"How about we take the bus?" Zhang Haoyuan suggested.
"I get motion sickness. It’ll affect my performance," Qin Mei refused. ’Besides, if we take the bus, how am I supposed to leave a trail for Jie Jingchen?’
"Performance for what?" Zhang Haoyuan asked curiously. For some reason, he felt like she wasn’t going to help him pay off his gambling debt, but to crash their party.
"Negotiation," Qin Mei said.
"Negotiation?" Zhang Haoyuan frowned.
"I’m guessing they’ll try to tack on interest to your debt," Qin Mei said. "Nobody’s money just grows on trees—it’s all hard-earned. We’ll pay back exactly what you owe. If they want to add a little symbolic interest, I can accept that. But if it’s some exorbitant rate, then the deal’s off. I don’t have that kind of cash."
Zhang Haoyuan began to think hard. ’If the negotiations fail and Qin Mei refuses to pay my debt, I’m a dead man.’
Before, he could have kept hiding, squeaking by for a few more days. Now, thanks to all of Qin Mei’s meddling, he was walking right up to their door to die.
"Sister Qin, maybe we should just forget it," Zhang Haoyuan said, getting cold feet.
"Don’t worry, I’ve got money," Qin Mei said, patting her bulging crossbody bag.
The bag she was carrying today wasn’t her small cloth purse but a large, genuine leather one her mother-in-law had given her.
Zhang Haoyuan’s eyes lit up. "It’s all full of money."
’How much money could that be? If he just robbed her and used it to pay off the debt himself, wouldn’t that be more reliable?’
Qin Mei shot him a glare. "Do you think I’m stupid? Carry all that cash in my bag, just waiting to be robbed? I only brought some of it. To pay off your entire debt, I’ll still have to go to the bank."
"Did you bring your passbook?" Zhang Haoyuan asked.
"Nope," Qin Mei said, shaking her head.
Zhang Haoyuan dropped the idea. He suspected Qin Mei was on guard against him.
Jie Jingchen, Gao Yang, and Gao Hai hid in the shadows, watching the two of them still chattering away in the alley. Gao Yang was starting to have a full-blown existential crisis. He was practically crawling out of his skin with anxiety, yet they were still just chatting.
For the safety of Jing Si’s wife, the three of them would go in first. The others would stay put and wait for his signal.
"Jing Si, is your wife reliable?" Gao Yang asked.
Jie Jingchen shot him a dark look and said nothing. ’It’s my wife walking into danger, not his. How could he possibly understand what I’m feeling right now?’
"Bro, be patient," Gao Hai said, tugging on his cousin’s sleeve.
’One of them is eager to bust the whole gambling ring, and the other is worried about his wife. I’m pretty much an outsider here, but I can understand how they both feel.’
Gao Yang pressed his lips together and fell silent. If he pushed too hard and made things worse, Jie Jingchen might just walk out on the whole operation. Then who would he find to be his man on the inside?
’Jie Jingchen’s worrying for nothing,’ Gao Yang thought. ’Honestly, with the state his wife’s face is in, I get creeped out just looking at her. Zhang Haoyuan taking her into the den is perfectly safe... unless those gamblers are so hard up they’ll take any woman who walks in the door.’
Zhang Haoyuan led the way, and after about forty minutes of walking, they reached their destination.
"This is...?" Qin Mei looked ahead, stunned.
She had imagined the gambling den would be in a deserted, abandoned building or some dilapidated, uninhabited house in the countryside. Who would have thought...
"The train station is nearby," Zhang Haoyuan said.
Qin Mei’s lip twitched. She shot him a sideways glance. "Are you sure this is the gambling den... your headquarters?"
"Sister Qin, it’s not *our* headquarters, it’s *their* headquarters. I’m the victim here," Zhang Haoyuan corrected.
Qin Mei slapped a hand to her forehead, staring at the familiar two-story building before them. ’The gambling den is right next to the house I bought. Oh my God!’
’Jie Jingjue has been in and out of there recently, helping me with renovations. Thank God he was doing the work himself. If he’d been dressing flashily and acting like some spoiled brat, those people might have targeted him. If Jie Jingjue had gotten addicted to gambling, I’d be a sinner in the eyes of the Jie Family.’
"Sister Qin, it’s not too late to back out," Zhang Haoyuan said.
"Knock," Qin Mei said, her resolve to bust the gambling den strengthening.
"Why don’t you think it over a little more?" Zhang Haoyuan urged.
"You’re so long-winded," Qin Mei said, her patience wearing thin. Having a bunch of gamblers for neighbors was dangerous. If she had them all busted before she opened for business, the impact would be minimal. But if it happened afterward, it would definitely affect her sales.
Seeing that he couldn’t dissuade her, Zhang Haoyuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had actually been afraid that Qin Mei would just abandon him and leave.
Zhang Haoyuan stepped forward. He knocked twice, then slapped the door twice, waited a few seconds, and then kicked it twice.
Qin Mei stared, slightly stunned. ’Is that a secret code?’
A minute later, a white-haired old woman leaning on a cane opened the door. "Who are you looking for, young man?"
"Ma’am, is Brother Nan your son?" Zhang Haoyuan asked.