My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

With the two thousand yuan tucked in his pocket, Su Ming walked back home, his mind heavy with worry.

The night was deep, and the streets were deserted, with only one or two taxis occasionally passing by, their headlights casting two white streaks in the darkness. The streetlights cast a dim yellow shadow, making his shadow appear long, sometimes in front, sometimes behind, like an inescapable tail.

As he walked, he thought about what would happen tonight—Wu Yumin's ingratiating face, Ma Xiaomei's fair shoulders and neck as she took off her clothes, and that heavy stack of two thousand yuan.

As I walked, I turned the corner, and the apartment building came into view.

Su Ming was about to quicken his pace when he suddenly froze.

A black Audi A6 was parked next to the streetlight downstairs.

The car lay still in the night, like a lurking beast. Its body gleamed, reflecting the dim light of the streetlights, and its license plate was a five-digit consecutive "leopard number"—the kind of license plate that immediately tells you it's a car of considerable importance.

Su Ming's heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Jian?

He subconsciously slowed his pace and stood at a distance in the shade of a sycamore tree, staring at the car.

Jiang Jian is back?

If he really is back, he'll definitely be staying at his cousin's place tonight. It'll be so inconvenient for me to be there alone.

Su Ming's face flushed as he recalled the sounds his cousin-in-law and Jiang Jian made in the bedroom of their rented apartment last time. What was he, an outsider, doing standing in the living room in that situation?

Thinking of this, he took out his phone, intending to send a message to his cousin-in-law, telling her that he wouldn't be going home tonight and would be staying at Bao Yazhong's place for the night.

But when I took out my phone, there was an unread message on the screen.

It was sent by my cousin's wife.

The time is half past ten at night.

"Su Ming, don't come back until after midnight tonight, something's come up and I can't make it."

Su Ming looked at the message and smiled wryly. This is already outdated. He must have been making too much noise at the DVD shop and didn't hear his cousin-in-law's message.

He checked the time on his phone: 12:23 AM.

It's past midnight.

But Jiang Jian's car was still parked downstairs.

So, should I go back or not?

He emerged from the shadows of the trees, pacing back and forth, hesitating.

Suddenly, there was a noise ahead.

With a click, the Audi's door opened.

A man got out of the driver's seat, glanced in his direction, and then strode over.

It's Liu Sheng.

He was wearing his signature white shirt, walking steadily with a faint smile on his face, and stopped in front of Su Ming.

"Su Ming." He nodded. "What's wrong? Did Miss Qiu tell you not to go back?"

Su Ming paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes... she sent a message."

Liu Sheng smiled, glanced back at the Audi, then looked at Su Ming: "Then you should have guessed it, Mr. Jiang is back."

Su Ming nodded without saying anything.

Liu Sheng glanced at his watch and said, "He should be downstairs soon. By the way, Mr. Jiang said he'd like to see you. Since you're here, why don't you wait for him here?"

Su Ming was startled, his eyes widening: "Mr. Jiang... wants to see me?"

Liu Sheng nodded: "Yes. He wants to know about the fight you got into last time."

Su Ming tensed up and quickly explained, "I didn't cause any trouble last time! It was the Hunan gang who bullied me. They started it, I just..."

Liu Sheng interrupted him with a smile, gently patting him on the shoulder: "Don't be nervous. Mr. Jiang just wants to understand the situation, he doesn't mean anything else."

Su Ming opened his mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out and could only nod.

The two of them stood under the tree, waiting.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the chill of early autumn. Su Ming glanced at Liu Sheng, who stood ramrod straight, his face expressionless, like a well-trained soldier.

A thought suddenly popped into Su Ming's mind: Who exactly is this Liu Sheng? A driver? A bodyguard? Or something else?

Just then, a figure flashed past at the top of the stairs.

Liu Sheng's body tensed instantly, as if a switch had been flipped. He turned slightly to the side, gave Su Ming a wink, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Jiang is here."

Su Ming quickly followed his gaze.

