The Poor School Heartthrob Was Secretly a Financial Titan - Chapter 6

“Zhou Cheng,” Bao Da mumbled, “is a senior in Class 5 of Donglin Experimental Middle School. He is nineteen years old this year and has repeated a year. He has a mole on the left corner of his mouth, about the size of a mung bean. He usually hangs out with a few buddies—Huang Xiaolong, whose father is the director of a textile factory; Liu Zhiyuan, whose father is the deputy director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau; and another one named Wei Tao, whose maternal grandfather was a retired deputy director of the Municipal People’s Congress.”

Han Xuetao flipped through the documents, his eyes sweeping over the pages of handwritten text.

Zhou Cheng’s father, Zhou Jianguo, is the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the Donglin Intermediate People’s Court. His mother, Liu Xiumei, is the vice principal of Donglin No. 3 Middle School.

Han Xuetao paused, his fingers moving slightly. Just as he knew, it was definitely true!

He continued flipping through the pages. Zhou Cheng’s report card had been declining steadily since the beginning of high school, and he ranked 42nd in his class at the end of the second semester of his junior year. His best mock exam score during his year of repeating a year was barely enough to get into a vocational college.

“Your grades aren’t very good.”

“He even chased after someone,” Bao Da chimed in from the side. “He chased after a girl from his school named Sun Tingting. Her father was the director of the tax bureau. He chased her for half a year but couldn’t win her over. She got into a university in the provincial capital and left. During that time, Zhou Cheng drowned his sorrows in alcohol every day and spent all night watching videos in video arcades with his buddies.”

Han Xuetao flipped to the last page, glanced at the list of honors, put the documents down, and leaned back.

Bao Da leaned closer and lowered his voice: “Brother, I have to say a few more words. This Zhou Cheng’s father—Zhou Jianguo, the presiding judge of the criminal court, has a history of meritorious service in the fight against organized crime. Everyone in the industry knows that he especially hates organized crime. As long as a case involves organized crime, he will deal with it to the death.”

He looked around and lowered his voice even further.

“You know Qiao Laosi, right? The most ruthless one in Donglin right now. His own second brother was sent to jail by Zhou Jianguo. He got fifteen years in prison. Qiao Laosi said he’d kill Zhou Jianguo. Guess what happened?”

Han Xuetao remained silent.

“When the news reached Zhou Jianguo’s ears, he wasn’t afraid at all. He sent someone back to tell Qiao Laosi to go ahead and bring it on, because sooner or later he would be in jail too.” Bao Da shook his head as he spoke. “How ruthless is Qiao Laosi? He didn’t even reply, and the matter just passed by like that.”

He stared at Han Xuetao with a complicated expression.

“Brother, even Qiao Laosi wouldn’t dare touch him, so you’ve inquired about his son…”

Han Xuetao placed the documents on the table and uttered a few words casually:

“Qiao Laosi is nothing.”

Bao Da choked.

He opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he managed to utter, “Brother, you’re really arrogant.”

Han Xuetao did not respond.

This isn’t arrogance on his part.

In his previous life, any one of his subordinates was far superior to a local bully like Qiao Laosi.

He didn’t explain, and continued flipping through the documents.

I turned to one of the pages and stopped.

The note reads: Zhou Cheng, enjoys playing cards. He plays mahjong, poker, and dominoes, and often stays up all night with Huang Xiaolong, Liu Zhiyuan, and others at places like “Juyou Teahouse”.

Han Xuetao’s lips curled up slightly.

“You like playing cards?” He pointed to the line of text. “That’s a good hobby.”

Bao Da leaned closer to look, confused: “Brother, what are you trying to do?”

Han Xuetao put the documents away and said in a calm tone, “Then let’s find someone to keep him company. Perfect, I can also earn some college tuition money while I’m at it.”

Bao Da paused for two seconds, then his expression became quite interesting.

But he quickly remembered something, stood up, rubbed his hands together, and smiled apologetically: “Brother, well… I’ve already found out all the information for you, so I’m fine. As for Judge Zhou’s matter, please don’t involve me. I’m frail and can’t handle it. I’ll take my leave now—”

He had just turned around when he heard Han Xuetao’s voice behind him.

“Bao Da. Have you been looking for your sister?”

Bao Da stopped in his tracks, frozen in place as if struck by lightning.

He slowly turned around, his eyes instantly reddening. He rushed back, grabbed Han Xuetao by the collar, his hand trembling, his voice shaking.

“What…what did you say?”

Han Xuetao looked down at the collar that was being grabbed, but didn’t move.

“I said, your sister.”

Bao Da stared intently at him, his eyes bloodshot.

Do you know where she is?

Han Xuetao raised his hand and pried his fingers apart one by one.

“Get this done for me,” he straightened his collar, looked up at him, and said, “I’ll tell you where your sister is.”

Bao Da stood there, stunned, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Han Xuetao did indeed know about Bao Da’s sister.

