NMBJ2 - 24

Gao Jiyi drove his family to Fang Langming’s vineyard in Miyun for a weekend getaway.

Lu Xiaojiang had returned.

The men gathered by the pond to fish.

Gao Jiyi’s son fell on the grass and began wailing loudly. Lu Xiaojiang’s wife was quietly complaining about bugs in the room the previous night, and Ouyang Qingqing’s nanny couldn’t find the scoop for the baby formula. Despite all the women and children causing a ruckus, the three men remained seated by the pond, completely unfazed, which was infuriating to watch. By the afternoon, the women took the children back to the city to go shopping at the mall.

In the afternoon, the three men decided to have hotpot for dinner at the winery.

Gao Jiyi was quite pleased and immediately called over a young girl to make tea. The girl was a sales representative at the winery, someone Gao Jiyi, a regular visitor, was familiar with. After finishing a phone call with his wife, Fang Langming turned to Lu Xiaojiang and asked, “Are things still the same with you and Zhouzi?”

Lu Xiaojiang nodded but didn’t dare speak.

Gao Jiyi remembered the situation. “Langming, did you call him today?”

Fang Langming shook his head. “I did. He said he was busy.”

“Did you tell him Xiaojiang was back?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, that’s strange. I thought he wasn’t coming because Xiaojiang was here,” Gao Jiyi teased, making Lu Xiaojiang look downcast.

Fang Langming said, “His phone is always on, but sometimes Xiao Min answers it. Still, I haven’t seen him in half a year.”

Gao Jiyi pushed the girl sitting on his lap aside and said with some confusion, “I’ve seen him twice, but it was at the Sheraton. He was waiting on his boss like a servant, and we didn’t even get to talk.”

To be honest, Fang Langming found it odd too. Zhao Pingjin had been in Beijing, and it was rare for their group of friends not to see him. “The strangest thing was at my dad’s birthday party. Even Xiao Min came, but there was no sign of him.”

“I think his position has gone to his head. No matter how busy he is, he has to eat, right? Can he really be that busy?” Gao Jiyi complained as he took out his phone. “Let’s see if he picks up.”

Gao Jiyi dialed. After two rings, he gestured for everyone to be quiet.

The call connected.

Lowering his voice to sound urgent, Gao Jiyi said into the phone, “Zhouzi, where are you?”

“Something happened at the winery, bro.”

“Last time I drove here, I wrecked a Buick Regal on the highway. Didn’t think much of it then, but now Old Lai is here, and he’s blocking the hall.”

“Call the cops? Come on, that’s embarrassing!”

“It’s a holiday, and no one’s around. Langming and I were fishing this afternoon.”

“There aren’t many people. Just us and two security guards. I already told them—if they win, they get half a year’s bonus. If they cripple someone, Gao-ge will take care of their wives and kids!”

The group in the tea room was stunned, then burst out laughing, holding their stomachs as they tried to contain themselves. Gao Jiyi was a master of fabricating nonsense on the fly.

“You coming or not?”

Gao Jiyi passed the phone to Fang Langming to back him up. “Langming, say something.”

Fang Langming, barely keeping a straight face, took the phone and spoke urgently, even more convincingly than Gao Jiyi. “Zhouzi, hurry up and save us.”

Gao Jiyi wandered around the room, spotted an empty tea tray on the table, and picked it up. He smashed it onto the table, breaking two plates and scattering glass cups on the floor. A woman screamed in shock. Gao Jiyi shouted toward the empty doorway, “Screw your grandpa!”

Fang Langming flinched and accidentally hung up the phone. Furious, he yelled, “Gao, you bastard! Those were glasses I brought back from Austria!”

Gao Jiyi grinned sheepishly. “I’ll replace them, I promise.”

An hour later.

Through the glass window, Gao Jiyi saw a black car speed through the open gates from afar.

“That was fast,” Gao Jiyi said with a smug grin, clearly pleased his scheme had worked. He turned to Lu Xiaojiang. “You’d better hide for now.”

Fang Langming, busy putting lamb slices into the hotpot, said, “Is that necessary?”

“It is,” Gao Jiyi insisted. “Let him sit down first. If he finds out he was tricked the moment he walks in, you know how he is. This time, it won’t just be Xiaojiang getting punched; the two of us won’t get off lightly either.”

Lu Xiaojiang got up. “I’ll go back to my room.”

The car pulled into the courtyard. Gao Jiyi immediately shouted loudly, “Zhouzi, hurry up!”

Zhao Pingjin stepped out of the car, took one look around, and saw no sign of any gangsters—just a group of people gathered under the veranda, with a copper hotpot from Donglaishun burning charcoal and bubbling with mutton slices.

Zhao Pingjin’s face darkened immediately. He strode toward the veranda with a grim expression.