A middle-aged man walked out of the apartment building.

He wore a dark gray shirt and trousers, the shirt tucked into his waistband, giving him a neat and sharp look. His hair was meticulously combed, and he wore a faint smile. His gait was composed, and he exuded the air of someone in a position of authority.

It was Jiang Jian, the man even the bigwigs of the Hunan gang had to respect.

Su Ming had caught a glimpse of him briefly outside his cousin's bedroom door before, but it was through a crack in the door, so he couldn't see him clearly. Now, seeing him up close under the streetlights, he realized that the man appeared even more composed and experienced than he remembered. His face wasn't handsome, but it possessed an air of authority that commanded respect.

Liu Sheng quickly stepped forward, bowed slightly, pointed towards Su Ming, and whispered something.

Jiang Jian followed his gaze and looked over, his eyes landing on Su Ming.

That gaze was indifferent, yet it made Su Ming's heart tighten, as if he were being stared at by something.

He quickly walked over and stopped two steps in front of Jiang Jian. Not knowing what to call him, he could only nod and say, "Mr. Jiang... Mr. Jiang."

Jiang Jian sized him up, a slight smile playing on his lips, and asked, "So you're the one who got into a fight with the Hunan gang? You took on several of them by yourself and didn't even lose?"

Su Ming was taken aback.

He originally thought Jiang Jian would criticize him for causing trouble or warn him to be more careful in the future, but he didn't expect that Jiang Jian would just ask him about the fight.

He scratched his head somewhat sheepishly: "No...it wasn't that bad. I did get hit a lot that day."

Jiang Jian smiled, a smile tinged with admiration: "Getting beaten up is fine, as long as you win. Losing is what's shameful."

He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, and lowered his voice: "Listen carefully, if any members of the Hunan gang dare to retaliate and strike first, you'd better kill them. If anything happens, I'll cover for you."

Su Ming was startled and looked up at Jiang Jian.

These words are spoken lightly, but their weight is terrifying.

Go all out? And then he'll take the blame if anything goes wrong?

What gives them this confidence?

He nodded blankly, not knowing what to say, so he just hummed in response.

Jiang Jian didn't say anything more. He glanced at his watch, turned, and walked towards the Audi. After taking a couple of steps, he stopped, opened the trunk, and took out a beautifully wrapped gift box.

"Oh, right." He handed the gift box to Su Ming, "This was originally for your cousin, but I forgot to take it. Could you take it up for me?"

Su Ming took the gift box and looked down. It was a gift box of donkey-hide gelatin, with exquisite packaging, and it didn't look cheap at all.

Jiang Jian looked at him, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness as he instructed, "Take good care of your cousin while I'm gone. It's not easy for her all by herself."

Su Ming nodded, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.

Jiang Jian didn't look at him again, turned around, opened the car door, bent down and sat inside.

Liu Sheng quickly walked to the driver's seat and started the car.

The black Audi slowly drove away, its taillights gradually fading into the night before disappearing around the street corner.

Su Ming stood there, holding the gift box in his hands, gazing in the direction the car had disappeared, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

Jiang Jian's kind attitude, his caring advice, and his bold statement of "I'll take care of it if anything goes wrong"...

At first glance, this person seems very easy to get along with!

But for some reason, Su Ming always felt that there was something hidden behind that kindness.

He couldn't quite explain what it was, but the feeling was like a thorn stuck in his heart.

With mixed feelings, Su Ming went upstairs.

The hallway was quiet, with motion-activated lights turning on and off floor by floor. He went up to the seventh floor, took out his key, and gently opened the door.

The room was pitch black, with only the streetlights from outside shining through the window, casting blurry shadows on the floor.

Just as Su Ming was about to turn on the light, he suddenly heard a sound—a soft sob, like someone suppressing their tears.

His heart sank. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was coming from the bedroom.

My cousin's wife cried?

Su Ming walked quickly to the bedroom door and was about to knock when the door suddenly opened from the inside.