AD Chapter 65

Translator: Lynn

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Chen Qing’s car is pretty good everywhere. It’s flexible in queuing, easy to park, and it’s equipped with a display screen. You can plug in a USB flash drive and watch a movie or something, but the speed is not great.

After getting a set of pancakes and a cup of soy milk for Cheng Ke, there were no traffic jams on the way. When he arrived at Cheng Ke’s shop, Chen Qing, Da Bin, and the others were already there.

However, he didn’t see anyone else in the shop. Cheng Ke was sitting by the bar when he walked in, and upon spotting him, he asked, “Why are Chen Qing and Da Bin here?”

“Put it on the table. Eat it first, I bought it according to the breakfast standard,” Jiang Yuduo replied.

“Damn it, it’s so big,” Cheng Ke exclaimed as he picked up the pancake fruit.

“The ingredients are sufficient and the taste is good. It’s not for nothing that his family can sell them until noon,” Jiang Yuduo commented while sitting on a chair, looking out through the glass door. The store was currently dark, making the outside view very clear, but it was nearly impossible to see anything from the outside.

“Why did you call them here?” Cheng Ke asked while taking a bite of the pancake fruit.

“Someone followed me when I came here,” Jiang Yuduo explained. The pancakes were very fragrant, and despite being full, he still felt a little greedy, so he took a small piece from Cheng Ke’s hand and ate it. “Yes. The one following us in the building materials market, the one with a white mark on his clothes, is him.”

“Are you sure?” Cheng Ke looked at him, appearing somewhat nervous.

“Sure,” Jiang Yuduo assured him, “I remember their appearance. When I turned around, his car drove forward, and Chen Qing and the others followed.”

“And then?” Cheng Ke asked, still showing signs of worry, “It won’t lead to any big trouble, will it?”

“I can’t control the big trouble; it depends on what the person wants to do,” Jiang Yuduo replied with a sullen expression.

Cheng Ke fell silent, his expression uncertain, and eventually settled on a worried face. He frowned and said, “If something really happens, you have to tell me.”

“Why?” Jiang Yuduo inquired.

“I’m the one who asked them to follow you, and they’ve been tailing you all day,” Cheng Ke explained, “I’ll find someone to deal with it.”

“Who are you planning to find? Xu Ding?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Not necessarily, it depends on who is available,” Cheng Ke replied with a clicking sound.

“You’ve distanced yourself from your old circle, haven’t you?” Jiang Yuduo said.

“You really can’t hold back, San-ge,” Cheng Ke sighed, “You can find someone without getting involved in the old circle. As long as you’re willing to ask, someone will help.”

Jiang Yuduo remained silent, and his eyes began to itch suddenly.

Cheng Ke didn’t stop him or ask him to call Chen Qing and Da Bin away; instead, he simply suggested finding a solution if something happened.

But Cheng Ke’s words made Jiang Yuduo’s eyes itch even more.

Cheng Ke didn’t need him to take any action, but he had to be “willing to ask” when seeking help. Besides Xu Ding, Jiang Yuduo knew he had few other friends. Sometimes, he received calls from a few other people, but his response was generally indifferent. He wouldn’t be “willing to ask” under such circumstances.

Taking another piece of pancake from Cheng Ke, Jiang Yuduo said, “Don’t worry, I just let them follow and see what they plan to do. If they try anything here, Chen Qing and the others will handle it swiftly.”

“Yeah,” Cheng Ke nodded, seemingly relieved. He then glanced at him and handed over the pancake fruit in his hand, saying, “Don’t hesitate, just take a bite.” Jiang Yuduo obliged, grabbed his hand, pulled it in front of himself, and took a big bite.

Mmm! Delicious!

“You’re so hungry, why don’t you just buy two? It’s not like I won’t give you money,” Cheng Ke remarked, looking at the pancakes in his hand.

Jiang Yuduo also looked a little embarrassed. He didn’t expect to bite off such a large piece. “If you’re still hungry… I can go to the supermarket across the street and get you some bread,” he offered.

“No need,” Cheng Ke said. “I’m just saying.”

He hesitated for another two seconds before bringing the soy milk over to Jiang Yuduo.
“Why?” Jiang Yuduo asked curiously.

“I’m afraid you’ll drink this up for me too,” Cheng Ke replied with a playful tone.

Jiang Yuduo chuckled, “Three and a half years old.”

“Those who snatch the food are still talking about me?” Cheng Ke retorted, teasingly continuing to eat.

“Choked to death,” Jiang Yuduo said playfully.

His phone started ringing in his pocket, and Cheng Ke quickly glanced at his hand, seemingly anxious.

