RLTT CH 11

Chapter 11: Tea Restaurant · Li Anna · Gunshot

Wei Jiaxi circled around to the back door of the tea restaurant, looked around, and seeing no one watching, he took out a Swiss army knife card from his wallet^[1]. After crouching for half a minute by the iron gate, he managed to unlock it. Though it was still daytime, if Hong Sheng was indeed engaged in a large-scale conflict with Xin Qing, and even Wei Jiaxi had gone there, then it was likely there would be no one here.

Sure enough, Wei Jiaxi pushed open the kitchen’s back door, and the inside was pitch dark. He lightly closed the door without turning on the lights and instead used his phone’s flashlight for illumination. The kitchen was extremely neat and spotless, showing no signs of any illegal activities having taken place, but that was precisely what made it strange. A normal restaurant kitchen shouldn’t be this clean—there were no signs of grease or smoke anywhere.

Wei Jiaxi walked around the kitchen, crouching down to look at the cabinet under the sink. He didn’t open it directly but lifted the hem of his clothes, using it like a glove over his hand, so he could touch the handle through the fabric. The cabinet was filled with pots, bowls, and tea cups, but when he shined the light deeper inside, he saw several balances and glass flasks. Wasn’t it strange to find these things in a tea restaurant’s kitchen? However, they weren’t enough to be considered evidence.

He walked over to a row of large freezers, each almost a meter high. Carefully opening one, he found, as expected, it was also dark inside, with the power off and completely empty. Wei Jiaxi proceeded to open several more freezers, and they were all the same. He reached for a rag hanging beside the freezers, and it was still damp, indicating that it had recently been washed, meaning this kitchen hadn’t been abandoned.

Wei Jiaxi continued searching the kitchen, but found nothing. Where had they hidden the goods? After some thought, he returned to the freezers, feeling that they were the most suspicious. He opened one of the freezers again, crouched down, and carefully examined the interior, shining the light all over it. When he focused the light on the side of one of the light tubes inside, he noticed that what should have been a reflective lightbulb seemed solid.

He grabbed a rag and carefully removed the plastic shell from the light tube. Finally, he saw that the light tube was packed full of sealed bags containing white powder. Wei Jiaxi squinted his eyes. Each freezer had at least ten of these light tubes, and there were six freezers in total—that was about sixty tubes, with an estimated value nearing a million, not to mention there could be more dr*gs hidden elsewhere that he hadn’t found yet. After a brief thought, he placed his phone on the ground, tore off a piece of plastic wrap from a roll on the wall, slipped it on his hand, and carefully scooped a small amount of the white powder into a bag, putting it into his wallet as evidence.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard approaching from behind. Wei Jiaxi’s eyes flashed sharply. He quickly drew his gun and turned, pointing it at the newcomer. “Who?”

The kitchen was dim, with only the beam of his phone’s flashlight illuminating the area. As he turned, the light expanded slightly. The newcomer seemed blinded by the sudden white light, raising a hand to shield their eyes, their figure swaying a bit.

“…Jiaxi? It’s me.”

It was Yun Shaofeng.

“Shaofeng? What are you doing here?” Wei Jiaxi immediately lowered his gun, quickly walking over to him and grabbing his arm. “This place is dangerous! Why are you here alone? Where’s Zhong Zai?”

“I snuck in by myself; he doesn’t know.” Yun Shaofeng, seeing the tension on Wei Jiaxi’s face, became uneasy as well. “I saw you sneaking in by yourself and followed to see what you were up to. Why are you sneaking into someone else’s kitchen?”

Yun Shaofeng looked back at Wei Jiaxi, who was glaring at him with eyes full of scrutiny.

“Are you crazy?!” Wei Jiaxi pulled him close and gave him a death glare. “I’m working! Why the hell did you come in here? Are you trying to get yourself k!lled?”

“I’m pretty sure your work doesn’t involve sneaking into kitchens,” Yun Shaofeng said, irritated by Wei Jiaxi’s tone. “Why do you always do weird things during your time off? What are you hiding from me, Inspector Wei?”

