Release that Man

Ye Shuang’s hand that held the steering wheel did not even shake. She took some time away from the driving to toss the bracelet a glance and turned her lips down in condescension. “This frame job sure is juvenile.”

It was still the same sentence. Ye Shuang never believed there was such a coincidence in this world; at most, there was an exploitation of the situation. Behind the final result of an event, there had to be various conditions that led to the formation and resolution of this event. Why was it Han Chu who went to fetch Yao Zhixing? Why would the bracelet be dropped at the scene? Why would Zhou Yue’s name be etched on the bracelet? Why was it this particular bracelet of Zhou Yue’s that was dropped?

It was because of all these conditions reacting with one another that it ended up with the bracelet falling into Han Chu’s hands. It was not necessary that one person had designed all the details, but certain details could be manipulated by human hands to direct the situation down a direction that was beneficial to oneself or at least down the direction oneself hoped it would go down.

This was similar to what people called the butterfly effect. A small change to the start of the forming condition was enough to cause a large change to the result. Similar, a ‘coincidence’ could be used to lead an event down a different path. Even without Zhou Yue sharing a meal with Ye Shuang and Sister Yao at the mall earlier in the day, Ye Shuang would not have pinned the whole assault on Zhou Yue based on a simple bracelet. That would be too simple-minded.

“The best design should be silent but deadly. Unless one looked very close, one would not have found out which detail had led to the final result. At the very least, they had to be able to make it look subtle. Perhaps the actions might be too obvious, but at least they should be able to clean up the mess. But this one…” Ye Shuang felt like rolling her eyes. “The person does not even know that Zhou Yue just had lunch with us earlier in the day; they did not even consider such a large loophole. If I don’t expose it, it would be an affront to my intelligence.”

If this was Ye Shuang, as rough as she might be, at the very least, when she designed the setup, she would have considered the element of Zhou Yue. For example, inviting the man to go fishing or hiking during the period of the time. Even though it was not perfect, at least she would not allow the man to wander around public places to create the perfect alibi for himself at a time like this.

“Zhou Yue was having lunch with you?” Han Chu tossed the bracelet onto the headboard, not giving it much thought. “Together with Miss Yao?”

He did not think a bracelet could represent anything. However, he did not expect the extent of the person’s stupidity. He thought about it, and his lips curved upward into a smile. “Perhaps the person thought as long as there is evidence, it doesn’t really matter whether Zhou Yue is there or not.”

“If Zhou Yue is not there, then what’s the point of a single bracelet?” Ye Shuang could not resist mocking the plan. “What kind of man would give another man a bracelet? Is it meant to be a lover’s keepsake?”

Furthermore, what is this bracelet from a young people’s brand? It is directly attached with a plaque. Is it because the person was afraid that others would not be able to identify the owner? If they wanted to conduct a setup, at least find something that could not be exposed with a single glance.

Human beings are curious creatures. They did not care about things that fell into their hands too easily—they had to make life difficult for themselves to go for things that were hard to achieve. Only results that were gained after a lot of hard work was considered valuable. As the saying goes, a wife is no better than a mistress, a mistress is no better than an affair, and an affair is no better than those whom you could not have an affair with. It was the same with evidence.

Without the process of analysis and observation, how could one answer to those who did not have the chance to show off their intelligence?

“I don’t like to trace something’s origin.” Han Chu leaned against the door and looked out at the scenery outside. “No matter how hard we look at the reasons, we’re looking backward. We should instead be looking at what will happen next.

“First, do we believe this bracelet represents the identity of the culprit? If we do, then this is an escalation of the fight between Zhou Yue and Yao Zhixing. This is something simple then. After all, there is already no possibility of a truce between them. They are too different in terms of personality, and the business relationship has already been severed. With or without this provocation, things will be the same, so there is no need to consider this. If we do not believe it, what other possibilities might we be facing?”

One of the possibilities was the most direct, but the most direct possibility might really be the truth. If the truth was that simple, then they should follow the lead naturally, and there was no need to waste their brain cells to set up a precaution.

“If we follow the analysis from the premise of ‘we do not believe’, then we can confirm this is a setup. Then who could be the actual real culprit? The b*stard son? Then the result is that we will have to get him back to teach him a lesson. The man is powerless, and even if we touch him, there will be no repercussion, so we can just ignore this. If the culprit is not him, since we are not certain who else would go after Yao Zhixing, there will be an investigation.”

