ECG -Chapter 195 Li Lang Has Arrived

“No, sister-in-law, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“Has someone set their sights on the businesses Brother Qing left behind?” Zhou Dongbing didn’t ask anyone else. He felt that asking He Qing’s wife, Shang Na, directly was the most straightforward approach.

Shang Na fell silent. After a long while, she sighed softly.

Advertisement

“Dongbing, Brother Qing is gone, leaving behind just me and the child. You know as well as anyone that I don’t understand any of his businesses…”

A sharp pain stabbed at Zhou Dongbing’s heart.

“Sister-in-law, I understand. I’ll come visit you in a while.”

After hanging up, his anger immediately flared.

No wonder Ma Daya had dared to openly break with him. So this was the root of it!

Advertisement

He knew that once he swallowed up Old Qing’s businesses, Zhou Dongbing would eventually come looking for him. Since that was inevitable, he had simply stopped caring about consequences.

Good!

Ma Baoyi, since you’ve chosen to be ruthless, don’t blame me for being even more ruthless!

The group was preparing to relocate to the provincial capital anyway. This would make a fine appetizer before the main course.

He flicked the cigarette butt in his hand hard over the wall. It traced a bluish arc through the night sky.

Then he pulled out another small Nokia phone from his pocket, switched it on, and made a call.

“Xiaoyuan.”

“Brother!”

Zhou Dongbing’s voice was low and serious.

“Can you talk?”

“Yeah, I just got home.”

“How are things at the Provincial Department? Everything settled?”

“More or less. Old Gu just transferred there and is still getting familiar with things.”

“I want Old Gu to light a fire first…”

The person on the other end paused for a moment.

“Where?”

“The seafood market.”

Zhou Dongbing’s voice was icy.

“I’m not sure I can judge this properly. How about I have Old Gu contact you directly tomorrow?”

“Fine. Let’s do that.”

“Brother, when are you moving here?”

“Before winter.”

After hanging up, Xiao Yuan felt puzzled.

What exactly was Brother Zhou planning?

Why did he want Old Gu to “light a fire”?

Was it to clear the way before moving to the provincial capital?

But he had never heard of Zhou Dongbing having any enemies there.

The seafood market?

Strange.

---

That evening, when Lin Hao saw that Wu Xiaozhou and the others hadn’t returned to the dormitory, he knew they had gone straight to the cafeteria. Taking his meal card, he headed there as well.

“Holy crap!”

The moment he entered the cafeteria, Lin Hao blurted out in shock.

Wu Xiaozhou, Bai Zhitao, Cui Gang, Fatty Meng, Fatty Gao, and the others were gathered around a table eating. What stunned him was that Wu Xiaozhou’s thick head of long hair was gone.

In its place was a gleaming bald head.

“When did you get back?” Wu Xiaozhou asked through a huge chunk of braised pork in his mouth.

The others also began firing questions at him.

“Where’s your hair?”

Walking over, Lin Hao curiously reached out and rubbed the shiny scalp.

With grease glistening at the corner of his mouth, Wu Xiaozhou grinned.

“You guys were always saying my long hair looked filthy, so I just shaved it all off!”

Bai Zhitao burst into laughter and nudged him.

“You just love doing weird things! We told you to get a short haircut. Who told you to shave it completely? You look like a monk now! Honestly, your long hair looked better!”

Yan Xiaoqi chimed in, “If you ask me, he looks like he just got released from prison!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Lin Hao laughed as well.

“Looks good. Must be cooler this way. You guys eat first—I’m going to get some food.”

He noticed that Ding Lanlan from the vocal music department was sitting right next to Fatty Meng—and sitting quite close, too. Smiling, he greeted her as well.

After dinner, they skipped rehearsal.

Lin Hao had only just returned, and everyone had plenty to talk about. So the whole group gathered in Dorm Room 428 and chatted late into the night before finally dispersing.

After the lights went out, Lin Hao lay on his bed staring at the dark ceiling.

“Why didn’t I see Xiaomie?” he asked.

“Went out with Qi Xuebing, probably?” Fatty Meng replied in his deep, booming voice.

Lin Hao gave an acknowledging “Oh.” It seemed the two of them were getting along pretty well. That was good.

Thinking about how affectionate Fatty Meng and Ding Lanlan had been earlier that day, Lin Hao asked, “Old Meng, are you and Ding Lanlan together now?”

Fatty Meng immediately burst into laughter, cackling like a brooding hen.

From the lower bunk across from him, Wu Xiaozhou said, “Haozi, can you not bring that up? This guy can talk your ear off all night about it and keep you from sleeping.”

Lin Hao was just a little surprised. It wasn’t that Fatty Meng wasn’t good enough for Ding Lanlan. Sure, his eyes were a bit small, but he was tall, talented, and came from a decent family. In every respect, the two of them were actually quite well matched.