Jiang Yuduo took out his phone, showing the caller ID. “It’s Da Bin.”

“Are you alright?” Cheng Ke asked with concern.

“I’m fine. If there’s something urgent, Chen Qing will call me. Da Bin must have gotten into a fight with someone,” Jiang Yuduo responded as he answered the call. “What’s wrong?”

“After a round trip, the car’s back at the store. It’s parked in the parking lot outside the supermarket. You can see that car on the second floor,” Da Bin said.

“Okay,” Jiang Yuduo replied, “Didn’t you notice it earlier?”

“No,” Da Bin said, “Brother Qing’s car was so far away that I almost lost sight of it four times.”

“…That’s alright,” Jiang Yuduo said, “keep an eye on it for a while.”

“Don’t worry, San-ge.” Da Bin assured him.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yuduo swiftly finished Cheng Ke’s soy milk and then stood up. “I’ll go to the second floor to see. The car is parked opposite it now. I thought the driver wasn’t with it.”

“On the opposite side?” Cheng Ke asked, taking the remaining pancakes, fruit, and the empty soy milk cup. He stood up and followed behind Jiang Yuduo. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Yuduo replied as they went upstairs, “Don’t come here.”

Cheng Ke stopped in his tracks.

Jiang Yuduo carried a chair on his shoulders, passed by a window, and took a look outside.

“Can you see anyone?” Cheng Ke asked from the corner of the stairs.

“No,” Jiang Yuduo put down the chair, took a small coffee table, and walked past the window, “No, don’t worry, let’s have a look first.”

“Are they following me or you?” Cheng Ke asked.

“Us,” Jiang Yuduo replied, looking at him.

“What do you mean?” Cheng Ke was puzzled.

“When I went to the rented house in the morning, no one followed me,” Jiang Yuduo explained, “You came here in the morning, and no one followed you. It’s only when we were together that someone might have been tracking me.”

Cheng Ke stared at him, and after a moment, he said softly, “…Cheng Yi?”

“Do you think it’s him?” Jiang Yuduo questioned.

Cheng Ke wasn’t entirely sure if it was Cheng Yi, and he didn’t want to believe it was Cheng Yi, but the current situation left him with doubts.

Jiang Yuduo was the boss, but his usual activities involved just collecting rent and handling minor issues for his younger brother. Even if he had enemies, he couldn’t imagine someone following him every day.

It had been two days since they discovered someone was following them, but they didn’t know if it was going on before that. Even if they had been followed for just two days, there hadn’t been any hostile actions. Revenge wouldn’t take this long.

Now, it seemed more like surveillance.

Moreover, when Cheng Ke first rented the house, Cheng Yi appeared in front of him without knowing the address.

If it was surveillance, it matched Cheng Yi’s style. He always had the habit of wanting to be in control of everything.

However, if it really reached this level, for Cheng Ke, it was not just a matter of why.

It was anger.

Cheng Ke settled down on the chair, still savoring the half-eaten pancake. Though it had turned a bit cold, its deliciousness remained unchanged.

Taking a sip of soy milk, Cheng Ke noticed the cup was empty. “When did you drink it up for me?” he questioned, shaking the empty glass.

“I’ll buy you a cup,” Jiang Yuduo said, starting to head towards the stairs.

However, Cheng Ke stopped him, grabbing his hand. “No need.”

“But it’s just a normal errand to buy soy milk. I’ll be back soon,” Jiang Yuduo replied, looking at him.

“It doesn’t matter if you behave abnormally,” Cheng Ke said, “I just want you to stay here with me. Just stand here and accompany me.” He paused and then added with a playful tone, “Or you can sit and accompany me.”

“Alright, why not accompany you while mixing cement?” Jiang Yuduo said with a smile.

“Sure,” Cheng Ke laughed.

Jiang Yuduo removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves, ready to pour cement on the terrace. Cheng Ke fetched a chair and sat beside him to direct.

As they worked on polishing the anti-corrosion wooden board, Cheng Ke handed Jiang Yuduo a mask to protect him from the dust. Cheng Ke gazed at him for a while.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yuduo asked, lifting his head.

“Oh, nothing,” Cheng Ke said before he could finish his sentence.

“Just a heads up, whatever you say here can’t be taken back,” Jiang Yuduo warned.

“Get out!” Cheng Ke teased, even though he was wearing a mask, his smiling eyes revealed his amusement.

Jiang Yuduo continued sanding the board and said, “I sometimes miss you, you know. And if I say it, I won’t take it back. You’re too guilt-inducing.”

“Then send me a message right now,” Cheng Ke challenged.

