Chapter 14

“What’s going on?” Pang Haifan let him in, and after he sat on the springy sofa, he stared wide-eyed and said, “I just made a little progress; how could I let it go?”

Lu Yongzhang frowned. Li Minglan’s sudden appearance took him by surprise, indicating that there was undoubtedly some crucial clue he had overlooked.

This shouldn’t have happened.

“First, look into Li Minglan,” he said, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest of the sofa. “Start with the people connected to her and Cheng Qian.”

“Wait a moment.” Pang Haifan had heard that name for the second time and suddenly found it somewhat familiar.

He took down the briefcase hanging on the wall and pulled out a bulging manila envelope, dumping a pile of tattered paper onto the table. “Let me see; this name must have come up in the past.”

The scraps of paper inside the envelope contained notes that Lu Yongzhang had taught him. Some were hastily jotted down notes based on Lu Yongzhang’s instructions, while others were messages passed on from Tian Xiao’e and his other brothers, written in a messy scrawl that made no sense to anyone else.

After searching for a while, he finally lifted a check and, as if to show off, handed it to Lu Yongzhang. “Li Minglan is Cheng Qian’s classmate, Cheng Jiao.”

In Lu Yongzhang’s mind, a clue connected like an electric wire suddenly turned on, sparking white flashes.

So that was it!

“Why didn’t you mention it?” A deep, stormy emotion brewed in Lu Yongzhang’s dark eyes, an intensity that Pang Haifan had never witnessed before, resembling the fleeting calm of the night before an impending storm filled with oppressive force.

Pang Haifan hesitantly said, “I didn’t know this was important. If it weren’t for looking into how that Cheng Qian guy got his position, I wouldn’t have realized that Li Minglan had any significance while checking into his family background… Dude, I didn’t know you’d need this information.”

Pang Haifan subconsciously apologized.

He looked at Lu Yongzhang, his voice tinged with nervousness he hadn’t even realized he possessed. This childhood friend felt too unfamiliar, more frightening than his father’s anger.

The room fell silent for a moment, with the faint sound of Pan Dad contentedly reading the newspaper from the narrow staircase extending up to their room becoming the only background noise in the still air.

Lu Yongzhang glanced at him and waved his hand dismissively, and the swirling emotions in his eyes instantly dissipated, allowing the air to flow freely again.

In a low voice, he said, “Sorry, my mistake.”

He was used to his subordinates providing him with detailed information, leaving it to him to determine its usefulness.

He hadn’t adjusted to this change right away.

“It’s my fault; you don’t need to feel guilty.” Lu Yongzhang looked at the messy handwriting on the scraps of paper. Li Minglan’s home address was just two streets away from Sanzhu Town.

“Don’t worry about it; I’ll have it sorted by tomorrow morning.” Pang Haifan was someone whose emotions came and went quickly. Since Lu Yongzhang, such a proud person, had apologized to him, why would he dwell on it?

Without any negative feelings, he began to boast about the information he hadn’t had a chance to share with Lu Yongzhang earlier that day. “Guess what I found out today?”

Lu Yongzhang rubbed his temples. “Cheng Qian got his position through family connections.”

“Damn!”

Pang Haifan’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at him. “How did you know?! I found out his mom is friends with the head of Shuntai Cinema’s wife.”

“Not surprising.” Lu Yongzhang stood up, placing his hands on his knees. “I need to head back. Keep an eye on Scarface Luo’s whereabouts for me and dig up some dirt on the head of Shuntai.”

Pang Haifan felt reluctant to see him leave. “Don’t go yet; it’s still early. By the way, has Director Lu mentioned me lately? I’ve made quite a bit of progress, right?” He rubbed his hands together, looking eagerly at his friend.

Lu Yongzhang pressed down on the top of his head. “If he didn’t scold you, it means he’s praising you. Be grateful.”

He turned and opened the door, quickly merging into the night.

