RLTT CH 10

Chapter 10: Batman and Robin · CIB · Queen’s Steet

Wei Jiaxi drove Yun Shaofeng home, and neither of them spoke along the way.

When they arrived, Yun Shaofeng opened the door and entered first, with Wei Jiaxi following behind. He reached out and turned on the living room light. Yun Shaofeng walked to the sofa and sat down, his tall and slender frame sinking into the cushions. Wei Jiaxi hesitated for a moment, standing there awkwardly, unsure if he should sit next to him.

“You…” After much hesitation, Wei Jiaxi finally sat on a chair beside the coffee table and tentatively spoke, “Do you know how to use a gun?”

Yun Shaofeng’s body shrank slightly but gave no answer. Wei Jiaxi simply sat there quietly, watching him.

“…I don’t know,” Yun Shaofeng finally replied softly after a long pause.

“You don’t know?” Wei Jiaxi repeated in a gentle tone.

“Mm…” Yun Shaofeng lowered his head, staring at his hands. “In the past six years, I haven’t touched anything related to guns. But earlier…”

“And you haven’t fought anyone in six years either, have you?” Wei Jiaxi’s expression gradually became complicated. If it had been the old Shaofeng, he wouldn’t have been surprised at all and might not even be able to beat him in a fight. But the Shaofeng before him now—tall, thin, quiet, and reserved, a Shaofeng who had lost his memory—shouldn’t have been able to hit his target with a single shot.

Yun Shaofeng nodded slightly, then raised his eyes to look at him. “Everything just now… was purely instinct.”

Really? It wasn’t impossible—after all, Yun Shaofeng’s earlier life hadn’t lacked experiences like that. But what if it wasn’t true? What if Shaofeng… was hiding something?

Seeing Wei Jiaxi remain silent, Yun Shaofeng pressed his lips together. “You think I’m lying to you, don’t you?”

Wei Jiaxi was startled and quickly denied it. “…That’s not what I meant, Shaofeng.”

“Why would I lie to you? What do I gain by lying to you?” Yun Shaofeng sat up straight on the sofa, staring into Wei Jiaxi’s eyes without blinking. “For the past six years, I’ve been wondering about my past. What happened that made me end up alone, barely scraping by in Canada? Sometimes I even suspect that I was a murderer, a criminal beyond redemption, but instead of dying, I was sentenced to lifelong exile, left with no family or friends. You ask me why I know how to use a gun? Why I can fight? Don’t you think I want to know too?” As Yun Shaofeng spoke, his emotions became increasingly intense, and his eyes reddened.

Wei Jiaxi was taken aback. He quickly sat down on the sofa, wrapped an arm around Yun Shaofeng’s shoulders, and comforted him in a gentle voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just… I’m worried about you. Okay, I won’t say anymore. You’re not a murderer; you’re a good person.”

Yun Shaofeng lowered his head, leaning lightly against Wei Jiaxi’s chest without making a sound. He didn’t cry, though.

“Now that I know you’re capable of protecting yourself, I’m actually relieved,” Wei Jiaxi said with a slight smile. “You’re definitely not a bad person, trust me.”

Yun Shaofeng lifted his head slightly and gave him a questioning look. “How can you be so sure?”

“Only someone as kind as you would protect a bad guy,” Wei Jiaxi shrugged. “Batman doesn’t go easy on villains, so maybe… you used to be Robin^[1]? That’s why you know how to fight?”

Yun Shaofeng finally smiled at his joke.

Zhong Zai’s illness was gone after two days, and Wei Jiaxi was finally able to enjoy the vacation he had been delayed from taking.

It was Saturday, and the streets were packed with people. Wei Jiaxi didn’t feel like going out. He planned to stay home, sleep the day away, and then play some video games. However, just around noon, he received a call from Cheng Jiesen.

“Do we have to rush like this?” Wei Jiaxi scratched his head as he walked into the bar, seeing Cheng Jiesen sitting at the bar counter, his back to the entrance.

He was still in the same casual suit. When Wei Jiaxi arrived, Cheng Jiesen raised his hand to signal the bartender to open a bottle of beer and hand it to Wei Jiaxi.

Wei Jiaxi took a sip, glanced around, and said, “You guys at CIB are really mysterious. At a time like this, the bar is naturally empty, no customers, not even any staff. The chairs are all stacked on the tables, and there are fresh water stains on the floor from cleaning. A bar meeting in broad daylight?”

