RLTT CH 7

Chapter 7: Iron Man Miniature Model

“Out of the way! Move!”

At midday, the streets of the old district were bustling with people. Wei Jiaxi, nimble and swift, darted through the clutter of goods piled on the roadside stalls. His hands pushed aside the various shoulders blocking his path as he kept his eyes locked on the golden head bouncing up and down ahead of him.

The blond man glanced back repeatedly as he ran for his life, tripping over passersby several times in his panic. He scrambled forward in a desperate frenzy.

“Stop right there!” Wei Jiaxi shouted as he chased him relentlessly. Squeezing through the crowd, he finally made it past the crowded intersection. But just as he caught sight of the blond man turning into a narrow alley ahead, a smirk crossed his face.

Hah, unlucky for you to cross paths with me in this area.

Instead of following directly, Wei Jiaxi veered into another corner, cutting through. He darted over debris and beneath uneven awnings, moving with the agility of a cheetah. Suddenly, he turned sharply at another bend, slamming into someone head-on and tackling them to the ground.

Of course, it was the blond man.

The two of them hit the ground hard. Wei Jiaxi pressed his elbow firmly against the blond man’s neck, pinning him down. The man flailed helplessly, gasping for air as he raised his hands in defense and pleaded loudly, “Young Master Xi! Please, no!”

“I told you, don’t call me that!” Wei Jiaxi snapped, grabbing the man by the collar. Without mercy, he hoisted him up and slammed him against the wall, keeping him pinned. “Li Guozhan, Blondie Zhan, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you!”

Li Guozhan cowered, trying to shrink into himself. But Wei Jiaxi’s grip was unyielding, and his feet barely touched the ground as he begged, “Young Master Xi—no, Inspector Wei! Please, have mercy! The last batch of goods was already seized by you. Let me off this time, okay?”

“Hmph, I only seized one box last time. If I let you off today, you’ll bring out three, five, or seven more tomorrow, won’t you?” Wei Jiaxi sneered coldly. He yanked Li Guozhan closer and slammed him into the wall again. “When you were with Uncle Xi, you weren’t this reckless! But now that you’re with Wei Jiayi, you’ve even got the guts to sell cough syrup to high school kids?”

The force of the slam left Li Guozhan nearly concussed. He winced in pain, trembling as he pleaded, “We’re just low-level guys! If the boss gives us orders, how could we dare refuse?”

“Wei Jiayi is back, isn’t he?” Wei Jiaxi narrowed his eyes and stared straight into Li Guozhan’s. “Where is he hiding now?”

“Young Master Xi, just arrest me if you want. But don’t ask me that kind of question,” Li Guozhan said, his face on the verge of tears. “If I knew, I’d be lying dead in the streets by tomorrow!”

Wei Jiaxi let out another cold laugh. Holding him with one hand, he reached into his pocket with the other, pulling out his phone. “Fine. Then I’ll arrest you right now.”

“No, no, no, Young Master Xi! Inspector Wei! Please don’t!” Li Guozhan was practically on his knees, begging for mercy. “I swear I’ll quit selling cough syrup! I’ll go back to being a valet, okay? Just let me off this once!”

Wei Jiaxi glanced at him and then put the phone back into his pocket. Hoisting him up again, he said in a low voice, “Do me a favor, and I’ll let you go this time.”

“Yes, yes! Whatever you need, I’ll do it!” Li Guozhan nodded frantically.

“I want to meet Uncle Xi,” Wei Jiaxi said quickly. “Tomorrow night, seven o’clock, at the arcade. You’ll take me there.”

“Huh?” Li Guozhan’s face shifted from hope to despair in an instant. “If you want me to sniff out some minor info for you, I could manage. But Uncle Xi? Do you think I can just summon him on a whim?”

“You’ve been in Xin Qing for so many years, how is it that you have such little influence?” Wei Jiaxi’s face remained unchanged, his words carrying a strong threat, “Either you take me to see Master Xi, or I take you to the detention center. The choice is yours.”

Li Guozhan looked pitiful, still trying to plead for mercy, but suddenly his eyes darted to something behind Wei Jiaxi, his face changing dramatically as he cried out in fear, “Chao, Brother Chao…”

Wei Jiaxi turned to follow his gaze and saw a man in a leather jacket, wearing sunglasses, standing several meters away with a faint smile on his face, accompanied by a few lackeys.

