Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 127

The Trap (1)

After school, Xue Nuo had tutoring, so she arrived at Ru Yun’s house close to 6:00 PM, making her the last to arrive. Stepping inside, she saw several “sisters” bustling in and out of the kitchen, while others flirted with Hou Longtao, the man she longed for, in the living room.

“What are you doing over there? Come here,” Hou Longtao beckoned.

Xue Nuo remained still, her lips trembling as tears streamed down her face.

Hou Longtao set Chen Xi down from his lap, walked over, bent down, and hugged Xue Nuo’s leg. He straightened, lifting her up, and gazed into her clear, innocent eyes. “My baby, you’re crying because you see me? Do you hate me?”

“Of… of course not,” Xue Nuo wiped her eyes, forcing a smile. “I’m just… happy.”

“It’s only been a month, but my Nuo Nuo has become even more beautiful, and it seems like she’s grown a bit taller.”

“Brother Tao, Brother Tao…” Xue Nuo suddenly struggled.

Hou Longtao knew his baby well. He quickly put her down, cupped her face, and kissed her.

Xue Nuo made a soft “hmm” sound and threw herself into his arms. She craved the warmth of his embrace, even though the villa’s heating was set to twenty degrees Celsius.

Hou Longtao quietly grabbed the waistband of her sweatpants and pulled them down, along with her pink long underwear, exposing her white panties and round, slender legs.

Xue Nuo’s face flushed. Everyone else in the room was fully dressed, including Xiang Nai and the Xing Yue sisters. Though she knew of them and had seen pictures, this was her first time meeting them, making her shy.

Hou Longtao wasn’t finished. He reached out to remove her top as well.

“What are you doing?” Xue Nuo struggled shyly, gently pounding his chest with her fists.

“Hehe,” Hou Longtao pulled her back into his arms. “It’s so hot in here; why don’t you go change into a skirt?”

“I hate you.” Xue Nuo kissed him and ran upstairs to change.

Ru Yun’s dining table had been replaced three times, each larger than the last. Now, thirteen people could sit around it comfortably.

The women had already begun eating, but Hou Longtao was staring at them, lost in thought.

“Hey,” Yue Ling kicked him under the table. “What are you staring at? Did you suddenly become Christian and want us to pray first?”

“Eat, eat.” Hou Longtao smiled slightly. If he added Yu Qian and Feng Yun, he would have two complete “rainbows” [referring to a full set of women]. If a man achieved this much and was still not satisfied, he would be greedy and punished by heaven. He really had enough…

The next day, Hou Longtao didn’t take a day off like the other IIC delegation members. Instead, he went to the company and reported the entire trip to Japan to Ru Yun in detail.

After lunch with the Feng sisters, Hou Longtao took Feng Jie back to his hotel, where a passionate encounter was inevitable.

After dropping Feng Jie back at school, Hou Longtao arrived at ‘Rising East Star’ [likely a business or establishment name].

Except for Long, who was still in Japan, the other five brothers were there.

“Brother Prince is back?” Ma Zi, as usual, brought Hou Longtao a can of Coke. Several guys playing pool also greeted him.

“Has anything happened recently?”

“No, what could happen? Who would dare to cause trouble at our East Star?”

“Why didn’t Long come back with you?” Wu Da patted Hou Longtao’s shoulder.

“The matter in Japan isn’t over yet,” Hou Longtao said, lighting a cigarette. “That Wang An, he can’t do anything right.”

“Hmph,” Wu Da slapped Hou Longtao on the head. “You motherfucker.”

“You…” Hou Longtao rubbed his head and turned, seeing Wu Da’s sly smile. He knew it was hard to hide anything from his second brother. “Hmph, Wang An.”

“Come on, let’s play a game [of pool].”

“Wait a minute.” Hou Longtao took out his phone, which was playing the national anthem as a ringtone. “Hello?”

“Brother Prince, it’s me, Tan Zi.”

