On the rewards for successfully defeating a boss

Chi Mu couldn't bring himself to say something as frivolous as, "Just bear with it and it will pass," or "It's okay, you'll get used to it." He knew that words of comfort wouldn't cure the problem, but would only make it all seem more pathetic. He mumbled, a single word escaping his lips: "Baby..."

He could only watch Chen Qian sobbing, his shoulders trembling, and his hands covering his eyes. Bitter tears seeped out from there, dripping across his skin.

Chen Qian's sadness was somewhat out of place amidst the cheerful music in the restaurant. People around him noticed the difficulty in controlling himself and looked over with sympathy.

Chen Qian was immersed in his emotions, and all the sounds around him seemed to disappear. It was not until the kind-hearted proprietress patted his shoulder and handed him a handkerchief in unfluent English that Chen Qian realized his gaffe and felt a little embarrassed.

He suppressed his emotions, took the handkerchief with blue patterns, and sobbed, "Think you, and Sorry..."

"No, It's ok." Unexpectedly, she refuted Chen Qian's apology.

He didn't seem to mind Chen Qian's current embarrassment. Instead, like an elder caring for a child, he patted him on the back again and again, and told him gently, "Crying makes you feel better."

The gentle gesture suddenly reminded Chen Qian of his mother whom he had not seen for a long time. The sobs that he had just been suppressing broke through the sob under the comfort and turned into loud tears, which were released like a flood in her cream-stained apron.

She did not stop Chen Qian, but just stood in front of the strange young boy without saying a word, comforting him and listening to his grievances and longings, even though he was speaking in a language that she could not understand.

……

In the bathroom, Chen Qian used the blue patterned handkerchief to wipe his face and tidy up his appearance.

These measures were better than nothing. He looked at his still disheveled self in the mirror and sighed deeply. He then lowered his head and rummaged through his bag to find a pair of sunglasses to cover his red and swollen eyes, and only then did he feel a little satisfied.

"Okay, I have to go back to school now." The video call just now was converted into voice, and Chen Qian put on headphones for this.

"Well, then you should study hard."

Chi Mu's dim eyes began to become empty the moment the phone screen automatically went off. Regret and heartache filled his heart and turned into anxiety.

He left home with the keys, and the car drove through the night without stopping, leaving the city and heading towards the suburbs.

The dark shadow of the car drove past the road that had been in disrepair and had long been broken into pieces. A gray, dilapidated building appeared under the headlights.

In front of the building was a wall that had collapsed into pieces, with only the one in the front still standing, with a rusty, crumbling brown iron gate.

Chi Mu entered the yard through the open iron gate. There was not much grass or trees growing here. The ground was barren, with occasional black carbon stains from burns. His leather shoes stepped on a black mark and he walked into the building.

The footsteps shuttled through the corridor, hitting the wall and bouncing back.

Chi Mu lit a cigarette, the flame flickering at his fingertips. He asked, "Still haven't found anything useful?"

There was only a broken electric light in the room, hanging in the middle of the ceiling. When the wind blew in through the uncovered window, the light would sway a few times.

Under the lamp was a set of new tables and chairs. Chi Yuxing sat at the table, swiping a deck of cards in his hand. "No, this group was really stubborn. They made us waste a lot of time."

A few groaning murmurs came from the corner, as if trying to attract the attention of the people who had just arrived so that they could ask for help.

But he miscalculated.

Chi Mu exhaled the smoke in his lungs, and under the somewhat transparent white light, a look of disgust flashed across that direction, and then someone stepped forward and grabbed the man.

Chi Yuxing watched as the man in the corner was dragged out by his men like a rag, and then screams came from the next room one after another, mixed with a few weak cries for help.

The screams became weaker and weaker, and soon subsided.

Chi Mu sat down opposite Chi Yuxing, the short end of his cigarette resting on the table. He frowned, staring at the smoke and said, "I'm running out of patience. How can I make it faster? Or... do you want me to do that?"

"You..." Chi Yuxing was a little surprised to hear this. After a moment of silence, he showed a look of understanding and asked him, "What happened to Chen Qian?"

Chi Mu's voice was indifferent. He took the cards from Chi Yuxing's hand and fiddled with them on the table. "You've been fighting Chi Zheng for so many years, but in the end, you have to send innocent people away to save him... Don't you think it's ironic?"

"Even if I were to take his job, I still wouldn't be able to make any progress for a few years and would be a small fry like me." Chi Yuxing watched him push the cards horizontally on the table, and the deck scattered.

The black joker was placed in the middle, and two jokers were placed opposite.

"Just follow his instructions and find someone to help me get up there."

"The second young lady of the Wang family?" Chi Yuxing drew a queen card from the deck and placed it on the table.

Chi Mu ignored his movements, scanning the row of cards, and pulled out another Joker hidden at the bottom. He said, "The youngest of the Shi family."

Chi Yuxing was shocked and hurriedly scattered all the cards on the table. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Don't be crazy, that's Chi Yuyuan's..."

But he was interrupted mid-sentence. Chi Mu picked up the red clown and said, "Help me connect them. As soon as possible, they will agree."

After saying that, Chi Mu left the room, leaving Chi Yuxing alone with the poker card stuffed into his shirt pocket...