Chapter 128: Waiting

There were already four people in the private room of the restaurant. Besides Xiao Cheng and Yang Zei, Da Gang and Luohan had returned as well. Both of them looked excited and were in high spirits.

Before long, Yang Huo and Da Jiang pushed the door open, tossed their phones onto the table, and loudly complained about being hungry, demanding to call a waiter to order.

"Wait until everyone is here before we order," said Xiao Cheng, sitting at the head of the table.

"Damn, I'm starving," Yang Huo said, failing to notice Xiao Cheng’s dark expression. After speaking, he sensed that the atmosphere was off and looked at Xiao Cheng and Yang Zei, who both wore solemn expressions.

"Wait until everyone is here before we order," Xiao Cheng repeated. His tone was neither happy nor sad, identical to the previous utterance, as if coming from a broken tape recorder, devoid of any discernible emotion.

This time, the joking stopped, and the room grew heavy.

Da Jiang, being the sharp one, sensed the awkwardness and quickly tried to break the ice: "Nezha was just on the phone with me; he said he’ll be here in a minute."

Xiao Cheng didn't respond; only Da Gang, playing along, gave a perfunctory "Oh."

Another silence followed, thick with awkwardness.

About five or six minutes later, Nezha pushed the door open. Unaware of the mood, he took off his coat, hung it on a chair, and carelessly sat in the empty seat between Luohan and Wang Yang. Once seated, he turned to ask Yang Zei, "Is everyone here? Hey, how come Kang Long hasn't shown up yet?"

After asking, he noticed no one was speaking and finally sensed the wrong atmosphere. His small eyes darted around, and he whispered to Luohan, "What’s going on?"

Luohan shook his head slightly, then closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and remained silent.

"Kang Long... he might have been delayed on the way. Let’s wait a bit longer," Xiao Cheng said slowly.

No matter how dense Nezha was, he understood the situation now. He muttered under his breath, "Surely not..."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Everyone looked up as it opened to reveal a waiter holding a menu. "Good evening, gentlemen. May I take your order now?"

Luohan remained with his eyes closed in deep thought, as if in meditation. Nezha played with the corner of his shirt, not even lifting his eyelids. Da Gang was busy with a toothpick, intently picking dirt from under his fingernails, while Yang Zei had already folded a paper rose out of a napkin.

"Wait a little longer. We are still expecting one more person."

The waiter backed out, and the room returned to its deathly silence.

Half an hour passed. The waiter knocked again and entered, repeating the same line: "Sir, may I take your order now?"

"Wait a little longer..."

This time, after the waiter left, Yang Zei couldn't sit still anymore. Relying on his close relationship with Xiao Cheng, he leaned forward, nudged Xiao Cheng’s arm, and said, "I think we should stop waiting. If he were coming, he would have been here by now."

With Wang Yang taking the lead, the others put down what they were doing and turned their gazes toward them.

"Let’s wait a bit more. Don’t be anxious. Over three hundred thousand is a heavy burden; we have to give him some time," Xiao Cheng said.

Of those present, everyone except Wang Yang had weighed the heft of that three hundred thousand. Almost all of them had, at some fleeting moment when they took the money home, considered the possibility of keeping it for themselves. However, they had all dismissed the thought quickly, so they felt the weight of Xiao Cheng’s words deeply.

Nezha had always been closest to Kang Long, so he spoke up: "That kid Kang Long, he’s a poor devil who’s never seen money before. He’s probably just sitting there staring at it! Boss, how about I give him a call?"

Nezha wanted to call him to give Kang Long a chance; he was truly afraid the kid had been blinded by greed and decided to pocket the money. Everyone has moments when they are blinded by avarice; sometimes, a little nudge is all it takes to snap them back to reality.

Xiao Cheng didn't speak; he only shook his head. The expression on his face was heartbreaking to behold.

Another half hour passed. Footsteps sounded outside, and everyone in the room perked up. The door opened, but it was just the waiter again.

"Sir, are you still not ready to order?"

The menu in front of Xiao Cheng flew straight at him. "Get out! Damn it, I said wait! I’ve said it twice! Are you trying to rush us to our deaths?"

The waiter was a young girl from the countryside. While the menu didn't hurt when it hit her, she was terrified by Xiao Cheng’s attitude. She stammered apologies and quickly backed out, closing the door.

"Xiao Cheng..." Wang Yang started to speak, but Xiao Cheng gestured for him to stop.

"Don’t be anxious. Let’s wait a little longer. Give him some time..."

They had left the casino shortly after 7:30, returned home to hide the money, and gathered at the restaurant. Dongfeng Town was small; even Nezha, who lived the furthest away, had arrived before 8:30. Now, it was past 9:00.

In his mind, Xiao Cheng secretly put himself in Kang Long’s shoes. His conflict, his hesitation—it all played out in his heart. On one side was profit; on the other, friendship. Should he take the money and sneak away, never to see these brothers again, or come to the restaurant as promised and drink heartily with everyone?

The kindness of the Old Scholar, Xiao Cheng’s trust, the shared hardships with Shadow, Luohan, and Nezha—every memory, every detail, every scene...

No matter how many times Xiao Cheng played it out, the result was always that Kang Long would come! Even if he had hesitated or struggled, in the end, he would definitely come!

Suddenly, the minute and hour hands on the wall clock formed a right angle. Rapid, heavy footsteps sounded outside—someone was running. The door swung open, and Kang Long rushed in with red-rimmed eyes. He looked at the seven people gathered around the table, noticing the only empty seat was his own.

"Xiao Cheng, I... I..."

Nezha jumped up and kicked him. "Why the hell are you so slow? I’ve been waiting for you until I’m practically starving to death!"

"I... I..."

Da Gang pushed the door open and shouted to the waiter: "Waiter, get in here! We're ordering!" He said it with such triumph, like a nouveau riche flaunting his wealth.

Yang Zei’s lips trembled as he stood up from his seat, walked over, and pulled Kang Long into a hug, thumping his back with his fists. "Damn! You finally made it! You finally made it!" His own eyes turned red as he spoke.

The six who had gone to the casino to rake in the money were all there—not one was missing!

"Waiter! Bring us eight crates of beer! Put one crate at everyone's feet; nobody leaves until they finish it!"

"Damn, this guy almost starved us to death. Are we just going to let him off? We have to punish him! Punish him!"

"Right! We have to! Where's the waiter? Why isn't the alcohol here yet? Forget it, let's do something else. Come on, Kang Long, show our boss some of that prison entertainment. Give us the full 'earth airplane' treatment—non-stop from Beijing to Shanghai! Right, Shadow, you're an expert at this, you give him a demonstration first!"

"Get lost, I wasn't the one who was late!"

...

The gloom that had permeated the room was swept away, replaced by chatter and lively commotion. The waiter, having been frightened earlier, asked timidly, "Is it time to order now? The gentleman called for me."

The waiter was observant; she knew the young man sitting in the seat of honor was the one in charge.

Xiao Cheng beckoned the waiter over, pulled out a hundred-yuan note, and handed it to her. "I was in a bad mood earlier and scared you. This is a tip for you. Can we make a deal? I'll give you this hundred, and when you bring the food, could you... please not spit in it?"