Chapter 17

"Ah Jie." Xia Yunjie replied.

"Alright, wait a moment." The female clerk nodded at Xia Yunjie and turned to walk into the boss's office at the back.

In the boss's office, Guangtou Qiang was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Behind him stood his most trusted henchman, the driver of the Jinbei van, Ah Biao. Beside him sat a middle-aged man with a full beard, the owner of the bicycle shop, Li Chengxin. However, his character was far from honest. At least half of the bicycles sold in his shop were stolen, many of which were stolen from Jiangzhou University and then resold to students there after minor modifications.

As the leader of a gang of thieves, Guangtou Qiang naturally had his own channels for fencing stolen goods. This Chengxin Bicycle Shop was his exclusive fencing point for bicycles, and he had come today to collect the money.

The financial transactions between Guangtou Qiang and Li Chengxin were settled once a month.

"Brother Qiang, it's summer vacation now, and most students have gone home. Business has been poor, and I also lost a lot of money gambling recently. Please be lenient and give me some time. I'll pay you the money for both this month and last month when school starts again," Li Chengxin said with a smile.

"Damn it, you sit in your office all day, counting money and playing cards, how easy is that? But have you ever thought about how hard it is for us brothers to earn this money, risking jail time? If the brothers work hard and take risks every month but end up with no money, what will they think of me as their leader? They might even rebel against me!" Guangtou Qiang said, his face showing dissatisfaction.

"How could that be? Everyone knows Brother Qiang is the most loyal and respected. The brothers all look up to you. Don't worry, it won't happen again, just this once," Li Chengxin said, smiling and flattering him.

"Speaking of loyalty, my brothers are the best!" Guangtou Qiang's face lit up with pride and satisfaction as he exhaled a smoke ring.

"Exactly, exactly! Who in Jiangzhou doesn't know that Brother Qiang is the most loyal?" Li Chengxin said, relieved and continuing to flatter him.

Li Chengxin's flattery made Guangtou Qiang very comfortable. He touched his bald head, about to boast a bit more, when the female clerk walked in.

Seeing the female clerk enter, Guangtou Qiang's eyes narrowed, and he gave her a lecherous glance at her ample chest before turning to Li Chengxin. "Old Li, with a pretty girl like Ah Qing helping you, it's hard for business to be bad!"

"Is there something wrong with Ah Qing?" Li Chengxin frowned, looking at the female clerk named Ah Qing.

Although helping to fence stolen goods was not a secret to Ah Qing, Li Chengxin still didn't like her interrupting when he and Guangtou Qiang were talking.

"It's like this, there's a young man named Ah Jie outside looking for Brother Qiang," Ah Qing said quickly, seeing her boss's displeasure.

"Ah Jie? Looking for me?" Guangtou Qiang's eyebrows furrowed.

Not only did he not have anyone named Ah Jie in his gang, but even if he did, few people in the gang knew he was collecting money at Chengxin Bicycle Shop today. Besides, as the leader, he wouldn't just let anyone come to his territory to talk business without being called.

Li Chengxin, who had been dealing with people like Guangtou Qiang for years and was half a gangster himself, knew the rules and looked at Guangtou Qiang with confusion.

"Does Brother Qiang not know him? Should I tell him to leave?" Ah Qing, a quick-witted girl, said hurriedly.

"Not yet, Ah Biao, go out with Ah Qing and take a look," Guangtou Qiang waved his hand.

"Yes, Brother Qiang." Ah Biao nodded and followed Ah Qing out.

As soon as they reached the door, Ah Biao saw Xia Yunjie standing in the shop, and he couldn't help but shiver, feeling uneasy. He thought, "How did this weird guy find us? I ran into him last night while having dinner, and now he's here to talk about collecting money, even though we're in the back office. How did he find us?"

Despite his thoughts, Ah Biao didn't dare to be disrespectful. Under Ah Qing's surprised and puzzled gaze, he hurriedly stepped forward and said timidly, "Brother Jie, good morning."

"Brother Jie!" Ah Qing's eyes widened. This young man, who looked no more than twenty and like a college student, was called "Brother"?

"Is Guangtou Qiang inside?" Xia Yunjie nodded, seeing Ah Biao.

"Brother Qiang is inside, please, please come in," Ah Biao said hurriedly.