“Speak.”

“…”

Hou Longtao’s face darkened. “I’m at ‘Rising’ now. Bring him over.”

“Who’s coming?”

“Big brother, what have Jin Song and Gao Miao Miao been up to lately, those two bastards?” Hou Longtao didn’t answer Ma Lian’s question.

“What else could they be doing? They’re just squandering your hard-earned money. They bought a set of houses worth over 700,000 in Tong County, and then bought a ‘Bora’ car, and then they’re just living it up with a bunch of cronies. Guess where they’ve been hanging out every day for the past three weeks?”

“Where?”

“You fucking guess.”

“Alright, alright,” Hou Longtao waved his hand. “How the hell am I supposed to guess that?”

“Fu, Lu, Shou [Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity],” Da Pang said slowly, one word at a time.

“Fu Lu Shou? Fu Lu Shou Resort?”

“Exactly. They booked a room there, and they even rent the best villas for a couple of days when they feel like it.”

“The expenses there aren’t low,” Hou Longtao thought. “The remaining million or so won’t be enough for them to waste.”

“What’s wrong? Do you want to send them some more money?” Liu Nan curled his lips, lighting a cigarette. “If it were up to me, I would have killed those two bastards long ago.”

“I’ve been busy lately.”

“You’re busy, but we’re all free. Didn’t Feng Yun take care of things with the authorities a long time ago? Are you afraid we can’t handle it?”

“Tch, how could that be?” Hou Longtao scratched his head. “People should be given more chances. One should be forgiving whenever possible. If they take my money and live a stable life, that would be fine…”

“Stop pretending to be profound. You’re obviously just waiting to see them die with your own eyes.”

“Hehehe,” Hou Longtao smirked. “Well, even if I wanted to give them a chance, I couldn’t. This is truly ‘Heaven has a path, but they don’t take it; Hell has no gate, but they barge in’ [idiom meaning they are bringing disaster upon themselves].”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll know when Tan Zi arrives.”

More than twenty minutes later, Tan Zi appeared in the billiard hall with a shady-looking man.

Hou Longtao threw the cue on the table, sat on the sofa, and beckoned them over.

“Brother Prince.”

“Brother Prince,” the unfamiliar man also called out, with an unnatural smile.

“Sit down.” Hou Longtao pointed to the chair next to him.

“Thank you, Brother Prince.” The man sat on the edge of the chair, but didn’t seem respectful, more like a sycophant.

“Tan Zi, what happened?” The other brothers gathered around.

“His name is Sha Bi,” Tan Zi pointed at the man. “Yesterday I ran into him, and he said someone wants to set Brother Prince up with a honey trap [a deceptive romantic relationship used for blackmail or manipulation].”

“Who wants to set Monkey up with a honey trap?”

“Someone named Jin Song.”

Hou Longtao saw his brothers were about to speak, and waved his hand. “Don’t ask.” He pointed at Sha Bi. “You, speak slowly.”

“Ah, yes, yes,” Sha Bi moved forward a little. “About two months ago, did someone blackmail you with a videotape?”

“Yes.”

“That person is called Jin Song.”

“What’s your relationship with him?”

“Oh, we’re buddies, we were in prison together, and we came out together.”

“Hmm,” Hou Longtao nodded. “Continue.”

Sha Bi thought Hou Longtao would react more intensely to the revelation, but he was calm. Though confused, he couldn’t ask. “He took that money and has been eating, drinking, and having fun with four or five of our friends and his girlfriend every day. At first, we didn’t know how he suddenly got rich. Last Wednesday, he invited us to Fu Lu Shou Resort. During dinner, he told us that the money was extorted from you.”

“He’s poor again now, right?”

“You… how did you know?” Sha Bi looked at him in disbelief, his face full of “admiration.” “You’re really like a prophet.”

“Stop talking so much nonsense and get to the point.” Hou Longtao wasn’t angry, not because he was arrogant, but because this guy was selling out a friend. He couldn’t like that.

