Chapter 53: The New Teammate

Inside the dining room, a single sentence from Tang Feng plunged the entire family into silence.

His eight-year-old younger brother cast a quick, sharp glance at their parents, then asked timidly, "Big Bro, what kind of act are you trying to pull that requires one hundred and fifty thousand?"

"Eat more greens." Tang Feng smiled as he used serving chopsticks to place two leaves of cabbage onto his brother's plate.

"I don't like cabbage," the younger brother protested, looking dissatisfied.

"No vegetables, no freedom." Tang Feng looked straight at his brother with a deadpan expression.

"......!"

The younger brother silently lowered his head and began eating the cabbage with a wronged expression. He wasn't sure if other people's older brothers always kept their word, but his own brother was a man of absolute authority—if he said he would beat you, he would beat you.

"No, I won't lend it to you." The refined-looking father refused his son's loan application with a rather unpleasant expression.

For a moment, the family atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.

The Tang family were native residents of the capital. Although they could not be considered a top-tier wealthy family or a major financial conglomerate, they certainly belonged to the elite class.

Tang Feng's grandfather had been a government official and, responding actively to the national call, had fathered five children. Tang's father was the third child, with an older brother and sister above him, and a younger brother and sister below.

All five siblings of the Tang family were doing quite well, working either in the financial industry or the entertainment sector. They were exceptionally close-knit; whenever any of them hit rock bottom, the others would reach out a helping hand.

In previous years, Tang's father had been brilliant, standing out as one of the most successful among his siblings. He had successively invested in several film industries and short-drama companies, all of which yielded generous returns.

However, human nature being what it is, success often breeds carelessness. Compounded by his advancing age in recent years, a series of questionable strategic moves had caused his assets to shrink drastically. The stocks he held long-term remained perpetually painted in green—it was safe to say he had hit rock bottom in life.

The family had no idea that Tang Feng was a Watchman, as this identity was strictly confidential. On the surface, his profession was a clerk at a trading company, but back in October of the previous year, due to some psychological issues... he had been suspended.

At the dining table, confusion filled Tang Feng's eyes. "Why won't you lend it to me? I'm your son, after all."

"Finding a job and needing to give ten thousand yuan in gifts before you even start—with a position that pays five thousand a month, I'd end up subsidizing you by twenty to thirty thousand every month." Tang's father put down his soup bowl and said very seriously, "If you give me that kind of treatment, I can be your son, too."

"Why don't you have any self-respect? How can you make jokes like that so casually?" Tang Feng appeared quite traditional as he looked sideways at his old man. "Besides, I'll pay this money back. I will pay it back...!"

"Try Paibang, or Duoman, or if worse comes to worst, one of those campus loans. With so many financial products out there, there's bound to be one that suits you." Tang's father wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Just then, his charming and still youthful mother chimed in, "How can the two of you talk like this? If word gets out, people will laugh at us. Xiao Feng hasn't worked in a long time; just lend it to him... Young people nowadays really do have heavy expenses when socializing. Having empty pockets makes it easy to feel inferior."

"Inferior? Do you even understand what he just said? He said he wanted to borrow money to show off." Tang's father looked at his wife with some agitation. "If you spoil him so much, you give it to him then."

Upon hearing this, the mother instantly lost her enthusiasm for persuading him and replied, "Where would I get money?"

"I have a gathering to discuss a new project, and I'll probably be playing cards at Old Liu's place tonight," Tang's father dropped those words and strode toward the door.

At the dining table, Tang Feng stared intently at his father's receding back. "Dad, are you certain you won't lend it to me?"

"The hell?!"

Tang's father paused, slowly turned around to look at him, and retorted, "You aren't going to rob me, are you, my idol?!"

"Hh, fine." Tang Feng let out a neurotic laugh.

"Bang!"

The door opened, and Tang's father left.

Beside the table, the mother glanced at her eldest son. "I'll give you thirty thousand yuan in a bit. Spend it sparingly; things haven't been easy at home lately..."

"No need. I won't accept food offered with insults." Tang Feng stretched lazily and stood up.

"The hell?!"

The mother was startled. "Son, have you seen a psychiatrist recently... about that emotional state of yours...?"

