Su Ke took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and pressed it into A-Kuan’s hand without a word, slinging an arm around his neck like an old friend.
“Buddy, could we step aside for a moment?”
A-Kuan weighed the pack in his hand, opened it one-handed, and looked inside. His attitude subtly softened.
“Sure”
They walked a few steps away. Su Ke lowered his voice.
“Our young master hasn’t liked talking much since he was disfigured”
He glanced back at Ji Shileng and continued, “He looks brave enough, but without us beside him, he retreats into his shell again. His parents worry. I’m sure you understand”
A-Kuan rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
“You know how this place is. Lots of rules. Unauthorized people aren’t allowed inside”
Recognizing the gesture, Su Ke sensed an opening and obligingly produced another pack.
“Do us a favor, buddy. He’s all the family has. Their only child, their only heir”
This time, A-Kuan reached for it before Su Ke could press it on him.
After opening it to check, he looked around, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and slipped both packs into an inner pocket.
“It’s not impossible to make an exception. Personal favors matter in today’s world”
He held up one finger.
“But he can only bring one person”
“No problem, Brother Kuan. Having someone with him is better than going in alone”
Su Ke pretended to breathe a sigh of relief.
“To be honest, the young master isn’t entirely well psychologically. Without someone keeping an eye on him, I’m afraid he might cause problems for you”
“Psychologically?”
Su Ke heaved a heavy sigh.
“Disfigured as a teenager, ignored by everyone, parents always busy with work, and people saying cruel things. His mental state was bound to…”
All those words finally condensed into one sentence.
“You understand”
A-Kuan nodded sympathetically. Good lord, his idiot of a boss was the same.
Part of his body was impaired, and his personality was utterly unpredictable. Nothing about him seemed normal.
“Brother, I understand”
They met each other’s eyes and found a shared sense of understanding.
After that performance, Su Ke felt rather magnificent. The stories simply rolled off his tongue.
During the few minutes he waited, Ji Shileng kept his hands tucked inside his sleeves and lowered his eyes, firmly suppressing his irritation. What was that idiot opposite him looking at him like that for?
Before long, Su Ke returned looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
“Brother Kuan, let me discuss it with my young master and decide who’ll go in”
“No problem”
A-Kuan took out a cigarette, and his attentive assistant promptly lit it.
The two returned to the bodyguards. Ji Shileng asked, “Well?”
“He wouldn’t budge at first. Luckily, I brought this”
Su Ke produced his last cigarette pack.
Ji Shileng accepted it and immediately noticed the unusual weight. Opening it, he found a gold bar inside.
“…Where did you learn that?”
Su Ke dusted off his hands, keeping his achievements understated.
“Picked up a few things chatting with the others”
“All right”
No wonder Su Ke had wandered off while he was having his makeup done. He had gone to buy gold bars.
“Two gold bars got him to agree to one companion,” Su Ke said. “Who are you taking?”
Ji Shileng yawned, looking casual.
“Want to come?”
“Choose someone who can fight. If something really happens, they can handle it”
Su Ke knew his limitations perfectly well.
His flashy fighting skills were good for little beyond appearances.
“Then I’ll pick someone sturdy”
Ji Shileng glanced around. In truth, every bodyguard was tall and muscular. Together, they formed a wall.
One of their close party friends ran a security company. Hearing that Su Ke and Ji Shileng needed help, he had sent an elite team without even asking what for.
Every member was a military veteran.
“Good. You’re carrying a camera and a listening device anyway. If anything’s wrong, I’ll bring everyone in by force”
Concerned for their safety, their friend had also supplied bulletproof vests, listening devices, and other equipment.
Ji Shileng acknowledged him and pointed casually at one man.
“You. Come with me. Everyone else stays with Su Ke and waits for orders”
The bodyguard named Liang Jian silently stepped out of formation and followed Ji Shileng.
Su Ke approached A-Kuan again, smiling as he discreetly passed over another cigarette pack from beneath his sleeve.
“Brother Kuan, I’m leaving our young master in your hands. Please look after him if there’s anything he doesn’t understand”
A-Kuan quietly accepted it and patted his chest in assurance.
“No problem. Leave him to me”
“Young master, stay safe”
Su Ke stepped back and watched Ji Shileng enter.
Inside the building, black-clad personnel guarded their posts on the ground floor.
A-Kuan explained, “Brother Leng, entering our building requires several security checks”
“Brother Kuan, this…”
One of the men looked uncertainly at the bodyguard behind Ji Shileng.
A-Kuan kicked him.
“A rich man and his bodyguard. Never seen that combination before?”
“I have, but aren’t visitors prohibited from bringing people in?”
A-Kuan leaned close to his ear and scolded him quietly.
“He’s a major client! Look after him, coax him into spending, and we’ll have commissions coming out of our ears”
Understanding appeared in the man’s eyes. Without even searching them, he let them straight through.
Beside Ji Shileng, A-Kuan gestured enthusiastically as he recounted Gaopei Laboratory’s rise to success, though he had only heard the story from senior colleagues himself.
Ji Shileng walked alongside him, occasionally nodding in agreement and offering a comment.
They entered the elevator. A-Kuan pressed B1, and Ji Shileng raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Our laboratory is hidden underground?”
Absorbed in his story, A-Kuan missed the subtle change in his expression.
“Yes. This isn’t the kind of business that can stand the light of day. Putting it upstairs in the sunshine wouldn’t do”
Ji Shileng: “…”
So he did know his business could not stand the light of day.
“Brother Leng, looking at your build…”
A-Kuan glanced at him. Standing beside Ji Shileng, he could clearly see the irregular, raised scars stretching from his ear down his neck, where the mask did not cover. The skin was waxy white.
Tall, long-legged—how had he ended up disfigured?
Ji Shileng gave a hoarse laugh.
“Does perfection really exist? Only in fairy tales, surely?”
On the first basement level, A-Kuan led them along a winding route before entering a second elevator.
“True,” he said with feeling. “Especially the young women I meet in this line of work…”
He clicked his tongue twice and continued, “Every one of them from a top university, pretty too. Yet for a bit of money, they stop treating themselves like human beings”
Crude words, but the point was not wrong.
How could a surrogacy operation be a good place?
Once they came here, no one would treat them as people.
Ji Shileng asked, “Did they come voluntarily?”
Leave a Reply