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nThe barren mountain in front of me was referred to as ‘Duck Butt Mountain’ by the elders in Dong Shan city. Based on its name, you could tell it doesn’t have an elegant appearance.

nThey didn’t really have to blindfold me if they were planning on taking me here, or is it because it’s an action of habit for them?

nA certain municipal leader once tried to transform the mountain into a scenic area, but after they repaired the stone steps up the mountain and the pavilion at the top, the mayor and deputy mayor were detained by the CCP and never heard from again.

nSome superstitious elders said there was a god residing in the mountain. They said the two people got retribution for making the mountain god mad.

nI’m not sure if it was because they were afraid of the mountain god, but none of the successive leader decided to continue remodeling ‘Duck Butt Mountain’, so the half finished project was abandoned halfway.

nI was always curious about the appearance of the god of Duck Butt Mountain. Is it a duck like Donald Duck? If it’s a duck, why not live by the river instead of on a mountain? I don’t think a mortal like me could comprehend the thoughts of a god.

nThe three triad members escorted me up the mountain. Uncle Long and the skinny one was fine, but the fat one was panting after ascending 250 steps.

nI guess he only looks like Sammo Hung, but doesn’t have his stamina.

nAfter we arrived on the relatively flat mountaintop (the area known as the duck butt), Uncle Long pointed towards the broken down pavilion in front of us and told me to walk over alone.

nI strolled over to the pavilion in large strides. I noticed there was a stone table and four stone stools after I entered. A gloomy middle aged man was sitting on one of those stools.

nHe was wearing a custom fit suit and had a fountain pen in the pocket of his jacket. It was a luxurious good based on its appearance.

nHe may have been a handsome man before, but now his cheeks were sunken in and he was thin like he was deathly ill. He would occasionally cough and it would resound clearly on the quiet mountain top.

nI had a rough guess of the identity of the man. I wasn’t afraid of standing up against power, so I sat directly across from him and waited for him to speak.

nThe man sized me up from top to bottom like a general sizing up his soldiers or a father-in-law sizing up his son-in-law.

n“You’re Ye Lin?”

nHis Mandarin had a heavy Cantonese accent, but I could understand since I watched a lot of Hong Kong films when I was younger.

nHe clearly already knew my identity, but he had to waste the time to ask again.

nI didn’t answer pointless questions, so I asked: “You’re Xiao Qin’s father?”

nAs the head of the Ju Ying Sect in the triads, Huo ZhenBang, could not help but show a light smile at the corners of his mouth seeing that I was so young but so bold, as if mocking me for being a calf and not fearing a tiger.

n“Young people should have proper manners. Answer my question first.”

n“I am Ye Lin. Are you Xiao Qin’s father?”

nHuo ZhenBang nodded, “That’s right, I’m Xiao Qin’s father. I came to the mainland to set up arrangements for Xiao Qin and her mother.”

nI inevitably cursed silently in my mind: He chased Auntie Ren away by frequenting brothels, but now he wants to set up “arrangements” for them on his own accord?

nHuo ZhenBang coughed twice again and then took out two capsules from a small box. He ingested the capsules with the bottle water that was on the stone table and continued to speak:

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n“I heard you’re Xiao Qin’s childhood friend and that she’s always liked you.”

nIf her violent actions towards me could be described as ‘liking me’, then that’s right.

nI nodded.

nHuo ZhenBang expressed a bitter smile. He covered his heart with his hands and said:

n“I defiled many of girls back in the day and now my own daughter has a boyfriend and it’s an unbearable feeling.”

nI didn’t really know how to answer, but there’s an old saying that goes: Those who lust after other people’s wives and daughters will have their own wives and daughters lusted after, but obviously it’s not appropriate to say.

n“Why does your subordinate refer to Xiao Qin as the second miss?” I raised my doubts.

