The man seemed taken aback, not expecting Bian Yiqiu, who was known for his ruthless and heartless ways, to let him go so easily. He froze for a moment before kneeling and repeatedly kowtowing. “Thank you, Qiu-ge, thank you, Qiu-ge…”

“Your life is spared, but from now on, don’t gamble again,” Bian Yiqiu said, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. His tone sounded somewhat consolatory.

“I won’t gamble again, never again…”

“Well then, to eliminate the possibility of you gambling again, what do you think we should do?” Bian Yiqiu bent down, smiling at the man. This time, his smile was genuine, but it was far more chilling than any previous expression.

“Qiu-ge…” The man was so terrified that his voice began to tremble.

Bian Yiqiu was satisfied with the man’s reaction. Still smiling, he instructed his subordinates, “Crush all his finger bones for me, and remember, do it one by one. If you miss one, you’ll make up for it yourselves. Understand?”

After saying that, he didn’t spare the man another glance and turned to leave.

“Qiu-ge, Qiu-ge, spare me… Qiu-ge, you can’t do this to me… Bian Yiqiu… Ahhhhhh—”

The anguished screams echoed through the silent warehouse. Bian Yiqiu didn’t even furrow his brow, walking away with calm and composure.

If you make a mistake, you must pay the price. That’s Boss Bian’s rule.

After leaving the warehouse, he got into the car with He Xu sitting beside him in the back, while Zuo Cheng drove, leaving the front passenger seat empty.

After a while, Bian Yiqiu suddenly reached out his hand toward He Xu.

He Xu took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him.

Bian Yiqiu said, “Phone.”

He Xu placed the cigarette in his mouth and took out his phone. “What do you want to do?”

“Requisitioned,” Bian Yiqiu replied as he took the phone. While driving, Zuo Cheng, never missing a beat, pulled a SIM card ejector from his wallet and handed it to him. Then, with He Xu’s cries of despair in the background, Bian Yiqiu casually swapped the SIM card.

As soon as he powered the phone on, a call came in. It was from Ke Mingxuan.

He frowned, pressed the answer button, and held the phone to his ear. “Is there something you need?”

“Did you like the gift I sent you?” Ke Mingxuan’s voice came through the phone, laced with amusement.

“What gift?” Bian Yiqiu paused, then remembered the half-dead man in the warehouse. “Zhou Ming was your doing?”

“Who else would it be? Do you think it was your useless subordinates?”

“Ke Mingxuan, watch your tone.” While it was true that his subordinates had been a bit inefficient in this matter, it was still none of Ke Mingxuan’s business to criticize them.

“Alright, alright, I won’t mention your useless subordinates. Let’s talk about something else,” Ke Mingxuan replied.

“You fucking…”

“Next weekend, a few friends are going off-roading at Fengling. Are you coming?” Ke Mingxuan said he wanted to change the topic, and he really did.

Bian Yiqiu thought for a moment. “Are Chu Yi and Lu Xiao going?”

Hearing “Lu Xiao,” both He Xu and Zuo Cheng in the car perked up.

On the other end of the line, Ke Mingxuan seemed to be doing something, but when he heard this, he immediately laughed. “So, do you want them to go, or don’t you?”

“Don’t want to.” He was afraid that if he saw Chu Yi, he wouldn’t be able to control his fists.

“How much do you like Lu Xiao? So much that you don’t even dare to meet him.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Alright, not my business. But I have to responsibly remind you again, Lu Xiao is one of my brother’s people. Stop thinking about it. You won’t get anywhere.”

“Young Master Ke, you’ve said this to me countless times in different places, at different times, and in different situations. The way you keep repeating it, you’re making it very easy for me to misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand what?” Ke Mingxuan asked, playing along.

“Misunderstand that you’ve fallen for me?”

Ke Mingxuan laughed on the other end of the phone like he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world. In fact, Bian Yiqiu even heard a young man whining in the background, asking what was going on.

Bian Yiqiu didn’t need to guess, it was probably one of Ke Mingxuan’s little lovers. Young, pretty, obedient, and sweet, just the type Ke Mingxuan liked.

For some reason, Bian Yiqiu found that laughter rather grating. He, of course, knew Ke Mingxuan wasn’t in love with him. In fact, he had no affection for Ke Mingxuan at all. But damn, who would have thought that two men who couldn’t stand each other would somehow maintain such a bizarre friends-with-benefits relationship?

Every time he thought about this, Bian Yiqiu felt like life was just full of damn miracles.

Without waiting for Ke Mingxuan to finish laughing, Bian Yiqiu hung up the phone.

Two minutes later, Ke Mingxuan called again to ask if he was going for the off-road trip. Bian Yiqiu replied, “Send me the time and route,” then hung up the phone again.

Ke Mingxuan quickly sent a message. Before Bian Yiqiu had even finished reading the first one, the second one came through: “Is there any hope for you to stop hanging up before people finish speaking?”

“Too far gone, no cure,” Bian Yiqiu replied with a few words, then promptly turned off his phone and closed his eyes to rest, completely ignoring the eager curiosity from He Xu and Zuo Cheng beside him.