—o—o—o—

At this hour, the alleys of Sanzhu Town were mostly deserted; most people had begun their evening routines, preparing for bed.

When Lu Yongzhang returned home, he dropped off his things and quickly changed into a set of lightweight black clothing. He also took out several boxes of oil paint he had recently mixed from the wardrobe.

After drawing the curtains, he turned on a desk lamp and quickly applied the oil paint to his face, concealing his striking features and making him appear ordinary and plain.

After finishing everything, he quickly descended the stairs, using the cover of night to silently climb up the courtyard wall and then flip over from the other side of the high wall.

Zheng Xiaorou, having finished reading Zheng Tianlei’s notes, looked up just in time to see the light in Lu Yongzhang’s room turn on. But when she looked again, it was already pitch black, as if the light had never been there.

“Sis, stop looking at that and go to bed early,” Zheng Tianlei urged her from the other side of the wooden board.

Zheng Xiaorou responded and lay down, staring at the mottled ceiling. She tapped on the board, asking, “Tianlei, are you going to your elder brother’s house this Sunday?”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Tianlei perked up. “Of course, I want to go! I need to protect Brother Lu! I’m just afraid Mom and Dad won’t let me, and I’m also scared that my brother will scold me for sticking my elbow out.”

Zheng Xiaorou laughed. “You know you tend to do that, but Brother won’t make things difficult for him.”

Her elder brother was the fondest of her; as long as she spoke up, he wouldn’t cause trouble for Lu Yongzhang. However, she felt a headache coming on as she considered how tightly her connection to Lu Yongzhang was becoming—it would be even harder to untangle things later.

Just thinking about the complicated situation made her scalp tingle with anxiety.

With such worries in mind, she tossed and turned a few times before finally drifting off to sleep.

—o—o—o—

Once again, Lu Yongzhang invaded her dreams.

She felt as if she were in a period drama, wearing a heavy jade crown and layered palace garments. As she passed by him, who was dressed in similarly intricate attire, he bent down, his tall figure resembling a willow that refused to bend.

Soon, she entered another dream. A boy, no more than ten years old, had a dusty face, but his eyes were bright. He held a white porcelain bowl, drinking porridge. “Xiaorou, this porridge is really delicious!”

—o—o—o—

When she woke up the next day, her pillow was slightly damp. Zheng Xiaorou’s mind hadn’t fully detached from the dreams yet, and she felt a wave of sadness from one dream after another.

“Sis, it’s time to get up!” Zheng Tianlei’s thudding footsteps echoed on the wooden stairs, pulling her completely out of her sleepy state.

He opened the door to the pavilion, and the noise from downstairs flooded in. Zheng Tianlei’s voice was filled with excitement. “Sis, hurry up! Someone is here to apologize to you!”

Zheng Xiaorou sat up in bed. “What do you mean, apologize?”

Zheng Tianlei’s voice was tinged with a fierce intensity as he gritted his teeth. “That bastard who spread rumors about you came here to apologize! Hurry and come down to see!”

The entrance to the Zheng family home was bustling with noise. A tall man stood with his head bowed at the doorway, surrounded by familiar faces from Sanzhu Town, including those who had previously added fuel to the rumors.

Among them, the neighboring elderly woman and her daughter-in-law stood out, both with expressions of righteous indignation.

Zheng Xiaorou stood on the last step of the staircase, easily spotting Lu Yongzhang standing at the edge of the crowd in the distance.

The moment she saw him, he glanced back at her. For some reason, she felt that he seemed to be in a good mood.

When he noticed her coming down, the young man at the door lifted his face, revealing his sinister eyes. Only then did Zheng Xiaorou notice the swelling on one side of his cheek, the fresh flesh peeling at the corner of his mouth, and a bruise above his eye.

What had happened to him was clear at a glance.

At that moment, the onlooking neighbors became agitated:

“Weren’t you supposed to come here to apologize? Now that he’s here, hurry up and apologize!”