“…Mo Chao.” Wei Jiaxi’s heart sank, and he whispered the name.

He knew this man, and he had known him for quite a while. Wei Jiaxi himself had forgotten when it all started, but Mo Chao had been following Wei Jiayi’s side for a long time. He rarely spoke, did whatever Wei Jiayi asked, always wearing those black sunglasses and putting on a mysterious air. When the old man was still alive, he had trusted Mo Chao, often extracting information about Wei Jiayi from him. Later on, he even entrusted Mo Chao with overseeing his own visits when he lived and studied elsewhere. Mo Chao was incredibly clever, always knowing what the old man wanted to hear, and he was loyal in front of Wei Jiayi. He could make money, but never sought to overshadow the big boss.

Among all the people in Hongsheng, Wei Jiaxi found Mo Chao the most difficult to figure out.

“Young Master Xi, you’re a public servant. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to be tussling on the street with street thugs?” Mo Chao’s tone didn’t sound like a threat, but rather a casual observation, “Aren’t you afraid of getting reported?”

“As a public servant carrying out official duties, it’s best you all step aside,” Wei Jiaxi let go of Li Guozhan’s collar, his words sharp as he retorted, “Otherwise, it would be obstruction of justice.”

Mo Chao took a few steps forward, raising his hand to remove his sunglasses, revealing a pair of deep, bright eyes. However, his gaze was fixed on Li Guozhan behind Wei Jiaxi. “Golden-haired Zhan, that account from a few days ago, the numbers don’t quite add up. You’d better go back and explain it now.”

Although his expression wasn’t exactly fierce, Li Guozhan looked utterly terrified, nearly collapsing. Wei Jiaxi shifted slightly, positioning himself between the two, his gaze unwavering as he sternly asked, “Has Wei Jiayi returned? Where is he now?”

Mo Chao glanced at him, smiled, and said, “Young Master Xi, bringing up Young Master Yi won’t help. This guy,” he pointed to Li Guozhan with his sunglasses, “embezzled funds. Even if you want to arrest him, you’ll have to wait until he repays the gang’s money.”

“I’m here to protect him right now. Are you trying to interfere with law enforcement? Huh?” Wei Jiaxi didn’t back down, glaring at Mo Chao, his words laced with anger.

“Inspector Wei, I… I didn’t embezzle funds…” Li Guozhan cowered behind Wei Jiaxi, speaking in a small voice, “It’s about the number of goods you picked up earlier…”

Mo Chao’s lackeys stepped forward, cracking their knuckles, all looking like they were ready to fight.

Wei Jiaxi gave them a quick glance, then without a word, kicked a metal pipe lying on the ground into the air, catching it and holding it out in front of him, pointing it directly at Mo Chao. His voice was steady but furious as he spoke, “What are you doing? Attacking an officer is a serious crime. If I detain you for 48 hours, do you think Wei Jiayi, that coward, will be forced to come out and take charge?”

Mo Chao’s gaze flickered, but he didn’t respond. He just waved his hand, signaling his lackeys to stop.

Wei Jiaxi kept his gaze fixed on him, then slightly turned his head to speak to Li Guozhan in a low voice, “Aren’t you leaving yet? Don’t forget what I told you.”

Li Guozhan, hearing this, scrambled out of the alley in a panic.

Mo Chao watched him run, then slowly put his sunglasses back on with a sigh. He turned back to Wei Jiaxi, saying, “Inspector Wei, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, and the first thing you do when we meet is stop me from teaching my little brother a lesson? This isn’t good. If your father were still alive, he wouldn’t rest easy.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Wei Jiaxi still held the iron pipe in his hand, “You still haven’t answered me. Where is Wei Jiayi hiding?”

Mo Chao smiled again, took a few steps closer, and whispered in Wei Jiaxi’s ear, “You should think about where you are now. Where were you supposed to be…?”

…Sh!t! Shaofeng!!!

These words reminded Wei Jiaxi. With a ‘thud,’ the iron pipe slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. Wei Jiaxi immediately turned and ran, using all his strength to sprint toward the direction of the shopping mall.

“Shaofeng? Shaofeng! Shao…” Wei Jiaxi stood inside the mall, the crowd flowing in all directions around him. He shouted several times, but then suddenly thought, if there was really an ambush here, shouting Shao Shaofeng’s name would only expose their positions and give others a chance to strike.

