556 Meeting
Fu Yee’s mother studied the name card and slowly sat down. He knew Fu Yi was not with the police, so when her daughter said an officer saved her, she knew that person was not Fu Yi.
Fu Yee’s mother leaned against the wall and sat for a while. She didn’t take out the phone number in her left pocket. She didn’t call the number on the card. She paused and then stood up. She wiped her face in the dark. When she returned to the room, she was back as the tough and optimistic mother.
“Mom, have you called Dad? He was the one who saved me, right?” Fu Yee looked at her mother with anticipation.
“You got it wrong. The officer merely looked like your father.” Fu Yee was disappointed hearing that. The excitement in her eyes faded away. She thought her family would be complete.
“Let’s eat. Things will slowly get better.” The mother served her daughter food. As Fu Yee ate, her mother noticed Fu Yee’s hair was braided. The braids were all over the place because the person was not familiar with hair braiding. “Did the officer who saved you braid your hair?”
“Yes.” Fu Yee’s voice was low from disappointment.
The woman sighed. If only the man were really Fu Yee’s father…
In the same city, different stories were playing. After Han Fei and his family had finished dinner, they decided to walk home. His wife planned to visit Fu Sheng after fetching Fu Tian, but she panicked when told that Fu Sheng hadn’t arrived at his school. Since Fu Tian was still young, she had to bring Fu Tian around to look for Fu Sheng. After the day of bustling about, the children were tired. Fu Tian’s eyelids were heavy, and he kept yawning.
“Eat and sleep. It’s so fun being a kid.” Han Fei carried Fu Tian on his back. He walked beside his wife and Fu Sheng. Without realizing it, he became the core of the family. The family hadn’t had a chance to walk together like this before. Fu Yi was busy with women and money to care about his family in the past. His wife knew about his activities outside, but she had to support the family independently. People outside saw her as a happy full-time mother, but her heart was heavily injured by Fu Yi. Other than the innocent Fu Tian, this family was already broken. They were like a shattered mirror, pieces that couldn’t be joined back together.
However, Han Fei managed to bring his family back together despite this circumstance. Han Fei was an orphan. He had never experienced the warmth of a family before. Initially, he worked hard because he didn’t want to be killed by his girlfriends, but without realizing it, he started to feel the warmth of home. The home provided him with a sense of sanctuary.
The streetlights showered on them. Han Fei, who carried the sleeping Fu Tian, walked in front. He looked so reliable.
“Notification for Player 0000! Your wife’s hatred towards you has lowered by one, accumulation of six” This was probably because Han Fei had found Fu Sheng. Of all the females, Han Fei’s wife was the only one who had actively helped Han Fei. She hated Fu Yi and wanted to kill him, but at the same time, she tried to protect the family. She was very conflicted.
The female characters had different emotions towards Fu Yi. They loved him differently. His wife loved him as a family and husband; Du Zhu loved him as a toy; Lee Guo Er loved him for his talent; the female online friend loved him as a father figure. Love came in many different shapes and sizes, corresponding to different deaths.
Fu Sheng grabbed his bag and disappeared into his room when they reached home. Han Fei didn’t say anything. Their relationship had already improved a lot that day. Han Fei placed Fu Tian on his bed. He and his wife only left after Fu Tian fell asleep. Han Fei showered and changed. After a whole day, he was tired too. Han Fei walked out of the bathroom and saw his wife sitting on the couch holding his clothes. Han Fei’s nerves pulled tautly. He recalled what happened that day. His clothes should be free of another female’s perfume or lipstick print.
“Aren’t you going to bed yet?” Han Fei walked towards the bedroom. When he passed his wife, his wife suddenly asked, “Do you have anything that you’re not telling me?”
“No.”
“Then, why your clothes…” His wife picked up his shirt. “Are stained with blood near the collar and sleeves? You haven’t gone for a physical check for a while already.”
“It’s a nosebleed from the heat.” Han Fei didn’t stop moving. “If there’s something, I’ll tell you. You’re family.”
Han Fei grabbed the mattress and placed it on the ground. He didn’t feel any evident deterioration of his physique, but he was dizzy after a long day that had never happened before. Han Fei soon fell asleep. His defense against his wife lowered after her hatred towards him lowered.
Deep in the night, Han Fei heard a woman telling him something, but he was too sleepy to hear anything. The alarm waked up Han Fei. He found it harder to get up in the morning. Han Fei exited the bedroom and saw his busy wife. The breakfast was already on the table.
“Thank you for everything.” In romantic dramas, when the husband woke up to his wife making breakfast in the kitchen, he would go and hug her from behind and give her a morning kiss. The atmosphere was right, but if Han Fei really did that, he would be chopped into pieces. ‘The dramas are all lying.’
Han Fei just sat down when the door on the second floor opened. Fu Sheng rushed out, holding his school bag.
“Wait a minute. I’ve prepared breakfast for you. You can eat them on your way to school.” The wife ran out of the kitchen and handed the boxed meal to Fu Sheng. Fu Sheng halted, looked at the box, grabbed it, and ran out. The fact that Fu Sheng was willing to take her meal box made Han Fei’s wife very happy. As the stepmom, she tried her best to win Fu Sheng’s approval. ‘Just how did Fu Yi, the bastard, manage to marry such a good woman?’ Han Fei lamented. He finished the breakfast and hurried to work. The hatred of his friends lowered by the days; however, his physique also worsened by the days.