The strange thing was that he’d always heard Fatty Meng say he liked Ding Lanlan, but there hadn’t seemed to be any buildup. Fatty Meng had been busy with classes, practice sessions, and rehearsals. Lin Hao had never seen him actively pursue her.

So how had these two suddenly gotten together?

Turning over and looking down from his bunk, he asked, “So how did you two end up together?”

On the upper bunk opposite him, Cui Gang rolled over and muttered, “That’s it. Nobody’s sleeping tonight.”

Fatty Meng instantly flipped over and climbed out of bed. Barefoot, he started scrambling up toward Lin Hao’s upper bunk.

“Damn it, go back to your own bed if you’re going to tell the story!”

By the moonlight, Lin Hao could clearly see the surge of masculine excitement written all over Fatty Meng’s face, so he quickly kicked at him to keep him away.

…

The next morning, Lin Hao first organized the five songs for Han Ying, then went to the post office and mailed them to her by express delivery.

On the way back, he gave her a call.

Han Ying said she would transfer the money to him that afternoon.

Lin Hao replied that there was no rush.

After lunch in the cafeteria with Wu Xiaozhou and the others, he returned to the dormitory, picked up a Goldlion tie, and headed to the Drama Department administration building.

Guan Yuchi still looked as serious as ever, but Lin Hao could clearly detect a trace of a smile in his eyes.

Teacher and student chatted casually for a while. Lin Hao never mentioned meeting Zhang Chuanying in Yanjing.

Guan Yuchi told him there would be a trial performance of a stage play in the department’s small theater that afternoon and invited him to come watch.

---

At the Drama Department’s small theater.

Only the middle seats of the first two rows were occupied, mostly by faculty members.

When Guan Yuchi entered, everyone immediately stood up and applauded.

He quickly waved them back into their seats.

Lin Hao noticed the hint of helplessness in Guan Yuchi’s eyes. Clearly, he disliked this kind of superficial courtesy and hypocrisy, but given his position, he had little choice but to accept it.

Seeing the department head arrive, one of the male teachers hurried backstage and told the students to get ready.

The curtain slowly rose.

Several flashes of lightning crossed the sky backdrop, followed by two muffled rolls of thunder from the speakers.

A spotlight shone onto center stage, illuminating a woman in a qipao who slowly struggled to her feet…

It was a Republican-era drama, telling the story of a love triangle and the tangled emotions between two men and a woman in old Shanghai.

Lin Hao found one of the supporting male actors particularly impressive.

Especially his conflicted gaze—it wasn’t exaggerated, yet it pierced straight into the audience’s heart.

From time to time, Guan Yuchi would lean over and quietly offer a few comments about the actors’ performances.

Though brief, every remark was sharp and insightful, benefiting Lin Hao greatly.

Just after the second act ended, Lin Hao felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He glanced at the screen and saw that it was Wu Xiaozhou.

Lowering his head, he answered.

“Haozi, where are you?” Wu Xiaozhou’s voice sounded anxious.

“At the Drama Department theater. What’s wrong?” Lin Hao whispered.

Wu Xiaozhou let out a long breath of relief.

“Stay right there. Don’t come back!”

Lin Hao froze.

He didn’t understand what Wu Xiaozhou meant.

“What happened?” he asked again.

“I heard from a few students that the group who came looking for you last time is back. Fatty Meng and the others and I checked the underground rehearsal room, but they weren’t there. I’ve chased after them now…”

Lin Hao was startled.

Something wasn’t right.

Zhou Dongbing had already promised to help.

Why would Li Lang still come looking for him?

Could he actually be here to apologize?

“Wait a second.”

After saying that, Lin Hao looked up and quietly said to Guan Yuchi,

“Teacher, I have something to take care of. I need to step out for a bit.”

Guan Yuchi’s brow furrowed slightly, but he nodded.

Lin Hao quickly left the theater and went into the lobby.

“Xiaowu, if they’ve already left, don’t keep chasing them!”

“Just stay where you are and mind your own business!” Wu Xiaozhou snapped before hurriedly hanging up.

There was no way Lin Hao could calmly hide and wait.

He had considered calling Zhou Dongbing to ask what was going on, but he was worried Wu Xiaozhou might get into trouble.

Without hesitation, he took off running toward the Music Department.

Following the north bank of the artificial lake, he had only gotten near the Music Department administration building when he spotted Fatty Meng, Cui Gang, Gao Laoda, and Yan Xiaoqi.

“Where’s Xiaowu?” he immediately asked.

Fatty Meng was drenched in sweat. Bent over with his hands on his knees, he panted heavily as he replied,

“Th-those guys… I think they’ve left. Xiaowu… Xiaowu chased after them toward the main school gate!”

“How many of them were there?”

“Five!”

“Not good!”

Lin Hao instantly spun around and sprinted toward the school gate.