Wei Jiaxi was stunned by his words, speechless for a moment before finally saying, “I don’t need you to teach me how to do my job.”

Yun Shaofeng pursed his lips, clearly not pleased, but still lowered his gaze and muttered, “Sorry for disturbing your work.”

“Ugh…” Wei Jiaxi sighed and released him, pushing him toward the exit. “You need to leave quickly. It’ll be a disaster if anyone finds us here.”

Before Yun Shaofeng could react, they both suddenly heard voices from outside the door, growing nearer. The voices were from a man and a woman.

“See? You really forgot to lock the door! Are you trying to d!e?”

“Sorry, Anna! I won’t do it again next time!”

“Hurry up and grab the wallet, then leave! There’s a whole group waiting over there!”

Yun Shaofeng was startled and quickly turned to look at Wei Jiaxi. Wei Jiaxi was also flustered. He grabbed Yun Shaofeng and started running toward the front door. After a few steps, he remembered that his evidence and phone were still on the ground, and turned back to retrieve them. But it was too late to escape now. Without hesitation, Wei Jiaxi wrapped his arms around Yun Shaofeng’s waist and covered his mouth, pulling him into one of the freezers to hide.

Outside, the sound of footsteps grew closer, the click of high heels against the tile floor echoing sharply.

Inside the freezer, the two of them stood frozen, not daring to move. They held their breath, only the sound of their racing heartbeats pounding in their ears.

Then came the faint sound of metal clinking, as if a pot were scraping against a metal table.

A man’s voice broke the silence: “Found my wallet. Anna, let’s go.”

“Wait,” the woman called “Sister Anna” spoke up, her voice sounding to be in her forties or fifties. “Let me tell you, if this kind of thing happens again, I can’t protect you. You know it’s a critical time for Hongsheng now. Whether we can take over the business in Xin Qing entirely depends on these next few days. If something goes wrong now, can you handle the consequences?”

“Yes, yes, Sister Anna, I promise, I promise there won’t be a next time!”

“I don’t understand how you can be so careless! This shop is under the gang’s name. If anyone finds out, the consequences are severe. If you drag down the whole Hongsheng, you won’t just end up in jail—people will probably k!ll you in the streets!”

“I understand, Sister Anna! This time it’s my fault! It won’t happen again.”

“I worked hard to get you to this position, please, wake up and act sensibly! Don’t just stand there, hurry up! Don’t keep the others waiting!”

“Yes, yes, Sister Anna, I’ll leave now.”

The two of them headed toward the back door, but their footsteps in high heels paused near the freezer where the two were hiding.

“Sister Anna, what’s wrong?”

Wei Jiaxi tightened his arm around Yun Shaofeng’s waist. Yun Shaofeng didn’t even blink, his heart racing, his limbs icy.

“…Nothing, let’s go.”

The clicking sound of the high heels grew fainter. They then heard the iron gate being pulled down forcefully, and after a moment, the kitchen returned to silence.

“Fuck…” Wei Jiaxi muttered under his breath, finally breathing a sigh of relief. He pushed open the freezer door and stepped out with Yun Shaofeng.

“Who were those people just now? What’s going on?” Yun Shaofeng asked, still shaken.

Wei Jiaxi glanced at him but didn’t know how to explain. He shook his head and said, “Some things… it’s better if you don’t know too much. Let’s go, it’s really too dangerous.”

Yun Shaofeng was disappointed, but he had to admit that what Wei Jiaxi said made sense. He lowered his head and stared at his shoes for a while before asking quietly, “What about you?”

Wei Jiaxi placed his hands on his hips and glanced around the freezer. “I’ll wait a bit longer and see if I can find anything new. You go ahead.”

Yun Shaofeng knew this was his own recklessness, so he nodded. “I’ll go now,” he said before turning toward the back door.

Wei Jiaxi crouched down again, picking up the evidence that had fallen on the floor and pocketing it. He continued checking the other parts of the freezer. As he heard Yun Shaofeng’s footsteps fade, his mind became unsettled.

