"Wouldn't it be better to just be a quiet businessman?" Qi Weiwen asked, looking at Song Tianyao, who remained calm and composed. "Back then, you knew the underworld was a cesspool, and you were so poor you had to borrow money to take the police academy entrance exam. You never even considered using your grandfather's East Liang Mountain reputation to make a living in the underworld. How could you not know that what you're involved in now is even more dangerous than the underworld itself? You're so smart."
Lu Yuanchun listened quietly as Qi Weiwen questioned Song Tianyao. She didn't know Song Tianyao very well. She had heard about and witnessed his business methods, but that didn't mean she had the opportunity to get close to Song Tianyao and the way he interacted with his close friends.
Song Tianyao looked around the Harp Restaurant, then glanced at Qi Weiwen who had asked the question, gave a self-deprecating smile, and lowered his head.
Qi Weiwen pursed his lips, seeing that Song Tianyao did not respond, and couldn't help but say another sentence, "If you don't want to, no one can force you. You've been working hard all this way, and you've finally achieved this situation. Even if you lose a few more times in business, with the connections you've built now, you can turn things around again. But... but if you get involved in this kind of thing, the slightest mistake could lead to a fate unlike Cao Mengde, who cut off his beard and abandoned his robe and still managed to leave alive, or Guan Yu, who suffered a Guan Yunchang defeat at Mai City and died without a complete corpse."
In Qi Weiwen's mind, Song Tianyao was a rare smart man in this city, clever enough to navigate various borders with ease, dancing gracefully in the air above the city on a barely perceptible tightrope. His social status rose along with the tightrope. But that tightrope only seemed dangerous to outsiders; in reality, Song Tianyao had a safety rope: a business-only approach, unrelated to politics. If he wanted to, he could always retreat safely, losing only some empty fame or money. With his intelligence, he would eventually reclaim even more.
Now, Song Tianyao is embroiled in this matter with no safety rope and no way back. Once he steps onto this tightrope with no clear path ahead, he can only grit his teeth and move forward, not knowing whether the next step will lead to a flowery finish line or an abyss of shattered bones.
Song Tianyao finally raised his head after a long while, looked at Qi Weiwen had a calm and composed demeanor, and smiled, "You're overthinking it. Everyone thinks that Mr. He. He must have forced me to do this kind of thing when he met me. You're right. What can he do if I don't want to? Is Mr. He. He going to shoot me in the head? Of course not. If Mr. He needed to be forced to do everything, how could he have gotten to where he is today?"
"Then why did you become a different person after you came back?" Qi Weiwen asked. "Even if you were pushed to the front to be the scapegoat before, you wouldn't have gone to this extent."
I'll tell you later, after tonight.
"How confident are you that you can survive tonight?" Qi Weiwen placed his hands on the table, and the pale blue veins on the backs of his hands were faintly visible as he pressed them against the table.
Song Tianyao chuckled, "Why do you, an aunt with no blood relation, care more about my life or death than my own uncle? Even if I die, you won't get a share of the inheritance."
"I'm not joking. Most people in the underworld are crude and uncultured. They'll do anything for money. So many Big Brothers were killed tonight, and bounties are flying everywhere. Do you know how many people are waiting for you in the shadows right now? You're sitting here. It'll be midnight in an hour. The restaurant will close then. How are you going to get out?" Qi Weiwen ignored Song Tianyao's teasing and pressed on.
Song Tianyao puffed out his cheeks, held his breath in his mouth, and let the air swirl around inside. His cheeks and philtrum bulged out from time to time, like a child using this silly little gesture to escape Qi Weiwen's questioning.
Lu Yuanchun couldn't help but chuckle. Qi Weiwen looked at Lu Yuanchun, Lu Yuanchun glanced at Song Tianyao and then at Qi Weiwen: "Miss Qi, I think you shouldn't ask him anymore. He won't tell you. That's just how he always acts. If you understand, you'll understand even if he doesn't say it. If you don't understand, just observe. Maybe you'll understand on your own at some point. But expecting him to tell you is difficult because he doesn't know what the other party will do. He can only react to each move as it comes. The way you react will vary depending on the opponent's moves."
"Do you understand?" Qi Weiwen asked Lu Yuanchun.
Lu Yuanchun nodded slightly. "Having sat in the restaurant for so long, I think I understand a little bit now."
"Pfft~" Song Tianyao exhaled and looked at Lu Yuanchun, Lu Yuanchun looked back at Song Tianyao: "What? I really do understand a little bit now."
"You know nothing!" Song Tianyao pointed at Qi Weiwen and Lu Yuanchun with annoyance. "One Right Assistant Chancellor, the other comes from a wealthy family. These two women are praised too much, and they think they are truly exceptionally intelligent, comparable to Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, right? If you really knew anything, would you two be here causing trouble for me? If you knew anything, would you have slapped me without asking any questions this afternoon?"
"Hey, you've gone too far. You used to be such a gentleman to women, but now you're acting like a scoundrel," Lu Yuanchun said, frowning.
Song Tianyao turned his head away impatiently. "It's eleven o'clock now. When I walk out at twelve, you'll see how much trouble I've caused because of the two of you."
"Shall we go now?" Lu Yuanchun looked at Qi Weiwen: "Miss Qi, where do you live? I'll drive you there."
"Where she lived before doesn't matter. Now, including you, you have to leave with me." Song Tianyao rubbed his forehead and said to Lu Yuanchun, "There's still an hour left. I'm waiting for someone."
Chen Tai sidestepped and punched, smashing his fist into the opponent's nose. With his other hand, he grabbed the opponent's wrist, pulled it forward, and quickly twisted it back, snatching the machete from one of the opponents. As he gripped the machete, he stepped forward and swung the machete, knocking down the second person who was rushing at him!
Only six or seven men remained surrounding Chen Tai. More than a dozen lay motionless in the rain, some unconscious, others groaning. Chen Tai gripped the hilt of his knife, pacing back and forth, the blade pointing at the six or seven men who were closing in on him. He gasped, "Get out!"
"A-Qing, are your men not getting enough to eat lately?" Lui Lok asked Handkerchief Qing, while holding an umbrella.