“Okay, Song and us have almost run out of money, and they want to ask you for several million more to spend.”

“Look, look,” Ma Lian shouted. “What did I say last time? If you give them something once, they’ll come back for more.”

“Stop interrupting.” Er Dezi pushed Ma Lian. “Does that kid have a death wish?”

“That’s what we said too,” Sha Bi continued. “Song only knows that you have money, but he doesn’t know that you also have a name, ‘Jiangdong Star Prince,’ and he doesn’t know what you do.”

“What do I do?” Hou Longtao frowned. He hadn’t been involved in ‘East Star’s’ “lower-level business” for a long time. His goal was to gradually improve his image as a “gangster tycoon” in the eyes of some people, but the last incident with “Tyrannosaurus” may have been too big, and the impact hasn’t completely disappeared.

“Ah?” Though Sha Bi didn’t fully understand, he didn’t act stupid. “That’s what I meant. Several of us know, so we advised him not to do it. If the last time he didn’t know it was you, he wouldn’t be so lucky this time. But he’s not afraid. He wears a mask when he does things. He also said that people like you care most about face, so he can record it and ask for as much money as he wants. He also said that after it’s done, he’ll give each of us 100,000, so the others agreed.”

“You didn’t agree?”

“Me? I agreed at the time, but then I thought… I… that… I… you…”

“Get to the point,” Hou Longtao waved impatiently. “What’s he planning to do?”

“Song…” Sha Bi looked embarrassed.

“Just tell me, I won’t mind.”

“Okay, okay, Song has already found your biggest weakness, which is that you’re lustful. He can trick you into going to Fu Lu Shou Resort, and then have his girlfriend pretend to be a prostitute to seduce you. Once you’re hooked and take off your clothes, we’ll rush in and record you raping her. Then, we’ll use the threat of taking you to the police station and the videotape to blackmail you. He should have no problem getting five million.”

“Hahaha,” Hou Longtao took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, laughing so hard that tears came out. “It’s so easy to get rich. Why does everyone still go to work? They should just go around blackmailing people. Is Gao Miao Miao willing to be the bait?”

“How… how do you know her name is Gao Miao Miao?” Sha Bi was truly surprised.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tan Zi patted the armrest. “Answer whatever he asks you.”

“Oh, oh,” Sha Bi was now even more convinced that his decision was wise. “I didn’t ask, but Gao Miao Miao doesn’t seem very willing. Last time we were eating together, when Song mentioned this, she seemed very unhappy.”

“Why does she have to do it? Wouldn’t it be enough to just find a prostitute?”

“I did ask him about that. He said that he doesn’t trust just any prostitute, and that those prostitutes aren’t good enough to seduce you. He said that it has to be someone similar to the woman who… um…” Sha Bi rolled his eyes, trying to find a more elegant word, but he hadn’t read any books, and the more he tried to sound cultured, the more uncultured he seemed. “The one who sucked your dick in the video last time.”

“Is Gao Miao Miao very beautiful?” Er Dezi asked.

“Not bad. Compared to those on TV, she’s pretty good in real life.” Sha Bi licked his lips unconsciously.

“Another ungrateful and unrighteous bastard.” Hou Longtao hated this person even more. “How is Jin Song planning to trick me into going to ‘Fu Lu Shou’? It’s not his property, so isn’t he worried about someone interfering?”

“Song is generous at ‘Fu Lu Shou’. The head of the security department there is called Yi Feng, and they became brothers in just a few days. They’re very close. You see, the general manager there is from Beijing, but the security guards are all local farmers from Sanhe. Farmers used to be simple and honest, but now they’re much worse than city people. When Yi Feng heard what Song said, he immediately wanted to join in. He patted his chest and guaranteed to provide people. If you don’t agree, he’ll detain you and beat you until you give him money. He’ll pretend to be their general manager and send you an invitation letter in the next few days, because it’s rumored that you like to make friends in the business world. He’ll probably use some excuse like admiring your name for a long time and wanting to get to know you.”

