Three years; Chen Shi had long become accustomed to this identity. When people talk about “Song Lang”, he seemed to be remembering another person who he was particularly familiar with, but that was not himself.

Chen Shi said faintly, “Anyway, life is short, as long as I can live comfortably, my identity is not important.”

“In case I die someday, I’ll need you to take care of my girl... What a good deal for you... But you can't let her know that you aren’t me. As long as she thinks I’m alive, that’s fine. In addition, here’s a card. The password is the last six digits of my phone number, which contains the money I have earned over the years. It’s not much. About one million. You can go and spend it. “

“What are you doing? Are you leaving behind your final words?”

“Mixed up in this type of life, I’ll pay for it sooner or later. I was sixteen years old when I first followed a brother and started fighting on the streets. It is enough that I’ve been able to bounce around to this day!”

“Stupid. Can't you just live with your wife somewhere where no one knows you?”

“Hahaha, just hold onto it. Hold on to it! My WeChat is tied to the card, and I can use it anytime I want. It's very convenient.”

Chen Shi accepted it reluctantly, and said, “Are you still hiding something from me?”

“Can’t I have any privacy?”

“Ah yes, you really have no leads left on the Yuhua company?”

“Um...” Wang Daji recalled, “I have to drink some alcohol to remember. Why don’t you accompany me?”

“I need to drive!”

“It doesn't matter if you just drink a bottle of beer.”

“Get lost!”

When the dishes arrived, Wang Daji made Chen Shi drink with him. Chen Shi could only drink sodas in lieu of alcohol. Three glasses of baijiu[1] later, Wang Daji looked rejuvenated. Up close, Wang Daji looked a little fat and his chin had a few bumps on it. It was likely because he didn’t live a regular healthy lifestyle.

“I sent my underlings over to shadow them the other day and I was told they were talking about arithmetic or something? Arithmetic, algorithm or formula?”

“Algorithm?”

“Yes, yes, algorithm! What is an algorithm?”

“What kind of algorithm?”

“They mentioned words like company, revenue; I don't quite understand.”

Algorithm? Algorithm!

Chen Shi had always had some doubts. Since there was a problem with the formula of the drug, why did they still use it?

The medicine produced by Yuhua Company was twice as cheap as similar imported medicines and the most widely used in China. Basically, every hospital was using it. Although they were sued once five years ago, it seemed to have little effect on their sales. Things have long since faded from the public eye.

After dinner, Wang Daji went for a walk, saying that he hadn't returned to Long’an for several years. Chen Shi had no choice but to accompany him.

Passing by a toy store, Wang Daji bought a Barbie doll and said, “For the niece. I didn't bring a present to your house yesterday.”

“She doesn't play with this sort of stuff.”

“No way. Then what does she play with? Oh, I understand, she plays with electric-powered...” Wang Daji said with a lascivious smile.

“I’ll beat you!”

“I'm talking about a remote-controlled plane. What were you thinking of? Boss, give me a remote-controlled plane! Pack it up.”

Chen Shi asked, “Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Honestly, I think you would make a good friend. The friends I knew in the past would talk about having knives piercing both sides[2], but they would actually have a knife behind their backs ready to stab people. Everyone in the underworld is full of pretense, so being able to get to know Officer Song can be counted as a pleasure and honor!”

“Are we counted as friends? Your threshold for making friends is low!”

“Actually, the two of us met a long time ago. You probably don't remember. When you first became a police intern, you once went to an underground casino for a spontaneous raid. At that time, I...” Wang Daji suddenly stopped talking and his eyes looked straight ahead.

They saw that the thin man rushed in with a group of menacing people. They rushed into the restaurant where the two had just eaten and flipped over chairs and tables to create a commotion.

“Oh fuck.” Wang Daji said, “This male dog is trying to cause trouble again! Let’s see how I skin him today!”

“Go. Let’s hurry!”

Chen Shi grabbed Wang Daji’s collar and dragged him into the alley. At that moment, a younger member of the group saw Chen Shi and pointed at them with a stick in his hand, “Boss, he's there!”

Chen Shi wondered what the hell was going on. He walked towards the other party, taking out his mobile phone and dialing a number. He stood in front of the crowd and showed them his mobile phone, “I’m calling the police, hurry up and get lost!”

“Are you kidding?” The thin man laughed. “When did you become like this? You even called the police? I'm not mistaken, am I?!”

The group of brothers laughed.

Chen Shi hesitated over taking out his ID. If his identity were to be revealed here, it would be really troublesome.

At that moment, a man wearing a plastic monk-pig[3] mask rushed out of the alley behind them holding a bench leg in his hands. He bashed a man's head with the bench leg, and then kicked him away.

One didn't need to be a genius to know that it was Wang Daji.

Wang Daji yelled, “Big brother, our brothers are right behind us and will be here soon.”

“Fuck, he dared to hurt me?! Cut him down!” The thin man raised his arm.

Chen Shi had no choice but to grab the stewing pot for Sha Xian[4]snacks next to him and splash the stew onto the faces of the people in front of him. They were screaming in pain as the hot stew scalded them. Duck legs and dried tofu slid off their faces. Chen Shi side-kicked the person in front of him directly. He stumbled back and knocked down several people behind him.

Wang Daji had already taken two men down on his side. The gang had trouble defending themselves from attacks on both ends. Chen Shi quickly raised his leg and drop-kicked several people.

The thin man didn't expect that so many people would be beaten up by just two people. He was very angry, raising his stick with both hands like a samurai warrior, he rushed straight towards Chen Shi, “Today if you don’t die, I...”

Before he could finish his words, he was kicked a meter away by Chen Shi. Wang Daji rushed over and smashed him with the stick in his hands. He beat the thin man until he pleaded again and again, “Brother Chen, I don’t dare to do this again! I won’t dare!”

“Let’s go!” Chen Shi yelled.

Wang Daji hadn’t had enough and hit the thin man a few more times before running away.

Running into an alley, Wang Daji laughed loudly, “The scum of Jianghu. Over ten years ago, the fights could be negotiated. You could do a one on one or you could fight a whole gang with your gang. Bringing a group of people to fight one person is against the moral code. Motherfucker, people are getting more and more unruly now!”

“I really don't want to deal with these rotten affairs, but I hope this group of people will not be caught by the police, otherwise our secret will be exposed!”

“Did you really call the police?”

“I didn't. Bystanders might have called though?”

“Haha, this fight was nice. Let’s walk around and find another place to drink!”

“Let’s head back instead of staying around outside.”

“Sure, we’ll go to your house and drink.”

That night, Wang Daji stayed over at Chen Shi's house again. The snoring noise in the middle of the night made Chen toss and turn. The next morning, Chen Shi went to the bureau and met Lin Dongxue by the door, looking at the pancake stall with a troubled expression.

“What's wrong, no money?” Chen Shi asked as he walked over.

“I want to add some crispy fritters inside, but I'm afraid of getting fat; but if I don’t add it, it wouldn’t taste delicious.” Lin Dongxue was considering with her head cocked to the side. Her eyes fell on Chen Shi's face and she pulled a face.

It seemed that she had reset her mood after a night’s rest and she was no longer struggling with the earlier problem.

Chen Shi said to the stall owner, “We’re getting the deluxe version and also a cup of soy milk.”

The stall owner responded quickly, “Okay!”

1. Baijiu is distilled liquor from sorghum.

2. A Chinese proverb meaning that one is loyal enough to risk one’s life (being stabbed by knives on both sides) in order to protect someone.

3. Monk Pig from Journey to the West. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

4. A place name in China.