VIP Volume, Chapter 060: Background

Guandu was someone who had seen the world; when it came to eating, he absolutely knew where to go. He surpassed Ye Xiaoxuan’s expectations, going straight for luxury—a five-star street stall! All around, bare-chested men shouted and drank, their faces flushed from the alcohol; in truth, this was but a roadside food stand, only named “Five-Star.”

On a grimy counter, so filthy its original color was indiscernible, lay an array of raw ingredients. Beside it, two large stoves held hefty pots, one of which emitted a mouthwatering aroma impossible to conceal.

The owner of this stall was Hong Five-Star, an old acquaintance of Guandu. His plump face creased into a smile so broad his eyes vanished, as he handed Guandu a cigarette, lighting it for him. “Chief Guan, the usual tonight?”

Guandu shook his head. “Tonight, let’s have the beef offal. Three pounds to start, and three bottles of beer!” Ye Xiaoxuan scoffed, “For someone with your title, you’re stingy! What you ordered wouldn’t even be enough for my brother alone!”

Guan Ling retorted angrily, “It’s already good we have this much. You think my dad earns several thousand a month?”

Guandu roared with laughter, turning to Ye Xiaoxuan. “If it’s not enough, we’ll order more. If we get too much at once, it’ll go to waste—I hate wasting food. Don’t worry, I can’t promise much, but I guarantee you’ll eat your fill!”

Ye Dajun, face flushed, said to Guan Ling, “Don’t listen to Xiaosan’s nonsense, I actually don’t eat much.”

Guan Ling nodded, seeing through the brothers: one honest and dull, the other cunning and sly. She had no wish to show a face to the honest one. After a moment, she realized and glared at Ye Dajun. “What does it matter to me how much you eat?”

Drinking beer and eating offal, Ye Xiaoxuan gazed at Guandu and asked, “Chief Guan, what is it you want to know from me?”

Guan Ling snorted, set down her drink, and fixed Ye Xiaoxuan with a stare. “Ye Xiaoxuan, nicknamed Ye Third, born in the third month of the Dinghai year. Three years in primary school, two in middle school, then dropped out. Failed at both academics and martial arts! No steady job, habitual theft, but no criminal record!”

“Pfft!” Ye Xiaoxuan spat a mouthful of beer onto the ground, startled, and looked at Guandu. “You know my name?”

Guandu smiled. “Lingling is our station’s living computer. Any information she’s seen, she never forgets.”

“Hey!” Ye Xiaoxuan grinned, nudging Ye Dajun. “See, even I’m a bit of a celebrity!”

Guan Ling sneered. “Is a reputation for being useless worth showing off?”

Ye Xiaoxuan’s face darkened, furious at being insulted by a brat. He slammed the table, stood up, and shouted, “Who are you calling useless?”

Guan Ling, having tolerated him all evening, finally felt vindicated. Her large eyes glanced at him, she snorted, “I didn’t name names. Whoever fits knows.”

Guandu shot Guan Ling a glare, then pulled Ye Xiaoxuan by the arm, smiling. “Little brother, don’t be angry. This girl talks that way, don’t take it to heart.”

Ye Xiaoxuan rolled his eyes, exhaled, and sat back down. “Whenever you call me ‘brother,’ all my anger disappears.”

“Bang!” Guan Ling kicked and shattered an empty beer bottle.

Ye Xiaoxuan put down his glass, leaned forward, and asked Guandu, “Chief Guan, do you believe in lake monsters?”

Guandu laughed, leaning forward as well. “I only care where you spent those six days.”

Ye Xiaoxuan shrugged. “What if I tell you I don’t know myself—would you believe it?”

Guandu’s face darkened. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered Ye Xiaoxuan one. Ye Xiaoxuan waved it away, indicating he wouldn’t smoke. Guandu lit his own, taking a deep drag. “Little brother, forty people died in Daxian Lake. Do you realize how big this case is?”

Ye Xiaoxuan gave a bitter smile. “You think I’m a suspect? Someone as useless as me, who can’t do anything right, could kill forty strong men?”

Guan Ling clapped and laughed. “Ha! You admitted it yourself, didn’t you? Dad, don’t glare at me, just let me enjoy it—I feel so much better now!”

Ye Xiaoxuan and Guandu both fell silent.

Guandu fixed his gaze on Ye Xiaoxuan, scanning him from head to toe, his brows furrowing ever deeper. Ye Xiaoxuan, unnerved by the scrutiny, clutched the holes in his ragged shirt. “Don’t look at me like that—you’re as creepy as a pervert.”

Guandu smiled, unbothered. “Before, I probably wouldn’t have believed you could kill anyone. But now…” He stopped, raised his glass, and took a sip.

Ye Xiaoxuan panicked, grabbing Guandu’s hand. “Chief Guan, don’t say such things! I cut my own hand even when slaughtering a chicken, let alone killing people! Besides, you police solve cases with evidence, right? Spouting nonsense can ruin lives!”

Guandu squinted at him. Ye Xiaoxuan feared nothing more than people squinting their eyes; when Hua Lingluo squinted, she kicked him into Daxian Lake, nearly drowning him.

Now, Guandu squinting was far more frightening than Hua Lingluo. This man was the station chief—one wrong move and he could lose his head.

Guandu smiled ambiguously. “You yourself are the evidence. You vanished in Daxian Lake for six days and returned unharmed—is that ordinary? You were dropped from five floors by a nearly hundred-pound ladder, yet only your clothes were torn. Even a martial master couldn’t manage that, could they? Isn’t that proof enough?”

Ye Xiaoxuan laughed instead. “Then you can’t suspect me, because I didn’t have time to commit the crime.”

Guandu nodded. “That’s why I’m drinking and chatting with you as a friend, not taking your statement at the station. Ye Third, being my friend isn’t a disgrace, is it?”

Ye Xiaoxuan grew serious. “Brother Guan…” Instantly, Guan Ling reached for a beer bottle, ready to smash it. Ye Xiaoxuan glared at her. “We each call what we like! I feel a connection to your father—it’s not about taking advantage!”

Guan Ling snapped, “Then wait till I’m gone before you call him that!” Ye Xiaoxuan pondered, then shook his head. “No, you look like you’ll outlive me.”

Guan Ling was about to lose her temper again. Guandu put on a stern face. “Let’s get to business. I want to know where you were during those six days.”

Ye Xiaoxuan took a deep breath. “Honestly, I don’t know myself! I know you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth. My memory is that I spent a day on the boat, yet everyone says I was in the lake for a week.”

This answer was hard to accept. Guandu and Guan Ling exchanged bewildered looks, even Ye Dajun was confused—Ye Xiaoxuan had never told him any of this.

Ye Xiaoxuan shrugged. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth. Really, you should focus on the main players. Those people never left—why not investigate them?”

Guandu replied in a low voice, “You think I don’t want to? I don’t dare. Orders from above: those people are untouchable! The Nine Gates’ men, living in Qiyun Tower—do you not know their background?”

Ye Xiaoxuan and Ye Dajun shook their heads in confusion. Guan Ling snapped, “Idiots—they’re from the Qitian Group!”