Three days later,
Inside the Saint Lidu Hotel,
Old Man Chang paced anxiously around the room.
Although he said nothing, he felt a vague unease.
He kept feeling that something was going to happen.
Sure enough, events unfolded just as he had expected.
Before long, he received a call from Chang He.
"Hello?"
"Dad, why?"
"Why what?" Old Man Chang froze for a moment, then steadied himself and soothed him patiently. "Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up."
He knew his son all too well. Having never suffered any real setbacks, Chang He easily got stuck in his own head.
All it took was a little provocation from someone with an agenda, and Chang He would fall for it.
"I know everything. I know everything!"
Chang He roared hysterically, "I've already escaped the city, and Old Ninth is still hunting me down."
"Everyone who saved me was killed. I heard him say with my own ears that you were the one who wanted me killed."
Chang He could not believe his own father would abandon him so easily.
His heart felt as though it were being cut apart as he beat his chest and stamped his feet.
"He, listen to me. Where are you now? I'll come get you. There must be a misunderstanding."
"No need." A tear slid down Chang He's face. "I don't trust anyone now."
"It's over."
Listening to the disconnected tone on his phone, Old Man Chang's heart sank to rock bottom.
"Did Old Ninth really go after my brother?" Chang Jiang asked incredulously.
"Old Guan would never let them run wild." Old Man Chang picked up a cigarette, despite having quit years ago, and lit it heavily. "Do you think your brother could get out of the Capital with his meager abilities?"