Seeing his face, Gao Jiyi yelled, “Langming, stop him! He’s going to flip the hotpot!”

Zhao Pingjin turned and started to walk away.

Gao Jiyi quickly ran over and put an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t be like that. Stay a while, sit down.”

Zhao Pingjin didn’t sit. He spotted a carton of cigarettes on the table. Opening it, he took a pack and stuffed it into his pocket.

Gao Jiyi protested, “Hey, don’t waste that! I went through a lot to get those from my old man.”

Ignoring him, Zhao Pingjin opened two more packs and tossed them to a young staff member standing nearby. “High Brother’s treat.”

The young man, holding the national supply white-label cigarettes, exclaimed excitedly, “Thanks, High Brother!”

Gao Jiyi glared at Zhao Pingjin with a forced smile, his teeth clenched.

Zhao Pingjin took out a cigarette and lit it. The taste wasn’t great—a strange herbal flavor. Holding the cigarette, he glanced at Gao Jiyi and said, “Your dad walks into his study every day. Is it necessary to cling to such trivial things?”

Gao Jiyi burst out laughing. “Will you sit down already? Langming, get Zhouzi a bowl.”

Zhao Pingjin said flatly, “I’ve got something to do. I need to leave.”

He really left.

As Zhao Pingjin walked away, he turned back after a few steps, pointed at Gao Jiyi’s nose, and cursed, “Are you childish or what?”

Gao Jiyi was so furious that he shot to his feet with a loud gasp.

Zhao Pingjin waved dismissively without turning back and strolled away nonchalantly.

Gao Jiyi watched him get into his car, which roared to life and sped out of the winery’s courtyard.

Fuming, Gao Jiyi jabbed at the coals in the brazier with a pair of tongs, muttering, “That guy really knows how to kill the mood.”

Then he turned to Fang Langming, “Hey, second brother, when you see him, you ought to put in a word for Xiaojing, you know.”

Fang Langming replied leisurely, “Alright, but you know what Pingjin’s like. When he figures things out, he’ll come around on his own. That said, why was he in such a good mood today?”

Gao Jiyi froze for a moment, his arm still wrapped around the young girl’s waist.

Fang Langming shook his head and picked up a piece of lamb from the pot, dipping it in sesame sauce before eating slowly.

Something about the whole situation felt off to Fang Langming.

As night fell, the wind picked up, carrying with it fine snow.

After dinner, Gao Jiyi refrained from drinking since he’d recently had a gout flare-up. Instead, the group gathered in the small parlor for tea.

At around nine o’clock, Shen Min called.

“Is Pingjin with you?”

Fang Langming answered the phone and casually replied, “He just left.”

Shen Min pressed on, her tone unusually anxious, “Did he leave by himself?”

Fang Langming, feeling drowsy after the meal, gestured for Lu Xiaojing to refill his tea. “Yeah, I think so.”

Shen Min’s concern was evident, something rare for her. “How long ago?”

“About half an hour, give or take.”

“Did he drink any alcohol?”

“No, he didn’t even sit down.”

Shen Min let out a faint “Alright.”

Just as she was about to hang up, Fang Langming stopped her. “Wait a second. Min, what’s going on?”

Shen Min wasn’t one to panic easily. Usually meticulous and composed, she sighed and explained, “He just had a gastroscopy this afternoon and was resting at home.”

Fang Langming’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced across the table at Gao Jiyi, whose expression also darkened. Setting his tea down, Gao Jiyi asked, “Did something happen?”

Fang Langming pressed further, “Min, tell us clearly—what’s the matter?”

Shen Min was already on her way out, having grabbed her coat and keys. As she stepped into the elevator, she responded hurriedly, “I’m worried something might happen to him if he’s alone. Lately, when he’s by himself…”

The signal suddenly cut out.

Fang Langming stood up abruptly, still holding the phone. Without a word, he bolted for the door.

Gao Jiyi and Lu Xiaojing quickly followed.

As they reached the entrance, Fang Langming yelled at the gatekeeper to open up, all the while shouting to Gao Jiyi, “Old Gao, get the car!”

The three of them jumped into Gao Jiyi’s car. Before the other two could even fasten their seatbelts, Gao Jiyi slammed on the gas, sending the vehicle shooting forward.

“What route would he have taken back?” Gao Jiyi asked, gripping the wheel tightly.

Fang Langming, nearly thrown from his seat, clutched the backrest to steady himself. He redialed Shen Min. “Min, where are you?”

“I’m on the Jingcheng Expressway,” Shen Min replied, “Liu the driver and I are heading there now.”

The wind howled past on the highway.

Snowflakes hit the windshield, wiped away repeatedly by the wipers. Gao Jiyi pressed hard on the gas, overtaking several cars as they joined the Jingcheng Expressway.