nA hint of sorrow flashed through Huo ZhenBang’s eyes. He froze in place for a while then slowly said:

n“Before Xiao Qin, I had a son with a dancer. He was really similar to me and I was raising him as my successor. But last year, he got into a fight with the mafia when he was in America and was assassinated with poison.”

nThere’s nothing more painful than seeing one’s children pass away first, so now the grizzled white hairs on his temples made more sense.

n“I will never rest before getting revenge for my son. But you should also understand that means Xiao Qin is now my only child.”

nHuo ZhenBang made a finger gun and pointed it at me.

n“I understand men very well. If you dare treat my daughter poorly, I’ll take care of you.”

nI definitely didn’t treat Xiao Qin well at the beginning of the semester, but I didn’t know Xiao Qin’s father was part of the triads at the time! If I think about it now, I was basically playing with fire. I could have been kidnapped at any time and never heard from again!

n“I, I’m already treating Xiao Qin better…” I explained in a hurry.

nHuo ZhenBang squinted his eyes in disbelief, “If my daughter felt she was mistreated by you in any way and she voices her concerns to me, I’ll have you buried alive.”

nI shuddered and subconsciously looked around the duck butt mountain top to see if there were any already dug out pits.

nIf Xiao Qin didn’t complain about me when I was bullying her, then I shouldn’t get buried alive since my attitude towards her is much better.

nHuo ZhenBang then said sternly as if he read my mind:

n“It’s your duty to be nice to her, but you can’t take advantage of her because your relationship is stronger. If you bed my daughter, then I’ll break your third leg.”

nI was so shocked I almost covered the lower half of my body with my hands. I was one step away from bedding the daughter of a triad boss!

nIt’s the same as when Auntie Ren said she would crush my dad’s nuts if I got Xiao Qin pregnant, but Huo ZhenBang actually has the capability and the determination to break my third leg! He’s already lost a son, so he’s madly in love with his daughter!

nI lied with a pale face: “We’re only middle school students and we expend our energy through sports, we definitely won’t taste the forbidden fruit.”

n“Stop lying. I could even see your lustful face, do you think I wouldn’t know what a 14 year old man is thinking about everyday? Tell me, did you touch Xiao Qin yet?”

nI could only lower my head and admit: “Once…”

nHuo ZhenBang had an ‘as expected’ expression. He never asked where I touched his daughter, but he did ask: “Which hand did you use.”

nI answered honestly: “Both hands…”, then I suddenly realized he might have been planning to chop off the hand that touched his daughter. If I knew earlier, then I wouldn’t have answered honestly.

nHuo ZhenBang held his chin in silence for a bit then snorted:

n“The fact you did that means you already know you’re going to marry my daughter in the future, right?”

nI paused, “Um…”

nHuo ZhenBang abruptly changed his attitude, “What, you don’t want to take responsibility? Do you think the daughter of the triads is somebody anybody can touch?”

nI could only lower my head as I didn’t know what to say back.

nA gust of wind blew by. Both of Huo ZhenBang’s eyes were bloodshot as he coughed twice again.

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n“You guys will get married after you graduate high school.” Huo ZhenBang arranged for us.

n“But you can’t touch her before you get married. If you want to take advantage of her then leave, and something happens to my daughter, I’ll kill your entire family.”

nWhat, I don’t think I’m rotten to the point where I would take advantage of Xiao Qin then abandon her. Besides, if you want to kill my whole family, Ai ShuQiao, who’s in America, is a direct relative! It will be quite a scene when the American underworld collides with the Chinese underworld.

n“You’re also not allowed to date any girl other than Xiao Qin before or after your marriage. If you can’t treat Xiao Qin wholeheartedly, then I don’t think I need to repeat what will happen to you.”

nEh, the self-proclaimed father-in-law is quite rude and unreasonable. You were a playboy both before and after marriage, yet you want your own son-in-law to be a saint? My youth has just begun, so don’t set my future for me.

nI couldn’t help but feel a sense of rebellion.

n“Xiao Qin calls my dad Uncle Ye, so I’ll call you Uncle Huo. Uncle Huo, may I ask if Xiao Qin knows you kidnapped me here?”

