Chapter 53#
Chapter 53: Phoenix and the Stinking Ditch
The weather in December was just right, not too cold and not too hot, with warm sunshine.
He Hailou had recently become a frequent visitor to Gu Chenzhou’s small courtyard at the foot of Tianxiang Mountain. He would come over for a meal occasionally, and then pull Gu Chenzhou to play games, watch the news, or go for a walk on Tianxiang Mountain—this mountain was not big. When Gu Chenzhou planned to build Tianxiang Mountain Villa two years ago, he bought the mountain along with it—as for the previous habit of everyone gathering to race cars and drink, after staying at Gu Chenzhou’s house for two days, he admitted that playing the same thing outside for a long time was indeed boring, and it was time to develop some new entertainment activities!
He Hailou came early this day, driving to Gu Chenzhou’s house at nine in the morning. He parked the car in the courtyard and looked into the living room window, just in time to see Gu Chenzhou sitting on the sofa.
He couldn’t help but yawn—he had gone to bed at nearly four o’clock yesterday, so it was too early now—thinking to himself, what is the most tragic thing when two people with different schedules are together? One is already asleep, and the other has just woken up; one is already up, and the other is still sound asleep!
What a waste of time. But it was absolutely impossible to make Gu Chenzhou change. He Hailou was still very self-aware on this point. Or should I change myself? He thought again, go to bed early and wake up early to chase the phoenix every day?
He Hailou locked the car casually, yawned again, and then pushed open the unlocked iron gate and walked into the living room.
“You’re here.” Gu Chenzhou, sitting on the sofa, raised his head and greeted He Hailou who walked in. The two had a good relationship recently, and He Hailou often came over, so Gu Chenzhou no longer called him Young Master He. But another person in the living room, a young man sitting diagonally opposite Gu Chenzhou, immediately stood up:
“Hello, Young Master He.”
Half of his good mood in the morning immediately flew away. He Hailou said coldly, “Oh, it’s Xiao Lin.” He then walked to Gu Chenzhou’s side, ignored the other empty seats, and sat down close to him.
The man standing in the living room was Lin Fang, whom Gu Chenzhou had brought back from abroad. He looked at He Hailou’s indifferent expression and wondered where he had offended this young master—just a few days ago, he was still trying to figure out Gu Chenzhou’s thoughts and deliberately did He Hailou a favor—the other party was more unhappy every time he saw him. After a few more times, and thinking of He Hailou’s reputation in the circle, Lin Fang sincerely felt that if he walked on a dark road at night and was hit with a club or something, it would not be strange at all…
“Is there anything else?” Gu Chenzhou happened to speak.
Lin Fang quickly focused his attention and said to Gu Chenzhou, “Young Master Gu, do you think you should take some time to go to the company? It would also be a good way to motivate the employees.”
Hearing this, a mysterious smile appeared on He Hailou’s lips: at this time, Gu Chenzhou was trying to keep a low profile. If he really did this, wouldn’t he be handing his own handle to the enemy? Obviously, Lin Fang still didn’t understand politics at all.
Sure enough, Gu Chenzhou had no such thoughts at all. He said with an indifferent expression, “The management of the company will naturally handle the matter of motivating the employees.”
Did you hear that? He Hailou looked at the ceiling, feeling secretly pleased: Oh, not being able to understand the leader’s true intentions is really terrible for a subordinate, absolutely terrible!
Lin Fang on the side obviously also had the feeling of patting a horse on the leg. In fact, this was not because he lacked political awareness, but because the national conditions at home and abroad were different: in foreign countries with capitalist development, you can often hear about large financial groups supporting XX candidates for election, but in China, not to mention hearing about it, it is simply impossible for such a thing to happen.
After hitting a wall with both He Hailou and Gu Chenzhou, Lin Fang quickly decided that today’s business was over: “Young Master Gu, there is nothing else. I will go and do what you have instructed.”
Gu Chenzhou nodded.
Lin Fang said goodbye to He Hailou again and then walked out.
