The Man She Once Loved Was Drifting Away, Their Bond Sworn Before Wood and Stone Already Broken (continued)

"Go home." Li Laoshi, who was usually meek and submissive in front of his daughter and wife, unusually spoke in a low voice today. He took the hands of his wife, Auntie Hong, and his daughter Suzhen, and turned to go back to their home in the Squatter Area.

Auntie Hong was talking to her daughter behind her about things to keep in mind when she got married in a while, when she suddenly saw her husband grab her hand with a dark expression. Confused, she asked, "What are you doing? Why aren't you taking advantage of this freebie? You're not even going to accept the medicine and candy?"

"Go home!" Li Laoshi glared at his wife and repeated those two words.

Auntie Hong then looked up and immediately saw Song Tianyao. Her eyes widened instantly. "It's A-Yao?"

As she spoke, she shook off Li Laoshi's hand and tried to leave the line, forcing a smile as she headed straight for Song Tianyao. Dozens of Fuyixing's henchmen and several policemen were maintaining order outside the line. Seeing a woman suddenly leave the line and try to walk forward, one of Fuyixing's henchmen, hands on his hips, directly blocked Auntie Hong.

"Even if you want a bargain, you still have to queue! People are kindly offering medicine; even if you're too old to say thank you, you should still be polite and go back to queue!"

"What are you talking about? I'm telling you, my future son-in-law is among those people over there! You better watch out!" Usually, if these gang members yelled at her or glared at her, Auntie Hong would have obediently lowered her head and left, but today she surprisingly retorted.

The young man from Fuyixing was taken aback for a moment. He also felt that this gossipy woman seemed quite confident and didn't appear to be lying. He turned to look at Mrs. Bess, Chu Xiaoxin, Song Tianyao, and the others across from him, but quickly looked away, finally fixing his gaze on the workers who were sweating profusely as they unloaded the medicine from the truck. He thought that perhaps one of these laborers was the gossipy woman's son-in-law.

"Since your son-in-law is helping unload the goods, why don't you just stand in line yourself? Who's your son-in-law? Those workers, even the youngest looks to be in their thirties..."

Auntie Hong was about to say that the other person's eyes were damaged and was about to point to Song Tianyao herself when, before she could even raise her finger, Angie Perlis finished distributing the medicine and walked out of the area where she was being photographed. She stood next to Song Tianyao and, seeing that he was sweating, took a handkerchief from her handbag and handed it to Song Tianyao.

Seeing this, Auntie Hong had a lot to say but couldn't, and just let out a soft "uh".

The young man from Fuyixing looked at Auntie Hong and said, "Who's your son-in-law? Since you're old, I'll go ask him for you. Tell him to leave you a few bags of medicine candy so you can go home. Is he the one with the long beard?"

Auntie Hong had been standing in line for quite some time when Song Tianyao was wiping his sweat with a handkerchief handed to him by Angie Perlis. As he looked up, he saw Auntie Hong seemingly arguing with one of Fuyixing's younger brothers outside the line.

"Scribe Hui." Song Tianyao stopped wiping his sweat and called Scribe Hui over. "Get three bags of medicine candy and give them to that auntie. She used to be my neighbor. Let her not have to wait in line."

"I know." Scribe Hui picked up three bags of medicine candy from the side, quickly walked over, and handed the candy to Auntie Hong: "Auntie, Secretary Song told the neighbors that you don't need to queue up, you can go home and rest."

Auntie Hong took the medicine candy and looked at Song Tianyao. Song Tianyao smiled slightly at her, indicating that she didn't need to be polite. Before Auntie Hong could respond, he turned to Angie Perlis and whispered, "Shek Chi-yik has played a very big game. I originally just wanted to help you and Young Master Shun gain some fame, promote the Likang brand, and intimidate Fourth Young Master Zhang. But now I'm forced to take action against the Zhang Family. You stay here to take care of Young Master Shun. Before, I thought it wouldn't matter if I played it small, but now that I've made a move, Shi Shek Chi-yik has forced me to change my strategy. Damn it, I'm going to find a quiet place to think about my next move. I shouldn't have underestimated Shek Chi-yik, this forty-year-old Foreign Devil still hasn't made it big."

"So many newspapers will be publishing news about Oxfam deeds tomorrow, and about the raw materials from Gaili Subsidiary Company. Aren't those enough reasons to give you room to make your next moves?" Angie Perlis pondered for a moment, then looked at Song Tianyao and said.

If it were anyone else, they would be somewhat flustered or at least unsettled if their carefully planned scheme suddenly encountered unexpected setbacks. However, Song Tianyao was able to remain calm and accompany Mrs. Bess and Chu Xiaoxin until they had sent out most of the Flower Pagoda Candy before he said that he needed to think about the next move.

Angie Perlis didn't believe that Song Tianyao had gone to find a quiet place to think about his strategy, as he claimed. Rather, she thought that Song Tianyao had probably already figured out how to deal with this unexpected turn of events and was preparing to take action. However, Shek Chi-yik had used him as a tool to kill someone else. Even though the man was smiling at the moment, the resentment in his heart was probably not something that could be easily dismissed by a casual "you're a loser."

"Those goods and newspapers from Gaili Subsidiary Company could be dealt with by anyone who's been willing to use their brains. It's just a matter of spending some money, not a real problem. They're meant to scare people, not kill them. But this time is different. If this stab is swung, either the other party will die a horrible death, or I..." Song Tianyao made a clean, decisive throat-slitting motion with his thumb. "In this situation, of course I have to think about my strategy. I'm only eighteen; I don't want to die too soon."

"Scribe Hui, go call two rickshaws. We're going to cross the harbor to Hong Kong Island." Song Tianyao waved to Scribe Hui, and the two walked along the street towards the exit of the Squatter Area.

Auntie Hong proudly held the three packets of medicinal candy that Song Tianyao had specially sent to her, praising Song Tianyao for not forgetting the old friendship of the neighbors. Li Laoshi, on the other hand, hung his head, panting heavily, and remained silent.

Only Li Suzhen, who had been hiding her face behind her father and only peeking at Song Tianyao with her eyes, finally turned her head to look at Song Tianyao, who had turned his back to her and was walking further and further away. Then she turned her gaze to the foreign woman with long dark red hair.

The keen observation unique to a young girl in the throes of first love made her notice a detail: after Song Tianyao took the handkerchief from the woman's bag to wipe his sweat, finished speaking, and left, the woman used the same handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her temples.

As if noticing her daughter's gaze fixed on the direction Song Tianyao had left, Auntie Hong lowered her voice and said to her daughter, "Don't rush, don't rush. A-Yao must have something in mind for sending medicine over here. Even if he doesn't, you and I should spend a few more days going to Hong Kong Island to see Auntie Zhen. Auntie Zhen is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted; we can always win her over. Don't worry."