“No takebacks,” Jiang Yuduo said, playfully accepting the challenge.

“I’m not missing you right now,” Jiang Yuduo replied with a grin.

Cheng Ke smirked and said, “I just asked you to send a message. I didn’t say you miss me right now.”

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him for a moment, then put down his tools, took out his phone, and tapped the screen a few times before putting it away and resuming his work.

Cheng Ke’s phone buzzed with a message notification. He chuckled and checked the message from Jiang Yuduo. Seeing the content, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Jiang Yuduo, are you acting like a child or what?”

“One message, no takebacks,” Jiang Yuduo reiterated, without raising his head.

Amused, Cheng Ke laughed for a while and then said, “I haven’t played this game since I was in elementary school.”

“When you were in elementary school?” Jiang Yuduo looked up, “What were you like? A chubby kid?”

“Not chubby,” Cheng Ke thought for a moment, “I’ll find the picture for you. My mom posted a childhood photo of mine on her Moments.”

“Check it quickly. Can you still find it?” Jiang Yuduo came closer.

“She posted it last year, back when I was still living at home. But my mom didn’t set a time limit for her Moments,” Cheng Ke scrolled down. Luckily, there weren’t too many posts, just about a dozen per month. After a while, he found the photo. “Here are just a few of them.”

The photos were old ones Cheng Ke had found while tidying up his study. His mom had them scanned and uploaded to her Moments.

Cheng Ke clicked on the third picture. “The one on the right is me, and the one on the left is Cheng Yi.”

Jiang Yuduo enlarged the photo until only he was in view. “Aren’t you adorable?” he teased.

“All children are cute,” Cheng Ke replied with a glance. “What’s special about this one?”

“You looked like an uncooked glutinous rice ball when you were a child!” Jiang Yuduo chuckled.

“What do you mean? Is there a difference between uncooked and boiled?” Cheng Ke found it amusing.

“The uncooked ones are firm, like vermicelli, and the cooked ones are soft and light,” Jiang Yuduo explained.

“Oh,” Cheng Ke nodded, smiling.

“Could you crop half of this photo and send it to me?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Why do you want it?” Cheng Ke minimized the photo and observed Cheng Yi on the left.

Cheng Yi looked incredibly cute as a child, with his round face and big eyes, though he didn’t smile much in photos.

Cheng Ke felt a pang of emotion. It was disheartening to see how his once-adorable younger brother had grown up to be so different.

“I also have childhood photos of Chen Qing,” Jiang Yuduo said, “I’m curious about how others looked when they were young. I don’t have any photos of myself from that time; I’ve never even seen myself in a mirror before.”

Cheng Ke felt a sudden surge of emotion and hugged Jiang Yuduo, kissing him on the forehead. The kiss was a bit forceful, and their teeth clinked together.

“Ouch,” Jiang Yuduo covered his forehead, “Is that a kiss or a hit?”

Cheng Ke didn’t reply, instead, he leaned in and kissed him again, firmly.

Jiang Yuduo still covered his forehead, looking at Cheng Ke with a mixture of curiosity and tenderness. He lowered his hand after a moment. “I thought seeing Cheng Yi’s photo would put you in a bad mood, but it seems like you’re in a good mood?”

Cheng Ke smiled, turning the phone around and sending Jiang Yuduo half of the photo.

Jiang Yuduo asked, “If it’s really Cheng Yi, will you be angry?”

“I’m already angry now,” Cheng Ke replied, his deft left hand making the phone slip and fall to the ground. He quickly picked it up and continued, “I’m very angry.”

“I didn’t see it,” Jiang Yuduo said.

“If it’s really him,” Cheng Ke said with a smile, “I’ll settle the score with him.”

Jiang Yuduo looked at him, observing the emotions flickering across his face: anger, frustration, and perhaps a hint of understanding.

Cheng Ke watched Jiang Yuduo working diligently on the terrace, his thoughts veiled in mystery.

After polishing and oiling the sawn boards, Jiang Yuduo declared there was nothing else to do for now.

“Alright,” Cheng Ke got up, his legs tingling. He jumped twice to alleviate the numbness, “My butt’s gone numb.”

Without hesitation, Jiang Yuduo raised his hand and smacked Cheng Ke’s butt several times.

“What the hell!” Cheng Ke stared at him in shock. “What are you doing?”

“You said your butt was numb,” Jiang Yuduo said with a grin, “I was just trying to improve your blood circulation. Chen Qing-”

“Are you still helping Chen Qing pat his butt?” Cheng Ke interrupted.

“He did it for me,” Jiang Yuduo replied, “It worked.”

