My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 134 Rules
That day, Zhou Jiye was playing cards with Liangzai Jun at his residence. Peng Ge was still elusive, having run off to enjoy himself after winning the money. Afen was as virtuous as a housewife, buying groceries, cooking, and taking care of everyone's meals. She also helped with cleaning the rooms and doing laundry. As for Cheng Jiandong, he was mostly away during the day and usually didn't return until the evening.

Around 3 p.m., Cheng Jiandong suddenly returned home early today. As soon as he entered the door, his eyes fell on the two people playing cards in the living room.

"Brother Dong." Hearing the noise, Afen came out of the house and quickly brought him slippers to change into.

Zhou Jiye and Liangzai Jun also got up to greet them. Cheng Jiandong smiled and nodded, saying "Let's play cards" but secretly gave Liangzai Jun a look before turning around and going into his and Afen's room.

"Dong-ge is back, let's stop playing." Handsome Jun threw down the cards in his hand, patted his butt, got up, went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of soda, and then walked towards Cheng Jiandong's room.

Seeing his actions, Zhou Jiye pretended not to know. He hadn't seen Cheng Jiandong give Liangzai Jun a look, but he didn't ask about their actions or get involved. He simply arranged the playing cards and went to his room.

"Close the door." Handsome Jun entered Cheng Jiandong's room, and Cheng Jiandong said.

After closing the door, Handsome Jun handed the soda in his hand to Cheng Jiandong. Cheng Jiandong took it but didn't drink it. He just put it aside and took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

"How has A-Ye been doing these past few days?" Cheng Jiandong asked.

"Nothing's wrong," Handsome Jun said, scratching his head. "He's with me every day. Even when he goes out, it's just for a walk around the neighborhood, and I'm with him."

"You didn't go anywhere else?"

"No! What's wrong, Dong-ge?" Handsome Jun asked, puzzled.

Cheng Jiandong frowned, as if he couldn't figure something out. He pondered for a moment and then asked, "I remember he said a few days ago that he was going to call home. How did that call go?"

"What else could we do? You know how difficult it is to make a phone call in mainland China, Dong-ge. I tried to make one call for over an hour and still couldn't get through, so I gave up."

"That's all?" Cheng Jiandong looked up at Liangzai Jun, his expression somewhat serious. "Were you right there when he made the call? You didn't leave?"

"Of course!" Handsome Jun replied without hesitation, "I've been with you the whole time. What do you mean, Brother Dong? Don't you believe me? I, Jun, have been following you for years. When have I ever failed to do what you asked me to do? Ah Ye made the call from the shop around the corner. I was with him the whole time. If you don't believe me, you can ask the shop owner. He can testify!"

Handsome Jun looked very angry, his face flushed and his voice even louder. Seeing this, Cheng Jiandong waved his hand and said, "Jun, why are you in such a hurry? I was just asking. If I don't believe you, who else can I believe?"

Handsome Jun's expression softened, and he plopped down on the floor.

His behavior just now was intentional. After all, he was so hot and impatient that he did go to the dessert shop across the street. However, he was only gone for a short time, and when he came back, Zhou Jiye was holding a phone. He took the phone and listened to it, but the call was not answered. That much is certain.

But Handsome Jun didn't dare tell Cheng Jiandong this. As Cheng Jiandong's henchman, he had followed Cheng Jiandong for a long time, and he was also the cousin of Cheng Jiandong's lover, Ah Fen, so their relationship was unusual. However, Cheng Jiandong was a suspicious and ruthless man by nature, and keeping an eye on Zhou Jiye was a task that Cheng Jiandong had specifically instructed him to do. If Cheng Jiandong found out that he had neglected this task, he would be in big trouble.

"What's wrong, Dong-ge? What happened?" Slightly guilty, Liangzai Jun pretended to be nonchalant but was also curious, and couldn't help but ask Cheng Jiandong.

Cheng Jiandong held a cigarette between his fingers, stroked his chin with the other, and looked thoughtful.

"Nothing's wrong, I just feel something's strange."

"strangeness?"

"Today, the big boss called me in and asked me for someone."

"You need someone?" Handsome Jun was taken aback, then realized, "You don't mean Ah Ye, do you?"

“Yes!” Cheng Jiandong nodded: “The boss immediately asked for Ah Ye, saying that as a member of the gang, I had developed followers, and according to the rules, I should immediately report to the gang, and then the gang should register me with the branch before I can follow them. Now I haven’t done any of these things, which is against the gang’s rules, so the boss is demanding that I hand over Ah Ye for the gang to deal with.” “This…” Liangzai Jun was a little stunned; this reason was really far-fetched.

As Cheng Jiandong's henchman and also a member of the gang, Handsome Jun knew that the gang did indeed have this rule, but it was an ancient rule from who-knows-when, and no one took it seriously anymore.

These days, recruiting followers is basically done by the boss's word; once someone joins, they're on their side. Unless they hold a formal position within the triad, there's no need for formalities like holding an incense hall. Besides, there are countless triads in Hong Kong, and countless people affiliated with them. If everyone followed this rule, the triads couldn't possibly manage them all!
The problem is that the bigwigs above are using the rules as an excuse. Cheng Jiandong doesn't have a high position in the gang and doesn't have the authority to hold court directly. So the bigwigs can use this as an excuse to make trouble without finding any fault with him. Unless Cheng Jiandong leaves the gang and falls out with the bigwigs, he has no choice but to do as the bigwigs say.

