RTCBM 9

Wen Shang had his men take Nai Gai back home first, while he and Mu Yuan went separately to a nearby bank ATM to withdraw cash.

“Count it,” Wen Shang said as he handed the cash to Mu Yuan.

Mu Yuan took the stack of bills, folded it neatly, and stuffed it into his pocket with a grin. “No need to count. I trust you.”

The air between them suddenly grew quiet.
Just as Wen Shang was about to say something, a loud grumbling sound came from Mu Yuan’s stomach. With his easygoing personality, Mu Yuan would not have cared. But to have it happen right in front of the sick pervert he hated most made him feel a little embarrassed for once.

“You are hungry, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Mu Yuan nodded, continuing to act the part of a good, obedient boy.
He lowered his head and said softly, “I have not eaten anything since this afternoon.”

“If you do not mind, how about I treat you to dinner?” Wen Shang smiled. “Consider it a thank you for saving Nai Gai.”

This was the second time Mu Yuan had seen that gentle, polished smile from him.
Mu Yuan responded with a polite smile, but inwardly, he could not have been more annoyed. He cursed silently, wondering when this sick pervert was going to finally leave him alone.

Just then, A Zhi’s call came through again.
Mu Yuan lit up with relief and quickly answered.

“Boss, where are you? I have been calling and messaging you, but you didn’t respond.”

“Well, I am answering now, aren’t I?” Mu Yuan said.

His voice sounded different from usual. A Zhi noticed, but he dared not pry, and quickly got to the point. “We have been waiting outside the restaurant, but we have not seen you anywhere.”

“Wait for me a little longer.I had something to deal with. I will be there soon.”

After hanging up, Mu Yuan nodded at Wen Shang. “Sorry, I have plans with friends tonight. But thank you for the invitation.”

“Can I at least ask for your name?”

“Ah?”
Mu Yuan froze, pretending to look confused and innocent, while inside he was already cursing.

This idiot still had not recognized him.
What a complete dumbass.

Mu Yuan casually pulled a name from memory and told Wen Shang, “My name is Xiao Xing. Xing, as in the word for star.”

“Sorry if this seems a little forward, but could I ask for your phone number too?” Wen Shang asked.

Since he had already started lying, Mu Yuan did not mind piling on a few more.
He simply gave Wen Shang Xiao Xing’s phone number.

—

A Zhi spotted Mu Yuan walking toward them empty-handed and quickly rushed over. “Boss, didn’t you say you needed us to move something? Where is it?”

The moment Mu Yuan thought about the lizard, the fire in his chest flared up again, practically shooting two meters high.
That fat, juicy feast he had been looking forward to was completely gone.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

“Shut up,” Mu Yuan growled, glaring at A Zhi with a ferocious look. “Don’t you dare mention that lizard again, or I will beat you to death.”

A Zhi felt wronged. He had not even said anything wrong, yet he was getting scolded out of nowhere. Being an underling sometimes really was a miserable job.

After getting in the car, Mu Yuan stayed silent the whole way. Anyone with even a little sense could see that Boss was in a bad mood, and no one dared to say a word, afraid of getting dragged into it.

The car continued forward. After this street, they would hit a crossroads. Left would take them back to Sixth House, right would lead to the villa.

A Zhi finally mustered up his courage and asked cautiously, “Boss, are we going back or going to eat?”

“Eat, of course,” Mu Yuan snapped.

He could not eat the lizard, but that did not mean he could cancel the dinner. He had already announced it to everyone.
If he backed out now, where would he put his face?

Mu Yuan thought about calling Wen Shang again to negotiate over the matter of the video. But Wen Shang’s phone would not connect. Wasn’t that bastard already back in the country?

Mu Yuan was still wondering about it when he saw Xiao Xing sitting on the sofa playing games.

He waved him over.

“Xiao Xing, lend me your phone for a minute.”

Xiao Xing had no idea what his boss was planning to do, but he obediently exited his game and handed over the phone.