He rushed to the first floor, walking along the corridor, searching shop by shop. What was Shaofeng wearing today? A light-colored shirt? Jeans? No jacket? Was that him? No… where is he?

He searched through the entire underground mall, but couldn’t find Shaofeng anywhere. He had already passed by the same arcade three times.

Could it be… something has already happened?

Wei Jiaxi’s heart sank. He suddenly felt a buzzing in his head, and his chest was filled with a suffocating pain that made it hard to breathe. He reached into his pocket, touching his phone, hesitating whether to call for backup.

Wait…

Suddenly, Wei Jiaxi turned towards the escalator, walked quickly up the left side, and went up to the second floor.

“Qiangzi! Have you seen Shaofeng?” Before entering the store area, Wei Jiaxi anxiously shouted.

“Huh, why are you back? Shaofeng? Wasn’t he with you earlier? Did he get lost?” Qiangzi, who was struggling to carry a large stack of books, froze when he saw Wei Jiaxi. “I think I did see him pass by earlier.”

“Where?” Wei Jiaxi grabbed Qiangzi’s shoulder, panting heavily, “Where did he go?”

Qiangzi was startled and carefully pointed in the direction of the alley. “I think… over there…”

“Thanks!” As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Jiaxi was already running out of sight.

He hurriedly followed the direction Qiangzi pointed, anxiously scanning everywhere, pressing his face against the glass of each store, eyes wide open, so desperate it felt like his head might catch fire.

Finally, in a figure model store, Wei Jiaxi found Yun Shaofeng. He was holding a Q-version model, perfectly intact.

“Shaofeng!” Wei Jiaxi rushed into the store, arms open as if to hug Yun Shaofeng, but when he reached him, he stopped and instead tightly held his arm. “Thank goodness, you’re here.”

Yun Shaofeng froze for a moment when he saw Wei Jiaxi rushing towards him.

Wei Jiaxi was out of breath after running, bending over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily as he quickly said to Yun Shaofeng, “Sorry, sorry… earlier, I saw a thief… I let him escape during a major case…”

“It’s fine.” Yun Shaofeng smiled faintly, but there was no real warmth in his eyes.

Wei Jiaxi looked up at him, noticing his indifferent expression, and immediately stood up straight, sincerely saying, “I’m sorry, really sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone, I shouldn’t have run away. I should have stayed by your side to protect you.”

“It’s okay.” Yun Shaofeng gently shook his head, “Catching the thief is more important.”

Wei Jiaxi felt deeply upset. “Shaofeng—”

“Really, it’s fine,” Yun Shaofeng gently interrupted, “You’re a policeman. Your relentless pursuit of justice shows you’re a good cop. I’m serious.”

Wei Jiaxi felt a bit helpless. He lowered his head and glanced at Yun Shaofeng’s hand. Then, he took the model from his hand, raised it towards the cashier, and asked, “How much is this?”

“This one’s expensive…” Yun Shaofeng responded, puzzled, but saw Wei Jiaxi walk straight to the cashier. After hearing the price, he paused for a moment.

“Credit card, please.” A few minutes later, Wei Jiaxi returned, putting the model back into Yun Shaofeng’s hands. “This is for you, I hope you can forgive me.”

Yun Shaofeng was dumbfounded. He immediately tried to push the model back to Wei Jiaxi, quickly saying, “You don’t have to do this. I’ll give you the money back.”

“No need, this is a gift for you!” Wei Jiaxi pressed the model tightly into Yun Shaofeng’s hands and also gripped his palm. “I won’t do this again. I won’t just leave you behind and run off without a word. Protecting you is my job, and it’s also… something I want to do.”

Wei Jiaxi’s finger lightly brushed over Yun Shaofeng’s hand. He looked up at him, eyes sincere. “Unless… you don’t like this one? I can exchange it for another.”

“No need! I like it!” Yun Shaofeng quickly responded. “…Of course I like it. Iron Man, so cute. Thank you.” His brows softened, and he smiled at Wei Jiaxi. This time, his smile was much more genuine.

Wei Jiaxi smiled back. But in his heart…

…That stupid model, so small, actually costs a few hundred? By the end of the month, I’ll be eating instant noodles again… Damn.

But, seeing Shaofeng smile like that, it’s worth it.

To be continued…