FY - 34

Many people knew Zhao Youjin was using Feng Zhongliang, but they also wanted to leverage that connection to make money, so none would expose her.

Anyone desperate enough to try would not be allowed by Zhao Youjin and those behind her. Before he could report to Feng Zhongliang, he would surely be restrained by these people and meet a tragic end.

But Si Wen was different. Through his understanding of him during this period, Zhao Youjin knew how far his reach extended. If he were to expose her, then truly, no matter how much she struggled, she would have nowhere to escape.

She was scared, because she knew Si Wen could do it, and that was terrifying.

Zhao Youjin knelt and crawled towards Si Wen, begging him: “I beg you, please don’t let him know what I’ve done!”

Si Wen was quite amused: “Feng Zhongliang, what a figure. As long as he provides a little convenience, so many businessmen are willing to work like cattle and horses for him. Though I’m the only one with the medicine, money isn’t scarce. If you can’t compensate with medicine, compensating with money is also an option.”

“Even if the principal and three times the compensation amount reach an astronomical figure, those businessmen will still rush to compensate you.”

No! Absolutely not! Zhao Youjin couldn’t let Feng Zhongliang know. She would die, she would truly die. She pleaded with Si Wen: “Please, please don’t let him know, he’ll shoot me dead! Please!”

Si Wen then asked her: “The medicine, or keeping Feng Zhongliang from knowing your ‘illustrious’ past. Which do you choose?”

Zhao Youjin blurted out: “Don’t let him know!”

Si Wen continued: “I can help you deceive him, but you have to work for me.”

Zhao Youjin nodded like a sewing machine.

Si Wen gave a meaningful look to his subordinates. They brought over some goods and threw them in front of her.

Zhao Youjin looked, terrified out of her wits: “You, you, you... you’re drug trafficking! This is drugs! You’re breaking the law! You’re breaking the law!”

Si Wen analyzed her situation: “If the batch of goods you were robbed of doesn’t reach the buyer, you’ll at most go bankrupt, with no chance of recovery. If Feng Zhongliang finds out you’ve privately used his identity to engage in collusion between officials and businessmen, making moves and earning dirty money ‘on his behalf,’ you’re looking at twenty years minimum.”

“Work for me, and you can fill your own financial hole, and continue playing the two-faced game in front of Feng Zhongliang.”

Zhao Youjin dared not. Drug trafficking was a dead end. Having married Feng Zhongliang, she had seen the fate of drug traffickers; none of them ended well.

She also knew how deeply Feng Zhongliang abhorred drugs.

Si Wen was in no hurry, as if she would certainly agree.

Sure enough, after telling herself a hundred “no’s,” Zhao Youjin looked up: “I’ll do it.”

Si Wen’s reaction was calm.

He knew Zhao Youjin would definitely agree.

He had gone to such great lengths to make her a person with no choice. If she didn’t follow his script, would he still be the terrifying Si Wen? He was so cunning and experienced that few could escape his calculations.

Perhaps, if this happened to someone else, they would choose death. But Zhao Youjin, she couldn’t bear to die, nor was she willing to languish in prison.

She dared to use Feng Zhongliang as a get-out-of-jail-free card for her rampant bullying, illicit wealth, and evil deeds in Qizhou, so she dared to take a few more steps down the path of crime.

Why?

Why do some criminals, when faced with exposure, arrest, and committing a greater crime, choose the latter?

Because she knew that exposure and arrest meant death.

It’s the same reason why drug trafficking and smuggling require carrying guns.

Once they decide to become desperate criminals, they will carry out their crimes to the end.

The main reason is also that there’s no way back.

Zhao Youjin still had a question: “Why me?”

Si Wen answered frankly: “Your connections cover all of Qizhou. You know better than anyone who can be swayed and who can be a partner.”

Zhao Youjin’s hairs stood on end. She had already boarded the pirate ship and only then belatedly realized she had fallen into a trap.

