Chapter 55: Green Hat Warning

Chapter 55: Green Hat Warning

Brother Dragon didn't care whether Su Qilan would come to the hospital again or not.

As Su Qilan turned to leave, she glanced back at him. Brother Dragon didn't look at her, instead, he turned and entered the patient's room.

With her lips bitten, Chen Xianzhen sighed and caught up, "Miss Su, let me accompany you."

"Miss Su, I apologize on behalf of Ah Long. He's quite cautious and doesn't easily trust others," Chen Xianzhen said with an apologetic gaze at Su Qilan. "Once he realizes your kindness, he'll surely grow fond of you."

" Sister Chen, you're overthinking it," Su Qilan replied. "I just felt that seeing Brother Dragon being saved by the hospital reminded me of my grandmother. She passed away in front of me, and I couldn't save her. So, seeing Brother Dragon brought back to life before my eyes made me happy..."

Forcing a smile, Su Qilan continued, "Perhaps I was too naive, considering Brother Dragon as a friend when he doesn't even like me."

Chen Xianzhen believed that Su Qilan, having witnessed her grandmother's death, had transferred her regret onto Brother Dragon, only to be rejected by him. Having grown up in an orphanage and never experienced familial love, Chen Xianzhen could relate to the longing for affection. She felt a sense of empathy towards Su Qilan and wished to comfort her.

But then, Su Qilan added, "However, I can tell that Brother Dragon has feelings for you."

Chen Xianzhen's heart skipped a beat, her eyes flickering. "Don't talk nonsense."

She could brush off the comments as jokes once or twice, but with Su Qilan repeating them, Chen Xianzhen couldn't help but take them seriously.

"I'm not joking," Su Qilan replied. "Sister Chen, Brother Dragon looks at you differently than he does others... but..." Su Qilan paused, and Chen Xianzhen grew curious. "What is it?"

"Today, I noticed that Brother Dragon was looking at my classmate Shen Qing in a strange way too," Su Qilan continued.

"She is indeed very pretty. Not just Ah Long, even I couldn't help but glance a few extra times," Chen Xianzhen laughed immediately.

Su Qilan's expression seemed off, not having expected Chen Xianzhen's first reaction to be praising Shen Qing.

Chen Xianzhen was an innocent soul, and she openly shared her admiration for Shen Qing's beauty with Su Qilan. "Your classmate is truly stunning. Just standing there, she seems to radiate light."

Working in a nightclub, Chen Xianzhen had encountered all sorts of women, but she had never seen someone as bright and vivacious as Shen Qing.

Her gaze suddenly darkened. How could she compare such a lovely girl to the nightclub girls?

Chen Xianzhen quickly regained her composure, smiling at Su Qilan. "Come on, let me walk you out."

...

The next day, as per Shen Qing's request, Eevee submitted the lawsuit against Canja Ying and his wife to the court.

Octopus Card Company also took action, publishing an explosive headline in the "Hong Kong Daily" about Shen Qing taking Canja Ying and his wife to court.

At the same time, Sister Ying's missing person posters began to appear in hospitals and around her neighborhood.

Canja Ying, hiding in the shadows and scavenging for food, stumbled upon a newspaper in a trash bin. Upon seeing that Shen Qing had sued him and his wife, he angrily ripped the paper to shreds.

Then, he spotted Sister Ying's heartfelt search notice: "Husband, come home. We'll face this together..."

Touched to tears, Canja Ying trembled as he tore the notice down, determined not to let his wife bear this burden with him.

As a man, he decided to handle the situation on his own, sparing his wife and children any further suffering.

Little did he know, the emotionally charged next line on the poster read: "If you don't show up before the trial, I'll assume you're dead and remarry with your child, letting them call another man 'dad'..."

Canja Ying's tears immediately dried up, and his hand clutching the notice shook with rage.

With this move, even Shen Qing would exclaim it was too brilliant.

Threatening a man through a missing person notice, implying she'd remarry and call another man 'Dad' for her child, was a blatant green hat warning and threat to any man.

Sure enough, that very night, Canja Ying sneaked into the hospital room to meet Sister Ying.

When Shen Qing received the notification from Sister Ying to come to the hospital, Canja Ying was on his knees with his hands raised, pleading for mercy, saying "Don't be angry, dear, it's not good for the child."

Sister Ying cried bitterly, "You only care about your child but not me. I've been on tenterhooks for you these days, yet you went after Miss Shen..."