“…Jiaxi.”

Suddenly, he heard Yun Shaofeng call him softly. He stood up, bracing himself on the freezer door and looked toward the back door.

What he saw made his heart stop.

Yun Shaofeng was standing at the entrance, looking somewhat fearful. The woman, Li Anna, was standing next to him, holding a gun directly at Yun Shaofeng.

“…Li Anna.” Wei Jiaxi slowly turned to face the woman, narrowing his eyes.

“Yacht kid^[2], long time no see.” Li Anna sneered. She was beautiful, with large, round eyes and a tall nose, looking like a mixed-race woman, and spoke fluent Cantonese.

Wei Jiaxi glanced at Yun Shaofeng, who was being held hostage. “What do you want? You want to k!ll someone? It’s broad daylight, and you’re holding a gun without a silencer. Don’t you want to go to jail?”

“Bring out what you’ve hidden,” Li Anna said, her gaze unflinching.

“What hidden things?” Wei Jiaxi frowned slightly.

“Playing dumb? Hmph.” Li Anna snickered twice. “But you’re quite impressive, sneaking in here with your little brother.”

“I’m not that familiar with him. We have a personal grievance. Let’s talk about our own issues and not drag others into this,” Wei Jiaxi said, still looking at her.

“Personal grievances? From the day you became a cop, it’s no longer a personal matter, Sir.” Li Anna looked at him with a venomous glare. “And don’t think I’m stupid, not recognizing this person. If I let him go today, would I be throwing my son into prison?”

So, she’s Wei Jiaxi’s mother? Yun Shaofeng was surprised and turned to look at her.

“Don’t move! You damn brat!” Li Anna immediately raised her arm, pointing the gun at Yun Shaofeng’s head. Yun Shaofeng’s body trembled slightly.

“Don’t do anything reckless!” Wei Jiaxi instantly tensed, quietly placing his hand on his waist and feeling for his gun.

Li Anna glanced at Wei Jiaxi, then looked back at him, her eyes flashing with anger. “Are you scared? Are you heartbroken? Don’t want him dead? Then bring out the stuff!”

Wei Jiaxi stared intently at Yun Shaofeng for a moment, then slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of white powder, holding it in his palm.

Li Anna still held the gun. “Throw it away.”

Wei Jiaxi tightly gripped the bag of white powder. “You throw away the gun.”

Li Anna glared at him in defiance, but he maintained his calm, looking back at her, extending his fist forward, signaling for a step from both sides. She lowered the gun slightly, still holding it firmly in both hands.

“Shaofeng, come here,” Wei Jiaxi encouraged with a look.

Yun Shaofeng took a step forward. But Li Anna immediately raised the gun again, pointing it at his back. “I told you to throw it away, Yacht kid.”

Wei Jiaxi clicked his tongue, obviously not willing to just throw the evidence away—what if she shot after he threw it? He paused, unwilling to be caught off guard.

For a moment, the two were locked in a standoff. Yun Shaofeng stood still, the gun pointed behind him, his eyes fixed on Wei Jiaxi, not pleading, not weak, but with fear and helplessness.

This wasn’t going to work. Wei Jiaxi raised his chin slightly. “Should I count to three?”

Li Anna’s gaze darted between the three of them, finally nodding. “Fine.”

“One… Two…”

Wei Jiaxi didn’t know if he was looking at Li Anna or Yun Shaofeng, but his eyes remained steady.

“…Three.”

Wei Jiaxi released his left hand and lunged forward, grabbing Yun Shaofeng’s arm and pulling him into his embrace. In a split second, he caught a glimpse of Li Anna’s finger tightening on the trigger.

That damn woman!

Wei Jiaxi didn’t have time to react. He spun sharply and threw Yun Shaofeng to the side, his right hand drawing his gun as he fired two shots.

Then, a deafening ringing sound filled the air, lasting for over thirty seconds.

To be continued…