Chapter 22 of 100

Chapter 22

15 min read3,849 wordsMature

Update Time: March 22, 2013

Zhang Yang had never let go of the incident where he was detained. That inexplicable conflict had been a knot in his heart, but for a while, he had been comforted by love. He chose to forget about it, thinking that perhaps it wasn't a bad thing. If that incident hadn't happened, he wouldn't have gained the ability to see through things, wouldn't have rented a house, wouldn't have met Wang Yue, and wouldn't have tasted such sweet love.

Now that Wang Yue had left, not only had the time they spent together been a lie, but she had even left a letter to deceive him after she left, leaving Zhang Yang with a belly full of anger, nowhere to vent.

He fiercely stubbed out his cigarette and drove to the hot pot restaurant where the conflict had occurred.

It was still early, and the hot pot restaurant wasn't open for business. Zhang Yang sat in his car, carefully observing for a while, then sneered. It seemed he wouldn't get any information during the day, so he decided to come back at night. Since that was the case, he might as well go to his former workplace first.

This small hot pot restaurant, Xiao Fei Yang, was located near the Science and Technology City, close to where Zhang Yang used to work. This was why they had chosen to have a meal here after getting their salaries. It was also here that he had been hit by his first beer bottle and was subsequently detained. Thinking about that incident, Zhang Yang's hand involuntarily clenched into a fist, suppressing his anger. No rush, he would settle the score tonight.

He sneered a few times and drove to the entrance of Wantong Logistics. As soon as he got out of the car, he saw his former colleagues loading things onto an electric tricycle. It was morning, and they were busy receiving and sending goods.

Seeing the car stop at the logistics entrance, the staff thought someone had come to send a package. Sun Qia came forward and asked, "Hello, what do you want to send?"

Zhang Yang took off his sunglasses and said expressionlessly, "Does Sun Qia still recognize me?"

Sun Qia recognized Zhang Yang's face and exclaimed, "Are you Zhang Yang?"

After saying that, he still found it hard to believe. He looked at the car Zhang Yang was driving and then at Zhang Yang's face. Yes, it was Zhang Yang, the one who used to call him "Brother Sun" and follow him around.

After recognizing him, Sun Qia reached out to pat Zhang Yang's shoulder, showing intimacy, but his hand was stopped in mid-air by Zhang Yang.

"Sun Qia, I have something to ask you!" Zhang Yang said.

Seeing Zhang Yang's reaction, Sun Qia's face turned sour. He wanted to say something to Zhang Yang, but seeing Zhang Yang's cold expression and remembering his crazy behavior during the conflict, he didn't dare to say anything and lowered his head in shame.

"I know what you want to ask! Zhang Yang, let's just let it go. Those people are from the mafia; we can't afford to offend them," Sun Qia said.

Zhang Yang sneered and said, "Can't afford to offend them, so you handed me over to them. Let them twist the facts and put me in detention, and no one even came to see me. When I was fired, no one even said a word for me. Sun Qia, think about it, did I ever do anything to offend you while working here? When you didn't want to deliver to far places, you always passed it to me. Did I ever say no? You called me brother, but when it came to the crunch, you did this to me."

Sun Qia's face turned even more sour. "You're not a kid anymore. Can you take those words seriously? As for the work, you were willing to do it, and the far deliveries paid more. You didn't lose out."

Zhang Yang laughed in anger. Indeed, as Wang Yue had said, people are selfish. He had been so naive to believe their lies. In their eyes, he was probably just a fool.

"I won't waste more words. Tell me who those people were that day," Zhang Yang said.

Sun Qia shook his head. "I don't know. Ask whoever you want."

Seeing Zhang Yang's bad attitude, Sun Qia didn't have a good attitude either. Most importantly, he still saw Zhang Yang as a fool and didn't take him seriously.

Zhang Yang touched his sunglasses, then put them in his pocket and turned to leave. Sun Qia sneered and spat, thinking that the fool had borrowed a car and thought he was someone important, asking him questions so arrogantly.

Just as Sun Qia was about to say something, Zhang Yang suddenly turned around and punched him in the face. With a thud, Sun Qia fell to the ground.

Sun Qia struggled to sit up, holding his face, looking at Zhang Yang in disbelief. How could he have hit him?

Zhang Yang squatted down, grabbed Sun Qia's collar, and pulled him up, his voice low and menacing. "Sun Qia, I'm in a bad mood. Don't challenge my limits. Who were those people?"