Spotting Shen Qing entering with Brother Biao, Sister Ying lunged at Canja Ying, twisting his ear. "Heartless man, Miss Shen saved both your wife and the child in her womb, yet you tried to kill Miss Shen. Kneel before her and apologize!"

This was also a ploy of self-inflicted pain, for Canja Ying had indeed made a mistake. Fearing that Shen Qing might let Brother Biao teach him a lesson, Sister Ying pulled on his ear, forcing him to kneel before Shen Qing and apologize. "Stay on your knees until Miss Shen forgives you."

How could Shen Qing not see through Sister Ying's tactic?

Still, there was nothing wrong with what Sister Ying did. It was better for Canja Ying to kneel and admit his mistake than to persist in hunting Shen Qing down, eventually landing himself in jail.

Shen Qing would grant him face, but she wouldn't let him off so easily.

She strolled leisurely into the hospital room and sat down, as tonight she was set to meet Canja Ying. Huoniu had arranged a private room for Ying's wife due to their meeting.

Since everyone in the room was on her side, Shen Qing allowed Canja Ying to kneel freely until she was satisfied.

Aunt Ying didn't pity Canja Ying either. Kneeling to beg for mercy was better than losing his life.

She even asked Shen Qing if she wanted Huoniu to find a brick for Canja Ying to kneel on.

While Shen Qing was pondering where to find a brick, Brother Biao turned around, grabbed a flower pot from the windowsill, and said, "Kneel on the broken pieces of the flower pot; it'll be better than a brick."

Canja Ying looked terrified. He had already been kneeling for an hour, and now he was supposed to kneel on shattered pottery – did they want him dead?

Aunt Ying glanced at the flower pot in Brother Biao's hand, feeling a bit sorry for her husband. But the moment she thought about this despicable man chasing after Miss Shen, her savior, with a gun, her anger boiled over.

Fuming, Aunt Ying pointed at Canja Ying and said, "If you don't break that brick, you won't be able to get up for the rest of your life."

Canja Ying was on the verge of tears as he knelt, "Miss Shen, Boss Shen, I know I'm wrong, please forgive me. I promise I won't dare to chase after you anymore..."

He bowed his head to Shen Qing, "I didn't really want to kill you; otherwise, my bullets wouldn't have missed that night. It was those gangsters who threatened me. They said if I didn't kill you, they'd kill my wife and the child she's carrying."

"Boss Shen, it was my foolishness, my mistake, I deserve it," Canja Ying apologized, slapping himself repeatedly.

The sound of slaps echoed in the single patient room, more intense than swatting mosquitoes!

Canja Ying's wife huffed coldly. It was better for him to punish himself now rather than push his luck further.

Shen Qing observed as Canja Ying's face reddened from the self-inflicted blows and said, "Alright, alright, we're all friends here, my anger has subsided..."

Smiling, Shen Qing bent down to help Canja Ying up from the floor. "Let's sit down and talk this through properly..."

Seeing that Boss Shen intended to assist him, Canja Ying, overwhelmed with surprise, dodged Shen Qing's hand and hurriedly pulled himself up. "I dare not, I dare not, I'm not worthy of being a friend to Boss Shen."

Having knelt for too long, Canja Ying's legs had gone numb. Just as he nearly stumbled, Brother Biao promptly reached out to steady him.

Feeling grateful, Canja Ying was about to express his thanks when Brother Biao squeezed his arm firmly, a hint of menace lurking behind his brute strength. "Tell Boss Shen everything truthfully, or else..."

"You better confess honestly. If you utter a single lie, I'll make your son marry someone else," Mrs. Ying chimed in with a light scoff.

At the hospital room entrance, Huoniu, Shuang Fan Dong, and Dapu Hei, the three bodyguards, stood guard, their eyes fixed intently on Canja Ying, ready to pounce at any sign of deceit.

Canja Ying trembled with fear, recalling the night when Brother Dragon, brandishing multiple guns, had intimidated him – that man was no pushover either.

Canja Ying couldn't comprehend how, in just over a month, Shen Qing had transformed from an unwanted, pitiful child to the current Shen Boss, surrounded by influential figures.

Even his once devoted wife now solely focused on Shen Boss, as if he no longer existed.

Shivering, Canja Ying gazed at Shen Boss, who still wore a smile across his face.

Before Shen Boss could ask, Canja Ying spilled everything: "The person behind those hoodlums turned out to be the dog-hugging old lady Li Xiulian, and then it shifted to her son, Li DaFa."