Mu Yuan entered Wen Shang’s number and pressed the call button.
It only rang twice before the line connected.

“Hello?”

It was definitely Wen Shang’s voice.

Mu Yuan held the phone to his ear without saying a word.

“Is this Xiao Xing?” Wen Shang asked again.

Mu Yuan immediately hung up and switched off the phone altogether.
He finally understood what was going on.
The reason Wen Shang’s calls had not been going through earlier was because the bastard had blocked his number.
Damn him.

“Boss,” Xiao Xing called out carefully.

“What?” Mu Yuan snapped, glaring at him impatiently.

“Um, are you done with my phone?
Can I have it back now?” Xiao Xing pointed cautiously at the phone still clutched in Mu Yuan’s hand.

“Give it to me. I will get you a new one later,” Mu Yuan said.

“Ah?” Xiao Xing was surprised and a little flattered. “Thank you, Boss. But… I need to take out my SIM card first.”

“When I said I’m taking your phone, I meant the whole thing, SIM card included,” Mu Yuan said coldly.

“But this number… I have had it for years… changing it would be such a hassle…” Xiao Xing mumbled.

Mu Yuan shot him a glare, and Xiao Xing immediately shut his mouth.

Later that night, Wen Shang had arranged to meet his friend Xiang Yang for drinks.
Before Wen Shang even sat down, Xiang Yang gave him a heavy slap on the back.

“You bastard, you have been back in the country for so long and only now you think of calling me? Do you even have a conscience?” Xiang Yang complained, slapping Wen Shang on the back again.

“I barely had time to breathe after I got back,” Wen Shang said as he poured Xiang Yang a drink and slid it over. “I had to take over all kinds of work from my dad, deal with a mountain of company matters, meet clients, go on business trips.
I have been busy nonstop until now.”

Xiang Yang picked up the glass, clinked it against Wen Shang’s, and downed the drink in one shot.

“This time you are staying put, right? No more running around overseas?”

“Yeah,” Wen Shang nodded. “My dad has handed over everything to me. From now on, I am stationed here.”

“I heard you got into a fight not long ago.
Took a bad hit to the head too.
Are you alright? And who the hell had the guts to mess with Young Master Wen?
Did you get even with them afterwards?”

As soon as Xiang Yang brought it up, that crude, vulgar face of Mu Yuan’s instantly floated back into Wen Shang’s mind.
His face darkened, and his voice turned cold.

“Don’t mention that bastard to me.”

Knowing his friend’s temper, Xiang Yang immediately changed the subject.
“Alright, alright, let’s talk about something else. Have you been dating anyone lately?”

Wen Shang lifted his glass and swirled it lightly. “Not dating. Just finding a few people to deal with… other needs.”

“I swear, Wen Shang, ever since you broke up with that guy, you have not seriously dated anyone. You have not forgotten him, have you?”

Wen Shang’s face darkened again.
He slammed the glass down hard on the table and shot Xiang Yang a sharp glare.

“I told you before. Do not bring up that person in front of me.”

Xiang Yang could not help cursing under his breath. “Fuck. Mention one person, you explode. Mention another, you explode.
Your damn temper is a minefield.”

“I do not have that many mines,” Wen Shang said coldly. “You just happened to step on the only two that matter.”

Xiang Yang rolled his eyes and continued drinking, too lazy to argue with him anymore.

Wen Shang’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out and saw a new message.
The contact name read “Xiao Xing.”
.
For some reason, just seeing those two characters instantly lifted his mood.

He opened the message and quickly scanned it.

Xiao Xing: Sorry, my phone ran out of battery earlier. I just charged it and turned it back on.

While Wen Shang was still thinking about how to reply, Xiang Yang immediately noticed the subtle change in his expression and leaned over nosily.

“What are you looking at? Who’s this Xiao Xing? A new hookup?”

Wen Shang instantly put his phone away and shoved Xiang Yang aside roughly.