Those few precious brain cells seemed to be activated, making her heavy head spin.

Si Wen had known all along that she was Feng Zhongliang’s wife, which was why he appeared at the casino to attract her attention. By establishing a connection with her in this way, she wouldn’t suspect he had ulterior motives, nor would the men around her.

After all, she was the one who had immediately taken a liking to Si Wen. But who would have thought that this was all Si Wen’s scheme?

He was truly confident, knowing that with his appearance, Zhao Youjin would surely fall.

Zhou Yan was likely outside of Si Wen’s plan. He didn’t expect her to provoke Zhou Yan, or perhaps he did, but didn’t think Candy would stand by idly.

As soon as the incident happened, he discarded his original plan and jumped to this current one—the most direct and brutal—directly exposing his true colors to her, showing his extreme viciousness without concealment.

When her goods were hijacked, she didn’t think too much about it at the time, but now, it’s possible Si Wen was behind it.

In all of Qizhou, even the entire country, only Dongsheng Pharmaceutical had the medicine that could fill her deficit, so she would definitely seek him out.

Then, he presented her with this choice.

If he had straight up asked her to traffic drugs, she would have refused.

The consequence of drug trafficking was a gruesome death, and bankruptcy was truly insignificant compared to that.

As foolish as she was, she could still do that calculation.

But Si Wen didn’t state his ultimate goal. He wanted to gradually, step by step, draw her into his scheme.

In the end, what seemed like a choice was, in fact, the only option.

Si Wen, this man, was truly brilliant; he understood human nature too well.

Zhao Youjin shivered.

Not just at his cunning plan, but also because he could have threatened her with Feng Zhongliang when she came to him, but he didn’t. He deliberately humiliated her, made her suffer all sorts of indignities, and only then did he throw out the Feng Zhongliang card.

He reveled in the pleasure of seeing her trampled into the mud. Rather than being driven by her value, it seemed more like revenge.

But what was he retaliating for? For Zhou Yan? For Zhou Yan to drive him this crazy?

Soon, someone arrived. It was a man with a scar on his face.

He looked fierce, but one could still see his fear of Si Wen—he dared not look into Si Wen’s eyes.

He was Xue Peng.

Xue Peng had been holed up in the cave for so long. Si Wen finally sent people to pick him up. This past week, he followed Si Wen’s subordinates’ instructions, traveled across most of the country to reach Qizhou, and then was escorted by several people in turns until they finally met.

Si Wen handed Zhao Youjin over to him: “Explain the rules to her.”

Xue Peng glanced at the down-and-out Zhao Youjin and questioned: “Her goods were hijacked; she’s already lost credibility. Haven’t all her connections been severed?”

Si Wen was very calm: “As long as you replenish her goods, those connections will naturally be restored.”

Xue Peng’s expression suddenly changed, incredulous at first, then understanding dawned on him.

Zhao Youjin understood, and a fine layer of cold sweat beaded on her skin.

Si Wen, fearing their intelligence might not grasp it, further explained: “It is you who needs to move a batch of drugs and urgently needs a channel, not me. You come to me for cooperation. I can introduce Zhao Youjin to you, but it’s only to connect you; there’s no wiping her ass clean for you, to complete your deal. If you want to use her to take over Qizhou, then you replenish her goods. Don’t even think about enjoying the fruits of someone else’s labor. Why do you assume I’m kind-hearted?”

Xue Peng clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and the veins in his temples throbbed.

Si Wen knew Xue Peng had money; he just lacked channels: “Give me forty million, and I’ll send the drugs overseas to help you out.”

Xue Peng almost gnashed his teeth: “I don’t have that much money right now.”

Si Wen sat down, crossed his legs, one arm resting on the back of the chair, the other hand on his knee. His aristocratic air, in this ruin, seemed so out of place, making people afraid to look directly at him.

He parted his thin lips: “Then, when you do, we can talk.”