Seeing Zhang Yang's fierce eyes, Sun Qia lost his nerve. He wasn't a strong-willed person; if he were, he wouldn't have watched Zhang Yang suffer that day.

Seeing Zhang Yang's ferocity, he hurriedly said, "I don't know, I really don't know."

Seeing Zhang Yang raise his fist again, he quickly shouted, "It was the security guard who said it. The security captain of Xiao Fei Yang said they were from the mafia, very powerful, and would kill without hesitation. Zhang Yang, don't hit me. Don't you remember, when you first started working, I was the one who helped you?"

Zhang Yang sneered a few times, let go of Sun Qia, and let him fall to the ground. He took out his wallet, took out 200 yuan, and threw it on the ground. "Take it to see a doctor." Then he looked up at the sign of Wantong Logistics, sneered a few times, and thought, "It's not the right time yet. I can't do anything to this company now, but I'll be back."

After Zhang Yang left, the people in Wantong Logistics who had been watching came out, helped Sun Qia up, and asked what had happened. Sun Qia didn't say anything, just smiled bitterly. What could he say? How could he explain? Who would believe that the once shy boy had become so rich and ruthless? Sun Qia wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, thinking about Zhang Yang's eyes, and decided he had to quit. This company was a place of trouble, and it was better to leave early.

As night fell, Zhang Yang walked into the bustling Xiao Fei Yang and found a corner by the window to sit.

A waitress came over with a menu and asked, "Sir, how many people are you with?"

Zhang Yang said, "One. I'll have a spicy hot pot, two plates of beef, one plate of sausage, one plate of fish balls, one plate of enoki mushrooms, and one plate of wide noodles. That's all for now!"

The waitress marked the items on the menu and asked, "Sir, what would you like to drink?"

Zhang Yang shook his head. "I'm driving, so I won't drink. Just give me a bottle of juice!"

The lessons from drinking were too harsh, making Zhang Yang wary of alcohol.

One time, drinking landed him in detention. Another time, drinking gave him a girlfriend. The next time, his girlfriend disappeared. Even if Zhang Yang wasn't superstitious, he didn't dare to drink anymore.

The waitress left and returned a few minutes later with a hot pot and the dishes. "Sir, your food is ready. Do you need anything else?"

Zhang Yang looked around and saw no one nearby. He asked in a low voice, "Waitress, I want to ask you something."

The waitress looked at him warily. "Sir, I have a boyfriend. I won't give you my phone number."

Zhang Yang's forehead broke out in a sweat. What the hell was she talking about? With that face, no one would believe he was interested!

"No, I heard that a few months ago, there was a fight here, and several people were arrested. Is that true?" Zhang Yang asked.

The waitress laughed. "I thought you were trying to hit on me!"

Zhang Yang forced himself to suppress his disgust. He wasn't that desperate.

The waitress looked around to make sure no one was paying attention and whispered, "I'll tell you, but don't tell anyone else. Our boss doesn't want us to talk about it. I remember clearly, it was my first day at work. Four or five mafia members beat up a young man. The young man was pretty tough, grabbing one and beating him to a pulp, almost biting off half of the mafia member's ear."

Zhang Yang had no memory of what happened after that and didn't know about this part. Thinking about biting someone's ear, he felt a strange taste in his mouth.

"Was the young man fighting alone? Did no one help him?" Zhang Yang asked.

The waitress snorted. "Help? The guys who came with him were scared and hid when they found out the others were from the mafia. In the end, the police came, and we all thought the mafia members would be arrested, but the young man said something and made a phone call. In the end, it was the young man who was arrested."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang knew the matter wasn't that simple. What puzzled him was the reason. Why did they have a conflict with him?

"Do you know why they beat up that young man?" Zhang Yang asked.

The waitress looked at him warily. "Who are you, and why are you asking about this?"

Zhang Yang smiled. "The young man who was beaten is a relative of mine. He has already returned to his hometown. He doesn't know why he was beaten and wants me to find out. Otherwise, he won't dare to work in Jin City again. You know, it's not easy to work away from home!"

The waitress hesitated and looked at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang took out 200 yuan from his pocket and pushed it across the table.

The waitress's face lit up, and she quickly put the money in her pocket. "I don't know the exact reason. You saw the security guard at the entrance, right? His name is Wu Tian. He was there that day and is the security captain here. He knows those people. If you want to know the details, you should ask him."

With that, the waitress shook her head and left without saying anything more.

Zhang Yang looked at the security guard directing parking outside. It seemed the answers lay with the security captain. He ate a few bites, paid the bill, and left.

---