On the dimly lit street, Lín Zhēn and Zuǒ Hēi wandered aimlessly, a sense of helplessness mixed with the comfort of urban life on their faces.
Lín Zhēn glanced at Zuǒ Hēi, noticing his dispirited expression, and asked, "Zuǒ Hēi, you have good taste. How did you meet that woman?"
Zuǒ Hēi replied, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Then forget it. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. When you're interested, tell me properly. I'm very interested in this Jiangnan Bar."
To be precise, he was actually very interested in the madam/owner of the Jiangnan Bar. He had a bad premonition that he would meet her again soon, and he hoped it would be for the best.
In the night breeze, he shook his head. He saw the vibrant city streets under the neon lights. This long-lost haven of tenderness had been lost to memory for a long time. Now, to re-experience this journey and life, he was actually a little excited and expectant.
"Brother Zhen, where are we going now?" Zuǒ Hēi asked.
"Everyone goes home to their own families."
"Ah..." Zuǒ Hēi stopped, slightly surprised.
"Brother Zhen, do you have any relatives left in Jiāngnán City?"
"Mmm, I'm going to my mother-in-law's house." Lín Zhēn said shamelessly, already planning the next step before the first one was even underway.
"When did you get married?"
"I'm not telling you," Lín Zhēn replied.
"Uh..."
After confirming Zuǒ Hēi's address, Lín Zhēn hailed a taxi. Under Zuǒ Hēi's astonished gaze, he quickly disappeared at the end of the vibrant street.
"Didn't you say you were out of money?" Zuǒ Hēi, in the night breeze, was utterly confused!
After a taxi ride of about an hour, Lín Zhēn arrived at the entrance of a high-end villa complex. Regardless of what was said, no matter what, how, or what not, the security guards simply wouldn't let him in.
Seeing Lín Zhēn sitting in the front passenger seat with a dark expression, not getting out of the car, the driver said helplessly, "Sir, this is as far as I can go. The fare is one hundred and three. To bring good luck, you can just give me one hundred."
Lín Zhēn's lips twitched slightly. He raised his hand slightly. If Zuǒ Hēi were there, he would have thought Lín Zhēn was about to beat up the driver.
However, he didn't. Instead, he waved to the security guard outside the car window and said, "Please call the owner of unit eighty-eight. Tell them their son-in-law doesn't have a pass and can't get in... and ask them to send me one hundred and three yuan."
The driver and the security guard were stunned.
"Damn, he doesn't even have a hundred bucks... what kind of son-in-law is that poor?" Everyone living here was either a tycoon or the child of one.
The security guard looked at Lín Zhēn in disbelief, his gaze suspicious. "Sorry, we can't disturb the owners at night. You can call him yourself to send it out."
"I don't have a phone."
The driver, feeling a bit frustrated, took out his phone and dialed. "What's the number? I'll use mine."
Lín Zhēn scratched the back of his head. "I didn't ask for his number."
"Ahem, young man, can you be more professional? If you don't know anything, it's hard for me to cooperate with you."
The driver increasingly suspected that this young man was a scammer, not only trying to get a free ride but also intending to steal from the Jiāngnán City high-end villa complex.
The security guard eyed Lín Zhēn and the taxi driver warily, then turned and signaled to his companions. The security guards immediately became alert.
"Parking is strictly forbidden here. Please leave quickly," the security guard said.
"I..." Lín Zhēn was speechless. Doing things honestly felt like courting death.
Lín Zhēn looked at the driver and said with a wry smile, "I don't have a single cent on me. I can only find someone inside."
"Then what do you have on you that's worth a hundred, that you can trade?" The driver had lost his patience, cursing his bad luck. If Lín Zhēn hadn't looked like he wasn't involved in any shady business and wasn't a bad person, he might have thought the other party was doing this intentionally.
Lín Zhēn had nothing in his pockets. Besides his clothes, the only other possessions he had were the Jade thumb ring on his thumb and a few small throwing knives hidden at his waist.
He couldn't possibly whip out his small throwing knives; wouldn't that be considered a robbery...
Lín Zhēn spread his hands and said, "The only thing I have is this Jade thumb ring. But this is the only thing my mother left me; it's very meaningful. You don't want it, do you?"
The driver eyed the Jade thumb ring in his hand, his expression clearly indicating his interest.
Lín Zhēn quickly said, "Pull over up ahead. Give me five minutes, and I'll give you double, how about that?"
"Leave the Jade thumb ring here, and I'll believe you," the driver, an old hand, wouldn't easily believe such words.
"Wait a moment..."
Lín Zhēn, also getting annoyed, got out of the car and approached the security captain. "Make a call for me. I'll take responsibility for any issues..."
"Hmph, can you afford to take responsibility? If you don't leave, don't blame me for being impolite." The security captain's face had already soured.
Lín Zhēn thought for a moment, took off the Jade thumb ring, and said, "Hold this as collateral. I'll go in and find the person directly, or you can call him. If there's any loss, this can be used as compensation."
The security captain took it, glanced at it, and sneered, "A worthless piece of rock, and you treat it like a treasure. Scram, don't be a nuisance here."
Saying that, he casually tossed the Jade thumb ring away.
Lín Zhēn, with quick eyes and hands, intercepted the Jade thumb ring in an instant. He said coldly, "What did you say? You judge people by their appearance. Don't forget your position. Do you always look down on people like this?"
"You, you dare to curse me, you're looking for death!"
The security captain didn't see the speed with which Lín Zhēn intercepted the Jade thumb ring, but the security guards behind him and the taxi driver did. They found it incredible; many thought they were seeing things in the dark.
The driver, who had been losing his temper, now calmed down.
The speed was so fast that almost at the same moment the security captain threw it, Lín Zhēn's hand shot out and firmly grasped it.
The security captain angrily lunged forward, trying to push Lín Zhēn down.
However, before his hand could touch Lín Zhēn, it was firmly gripped by a steady and powerful hand.
The security captain felt a sharp pain from his wrist.
Lín Zhēn said coldly, "I was in the wrong tonight, and I won't argue with you. Now, call for me. I don't have the patience to waste words with you here."
The security captain's facial muscles twitched a few times, clearly enduring the pain in his wrist. Unfortunately, after less than three seconds, his angry shouts subsided.
"If the person you're looking for isn't here, don't blame me for being rude."
"If the person I'm looking for isn't here, you can do whatever you want with me. But if they are?"
The security captain said coldly, "If the person you're looking for is indeed here, I'll let you in immediately, apologize to you, and call you 'brother' whenever I see you from afar, how about that?"
"Hmph, I don't have a subordinate who looks down on people like you. Unit eighty-eight, the owner's surname is Lǐ. His name is Lǐ Dàolín." Lín Zhēn said.
The security captain, sweating from the pain, hurriedly told a security guard behind him, "Quickly check if the owner's surname is Lǐ."
That person responded and ran into the security booth. After a while, he came out and said, "That's right, his name is Lǐ Dàolín. We've already called him."
Lín Zhēn breathed a sigh of relief and let go of the security captain. He said lightly, "Hmph, open your dog eyes later and see if I'm lying to you."