In their previous life, they met in prison. During a casual chat, Bao Da mentioned that his younger sister was abducted by human traffickers when she was five years old. He searched for her for over ten years, but could neither find her alive nor dead.

Later, by chance, he got the news from a fellow inmate and, after being released, managed to find her. By then, his sister was already…

Han Xuetao didn’t think any further.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “Your sister’s affairs have nothing to do with me. If I know about you, I naturally know about human traffickers as well.”

“Fine! If you can help me find my sister,” Bao Da’s voice was hoarse, “I’ll sell my life to you from now on.”

Han Xuetao smiled faintly.

“Whether you risk your life or not is your business,” he said. “Keep those words to yourself, I don’t need to know.”

Two days later.

Shunfeng Chess and Card Room, Dongcheng District.

Bao Da came out through the old glass door, walked to the alley entrance, and nodded to Han Xuetao, who was leaning against the wall eating a banana.

“Found him, Brother Tao. The person you’re looking for is inside.”

Han Xuetao threw away the banana peel and followed Bao Da inside.

The card room wasn’t big, with seven or eight tables, and it was filled with smoke. Two people were sitting at a table in the corner, shuffling cards with a loud clatter.

Bao Da walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Han Xuetao sat opposite him.

The other two people looked up.

One was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a few white patches on his face and neck. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. The other was around thirty years old, with a long face, a protruding chin, and small eyes that squinted when he looked at people.

The long-faced youth sized up Han Xuetao, his gaze lingering on his school uniform for two seconds before he sneered.

“Holy crap, even middle school students are coming to mahjong parlors now?”

The middle-aged man with yellow teeth laughed, revealing his smoky, grimy teeth: “Damn, is there any hope for this kind of education?”

Han Xuetao pulled the zipper of his school uniform down a bit and leaned back in his chair.

“I’m first in the class in math,” he said, looking at the two of them. “Are you too scared to come?”

The long-faced youth gestured with his chin toward the mahjong tiles on the table, “If you’re good enough, then win. If I lose, consider it tuition.”

Han Xuetao reached out and touched the cards.

After four laps.

“Self-draw! Pure suit!” Bao Da pushed the tiles aside, grinned, and began to sing, “I’ve heard your song before, my big brother…”

Seeing his flamboyant manner, the horse-faced youth turned green.

A middle-aged man with yellow teeth was smoking a cigarette, and his hand trembled so much that ash fell all over the table.

Two more laps.

“Your bright, black eyes, and your smiling face…”

“A winning hand on a kong!” Han Xuetao hummed a song as he pushed the tiles over.

The horse-faced youth was sweating profusely; his small bills were almost gone. The middle-aged man with yellow teeth rummaged through his pockets and only managed to pull out a few coins.

The pile of banknotes in front of Han Xuetao and Bao Da kept getting higher and higher, neatly stacked, totaling at least five or six hundred.

“Come on, let’s play another round!” Bao Da pushed the cards to the center of the table and waved to the two men opposite him. “Gentlemen, do you have any more cards on you? Hand them over!”

The horse-faced youth stared at the pile of banknotes, his jaw clenching so hard it made a cracking sound.

The middle-aged man with yellow teeth crushed the empty cigarette pack, threw it on the ground, and didn’t say a word.

Another game is over.

Bao Da stood up and shoved the money on the table into his pocket, muttering, “I love you so much…”

Han Xuetao also stood up, smiled at the two people opposite him, and said, “We’ll play again when we have more money.”

He took two steps outside, then turned back and added, “See? I told you I’m good at math.”

The horse-faced youth and the middle-aged man with yellow teeth sat there, watching the two swagger out the door.

The door closed, and the horse-faced youth slammed his hand on the table.

“Hold!”

Han Xuetao and Bao Da parted ways at the alley entrance.

He wandered through two streets, making several turns, and entered a small teahouse. He went upstairs, found a seat by the window, and ordered a pot of Tieguanyin tea.

Just as the tea was served, a figure emerged from the stairwell.

Horse-faced youth.

He stood there, his gaze sweeping around the teahouse before finally settling on Han Xuetao’s table.

Han Xuetao picked up his teacup and gestured towards him.

The horse-faced youth walked over, looked around, and sat down opposite him.

“Are you all alone?” The horse-faced youth stared at him.

Han Xuetao put down his teacup: “Didn’t you follow me for so long? You only came in after you were sure.”

The horse-faced youth paused for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his small eyes.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Han Xuetao pointed with his hand: “Sit down and have some tea. It’s my treat.”

“That’s money I lost too,” the horse-faced youth said without touching his wallet. “Oh, and that fat sheep across from me. You two won five or six hundred, right? I was supposed to kill that fat sheep, but you got it for free.”

Han Xuetao looked at him: “You followed me here just to say this?”

The horse-faced youth sat down, his small eyes narrowed, and his gaze lingered on Han Xuetao’s face and school uniform.

“I’m sure you cheated,” he said, “but I don’t know how you did it.”