Chapter 40 Encountering Fu Wencheng on a Mission

Crouching under the wall, Ming Leyao prayed these people were just residents of the area or would turn a corner up ahead. Please, just don’t come her way. Otherwise, in the middle of the night, she’d have to fight — and that would seriously ruin her mood.

“Gazi, seriously, you’re not a kid anymore. Can’t you be more sensible? Look how mad you made Brother Qin. All he wanted was to find you a wife, and you’re the one refusing it.”

“I won’t. I already have someone back home. She said she’d wait for me. Once I make good money, I’ll go live a happy life with her.”

“Heh, you big fool. You believe what women say? You’ve been away for months — she’s probably already run off with someone else!”

“You take that back! My Cuihua would never do that!”

“Take what back? Look at Mosquito and Xiangzi — they had wives back home too. And what happened? Didn’t they both hook up with new girls in the city? You’re too stubborn. Brother Qin’s just looking out for you.”

“No, no. Cuihua wouldn’t do that to me.”

The voices got closer, and Ming Leyao frowned in thought. Why did that big oaf’s voice sound so much like Fu Wencheng?

Before she could confirm if her guess was right, the group was already just steps away. Normally she would hide in her space, but… after a whole month of radio silence from that man, she decided to take a risk. If it really was Fu Wencheng, she needed to see for herself if he was okay.

“Who’s there? Hey, you up ahead — who is it?”

“M-me… I got lost…”

“Lost? What’s a female comrade doing wandering around in the middle of the night?”

In the blink of an eye, the five men surrounded her, eyeing her with suspicion.

“I-I wanted to go to the train station. Someone told me the way was down here… s-so I came… but it’s not here…”

Her voice trembled, even choking up a bit. The men exchanged looks. Once they got a good look at her outfit — a total country bumpkin look — most of their suspicion faded.

Too damn ugly!

“Hey, fellas, isn’t this a ready-made woman? Don’t forget what Brother Qin sent us out here for.”

“Yeah, yeah, Gazi, what do you think? Sure, she’s a little ugly, but a woman’s a woman. Turn off the lights and they’re all the same. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll understand what real pleasure is.”

“Hahaha, exactly!”

Ming Leyao: “……”
You’re ugly! Your whole damn family’s ugly!

Curling herself into a ball, Ming Leyao narrowed her eyes to get a good look at Gazi. The moment their eyes met — those deep black eyes — she was sure. This was Fu Wencheng.

And Fu Wencheng had recognized her too. He kept his dopey expression, but inside, he was a mess of anxiety and panic. As two of the men stepped forward to grab her, Ming Leyao pretended to panic, swaying back and forth as she resisted.

Fu Wencheng clenched his fists, face clouded as he watched. Just as he was about to lose control, Ming Leyao suddenly “tripped” and stumbled right into his arms. Whispering quickly into his ear, she said:

“Don’t act rashly. Improvise.”

Then she pretended to break free and ran behind him.

“Yo, Gazi! How’d it feel to hug her? Pretty nice, huh?”

When Ming Leyao had landed in his arms earlier, her soft body, slightly parted lips, and the scent of her breath had hit Fu Wencheng full force. He’d never been this close to a woman before — and certainly not his beloved. His face turned red, and his eyes glazed over in a daze.

“Look at him! He’s got that aftertaste look, hahaha!”

“Oh man, he really does! Quick, quick! Let’s go catch that woman. Gazi can have his wedding night tonight!”

The men laughed and ran after her.

Fu Wencheng quickly put on his dumb act, muttering in a slow tone:

“Brothers… brothers, let me. Since she’s meant to be my wife, don’t scare her.”

“Ohhh, look at Gazi go, already protecting her.”

“What a big softie. Such a pure little idiot.”

“No kidding. A minute ago, he was going on about how loyal he was to Cuihua. Now he’s gone soft just from hugging some chick. What a virgin.”

“Gazi, you can’t be tying yourself to just one woman!”

“You’re right, brothers. I didn’t get it before. I was wrong. Hehehe…”

Ming Leyao deliberately fell to the ground, pretending to be terrified. Listening to Fu Wencheng’s exaggerated dumb-laughing, she rolled her eyes hard.

Oscar owes you a Best Actor award, man. You’re really overdoing it!

Fu Wencheng walked up to her and, ignoring her pretend struggle, hoisted her over his shoulder and cheerfully started walking back. The crude jokes from the others covered their whispered conversation.

“Yaoyao, it’s dangerous here. When you get a chance, run.”

“Is that group your mission target?”

“Brother Qin is.”

“You’ve been back over a month — still haven’t found evidence?”

“Qin’s extremely cautious, has a strong sense of counter-surveillance. He rarely slips up.”

“Didn’t think about luring him out?”

“It’s hard to send messages. The unit’s still working on deployment. Qin’s heard rumors someone’s investigating him — he’s been holed up, doesn’t go out. And our team’s full of rough guys, they can’t fool someone like him.”

“Who can get close to Qin?”

“Yaoyao, stay out of this. He’s dangerous.”

“Just answer me.”

Fu Wencheng stayed silent — it was clear he didn’t want her involved.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll investigate on my own. It’ll be even more dangerous that way.”

“…Yaoyao.”

“Tell me.”

“There are two black markets in Nanxing City. One in the south run by a guy named Wan, the other in the north run by someone named Qiu. Qiu’s the younger brother of Qin — Qin runs things in the open, Qiu handles the shady deals. The two are behind a lot of illegal trades.”

“And the Wan guy?”

“Wan’s decent — righteous, and capable. But Qin and Qiu’s forces are too large. They’ve got their fingers in everything. Wan can’t compete.”

“I see…”

Ming Leyao didn’t say what exactly she understood. But when she noticed the men behind them starting to eye her suspiciously, she suddenly shoved herself off Fu Wencheng’s shoulder and hit the ground hard.

“I knew it! That girl was up to something!”

“Hey! Hey! Wifey, wifey, you okay?” Fu Wencheng actually panicked, genuinely worried she was hurt.

“Ahh! Help! Somebody help me!” Ming Leyao suddenly screamed, then scrambled to her feet and bolted off in another direction.