Enemies Meeting Face to Face

While Zhou Hongyi was training Xiaobei, A-Gui stood guard outside the shop, keeping a vigilant eye on everyone passing by and projecting a "strangers keep away" demeanor to prevent anyone from approaching too closely.

Once Zhou Hongyi finished explaining his plan, Xiaobei looked at him with utmost admiration.

"Brother Zhou, where did you learn all these things? You are simply amazing~!"

"Heh heh~" Zhou Hongyi waved his hand and said, "These are just trivial matters, mere unorthodox tricks. Just don't forget our ultimate goal. Come on, put the mask on starting today, and interact more with the customers who enter the shop. Whether they are wealthy madams or foreigners, be neither humble nor pushy during your interactions, and keep your tone cold—never warm. Before you officially participate in the beauty pageant, I want to pitch you to the public first."

Xiaobei nodded with exceptional earnestness, looked at the mask Zhou Hongyi had given her, and silently put it on.

This was a mask used by Westerners for masked balls; it was lightweight in texture, emitted a metallic sheen under the light, and featured upturned feather decorations at the corners of the eyes, looking rather exquisite. Yet, the overall impression it gave was cold and mysterious, making people naturally eager to uncover the secret beneath.

After giving Xiaobei her instructions, Zhou Hongyi left the "One Piece" shop entirely in her care, and then took A-Gui through a detour via the alleyways to the blind man's home.

However, when he arrived outside the blind man's house, he found the front door tightly shut and no one home.

"Mister, are you looking for the blind man? He's not here. His mother, Qingxia, suddenly had a stomachache last night—she was probably about to give birth," an elderly woman passing by enthusiastically explained to Zhou Hongyi.

"Auntie, do you happen to know which hospital they went to?"

"I wouldn't know which hospital, but I heard the blind man's mother wanted to go to a hospital run by foreigners to have some kind of C-section. They use a knife to cut open the belly and take the baby out. Oh my~~ just hearing about it sounds terrifying~!"

Zhou Hongyi thought for a moment; the nearest foreign hospital should not be far away. Just as he was about to go check it out, he heard a familiar voice from a distance.

"Make way, make way! An expectant mother is coming home, everyone please make some room~~~"

Hearing the voices, the group looked over and saw the blind man running ahead at a trot, clearing the path, followed by a rickshaw. His mother, Qingxia, sat on the vehicle with her head wrapped in cotton cloth, her complexion somewhat pale, cradling an infant in her arms.

"Oh my, the blind man is back! Is it a boy or a girl?" The elderly woman from the alley eagerly stepped forward and asked with a gossipy expression.

The blind man's mother looked at the infant in the swaddling clothes with eyes full of maternal affection and said, "It's a girl. Her little face is as cute as can be, looking almost identical to our blind man when he was a baby."

"Oh my~~ so it's a little girl, and so pretty too. Come, come~~ let Auntie hold her."

The woman took the baby from the blind man's mother's arms. Meanwhile, the blind man thoughtfully helped his mother down from the rickshaw, and immediately spotted Zhou Hongyi.

"Brother Zhou, you're here, heh~ She was born last night, both mother and daughter are safe and sound, weighing six jin and seven liang—not bad at all."

Zhou Hongyi also stepped up to help support her and said, "Sister Qingxia, why didn't you stay in the hospital a bit longer? Returning so soon after just giving birth—you still need to stay under observation."

Although somewhat weak, the blind man's mother's face was still overflowing with happiness. "It's fine, it's fine. Staying another day at that foreign hospital costs another day's money. Even though we have the silver dollars Young Master Zhou gave us, we shouldn't waste them."

"Sigh, how can you call that a waste? Health is what matters. By the way, Blind Man, go buy some foreign milk powder later; the baby's nutrition cannot fall behind."

The blind man's mother chuckled and said, "What milk powder do we need to buy? My milk as a mother is more than enough."

At this mention, the infant cradled in the old woman's arms let out a robust wail: "Wah, wah, wah!"

