CH 53

When Chu Ge learned from Lin Wuyang that Zhang Qiren was in charge of the Miracle Nightclub, his expression had turned unpleasant. It wasn’t just a matter of dealing with some illicit activities; it involved much more, and…

Was he the one behind the plot to kill Moon Shadow?

Chu Ge thought this was the most absurd thing in the world, and he really wanted to know what was going on.

Zhang Qiren glanced in the direction of Qiu Wuji’s room and lowered his voice, “Wanna go for a walk? – Don’t tell me you want to keep carrying those durians around.”

Chu Ge took the opportunity to set down the durians. “Sure, let’s go grab some skewers?”

Qiu Wuji “hmphed” from inside the room, but didn’t interfere with Chu Ge taking the durians without permission. Did this Zhang Qiren really think he could hide things from her? Well, even if he could see Chu Ge at that time in the elevator, he certainly couldn’t see her.

In his eyes, she seemed to be just a female fan…

The two of them left the apartment, and Zhang Qiren remained silent for a while as he stared at the building across the street. He didn’t say much, but simply pressed the elevator button quietly.

Chu Ge also stayed silent. Both of them quietly watched the floors change as they rode the elevator, as if they were organizing their thoughts.

It wasn’t until they left the residential complex, catching a whiff of the aroma of grilled skewers, that Zhang Qiren smiled and said, “Let’s not eat skewers. It’s crowded, and it’s not good if someone accidentally overhears our conversation. Let’s walk along the side street instead.”

Chu Ge nodded and silently walked with him along the quiet streets of the night.

“The underground fighting isn’t something I started. You know I just recently took over. This thing has been around for many years,” Zhang Qiren suddenly said.

Chu Ge responded with a vague “Hmm.”

“Previously, it was my useless brother who was in charge. Not only did he manage it poorly, with declining profits, but he also caused a lot of trouble,” Zhang Qiren said with a bitter smile. “That’s why I feel like I’m the one taking the blame.”

Chu Ge said, “You’re not someone who resigns to fate. Despite working as a food delivery person and continuing to write, you have extraordinary perseverance. So, since you took over, it’s not just about enjoying a few days of blamelessness.”

Zhang Qiren calmly said, “Of course not. Since I took over this mess, I have my own ideas. After all, my brother is truly useless. Whether my father wanted to groom me or just make me the scapegoat, as long as I do well, is there really no possibility of rising to a higher position? I’m his son too, and who can ensure his later years are good? I believe he’s not blind or stupid.”

Chu Ge nodded. The old man on the other side had been determined to let Zhang Qiren handle things for the past two years, whether it was for grooming or for comparison purposes.

Zhang Qiren whispered, “The underground fighting used to be incurring losses. Before I arrived, that useless brother might have felt threatened and started planning a scheme to make a large amount of money in a short period of time. Moon Shadow kept winning continuously, and the odds were extremely skewed. As long as she lost, they would reap huge profits.”

Chu Ge turned to look at him.

Zhang Qiren continued, “In the early days when I just arrived, still familiarizing myself with the work before officially taking over, he had already tried to entice Moon Shadow, but was firmly rejected. So, he became furious and contacted someone with the ability to walk through walls, hoping to track Moon Shadow and use external means like drugging her.”

Chu Ge chuckled, “Truly a useless person.”

Zhang Qiren also laughed, “Indeed.”

He couldn’t even handle the easiest task on his own territory, and yet he decided to take the plan outside. It was unclear what kind of thinking process led him to that decision. Perhaps it was because he had caused trouble before and didn’t want to create further issues within his own territory.

Zhang Qiren confirmed, “He was severely scolded by the old man before, so this time he didn’t want any trouble at home and decided to move things outside. It’s understandable. However, personally, I felt uneasy. On that day, when the person who could walk through walls was tracking Moon Shadow, I followed that person with a few of my brothers. It’s not that I had any intention to do something, but I felt that things had become unpredictable outside the territory. I needed to have some understanding and know how things would unfold.”

Chu Ge sighed, “And then you chased them to the nearby shopping district, but couldn’t find them. You even saw me strolling around and told me you were catching a thief.”

“Yes,” Zhang Qiren chuckled. “The person next to you was sister-in-law, right? I didn’t get a clear look since I was far away.”

Chu Ge stomped his foot. “So, you know I don’t have a fan!”

Zhang Qiren “…”

You still care about that?

Chu Ge cleared his throat and asked, “What happened next?”

“Later on, who knows what the person who could walk through walls ran into, but inexplicably ended up in Lin Wuyang’s hands. That caused trouble,” Zhang Qiren said angrily. “It also confirmed my previous unease. In a way, that useless brother messed up again. The old man urgently changed the legal representative and handed over the mess to me, pulling him back.”

At this point, Zhang Qiren turned his head to glance at Chu Ge and suddenly said, “Later, I suspected that you were involved with that incident.”

“Why do you have such suspicions?”