Before he could say anything else, Jiang Yuduo slapped Cheng Ke’s butt again. “Feeling any better now?”

Cheng Ke was rendered speechless. “Did Chen Qing also smack your butt with such vigor?”

“Was it too strong?” Jiang Yuduo looked bewildered.

“It made your butt go numb if he smacked it…” Cheng Ke sighed, “It’s fine, don’t do it again, or I’ll smack you back.”

“Alright,” Jiang Yuduo helped him put on his coat and put one sleeve on, “Let’s go. The car is still downstairs.”

“Is there anyone in the car?” Cheng Ke asked.

Jiang Yuduo went to the window, removed a little putty stuck to the glass, then turned and went downstairs. “There is someone.”

Cheng Ke followed Jiang Yuduo into Chen Qing’s car and, after closing the door, Jiang Yuduo called Chen Qing. “Follow me, I’ll go home and block them at the small street.”

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Ke asked, “What happens after blocking people?”

“If they don’t talk, we’ll make them talk.” Jiang Yuduo answered simply.

“I want to be there,” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo started the car, turned to look at Cheng Ke, and said, “Okay.”

The car drove out, and Cheng Ke kept an eye on the rearview mirror, but he didn’t see any car following them. Nearly twenty minutes later, he finally spotted a car in the rearview mirror that seemed to be tailing them after turning three intersections.

As time approached, Jiang Yuduo made a decision, and the car turned a corner onto a small street. Cheng Ke didn’t know how Jiang Yuduo came to that conclusion, but the car followed the path he had previously instructed Da Bin to block.

Jiang Yuduo parked the car on the side of the road, and when he got out and walked towards the small street, he said to Cheng Ke, “You stay behind me.”

“Yes,” Cheng Ke replied and followed Jiang Yuduo at a slower pace.

As they turned to the small street, they saw a car parked diagonally on the side of the road, and a Land Rover blocking it in front.

Chen Qing had done an impressive job.

Cheng Ke couldn’t help but admire him silently.

However, as they got closer, Cheng Ke’s anxiety resurfaced.

He wasn’t afraid of discovering that these people were Cheng Yi’s men; he was afraid that they had nothing to do with Cheng Yi at all.

“Third Brother,” Chen Qing greeted them, holding a water pipe in his hand, “There are people inside the car, so don’t open the door.”

Jiang Yuduo didn’t say a word, took the water pipe from Chen Qing’s hand, raised it, and struck the driver’s window with a loud bang.

The sudden noise startled Cheng Ke.

The people inside the car were also visibly frightened and hid in the middle.

Jiang Yuduo hit the window again with a second blow.

The pipe struck the glass, and a corner of the window shattered.

Da Bin joined in, smashing the remaining glass with his elbow and pointing at the people inside. “Don’t move! Today, you two are walking out of here sideways.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you crazy?” the co-pilot shouted, “I’ll call the police! No one is leaving here today!”

Da Bin didn’t say anything, opened the car door and dragged the driver out.

The other gang members rushed in and surrounded the car.

The scene was chaotic. Cheng Ke couldn’t clearly see what was happening inside the car, but he could confirm that none of the people who got out seemed to have knives in their hands.

The chaos didn’t last long, though. Suddenly, someone threw a mobile phone from inside the car.

Chen Qing caught the phone and examined it. “It has a fingerprint lock.”

“Unlock it! Don’t make me cut off your fingers!” someone inside the car threatened.

The phone’s owner was strong-willed and clenched his hands when he was dragged out of the car.

Jiang Yuduo glanced at it, picked up a small piece of broken glass from the ground, and pressed it against the man’s hand. “If you don’t let go, you’ll get cut.” The man couldn’t see what was pressing his hand, and after yelling, he released his fist.

Chen Qing took the phone and unlocked it.

“Check the photos,” Cheng Ke said.

He didn’t know why he had the idea, but after getting the phone, his first instinct was to look at the photos.

Chen Qing tapped the screen a few times, and then his expression suddenly changed. “What the hell!”

Cheng Ke snatched the phone from him.

The first thing he saw were photos of him and Jiang Yuduo.

He scrolled through several photos in a row, all of them featuring him and Jiang Yuduo, seemingly taken within the last two days.

Cheng Ke couldn’t control his trembling fingers and felt a chill coursing through his body, fueled by anger.

Although there was nothing incriminating in those photos, at most they showed the two of them being close and spending the night together, he still wanted to smash the phone right then and there.

Jiang Yuduo took the phone away. “Do you want to check the call history?”

“No need,” Cheng Ke replied.

He dialed Cheng Yi’s number instead.

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