Han Chu closed his eyes and slowly arranged the information in his mind. “If there is an investigation, who will Yao Zhixing go to? In his social circle, there are only you and me who are in this business, so what will happen if he did reach out to you or me? If it is you, based on the personality that you have showed when you’re around Yao Zhixing, the most likely result is going to be using violence to end the problem. Since you have so many people backing you up, there will most likely not be any repercussions, so we can ignore this possibility as well. If he reaches out to me, the best and most suitable candidate I have for this job will be Anthony…”

His voice lowered as he continued his analysis. When he reached this part of his speculation, how the rest of the event could play out was actually as clear as day.

Han Chu frowned and opened his eyes to look at Ye Shuang. Ye Shuang smiled and helped him continue the speculation. “The investigative method used by Tony will be edging the line of the law. He is very familiar with the underground rules, so he will not get into trouble with the information that he excavates. However, the way he goes about the investigation will get him into trouble. If Tony is exposed, he might be kicked out of the country. There will be two parties who stand to gain from this. One is the Xi Hwa Organization. From the combined assault from Zuo Yuanhang and Tony, they should know someone is on their tail. Even though they might be able to escape unscathed, they will focus their fire on Tony to help soften the blow and slow down the situation. Two will be Albert. He will contact the FBI and use this criminal record to conduct an exchange with Tony.”

It was still that same sentence. The situation could be very simple, or it could be very complicated. The simplest result would not cause any negative impact to themselves, so that could be ignored. However, if things went down the track of the most complicated possibility, there would be a need for them to prepare beforehand.

In other words, Han Chu and Ye Shuang were not technically analyzing the truth but were filtering through all the possibilities to avoid the worst possible result.

This was because as important as the truth was, it was something that needed to be resolve right after an event happened—for example, if you were trapped inside a small house and suddenly the house was set on fire, would your first concern be to escape or to figure out who the arsonist was?

Many people could understand theory when they were not in a direct threat, but change the scenario and the situation, and people normally would have trouble coming to the most rational solution.

“No matter what the truth is, they will eventually be exposed. The most important thing now is not to fall into the culprit’s tempo.” Ye Shuang realized once more that there was something similar between Han Chu’s and her own personalities. For example, this was similar to how she rejected the invitation by the bespectacled man at the casino—as confident as she was, she was not going to follow his plan.

Han Chu nodded slightly to show his approval. His eyes narrowed. “To avoid the worst possible result, we need to retrace the course of events from the result to avoid the conditions that would lead to said result. The key is to avoid Tony’s involvement, so it is better for you to handle this issue than myself. No matter whether the b*stard son is responsible or not, he is definitely involved somehow, so it doesn’t really matter whether we find out that he is the final culprit or not.”

Since Yao Zhixing was not going to care about that when he conducted his revenge—even the accomplice would be treated as the culprit—Han Chu directly tossed the issue of the b*stard son aside. The man was not that important to deserve their attention. “Based on that conclusion, we should start our investigation with the premise that ‘there is some other person behind this’. You will start your violent investigation to avoid the situation from leading into my involvement. What do you think?”

If they took this the normal way and followed the investigation step by step, when they confirmed that there was a problem and they started to take action then, perhaps the butterfly would already have fluttered its wings. Ye Shuang’s actions might be limited or some other people might have joined into the fray, and by then, Han Chu would have to get Anthony to help with the situation.

“Hmm, I’ll go look around after dinner.” Whether there was a real problem or not, it did not matter. She was going to treat it like there was a problem. Ye Shuang nodded subconsciously because she had considered all those things. However, she soon realized something was not so right. “Wait a minute, how did you come up with the possibility that I would resolve the issue with a violent method?”

The result was fine; helping Yao Zhixing was fine. The key problem was… why did Han Chu assume she had such a propensity for violence?

Han Chu turned around to look at Ye Shuang, and he asked her in return, “What do you think? Sister Shuang clearing out Fei He street, taking out more than ten capable men. A fight broke out again on New Year’s Eve, scaring even Zhou Yue. Combined with today’s incident at the hospital, I believe your name has even spread to the bikers in the countryside.”

In other words, Ye Shuang’s name had already formed and settled at San Lin City. Anyone would tell you without hesitation that Sister Shuang had connections with the mafia and the police.

Ye Shuang’s expression dropped. I’m so tired.

…

Their logical thinking aligned perfectly with each other. After they analyzed the result, they arrived at the apartment soon after. Then, they cooked dinner together, also providing for two shameless men who depended on Ye Shuang for food, Anthony and Albert.

Since she could not test it out directly, Ye Shuang could not tell what Albert was really up to. However, based on what she had observed so far, the man did not show any remorse or guilt from doing something bad… or perhaps the FBI had done so many bad things that he had already lost his sense of guilt?