“Isn’t he afraid that their general manager will find out?”

“Their general manager doesn’t go there at all. That Yi Feng is like a local emperor at ‘Fu Lu Shou’. There are often incidents of people being chased and beaten.”

“Isn’t it just because his brother is the deputy captain of the Shanshi Chemical Plant’s security team?”

“You… you’re really amazing,” Sha Bi’s mouth couldn’t close. “Didn’t you already know that Song was going to set you up with a honey trap?”

“If I had known, would I still be wasting my time talking to you here?”

“Yes, yes, yes, you’re too awesome.”

“Have you and Tan Zi known each other for a long time?”

“No, I don’t know him.” Tan Zi quickly denied it. He could already tell that Hou Longtao didn’t like this guy.

“I only met Tan Zi last week.” Sha Bi felt that he was already a “hero.” A few days ago, he was calling him “Brother Tan Zi,” but now he wasn’t so polite. “I wanted to inform you about Song’s matter, but I didn’t know how to find you. I asked around for several days and finally found out that you have several restaurants. So I went to each one to ask, but many of the bosses had never even seen you, and they didn’t even know that they were working for you. They only knew that their superior was called Tan Zi.”

“So you’re quite resourceful, being able to find out which stores are mine.”

“Hehe, a year ago, I helped a relative with some renovations and renovated four restaurants in a row. You personally went to see them.”

“Is that so?” Hou Longtao remembered that a year ago, he really did everything himself. “You went back to find Tan Zi?”

“Tan Zi wasn’t easy to find either. It was a coincidence. Yesterday at noon, when I was drinking in a store, he was sitting at the table next to me with two other people. I heard them say that you had just returned to Beijing, and one of them called him Tan Zi. So I took a chance, and it really worked.”

“Okay, very good, it’s my luck that you ran into him,” Hou Longtao pinched his nose. “How should I thank you?”

“Hehehe,” Sha Bi was happy now. He betrayed a friend he had grown up with for this. “No need to thank me, no need to thank me. You’re too polite. It’s my duty to serve you.”

“No, I don’t like owing people favors. Just tell me how much you want. If I think it’s reasonable, I’ll agree.” Hou Longtao wanted to see how greedy this guy was.

“You think too highly of me. I don’t want money. I just want to follow you and do great things. If you can let me join ‘East Star,’ I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”

“Join ‘East Star’? Do great things with me?” Hou Longtao nodded. This guy was really greedy. “I’m very fair. You can join our company, but it’s impossible to reach the sky in one step. Are you willing to start from the bottom? If you do well, there will naturally be opportunities for promotion.”

“Willing, willing, I’m too willing.” Sha Bi knew that as long as he joined “East Star,” he could earn at least 3,000 yuan a month, and he would be taken care of everywhere on the streets. Although he had to start from the bottom, it was just a formality. He could at least be considered half a person in front of him, and it was only a matter of time before he became successful.

“You come here,” Hou Longtao called Tan Zi out of the billiard hall. “You take him back, find a restaurant, and give him a job as a lobby manager or something insignificant. First, stabilize him. You secretly send someone to watch him. If there’s any unusual activity, notify me immediately. After I’m done with this, give him two hundred thousand and let him go to the south to develop ‘East Star’s’ business. It’s a test for him. If he can’t do anything, he doesn’t need to come back to Beijing to see me.”

“Hehe, you’re sending him to his death.” Tan Zi was a veteran of “East Star” and had a certain understanding of his master’s thoughts.

“Then it depends on his luck. Don’t you think he deserves to die?”

“You think he deserves to die. Even if he doesn’t deserve to die, he should die.”

“Hahaha,” Hou Longtao laughed and returned to the room. “Er Dezi, didn’t you say last time that you have an uncle who is a section chief at Shanshi Chemical?”

