Chapter 49

An Xiaohai didn’t speak. After glancing at Guo Xiangshui, he lowered his head.

At times like this, one must be especially careful. Although this result was exactly what An Xiaohai had hoped for, he couldn’t agree too quickly, or else all the effort he had put in before would be in vain.

Guo Xiangshui was an old fox, so he clearly knew the twists and turns involved. He smiled as he walked over and sat down next to An Xiaohai, looking very friendly.

“Ahai, let’s take a step back. This situation can’t keep going on like this, it won’t be good for anyone.

When you weren’t here, Director Mo already said that if something like this happens again on the 27th, including him, everyone will be in trouble.

Just do me a favor and let this matter go. What do you say?”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to give you face, Brother Shui, I’ve already said it, I just want to quietly serve my sentence. It was them who started this trouble.”

“This isn’t entirely their fault. The bunk you’re sleeping in belongs to A Qiang, and A Qiang and A De are good brothers. When A Qiang left, A De was obviously upset, because loyalty is important in life!”

Guo Xiangshui put his arm around An Xiaohai’s shoulder, trying to persuade him, looking like a wise older brother.

“Then does that mean the sentence I got for this is just going to be forgotten?”

“Of course! What else can we do? We can’t let A De compensate you, right? And besides, you beat him up like that, he’s a big boss, does he have no pride? He’s also getting a longer sentence.

Alright, let’s all take a step back. Let’s consider this matter settled. Give him some face, give me some face, give everyone some face. Is that okay?

A De, what do you think? Say something. If it’s really not enough, let Ahai sleep on my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor. That way, you’ll still have face. How about it?”

Zhao De didn’t respond, instead avoiding An Xiaohai and Guo Xiangshui’s gazes. It was clear he was ready to back down. However, he couldn’t even speak because his throat was still swollen.

“Alright, alright, what’s the big deal? It’s better to be peaceful. We’re here for the long haul, why make things difficult? Alright, let’s agree on this, okay?”

An Xiaohai looked at Guo Xiangshui and then at Zhao De for a long while before finally nodding.

“Alright, I’ll listen to Brother Shui. But if they provoke me again, it’ll be an all-out fight.”

“Haha, an all-out fight!

See, this is what it means to be well-educated! We just know how to say things like ‘I’ll kill you,’ right? Did you hear that? Let this matter rest now, and you should learn from Ahai in the future.

Lack of education is truly scary!

Alright, let’s keep things peaceful, everyone rest, rest now!”

Guo Xiangshui laughed and walked off, and the tense atmosphere in Cell 27 finally eased.

An Xiaohai didn’t say anything more. After giving Peng Yuangui a look, he lay down on his bed to rest. It had been almost a month since the last time he had been able to lie on this bed.

That night, Cell 27 felt unusually quiet.

Clearly, everyone understood that whether An Xiaohai and Zhao De’s group had truly made peace would depend on whether anything happened that night.

An Xiaohai barely slept at all that night, not out of fear of Zhao De’s revenge. On the contrary, An Xiaohai was sure that Zhao De would not come after him in the short term, otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked Guo Xiangshui to act as a mediator.

It was already clear that this prison could not accommodate kind-hearted people.

Guo Xiangshui, who could speak in Cell 27, was definitely not a kind person, and his role as a mediator was certainly not because of the reason he claimed.

Either he had his own interests at stake and didn’t want to get dragged into this, or Zhao De’s group had asked him to step in; it was even possible that he had been secretly instigating things from the start.

Anything was possible!

But since Guo Xiangshui had spoken up, if Zhao De tried to go after him, it would be seen as disrespecting Guo Xiangshui. So, it was highly likely that Zhao De and his group would lay low for a while.

An Xiaohai couldn’t sleep because his mind suddenly filled with strange and weird thoughts.

What would it feel like after death? Would everyone get a second chance at life, like him…?

The New Year was coming soon, and Lin Xuan’er must have started her winter break by now. Would she come to visit him next month…?

No, he had to remind his mom. She must not find out about the increased sentence…

—

It seemed like life had suddenly returned to normal, which was exactly what An Xiaohai wanted, but he couldn’t shake a sense of inexplicable boredom.

At this moment, An Xiaohai suddenly understood why prisoners in jail sometimes caused trouble or got easily stirred up emotionally.

No matter what unexpected situations occurred, it was like tossing a stone into a stagnant pond, adding a little excitement to the monotonous prison life.

So, everyone in here, to some extent, was hoping for something unexpected to happen.

An Xiaohai quietly went on with his life, his guard only increasing.

This guard wasn’t against Zhao De, but against Gui Liu. From the beginning until now, Gui Liu’s group had been too quiet, unusually quiet.

Just like in Cell 232, the prisoners in Cell 27 were deliberately avoiding An Xiaohai, except for Peng Yuangui. Apart from work and sleep, Peng Yuangui stuck to An Xiaohai almost like a shadow.

An Xiaohai was really curious why money had such a strong hold on Peng Yuangui. He was even willing to go against a group of ruthless criminals for money.

But An Xiaohai held back from asking him.

Everyone had their own troubles. The more you know, the more trouble you have!

“Peng Yuangui, are you in a hurry for money? If you are, I can help by having my friends send something to your family.”

During mealtime, An Xiaohai quietly asked.

“No, not in a hurry,” Peng Yuangui shook his head, then pointed to his head. “I have something growing here, it’s dangerous, I might die anytime.”

“So, you need the money for treatment? Will it work? How much does it cost?”

An Xiaohai thought Peng Yuangui was desperate for a family member, but it turned out it was for himself.

“They say it can be treated, but it’s not too expensive, just 20,000 for surgery.

I’m not going to get treated. I’ll just leave it.

The doctor said it’s a big risk, might not even survive the surgery. I need money not for that, but to leave something for my son. I can’t die and leave him nothing.”

So, it was for his son.

After learning the truth, An Xiaohai didn’t know how to feel. To Peng Yuangui, this was fatherly love, but to the victims, it was a disaster!

“You owe me 15,000, remember to pay me back when you get out!” Peng Yuangui said with his mouth full of food, his voice muffled.

“15,000? Did you take care of Wu Guanhai?”

“Yeah, hehe! Last month during work, I smashed his knee with a rock. He should never be able to stand again. If he gets treated, I’ll smash it again. I’ll make sure your money is well spent!”

“You did this to get into Area A?”

“Yes, and added more time.”

“How much more time?”

“Two years.” Peng Yuangui held up two fingers.

An Xiaohai suddenly felt uneasy. He had almost forgotten about this matter, but it turned out Peng Yuangui never forgot and actually went through with it.

“An Xiaohai, your family is here to see you. Finish your meal and go meet them!”

An Xiaohai was about to say something else when Mo Qinglian walked over and tapped the table.

An Xiaohai didn’t have time to ask more questions. After quickly finishing his meal, he stood up and left.

It was unusual for his family to visit at this time, and An Xiaohai worried that something might have happened.