Chen Yan: ?
His first reaction was: Is this a matter of lifespan, and can it really be calculated so precisely?
Accurate to the minute?!
·
The more ridiculous the old lady's words, the less anxious Chen Yan felt at the moment: growing up, he had too many experiences of the old lady spouting nonsense like this.
Yeah, according to her, even his own mom was a White Fox.
He carefully scrutinized the old lady over and over again...
Chen Yan deduced in his heart, this time, just like countless times in his life, the old lady was playing a prank on him again, wasn't she?
Have you ever seen a grandmother deceive her eight-year-old grandson, saying that if he wanted to learn the Fire Cloud Evil God's martial arts, he needed to eat a spoonful of stir-fried chili peppers every day?
That summer, Chen Yan's butt hurt for two weeks!
As for watching TV and wanting to learn Celestial Deformed Leg, then getting tricked by the old lady into stepping barefoot in cow dung, thinking back on it now made Chen Yan tear up...
Anyway! Over time, Chen Yan got to know the old lady's ways too well.
Various pranks and jokes with no bottom line were essential spices in the twenty years of living together between the grandmother and grandson.
Okay, old lady, you like to act, huh?
Go on and act!
Chen Yan suddenly got stubborn and stopped speaking. He went straight to the kitchen, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and focused on attacking the bowl of cold noodles in front of him.
Watching him eat, the old lady smiled with benevolence.
"By the way, my funeral clothes are ready too. I'll need to try them on later to see if they fit. If not, I can still get them altered before it gets dark, by knocking on Tailor Liu's door."
The old lady suddenly dropped this line out of nowhere.
"...Okay, okay." Chen Yan rolled his eyes helplessly.
·
Late at night, lying in bed in his small room, Chen Yan couldn't stop tossing and turning, feeling a bit uneasy inside.
Still, listening to the thunderous snoring from the old lady in the next room, as if mountains were collapsing and seas roaring, how vigorous!
With that lung capacity! With that spirit!
If I don't quit smoking, drinking, and other indulgences with my sub-healthy city body, I might just be sent off by her.
Chen Yan felt a bit more at ease, turned over, and finally fell asleep.
·
The hassle of traveling back home worn him out. It was almost noon the next day when Chen Yan finally got up; he hadn't even brushed his teeth yet when the old lady sent him to the village entrance to buy soy sauce.
Yawning, he walked to the village entrance and suddenly saw a black car speeding past him.
Oh? A fancy car.
Wait, no, not just a fancy car.
That's a Maybach.
After all, having spent a few years at university in a big city like Jinling Prefecture, Chen Yan had seen a little of the world.
Could a tycoon investor have come to the village?
Chen Yan glanced over his shoulder a few times, only to see the Maybach stop after a hard brake a couple of dozen meters away, then quickly reverse back to his side and come to a stop again.
The window rolled down, revealing a face full of stern and coarse features, bluntly asking:
"Are you Mr. Chen Yan?"
Chen Yan was taken aback.
But looking at the other's fierce face, they didn't seem like nice people.
Chen Yan quickly shook his head, "No."
"Oh... then can you tell me how to get to Chen Yan's house?"
Chen Yan calmly smiled and casually pointed in the opposite direction, "About 500 meters that way, cross the river, and then turn right."
"Thanks."
The Maybach started up and drove off, and Chen Yan turned and ran towards the home of the village security director—whose two sons were both policemen.
They also had two big, fierce dogs in the yard.
But a few seconds later, the Maybach returned.
With a sharp turn, it blocked Chen Yan's path, and two burly men in black suits stepped out of the car, their target clear, heading straight for Chen Yan.
"Kid, don't lie. We've seen your photo; you are Chen Yan!"
Chen Yan struggled in vain, panicking.
No!
If you didn't catch on, you shouldn't have caught on!
And if you did catch on, you should have caught on later!
This in-between situation is really hard for me to handle!
·
The two men, without further ado, hauled Chen Yan into the car, shoving him into the back seat, then sat on either side, sandwiching him in the middle.
The Maybach sped off.
Inside the car, Chen Yan cautiously observed.
The driver in the front, the passenger in the front, and the two brawny guys beside him.
Altogether four people, all in black suits, exuding a fierce aura.
With coarse features and buzz cuts—let's put it this way, if they were extras in those Great National Heng Inn movies, playing mafia or fugitives, they wouldn't need any makeup.
Chen Yan forced a smile.
"So, gentlemen, what do you need from me?"
No answer.
Seeing that the car was leaving the village, Chen Yan hesitated for a moment, then cautiously and softly said, "Guys, I have kidney deficiency; my kidneys aren't worth much... And, I have fatty liver, so my liver isn't valuable either..."
The brute on his left finally couldn't resist speaking.
"Stop talking nonsense, we don't want your organs."
The black-suited man in the front passenger seat, who seemed to be the leader, turned to look at Chen Yan, "Don't be afraid, we are not bad people. Our boss wants to meet you."
Boss?
What boss?
...
The Maybach left the village and drove into the nearby town after more than ten minutes.
The best hotel in town, called the Grand Eastern Hotel.
The two "Grand" characters fully reflected the shallowness of the owner's cultural foundation.
The name was grand, but it was actually just a two-story building.
The car stopped in the open space behind the hotel, and Chen Yan was escorted off, then taken straight to the top floor of the hotel.
The door at the end of the hallway was pushed open, and one of the men in black made a gesture for him to enter.