67: Chapter 66 Trouble is Brewing 67: Chapter 66 Trouble is Brewing Natalia Sasha Ivanova, the name sounded quite beautiful, but when Gao Yang actually saw the person, he simply could not associate the image of Glolov’s wife he had imagined with the madam holding a shotgun before him.
Glolov’s daughter, the delinquent girl, was indeed pretty, but Gao Yang just couldn’t link the well-behaved and lovely child Glolov had described with the makeup-caked woman before him who was exhaling smoke rings and had the countenance of a hooligan, although he knew that the mother and daughter before him should be the ones he was looking for.
However, Gao Yang still felt it was better to ask again.
Gao Yang kept a smile on his face and said, “Excuse me, may I have your names?
I need to be sure I’ve found the right people, right?”
“My name is Natalia Sasha Ivanova, and my daughter is Yelena Yura Ivanova.
If your friend is that deadbeat Yuri, then he shouldn’t have any other wife and child.”
Confirmed, Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief and, still smiling apologetically, said, “I’m very glad to meet you.
I am a friend of Glolov.
You know, he can’t come back, but he really misses you guys.
He saved all his money, and since I was coming, he asked me to bring it to you.
Here, this is twenty-three thousand US dollars, all here.”
Natalia’s expression immediately softened.
She did not rush to take the money from Gao Yang’s hand but instead said with a face full of sorrow, “Does that deadbeat still remember he has a mother and daughter in this world?
Damn it, after all these years, I thought he was dead.
Even if he can’t come back, couldn’t he have sent a letter back?”
Gao Yang was taken aback and said, “What do you mean by that?
To my knowledge, Glolov has sent you money every year!”
Natalia looked puzzled and said, “Are you joking?
After he fled the second year, he had a guy named Ivan send us one thousand US dollars, and for all these years there has been no news, no money sent.”
Gao Yang angrily slapped his own thigh and shouted, “I understand now!
That guy named Ivan, he never sent you the money, he pocketed all the money Glolov sent to you.
That bastard, he died too late.
But what about the photos of you and your daughter?
Why does Glolov have them?
He has photos of your daughter at school and a photograph of you two together, even from last year.
He also showed them to me, a picture of Yelena holding a school-issued medal.”
Yelena threw her cigarette to the ground, stamped it out with her foot, and after dusting off her hands, said, “I think you’re talking about the pictures I posted on my Facebook.
Downloading and printing them isn’t that hard, right?
Seems like someone’s been using my photos.
Well, that guy better not let me see him, or I’ll crush his balls.
By the way, how is my dad doing now?”
“Uh, your dad is doing well.
What I wanted to say is that the bastard who cheated your dad and you all these years is already dead.
He died not long ago.”
Natalia glared at Yelena and snapped, “You are at home and speaking to your father’s friend.
Can’t you behave like a normal kid?
Don’t act like you do in the bar.”
Yelena swiftly put on a smile, and with a tender and affectionate voice, softly said, “Thank you for bringing news of my dad.
My mother and I really appreciate it.
Thank you.”
Caught off guard by Yelena’s swift change of demeanor, Gao Yang was at a loss as he saw her dressed in delinquent fashion but speaking with an indescribable gentleness.
After coughing twice, Gao Yang awkwardly held out the money toward Natalia, saying, “Please keep the money safe.”
Natalia placed the shotgun against the table next to her, wiped her hands on her clothes, and only then took the money that Gao Yang handed over.
Now, there was not a trace of ferocity on her; she seemed more like a kind, neighborly aunt.
After taking the money, Natalia said with an apologetic smile, “Please have a seat.
I’m sorry to have kept you standing and talking all this time.
I really had thought you were from the bar across the street, and that’s why I fired the gun.
I hope I didn’t frighten you.”
Gao Yang gave a wry smile, too embarrassed to admit that he was nearly scared half to death, and not willing to say that poor Lao Liu almost got his head blown off.
However, Natalia’s words did remind him.
“Speaking of which, will there be any trouble over what happened downstairs earlier?
If you need help with anything, please feel free to ask; I’d be glad to do something for you.”
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Natalia said disdainfully.
“What could possibly happen?
The police never come here, and those cowards wouldn’t dare trouble me.”
After speaking fiercely, Natalia immediately switched her expression and said gently, “Sigh, you should know, ever since that bastard Yuri left, it’s just been the two of us.
