bodyguard against fate

Chapter 35 The East Wind Blows Again Last Night in the Small Building

Chen Ergou was a little puzzled because Feng Weida had promised to go and return the same day, but he hadn't come back by midnight. If it were just him, that would be one thing, but the key issue was that he was with Wu Meng. These two, a man and a woman alone together, were practically burning with desire—wouldn't this turn into a real-life dilemma for him?

He is written in my left hand, love in my right; our hands are clasped tightly, a blurred sorrow lingers...

What's so sad about you two? The sad one is me. I was waiting for Feng Weida to come back in his dorm like a statue, only to find the two of them in the car—

Chen Ergou didn't dare to imagine the scene. He called Feng Weida, but Feng Weida hung up hastily, saying it was inconvenient and he'd talk about it later. Talk about what? Confront me? Before, he'd go to great lengths for his brothers; now he'd betray them for a woman. But even if something really happened between them, he'd still pursue Wu Meng. Not for anything else, just pure physical attraction. Forget about personality, values… don't give me that nonsense. In a small town, practicality is everything. Wu Meng just wants a million, right? A decade or so ago, that wasn't even money. Look at me, I couldn't even afford a decent meal the other day, but now, thanks to Feng Weida's bonus, I've achieved instant noodle freedom. So, people still need to have dreams. What if someone else makes them come true for you? You only need to think about it; you don't even need to put in the effort. It's superfluous!

Chen Ergou waited at Feng Weida's house all night. When he got up in the morning, he couldn't reach Feng Weida by phone at all. Hey, could he really be hiding something from me? He called Wu Meng again. Wu Meng was normal. She said that if he harassed her again, he would call the police. Chen Ergou made up his mind. Anyway, he couldn't change anything. So he simply took the money he found at Feng Weida's house and went out to have breakfast. His main goal was to avoid internal conflict.

As he was eating, he saw a disheveled man walk past him. The clothes he was wearing looked like they were from twenty years ago. "What era is this? How can there still be such a dowdy person?" Chen Ergou thought to himself.

The man was holding a photograph, comparing it to the real scene as he looked at it. This man was Lao Zheng.

Twenty years ago, Lao Zheng had just started his garment factory and lived in this area. Now, the world has changed. Although the town has not changed much overall over the years, the differences are obvious. The dirt roads have become asphalt roads, the bungalows have become two-story buildings, and there weren't so many street shops before... Fortunately, the building where he lived back then hasn't changed. Things have changed!

Old Zheng arrived at a house, knocked on the door, but there was no response. He took out a key from twenty years ago and actually opened the lock.

This cluster of two-story row houses resembles an urban village. When the factory was built, it served as dormitories for construction workers. Later, Lao Zheng and He Yong moved in, and then garment factory workers gradually moved in, until Lao Zheng and He Yong moved out. Although they moved out, Lao Zheng still felt attached to the place. He kept his room and never rented it out. Occasionally, when he worked late, he would stay there for the night. Years ago, he specifically gave a key to Xiao Liang, telling him that his father had a home in the city. Before Xiao Liang went to the city, he buried the key and his childhood memories under a tree. Last night, Lao Zheng got up in the middle of the night to dig for that key. He probably never imagined that this key could open a lock from twenty years ago!

As soon as you enter, a pungent smell hits you, making Old Zheng's eyes sting. There's half a bowl of snail rice noodles left on the table, which is what Chen Ergou ate last night. Although Chen Ergou no longer needs to leave the soup to soak steamed buns, the habit of leaving a mouthful of soup is ingrained in his genes.

It's clear the person living here is a fitness enthusiast; fitness magazines are scattered everywhere—on the bed, on the table, and on the floor, there's a pair of dumbbells that are clearly mismatched—one round-headed, one square-headed, each stubbornly clinging to its last vestige of strength. Of course, Old Zheng doesn't care about any of that; all he cares about is that bed!

Strictly speaking, it wasn't the bed. He moved the bed aside, revealing the dirty floor tiles underneath. Everything was unchanged; even the cigarette box he'd dropped twenty years ago was untouched. Old Zheng blew on it, wiped away the dust, and used his fingertips to find a gap in the floor tiles. He gently pried it open, revealing a square iron box. The moment he opened the lid, a golden light shone on Old Zheng's face. He hadn't lied; he really was a "gold agent." Twenty years ago, he had hidden ten gold bars here, each weighing the standard 500 grams from the bank. At today's gold price, those ten bars were worth at least 6 million!

Old Zheng had just picked up a gold bar and was gently stroking it, as if seeing a long-lost relative, when he heard footsteps at the door. Oh no, the homeowner was back! Although these gold bars were his, it had been twenty years, and the receipts for the purchase had long since disappeared. If the homeowner called the police and accused him of theft, he wouldn't just end up in a mental hospital.

Old Zheng didn't have time to think. He quickly stuffed a gold bar into his pocket, covered the floor tiles, and moved the bed back to its original position. After doing all this, he could already hear the homeowner taking out his key to open the door. Old Zheng saw that the window was open, and without thinking, he jumped out of the window. Just then, the door opened, and Chen Ergou returned.

Chen Ergou stood at the door for a couple of seconds, as if he had noticed something. After a while, he slapped his thigh and realized, "I should have just packed up a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe)! Lunch is sorted!"

Just as Chen Ergou was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly saw something shiny by the window. What was that dazzling thing? Chen Ergou went over, picked it up, and saw that it looked like a gold bar.

It turns out that when Lao Zheng jumped out of the window, he accidentally dropped the gold bars on the ground, making all his efforts in vain!

"It's quite heavy, and this toy is made to look so real!" Chen Ergou muttered to himself.

He would never believe that there were real gold bars in Feng Weida's room. He would never believe that the "toy" in his hand was worth at least 600,000 RMB. He would never dream that he had slept on a 6 million RMB gold bar all night while eating snail rice noodles that cost 15 RMB a bucket!

When did Feng Weida get his hands on this thing? If you take this out to impress people, you might be able to get some money from it! Thinking this, Chen Ergou casually stuffed the gold bar into his pocket.

Old Zheng was filled with regret. How could he be so careless? He had finally gotten the gold bars, but they were lost. He wanted to wait for Chen Ergou to leave before going back into the house to get the gold bars. But Chen Ergou didn't leave. He didn't even go to the toilet. Was he a mythical creature that only ate and never excreted?

Old Zheng was hiding in a corner where he could see Feng Weida's house, and he was getting drowsy waiting. Suddenly, he saw Chen Ergou go out. It was a golden opportunity. He was about to use the same trick to go into the house and get the gold when he saw a taxi drive up to the front of the building and stop. Feng Weida got out of the car, and Wu Meng was sitting in the car.

"Feng Weida, where did you go last night? You didn't come home!"

Chen Ergou rushed forward, angrily confronting Feng Weida and calling him by his first name.

"Where we go is none of your business!"

Before Feng Weida could even react, Wu Meng had already rolled her eyes at him.

"Dream, that's not what I meant. I was just worried about you!"

Upon seeing Wu Meng, Chen Ergou's arrogance immediately subsided.

"We're going to get a hotel room!" Wu Meng said.

"Book a room?"

Chen Ergou felt like the sky had fallen!

"Here, this is a tip for your hard work!" Wu Meng got out of the car and immediately took out five thousand yuan, handing it to Feng Weida. "Take good care of yourself, I'll come back to you next time!"

Before getting on the bus, Wu Meng winked at Feng Weida.

Chen Ergou and Feng Weida teamed up to trick Wu Meng several times, and this time, karma has caught up with them.