Xue Peng couldn’t wait. The drug trafficking network changed rapidly. He had been closely watched by the anti-drug bureau lately and had fallen too far behind. If he waited any longer, he would truly be eliminated. After all, in this business, buyers didn’t care about sellers, only about the goods and the channels.

His old buyers had all been arrested by the anti-drug bureau. To open up new channels for drug trafficking and find new buyers would take too long, and he also had to be wary of police undercover agents playing mind games with him. Si Wen and Zhao Youjin were his only chance to rise again; he couldn’t miss it.

Some people, once they’ve stood at the top of the pyramid, are unwilling to merely exist at the bottom of the mountain.

After much thought, he said: “Okay, I’ll figure something out.”

After speaking to them, Si Wen left.

His subordinates were very cooperative, giving Xue Peng and Zhao Youjin a chance to communicate and analyze the situation. After they finished talking, they frisked them again, confirming there were no listening or hidden recording devices, and finally separated them—letting Zhao Youjin go, and keeping an eye on Xue Peng.

Xue Peng was now closely monitored by the police. Si Wen still needed him and wouldn’t let him be caught.

________________________________________

Si Wen drove to a nearby branch office, changed cars, and drove back to the city.

Along the way, his phone rang twice, both were spending notifications. He saw Zhou Yan’s expenses of 4.5 and 32 yuan, his eyebrows raised high.

What did she buy?

He called her. She was eating, sniffing as she ate: “Hello.”

He asked her directly: “What did you buy?”

“Instant noodles. And a pack of cigarettes.”

“Wait for me at home.”

Zhou Yan then realized he had been in the country for too long recently: “You don’t need to go abroad lately?”

“Is that for you to ask?”

Zhou Yan slurped some instant noodles, her lips bright red from the spice: “Then you wait.”

Those words were too provocative. Si Wen turned the car around and drove to her house.

He arrived just as Zhou Yan finished eating.

Opening the door and seeing him, Zhou Yan thought she was mistaken: “You...”

Si Wen took off his jacket, draped it over the chair back, and with one hand loosened his tie, forcing her to back away.

Zhou Yan tried to remind him: “I...”

Si Wen didn’t let her finish. He shoved his tie into her mouth, silencing her, and his hands moved to her chest, waist, and buttocks.

Zhou Yan struggled, her resistance starkly different from her usual compliance, and also somewhat different from her desperate struggle that night. It was clear she was very resistant, yet she was holding back, trying not to make a louder sound.

Si Wen unzipped her dress down her spine, pulled it down, and sucked on her collarbone, taking two strong sucks.

Zhou Yan was on the verge of tears.

Si Wen’s eyes were ablaze, the kind that could burn her to ashes.

His movements became more intense. Suddenly, a soft voice came from the side, “Sister.”

Si Wen stopped, looked over, and saw a groggy little boy standing at the door.

Zhou Yan kicked Si Wen away. Taking advantage of his distraction, she pulled her hand back, removed the tie from her mouth, and threw it in his face: “Can’t you look to see if anyone else is home before entering?”

Si Wen’s anger extinguished. He zipped up her dress.

Zhou Yan glared at him, then walked towards Zhou Siyuan, squatted down, and touched his forehead: “Why are you out? Does your head still hurt? Are you hungry?”

Zhou Siyuan shook his head: “Sister, do I need another injection?”

“No more injections. Siyuan won’t need them once he’s better.”

“Let’s have one more injection. That way I won’t catch colds and fevers so easily.”

Zhou Yan felt a pang of heartache. She hugged him: “Our Siyuan will be better very soon.”

Zhou Siyuan wrapped his small arms around her, then looked at the man sitting on the sofa: “Sister, is that your colleague? I think I’ve seen him before.”

When Si Wen was mentioned, Zhou Yan was annoyed and answered dismissively: “Mhm.”

“Why was your colleague kissing your neck, Sister?” Zhou Siyuan asked again.