“Because you went to pick up Moon Shadow. There should be a story between you and Moon Shadow that brought you together to deal with the person who could walk through walls. It’s a reasonable assumption. It was also during that time that I discovered you actually have superpowers. It’s strange that until now, I couldn’t detect any signs of your abilities, let alone identify their type. So, what kind of superpower do you have?”

Zhang Qiren brought up the topic for the second time, indicating how much confusion it caused him. Chu Ge simply shook his head. With all the guessing he had done, couldn’t he figure out the most direct reason for his connection with Moon Shadow?

She lives across the street, dude.

Perhaps Zhang Qiren wasn’t unable to guess, but rather unwilling to do so?

Chu Ge sighed, “Afterward, you took over and continued dealing with Moon Shadow?”

Zhang Qiren replied, “Of course. It was indeed an excellent opportunity to achieve results right after taking over. I also spoke with Moon Shadow. It would be best for her to be sensible, but unfortunately, this woman is stubborn and there’s no way around it… However, my approach is different. It’s too easy to make Moon Shadow lose secretly within my own territory, so why make things so complicated? That day was supposed to be the last underground fight in the near future, so if we were to execute it, it had to be done quickly.”

Chu Ge turned his head and stared at him, speaking word by word, “Your actions… were not only about making her lose, but also about making her die. Even that useless brother of yours didn’t think of killing her.”

Zhang Qiren couldn’t face Chu Ge’s gaze directly and lowered his head to look at the ground. “Based on my brother’s plan of drugging her, if she had really stepped onto the stage, she might have died.”

“Your brother none of my concern. I’m only talking about you,” Chu Ge gritted his teeth. “Zhang Qiren, you’re killing people!”

Zhang Qiren also gritted his teeth and slowly said, “In the underground fighting arena, there are many people who die in such ways. I’m not the first one to do it, nor will I be the last.”

“You…”

“Chu Ge, do you remember what I just told you?” Zhang Qiren suddenly turned his head to look at him. “When others destroy years of my hard work with a wave of their fingers, have you ever considered whether I, who is innocent, should bear it? If I can’t bear it and jump off a bridge, wouldn’t they be killing me?”

Chu Ge stared at him intently, their eyes locked in silence. The streetlights cast long shadows on the pavement.

After a while, Zhang Qiren sighed lightly and softened his tone. “Chu Ge, this world is ruthless. Why should we obediently endure being bullied? Do we even have to consider if self-defense is excessive? When you bully others, they end up fearing you, respecting you, treating you to the best drinks, driving the best cars. Chu Ge, this world is unfair, don’t be naive.”

Chu Ge didn’t argue, only said, “So your ‘bullying others’ is still a prophecy? What kind of ability do you have? The ability of a harbinger?”

Seeing that Chu Ge’s tone seemed to have eased, Zhang Qiren also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “My ability is a bit peculiar, but I won’t say much about it. Chu Ge, I consider you my brother, so I’m speaking from the bottom of my heart. I just feel that it’s unfair. Why do some people, even if they’re useless, get to play with women, drive fancy cars, and live in mansions? They can cause all kinds of trouble and still find someone else to take the blame. While we diligently do what we’re supposed to, we’re left with crumbs and get destroyed by others. You say I do bad things, well, if I continue being honest, I might not even have bones left.”

Chu Ge whispered, “Doing these things… will have consequences.”

Zhang Qiren calmly said, “At least for now, Lin Wuyang can’t do anything to me. Unless you report me—although even if you do, it won’t be effective. It would just be an attempted action, and it won’t have anything to do with me.”

Chu Ge sighed, “But have you ever considered that consequences may come from other places?”

Zhang Qiren chuckled, “I’ve known you for so long, and I didn’t realize you still believe in that stuff.”

Chu Ge turned his head slightly, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I don’t believe that you’ve never thought about how Moon Shadow and I met.”

Zhang Qiren’s smile faded, and his expression slowly changed.

“Moon Shadow always wore a mask, you didn’t know what she looked like, right? Yeah, you never talked to her before, you didn’t even know her voice. Your ability wasn’t honed much either, you couldn’t tell that I had an ability, nor could you tell that she did.” Chu Ge whispered, “But Qiren, you almost… almost killed the girl you secretly loved.”

Zhang Qiren stood there motionless, completely still.

His muscles tensed, his body trembling slightly, his throat involuntarily twitching, as if something was about to burst out in the next moment.

“I…” he spoke hoarsely, “I didn’t think about it before… It only struck me when I saw you picking her up… But I didn’t want to believe it… After all, everything had already been done, it was too late… I could only force myself to believe that it was just a coincidence, that it couldn’t be her… I even deliberately had someone look for her, hoping to find her and prove it wasn’t her… It couldn’t be her…”

Chu Ge remained silent.

“Chu Ge, are you lying to me? Moon Shadow, the cold-hearted fighter who doesn’t drink, but the girl next door often gets drunk… They’re not the same person, right?”

Chu Ge slowly said, “What if she drank to numb the pain?”

Zhang Qiren fell completely silent.

Chu Ge watched helplessly as the man slowly squatted down, curling up into a ball. The elongated shadow receded with his huddled form.