To complete the altar mission, Han Fei voluntarily interacted with other departments and personally checked the progress of each team member. “The company doesn’t give us much time. We have to finish this as soon as possible!” Han Fei knew Du Zhu would target him, so he had to race against time. “You are not doing this for the company. We have made this game ourselves. The company will take limited dividends. So you are working for yourselves. Think of your future!
“You all know I am very against working overtime, but with how popular our game concept is getting, other people will copy us. You wouldn’t want that to happen, right? If we can enter the market first, then we’ll be able to get a lot of bonuses. Think about it this way, you’re not really working, but printing money.”
Han Fei showed them the data provided by the Marketing Department. Their game was creating a storm among the 18+ games community. The plot was fascinating. Many players were helping the game developers promote the games on forums and websites. Every element of the game was top-notch. Han Fei even had a feeling that if he replicated this game in real life, he could earn actual money from it. ‘I’ll pull Bai Xian and Huang Yin in as investors.’
As the main designer, after all the designs were done, Han Fei had the freest time. He didn’t know much about game programming, and he didn’t want to stand in the professionals’ way. “I’ll go out to find more sponsors. Don’t slack off.” Han Fei went to find Zhao Qian. Using the need to record some new music as an excuse, Han Fei left the company. Han Fei had no idea how long his body could withstand, so he needed to push things forward. He came to the second floor of Golden Leaf and called Wu San. He wanted to see Qiang Wei. About half an hour later, a handsome man with long hair entered the booth with four others. They were all players.
“Han Fei, we meet again.” Wu San greeted Han Fei with a smile. The rest was not as friendly.
“Why do you want to see me?” The others only dared to sit after Qiang Wei took his seat.
“You must have noticed that this world is becoming more dangerous at night.” Han Fei poured himself a glass of water. The world mutation was related to Fu Sheng. Han Fei was closest to knowing this world’s truth.
“Why? Do you finally feel pressured enough to join us?” A female player on Qiang Wei’s side scoffed. She was Qiang Wei’s assistant. She heard from Da Yu that Han Fei had seven wives, and he depended on them to survive. All females should despise him.
“The pressure is increasing but I still don’t plan to join you.” Han Fei toyed with the glass. “My brother is missing not two hours after he joined you. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about that.”
“Our people went missing too.” The female player wanted to say something more, but Qiang Wei stopped her. He stared at Han Fei for a long time and asked a curious question. “It was you outside the prop room that day? It was you who saved the paparazzi?”
“That’s right.” Han Fei knew what Qiang Wei wanted to ask. “I also heard your conversation with Xia Yilan and you’re investigating Immortal Pharma’s plastic surgery hospital.”
Qiang Wei’s eyes glinted dangerously.
“Don’t worry. I have something more important to tell you.” Han Fei put down the glass. “Actually we come from the same place and are numbered since we are young.” Qiang Wei suddenly stood up and ordered the other players. “I need you all to leave.” The players treated Qiang Wei as their leader so they obliged.
The door closed. Qiang Wei sat back down and his expression was dark. “The more you know, the quicker you die. Don’t you understand that?”
“That’s the cutest threat I’ve ever heard.” Han Fei picked up the chopsticks and flung them. The chopsticks brushed past Qiang Wei’s hair and pierced through the door. If Han Fei aimed for the man’s eye, then Qiang Wei would be dead already. “Oh, right. My main attribute is intelligence.” Han Fei added casually.
Qiang Wei stared at his broken hair on the table and his pupils narrowed. He didn’t expect such aggression from Han Fei. “What is your goal?”
“I’m here to save you. Immortal Pharma is behind that hospital. Do you think you can take it down with a small website?” The derision in Han Fei’s eyes made Qiang Wei uncomfortable.
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Qiang Wei stared at Han Fei. “Since you are not joining us, then we have nothing to discuss.”
“No, I’m not joining you because I’m giving you a chance to join us.”
“Us? You have other players like you?” Qiang Wei hated that Han Fei knew more things than he did.
“You still don’t have the right to know. You only need to understand one thing. In the game, I can bring you out of any hidden map; in real life, I can make Xin Lu police cooperate with me.” Han Fei smiled humbly. “Be it Immortal Pharma or Deep Space Tech, their main offices are at Xin Lu.” Han Fei stood up and walked to the door. “If you want to know more, then prove your worth to me. The opening of the plastic surgery hospital is on a woman called Du Zhu. Her family is involved in every business in this city.”
“You want me to help you find her?” Qiang Wei couldn’t guess Han Fei’s goal.
“Finding her is the first step, cutting her connection to the hospital is the real goal.” Han Fei opened the booth door. “I’ll give you three days to consider. I await your answer.”
After Han Fei left, Qiang Wei mulled on his words. ‘Cut off her connection to the hospital? Han Fei wants us to kidnap this woman?’ Qiang Wei was shocked that the man would suggest such a ludicrous thing.