Canja Ying informed Shen Qing that she was to blame for the downfall of Li Xiulian and her son, as well as their reputational ruin within Song Jinji. In a desperate attempt to save themselves, they had even sacrificed Li Xiulian, their own mother, as a scapegoat.

Feeling coerced into betraying their mother by Shen Qing and He Wenzhi, Li DaFa and his associates saw themselves as having been pushed to an unbearable situation, leading them to commit such an unfilial act.

Therefore, they held a grudge against both Shen Qing and He Wenzhi. However, with He Wenzhi backed by Song Jinji and coming from an influential family in Hong Kong's education sector, Li DaFa and his group found her untouchable. Seeking revenge, they turned their attention to Shen Qing.

In Li DaFa's eyes, Shen Qing was just an intelligent but vulnerable target without any powerful connections, ripe for exploitation. Hearing this, Shen Qing inwardly sneered and asked Canja Ying, "And what about the gun?"

Brother Biao's investigation had yet to uncover the origins of the gun after a day or two.

Shen Qing sensed that there was more to this matter than met the eye, and thus was unwilling to overlook any minor detail.

"Li DaFa gave me the gun," Canja Ying revealed. "He seemed to have purchased it from an underground shop."

In Hong Kong, there were numerous lawless establishments operating in the shadows.

On the surface, they might appear as grocery stores, wonton shops, or even gaming arcades, but behind closed doors, they dealt in illicit goods.

In Hong Kong, with enough money, these black-market shops could acquire anything one desired.

However, Canja Ying was unaware of which specific shop Li DaFa had procured the gun from.

Brother Biao informed Shen Qing that in Hong Kong, such underground establishments numbered at least two hundred.

Tracing the gun back to the shop that sold it to Li DaFa would require a thorough, one-by-one search, which might take some time.

"In that case, I'll prepare some operational funds for you," Shen Qing knew that dealing with underground shops would be a complicated affair, involving interactions with marginalized individuals or even buying leads.

Could she really let Brother Biao exert himself and pay from his own pocket?

"Is ten thousand enough?" Shen Qing inquired.

Canja Ying's eyes lit up. Boss Shen was truly generous. Offering ten thousand just to investigate a lead? Following Boss Shen was far better than sticking with Li DaFa.

Canja Ying's loyalty shifted completely.

But Brother Biao replied, "That's too much. Two thousand should suffice."

In the end, Shen Qing gave Brother Biao five thousand. When it came to her safety, she couldn't take any chances.

Moreover, Brother Biao was reliable; Shen Qing trusted him.

As Brother Biao watched Shen Qing pull out a black plastic bag stuffed with fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars from her backpack, his expression was rather complicated.

Who would have thought that a schoolgirl carrying a backpack could casually produce such a sum of money?

"Boss Shen, what about me?" Canja Ying suddenly asked. "What should I do? If I go back now, will Li DaFa finish me off?"

"What are you afraid of? Boss Shen wouldn't let anything dangerous happen to you," said Sister Ying, having witnessed Shen Qing's resolve and now addressing her as Boss Shen.

Shen Qing observed the frightened Canja Ying, pondering over Li DaFa's situation. If there were any useful clues, they would have been uncovered during their dealings with Li Xiulian. Now, aware that there was more to the story, she could only wait patiently for a turning point to arise.

Since Canja Ying had switched sides, his safety needed to be ensured. Otherwise, in future situations like this, no one would side with her.

Addressing Canja Ying, Shen Qing said, "I have two options. One is that I continue to press charges against you, sending you to jail to avoid calamity."

"What are you talking about? How does going to jail avoid trouble?" Canja Ying was puzzled; to him, imprisonment meant punishment.

Shen Qing explained, "If you go to jail, Li DaFa won't have the power to cause you problems there." Besides, if there were indeed others backing Li DaFa, considering their tendency to operate from the shadows, they wouldn't dare to confront Canja Ying, a mere subordinate, within the prison walls.

This strategy had worked well for her in the past.

"No, no, no, I won't go to jail. I won't go to jail," Canja Ying shook his head frantically. "If I go to jail, people will mock and bully my child when he's born. My wife will also be looked down upon!"

Upon hearing Canja Ying's words, Shen Qing sensed a hint of responsibility in him. He was considering his wife and child, indicating that there was still hope for redemption.

Shen Qing offered to Canja Ying, "I have a steady rice trading business in Thailand. I'll arrange for you to leave tonight and someone will be there to receive you. You can learn the trade from him..."

