No matter what, after meeting Master Liu, Qin Sheng was more or less hopeful. Everything that Qin Sheng wanted to know was only known by the old man named Chen Changsheng. His ident.i.ty, information about his parents, and his grandfather’s life story—these are the things he wanted to know the most.
What kind of an old person he was, what kind of life he led, and what kind of setbacks he faced. All these caused him to hide at Zhongnan Mountains and die without a name. When Qin Sheng was young, he did not know. He did not know his grandfather very well. He felt that his grandfather was just like the other old men, but he was stricter and forced him to learn many things.
The older he grew, the more he felt that his grandfather was not a simple man. Those ordinary people he met when he was young were already legends and experts, yet his grandfather could still open up and chat with them so carefreely. He could tell that these people respected his grandfather from their hearts. Afterward, when they left Xi’an, the things he experienced, the people he faced, like Jiang Xianbang, Zhuang Zhou, today’s Master Liu, they could all suggest that his grandfather was not an ordinary person.
After returning from Meijiawu to the city area, Xue Qingyan insisted on dragging Qin Sheng to go shopping. She said that his outfit was all wrinkled and guessed that Lin Su did not buy him any clothes recently. Qin Sheng only forgot to iron them, on usual days, Lin Su would have his formal wear ironed and hung in the closet.
Xue Qingyan insisted on dragging him to Hangzhou Tower. It was a well-known luxury item shopping mall. However, Qin Sheng insisted on buying something ordinary and practical. He was now just a normal worker, he really could not put on such expensive clothes; others would just say that he was pretentious.
Hence, Xue Qingyan could only go to Intime Shopping Center. Other than that, she also called Su Muxue along. The two beautiful ladies shopped with Qin Sheng the whole afternoon and got him four to five sets of clothes and shoes. Qin Sheng almost became a model. He had to try on everything that they set their eyes on. The salesperson and other customers were full of admiration. With two beautiful ladies servicing him, those who did not know might think that he was some rich second generation or the son of a high official. However, this was just too tiring. Qin Sheng could not help but regret promising Xue Qingyan to come shopping.
The two beautiful ladies shopped with him for one whole afternoon, so Qin Sheng naturally had to show some form of grat.i.tude. Hence, he treated them to dinner. Summer was the best season for barbecue. Qin Sheng wanted to treat them to barbecue, but he was afraid that Su Muxue would not be used to it. After all, the stomach of these women who led high standards of living could not withstand the effect of a roadside stall. Xue Qingyan, on the other hand, had no opinions, she was already used to it. Eventually, Qin Sheng treated them to cuisine. Not the kind of high-cla.s.s restaurant that cost hundreds to a thousand per person, just a normal chain restaurant.
After dinner, Xue Qingyan and Su Muxue went to do spa together and Qin Sheng went home alone. At this moment, an unexpected call came through and the other party wanted to treat Qin Sheng to a drink. Qin Sheng hesitated for a long time and eventually agreed. However, Qin Sheng chose the location, which was his territory, Guangyin LIVE. At least, it would be safe. Because the man who called him was Yang Deng. Qin Sheng had to be wary.
Yu Yixiao was a little surprised to see Qin Sheng appear at Guangyin LIVE again. It was his third time here already and he did not know what Qin Sheng’s intention was. Yu Yixiao’s guess was that he must either really like the atmosphere here or was here to look for prey. After all, the beautiful lady from last night was really an outstanding one.
“a.s.sistant Qin, you’re here again!” Yu Yixiao walked towards Qin Sheng with smiling eyes right after he found a seat and sat down.
Qin Sheng found it interesting and said, “Seems like Lao Yu doesn’t like me here.”
“When did I say that? I wish for you to come every day!” Yu Yixiao joked. “After all, Guangyin does have a lot of beautiful women.”
Qin Sheng immediately understood what he meant. He said casually, “Lao Yu, you’re overthinking. I’m a good man who’s already attached. It’s just that my girlfriend is on a business trip recently and I’m meeting my friend here to chill.”
Yu Yixiao liked to gossip. “Oh, you’re meeting a friend? Is it that beautiful lady from last night?”
Qin Sheng pointed at him and laughed. “Hahahaha, I knew that you’re definitely over-thinking. I’m not charming enough to conquer that kind of beautiful woman in our first encounter. Besides, I’m not interested in this kind of stuff. The beautiful lady from last night is my friend. We haven’t met in a long time, so she gave me a surprise.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened. You don’t even know, after you brought that beautiful woman away, the facial expressions of all the men!” Yu Yixiao burst into laughter.
Qin Sheng answered cheerfully, “Understood.”
The two did not chat for long before Yang Deng showed up in Guangyin LIVE. He scanned the room before he found Qin Sheng. He then sat down directly and ordered two iced 1664 from a waiter.
“I thought you wouldn’t dare to agree,” Yang Deng said to Qin Sheng after ordering the drinks.
Qin Sheng, on the other hand, was very direct. “To be honest, I was a little scared. I was afraid that you would settle scores at an opportune moment. But as a real man, I cannot be a coward. Lastly, I don’t dare to not turn up when you’re in Hangzhou.”
“You thought about quite a lot of things, but I don’t like friends who are too wary,” Yang Deng said sinisterly as the corners of his lips curled up.
Qin Sheng quickly replied, “If we were friends, I definitely wouldn’t overthink. But we aren’t friends yet, I once almost killed you. I can’t stop myself from overthinking.”
