful figure lost interest in Xu Xiaoting. To that end, the powerful figure wanted to give Xu Xiaoting away, essentially bestowing her upon merchants who brought him money.
Xu Xiaoting caused a scene, feeling the powerful figure had gone too far. She was furious and wanted to use some minor evidence she possessed to threaten the powerful figure. However, she didn't expect that the powerful figure would consider silencing her.
Of course, Xu Xiaoting was put into a sack filled with stones and thrown into the river where we grew up. Xu Xiaoting thought she was dead. It was Qingzi who saved her.
Perhaps because she had a brush with death, Xu Xiaoting's outlook on life changed. She transformed completely. She found a job, worked diligently, didn't chat much with male colleagues, and didn't go out drinking or partying. After work, her life became a monotonous routine of home and work. However, after work, Xu Xiaoting liked to hide in her bedroom and message Qingzi, the content of their conversations didn't matter; what mattered was that they were communicating.
Through a period of contact, Xu Xiaoting saw the kindness in Qingzi's heart. Thus, Xu Xiaoting made a decision. She moved out of her parents' home, used the savings she had accumulated as a mistress, bought a three-bedroom apartment, and quietly got married to Qingzi.
Because of their marriage, Qingzi wanted to turn over a new leaf. He relearned the pancake-making skills his parents had taught him, preparing to open a pancake shop. By then, their child had already been born for some time. It was at this precise moment that Zhuzi came to Qingzi for help.