Chapter 32: Cant go |
Zhao Lao’s gaze seemed to penetrate through the director’s true intentions. He patted Director Wen’s shoulder with a sense of relief and said, “Ol’ Wen, if he’s still alive after all this time, he must be eighty years old by now. It’s already the end of the year, and I don’t think someone who’s already in their grave can stir up trouble anymore.”
As Zhao Lao’s former apprentice, Director Wen couldn’t help but wonder what his master was truly thinking. “Don’t be fooled by what Zhao Lao says,” he thought to himself. “I bet he wants to capture that person more than a thousand or even ten thousand times. It’s his sentimental heart talking.”
Although he wished for his teacher’s retirement as a student, as a director, he couldn’t allow this case to remain unsolved.
He wouldn’t have come if he hadn’t heard about Zhao Lao’s return to China.
“It’s not a matter of life and death,” Zhao Lao replied, looking at Director Wen. “If you come across any leads, give me a call. I just don’t like my old bones not being able to move fast enough.”
“How is that possible?” Director Wen was skeptical.
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion coming from outside the building. They rushed to the window to see a man standing on the edge of the rooftop across from them. He was wearing a vest and shorts, and while the building was only six floors high, it was still a twenty-meter drop.
“Notify the nearest police station immediately.” Zhao Lao headed out the door, turning his head.
A while later, Mr. Zhao came downstairs, and as he approached, he too noticed the man on the roof.
A crowd of onlookers had already gathered downstairs on the opposite side of the building.
Mr. Zhao began to piece together what had happened by eavesdropping on the conversations around him.
The man’s name was Hongbao, a resident of the building. He had received a text message from his son a month ago, saying that he had accidentally provoked a local gangster while out with friends. Before he could be released, he had to transfer 100,000 RMB to the gangster’s account, and he was forbidden from contacting the police or anyone else.
It was a low-level scam, but honest Hongbao believed it without question. He didn’t even think to call his son to confirm it.
As an honest laborer, Hongbao’s monthly salary was only three thousand RMB, and all his savings were used to fund his son’s education. How could he have come up with a hundred thousand in such a short amount of time? But to save his son, Hongbao had given up all control. He searched left and right for someone to lend him money, eventually turning to a loan shark.
Hongbao only wished for his son’s safety. He had worked hard to gather enough 100,000 RMB and transferred it to the scammer’s account. Little did he know, it was all for nothing until his son returned home from summer vacation. They immediately called the police, but it had been more than a month, and the 100,000 yuan had long since vanished. As a result, Hongbao owed a lot of money, but he had no way of repaying the loan shark.
Every day, when he returned home, he saw the scarlet “debt repayment” painted on his house. The windows had no glass, for they would shatter if pressed. His son called him stupid, and his wife chastised him for not being a good provider. The factory owner fired him, the neighbors always gossiped about him, and the landlord had repossessed the house.
Today, his wife had taken their son to live with her mother, and Hongbao became an outcast. He couldn’t get away. The loan shark had all of his information, including his son’s school address. He was helpless, so he walked to the roof.
If everything is irreversible, he will die.
Those con artists never know why the 500,000 or 100,000 dollars they cheat are all called by the other party. These 100,000 may be lifelong wounds, like a person who has been in the wind and rain for more than ten years, a broken family, and a living human life.
“Let me go, let me go, let me go.” With difficulty, Old Zhao made his way through the crowd.
“Hey, what are you squeezing, you old man, and why are you rushing upstairs and down?” said a non-mainstream with yellow hair.
Zhao Lao ignored the words and made his way to the front of the crowd.
Several young people from society stood in front of the crowd. They were shirtless, tattooed with dragons and phoenixes on their bodies, as if they were afraid that others would not notice the tattoos on their backs. They were holding cigarettes and talking to each other with hippie smiles, holding phones and filming videos, and there were even live broadcasts.
“Today, I will broadcast live to the entire world to watch people jump off buildings.”
“Now, everyone thinks that the buckle wave 1 that can jump, and the buckle wave 2 that can’t jump, let’s see if this is stupid, force it to jump down,” the guy with the dragon tattoo said.
“What do you think, brothers?”
“You’ve been standing on it for five or six minutes, and I would’ve already jumped if I wanted to,” the guy with the scorpion tattoo said. “I dare to do it.”
“He was hesitating. You have to irritate him; otherwise, how could he jump off?” said another guy with a tiger tattoo.
With that, this guy leaned his hands against his mouth like a horn and yelled, “Jump, you should jump down, jump down, I’ve been waiting for so long, and I’ll have something to do in a while.”