The highway wasn’t busy, and their car sped along at over 120 km/h. Thankfully, Gao Jiyi was used to driving this vehicle and handled it skillfully. But even after ten minutes of driving toward the city, they still hadn’t seen Zhao Pingjin’s car.

Eyes fixed on the road, Gao Jiyi asked repeatedly, “Do you see him yet?”

Both Fang Langming and Lu Xiaojing kept watch out the windows, answering each time, “Not yet. Keep going.”

After a while, Lu Xiaojing, sitting in the front passenger seat, suddenly shouted, “Stop!”

Startled, Gao Jiyi’s foot slipped off the gas. Reflexively, he checked the rearview mirror and then slammed on the brakes.

The car skidded on the snowy road, nearly veering into a roadside ditch. Gao Jiyi twisted the steering wheel sharply to regain control, and all three passengers were yanked back by their seatbelts.

Furious, Gao Jiyi slapped the back of Lu Xiaojing’s head. “What the hell are you shouting for?!”

Lu Xiaojing, catching his breath, unbuckled his seatbelt in a hurry. “Brother, reverse!”

Gao Jiyi and Fang Langming both turned to look behind them.

In the distance, about ten meters back on the emergency lane to their right, a black car sat parked. Its headlights and hazard lights were off, leaving only a faint outline visible in the darkness.

It was Zhao Pingjin’s car.

Gao Jiyi exhaled deeply, realizing how tense his legs had been. He shifted into reverse, eased off the brake, and backed into the emergency lane until they were near Zhao Pingjin’s car.

Turning on the hazard lights, Gao Jiyi jumped out, followed closely by Fang Langming.

Fang Langming ran over, double-checking the license plate to confirm it was Zhao Pingjin’s car. Without hesitation, he reached for the door handle.

“Pingjin!”

The car door was locked. Leaning forward, Fang Langming tried to peer inside, but the car window only reflected his distorted image, obscuring any view of the interior.

Gao Jiyi and Lu Xiaojiang came over, knocking on the car window and shouting, “Zhouzi?”

No response.

Gao Jiyi slammed his fist against the car window in frustration, shouting, “Zhou Zhou!”

The force of the punch shook the car door, making it hum.

The next second, with a soft click, the car door unlocked.

Fang Langming shoved Lu Xiaojiang aside and pulled the car door open.

Inside, Zhao Pingjin sat in the driver’s seat. His coat had been removed, leaving him in just a sweater. Between his fingers glimmered the faint red glow of a cigarette.

Fang Langming broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhao Pingjin lifted his gaze, his eyes briefly sweeping over those outside the car.

Lu Xiaojiang stepped back instinctively, retreating into the shadows.

Gao Jiyi exhaled sharply, still shaken. “You scared the hell out of us.”

Zhao Pingjin’s face was pale. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you okay?” Gao Jiyi demanded, still rattled.

Zhao Pingjin placed the cigarette between his lips, bracing himself against the car seat as he stepped out. His body wavered, forcing him to lean on the car door for support.

Now that they could see him clearly, he looked like a different person from the one who had left the winery earlier, where he had been brimming with arrogance. Alone now, his calm, almost eerie demeanor reflected his deep despondency. He seemed hoarse from smoking too much. “Why the fuss?”

Relief swept over Gao Jiyi, but it quickly turned into anger. “Damn it, Shen Min thought something had happened to you! What the hell is wrong with you, parking here in the dark without your lights on? You want to die out here? Let me tell you, Zhouzi, if something happens to you here, you’ll deserve every bit of it!”

At that moment, two cars pulled up behind them, their headlights flashing. Shen Min and the driver had arrived.

Zhao Pingjin’s brows furrowed slightly, as if enduring pain. He leaned against the car door for support.

Snow continued to fall, light and fine, collecting on their hair. Zhao Pingjin, dressed lightly, shivered in the cold. In their rush earlier, neither Fang Langming nor Gao Jiyi had put on their coats. Standing on the highway, it didn’t take long for the chill to set in.

Standing in the biting wind of the highway was a dangerous thing to do.

Shen Min approached quickly. After a glance at Zhao Pingjin, she spoke decisively, “Brother Gao, Brother Langming, thank you for your trouble, but standing here isn’t safe. Let’s head back first.”

The driver opened the car’s back door, but Zhao Pingjin still didn’t say a word. As he turned, illuminated by the car’s headlights, Lu Xiaojiang—who had been standing behind the car—noticed that Zhao Pingjin’s temples were soaked with cold sweat.

Shen Min guided him into the back seat and handed him a thermos. “Your medicine. The housekeeper just prepared it. I’ve been working all day and don’t feel safe driving tonight.”