Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

He fished out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and put it to his lips. Yang Ce rarely smoked anymore; only when something weighed on his mind would he have a single cigarette.

Unnoticed, the sky had grown bright. He glanced back at the phone on the table and found a message that had arrived at some point—from Su Ya, telling him she had already boarded the plane.

A knock came at the door, along with Zhang Bin's voice. Yang Ce washed his face, put on his usual expression, opened the door, and cursed him with a laugh: "It's this early in the morning—are you trying to keep a man from resting?"

"Boss, you look wide awake to me. Doesn't look like you were sleeping at all," Zhang Bin said with a grin.

"I didn't sleep a wink," Yang Ce said. "Out with it—what is it?"

"We've been in Macau all these days and haven't gone out to enjoy ourselves yet. I was thinking, how about we have Wang Mei play tour guide today and take a look around?" Zhang Bin said.

"Fine by me. Where to, you name it." Yang Ce was just looking for something to lift his spirits, to free himself from the melancholy of parting.

"Let's eat first, then ask Wang Mei," Zhang Bin said.

The three of them ate a hurried meal in the restaurant. Yang Ce phoned Huang Yan to tell her he wanted to look around Macau some more, and she of course agreed to come find them at the hotel shortly.

Today Huang Yan was driving that Toyota Previa minivan—roomy enough for all of them, which saved them the trouble of hailing taxis.

Huang Yan was dressed brightly today: a pale green windbreaker, her hair gathered up, looking quite like a female student on holiday. The sight of her lifted Yang Ce's gloomy mood into sunlight as well.

"Where shall we go first?" Wang Mei, every inch the former flight attendant, now brought her gift for chatter into full play: "Macau has more temples and churches than anything—it's a city where East and West meet, so the people hold all sorts of faiths."

"I hear the scenery at Nam Van Park is lovely. Why don't we just wander about? Skip the churches and temples—every place has those," Yang Ce suggested.

"That works too. Macau really doesn't have that many sights, honestly. As a tourist city, most people come here to see this gambling town they call the Las Vegas of Asia, and to feel the thrill of the tables," Wang Mei said.

"The casinos, forget it." Ever since Zhang Bin had seen Yang Ce's extraordinary skill yesterday, he had known there was no catching up to his boss, and his old superstitious notion that he might hit a lucky streak and win a few million had faded.

Luck and fortune mattered, of course, but Zhang Bin could see that Yang Ce didn't rely on either. No one's luck, however good, could win every time.

There was only one possibility left: what Yang Ce relied on wasn't luck but genuine skill. He hadn't spelled it out, but Zhang Bin understood—this was nothing one could learn overnight. Even those casino consultants who studied gambling techniques all day were no match for Yang Ce, and he himself was further still.

Huang Yan drove toward Nam Van Park. Macau had more than twice the cars of Songjiang; on the main roads one could scarcely pick up any speed—stop and go was perfectly normal.

"Oh, right—my second brother says he's hosting a party at home tomorrow. You should all come." Huang Yan suddenly remembered and asked Zhang Bin and Wang Mei—as for Heng, he had already promised her last time that he would go.

"Us? Is that all right?" Zhang Bin was, after all, not familiar with Huang Yan's family; the two of them had only met through Yang Ce and Wang Mei.

"What's not all right about it? My second brother said I could bring a few of my own friends," Huang Yan said indifferently. "All of you come. Honestly, I hardly know half those people—if you don't come, I'll be bored out of my mind."

"Well then, I'll do as you bid." Zhang Bin had been worrying over having nowhere to go; since Huang Yan had invited him, he made no further protest.

"Beep beep!" The car behind them honked impatiently. Huang Yan looked up and realized the light had long since turned green—she had turned to talk and forgotten to watch the road. She stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and hastily started the car.

The car behind her, however, once she had started moving, shot past her at speed, cut her off hard, and then tore off in a cloud of exhaust.

To be continued

876. A Lesson

876. A Lesson. Huang Yan was a girl, after all, and she got a great fright. She slammed the brake to the floor, and the car jerked to a stop in the middle of the road, her face gone pale with fear.

"What kind of person is that? No class at all!" Wang Mei frowned and cursed.

The car ahead had already sped off, but Yang Ce could see it clearly: a red Porsche Cayenne, carrying a man and a woman dressed outlandishly. As it overtook them, the young man at the wheel had even put up his middle finger and jabbed it back at them—only their speed was so great that Huang Yan's side could make nothing of it.

Yang Ce frowned slightly at the sight. No matter where you went, there were always unpleasant people doing unpleasant things.

"Want me to drive?" Seeing how badly Huang Yan had been frightened, Yang Ce offered with a comforting smile.

"It's all right. We're almost there," Huang Yan said, letting out a breath.

Just then a patrol officer passed by, saw Huang Yan's car stopped in the middle of the road, and came over to ask, "Is something the matter? Do you need help?"

"Nothing much. Someone cut me off just now and gave me a fright," Huang Yan said with a wave of her hand.

The officer nodded and advised Huang Yan to drive carefully and pay no mind to people with no manners.

Nam Van Garden stood in front of the Garth Barracks near the Lisboa Hotel, and was also known as Garth Garden.

The garden was divided into upper and lower sections. The lower section lay between Nam Van Street and Calçada do Tronco Velho; the upper section was split again into two levels connected by stone steps, lying between Calçada do Tronco Velho, the barracks lane, the new Garth road, and the new Guia street.

The upper section of Nam Van Garden sat at the foot of Guia Hill, where a rather elegant two-story cylindrical building had been erected—the Memorial to the Great War, commemorating the Portuguese soldiers who fell in the First World War. The building had arched doors and windows on all four sides, patterned moldings on its walls, and a crown-shaped ornament at the top that drew the eye. These days, however, it had been converted into an association for the disabled.

Huang Yan parked in the lot near the park. As it happened, the red Porsche that had overtaken them from behind was there too—only its occupants had already gone.

At the time, though, Huang Yan and the others had not made out the license plate, so they had not connected it to anything. There were plenty of cars like that; it need not be the same one.

The four of them entered the park together and strolled along its flagstone paths. Wang Mei had brought a camera, and Yang Ce took a great many pictures of Zhang Bin and Wang Mei. When Zhang Bin wanted to photograph Yang Ce and Huang Yan, Yang Shuoxuan let him. The two of them made no effort to pose; Zhang Bin captured only candid shots, yet somehow they looked far better than the carefully posed ones.

"Hey, you there, move aside—can't you see you're blocking the shot?" Zhang Bin was photographing Yang Ce and Huang Yan when a furious bellow erupted beside him.

Zhang Bin jumped so badly he nearly threw the camera to the ground. Turning, he saw a young man dressed in an outlandish style, a cigarette dangling from his lips, aiming a pricey-looking DSLR at a young woman got up just as outlandishly as he was.

"What's your photo got to do with me?" Zhang Bin, hearing the young man's rude tone, was instantly displeased. "Find your own angle. Is this park your family's? You're taking pictures—well, so am I."