Xia Yunjie nodded and followed Ah Biao inside.

Seeing Xia Yunjie follow Ah Biao inside, Ah Qing, driven by curiosity, followed them despite having no business there.

In the office, Guangtou Qiang was still talking to Li Chengxin and smoking, not really paying attention to Ah Jie. As a leader, he wouldn't take a young man seriously.

However, when Guangtou Qiang saw Xia Yunjie enter with Ah Biao, he realized that Ah Qing's "Ah Jie" was the weird "Brother Jie." His heart skipped a beat, and his eyes fixed on Xia Yunjie, almost dropping his cigarette.

"No way, how did this weird guy find us? How did he know I was here?"

Thinking this, Guangtou Qiang quickly stood up from the sofa and greeted Xia Yunjie. "Brother Jie, good morning."

Ah Qing, who had followed out of curiosity, already knew that Xia Yunjie was not an ordinary young man. But seeing Guangtou Qiang stand up hurriedly and call him "Brother Jie," even showing a hint of fear, she was completely stunned. She looked at Xia Yunjie's back with a different expression, thinking, "Is this guy like Chen Haonan from the 'Young and Dangerous' movies, a powerful boss in Jiangzhou despite his young and handsome appearance? But his hair isn't as flowing, it should be longer."

While Ah Qing was lost in thought and Li Chengxin was suppressing his surprise and standing up to greet Xia Yunjie with a forced smile, Xia Yunjie shook his head and said, "Thanks for your concern, Brother Qiang, but I'm not doing well."

Saying this, he walked to the sofa and sat down.

Seeing Xia Yunjie's unfriendly expression and tone, Guangtou Qiang subconsciously touched the gold necklace around his neck, remembering the terrifying scene of Xia Yunjie using a steel pipe as a barbell. Sweat beads formed on his shiny head.

"Brother Jie, I can't take that. If there's anything, just tell me," Guangtou Qiang wiped the cold sweat from his head and said with a smile.

Ah Qing and Li Chengxin were secretly shocked to see Guangtou Qiang, a leader, so afraid of a young man. Li Chengxin, who was half a gangster, couldn't recall any boss in Jiangzhou named "Brother Jie" or any boss as young as this one, making him even more shocked and puzzled.

Seeing Guangtou Qiang's understanding, Xia Yunjie's expression softened. "You think I have nothing better to do and like coming here on a hot day?"

Hearing this, Guangtou Qiang wanted to cry. "Brother, I don't want you to come here either!"

But he quickly said, "That's right, that's right. Take a seat, I'll get you some water."

"I'll do it, I'll do it." Before Guangtou Qiang could turn to get the water, Ah Qing, being quick-witted, took the task and hurriedly brought a cup of water to Xia Yunjie. "Brother Jie, here's your water."

Xia Yunjie, still a bit angry, but knowing this had nothing to do with Ah Qing, stood up and smiled slightly. "Thank you."

At that moment, Ah Qing, who had initially thought Xia Yunjie was just a student from nearby Jiangzhou University, felt his smile differently. Now, knowing he was a powerful boss in Jiangzhou, she felt his smile was particularly striking, making her heart race. She blushed and said, "You're welcome, Brother Jie."

Interrupted by Ah Qing, Xia Yunjie's anger subsided a bit. After drinking the water, he put the cup on the coffee table and looked at Guangtou Qiang, who was still nervous, and said directly, "Yesterday, I bought a new bicycle, a Forever brand. I parked it in front of the BLUENIGHT bar on Nan Shan Road last night, but it was gone when I came out after work."

Xia Yunjie's words made Li Chengxin and Ah Qing feel like they were watching a movie by Stephen Chow, completely absurd. This powerful "Brother Jie" had come on a hot day just for a bicycle, and a Forever brand at that! This was too embarrassing, considering Guangtou Qiang had a Jinbei van!

Guangtou Qiang, however, was in a difficult position. "What kind of situation is this? Does this mean that if I lose something, it's always our fault? If I lose a car, will I have to come to you too? I'll be ruined!"

Though he wanted to cry, Guangtou Qiang immediately cursed, "Damn it, which blind idiot dared to steal Brother Jie's bike! Brother Jie, rest assured, I'll skin that guy alive when I catch him. As for the bike, look, Old Li has many here, including famous brands like Giant. You can pick any one, it's on me."