“The owner here and I are on good terms, so it’s easy to talk to him,” Cheng Jiesen also took a sip of beer. “How’s everything with Mr. Yun lately?”

“Pretty good,” Wei Jiaxi glanced at him, “You called me out, it’s probably not just to ask about this, right?”

“Of course not,” Cheng Jiesen smiled, “What did Mr. Xi say?”

“He said that he wouldn’t let the day come when the police can sweep through the entire underworld,” Wei Jiaxi answered. “He should do something to stop Hongsheng. You don’t have to worry, there’s no need to rush.”

“He said that, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll do it,” Cheng Jiesen maintained a skeptical attitude toward Xi Ye.

“Well, I don’t think so,” Wei Jiaxi placed the beer down on the bar counter. “Hongsheng has already extended his claws to another district, taking over almost half of Xin Qing’s street dr*g business, and it looks like he doesn’t plan on stopping. He’s so reckless, who can tolerate that?”

“Have you heard of a term called…” Cheng Jiesen suddenly asked, “’The flattering kill’?”

Wei Jiaxi thought for a moment. “It seems like… excessive flattery with the goal of eliminating someone?”

“Exactly,” Cheng Jiesen nodded. “For Xin Qing, that could be their way of striking back.”

“What do you mean?” Wei Jiaxi frowned.

Cheng Jiesen sighed. “Last week, Hongsheng opened at least eight new shops, each one bigger than the last, with dragon and lion dances, firecrackers, and roast pigs. The larger the scale, the more extravagant the celebrations. Upon investigation, we found that more than half of the dragon and lion dance teams were funded by Xin Qing.”

“So you’re saying that Xin Qing is intentionally inflating Hongsheng’s influence?” Wei Jiaxi asked.

Cheng Jiesen nodded. “Exactly. Every time there’s an opening ceremony, the guests attending are either rich or influential. We’ve been sending people to keep an eye on these events. When the number of events increases, friction is inevitable…”

“So, you think the police have been used as a bridge,” Wei Jiaxi exhaled. “It’s not impossible. If the police can’t hold back and take action against Hongsheng now, Xin Qing does have a chance to turn things around—maybe even more than just turning things around—it’s like soaring to the sky.”

“That’s why I wanted to hear your thoughts,” Cheng Jiesen looked at him.

“My thoughts…” Wei Jiaxi was silent for a moment. “I only have intuition, no evidence. Ah Jiesen, I’m afraid I might mislead you.”

“On matters like this, your intuition is definitely valuable. Don’t worry, just speak honestly.”

Wei Jiaxi opened his mouth slightly, but the words were hard to say at this moment. How should he express himself? He had already relayed Xi Ye’s response, but should he tell Cheng Jiesen that he still trusted Xi Ye to some extent? Or should he say that Hongsheng was indeed a huge threat, and the sooner they dealt with it, the better? What did he want? How could he truly help CIB, help society? How could they catch Wei Jiayi?

Wei Jiaxi’s eyes flickered slightly. “I think…”

At that moment, Cheng Jiesen’s phone suddenly rang. Both of them were startled.

“Sorry…” Cheng Jiesen quickly turned to the side and answered the call. “Hello?… What? Gather all the men and go to the scene immediately, I’m heading there now.”

“What happened?” Wei Jiaxi saw Cheng Jiesen’s expression turn serious and quickly asked.

“Hongsheng’s men are encroaching on Xin Qing’s territory near the high-speed rail station. A group of one or two hundred people is preparing to clash, and someone claims they saw Wei Jiayi there,” Cheng Jiesen replied as he stood up, heading out the door, while dialing another number. “I’m on my way. We’ll talk later. Hello? This is CIB Cheng Jiesen, there’s a sudden situation, I need to request temporary traffic control…”

Wei Jiaxi stood up as well, following him out of the bar. Cheng Jiesen didn’t look back as he got into his car and drove off quickly. Wei Jiaxi watched the car speed away, and suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He turned and walked in the opposite direction.

In the safe house, Zhong Zai, who had come on the shift, was bored out of his mind, guarding Yun Shaofeng.

Today, Yun Shaofeng was no different from usual. After waking up, he drank coffee, had breakfast, read a book, and browsed the internet. Usually, when Wei Jiaxi was around, he quietly accompanied him, maybe watching TV or playing games on the computer. They each did their own thing, only talking when necessary, and it wasn’t boring. But Zhong Zai was different from Wei Jiaxi.