While the plot hole in her mind opened, Ye Shuang could still maintain her winning streak at the dinner table. On the table was her favorite dish, which was fried shrimp balls, and only around six fell into other three’s bowl—the rest was surrounded by Ye Shuang. Han Chu chose to be silent with regards to this horrible competition. He merely glanced at Ye Shuang quietly before turning his chopsticks elsewhere.

After dinner, Anthony stayed behind to invite Ye Shuang to join him for video games. He was rejected. When he heard that Ye Shuang was going out, he pleaded and begged to follow her. When they were caught at a standstill, it was Han Chu who stepped forward to drag the puppy home. Ye Shuang finally got the chance to home alone. She changed into a more comfortable outfit and went down to the parking lot to grab her car. She followed the address given to her by Han Chu beforehand to head to the spot where the bikers were believed to gather for their activity.

Based on Ye Shuang’s original plan, she was supposed to cause some chaos for the bikers and forced out some information from them to see whether there had been other individuals who had been in cahoots with them other than that b*stard son. If she could get some valuable information from the gang of bikers, what she was supposed to do next was simple. Ye Shuang only needed to follow the clues and slowly retrace the steps. It would eventually lead her to the real culprit who had been manipulating the events behind the scene. If the biker gang could not offer her any valuable information that would help clear up her problem, then the next pit stop on her schedule was at the b*stard son’s place.

First some beating; then, some heavier beating; finally, heaviest beating. There was not only going to be physical beating but psychological beating as well. Han Chu purposely told Yao Zhixing to hold off from informing the son’s father because he wanted to leave behind this trading chip.

If you’re not willing to reveal everything honestly, we will have to do this. Even if I break two of your legs and drag you back home, your father is still going to apologize to me—you understand that, right?

If the b*stard son was willing to come clean, Ye Shuang would ignore what happened next. Her focus would be on following the trail. Of course, just because she did not tattle did not mean that other people would not. In any case, Ye Shuang herself would keep her promise of not saying anything, but she was not going to be responsible for other people’s mouths.

…

The plan had already been made, but the reality was slightly different from what she imagined.

Based on the location given by Han Chu, Ye Shuang expected the group of bikers should be nouveau riche from the country side. Why would she think that? For example, you were originally a farmer and had your own land. Then, one fine day, someone approached you saying; they wanted to expand on your land, and they bought the land from you with several millions dollars…

An idle mind is the devil’s playground. Once people had time on their hands and nothing to do, their mind would start to wander to horrible places.

Farmers were supposed to take care of the land. Whether the land was sold for factories or something else, once the land was lost, yes, indeed the money traded was a good thing, but how many of these people would know about investment? They might want to find a different job to do, but how many of them knew a different marketable skill?

Therefore, a great majority of these people used the money to buy real estate, buy luxuries items, gamble, and so on. Without knowing it, they had already wasted all of their money and then were shocked— F*ck, we now have no land and no money! What do we do?

The issue of bankruptcy aside, these people still had money for the time being. Those who were bankrupt had already sold their houses and went back to work. The remaining farmers became part of this group that Ye Shuang had to deal with.

They had all the money in the world and plenty of time on their hands. The younger generation felt that the most, and they threw themselves into various types of entertainment. Technically speaking, they were also young masters, and they were the most annoying of all the different types of young master. They were familiar with all the bad habits, and arguing and getting into conflict on the road was relatively common. They were a perpetual headache for the police.

The law enforcement in the countryside was naturally not as competent as the one at the city. The basic amenities were lacking, and there was too high of a turnover rate. The environment and cleanliness were not good. Normally, these were the places where the problems of society congregated. It was the most difficult place to manage.

When Ye Shuang arrived, she made her target the group of rich people. After all, there would be people who got into physical altercations until their head broke open every few days. Even if people were calling out for help at midnight, no one would have taken an extra glance, much less the police who were already used to the trouble created by the people.

However, when Ye Shuang really arrived at the place, she could not even find people on normal motorbikes, much less a gang of bikers.

She parked the car and went to the spot where Yao Zhixing had been assaulted. Even though the place did not have a district that was as busy as the city, it had several general goods stores, an arcade, a billiard room, and an internet café. Other than that, there were several teenagers squatting by the roadside with cigarettes on their lips.

The general good stores were not the problem. Standing on the street, Ye Shuang could look right into the stores. Other than the owners that were watching TV or the stove, there were no other customers. The arcade, billiard room, and internet café were equally likely. After all, she was looking for young masters who would not have that high class of a past time. To put it plainly, they were street thugs with money. Other than bike racing, what other past time would they have?

After giving it some thought, Ye Shuang left her car and walked toward the general goods stores. When she passed the young men on the street, they whistled at her and made some lewd remarks. Ye Shuang did not even turn her head to look at them. She continued walking until she reached the counter of the small shop. Coming from behind her were the mocking laughs of the few young men. “You’re such a failure—the pretty girl doesn’t even want to acknowledge you.”