“Yes.”

“Please ask him to invite the director of Shanshi Chemical Plant and the captain of the security team out for a meal.”

“No problem.”

“Ma Lian, help me investigate the general manager of ‘Fu Lu Shou’ and invite him out for a chat. Also, call the manager of ‘Fu Lu Shou’.”

“Understood.”

“Dead monkey, have you finally decided to take action?” Da Pang hadn’t fought in a long time either.

“Hmph, it’s time to settle the score.”

Tan Zi and Sha Bi both thought that Hou Longtao was talking about the last time he was blackmailed, but Da Pang and the others understood that the fourth brother was referring to something else…

Three and a half years ago, Hou Longtao was still studying in the United States. During his summer vacation, he returned to Beijing. In just over a month, he slept with two girlfriends. For him, who was only pursuing physical satisfaction at the time, that trip back home was quite rewarding.

Hou Longtao’s flight back to the United States was on Monday. His brothers knew that he was going to his grandfather’s house on Sunday, so they decided to go out and have fun on Saturday as a farewell.

Liu Nan paid for a villa at Fu Lu Shou Resort in Sanhe City. The brothers agreed to go there on Saturday afternoon, stay there overnight, and return to Beijing on Sunday morning.

On Friday night, Hou Longtao spent the night at a girlfriend’s house. After two rounds of sex, he took a cold shower and left the air conditioner on all night. He caught a cold the next morning, but he still forced himself to have sex with that girl again, making her scream.

At noon, Er Dezi picked up Hou Longtao at the China Merchants Bureau Building in Dabeiyao. The brothers had agreed to meet there.

Including Liu Nan’s girlfriend at the time, Zhao Rui, there were only eight of them in total, but they drove four cars. Ma Lian also drove out his family’s old police car, along with a Nissan Cefiro, a Daewoo Racer, and a Citroen Fukang.

Ma Lian’s police car led the way, and the four cars formed a line, heading “majestically” towards Sanhe City, Hebei Province, which is adjacent to the eastern suburbs of Beijing.

As soon as they left the urban area of Beijing, the group started to run wild. Da Pang was in Ma Lian’s car. When the car in front drove a little slower, he would press the police siren and shout through the loudspeaker in a low voice: “Get out of the way, get out of the way, the car in front get out of the way.”

They weren’t honest along the way. They not only sped, but also ran several lights at non-busy intersections. In the vast world, they seemed to be in control of everything, as if they were the masters of all things, as if they were not subject to any rules or laws. The guys who were just over twenty years old couldn’t even be considered men. In terms of ideology, they were no different from the punks of seventeen or eighteen years old, always thinking that they were invincible and invulnerable.

Fu Lu Shou Resort is located on the north side of a two-way, two-lane road. When they were about to arrive, Ma Lian’s leading car began to slow down, preparing to turn left, without using the turn signal.

There were several trucks loaded with goods on the right lane, and the speed wasn’t fast either. A black Passat B5 with a “Jing G” [Beijing license plate prefix] license plate following behind sped onto the wrong side of the road.

The four cars connected together had already started to turn left, and they were all stopped on the road. The four drivers were all sweating.

“I fuck your grandma!” Ma Lian turned on all the police lights and sirens. He didn’t care that this was already Hebei. He chased straight after them, and the other three cars followed closely behind.

The “Passat” realized that there was a police car chasing it, so it honestly stopped on the side of the road.

Ma Lian didn’t slow down at all. He rushed past the Passat until he couldn’t see the other car’s license plate in the rearview mirror before stopping. Da Pang got out of the car and ran back.

Although the “Passat” noticed the other party’s unusual behavior, it was too late to react. The remaining three cars blocked it in the middle.

This was the beginning of everything…(Golden Scale is Not a Thing in the Pool) [Implies a hidden potential or destiny waiting to be unleashed]