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墨書 Inktalez
Bangkok's Chinatown is located in the western part of the city and is one of the most bustling commercial areas, renowned for its scale and vibrancy, ranking first among Chinatowns across Southeast Asia. Most of the buildings here are quite old, and the residents and business owners are predominantly Chinese, giving it the name "Chinatown," which has a history of nearly 200 years.
Today, Chinatown is evidently livelier than usual. The largest establishment, Hongyuan Restaurant, has been booked for a birthday banquet, with dishes and guest etiquette following the most traditional Chinese customs. Each floor from the first to the third is filled with hundreds of banquet tables. The first floor is occupied by rugged men who eat heartily, commonly referred to as "tough guys." The second floor hosts relatives and friends of the birthday celebrant, a mix of men and women, young and old.
Under normal circumstances, Zhou Xiaxia should be on the second floor. Zhou Yaohui cannot attend today's banquet due to an injury on his head, and Sama certainly has no intention of being there either. If it weren't for Zhou Xiaxia having promised Song En last month, she wouldn't have planned to come at all. She had expressed this to her mother, but Sama insisted that adult matters should not concern children, allowing her to go if she wished.
Zhou Xiaxia is an honest child and obedient as well. She takes her parents' words and her good friend's words to heart.
Looking at Song En, who accompanied her home and has been waiting at the door, she finds it hard to refuse.
It is also because of Song En that Zhou Xiaxia finds herself on the third floor.
Song En is the grandson of Tuo Sha.
Tuo Sha hails from Hung Mun Chung Yi Tang and later founded Hong Wa Gang, one of Thailand's largest Chinese gangs at that time. Zhou Xiaxia's grandfather, Sai Peng, collaborated with Tuo Sha before establishing his own armed forces. They made their fortune through several black market dealings during the Golden Triangle drug wars. At that time, Hong Wa Gang had many members but few guns; subsequent conflicts in Thailand were funded by Sai Peng. Even after both groups grew stronger over time, this bond remained unspoken yet understood.
Sai Peng and Tuo Sha are separated by considerable distance—one in the north and the other in the west. For Tuo Sha's sixtieth birthday celebration, Sai Peng sent his eldest son Zhou Yaohui's family to attend on his behalf. However, it was unexpected that Zhou Yaohui would be injured a day before the banquet.
"Grandpa, I've brought Xiaxia!" Song En exclaimed as he pulled Zhou Xiaxia to the main table.
"Happy birthday, Grandpa," Xiaxia said with her hands pressed together at her nose in a traditional Thai gesture.
"Thank you, Little Zhou Xiaxia," Tuo Sha said, dressed in a robe and bareheaded, twirling a string of prayer beads while speaking in the same imperfect Chinese as Song En.
Seeing Tuo Sha smiling and chatting with a little girl, many people in the hall turned to look. They had heard that Tuo Sha had a beloved grandson but had never heard of a granddaughter.
Someone half-jokingly and half-curiously asked, "Uncle Tuo Sha, who is this beautiful little girl? Is she Song En's girlfriend?"
Tuo Sha laughed heartily and waved his hand. "Don't say such nonsense; she's just a child. Focus on your studies!"
"That's right! She is my girlfriend!" Song En declared, pulling Zhou Xiaxia to sit boldly at the lower end of the main table. "No one is allowed to bully her."
Everyone at the table burst into laughter. Zhou Xiaxia stared with her beautiful eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm not your girlfriend!"
"Oh come on! If I don't say it like this, people will keep asking," Song En leaned closer to her ear. "I can't just say you're Sai Peng's granddaughter, can I?"
Zhou Xiaxia immediately nodded. "That can't be said."
Growing up, Zhou Yaohui and his wife had protected their daughter well. Until she was at least ten years old, Zhou Xiaxia thought her father was just a busy businessman and her mother a full-time housewife. But later, she overheard her father's and grandfather's names from others and began to understand what her family was really involved in.
She had asked about it at home, but the answer remained the same: "It's an adult matter; children shouldn't concern themselves with it."
In the first few years, Zhou Xiaxia truly didn't understand. Her teachers told them that drugs were illegal and that if someone broke the law, they would be arrested by the police and sent to jail. Violence and gun possession were also illegal, and they should stay away from such people and report them.
Yet what she witnessed firsthand contradicted all of that. What she didn't know was that when something reaches its extreme, it creates a tremendous deterrent effect that is hard to shake.
Children's matters are often not even worth discussing. Dishes were served one after another, and Tuo Sha, with a rosy face from drinking, stood up to say a few words while raising his glass. The entire hall, filled with hundreds of people, erupted in cheers, creating a lively atmosphere. Traditionally, toasts at birthday banquets are a great opportunity to build connections, and seeing a crowd surrounding Tuo Sha made it difficult for many to get in. As a result, several people shifted their focus to Song En.
A group of people gathered around, pushing Zhou Xiaxia aside, who had been focused on her meal.
"Hey." Tuo Sha noticed the crowd surrounding Song En and suddenly frowned, causing the hall to fall silent.
However, the next moment, Tuo Sha burst into hearty laughter: "Song En is a junior; it's his turn to toast! The child doesn’t understand the rules; please forgive him!"
As soon as Tuo Sha finished speaking, a languid voice drifted down from the staircase on the third floor.
"Oh, what a lively gathering, Uncle Tuo."
Hearing the voice, Tuo Sha turned to look at the staircase. The hall fell silent again as everyone seemed to hear the sound of something being smashed below. Then a hand pushed aside the curtain at the staircase entrance. The person was so tall that he had to slightly lower his head to enter.
Upon seeing who it was, Zhou Xiaxia gasped in shock.
Zhou Yinkun wore a loose floral shirt with only a couple of buttons fastened. One hand was stuffed in his pocket as if he were on vacation, while the other held a cigarette. His wrist was adorned with a string of prayer beads.
If he had looked like an elegant gentleman during their last meeting, this time he resembled nothing less than a reckless young heir. He exuded an air of extreme wealth and extreme debauchery.
Zhou Xiaxia immediately recalled her parents' warnings and quietly took two steps back, hiding among the crowd.
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