Upon hearing that he could learn the rice trading business, Canja Ying was utterly bewildered.

However, Ying's wife was particularly excited, "This is great, this is really good."

She had always wanted Canja Ying to turn over a new leaf, but he previously associated with Hao Ge and Fish Sheng, a group of delinquents. With no formal education or specialized skills, finding a decent job to support his family even if he reformed seemed impossible.

Now, Boss Shen was willing to look past their history and provide Canja Ying an opportunity to reform and a means to earn an honest living.

Ying's wife was deeply grateful to Shen Qing. She pulled Canja Ying down to kneel before her, but Shen Qing promptly helped them up. They felt as if they had been blessed with incredible fortune to encounter Boss Shen.

Before she could fully kneel, Shen Qing had already lifted her up.

Kneeling and bowing were simply not suitable for someone like her, a youth raised under the red flag and educated well.

But she made it clear, "I can offer Canja Ying a job and pay him a monthly salary of 4000 yuan. However, there's one condition: you mustn't cause any trouble for me, and absolutely no illegal activities..."

In present-day Hong Kong, an average person's monthly salary was merely two to three thousand. Shen Qing offered Canja Ying a salary of four thousand Hong Kong dollars, taking into account the extra one thousand as travel expenses since he would be staying in Thailand.

Canja Ying never expected that Boss Shen would be so generous and righteous.

Just looking at Brother Biao and his crew, it was evident that following Boss Shen held promising prospects. Though Brother Biao was an ex-SDU officer, he had been expelled from the unit due to a mistake he made.

Furthermore, Huoniu and Shuang Fan Dong were once notorious troublemakers in Kowloon. Yet, after a month with Boss Shen, they seemed to have transformed entirely. Each of them now carried themselves with pride, receiving respect from their families. When they accompanied Boss Shen, they also earned the respect of others.

Given the chance, who would willingly choose to be a troublemaker? Who didn't aspire to be a decent person, living with dignity and self-respect?

Canja Ying exclaimed emotionally, "Boss Shen, please rest assured, I'll turn over a new leaf and live an honest life."

Staring at Canja Ying, Shen Qing warned, "If you dare to cross the line, I won't spare you."

Suddenly, Canja Ying knelt before Shen Qing, raising his hand to swear an oath. "If I ever mess up again, I... I'll end my own life with a knife."

Shen Qing shifted her body slightly, not accepting Canja Ying's gesture of kneeling.

However, she didn't help him up either, respecting the belief that a man's knees were precious and shouldn't be easily bent for anyone.

But this time, Canja Ying knelt before the heavens! Before the earth! Before his own bright future! Before his duty to his wife and children!

Seeing Canja Ying's newfound sense of responsibility, Sister Ying felt a bitter surge in her throat. Her eyes reddened as she looked at him. "Mr. Shen is our savior, the one who gave us a second chance at life. If you dare break your vow, if you dare betray Mr. Shen, I will personally send you on your way!" Sister Ying spoke with fierce determination.

...

That very evening, Shen Qing instructed Brother Biao to send Canja Ying off on a ship bound for Thailand.

Sister Ying also went to see Canja Ying off. As she watched him seated on the cruise ship, gradually disappearing into the sea, she suddenly covered her face and began to cry.

Her tears were not born of sorrow, but rather, they were tears of joy.

For she seemed to glimpse a brighter future for herself and Canja Ying. Most women in the world desire their men to thrive, to embody strength and a sense of responsibility.

Sister Ying had been married to Canja Ying for over a decade, enduring alongside him. Finally, she witnessed the embodiment of her husband's responsibility and resolve. How could she not be overjoyed?

As Sister Ying followed Shen Qing away from the dock, sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating her face.

With reddened eyes, she smiled, for she saw the dawn of a new hope.

"Mrs. Ying, to alleviate Li DaFa's concerns, I'll proceed with the lawsuit against you," Shen Qing assured as she accompanied Mrs. Ying back to her hospital room. "It will likely take about one or two months before I withdraw it."

"I'll follow Mr. Shen's lead. Whatever you need me to do, I'll cooperate fully," Mrs. Ying vowed, placing her complete trust in her savior, Shen Qing.

Exiting Mrs. Ying's room, Shen Qing lifted her gaze to see Brother Dragon seated on a hospital corridor bench, dressed in a patient's gown. His icy stare fixated on her, a fruit knife in his hand, skillfully peeling an apple.

Something about his demeanor spelled trouble, and a thought crossed Shen Qing's mind...