Detailed Discussion at the Bar

The airplane was extremely quiet. Some people had their eyes closed, sleeping, while others were busy with their own activities or staring out the window at the drifting clouds.

Fang Zhou was one of those staring out the window, lost in thought.

He turned his face slightly, revealing a nearly perfect jawline, his eyes focused on the beautiful scenery below, but his mind was far away.

Before leaving this morning, he received a call from Li Siming, who said he had arrived at the hospital and would help take care of his sister for the next few days, allowing Fang Zhou to leave with peace of mind.

Fang Zhou didn’t tell Li Siming anything specific, only that he had some matters to attend to.

A good brother didn’t need instructions; he would just go to the hospital to help.

Fang Zhou guessed that Li Siming probably knew what he was going to do. Their years of brotherly understanding had created a habit.

“You go ahead, I’ll cover for you.”

He often felt fortunate to have such a good friend and occasionally mourned his deceased family members.

This was also his first time flying to a foreign country, and the mix of complex emotions left him unable to sleep. He could only stare out the window, emptying his mind.

Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his left arm. He turned to see Han Xi holding a box of milk.

“Want some?”

The usually aloof and seemingly incompetent CEO in terms of life skills had actually prepared milk and snacks in advance.

People often said Han Xi was emotionally insensitive and too high and mighty to understand others’ feelings. In reality, she was the most sensitive one, easily sensing Fang Zhou’s low mood while sitting beside him.

Fang Zhou shook his head, indicating he wasn’t interested.

“You drink it. I don’t want any.”

Han Xi frowned slightly, looking down at the milk in her hand. After a moment of thought, she said, “We’ll have a long drive to the hotel after we land. If you don’t eat something, you might not have enough energy.”

Her real intention was to make Fang Zhou cherish the current peaceful moment.

Once the plane landed, they would be abroad, and no one could predict what might happen.

It was better to eat and drink well now to prepare for what lay ahead.

Fang Zhou took the milk from Han Xi and thanked her.

“Alright. Thank you.”

About ten minutes after drinking the milk, whether due to its effect or his own psychological state, Fang Zhou fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the plane had already landed.

Han Xi woke him up, and they prepared to disembark.

After leaving the airport and getting into the car arranged by Han Xi’s subordinates, Fang Zhou realized that the climate in Southeast Asia was much hotter than back home.

Specifically, it was both hot and humid.

The tropical monsoon climate, with its high temperatures and heavy rainfall, made it very uncomfortable.

Even though it was already three or four in the afternoon, the ground temperature felt like it could burst a balloon.

After a day of travel, fatigue caught up with them the moment they entered the hotel room.

But neither of them mentioned resting. After a simple meal, they immediately had Han Xi’s subordinates arrange a meeting with the local contacts.

The meeting place was not far from the hotel, but it was in a rather hidden location—a large local bar.

Fang Zhou instinctively frowned, feeling uneasy.

“A bar might not be safe. Can we ask them to change the location?”

Before leaving, he had read countless horror stories about Southeast Asia.

From male model restaurants to various tourist hotspots, many were actually fronts for all sorts of shady activities, hiding unknown risks.

Bars, in particular, were places where all sorts of people mingled, and anything could happen.

So Fang Zhou was reluctant to go.

Han Xi glanced at her subordinate and asked quietly,

“Did you talk to them? Can we change the location?”

The subordinate shook his head, looking troubled, and explained what he knew.

“I’ve already contacted them before you arrived.

The people there are difficult to reason with. They only follow their own rules and won’t accept any changes, no matter how much money you offer.”

There were some things he didn’t say: those people operated in the shadows and didn’t want to appear in public places for fear of being caught.

So they could only choose these gray areas.

The subordinate looked at Han Xi for her opinion.

“Should we go?”

Before they landed, Han Xi had already arranged for local bodyguards to protect them, but they weren’t openly visible.

However, Fang Zhou’s concerns were valid. Bars were indeed places where anything could happen.

If someone took advantage of the chaos to make a move, they could both be in serious trouble. So she left the decision to Fang Zhou.

“Should we go?”

Fang Zhou realized this wasn’t a decision he could make alone, so he reluctantly agreed.

“Let’s go.”

You can’t catch a wolf without risking the lamb.

He wanted to see who these people were, capable of procuring kidneys and making Han Xi take the initiative to contact them.

Moreover, he was the one in need now, and beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Soon, Fang Zhou and Han Xi, surrounded by bodyguards and accompanied by a translator, entered the large bar.

Similar to most bars back home, it was filled with flashing lights, a DJ on stage, and men and women dancing in the crowd, indulging their desires.

In a private room separated by a wall, someone sat quietly, swirling a glass of red liquid that looked like blood in the dim light.

Fang Zhou took a glance and stepped forward to speak.

“I need a kidney transplant for my sister. Can you do it?”

The translator quickly conveyed his words to the man opposite, who responded in fluent Chinese.

“That’s easy. Do you have the money?”

The man sat up straight, and under the spotlight, Fang Zhou could clearly see the scar on his face and his sharp eyes.

Fang Zhou calmly shielded Han Xi behind him and spoke seriously,

“Money is not an issue as long as you can do it. But I need to know if the source is legitimate.”

He didn’t want to create more problems for himself out of desire.

He had heard about the rampant kidney trade in Southeast Asia. Despite being illegal, voluntary and involuntary transactions were still widespread.

Fang Zhou only wanted a voluntary donation, and it had to be legal, from a legitimate hospital.

Even though it sounded like a fantasy, since he hadn’t found one back home, it would be even harder here.

But people needed principles to be considered human; otherwise, they were no different from beasts.