Ye Shuang pretended to not hear anything as her eyes scanned the counter. “I need a whole box of mineral water—please help me carry it to the trunk of my car. Then, I want a bag of chips, a box of chocolate, one…”

She ordered several hundred RMB of snacks at one go. The female owner picked out the stuff lazily and with impatience. It looked like she was annoyed at Ye Shuang for disturbing her TV time. Lastly, she picked up a box of mineral water and placed it on the counter. She calculated all the items and gave Ye Shuang the price. “That will be 163.50 RMB.”

Ye Shuang opened her wallet to pay the owner. As she accepted the change, she tried to make some small talk. “How come the place is so isolated tonight?”

The owner swept all the snacks into a large plastic bag. She hung the bag on one arm and used both of her arms to pick up the box of mineral waters. As she walked, she glanced at Ye Shuang. “Do you live here?”

“A friend of mine lives here. I’ve been here several times to visit him.” Ye Shuang smiled.

When they passed the young men again, there were more whistling, and this time, there was the added holler, “Pretty girl! Nice car you got there. How about we go for a ride together?”

“Then, you go ask your friend and find out.” The owner pretended to not hear the young men. She placed the box inside the trunk of Ye Shuang’s car, slapped her hands clean, and turned to walk away. She did not show any happiness from having just completed a large sale.

Ye Shuang looked at the female owner as she walked back to her shop. She realized that some of the more roundabout methods that she employed were not going to work here. This place, everyone had their own way of survival. The rules of the nation did not apply here. Instead, it was house rules that applied. It looked like the biker gang really came to this place often. It was due to their rowdiness that most people would not breathe a word about them, to save themselves the trouble.

After some time, Ye Shuang’s gaze fell on the few young men who were still blowing whistles at her. Ye Shuang suddenly smiled. She took out her phone to make a call and then put her phone away. She leaned against the door of her car and asked, “Do you all really want to go on a ride with me?”

What the f*ck‽ For real‽

The group of young men forgot to even blow their whistles. Their jaws fell, and they stood where they were with blank expressions.

We’re just joking. Is there really such a good deal in the world?

These people had no idea the type of trial they were going to face.

Three minutes later, three people had squeezed into Ye Shuang’s backseat, and there was another in the seat next to her. The car was full as it left the general goods store with four young men on the ride. The boss saw this from the corner of her eyes, and she spat without even looking up. “Such a little vixen.”

…

In less than half an hour, the familiar car returned. However, the passenger seat and backseat were empty. The female boss was stopping for snacks and water due to the commercial. The chips made crunching sound as she chewed on them.

When she saw this, she was confused.

Then, she saw the car stop next to the arcade opposite from her shop. The beautiful woman opened the car door and walked toward the arcade with a bright smile. She handed the bouncer several paper notes, and her lips moved like she was saying something.

What is she saying?

The female boss believed this was yet another rich socialite and one with a hole in her head. Even entering this type of low-class arcade, she wanted to give tips. However, in reality, the stunned bouncer heard something different, it was… for compensation.

After Ye Shuang disappeared into the arcade, not long after that, the sound of yells, angered shouts, and begging for mercy drifted out. Then, many young men and women ran out from the arcade—every one of them looked like they had seen the ghost. By then, all that could heard from inside the arcade was the sound of cursing on top of the sound of heavy objects slamming against the ground.

The boss was stunned by this development. Even though the commercial was over, she did not continue watching the drama. Instead, after she recovered, she quickly ran to close the shop.

What the f*ck? The girl just bought some stuff from me—people won’t come to find me for revenge, right?

Just as the boss was putting on the first wooden board, someone started calling for help on the phone outside the arcade. From his expression, it looked like he was not going to let go so easily.

In less than ten minutes, the sound of fighting inside the arcade stopped. Obviously, everyone inside had already been beaten up. At the same time, the sound of a motor running came from afar. Several bikers rushed over with baseball bats hanging on their shoulders. There were cheers outside the arcade like people welcoming the heroes’ return.

The boss looked at the situation outside through the gap on the door. The bikers stopped at the arcade. When they were about to charge into the place with the baseball bats, Ye Shuang walked out from the front door easily like she was on a stroll. The crowd parted to reveal a roomful of moaning bodies.

When the leader of the bikers saw this, he gritted his teeth and was about to curse when a louder motor sound came from the horizon.

Before the crowd realized what had happened, they saw a group of race cars that were much more eye-catching than the bikes raced down the road. An early estimate put their numbers at thirty cars.