Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

Chapter 53 Rainy Night, Mercedes-Benz S600

Dense raindrops pounded on the ground, splashing water half a foot high. The sound of the rain almost drowned out the singing coming from inside the gilded banquet, and the outside world seemed to have turned into a water curtain cave.

Lu Mingfei stared blankly at the sudden downpour. He hadn't brought an umbrella, and with such heavy rain, even if he used one, he would inevitably get soaked.

"This damn weather! The weather forecast is so inaccurate, how come it started raining so suddenly, and it's raining so hard!" The young man in the suit stood at the door, looking at the rain outside and cursing.

He turned his head and saw Lu Mingfei frowning at the heavy rain, and immediately suggested enthusiastically, "Brother Lu, I think you shouldn't go back tonight! There are empty private rooms in the venue, the sofas are quite comfortable, you can make do for the night. With this much rain, it's impossible to get a taxi!"

"No, help me find an umbrella, I'll walk back." Lu Mingfei shook his head and refused almost without thinking.

He had to completely separate the gilded banquet from his daytime life. Spending the night here, even just sleeping in a private room, would blur the line he had painstakingly drawn, making him uneasy.

"Walk back? That won't do! With this much rain, an umbrella won't be enough!" The young man in the suit waved his hands repeatedly, but when he saw Lu Mingfei's determined expression and then looked at the torrential rain outside the door, he suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Oh, right! The boss's Mercedes S600 is parked in the back parking lot, and I have the keys! I'll drive you home! Is that alright?"

Lu Mingfei wanted to refuse again, as he didn't want to owe too many favors, especially these people. However, looking at the torrential rain outside that showed no signs of abating and the water on the ground that was already ankle-deep, he hesitated. Walking back was indeed not very realistic.

He was silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded, his voice softening slightly, and said, "Thank you for your help."

"Hey! It's no trouble at all, Brother Lu, don't be so polite, just call me Abin." Abin grinned when he saw that Lu Mingfei had agreed, looking very happy.

"Brother Lu, you wait here, don't get wet. I'll go get the car right away!"

Not long after, a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, like an elegant black ghost, silently glided to the eaves of the nightclub entrance.

Ah Bin rolled down the car window, leaned out, waved to Lu Mingfei, and shouted, "Brother Lu, get in the car!"

Lu Mingfei opened the car door, bent down and sat in the back seat. The feel of the leather seats and the faint fragrance inside the car made him feel happy.

"Brother Lu, where do you live?" Ah Bin fastened his seatbelt, looked at Lu Mingfei through the rearview mirror, and asked respectfully.

Lu Mingfei told us where he had recently rented a place, an old neighborhood near the school.

"Alright!" Ah Bin replied immediately, skillfully maneuvering the steering wheel and smoothly driving the luxury car into the rain curtain that resembled a waterfall.

The car performs exceptionally well, driving remarkably smoothly even on flooded roads, with only the continuous swishing sound of the tires as they roll over the water.

The windshield wipers swung rhythmically from side to side, slicing through the water, and neither of them spoke.

"Bin, why did you join the Black Snake Gang?" Lu Mingfei asked, breaking the silence.

Over the past few days, he had observed the young man named Abin to some extent. He looked to be in his early twenties, not much older than Lu Mingfei.

Unlike the thugs at the Golden Banquet who were skilled at smoking, drinking, and getting perms and had a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, the world of martial arts and chivalry), Ah Bin himself neither smoked nor drank. His biggest hobby seemed to be eating all kinds of bear-shaped cookies.

However, he was very tactful and considerate in his dealings with others. Although he did not smoke, he always carried a pack of high-end cigarettes with him and would hand them to those who needed them. He also always volunteered to do some tiring or miscellaneous tasks. These behaviors made him seem somewhat out of place at the gilded banquet.

"Hey, what else could it be? It's all about making money." Ah Bin gripped the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead blurred by the rain, and forced a relaxed smile, though Lu Mingfei could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"A few years ago, my dad was working on a construction site when he accidentally fell off the scaffold and broke his back. The little money the contractor gave him was just enough for the surgery and initial treatment. There was no money for the subsequent rehabilitation, so he could only stay at home. My mom went to work as a cleaner, working herself to the bone for only two or three thousand yuan a month to support the family and pay for my sister and me to go to school. So I dropped out of school and went out to find work so that my mom wouldn't have to work so hard."

"My sister is in high school and her grades are excellent. Her teachers all say she'll definitely get into a top university, a really good one. But the tuition and living expenses are a huge sum. I don't have any special skills, just my own worthless life, so I joined the Black Snake Gang and work as a gatekeeper at the Golden Banquet. I also drive for Boss Yang. If I save money every month, I can manage to save five thousand yuan, which is pretty good."

"By the way, Brother Lu, why did you come to the Golden Banquet?" Ah Bin glanced at Lu Mingfei carefully through the rearview mirror and asked in return. "It's also for money. The girl I like is in Chicago, and I want to save money to go see her." After hesitating for a moment, Lu Mingfei still answered.

"Earning money to go abroad on your own, that's really impressive. Brother Lu is truly worthy of being called Brother Lu." Ah Bin couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the face in the rearview mirror that was even younger than his own. In his opinion, going abroad was an unattainable thing that required a huge amount of money and connections.

Silence quickly fell between the two again. Seeing this, Abin wanted to chat with Lu Mingfei more to build a relationship.

"Brother Lu, let me introduce this car to you."

"This Mercedes-Benz S600 is something else. It costs more than three million yuan to get it on the road. When Mr. Yang bought it, it really hurt his wallet, but he still bought it to show off. I heard that the next level up from the S600 is the even more top-of-the-line Maybach."

"Back then, the big boss of Huanya Group in our city bought a Maybach 62S. My god, I heard that car cost ten million yuan! At the time, it was known as the number one luxury car in our area, and it was incredibly prestigious. The boss of Huanya Group used to come to our Liujin Night Banquet often, and every time he would park that Maybach right at the most conspicuous entrance, bringing all sorts of important guests to spend money here. The pomp and circumstance was amazing."

"But, as the saying goes, anything can happen. Just a few years ago, on a typhoon like today, the rain was pouring down, like the sky was leaking. As a result, that precious Maybach crashed on the overpass. It was completely wrecked and I heard it was totaled. What's worse, the driver died on the spot. I think his name was—Chu Tianjiao? Yes, that's the name."

He shook his head and sighed, "Ever since then, Huanya Group seems to have gone downhill. Such a big group company went bankrupt just like that. I heard that the boss had already absconded overseas with the money. Our boss Yang saw that Huanya Group was powerful and invested a lot of money in it, thinking that he could make a fortune. In the end, he lost everything. He is still so angry that he wants to vomit blood when he thinks about it now."

"Brother Lu, if Boss Yang doesn't need a car at night, I'll drive you home. Don't worry, Boss Yang won't say anything."

Ah Bin rambled on about the rumors and gossip he'd heard, not knowing whether Lu Mingfei liked it or not. He just wanted to use these topics to pass the time and get closer to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei also remembered that typhoon day, I think it was called Dandelion, as for why it left such a deep impression on him.

That's because he didn't bring an umbrella that day, and he ended up running back to his uncle and aunt's house in the rain. He was almost blown away, but luckily he made it back safely in the end.