If we’re not tough, life is simply impossible to get by.”
Gao Yang nodded, showing understanding towards Natalia’s words, and said, “So, is Yelena not in school anymore?
It seems that she’s working in a bar?”
Natalia’s face was filled with sorrow as she said, “Yelena is still in school, but I lost my job last year, and I haven’t been able to find any work since then.
My poor Yelena, only sixteen, has to earn her own tuition.
And now our livelihood relies on the money she earns.
Don’t be fooled by her appearance; it’s just her way of protecting herself.”
Gao Yang immediately respected Yelena but still felt puzzled and said, “I hear your English is very good, in fact, your entire family speaks it well.
I would think it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find a job?”
Natalia smiled helplessly and replied, “I used to be an English translator.
Glolov and Yelena were my most successful students.
But then, you know, after Glolov’s incident, I wasn’t able to work in this field anymore to avoid being targeted.
And I’ve been teaching children English, but recently nobody wants to hire me to teach their kids.
I guess it might have something to do with my current image; after all, nobody likes a shrew to educate their children.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “I understand.
However, life won’t always be this tough for you.
I believe Glolov’s money will keep being sent back, so Yelena won’t have to work anymore.”
After giving Gao Yang a smile, Yelena made a piano-playing gesture with her hands and said with a smile, “Actually, my job is simple.
I play the piano at a restaurant, earn some wages and tips, and it’s quite safe.
But the pay there is minimal, so I thought I’d make some extra cash playing the synthesizer at the bar near our home.
I didn’t expect that, in less than a month, I’ve already scared off the eighteenth jerk who tried to hit on me.
I guess the bar owner keeps hiring me because I help them sell more booze.”
Gao Yang said to Yelena in a stern voice, “No matter how much money you can make, you must not go to that kind of place ever again.
Your father misses you and your mother very, very much, and he is proud of you.
You should continue your education and then go to the best music college.”
After speaking, Gao Yang thought for a moment, then continued solemnly, “Here’s what we’ll do.
Now that you have some money, it should be enough to move to a safer neighborhood.
You don’t have to worry about your future; Glolov will send money on time.
I guarantee it on his behalf.”
After finishing, Gao Yang slapped his head and laughed, “I totally forgot that Glolov has a satellite phone now.
You couldn’t contact him before, but it’s different now.
You can call him directly.
Do you have a mobile phone?
You can call him right now.”
Natalia’s face lit up with surprise, “Really?
He previously mentioned we shouldn’t contact him at random so as not to draw the attention of the KGB.”
Hearing that Glolov was involved with the KGB, Gao Yang froze.
He was only aware Glolov seemed to be implicated in a homicide case, but he didn’t know why Glolov couldn’t return home, let alone make phone calls.
Only now did he realize Glolov’s case was actually tangled up with the KGB.
Of course, the KGB Natalia spoke of must refer to that of the former Soviet Union.
Nowadays, the KGB has been reformed into the Russian Federal Security Service and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.
However, Russians, including most of the world, still tend to call these two agencies KGB.
Knowing Glolov was involved with the KGB, Gao Yang didn’t feel it was wise to let Natalia and Yelena call Glolov.
Some things should be confirmed before acting, to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for Glolov.
After giving Natalia an apologetic smile, Gao Yang said solemnly, “Sorry, better not call him for now.
I think you can give me a number, and I’ll have him call you back.
Also, are you sure there’s no problem with what just happened?
My friend here, he seems to have overheard people in the bar saying Yelena beat someone who is the son of a local gang boss.”
Hearing Gao Yang’s words, Yelena appeared to be somewhat startled.
“I didn’t know who he was, and I was too agitated at the time to hear what people were saying.
I think there won’t be any trouble, right?”
The change in Gao Yang’s expression was immediate.
It didn’t matter how many ordinary creeps Yelena fended off; with her and her mother’s strength, they could handle common folk.
But if they had truly angered a real gang, the trouble could be significant.
Gao Yang made an instant decision, “I understand.
No more talking, pack only what’s necessary; we need to leave this place right now, and quickly.
No, never mind packing, let’s go right away.”
But Gao Yang’s decision was a bit too late.
As soon as he finished speaking, they heard the chaos of approaching footsteps.
Lee Jinfang then said in a deep voice, “Someone’s coming, and there’s quite a few of them.”