"Quick, quick, Auntie Yang, give me the baby. She's hungry again after the trip."

The blind man's mother hurriedly took the child and began nursing her as she walked into the house, leaving Zhou Hongyi momentarily speechless and consciously turning his head away.

"Brother Zhou, and this brother here, please have a seat. The baby seems to have peed again; let me change her diaper and then pour you some water."

The blind man helped his mother sit inside and busied himself with changing the baby's diaper.

Seeing that he was temporarily occupied, Zhou Hongyi chimed in, "Blind Man, don't worry about us; take good care of your mother and your younger sister. I just came to tell you that once your mother is settled, come to the shop we talked about last time and look after it for me. Right now, there's only one young woman watching the place, and I'm afraid it might not be entirely safe. By the way, Sister Qingxia, if you've recovered enough, you can go to the shop with the blind man too. The conditions there are much better and more spacious, and if you're willing, you can even live right in the shop. By the way, you can help me teach my younger sister some basics of becoming a star."

Qingxia, who was in the midst of nursing the baby, raised her head and said with some surprise, "Young Master Zhou, your sister wants to be a star?"

"Yes, the young lady wants to enter next month's Miss Rose beauty pageant. I couldn't sway her, so I agreed to help her. Sister Qingxia is an expert in this field; I would be endlessly grateful if you could pass on some of your experience."

"Heh heh heh, Young Master Zhou can rest assured. Your Sister Qingxia has no other skills, but seducing men... ah bah bah bah, pleasing men... that doesn't seem right either. Anyway, I do have some experience in this area. Young Master Zhou, leave us an address, and the three of us will move in to live there today."

The blind man's mother stood on no ceremony; hearing that she could also move over and that the conditions there were good, she immediately decided to move.

Zhou Hongyi gave a few more parting instructions before leading A-Gui out of the alleyway and straight toward the police station.

"A-Gui, you shouldn't be unfamiliar with this place. This is the Second Precinct, but remember, do not give yourself away. We will have our revenge soon, but before that, you must also learn to endure with patience when the time is right."

A-Gui looked at the gates of the Second Precinct, took a deep breath, and nodded firmly. "Yes, Big Brother, don't worry. As long as I can get my revenge, no matter how much I have to endure, it doesn't matter. This is also a form of tempering my state of mind."

Zhou Hongyi squeezed his shoulder, said "Let's go," and stepped forward into the police station.

A-Gui followed closely behind, his eyes fixed on the ground forty-five degrees ahead of him, his muscles tensed all over as if resisting a volcano within him that could erupt at any moment.

"Young Master Zhou has arrived~~"

"You should address him as Chief Zhou! Chief, you're here, let me go pour a pot of hot water for you~!"

"Aigiya, Chief Zhou, I heard you suffered a gunshot wound at the Paramount. You really should be resting at home for a few more days."

Seeing Zhou Hongyi walk into the police station, all the police officers put down what they were doing and crowded around to greet him.

Zhou Hongyi smiled and waved to each of them in turn.

At this moment, Wei Zhe, the captain of the Third Squad, also approached from the side. Zhou Hongyi could distinctly sense that A-Gui's breathing had become somewhat disordered, yet he still tried his utmost to control himself, not even daring to look at his enemy.

"Young Master Zhou, the uniform you requested last time is ready. This brother must be the new recruit for your Special Operations Unit, right? Have him leave his name and basic information, and he can go collect his equipment."

With a full smile, Zhou Hongyi patted Wei Zhe on the shoulder and said, "Captain Wei, on behalf of my brother here, thank you. If there's a chance, I'll definitely have him treat Captain Wei to a proper drink and toast you personally."

Wei Zhe did not realize that the god of death had already set his sights on him, and laughed as he said, "Young Master Zhou is too polite, this is only what I ought to do."

Zhou Hongyi turned back and introduced, "This is my brother A-Gui. Starting today, he is also a member of my squad. Please look after him, everyone. A-Gui, this is Wei Zhe, the captain of our Third Squad. Say hello properly—from now on, we are all colleagues."