They were all students at Yanjing Radio and TV University. This school wasn’t a formal university, and when there were no classes, the place they hung out most was the entrance of the telecom building. None of the guys were doing too well financially. William Carter was pretty sharp and had set his sights on the business of buying and selling second-hand phones. These days, people changed phones faster than they changed clothes, and in a huge city like Beijing, thousands of phones were lost or stolen every day. They bought low and sold high, making no less than five thousand yuan a month—enough to cover the group’s expenses.

Brian Cooper and Samuel Clark had brought their second-hand phones early in the morning and set up shop at the entrance of the telecom building. Business was especially good today, being Saturday. In just two hours, they’d sold six phones, making a rough profit of over three hundred yuan. The two of them were grinning from ear to ear.

It was almost lunchtime when William Carter finally strolled over, taking his time. Brian Cooper rushed over and punched William Carter in the chest, laughing as he said, “You’re something else, man. Nowhere to be found when there’s work to do, but you show up right when it’s time to eat!” William Carter pointed at his head, “Look closely, six stitches! I just got my stitches out—this counts as a work injury!”

Samuel Clark chuckled foolishly, “Forget work injury, when you die one day, we’ll bury you at Babaoshan and posthumously honor you as a martyr!”

William Carter nearly poked Samuel Clark’s head with his finger, “You’ve got some nerve talking! Next time you get impulsive, make sure you know who you’re with, or one day you’ll get your little buddy cut off!” At the mention of that incident, Samuel Clark’s head drooped, “Alright! I was just drunk that day…” Brian Cooper quickly stepped in to smooth things over, deliberately changing the subject, “Tiedan’s at home helping his old man fix the Great Wall, he’s not coming today.”

William Carter squinted at Brian Cooper’s waist pouch, “How much did you make?” Brian Cooper held up three fingers and waved them, then said, “Just so you know, I spent two hundred and fifty on bike repairs. Can I get reimbursed?” “Reimburse you my ass! Today’s earnings are for the group’s nutrition. We’ll settle the repair money another day!”

The three of them were about to pack up for lunch when a skinny kid nicknamed “Skinny Monkey” slipped over. William Carter and the others knew him well—he was a pickpocket who often brought phones here to sell.

William Carter grinned and asked, “Monkey, what good stuff did you score today?” Skinny Monkey pulled out a women’s Samsung, “New model, color screen, camera, PDA. I want thirteen hundred for it!”

“You’re crazy for money! A new one’s only three thousand!”

“That’s a gray-market phone. The official one’s over five thousand!”

“Wow! Haven’t seen you for two days and you’ve gotten gutsy. Fine! We’ll grit our teeth and give you a round number. If you want to sell, hand it over. If not, get lost and stop wasting our time!”

Skinny Monkey hesitated, bit his lip, but still handed over the phone. William Carter took it and examined it carefully, then browsed the photos in the phone’s memory. All the photos were of the same girl. William Carter felt like he’d seen her somewhere before, but couldn’t quite remember.

Samuel Clark leaned over, “Hey! Isn’t this chick Edward Harris’s sister?” William Carter was startled, then realized it was true. Skinny Monkey was waiting for his money, but when he heard Samuel Clark say that, he panicked, “You guys are setting me up! I’m not selling anymore!”

William Carter laughed, “Monkey, we don’t have time to mess with you. I’ll tell you straight, even if you want to sell, I wouldn’t dare buy it. With Edward Harris’s skills, he could find us here by this afternoon. You’ve heard of him, right? I suggest you get out of here while you can!” William Carter handed the phone back to Skinny Monkey, who blinked nervously but didn’t dare take it back.

William Carter pushed the phone toward him again, “Take your phone and get away from me. I can’t stand the sight of blood!” Hearing this, Skinny Monkey got even more anxious, “Man, from the way you talk, do you know Edward Harris?” William Carter gave a wicked grin, “I don’t know him well, but I get along with his sister!” Skinny Monkey forced a smile, “How about this, you help me return the phone…” William Carter quickly waved his hand, “Monkey, it’s not that I won’t help you, but that girl’s got a fierce temper. If she finds out you took her phone, she’ll definitely have Edward Harris get back at you.”

Skinny Monkey gritted his teeth and pulled out two hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, “Let’s go have a drink at lunch, my treat.” William Carter took the money and finally accepted the phone, “Alright, for the sake of our friendship, I’ll do you this favor!” Skinny Monkey thanked him repeatedly before leaving.

Once Skinny Monkey was gone, Brian Cooper and Samuel Clark nearly burst out laughing. Brian Cooper was out of breath, “William Carter, you… are so sly… tricked Monkey out of his phone and… even got two hundred out of him…” William Carter turned on the phone, “Who said I tricked him? I really do want to return the phone to that girl. Things aren’t settled between Edward Harris and us yet. This is a chance—let’s see if we can resolve it!”

While they were eating, the phone finally rang. William Carter answered, and a pleasant female voice came from the other end, “Hello!” William Carter gestured for Brian Cooper and the others to be quiet, “Hello!”

“Sir, I just lost a phone!”

William Carter tried hard not to laugh, “Oh! Can you tell me roughly where you lost it?”

“I think I lost it at the entrance of Xinhua Bookstore!”