Chapter 131: Can't Bear It

Lao Tan tossed out a "Fine, I'll wait for you," and left with his lackeys.

The two people beside Guang Liangjun tried to run, but Gao Qiangqi waved his hand, and A Jin led the men over, directly subduing them.

"Big brother, big brother, don't hit us."

"We're just people Guang Liangjun dragged in to make up the numbers."

"We're not with him."

"Don't hit the face… ow."

The two panicked and begged for mercy.

A Jin told them to shut up, and they immediately fell silent.

Guang Liangjun was fine.

He remained standing in place, not moving a muscle, so A Jin didn't lay a hand on him, yet he was still shaking all over from fright.

He wanted to control himself.

But he simply couldn't control himself.

Seeing Wu An approach, he panicked and shouted, "Wu An, you… you stay calm, don't act rashly… this… this place is full of surveillance cameras."

Wu An didn't need his reminder; the dockside was all storefronts, and security wasn't great these days, so anyone doing business there had installed surveillance cameras at their own entrances.

That's why he initially tried to stop Gao Qiangqi from acting recklessly.

If things went badly, everyone would end up inside.

That would be more trouble than it's worth.

He deliberately cracked his knuckles and said, "Hand over the deposit."

Guang Liangjun said with a miserable face, "I… I don't have it."

"I lost it all."

"I… I… I only have this much money now."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of small change; Wu An glanced at it and reckoned it didn't even add up to two hundred yuan.

This damn…

Wu An was so angry he felt like vomiting blood.

In just two days, eight thousand eight hundred yuan just vanished?

He didn't know that Guang Liangjun was actually having decent luck; otherwise he'd have lost everything in half a day.

Yet, despite that, gamblers like Guang Liangjun still flock to it.

Wu An couldn't understand it.

In his previous life he was a good-for-nothing, but he'd never touched this sort of thing.

He looked at the other two.

A Jin was quick on the uptake; seeing Wu An's gaze, he instantly understood, went through the two men's pockets, and soon pulled out a wad of cash.

Together it came to about five or six hundred.

Wu An didn't immediately take the money, but looked at the two and said, "The situation is this: Guang Liangjun has no money to pay me back."

"As his friends, do you want to help him out?"

"This money, are you willing to pay it back for him?"

The words had barely left his mouth.

A Jin's switchblade was pressed against one man's chest, so discreetly that to outsiders it looked like he was just putting an arm around his buddy.

The man trembled and shouted, "I'm willing."

Wu An looked at the other man.

That man closed his eyes and shouted, "Me too."

Wu An satisfiedly pocketed the money.

Better to get something than nothing; what else could we do?

After counting, it totaled 750 yuan plus a few cents in change; Wu An didn't take the change, tossed it to Guang Liangjun, and told him to buy a few lollipops.

That wasn't the end; Guang Liangjun wrote an IOU, and since Wu An had experience with that, he guided him on the proper format.

Having received the IOU.

Only then did Wu An let A Jin step aside, and Guang Liangjun and his two companions scrambled away in a panic.

At that moment, A Qing returned from the supermarket.

Wu An took out cigarettes, handed a pack to each of them; A Jin cheerfully accepted his, taking a puff and calling out "An-ge."

Gao Qiangqi waved his hand: "No need."

Wu An said, "My goodwill—I can't let the brothers work for nothing."

Gao Qiangqi flushed with embarrassment: "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten into this dirty business."

Wu An shook his head: "Saying that, if I hadn't gone out to sea twice, I couldn't have made that much money. Qiang Ge, do you have any connections at the shipyard?"

Gao Qiangqi shook his head: "Our county has shipyards, more than one—you can go check them out, look around."

"The construction costs vary each year, and the fluctuations are quite large."

"I'll also ask around for you."

Wu An nodded.

The shipyard is definitely something we'll have to visit; we need to make two-handed preparations. He turned his gaze to the red-green fishing boat, his eyes flickering slightly—he wasn't planning to give up on that vessel either.

We need to think of a solution.

But things happened too suddenly; for a moment he really had no clue.

Gao Qiangqi curiously asked, "You've had dealings with Boss Tan, right?"

Wu An nodded, explaining his previous borrowing; Gao Qiangqi listened, then patted his shoulder and said, "The prodigal son returns—you really aren't an ordinary guy."

Wu An smiled.

Gao Qiangqi got into the minivan, the window rolled down, he waved and drove off with a whoosh.

After the minivan drove away, A Qing asked, "Brother, are we going home?"

Wu An thought: "No."

A Qing nodded, took out his phone and called Li Juan, saying they were eating in town; Wu An also messaged Mei Yueqin, the sister-in-law didn't ask further, just reminded him not to drink too much, as riding at night would be unsafe.

At that moment.

A motorbike screeched to a halt in front of the two, the rider lifted his helmet, and a delicate face entered Wu An's view.

It was Gu Anran.

"What a coincidence."

"Hmm." Wu An forced a smile: "Just finished packing up?"

Gu Anran nodded, saying, "Clams are almost sold out; I came to the dock to try my luck, hoping to find some decent seafood."

Wu An asked, "Did you find any?"

Gu Anran shook his head.

The two fell silent for a moment.

A Qing's stomach growled; he rubbed his belly and gave an embarrassed laugh.

Gu Anran got off the vehicle, set up his stall, lit the fire, and swiftly made clam pancakes.

Wu An said, "Aren't they all sold out?"

Gu Anran said, "I'm keeping this for myself to eat."

Soon.

The clam pancakes were ready, fragrant and rich, making A Qing drool.

Gu Anran made two portions, handed them to the two; A Qing took his and started eating, burning his mouth and grimacing.

Wu An kicked him: "Say thank you."

A Qing lifted his head: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Wu An made a move to kick again.

Gu Anran stopped him, smiling: "Let him eat in peace."

Wu An then relented, picked up a piece of clam pancake and ate it: "Delicious."

Gu Anran smiled.

She turned off the fire, packed up the stall, waited for Wu An to finish, then said: "I'll head home first."

Wu An nodded.

Gu Anran looked at him, hesitated a moment, seemed to want to ask something, but ultimately said nothing, waved and left.

Wu An watched her go until she disappeared.

He threw the foam box into a nearby trash can and felt his mood improve greatly.

Dating still has its benefits.

A Qing wiped oil from the corner of his mouth and asked, "Brother, what are we up to?"

Wu An was in a bad mood, originally planning to go drink, but after Gu Anran fed him, his mood improved, so he didn't need to drink to vent; after thinking, he said, "Let's go home too."

They walked toward the parking spot.

Passing a dingy eatery, they heard cursing from inside, which sounded somewhat familiar.

Listening more closely, it was Guang Liangjun swearing at someone.

Wu An's steps halted; he walked to the doorway and leaned in to listen.

Inside the eatery, Guang Liangjun was still cursing: "I've cursed the neighbors, Wu An you little bastard—I'll never let you off."

"He hasn't even grown hair yet and dares to do this to us—shove it up his ass."

"After selling the boat and paying off the debt, I'll go to the venue to make a comeback, then spend money to hire a desperado to beat that little bastard to death."

"No need for all that trouble, Brother Guang—give me a thousand bucks and I have plenty of ways to make sure that kid's family doesn't even have a dog bark."

"Exactly, we're scumbags; if he tries to play with us, can he really outplay us?"

Outside the door.

Wu An's face darkened like still water.

A Qing clenched his fists; if it weren't for him holding him back, he would have already charged in.

A Qing growled low: "Brother!"

Wu An said: "Wait for them to come out, wait for them to come out!"