No. 29 A River of Innocence Flowing Backwards
It was only now that I truly understood the meaning of the “butterfly effect.”
The overlap between Yi Yao’s past and mine was rapidly diminishing, replaced by a tangled web of social connections and an uncertain future.
And it all started because I had done something Yi Yao wouldn’t have done, for a friend she barely cared about.
“Oh, Mayor Huang, you’ve arrived.”
I followed Huang Zhiqiang to the third floor of the hotel. Before we could even settle in, a middle-aged man in a suit approached us, his hand outstretched.
“Haha, I wouldn’t miss Secretary Huang’s banquet for the world.” Huang Zhiqiang shook the man’s hand, laughing heartily. “I’ll go in and punish myself with three drinks first.”
“Now, now, Mayor Huang, that’s not how it works. You arrived on time. There’s no need for punishment.” The man smiled thinly, his eyes flickering towards me. “And who is this?”
“Oh, this is Yi Yao, the girl who saved my daughter during the kidnapping incident. Yi Yao, this is Secretary Huang Tianqi.”
“Hello, Secretary Huang!”
I bowed politely, forcing a smile.
Great, even the provincial secretary. The Huang family was truly powerful.
“Yi Yao? That name sounds familiar… Wait a minute.”
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, then his face lit up with recognition. “Yi Yao! My son mentioned you. He said I should help you if you ever needed anything. Heh, it’s been so long, and you haven’t even called me.”
Your son is… Huang Tianhai?
The news reports two years from now never mentioned their relationship. I had assumed Huang Tianhai came from a humble background and worked his way up.
“Her phone was destroyed by Zero… those kidnappers. I just bought her a new one.”
Huang Zhiqiang, sensing my discomfort, quickly intervened. “Secretary Huang, let’s talk over there.”
“Well, even with a new phone, she should at least save my number.”
Huang Tianqi waved his hand dismissively, took my new phone, and entered a few numbers. “Here, Yi Yao. If you ever need anything, just call me. My good-for-nothing son asked me to look after you. I might be busy sometimes, but I can always ask someone to help you out.”
What the hell? The only three contacts on my phone, even without a SIM card, were the mayor, his daughter, and the provincial secretary?
“Well, I’ll leave you two to your private conversation. Please excuse us.”
He returned my phone, then gestured towards a security guard. Huang Tianqi and Huang Zhiqiang walked towards a nearby staircase, leaving me with the guard. “Miss, the VIP room is this way.”
“Okay.”
I had anticipated this outcome.
Despite the ideals of equality, humans were the only creatures in nature who lied for reasons other than survival.
But what I hadn’t expected was to find a room full of familiar faces in the so-called “VIP room.”
Pai Ge, Bing Bing, Hua She, Liang Zhenyi, and even the Jiang Nan Gang members I had injured.
“Yo, Yi Yao.”
Pai Ge was still his usual carefree self, his smile bright, his demeanor sunny, dressed in his signature suit and top hat. The only difference was that he wasn’t holding any playing cards this time.
No wonder Ouyang Dati had called him a “big shot”…
“You guys…”
There were two tables in the large room. Pai Ge, Hua She, and their group occupied one, while the Jiang Nan Gang occupied the other. As I entered, all eyes from the Jiang Nan Gang table turned towards me.
Are you sure you won’t start a fight sitting together like this?
“Why aren’t you wearing a dress, Yi Yao?”
Pai Ge, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, teased me. “I specifically asked Mayor Huang to tell you to wear a dress.”
Wear a dress my ass. How am I supposed to carry those knives in a dress?
I glared at him and sat down beside Liang Zhenyi, forcing a calm facade. “Lao Liang, how’s your injury?”
I instantly regretted my words.
Of all the things to bring up, I had to mention Liang Zhenyi’s injury, the very source of the conflict between the Black Dragon Society and the Jiang Nan Gang.
“It’s much better. Nothing serious. I was being a bit too harsh with my words that day.”