Hongbao listened to the few young men downstairs yelling. He was in a state of disarray. He wished to see his wife and son before passing away, but Hongbao knew he was sorry. That sound, “jump down quickly,” stung Hongbao’s heart with a sound that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart.
He let go of his hand, knowing that if he leaned forward enough, he’d jump from the sixth floor, 20 meters above, and end his miserable life.
The man on the live broadcast let out a hearty laugh. “Take a look at your tiger brother’s status; everyone will be sweeping another wave of gifts…*Note 1“
But before he could finish, someone snatched his phone and slammed it onto the ground, shattering it to pieces. As he lifted his gaze, he found himself facing a shriveled, old man.
The man with the dragon tattoo had never expected an elderly man in his 50s or 60s to meddle in his affairs. He pushed the old man’s hand away, but the latter gripped his hand tightly and shouted, “Wait for me to sort things out.”
Hongbao was taken aback by the sudden brawl and clung to the railing once more. The old man’s name was Mr. Zhao.
Lao Zhao grabbed the young man’s hand with one hand and smacked him with the other, silencing everyone with his loud voice. The young man couldn’t believe that an old man had slapped him in the face. He covered his face and couldn’t speak for a while.
His friends looked on in bewilderment, and no one uttered a word. Mr. Zhao turned to Hongbao and said, “Is that your name, Hongbao? Do you think you can’t handle it?”
Hongbao felt an inexplicable warmth towards the old man. He shouted, “Why not? My family has been ruined because of this 100,000 RMB, and my wife and son don’t want me anymore. What’s the point of living? It’s better to die!”
“Who said your wife and son don’t want you? How long have you been married?” Mr. Zhao smiled.
“Almost thirty years,” Hongbao replied.
Mr. Zhao nodded and said, “You work as a mechanic.”
“How did you know that?” Hongbao asked.
“Look at your hands. The patterns on your skin are embedded with oil. They wouldn’t look like that if you weren’t constantly working with it. Check your shoes too,” Mr. Zhao said, raising his voice.
Hongbao checked his shoes but found nothing. “Is there something wrong with them?” he asked.
“At first glance, your shoes don’t look like you’ve cleaned them yourself,” Mr. Zhao said with a smile. “When your wife left for her mother’s house, she didn’t forget to clean your shoes and wash your clothes. Do you really think she doesn’t want you anymore? What kind of misfortune are you, and if you’re unlucky, what am I?”
Only then did Hongbao realize that his shoes and clothes had been meticulously cleaned. “My wife went to her mother’s house to find a solution,” he said.
“If you pass, your wife and son will inherit this mess,” Old Zhao reassured Hongbao. “You still have a family who cares about you. Look at me!”
“What’s wrong with you?” Hongbao shouted.
Lao Zhao returned to his original position. “I’m fifty-six years old this year,” he shouted, his voice slightly hoarse. “When I was thirty years old, my wife passed away. I’m not even a parent. You mentioned that you still have a family. So what do I have? When you reach my age, you’ll realize that everything is a lie except for your family.”
“Come down. Go home and tidy up the house. Your wife and children will be back soon,” Old Zhao urged.
“Come down. Don’t try to kill yourself.”
“Life is more important than anything else.”
More and more people were dissuaded from surrounding him because of Zhao Lao’s words.
Hongbao flipped over the railing. He believed the old man was right. He had run out of options.
When Hongbao returned downstairs, the old man had disappeared.
Lao Zhao was now on a small street.
A few punks, who were closely followed by Zhao Lao, were the ones who broadcasted the previous live stream.
“Old man, you’re courting death!”
“Don’t you know who I am!.” The man with the dragon tattoo stopped Zhao Lao.
“Are you a loan shark?” Mr. Zhao asked.
“I noticed you had red paint on your hands, and you painted the walls of his house.”
“What’s wrong with you, you old man?”
“Collecting debts is natural,” the punk explained. “Is this a crime?”
Mr. Zhao shook his head: “If you exceed four times the bank interest rate over the same period, you’ll break the law. I don’t know what your interest rate is, but I know your current behavior is illegal.”
“So, you’re going to report us!” haha!” Several people burst out laughing.
As expected, Director Wen arrived with the police amid much laughter.
“Now, don’t you know who I am?” Zhao Lao said to the shocked people.
Li Wen, the director, smiled: “Teacher, you’re still funny.”
Lao Zhao smiled as well, but when he reached into his pocket, he took out a card.
“I can’t continue any longer…” Old Zhao was solemn.
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Note 1: Some sort of QQ thing like reddit rewards.
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T/N: These chapters are edited by me, Mr. Editor is still busy. I’ll update as soon as he comes back.
haha black card go brrrr
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