The waiter quickly served their beer. Yang Deng poured himself a full gla.s.s and said, “After this gla.s.s, are we considered friends?”
Qin Sheng was a little hesitant. Yang Deng laughed and said, “Seems like you still don’t trust me. You are too skeptical. I never stab my friends behind their backs. If I don’t treat you as a friend, I would have dared to keep you that night on Nanshan Road. I wouldn’t even treat you to drinks tonight. I’m just full of admiration for you. Besides, we’re of the same age.”
Qin Sheng said at a steady pace, “Everyone’s role in the society and standpoint are different. If our places were to switch, I would definitely not be like this. But I want to live, so I must be extremely cautious.”
“Now that you said that, I finally understand you. I heard about what happened to you in Shanghai. Taking a step back, if I want to do something to you, I could just tell Yan Chaozong that you’re in Hangzhou. I don’t need to do anything at all,” Yang Deng said without any cover.
Qin Sheng’s face fell slightly. He was very clear of the fact that it was just a matter of time before Yan Chaozong found out that he was in Hangzhou. He must find a stable footing before he found out and must have external forces in order to ensure that Yan Chaozong would at least not dare to lay his finger on him in Hangzhou.
“But don’t worry, I said that I treat you as a friend, so I’ll not do anything to betray my friend. If you treat me as your friend, if Yan Chaozong comes to Hangzhou, I will also stand on your side,” Yang Deng initiated peace and said.
Qin Sheng stared at him and said nothing.
Yang Deng said reluctantly, “Are you doubting my intentions now? Why I’m putting so much attention on you? You really make me speechless! I can’t stand people who are so troublesome.”
Qin Sheng also felt that he was overthinking. If Yang Deng really wanted to lay his finger on him, there were many ways he could think of. As long as he kept to his bottom line and not make any mistakes, he could just use time to test Yang Deng.
Hence, Qin Sheng stopped thinking about it. He directly lifted up the gla.s.s and said, “Let’s drink.”
“That’s more like it,” Yang Deng said in a low voice. He kept a straight face on usual days, but there was a smile on his face today.
Yang Deng really admired Qin Sheng. Without a strong background, he did so many things in Shanghai and even triggered Shanghai’s famous Big Master Yan. On top of that, he even s.n.a.t.c.hed away the precious jewel of Ningbo’s Lin family. He was so brave!
He did not feel that Qin Sheng was rash and irrational. After all, not all things in life had to be worried about from the start to the end and have their pros and cons weighed out…
After a shot, Qin Sheng and Yang Deng became friends by name. But the word ‘friend’ had to go through the molding of time and experiences. Otherwise, it would just be a word.
Yang Deng started to talk about Qin Sheng’s past. “Regarding your story with Yan Chaozong, I heard a few different versions and do not know which is real and which is fake. Everyone said that you s.n.a.t.c.hed his fiancee and then Yan Chaozong killed both of you. At first I thought it was real and sent someone to find you. The both of you were indeed missing. But I didn’t expect to run into you in Hangzhou more than half a year later. You really make me very surprised.”
Qin Sheng sighed and said, “He indeed tried to kill me and I almost died in his hands. Perhaps it’s because I’m lucky, the King of h.e.l.l did not want to keep me, so he let me off. I then took half a year to heal my injuries. It was my second day in Hangzhou when you saw me.”
“I never believe in luck, but only true capabilities,” Yang Deng said dismissively.
Qin Sheng laughed. “What about that night between the both of us?”
“Ours is different, which is why we can sit here and drink today. I can’t be compared to you, I admit. I owe you a life and I’ll return it to you one day,” Yang Deng said casually without feeling awkward.
Qin Sheng laughed and said, “You’re also someone with feelings.”
“You can find out in Hangzhou about what kind of a person I am. I never give mercy to my enemy and go soft on them. For real friends though, I am willing to go all out,” Yang Deng said confidently. This was his style of doing things.
Qin Sheng lifted up the gla.s.s and said, “We shouldn’t talk about other things tonight. Just drink! Life is all about drinking to our hearts’ content!”
“Drunk for 36,000 rounds!” Yang Deng added.
After which, both of them started laughing at the same time. At this moment, Qin Sheng finally felt that they were fated.
However, Qin Sheng did not drink much before trouble came looking for him. The Big Miss from the Cao family called him and shouted panickily, “Qin Sheng, quickly come and save me, someone wants to beat me up!”
Qin Sheng heard that the other side of the line was a little noisy. He could not help but frown and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Come over first and I’ll tell you later. I sent you the address already,” Cao Ying said very anxiously before she hung up directly.
Qin Sheng’s facial expression fell slightly. He was worried that it would be Yuan Ke, Qian Buping that bunch of people trying to vent their anger on Cao Ying or using her to threaten Cao Da for revenge. He got up and left in a hurry.
“I have some urgent stuff to handle, I have to go now. I’ll treat you to a drink next time,” Qin Sheng said helplessly.
Yang Deng was at a loss. “What happened?”
Qin Sheng explained, “A friend is in trouble, I have to go and help.”
“I don’t have anything to do, let me go with you. You’ll have an extra pair of hands,” Yang Deng quickly stood up and said.
Qin Sheng hesitated for a moment before he nodded his head and said, “That would work too.”
After all, this was Hangzhou. Yang Deng was also someone of status here, he might be able to help. Besides, with Yang Deng’s combat abilities, even if they have to fight the other party, they would definitely not be at the disadvantaged end.
Hence, Qin Sheng brought Yang Deng towards the place that Cao Ying said…