He poured himself a glass of wine, stood up, and raised his glass towards the Jiang Nan Gang table. “My apologies, brothers. I, Liang, offer you my sincere apologies.”
He downed the wine in one gulp.
“Don’t mention it. It was our fault. We got carried away.”
They all stood up and raised their glasses. “Cheers!”
That was how it was with boys.
There was nothing a good meal and a few drinks couldn’t solve.
Three drinks down, they were drunk, they slept.
The sun rose, they woke up, their worries forgotten, life went on.
Besides, with the mayor and the secretary present, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble. One wrong move, and they could end up on the front page of the news.
I stood up and walked over to an empty chair at the Jiang Nan Gang table.
“I’m sorry. I went too far that day.”
I spoke in a soft, apologetic tone, reaching for a glass, but one of the boys stopped me.
“Secretary Huang is upstairs. You’re a girl. You shouldn’t drink.”
“Yeah, we’re a bunch of grown men. We should be ashamed of ourselves for losing to a girl. It’s not your fault.”
“Don’t worry about it, Yi Yao. We’re all friends now. Besides, your Long Ge has helped me out a few times before.”
They all chimed in, their words surprisingly kind.
A wave of warmth washed over me.
“But… I still feel bad…”
One of the boys, his face still bandaged, slammed his bottle on the table. “It might have been a misunderstanding, but Qinghao Ge was hospitalized because of her. It cost us a lot of money. I…”
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Everyone, including Pai Ge and Hua She, stared at him.
“How about this.” The boy who had stopped me from drinking earlier pulled out a small bottle with foreign writing on it. “This is Stolichnaya, Russian vodka, 60% alcohol. As an apology to our brother, you drink half of this, and we’ll call it even. What do you say, Xiao Chao?”
He poured half the bottle into my glass.
“Okay.”
I hesitated for a moment, then raised my glass towards the bandaged boy, Xiao Chao, and downed the liquid in one gulp.
Sweet?
“Good! That’s the spirit!”
The boy cheered and raised his glass. The others followed suit, emptying their beer glasses.
“Xiao Chao, are you satisfied now?”
“Yes, yes.” He wiped the beer from his mouth, his gaze shifting from resentment to concern. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Relax. We have all the best doctors in the Yixian Province on standby. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Good, good, good.” He nodded repeatedly, then bowed to me. “You’re a true heroine. I was wrong. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Are you guys filming a martial arts drama?
“Alright, alright, we have more guests arriving soon. Yi Yao, you should head back to your table.”
Seeing that the matter was settled, they politely dismissed me.
I returned to Pai Ge’s side. He patted my back nonchalantly. “Yi Yao Mei(little sister), I’m impressed. Stolichnaya, Russian vodka. You downed it in one gulp. You’re a true disciple of mine.”
I glanced at the other table, making sure they were distracted by their drinking game, then whispered to Pai Ge, “That wasn’t vodka. It was sweet.”
It didn’t even taste like alcohol.
“I know.” He grinned. “They already forgave you. Boys will be boys. They fight, they bleed, it’s all part of growing up. That guy was just close to Qinghao and felt a bit resentful. So, we decided to play a little prank on him.”
His words stunned me.
They didn’t even care about getting hurt.
Like wolves, they had learned to embrace pain and grow stronger through bloodshed.
“Speaking of which, Yi Yao, let me tell you a secret.”
He lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“Bing Bing said she likes you…”
“Whoosh!”
A small knife flew across the room, narrowly missing his face and embedding itself in the chair behind him.
“I’m sorry! Bing Bing, I’m sorry!”
He raised his hands in surrender, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead as he stared at the knife.
“Hmph.”
Lu Yibing, who was sitting across from us, snorted and continued playing on her phone, her long hair swaying gently.
“Hey, I’m your brother’s best friend! What if you had actually hit me?”
He pulled the knife out of the chair and, with a few deft movements, transformed it into a playing card.
“…”
“What are you looking at? Eat your food.”