“Mind your own business. Drink your damn wine.”

—

He Dongying handed a folder over to Mu Yuan.

“We have a lead on the person you were looking for.”

Mu Yuan snatched the file eagerly and tore it open, quickly pulling out the documents inside to check.

He Dongying gave a simple explanation.

“There was a guy who used to hang around Uncle Hua all the time.
His nickname was Fat Bear, real name Wang Hao. When Uncle Hua had his accident, Wang Hao was one of the witnesses.
Not long after that, he left Sheng Yi, moved to Canada, and changed his name completely. He is now called Lu Jianhang.
If we can find him, a lot of questions will finally have answers.”

Mu Yuan pointed at the address listed in the file.

“There’s a Canadian address here.”

He Dongying shook his head.

“That was his old address. When I sent people over to find him, they discovered he had already moved.”

“How long ago did he move?” Mu Yuan asked.

“He moved out the day before my people arrived. It probably wasn’t a coincidence.
Someone might have tipped him off that we were looking for him, so he moved to avoid getting caught.”

“Dongzi, I am counting on you to keep following this. For my second uncle’s sake, I have to find that Fat Bear.”

“Come on, we’re brothers. Don’t say stuff like ‘counting on you’ or ‘trouble.’It sounds so damn awkward,” He Dongying said, grinning.

Mu Yuan punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Tch, cut it out.”

The two of them laughed together.

Suddenly, He Dongying remembered something else.

“By the way, are you ready for tomorrow’s Flower Cannon Festival?”

Mu Yuan patted his chest confidently.

“Don’t worry about that. I guarantee we will take first place. You and I have great chemistry. As long as we stay calm and work together like always, we will be fine.”

“I am heading home for a shower and some sleep. You should get some rest too.”

After He Dongying left, Mu Yuan lay on the bed, scrolling through his phone. Only then did he remember the message he had sent Wen Shang earlier using Xiao Xing’s phone.

He had saved Wen Shang’s contact name as “Sick Pervert.” When he opened the message inbox, that label stood out glaringly at the very top.

Wen Shang had replied two hours ago.
The message was short, just one sentence.

Wen Shang: The dinner I promised you is valid forever.

Mu Yuan snorted.

“I wanted to eat your damn lizard.
Are you paying for that too?” he muttered, tossing the phone aside before falling soundly asleep.

—

The annual Flower Cannon Festival was held in Haizhou Village in Kowloon. Every year, the underworld’s gang members would gather for the celebration. They burned incense, offered prayers, performed dragon dances and lion dances. But the event that drew the most attention was the Flower Cannon contest.

Whoever managed to seize the Dingcai Cannon would bring great fortune and prosperity to their gang in the coming year.

Putting superstition aside, the Flower Cannon contest was a real competition.
Everyone wanted to win the championship to bring honor and face to their own gang.

This year, four major gangs came to participate: Sheng Yi, Yuan Shun, Ren He, and Quan Xing. Each gang sent five cannon-snatchers to compete. The rules were simple: whoever grabbed the Dingcai Cannon first and placed it on the Flower Cannon platform would win.

Mu Yuan had already been the champion for two consecutive years. This year, he was determined to go for a three-peat.

Before the competition officially began, it was customary for all the gang members to greet each other, shake hands, and exchange polite words.

The team Sheng Yi sent this year was the same as last year. Mu Yuan and He Dongying were still the strongest pair.
Yuan Shun and Ren He also kept their previous lineups. Only Quan Xing had made a big change, sending out a batch of fresh new faces.

After greeting the participants from Yuan Shun and Ren He, it was time to greet those from Quan Xing. Mu Yuan went down the line, shaking hands one by one.

“Brother, let’s have a good match,” he said, reaching out his hand, waiting for the other side to shake it.

But the man stood there without moving.

Mu Yuan felt a little puzzled.
He lifted his head for a proper look and immediately felt an uncontrollable urge to slap the bastard across the face.

How the hell was his luck this bad?