As soon as the other’s figure disappeared at the door, He Hailou showed a handsome smile to please Gu Chenzhou—giving a cold face and kicking away the other’s subordinate requires a certain amount of compensation to the leader!
“Shall we go up the mountain now?” This was an activity they had agreed on a few days ago.
“Okay,” Gu Chenzhou nodded, and then said, “The people who were following you yesterday called.”
“The people who were following me?” He Hailou was stunned—he really couldn’t think of anyone for a moment. There were too many candidates, and everyone seemed like a suspect and no one seemed like a suspect.
“It’s Wang Fangxing.” Gu Chenzhou explained, “He said he couldn’t get you, and asked if I wanted to go out with you for a gathering.”
Wang Fangxing was the son of a minister at the ministerial level. His background was not particularly great, but he was very good at handling things. While following He Hailou closely, he also took care of the things that He Hailou was too lazy to do, and had a lot of say in the circle.
He’s capable. If he can’t invite me out, he wants to find a way through Gu Chenzhou to build a bridge for his old man? It depends on whether I’m willing or not!
“It’s that kid.” He Hailou smiled on the surface, but had already made a mental note of the other party. “I’ve been tired of playing recently and haven’t gone out. I didn’t expect them to find you here.”
“Do you want to go? If so, let’s go together.” Gu Chenzhou said.
He Hailou thought to himself that it didn’t matter whether he went or not. It was just for fun anyway. But if I’ve been with you for so many days and still can’t see that you don’t like promiscuous people at all, then I really have a brain and a pair of eyes for nothing.
Thinking of this, he said very firmly, “No, let’s rest for a while recently. It’s not a good time to go out and get involved too much.” He paused and then said, “Why do you suddenly want to go out?”
Gu Chenzhou smiled and said casually, “It’s nothing. If you want to go, let’s all go together.”
He Hailou was stunned for a moment, then said half-jokingly, “You’re really nice.”
“I can be even better.” Gu Chenzhou replied, then stood up and said, “Aren’t we going up the mountain? Let’s go. Drive up or walk up?”
“Let’s drive. It’s more convenient to come down.” He Hailou answered while following Gu Chenzhou out. He pondered Gu Chenzhou’s words and thought of the pair that was publicly acknowledged in the circle—Gu Chenzhou and Wei Xiangjin—good brothers.
I still have to find a time to kill Wei Xiangjin. He Hailou thought to himself. This is simply too present and too much of an eyesore.
As mentioned before, Tianxiang Mountain is not high in altitude and does not cover a large area. It is far from enough for extreme sports, hiking, and adventure, but if it is only used as an outdoor sports venue in leisure time, it is just the right place.
The two drove up the mountain and parked outside Tianxiang Mountain Villa. They didn’t bring too many things, just a small dagger, rope, and some other things that might be useful, and then walked inside.
Most of the trees on Tianxiang Mountain are broad-leaved. In December, the dead leaves fall from the branches, covering the ground with a golden carpet.
He Hailou, with a rope, planned to perform his rope-trapping rabbit trick. While using a branch to push away the dead leaves on the ground to observe the footprints on the soil, he both educated and showed off to Gu Chenzhou:
“Look at this print, it’s round with no sharp points, about three centimeters wide. It must be a wildcat’s footprint!”
“And those larger ones, with four sharp points on top of the footprint, must be the footprints of a wild dog!”
“And squirrels, sometimes they also leave a long claw print on the ground at the bottom of the tree roots, but for this kind of animal that lives in trees, it’s best to listen—”
“Squeak, squeak!”
“A monkey’s cry.” Gu Chenzhou said calmly.
He Hailou: “I just hate monkeys…”
The two wandered around the woods on the top of Tianxiang Mountain and found the source of the small stream that flowed through Gu Chenzhou’s backyard: it was a living spring, not too big, about one meter wide and nearly two meters long. Water gurgled from the middle, like a natural small fountain.
The water here was very clear at a glance. After walking for a long time, the two had finished the mineral water they brought. Gu Chenzhou squatted down and drank a mouthful with his hands, saying to He Hailou, “It’s very sweet.”
