After hanging up the phone, I was still mulling over Wu Tingxiu’s attitude when Fatty sidled over. "Brother Xiang! You're amazing!"
I looked at him, and he continued, "To borrow a million yuan with just one phone call! That's not something just anyone can do. Who is that woman? Your girlfriend?"
"That's my boss," I replied irritably.
"Boss? From the sound of her voice, she shouldn't be that old, right?"
"She's about five or six years older than me."
"A woman five years older is like holding gold bricks, and six years older is priceless. You're doing well, Brother Xiang. Not only do you have a feisty young girl around, but also a beautiful boss." Fatty grinned.
"What? Are you envious?"
"Of course, I'm envious!"
"Alright, when we get back to Guangling, I'll introduce her to you. You push hard and chase her, and then I'll be relying on you."
Fatty blinked in surprise. "Really?"
"Really," I said.
Looking at Fatty's round face, I could imagine his reaction if he knew what kind of person Wu Tingxiu was. He'd probably be scared to death.
Just as I was contemplating whether to tell Fatty about Wu Tingxiu's glorious exploits in tomb raiding, he said, "Never mind. As the saying goes, you shouldn't bully a brother's wife. I, Fatty, don't like going after a brother's woman."
"She's not my woman," I stated.
"Judging by the way you were talking on the phone, you'll end up together sooner or later..." Fatty raised an eyebrow.
"Why is your mouth so foul?"
"I'm telling the truth. Look at her, she's your boss, she's rich, she's not bad looking, and she treats you well... Even if you don't like her now, can you hold out as time goes by?"
Fatty smiled slyly. "Brother Xiang, have you heard the saying 'familiarity breeds affection'?"
"Heard it up your ass!"
...
As the boss of Tianditonggu, Chen Jiang was very trustworthy. After I gave him the money, I met Fu Honglang in a rented apartment in the suburbs.
Four burly men were guarding the rented apartment; all of them were Chen Jiang's men.
When I went in, Fu Honglang was sitting on the sofa watching TV as if nothing had happened.
Fu Honglang was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, large in build, probably around 1.8 meters tall, and covered in muscles. I had no doubt that if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him.
"Old Fu, you're lucky. Someone's here to bail you out," Chen Jiang said coldly.
Only then did Fu Honglang shift his gaze from the TV to us. He glanced at me and Fatty, then at Chen Jiang. "Who's here to bail me out?"
"Here, this brother, Xiang Fei," Chen Jiang pointed at me.
I smiled politely and nodded. "Mr. Fu, hello."
Fu Honglang stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly stood up from the sofa and walked up to me. "Have we met before?"
I shook my head.
"Do we know each other?"
I shook my head again.
After hearing my answers to these two questions, he actually grinned, looking very happy. "Xiang Fei, right?"
"Mm."
"Good, good, good! Thank you for your trouble this time!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Jiang. "Old Chen, can I go now?"
"Of course."
Before I could react, Fu Honglang put an arm around my shoulder and led me out of the rented house.
I was a bit confused. What was this guy's deal?
"Where is she?" Fu Honglang asked.
"Who?"
"My wife!"
I was stunned and looked at him with a confused expression.
"Gui Zhi sent you to bail me out, didn't she tell you where to meet after I was bailed out?"
Gui Zhi?
I was completely bewildered. After a moment of thought, I said, "Mr. Fu, I think you're mistaken... I came to bail you out myself, and I paid the million yuan out of my own pocket."
Fu Honglang froze, blinked, and stared at me in disbelief for a while.
He suddenly burst into laughter. "Haha... Xiang Fei, right? You're really humorous! I don't think I've met you before. Are you from Gui Zhi's hometown? Could you be the cousin she mentioned?"
"I'm telling the truth!" I said. "I came to see you about something. Since I couldn't find you, I had to pay a million yuan! You have to pay me back."
Fu Honglang stopped laughing and stared at me. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" I replied irritably.
What was with this guy?
Why was he so sure his wife would bail him out?
Or was this person so heartbroken that he'd gone mad?
"What did you want to see me about?" Fu Honglang asked.
I lowered my voice. "Someone told me to find you after finding Qin Jing."
His pupils dilated sharply. "You said you found Qin Jing?"
I nodded.
"Did the Eldest Miss send you to find me?"
I nodded again, feeling a bit puzzled. Why did everyone call Sister Ying the Eldest Miss?
This wasn't the first or second time.
Fu Honglang looked around, then glanced at Fatty not far away. "Is that person yours?"
"Mm, he came with me."
"And about the Eldest Miss's matter..."
"He doesn't know."
Fu Honglang breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's find a place to talk first."
With that, he led me towards the road. But after a few steps, he stopped, suddenly turned to me, and said, "You said you paid to get me out?"
"Yeah."
He grabbed my shoulder, his eyes wide and his teeth gritted. "Who told you to bail me out?!"
I was a bit dumbfounded. This guy was definitely sick!
I had done him a favor by bailing him out, and now he was blaming me?
"If I didn't bail you out, I wouldn't have been able to see you!" I retorted.
"Ai! Ai! Ai!" Fu Honglang sighed three times in a row, looking dejected. Finally, he let go of me, his mood very low. "Let's go, let's go back first..."
An hour later, Fatty and I followed Fu Honglang to a self-built house in the suburbs.
As soon as we entered, there were at least twenty to thirty people inside. The sixty-square-meter living room was crowded.
As soon as Fu Honglang returned, everyone started cheering. One of them even came up and said, "Boss, did the sister-in-law bail you out?"
Fu Honglang glared at him. "Bailed me out, my ass! Get lost! And tell everyone else to get out! Damn it! Call Liu Six to come find me immediately!"
The person froze and quickly did as Fu Honglang said. Soon, the hall was empty.
Fu Honglang sat on a sofa, looked at me and Fatty, and said unhappily, "Where's the thing?"
"It's at my place," I replied.
"You didn't bring the thing, so what use is it for you to come find me!" Fu Honglang said impolitely.
This guy was completely unreasonable. I had bailed him out, and he was acting as if I had wronged him.
I said indignantly, "Mr. Fu, I came to bail you out out of good intentions. Is this how you treat your benefactor?"
"Benefactor?" Fu Honglang said disdainfully. "I don't need you to bail me out!"