n“Xiao Qin doesn’t need to know. She doesn’t even know I’m in mainland right now.”

n“So that means you’re making these decisions by yourself? Even if Xiao Qin is your daughter, you don’t have to decide everything for her. Shouldn’t you leave us a bit of freedom of choice?”

nHuo ZhenBang suddenly lunged across the stone table and grabbed my collar. He stared at me with a very frightening look, and said slowly word by word:

n“If I tell you to marry Xiao Qin, then you will get married. And your first born boy will take my surname of Huo. I have to let him inherit my family business.”

n“Wh- why?” My collar was being pulled to the point it was uncomfortable, but the atmosphere was even worse.

n“Because, it’s impossible for me to have children anymore.”

nHuo ZhenBang hollered at me with a voice filled with sorrow.

n“I frequented nightclubs to deal with the pain of losing my son and I ended up catching AIDS from two foreign girls. It’s difficult to get healthy offspring with this illness and it’s impossible for me to get remarried to Hong Li anymore. Can you understand my feelings now?”

nDamn, you’re spitting all over my face! I know there’s pretty much zero chance of getting AIDS through normal contact, but it still makes me feel gross! No wonder there are fewer people coming to 28 Middle looking for trouble ever since the rumor of me having AIDS got spread.

nHuo ZhenBang threw me backwards and said:

n“I have a lot of money, so AIDS is more of a chronic disease for me. Since the former NBA star, Magic Johnson, fought against AIDS for over 20 years to the point where it’s almost undetectable, then I might not die from it. Even if my constitution isn’t as good as Johnson, I could still at least live another ten years, so…”

nHe pointed to his own eyes, then pointed at me.

n“As for my remaining years of life, other than getting revenge for my son, it will be used to arrange a good home for Xiao Qin and her mother. Anyone who dares to bully Xiao Qin or Hong Li will be going against me and I’ll make sure they have a painful death.”

nI was suddenly worried about my dad’s safety. Does making Auntie Ren have an unexpected pregnancy count as bullying her? But if Huo ZhenBang has AIDS and can’t get remarried to Auntie Ren, wouldn’t it be good to let her marry someone who will treat her well?

nAlthough that’s what I thought, I obviously didn’t say it and hoped Huo ZhenBang wouldn’t find out for the time being.

nHuo ZhenBang’s admonition to me was no less than the ten commandments. I felt like I was bound by invisible shackles after I was released.

nI turned on the phone Uncle Long had returned to me and saw there were three unread messages.

nThe first one was from Ai Mi: “Damn manservant, where did you go? Why aren’t you picking up my calls?”

nI replied: “Something urgent came up and I had to go home. I’ll visit you at Qing Zi Academy another day.”

nThe second message was from a scammer: “Dad, I got caught visiting prostitutes and my cellphone was confiscated. Please transfer 50,000 for bail to the card 622XXXXXXXXX…”

nNowadays scammers will do anything for money like pretend to be your son or even your grandson.

nThe third message was from Xiao Qin: “Ye Lin classmate, the crime syndicate finally return Brother Optimus Prime to me. If you come to my house right now, I can let you taste my cooking skills I worked hard to practice and you can take Brother Optimus Prime home with you.”

nNonsense, the crime syndicate was clearly with me. Brother Optimus Prime has always been in your hands!

nEver since I forcefully hugged the class leader, I felt embarrassed to go to her house for free food. Xiao Qin’s skills might be far off from the class leader, but it’s still better than mines.

nThe most important thing is Xiao Qin agreed she would return Brother Optimus Prime! Although I can’t fully believe her, I still can’t pass up this opportunity!

nBut what should I do? Should I go or not? If Xiao Qin called me, that meant Auntie Ren wasn’t at home. If she took this opportunity to seduce me, then would I be able to resist? Her father warned me that If I sleep with Xiao Qin before marriage, he would castrate me!

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