"I am perfectly healthy!!!" Tang Feng snapped, looking somewhat angry as if someone had stepped on a cat's tail. "I'm a normal person. Don't imply that I'm abnormal."

"Fine, fine, fine. Then sit down like a normal person."

"No can do. I'm going out to see a colleague and chat about my reinstatement." Dropping these words, Tang Feng hurriedly rushed out the door.

Nearby, the younger brother sniffled, shook his head, and said, "Mom, give me that thirty thousand yuan instead... Big Bro's character is already ruined; from now on, focus all your resources on training me. I can handle it."

"You certainly deserve a beating." The mother glared at him.

...

Shanghai, a little past nine in the evening.

Huang Wei drove Ren Ye toward the Qingpu District.

"Are you certain this Tang Feng is reliable?!" Ren Ye asked this question for the one hundred and eighth time.

"How should I put it? Ordinary teammates can guarantee a baseline, but Tang Feng determines the ceiling." Huang Wei smiled. "Slowly, you'll understand why I did this."

Ren Ye paused and asked again, "What is Tang Feng's supernatural ability?"

Huang Wei smiled mysteriously. "Classified for now."

"Tsk. How strong can a mental patient possibly be?" Ren Ye sneered. "A psychiatrist? Just hearing that title sounds completely unremarkable."

Huang Wei ignored the comment and asked softly, "Where are you heading? Coming back to the unit with me?"

"No, I'm heading home to sleep tonight." Ren Ye shook his head. "Oh, right. Come over to my house for dinner tomorrow. Bring Xu Peng and Gu Nian too—my dad invited you all."

"Alright." Huang Wei agreed readily. "Then I'll drop you off at home first."

...

In the capital, inside a private membership-only club.

A group of middle-aged men in their forties and fifties were gathered together in a private room.

Right in the center of the crowd, Tang's father was smoking a cigarette, appearing extremely lively among his old friends. "We have plot reenactments here, role-playing... Every single young lady has received acting training, and their main selling point is moving performances. Gentlemen, everyone must invest two hundred million tonight. Let's have a good, thorough time."

"Old Tang, business hasn't been good for you these past two years. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't pull out that much." Not far away, a plump man in his fifties lowered his head to eat a fruit platter and spoke briefly, "Count me in for a ten percent stake in your project. I'm investing."

"Ah, we're just playing, let's not talk about business." Tang's father waved his hand with a smile, though his heart was honest as he added, "Alright, tomorrow I'll have Xiao Zhang from my company send the project details over to you."

"No need to send it. I'm investing in a friend—in thirty years of friendship." The plump man raised his wine glass and winked at Tang's father.

The rest of the friends didn't say much more, either raising their glasses to Old Tang or nodding in agreement.

With just a few words, the serious business was settled, and Old Tang began ordering the main courses.

Before long, a group of beauties—some full-figured, some slender—walked in with alluring grace.

However, the moment these beauties sat down, Old Tang suddenly spotted a "familiar face" among them. The newcomer had taken a seat right next to the plump man and greeted him familiarly, "Uncle Liu, let me keep you company!"

That's right, Old Tang was far too familiar with this person—he had just eaten dinner with him earlier that evening.

"Tang Feng, what are you doing here?" The plump uncle's hand had just rested on a young woman's leg, but when he looked up and saw Tang Feng, he pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted.

"Nothing much. Haven't seen you in a while, so I came to check in on you guys." Tang Feng sat down right next to the plump uncle with a completely normal expression, grinning widely. "Why didn't you bring your son, Xiao Han, along with my big bro to have some fun? I miss him too..."

As his voice fell, all twenty-odd people in the room went silent, casting puzzled looks toward Old Tang.

Old Tang was dumbfounded and bewildered, staring at his son with an embarrassment so acute his toes could curl and carve out an entire Great Wall.

"Haha, Old Tang... do you often bring... bring Xiao Feng here to have fun?" The plump uncle's face flushed red as he looked very constrainedly at his childhood friend.

Everyone in the room consisted of Old Tang's long-time friends of many years. They had originally wanted to unwind, yet an inspector had shown up on the scene—and a nephew they had watched grow up at that!

