My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 192 - 159 I’m in Charge of Post-processing

Chapter 192: Chapter 159 I’m in Charge of Post-processing

East Street, Ma’s Mutton Shop.

Cheng Biao sat in the private room, his expression so gloomy that it seemed water could drip from it.

His heart, without a doubt, was in utter collapse.

As a cultured thug, he had already planned his exit strategy before going to prison by secretly converting all his funds into Bitcoin.

At that time, he didn’t think too much about it; just like a sly rabbit has three burrows, he was giving himself an extra escape route.

Unexpectedly, in 2017, Bitcoin rocketed in price, quickly inflating his tens of millions in funds to over three hundred million. It was like accidentally planting a willow tree that turned into a shade provider.

This made him ecstatic, ready to make a big splash once he got out of prison!

But as soon as he was released, he found that everything had changed.

His brothers had betrayed him, and all the companies in his name were deep in debt. Most crucially... the money was gone!

Now he could truly say he had nothing; everything felt like flowers in a mirror, a moon’s reflection on the water, ending up like drawing water with a bamboo basket, a wasted effort...

"Brother Biao!" A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts from the entrance.

Looking up, he saw a young man with slightly dark skin and a crew cut, excitedly rushing in, promptly giving Cheng Biao a bear hug!

"Brother Biao! You’re finally out!"

The young man, in his twenties, had thick eyebrows and big eyes, tall and sturdy with a height of 1.87 meters. Even though Cheng Biao was similarly tall-statured, the young man’s embrace made him seem a head shorter.

The weather in April was slightly cool, yet this young man wore only a short-sleeved T-shirt. The muscles on his body pushed against the cloth, forming distinct edges.

Only his face was covered with bruises, as though he had just been in a fight not too long ago.

"Ah Xing!" Cheng Biao’s face finally broke into a slight smile when he saw the young man. "How was it? Did they give you a hard time inside?"

"Not really, it’s just that the food wasn’t great, heh heh!" Ah Xing appeared nonchalant.

"Haven’t I told you not to stir up trouble? I thought you would be picking me up to celebrate my release, and instead, you show up looking like this," Cheng Biao shook his head.

"Brother Biao! That really wasn’t my fault, those guys ran a scam right into Ah Xing’s hands, and at that time, what I was riding was a little electric donkey!

Those sons of bitches even dared to throw the first punch and after the fight, dared to shout at me to hit them in the face!

I’ve been around for so many years, yet I’ve never seen anyone that arrogant!

And you know, I didn’t do much, just punched one of them, and that guy hit the ground claiming his nose was broken. Can you believe how irritating that is?

If I run into those bastards again, I’m definitely..."

Ah Xing, feeling indignant, suddenly realized Cheng Biao’s expression was a bit off and immediately hung his head in submission.

"Err... Brother Biao, I was wrong."

"Where were you wrong?" Cheng Biao asked.

"I... I shouldn’t have hit people. You taught me before going into prison that we are now in a society ruled by law and should use legal means to safeguard our... what was it, rights..."

"Bullshit! Can’t you see that this was a setup?" Cheng Biao scolded with frustration.

"Eh? A setup? What kind of setup?" Ah Xing looked confused.

Cheng Biao couldn’t help but facepalm.

It was bad enough not to notice beforehand, but to be so oblivious even after the fact.

Setting aside everything else, just with that big head and muscles of yours, who would dare to scam you?

This guy... everything about him is great except his brain doesn’t work...

"That... Brother Biao, I didn’t get into trouble, did I? Brother Dazhi knows some people inside and got me released in no time," Ah Xing spoke gingerly.

Brother Dazhi? So you should thank him?

Cheng Biao was beyond exasperated.

"Didn’t I leave that company BMW for you to drive? What’s this about riding a little electric scooter?" he queried.

"Oh, Brother Dazhi said the company’s business has been tough lately, and he also had to take care of things for you in prison. Many of the brothers are close to not getting paid, so we sold the car for emergency cash and gave it to an injured brother as compensation.

You don’t know, that brother has elderly parents and young children. He just knelt down to Brother Dazhi right then and there.

Brother Biao, Brother Dazhi really cares for the brothers, I mean, he’s all about... loyalty!" Ah Xing extended his thumb.

"I..." Cheng Biao almost spit out a mouthful of blood.

Couldn’t you see he’s playing the benevolent hero at others’ expense, taking the opportunity to win over people’s hearts?

"Why didn’t you tell me these things earlier..." he said under his breath.

"Brother Dazhi said, troubles are only temporary, and we couldn’t let Brother Biao worry about the brothers outside while inside. So, every time we visited you, we only reported the good news, not the bad," Ah Xing scratched his head.

Such good news is not to bring worries, indeed!

Cheng Biao was inwardly seething.

Back then, he thought he was pairing ’the scholar’ with ’the warrior’, believing Hu Dazhi with his nimble mind and Ah Xing with his staunch loyalty could balance and support each other, keeping the brothers and the company in check.

Unfortunately... I was wrong...

I thought I was employing Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun, yet it turned out to be Sima Yi and Xu Chu instead...

This idiot!

"What about the injuries on your face? A couple of thugs did this to you?" Cheng Biao asked.

"Oh! That’s not from them. I got these from underground boxing; a Muay Thai expert showed up last week, and it took some work to knock him down," Ah Xing grinned.