He Hailou smiled happily at Gu Chenzhou, and also ran to Gu Chenzhou’s side and squatted down to drink water. He took the other’s mineral water bottle, and after each of them filled half a bottle, he shook the rope in his hand and said, “I just found a good spot. You wait, I’ll go set a trap for a rabbit!”
“Can you catch it?” Gu Chenzhou asked with great interest.
“Rabbits are generally very stupid,” He Hailou said with a serious face, “I saw a rabbit run into a tree and die with my own eyes!”
“Oh?”
He Hailou looked at the sky: “By the way, I was chasing it with a small knife at that time.”
Gu Chenzhou was convinced. He followed He Hailou to the place the other had just found, made a movable trap with a rope, covered the trap with wild grass that rabbits like to eat, and even decorated it with a few small red radishes (taken from the villa), and then went back to the villa together to prepare lunch.
Of course, at the end of the day, they waited in the villa until evening and didn’t see a single hair of a rabbit. Instead, in the afternoon, when Gu Chenzhou went to the backyard to get water, he fished out a soaked monkey from the bucket. He looked at the monkey sitting in the bucket that was a quarter full of water and He Hailou who was looking at the sky and whistling next to him. After a long silence, he shook the water off the monkey and handed it a fruit to comfort it.
Another perfect day!
He Hailou automatically ignored the small flaw of the rabbit. At nine o’clock in the evening, he drove back to his apartment. Just as he went upstairs, he received a call from He Nanshan.
“Have you had a good time these two days?” the other party said lightly on the phone.
“I’m working towards my goal.” He Hailou answered cheerfully, and then heard He Nanshan say in a calm tone, “Gu Xinjun and the higher-ups have reached a consensus. In about half a month, he will step down.”
Perhaps he really didn’t expect this. He Hailou was stunned with the phone in his hand.
After a long time, he finally said, “Gu Chenzhou—”
“Gu Chenzhou has been treating you well recently? And the Gu family has indeed been investigating frequently in secret?” There was no anger in He Nanshan’s tone, but rather some appreciation and praise. “It’s very obvious that the Gu family’s boy has long seen that you were the one who did it. He played along, on the one hand confusing you and on the other hand letting his father quickly contact the higher-ups to finalize the matter of stepping down. There is still half a month left now, most likely because the higher-ups don’t want Gu Xinjun to leave like this, and are still thinking of adding some weight to the Wang faction.”
“He’s playing me?” He Hailou hit the nail on the head.
With He Nanshan’s status, it was impossible for him to care about a junior. After informing He Hailou of this matter, he said lightly, “Alright, you know about this. I’ll say it again, be quiet recently and don’t make any more trouble. If you cause a big incident during this period, you may not have a good result.”
After speaking, he hung up the phone.
Hearing the hang-up tone on the other end of the phone, He Hailou didn’t stop for a moment and immediately dialed Gu Chenzhou’s mobile phone.
Gu Chenzhou answered quickly. At this time, he had also just received the news from Gu Xinjun that a consensus had been reached with the authorities.
“Is there something wrong, Young Master He?” Gu Chenzhou asked, flipping through a book in his hand.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and then a light laugh came: “Young Master Gu, I heard that your family plans to step down? I really didn’t expect it—”
“Didn’t expect what?” Gu Chenzhou asked He Hailou back with the same smiling voice.
He Hailou said, “I didn’t expect Young Master Gu to be so cautious, willing to suffer a big loss rather than take a gamble.”
“Oh? How does Young Master He want me to gamble?” Gu Chenzhou said.
“Young Master Gu is asking the obvious.” Tearing off the outermost friendly mask, the two’s address returned to the guarded, unfamiliar, and polite state when they first met. “Young Master Gu really has no thoughts about the current situation, no interest at all? I know the Gu family’s attitude, so I tried from Young Master Gu’s side. I didn’t expect Young Master Gu to be as cautious as Minister Gu!” A very regretful tone.
Gu Chenzhou thought to himself that this He Hailou was also a talent. He had used all kinds of tricks to lure, threaten, frame, and entrap him, but when he said it, he could still make it sound like it was for his own good.