“Such a lack of conscience to spread rumors like this; what about that poor girl?”

“Exactly, it’s really heartless!”

“…”

At this point, Father Zheng and Mother Zheng stood at the door, watching the scene unfold and hesitating to speak.

With Lu Yongzhang outside, Zheng Xiaorou mustered her courage and asked, “Who are you?”

“Li Mingqi.”

As he wiped the corner of his mouth with his hand, he noticed the blood on the back of his hand.

He snorted coldly, “Pretty impressive, tracking me down. Where did you find me?”

Zheng Tianlei shouted angrily, “Who the hell are you? Weren’t you here to apologize? If you’ve apologized, then get lost! If you’re not satisfied, I’ll fight you!”

Li Mingqi’s expression darkened as he recalled what that person had said to him after beating him up the night before. Feeling uneasy, he glanced around and then bent down reluctantly. “Zheng Xiaorou, I shouldn’t have said you were married behind your back. It’s my fault. You can hit or scold me however you want.”

After saying this, he left behind a net bag filled with fruit, then stood up and casually remarked, “Is that enough?”

It seemed that this statement was meant for someone present.

The neighbors quickly began criticizing Li Mingqi, bringing back the most anxious and painful feelings for Zheng Xiaorou. His perfunctory apology pricked her eyes with pain. “You didn’t come here to apologize sincerely! What’s the point of an apology?”

Li Mingqi appeared indifferent. “I already said you can hit me or scold me; what more do you want?”

“Then go ahead and hit him.” Lu Yongzhang stepped through the crowd and walked up to Li Mingqi.

In terms of appearance, although Li Mingqi wasn’t taller than Lu Yongzhang, he was stocky, with bulging muscles straining against his shirt, making it clear he was not someone to mess with.

On the other hand, Lu Yongzhang was tall and elegant, looking more like someone who wouldn’t engage in a fight.

However, Li Mingqi did not let his guard down. After all, Lu Yongzhang was known for his fighting skills in Sanzhu Town. He sneered, “What’s this? You’re already helping someone who isn’t even related to you?”

“Stop wasting time!” Lu Yongzhang threw the bag he was holding to Zheng Tianlei, slightly bending his waist with a sharp gaze. “If you lose, you kneel in front of Xiaorou!”

“If you lose, then you kneel in front of me!” Before the words had fully left his mouth, Li Mingqi lunged forward and grabbed Lu Yongzhang’s waist, attempting to use a move to throw him to the ground.

However, Lu Yongzhang bent slightly and swayed, and before anyone could even see the movement, he flung Li Mingqi onto his back and tossed him to the ground like a piece of trash.

With fluidity, he stepped on Li Mingqi’s chest, reminiscent of the way he had gripped Li Minglan’s neck the previous night.

At this moment, the crowd continued to grow.

With the force Lu Yongzhang applied to his chest, Li Mingqi felt that his patience was rapidly wearing thin. Being the kind of man who wouldn’t back down from a fight, he shouted loudly, “Fine, I’ll kneel! Satisfied?”

Lu Yongzhang released his foot and pulled him up with one hand, tossing him in front of Zheng Xiaorou.

Li Mingqi trembled as he knelt before Zheng Xiaorou, apologizing. With both new and old injuries visible on his body, he indeed looked quite pitiful.

Lu Yongzhang glanced over the crowd at Zheng Xiaorou and coldly stated, “Don’t ever show up here again; just get lost!”

Then he turned to her, softening his tone. “Hurry up and wash up. After breakfast, I’ll take you to work.”

Zheng Tianlei clung to Lu Yongzhang’s arm like a monkey, exclaiming, “Brother Lu, you’re so cool!”

The neighbors gradually dispersed as everyone was getting ready to head out for work.

However, the air in Sanzhu Town was filled with discussions that no longer carried the terrible rumors about Zheng Xiaorou.

Zheng Xiaorou’s eyes suddenly reddened. “Thank you!”