"Underground boxing? How did you get involved in that again? Didn’t I say you were not to touch it?" Cheng Biao’s eyes widened in anger.

Ah Xing shrank his neck.

"Brother Dazhi said we needed a lot of money to bail you out, and I was thinking boxing would make money fast," he explained.

"You..."

Cheng Biao opened his mouth, but ultimately just sighed deeply, reaching out to pat him heavily on the shoulder.

"Boxing is too damaging to the body, and when you’re old, you end up with a lot of ailments, so you should stop doing it in the future, you hear?"

"Oh! I got it."

"Forget it, let’s not talk about that anymore, brother! Come on, sit down, let’s eat and chat, Elder Ma!"

"Brother Biao! At your service." The chubby restaurant owner squeezed in.

"Serve the dishes."

"Right away!"

Soon, the restaurant owner brought to the table a pot billowing with hot steam, the milky broth bubbling and emitting wafts of enticing aroma.

"Sniff sniff! Brother Biao, what’s this? It smells amazing!" Ah Xing sniffed and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Cheng Biao’s mouth curved into a cold smirk.

"Dog meat hot pot."

...

"Xiao Meng, try some of the sliced lamb; don’t be shy!"

"Auntie, I can serve myself."

Meanwhile, Meng Lang was also happily enjoying the hot pot.

"Xiao Meng, this osmanthus fish is your aunt’s specialty dish; have some more."

"Uncle, you’re too kind, mmm! Delicious! Auntie’s cooking is truly unmatched!"

"Ssah! The sauce is also great!"

"Hehe! This kid sure has a sweet mouth!"

Mr. Duan was in his fifties, wearing glasses, and at first glance, looked like an intellectual. He was a bit pale from a recent surgery, but he seemed in good spirits nonetheless.

Observing Meng Lang, who kept flattering while eating, Mr. Duan showed a warm smile and picked up his teacup.

"Xiao Meng, I can’t drink alcohol right now, so today I’ll replace wine with tea to thank you, to thank you for everything you’ve done. You’ve been like sending charcoal in snowy weather to our family."

"Hey! Uncle, please don’t thank me again. I’ve heard it so much I’ve grown calluses. We agreed, if you say thanks again, I won’t be able to eat anymore."

"Alright, alright! Hehe! Then I won’t say it. Come on, eat some more."

Mrs. Duan looked at Meng Lang and the more she looked, the more she liked him. She then glanced at her own daughter peeling shrimp on the side and nudged her with her elbow.

"Don’t just focus on eating, peel some shrimp for Xiao Meng."

Duan Xiaoyi looked up helplessly at her mother but obediently peeled a shrimp for Meng Lang.

"Brother Xiao Meng, have some shrimp."

"Uh... thanks." Meng Lang suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

Mrs. Duan’s matchmaking spirit was relentless, and it seemed Mr. Duan was also quite happy to see it happen.

Today, Duan Xiaoyi wasn’t dressed in her usual androgynous style but in a simple home outfit.

Having previously worn loose clothing, Meng Lang hadn’t noticed, but today he realized that Duan Xiaoyi’s figure was truly remarkable, combined with her 95% beauty score, she was a nerd’s dream girl with a strong appeal to the average person.

However, he wasn’t planning on attracting another romantic debacle.

Looking towards Duan Xian, he got a look that said "I can’t help" in return.

Good brothers during normal times, unreliable at crucial moments...

It seemed he had to find a way to extricate himself or else this kind of dinner invitation was likely to repeat itself.

"Xiao Meng, have you been busy with work recently? Doing live streaming, you must be like Xiao Yi, always sitting in front of a computer, sitting all day, which isn’t good for your health in the long run.

If you’re free, you should go out more, have some food, watch some movies. You young people surely have lots of things to talk about," Mrs. Duan said smilingly.

The message in her words was quite clear: we don’t oppose whatever is going on between you!

Meng Lang wiped sweat from his brow.

"Ugh! Auntie, to tell you the truth, I’ve been really busy lately."

He scratched his head apologetically, "Besides work, I’ve taken a fancy to a girl... Hehe."

"What? You have someone you like?" Mrs. Duan was taken aback, her eyes showing some disappointment, but she still pressed on.

"Are you two official yet?"

Meng Lang broke into a sweat again.

"Uh... not yet, but I’m actively pursuing her. I think it shouldn’t be too big of a problem."

Saying this, he even shot Duan Xian a look.

"Oh yeah, right! This guy told me before, the girl he likes is very well-rounded in many aspects," Duan Xian chimed in to help.

"Mom, that’s his personal matter; why are you asking so much!" Duan Xiaoyi interjected discontentedly.

Even though she didn’t have any particular feelings for Meng Lang, being indirectly rejected in public made her a bit uncomfortable as well.

"Cough! Xiao Meng, what kind of live streaming do you do? I go online too. Where do you stream? We’ll come and support you," Mr. Duan interjected, sensing the awkwardness and swiftly changing the subject.

Seeing this, Mrs. Duan could only give up with a hint of disappointment in her smile.

"Yeah, Xiao Meng, I also like to scroll through Douyin. How come I never see you there?"

Meng Lang was relieved that the subject had changed and replied with a smile.

"Oh, I work for our company, not appearing on camera for live streams."

"Not on camera? What do you do then?" Mr. Duan asked curiously.

"Well... to explain it, they’re in front of the camera and I’m behind the scenes.

They are responsible for the performance, I take care of post-production..."