Volume One, Chapter 30: Han Feng's Past

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I only feel that Xu Li and my father are sick of the sight of each other, and that they are both cheating.

Does a marriage like that still have any reason to continue?

A family that is united in appearance but divided at heart is bound to fall apart sooner or later. It would be better for everyone to break free as soon as possible.

Those two days in custody had changed my temperament somewhat. It was as though I had seen through certain things. I did not know whether that was what growing up meant.

“Xiaoyan, you don’t understand. Once I leave this family, I won’t even know what to do.”

Xu Li sighed and shook her head. “You might say I could simply marry again, but for a woman, every marriage is a difficult choice—and a gamble.”

“If you’re lonely, then go out. I won’t interfere, and I won’t tell my father.”

After saying that, I walked into the dining room and began eating breakfast in silence.

Through the half-open door, I saw Xu Li sitting on the sofa in a daze. She could not believe that I had truly meant what I said.

My phone rang again. It was Han Feng calling, and I quickly answered.

“Brother Feng.”

“Brother, your phone’s been switched off for the past two days. What have you been up to?”

Han Feng was unusually sensitive. After all, I was the only subordinate he considered a brother. Perhaps he was afraid of losing me.

“It’s a long story.” I sighed.

“Then come over to my place. We brothers can have a proper talk.”

Han Feng did not press me for details over the phone. He was being cautious.

I left the house, got on my bicycle, and soon arrived at Han Feng’s home.

He had only just gotten out of bed. His hair was a disheveled mess, tied casually into a ponytail at the back of his head, and he kept yawning.

“Brother Feng, do you really have to keep your hair long?” I asked, puzzled.

Han Feng rubbed his face and laughed.

“Heh heh. I’ve always felt that I’m an artist. Long hair gives me more character. It’s like a beggar—you have to wear tattered clothes to look the part.”

I laughed at that. It did sound strangely reasonable.

“Xiaoyan, what exactly happened?” Han Feng asked seriously.

I trusted Han Feng, and he was my only friend. I had been longing to unburden myself.

So I told him everything that had happened over the past two days without holding anything back.

Qin Shaohu had been ambushed and injured, and was now in the hospital. I had been listed as the prime suspect, taken to the local police station, and interrogated for two days. I had suffered quite a bit.

Han Feng lit a cigarette, his brows knotting tightly.

“Brother, you need to deal with your relationship with that woman—what’s her name, Man? I know you won’t like hearing this, but she’s trouble. A beautiful woman can bring disaster.”

I felt somewhat irritated.

It was one thing for Fu Xiaoya to dislike Yu Qingman, but why was Han Feng taking the same attitude?

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“She’s sincere toward me. This time, she even wanted to help me give false testimony—to have me say that I was with her that night. But I didn’t listen to her. I insisted that I had been asleep at home.”

“And you’re grateful to her?”

Han Feng was both angry and anxious. He glanced sideways at me and snorted.

“Thank goodness you didn’t listen to her, or you wouldn’t have gotten out for a month. If you couldn’t endure it and confessed to something you hadn’t done, you’d probably have ended up serving a long prison sentence.”

I was utterly shocked, and a chill ran down my spine.

“Brother Feng, I really don’t understand. What happened?”

“To tell you the truth, that’s exactly how I was framed and sent to prison. The real culprit has been at large all this time.”

Han Feng’s expression grew grave and solemn as he told me, in broad outline, what had happened in the past.

Back then, Han Feng had been young and full of fire. Through one bloody fight after another, he had built the largest gang in Dong’an County: the Harmony Hall.

Although the police had always kept an eye on him, the Harmony Hall had acted cautiously under his leadership. They had never committed any serious criminal offenses and had instead accumulated considerable wealth.

There was a powerful official’s son who, relying on his father’s influence, had also gathered a group of men and was constantly picking fights with the Harmony Hall.

Whenever the two sides clashed, harsh threats were inevitable.

Han Feng had threatened to break both of the man’s legs.

He never expected his words to become a prophecy. Yet that was exactly what happened.

One night, someone broke into the official’s son’s home, covered his head, and fired two shots into his knees, shattering them.

The case was so serious that it caused a sensation throughout the city.

That night, Han Feng had simply been asleep at home. He knew nothing about it.

One of the Harmony Hall’s men volunteered to testify for his boss. He claimed that he and Han Feng had spent the night together, providing Han Feng with an alibi.

That was what Han Feng told the police in order to clear himself of suspicion.

But then the man suddenly changed his testimony. He admitted that he had not stayed with Han Feng and even produced a travel ticket from that night.

Han Feng was proven to have lied.

As a result, his claim that he had been sleeping alone at home became another unverifiable lie.

Of course, the crucial piece of evidence that sent Han Feng to prison was the handgun found in his house.

“Where did the gun come from?”

I was astonished, but I could not help wondering whether Han Feng was lying.

“That bastard who changed his testimony secretly planted it when he came to see me. It was an elaborate trap. But I trusted my brother too much, and I walked right into it.”

Flames flickered in Han Feng’s eyes.

“What happened to him afterward?” I asked.

“After I got out, I kept searching for that bastard, but he had vanished without a trace. In truth, he was only a pawn. The person pulling the strings behind him is the one who really deserves to die. I’ll never let him off.”

“You know who it is?”

“I’ve figured it out.”

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Han Feng nodded, but did not say the man’s name.

After hearing his story, I felt deeply unsettled, my emotions tangled beyond words.

Yu Qingman seemed so innocent. Could she really have harmed me like that?

We had even promised to reunite at university. She had been willing to get a hotel room with me, offering me the most precious thing a young woman possessed.

Perhaps I should not think so badly of her or assume the worst.

I ought to thank Fu Xiaoya. If she had not called and told me to insist that I had been sleeping at home, I might still have been locked in that dark little cell.

“Try not to dwell on it. I used to get hauled into the station all the time. You get used to it. This was only a minor injury.”

Han Feng comforted me, then told me why he had asked me to come.

“Tonight, we’re going to meet Chu Hailong. We need to have a serious talk with him. You don’t have to be afraid. He’s not like Wu Rui. He’d never dare provoke me.”

I agreed. After chatting for a while, I said goodbye and left.

Before I had even made it home, I received another call, this time from Liu Fangfei at the photography studio.

“Zhou Yan, come over here for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Hehe, you’ll know when you get here. I’ll buy you lunch.”

“All right.”

I had nothing else to do, so I rode my bicycle to the photography studio.

Liu Fangfei saw me through the window, smiled, and ran outside. She climbed onto the back of my bicycle and urged me on.

“Let’s go to McDonald’s. We’ll talk when we get there.”

I pedaled hard toward the nearest McDonald’s.

Afraid of falling, Liu Fangfei slipped her small arms around my waist.

“Zhou Yan, why was your phone switched off yesterday?”

Being arrested and taken to the police station was hardly something to be proud of.

So I did not tell her the truth. I lied and said that I had run out of credit, and that I had been too busy going out to recharge it.

“For some reason, I was actually worried that something had happened to you. Do you think there’s something wrong with me?”

Liu Fangfei’s words left me at a loss for how to respond.

All I could do was give a few awkward laughs and let the matter pass.

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