Gus was caught between two sides. He surveyed the surrounding terrain and realized it was an ideal spot for an ambush.
After some thought, he opened the car door and approached Old Li.
"When did you discover me?" Gus asked.
Old Li chuckled, "From the moment you started tailing us, every move you made was under our observation."
A bodyguard in black retrieved a stool from the car and placed it behind Old Li. Old Li sat down leisurely, looking composed. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Show him."
Another bodyguard in black handed Gus a stack of photos.
Old Li's squinted eyes curved into crescent moons. "This is the fate of the last person who tracked our young master with ill intentions. Take a good look, examine it carefully, and then tell us why you were tailing our young master."
Gus glanced at the photos in his hand, let out a dismissive snort, and tossed them to the ground. He tucked his hands into his pockets, looking rather nonchalant. "While I'm not afraid of your methods, I'm also not afraid to tell you. Chu cheated me out of a deal two months ago, and I believe in returning the favor."
Old Li chuckled twice. "Boss Gu, who operates in both the underworld and legitimate circles. While you did suffer a setback from our young master two months ago, you have many capable people in your organization. It's truly baffling that Boss Gu would personally come to tail us. I have a feeling your true intentions lie elsewhere."
Gus's lips curved upwards. "Since we're not on the same page, let's dispense with the pleasantries." As he finished speaking, he suddenly swept his right leg out with considerable force towards the two guards at the weakest point of their formation.
The two bodyguards immediately raised their fists to block, while the other four closed in. The situation quickly became one man against six.
However, Gus, who had risen from a street punk in his teens to a boss in this circle, was no pushover. He held his own against the six, and after ten minutes of intense struggle, Gus seized an opening and successfully broke free.
The bodyguards moved to pursue, but Old Li called them back.
"No need to chase. Even if we catch him, we can't do much. Just teach him a lesson."
With that, the group ceased their efforts and departed.
Old Li dialed Chu Rong's number. "Young master, the person tailing us is Gu Si. He claims it's because of a deal two months ago, but I suspect he's lying. That deal was significant, but not significant enough for him to personally get involved."
"Keep an eye on his building. Gu Si is a bit troublesome; we can't move against him yet," Chu Rong said calmly.
Old Li acknowledged, but didn't hang up. Instead, he probed, "Young master, has the young madam truly returned? The master and madam have already called, saying they can be home tonight."
Although Aunt Chen hadn't seen her, if the young madam hadn't returned, why would the young master have asked Aunt Chen to cook and send food to Shujing? He really wanted to ask if the young madam had left again.
Receiving no response, Old Li found another excuse. "If the master and madam ask when they return, what should I say?"
After waiting for a long time, he finally heard, "Just say she came back... and left again."
Old Li listened to the dial tone and sighed deeply.
...
After coaxing Mi Mi and Tu Tu to sleep, Quan Jiu had no inclination to write her script. She went downstairs and wandered in the community garden.
It was past nine o'clock, and there were few people in the garden, only the sounds of insects and birds.
Quan Jiu walked among the flowers, and in a daze, it felt like she was back in her childhood. Her grandmother would fan her while she listened to the frogs croaking in the fields, and summer would quietly slip away.
Perhaps it was the brief moment of peace that lowered Quan Jiu's guard. When she saw a strange man sitting by the koi pond, with visible injuries from a fight around his eyes and mouth, she wasn't too frightened.
The man was hissing in pain as he applied medicine to himself. However, his movements were rough and haphazard, and he couldn't see his face. Not only did he fail to apply the medicine properly, but he also caused more bleeding.
Quan Jiu paused for a moment before walking over. "Let me help you. I'm... studying medicine."
Gus's eyebrows slightly rose. From a distance during the day, he had only thought she was beautiful. But Gus had seen countless beauties, so he wasn't particularly surprised.
However, upon closer inspection, her face seemed like an angel infused with a soul. Her purity and gentleness even made him feel that the beauty he had seen before was vulgar and unsightly.
Gus chuckled inwardly. Indeed, heroes have always been susceptible to beauties. It was no wonder Chu Rong wouldn't let go of such a gem. For Jiang Mengran to deceive herself into thinking she could replace her was utterly laughable.
"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?" Gus asked, but he still handed a medical kit to Quan Jiu.
Quan Jiu smiled softly. "I only see someone alone and clumsily tending to their own wounds, even hiding in this deserted, secluded spot to avoid being discovered."
It was as if, in the past, she too had been alone, tending to her own wounds in secret under the covers on countless nights.
Seeing Quan Jiu's slightly trembling hands, Gus asked curiously, "Are you really capable?"
Quan Jiu felt a little embarrassed. She dipped a cotton swab in disinfectant. "I... faint at the sight of needles and blood. But don't worry, I can manage simple bandaging. Yours are just superficial wounds, not arterial bleeding."
Gus's heart inexplicably softened. After a moment's thought, he asked, "So... you're not a doctor now?"
"No, I was studying surgical medicine. After developing the fainting condition, I couldn't continue, so I dropped out."
Gus was about to say something else.
Quan Jiu, however, said, "Don't talk." Then she used the cotton swab to clean the wound on Gus's lip.
A gentle breeze blew across the injured corner of his mouth, and it felt like cotton softly brushing against it, causing a slight itch that made Gus instinctively flinch back.
Quan Jiu said helplessly, "People don't use alcohol for disinfection these days anymore; it hurts so much. Buy some saline solution next time."
Her remark made Gus feel a slight stinging sensation at the corner of his mouth. He gasped, but immediately closed his mouth, and then didn't even grunt.
Only after her lip wound was treated did he speak again. "What happened after you dropped out?"
"I changed my major. You can't put all your eggs in one basket," Quan Jiu said, half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"Don't you feel regret? Why did you want to study medicine?"
"Why do you have so many questions?"
"If I don't talk, should the air be filled with silence?" Gus shrugged.
Quan Jiu chuckled and placed the gauze on his forehead. "Alright, you don't need to keep trying to find topics."
Gus touched his forehead and couldn't help but smile. "Thanks."
"It's I who should thank you. It's also fulfilled my dream of saving lives," Quan Jiu said, getting up to leave.
Gus instinctively asked, "Aren't you curious how I got this injury?"
Quan Jiu turned back. "It has nothing to do with me, why ask?"
Gus watched her receding figure and, after a long moment, gave a self-deprecating smile. So, this was what it felt like to be cared for.
His phone rang again. Gus glanced at it, hesitated for a moment, then answered, his tone becoming careless.
On the other end, Jiang Mengran asked anxiously, "What was that just now? I thought I heard a car crash. Were you discovered? Did you expose me? And where is that b*tch? Has she returned to Shujing?"
Gus replied lazily, "Don't know, lost her."
"Lost her?" Jiang Mengran's anger flared. "How could you lose her on such an important matter? Weren't you capable? Or has life been too comfortable for too long, and you've gone soft?"
"I'll hang up if there's nothing else," Gus said, not wanting to say another word.
"Wait," Jiang Mengran called out. "There's another way. If she won't show herself, then force her to. Her most prized possession is that dilapidated house in her hometown. Burn it down, and I don't believe she won't appear."