What kind of absurdity was this? Familial bonding? Joint operations?

"Uncle Dong, is Auntie doing well? The two of us were still chatting on WeChat last month, and she invited me over for dinner." Tang Feng looked toward another thin man, greeting him familiarly while instructing the young woman beside him, "What are you standing there for? Pour a drink for my Uncle Dong! Get the dice rolling and put on the little fox costume...!"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!"

Realizing the relationship among these people, the young woman looked as startled as a goose, her hands trembling as she poured the drinks.

"You!"

At that moment, Tang's father sprang to his feet, veins bulging on his forehead, though he ultimately spoke to his son in a gentle tone, "Does your company have a business banquet here too? Come on, step outside with me; I have something to discuss with you."

"I want to have a drink with my uncles, otherwise it would be impolite." Tang Feng refused.

"Drink later! Get over here right now!" Tang's father uttered these words through clenched teeth.

"Alright then. Dear uncles, you sit here for a moment. I'll go outside and see what's up, and figure out whether I'll come back in to continue drinking later." Tang Feng smiled and greeted the crowd before finally standing up and walking out with his old man.

...

One minute later.

Outside the corridor, Tang's father asked in a low, teeth-gritting hiss, "What do you think you're doing?! What good does it do you to piss me off to death?"

"Lend me one hundred and fifty thousand."

"I'll lend you one hundred and fifty big slaps across the face...!"

"Forget it then, I won't borrow it. I'm going back inside to drink." Tang Feng's behavioral logic had zero flaws.

"You wait right here!!!" Tang's father roared, practically clenching his fists.

Tang Feng turned around. "Lending it or not?"

"I'll lend it, just get out of my sight!" Tang's father pointed toward the exit. "It would be best if you didn't appear for the rest of the year!"

"Transfer it now," Tang Feng said cautiously. "Use the old loan account."

"......!"

Gritting his teeth, Tang's father whipped out his phone, skillfully opened a financial software, routinely located an account named "Debts Owed in Past Lives," and decisively transferred one hundred and fifty thousand.

*Ding.*

The transfer was received.

Tang Feng looked at his father with a smile. "Then you have a good time, I'm heading out."

"Swish!"

Ignoring him, Tang's father strode back toward the private room.

"Hey, Dad!"

At that moment, Tang Feng suddenly called out.

Under the corridor lights, Tang's father turned his head and asked impatiently, "What is it now?!"

"If I really disappeared and never showed up again, would you miss me?" Tang Feng flashed a grin and asked.

"Just... just spend less money. Stocks are greener than leeks right now, and your old man isn't what he used to be." Tang's father paused, his tone softening slightly.

"Mm." Tang Feng nodded.

Father and son communication—a hint was all it took.

Old Tang stepped into the private room and immediately picked up his phone, demanding with great excitement, "Right, the exclusive little wild horse... hurry up, let her in, I can't wait much longer."

At the exit of the corridor, Tang Feng stood inside the stairwell and suddenly muttered to himself, "At his age, with a bad heart, and still indulging himself like this. Sigh... let me help you out."

As his voice faded, Tang Feng raised his arm and snapped his fingers with a crisp *pop*.

Inside the room.

"Swish!"

Tang's father, who had just been extremely excited and impatient, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, accompanied by a cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

In a single instant, his intense, almost uncontrollable desire vanished completely, as if it had been sucked right out of him...

Huh?

Old Tang clutched his head and turned his head, casting his gaze over the crowd of beauties in the room, only to feel a sudden surge of aversion—even disgust—well up in his heart.

"Hehe!"

Tang Feng smiled, took the elevator down to the ground floor, and dialed his contact's number directly. "Hello, are you Yan Duoduo?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Me? An unemployed capital Watchman, the number one psychiatrist, the mastermind who plotted to rob the Star Source Treasury...!"

"If you're talking to me, you'd better not have an episode." Yan Duoduo interrupted him with helpless resignation. "Tomorrow by ten o'clock in the morning at the latest, you better show up in my office."

"Please tell my new teammate that this time... I'm carrying him to victory!" Tang Feng replied with utmost seriousness.