On one hand, Zhong Zai was younger and a newcomer. It was his first time on this kind of mission, so he was very nervous and fully alert. When there wasn’t much to do, he would become fidgety. On the other hand, he didn’t have the same filter with Yun Shaofeng as Wei Jiaxi did. In Wei Jiaxi’s eyes, whatever Shaofeng did was fine. Whether he was sitting and spacing out, or even sleeping, Wei Jiaxi couldn’t get enough of him. But Zhong Zai saw Yun Shaofeng sitting on the sofa for more than half an hour without changing positions, and he couldn’t help but admire him.

Yun Shaofeng was reading a comic book when he noticed Zhong Zai fidgeting while watching TV. He looked up at him and asked, “Are you bored?”

Zhong Zai didn’t expect him to speak and froze for a moment before quickly turning off the TV. “Is it too noisy? Sorry…”

Yun Shaofeng smiled and shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m used to it. I’m such a boring person, I should be the one feeling bad.”

“It’s not that. You don’t have to feel bad,” Zhong Zai scratched his head. “Actually, during our training, we were usually told to give the witnesses some private space, but within the boundaries of ensuring their safety. But sitting like this, it’s not common…”

Yun Shaofeng thought for a moment and replied, “That’s true. It’s just that I don’t have family or friends, so I don’t need any private space.”

He said this very calmly, which made Zhong Zai unsure of how to respond. After all, not having family or friends didn’t sound like a pleasant thing.

“So… do you have any place you want to go? I could go with you?” Yun Shaofeng asked again.

Zhong Zai’s eyes lit up, but he quickly shook his head. “No, only if the witness asks to go out can we go to the streets. If I want to go, it doesn’t count.”

Yun Shaofeng nodded and said, “Then tell me where you want to go, and I can say it’s where I want to go too.”

“Really?” Zhong Zai straightened up quickly. “Brother Xi was right! You really are easy to get along with!”

Yun Shaofeng smiled and closed the comic book. “So where are we going?”

“Hehe, actually, I don’t have any particular hobbies. I just love to eat,” Zhong Zai rubbed his hands, clearly excited. “There’s a new ramen shop on Queen’s Street. I heard their Hell Ramen is amazing!”

“Hell Ramen? Didn’t you just recover from a stomach issue? Are you sure you want to eat something spicy?” Yun Shaofeng asked in surprise.

“Oh, right…” Zhong Zai deflated, rubbing his stomach. “Then… maybe we should just order takeout.”

“Let’s go! Now that you’ve mentioned it, I want to try it too.” Yun Shaofeng patted Zhong Zai on the shoulder and stood up. “Since you’re taking the shift today, if you end up sick again, Brother Xi will help cover for you. Let’s go now if you’re craving it.”

“Yay!” Zhong Zai jumped up, overjoyed.

Yun Shaofeng followed him out the door, and as he did, he suddenly realized, Queen’s Street… isn’t that near Xi Ye’s place?

After leaving the bar, Wei Jiaxi had returned to the area near Xi Ye’s home. He stood at the entrance of the old Tang-style building but didn’t go in. Instead, he faced the street, his gaze wandering and searching.

That night, when Li Guozhan escaped, although he glanced at the people from New Qing, his eyes kept drifting outside. He had said that he had past grudges with the people upstairs, so he had to leave, but that didn’t make much sense. If the grudge was serious enough that he couldn’t go upstairs, he probably wouldn’t have helped Wei Jiaxi and Xi Ye meet. It seemed more likely that he had somewhere urgent to go, somewhere that the people from Xin Qing couldn’t know about. Based on Li Guozhan’s recent dealings, and what Mo Chao had said about him owing money to the gang, Wei Jiaxi suspected it might be connected to a dr*g warehouse.

Wei Jiaxi focused on recalling the direction Li Guozhan had taken when he left that night, trying to find a lead. The whole street was filled with car repair shops and car washes, but right in the middle, a tea restaurant stood out, oddly enough. The strange part was that it was during lunchtime. While the area wasn’t as busy as the commercial streets, there were still people coming and going, yet the tea restaurant had its shutters down, and nothing could be seen inside.

Counting from the left, it was the fourth one.

Wei Jiaxi silently memorized the location, lowered his head, and turned into the street behind.

“…This ramen shop just opened last week, and it’s already trending online! We definitely have to try it!” At this moment, Zhong Zai and Yun Shaofeng had just gotten out of a cab, walking through the street behind to head towards the ramen shop.

Wei Jiaxi, with his back to them, didn’t notice Yun Shaofeng.

But Yun Shaofeng noticed him.

To be continued…