Chapter 290 - 290: The Ruse of Self-Injury
Mad Dog hastily turned his head to avoid the vehicle in front, awkwardly laughing, "Sorry, got a bit too excited. But, Brother Bear, did you really ride in a tank?"
Black Bear replied, "Is it strange? The captain even drove a tank!"
"What?" Mad Dog was about to turn his head again, but Black Bear was prepared and turned his head back again, "Talk without turning your head. Your constant twisting and turning gives me the chills."
"Um..." As Mad Dog drove, he exclaimed, "Big brother, what kind of soldier were you really, even capable of driving a tank? Were you in the armored corps?"
Ye Qing softly said, "In the battlefield, Special Forces often need to be versatile."
"Wow, Special Forces!" Mad Dog was extremely excited, "No wonder you are so strong, big brother. I always wanted to be a soldier. But, being an orphan from childhood, I couldn't even pass the eligibility review. I've always been out of luck with the military!"
Ye Qing said, "Let Black Bear train you for a while, and you'll get a taste of what it's like in the army!"
"That would be great!" Mad Dog joyfully said, "Brother Bear, from now on be strict with me. Let me experience what it was like for you in the army."
Black Bear said, "No problem, start tonight with five hundred push-ups before going to sleep!"
"Ah, really?" Mad Dog's voice nearly cried out; five hundred push-ups could be deadly.
In the midst of their conversation, the two vehicles had already arrived at the first venue, a dance hall named Milan.
Milan was now also controlled by the Fu Bang. The man in charge here was named Zhou Yingwei, a man whose strength was way above Li Chengxing. Li Chengxing boasted of his ties with Gang Leader Li Wenyuan, which allowed him to hold a high position in the Fu Bang. Zhou Yingwei, however, had carved out his place entirely through his skills.
When Ye Qing reached Milan, Zhou Yingwei was also there. As Ye Qing entered with his group, a man hurried over, asked for Ye Qing's name, and then quickly turned to go upstairs to report. Soon, he came back down and invited Ye Qing and his group upstairs.
The man led Ye Qing to the second floor outside a private room and respectfully said, "Mr. Ye, my boss said only you can enter. Your other friends can come with me and sit elsewhere."
Ye Qing nodded and said to Black Bear, "Xiong Zi, take Mad Dog and the others for some tea over there."
"Big brother..." Mad Dog started to speak, but Ye Qing waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, it's fine."
Knowing Ye Qing's capabilities, Mad Dog didn't say anything further and followed Black Bear to the adjacent private room.
Ye Qing entered the private room alone; Zhou Yingwei was also there by himself, savoring a glass of red wine. Seeing Ye Qing enter, he stood up, smiled faintly and said, "I've long heard of Mr. Ye, but never had the chance to meet you. Seeing Mr. Ye in person today really reminds me of the saying, 'Meeting is better than hearing by name'!"
Ye Qing exchanged greetings with Zhou Yingwei with a light smile. It was clear that this man had anticipated Ye Qing's visit and had been waiting here already. A person like this was shrewd and cunning; Ye Qing certainly wasn't going to take his flattery to heart but was more wary of him instead.
"Mr. Ye, I know why you're here." Zhou Yingwei got straight to the point as soon as Ye Qing sat down, "Milan is now under Mr. Ye's name, so naturally, it is your property. I have no problem handing it back over to you."
"Thanks for that," Ye Qing said, cutting off Zhou Yingwei before he could continue.
Zhou Yingwei laughed awkwardly, "Personally, I have no issues at all, I fully support returning Milan to you. But, these matters aren't just up to me."
Ye Qing looked at Zhou Yingwei and asked, "So, Mr. Zhou, are you prepared to return it or not?"
Zhou Yingwei replied, "If it were up to me, I'd definitely return it. But, Mr. Ye, last night you injured so many of our Fu Bang members and even crippled Li Chengxing. This has really enraged our gang leader."
"So you mean, due to Li Wenyuan's orders, you're not prepared to return Milan to me?" Ye Qing asked sternly.
"Not exactly," Zhou Yingwei quickly shook his head, paused for a moment, and said, "Honestly, you're the first person I'm meeting about this. If I speak out first and return the place to you, I'd have no way to explain it to the Gang Leader. But, not returning it also feels wrong to me. Hey, it's really a dilemma!"
Ye Qing watched Zhou Yingwei and remained silent. He was curious to see what kind of game this man was actually playing.
Zhou Yingwei pretended to be troubled, pondered for a while, and then said, "How about this, Mr. Ye, I'll return the venue to you, as a way of making friends with you. But, could you cooperate with me in staging a little drama, so I have something to report back?"
"What kind of drama?" Ye Qingqi asked.
Without saying a word, Zhou Yingwei suddenly grabbed a wine bottle from the table and smashed it over his own head. The bottle shattered, and his head started bleeding.
"What are you doing?" Ye Qing was stunned; it would have been normal if Zhou Yingwei had tried to hit him, but this act of self-harm was bewildering.