Although Cheng Jiandong was a ruthless man, he would never leave the gang so easily. Offending the big boss was one thing, but to sever all ties with the gang would be to break the rules of the entire underworld. Was leaving a gang so easy? Once you enter the underworld, you're a member for life. Even if Cheng Jiandong had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't dare to do that, because if he did, he would have no place to stand in Hong Kong.

"Brother Dong, you suspect Ah Ye...?"

Cheng Jiandong shook his head, a look of doubt on his face: "I've thought about it, but I think it's impossible. I know Ah Ye's background very well. He came here by accident. If he had connections and background in the underworld, he wouldn't have fallen to such a state back then. Moreover, since he came to Hong Kong, Ah Ye has stayed with us and hasn't contacted the outside world. It shouldn't be him."

"What happened to the big boss?" Handsome Jun wondered. If it wasn't Zhou Jiye, then what was going on?

"I don't know, maybe..." Cheng Jiandong frowned. He had a guess in his mind that the news of his two big meals had leaked out, and the gang found out about it. The boss was deliberately nitpicking and using this to get at him.

No secret stays hidden forever. Having profited handsomely from two consecutive high-stakes meals, especially the first one where he even clashed with the police in the street, causing quite a stir, Cheng Jiandong, was no exception. Information travels fast in the underworld; no matter how careful he was, it was impossible for even a whisper to escape unnoticed.

Besides, they used Uncle Lin's channels when they shipped the goods. Uncle Lin and his men must know what Cheng Jiandong and his men were up to. Otherwise, where would these things have come from? But according to the rules, Uncle Lin shouldn't have leaked their secrets. After all, Uncle Lin's reputation in the underworld is well-known. Otherwise, Cheng Jiandong wouldn't have gone to Uncle Lin to ship the goods.

Just because Uncle Lin wouldn't say that doesn't mean others won't. Perhaps one of Uncle Lin's men accidentally let it slip? That's how his boss found out about it? Thinking of this, Cheng Jiandong suddenly remembered something else and pressed Liangzai Jun to tell him if he had contacted Apeng in the past few days. Liangzai Jun shook his head and said he hadn't seen him. He added that everyone knows what kind of person Brother Peng is. He's got money and is living a carefree life. He can't control him. Who knows where he's hanging out now?

"Apeng!"

Cheng Jiandong instantly understood. Perhaps it was A Peng who accidentally leaked this information. How many times had that bastard told him not to forget who he was just because he had money, and to be careful when spending it? But instead, he was spending money on a life of debauchery and never showing his face. Maybe he was just drunk and talking nonsense. That's how the big boss found out about what he was doing in private.

Thinking of this, Cheng Jiandong gritted his teeth in anger, wishing he could immediately find A Peng and give him a good scolding. But in the end, he didn't do it. What could he say if he really found him? What good would a scolding do to A Peng? Putting aside the fact that A Peng's position in their gang was rather special, although on the surface Cheng Jiandong was the boss, in reality, Cheng Jiandong's relationship with A Peng was completely different from that with Liangzai Jun and Afen. The other party was not 100% obedient to Cheng Jiandong; their cooperation was more of a temporary alliance.

This is also why Cheng Jiandong took a liking to Zhou Jiye and intended to recruit him for his own use. In his view, A Peng was fine for temporary cooperation, but he would eventually become a problem in the long run. The most appropriate approach was to recruit Zhou Jiye, whom he could control, and then figure out how to gradually remove A Peng from the team later.

But this matter hasn't been resolved yet, and such trouble has already arisen. How could Cheng Jiandong not be angry?

Clenching his fists, Cheng Jiandong felt a surge of anger with nowhere to vent it, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Brother Dong, what do we do now?" Handsome Jun asked cautiously from the side, noticing that Dong's face looked unusually pale.

Cheng Jiandong's expression was uncertain, and he finally managed to suppress his anger: "Let's take it one step at a time. Tomorrow I'll take Ah Ye to see the big boss. We have to hand him over, otherwise we won't be able to establish ourselves in Hong Kong. It's just a pity..."

Handsome Jun didn't know how to comfort him. He could see that Cheng Jiandong was like a volcano that had been suppressed and had not yet erupted. It was best to keep quiet at this time. If he asked too many questions, Cheng Jiandong, who had nowhere else to vent his anger, might take it out on him. Wouldn't that be unfair?

Zhou Jiye was completely unaware of the conversation between Cheng Jiandong and Liangzai Jun; he was still figuring out how to escape. He remembered what Uncle Lin had told him on the phone that day, but no matter how much he thought about it, Zhou Jiye couldn't figure out who the uncle Uncle Lin mentioned was, when he had met such an important person, or what the other party's purpose was in contacting him.

These past few days, Zhou Jiye hadn't found a way to get out of the situation. He was considering going out to make another call if all else failed. He wanted to call Shanghai to ask if the message had been delivered, and he also wanted to take the opportunity to call Uncle Lin and ask about the situation.

Before he could even figure it out, the next morning, Cheng Jiandong woke Zhou Jiye up and told him to get dressed and go out with him. At first, Zhou Jiye thought Cheng Jiandong was calling him to go out to work again, but when he went out, he realized something was wrong, because apart from Cheng Jiandong and himself, no one else was with him.

(End of this chapter)