“As for this—” Gu Chenzhou dragged his voice a little, “Young Master He is more concerned than this legitimate son of mine.”
He Hailou laughed: “I’m just regretting that I won’t be able to see Young Master Gu for a long time. Without Young Master Gu here, what should I do?”
Gu Chenzhou also smiled slightly: “A long time is still just a period of time, isn’t it? Young Master He, wait patiently, there will be such a day.”
When the conversation reached this point, there was nothing more to say.
He Hailou casually said something to end the conversation, and then ended this phone call that was peaceful on the surface but contentious in secret. Then his first action was to throw the phone, and his second action was to kick over the coffee table next to him!
Amidst the sound of a series of things falling to the floor, He Hailou stood where he was, panting heavily for a few breaths before suppressing the anger that rushed to his throat. He picked up the phone from the floor, reassembled it, and called Wang Fangxing.
The phone was quickly picked up by the other party. Wang Fangxing complained on the other end, “Young Master He, you’ve finally appeared. I thought you had disappeared!”
He Hailou said, “Didn’t you want to ask me out? I happen to be free now. Find a few capable people, and I’ll go over.”
Wang Fangxing was stunned for a moment: “Oh, that’s no problem, but where does Young Master He want to play?”
“Let’s go to the Jinsa Club you mentioned last time.” He Hailou said coldly and hung up the phone. He went downstairs and drove, and in forty minutes he sped to the “Jinsa World” club, which was half a city away.
Wang Fangxing had already arranged the location and personnel in the club. Seeing He Hailou walk in from outside, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking that it was a good thing he hadn’t slacked off. If He Hailou came and didn’t see him, he would have offended someone.
“Young Master He, you’re here,” Wang Fangxing put on a smiling face and walked forward, secretly sizing up the other’s face, and said tentatively, “The person has arrived, shall I have him come over directly?”
He Hailou smiled at this time, but the light in his eyes was still a bit cold: “Sure, let him come over directly. It’s a bendy one anyway.”
Wang Fangxing thought he understood, and quickly led He Hailou into the private room, and then went to find someone to come in: the other party was a boy who looked no more than eighteen years old, with delicate and clean features, but not at all coy. After being hinted at by Wang Fangxing, he sat directly on He Hailou’s lap and reached out to wrap his arms around the other’s neck.
He Hailou just sat still at first.
When the boy wrapped around his neck leaned over to kiss him, he suddenly changed his face and pushed the person directly to the floor!
This sudden scene stunned everyone in the private room. Wang Fangxing knew He Hailou best and was the first to react. He immediately laughed and said, “What? Young Master He doesn’t like him? Then I’ll get someone else.”
“No need.” He Hailou said, his expression becoming lazy again, and the coldness in his eyes disappeared without a trace. “Forget it, these are not fun anyway. Take him down, and consider him to have served.”
Now that boy also showed a smile, said thank you to He Hailou happily, and then walked out of the room directly.
Wang Fangxing looked at He Hailou, half teasing and half probing: “Has Young Master He’s taste changed?”
He Hailou glanced at Wang Fangxing, pinched his chin, and the smile on his face was very obvious and happy: “I’ve taken a fancy to a phoenix.”
People who have been with He Hailou for a long time are used to He Hailou’s mood barometer—it’s never fixed. He was not at all surprised that He Hailou went from angry to happy in just a few minutes, and followed up by saying, “And then?”
“And then I was slapped into a stinking ditch by the phoenix’s wings.” He Hailou said.
Forgive Wang Fangxing for really not being able to hold it in. He immediately burst out laughing.
He Hailou, who was in a good mood, didn’t care about the other’s gaffe, but instead took a tissue for Wang Fangxing, who had choked on his wine and was coughing and his face was red.
What to do if you’ve taken a fancy to a phoenix?
Build a house with parasol branches, use bamboo seeds as staple food, and drink sweet spring water as a beverage?
—Why is it so troublesome!
As long as a phoenix has wings, it will definitely fly away.
So if you cut off those wings, wouldn’t it be once and for all?