"It's nothing, nothing, nothing…" Zhou Yingwei covered his head with his hand, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Mr. Ye, when we go out, just say that you hit me. This way, I can make the Gang Leader believe I really made an effort. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to explain it when I go back."
Ye Qing finally understood the drama Zhou Yingwei had asked him to play. It turned out to be such a ruse to deceive Li Wenyuan.
Ye Qing helped Zhou Yingwei up and said, "Mr. Zhou, it was really troublesome for you because of my affair!"
"Mr. Ye, don't mention it," Zhou Yingwei smiled. "I respect you as a person, Mr. Ye, and besides, our Fu Bang didn't have a good case in this matter, so that's why I helped you. Mr. Ye, just remember that you have a friend like me, Zhou Yingwei.
No need to say anything else!"
Ye Qing nodded, and indeed said nothing more. Zhou Yingwei seemed a bit regretful, but at this point, he could only hold his head and leave the room, taking his subordinates with him.
When Black Bear Mad Dog came out and saw Zhou Yingwei in that state, Mad Dog couldn't help expressing his surprise, "Brother, did you beat him up?"
Ye Qing didn't speak; he just called Milan's manager over and told him that from today onward, Milan belonged to the Ye family.
The manager, seeing Zhou Yingwei holding his blood-dripping head as he left, was already trembling with fear. Upon seeing Ye Qing, he was like beholding a grim reaper and naturally dared not disagree with his words, stuttering in assurance that he would do a good job for Ye Qing.
After understanding the situation inside the venue, Ye Qing then took Mad Dog and the others and left Milan, heading to the next venue.
Sitting in the car, Black Bear couldn't help asking, "Captain, since when did you start hitting people with wine bottles?"
"It wasn't me who hit him," Ye Qing shook his head.
"What?" Black Bear and Mad Dog exclaimed in unison. Mad Dog tried to turn around but was restrained by Black Bear.
"Focus on driving!" Black Bear tapped him on the head and asked Ye Qingqi, "Not you who hit him? Then who did? Don't tell me he did it to himself?"
Ye Qing nodded, and Black Bear was even more astonished, "Captain, stop joking, would he hit himself?"
"I'm not joking!" Ye Qing frowned and slowly recounted the events that had happened before.
After hearing this, Black Bear and Mad Dog fell silent for a while. Black Bear said, "Captain, this guy is really not bad toward us!"
"Yeah, this guy seems pretty righteous. To get the venue back for us, he even staged a self-harm drama for Li Wenyuan," Mad Dog chimed in.
Ye Qing slowly shook his head and said, "His self-harm drama was not performed for Li Wenyuan, but for me!"
"What?" Black Bear and Mad Dog were startled again. Black Bear asked, "How was it performed for us to see?"
"Last night, I crippled Li Chengxing, and Li Wenyuan didn't send anyone from Fu Bang to deal with me, which means he currently dares not openly confront us!" Ye Qing explained, "That's why I brought you guys here today to take back our venue because I knew Li Wenyuan absolutely wouldn't dare not return it."
Black Bear asked in surprise, "Then why did Zhou Yingwei still say Li Wenyuan wouldn't let him return it?"
"He was deceiving us," Ye Qing explained. "He said Li Wenyuan wouldn't let him return it, but he still wanted to return it to me, even at the cost of getting hit and having to explain to Li Wenyuan afterward. In fact, he wanted me to be grateful to him. This self-harm act was meant for my eyes. This person is too cunning, we must be cautious!"
Black Bear and Mad Dog fell into silence, not having considered as much as Ye Qing had. However, hearing Ye Qing's analysis, both felt there was something amiss.
"Zhou Yingwei still dares to pull these tricks behind Li Wenyuan's back; he's a bit too cunning," Mad Dog said.
"He has ambitions!" Ye Qing leaned back in the couch and said, "He wants my help to fulfill his ambitions, so he used this self-harm ruse to deceive me. I think he wants to betray Li Wenyuan!"
"This guy's really bold. Li Wenyuan has controlled Fu Bang for so many years and is so strong; can he really compete against Li Wenyuan?" Mad Dog asked.
"That depends on what kind of leverage he holds. Perhaps, he thinks his wings are already full," Ye Qing remarked.
"Hmph, he's just a petty man," Black Bear indignantly said. "This kind of person can't achieve great things. Captain, let's not say anything; when he falls out with Li Wenyuan, let's not help him and see how he manages!"
Ye Qing chuckled and shook his head, then countered, "Why not help him?"
"What?" Black Bear was stunned, asking, "Captain, you know he tricked you with a self-harm trick, and you still want to help him?"
"Mainly I want to bring down Fu Bang, no matter who it is. If anyone wants to oppose Li Wenyuan, I'll help them!" Mad Dog said from the front. "Helping Zhou Yingwei might not be able to bring down Li Wenyuan, but at least it can seriously hurt Fu Bang's vitality. That, in turn, aligns perfectly with big brother's intentions!"
"Is that so?" Black Bear still didn't quite understand, while Ye Qing smiled and nodded. In this respect, Mad Dog's response was much quicker than Black Bear's.