Chapter 69.2

There was a loud banging at the door. It turned out that when Pei Zheng had closed the door earlier, he had also bolted it shut.

Da Hu’s face lit up with surprise as he approached the door. Pei Zheng quickly blocked him, and they began to wrestle. Seeing this, another thug rushed to open the door but was firmly held back by Xiao Ding.

The banging on the door grew louder, but it remained shut. Outside, Brother Zhong heard the sounds of fighting and kicked the door. When it didn’t open, he kicked again.

After kicking three or four times, the door finally gave way. Second Brother and his crew stormed in and were met with the sight of their fallen comrades on the ground. Their faces darkened. Second Brother had expected a coordinated effort but had not anticipated that Pei Zheng would strike first. He had underestimated Pei Zheng.

With the men now inside, Da Hu and his companion ceased their struggle and moved to Second Brother’s side, encircling Pei Zheng and Xiao Ding.

Second Brother did not issue an order to attack. Instead, he scrutinized Pei Zheng and asked, “Well, kid, how did you know I was coming?”

Pei Zheng frowned, eyeing him warily. “Who are you? How would I know you were coming? What do you mean?”

“You don’t know who I am?” Second Brother spoke to Pei Zheng as Brother Zhong had instructed, “Stop pretending and hand over the letter.”

Pei Zheng looked puzzled. “What letter? I was just annoyed that these thugs made me miss class, so I locked the door to teach them a lesson. Then you guys barged in.”

“Are you all in cahoots?”

Second Brother saw that Pei Zheng didn’t seem to be feigning innocence. He wanted to turn to Brother Zhong for further instructions but held back, recalling Brother Zhong’s warning, and continued to argue with Pei Zheng. “Stop wasting time. Hand over the letter, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, well, you might not make it out of here.”

Brother Zhong in the crowd was observing Pei Zheng without relaxing for a moment. As long as Pei Zheng’s eyes stayed on him for a moment, he could tell whether he was exposed or not.

If it became clear that he had been discovered, it would be Pei Zheng’s last day.

But Pei Zheng had never looked at Brother Zhong. When his gaze swept over the people behind Second Brother, it didn’t linger.

This made Brother Zhong breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed the letter contained nothing related to him. After all, when he knocked out the Song family kid from behind, it was impossible for him to see his face. When he attacked the woman from the Pei family, it was dark at night, and it was even more impossible to see what he looked like.

However, it was still crucial to find the letter.

Da Hu said, “Boss, didn’t you get the letter? I heard the boy tell the police that the letter was in his bag.”

Second Brother slapped Da Hu on the head. “If there really was a letter, would I be here?”

Pei Zheng suddenly understood their conversation. “Are you talking about Song Laixi’s letter? It’s definitely in my bag. By the way, why are you guys trying to steal a letter?”

“In your bag? Impossible, I’ve searched it several times and found nothing!” Second Brother scoffed.

Pei Zheng shrugged. “If you give me my school bag back, I’ll find the letter and show it to you.”

Second Brother was skeptical but handed over the bag he received from his underling to Pei Zheng. Pei Zheng took his time, pulling out a book and then a utility knife. He opened the book to a certain page and sliced along the seam, revealing a brown envelope inside.

It turned out that two pages had been glued together, with the envelope hidden between them. Even if the book was turned upside down, the envelope wouldn’t fall out.

Second Brother twitched his mouth. “Why go to such lengths to hide a letter?”

“Oh, it’s just a letter from a friend. I didn’t want to lose it,” Pei Zheng explained with a smile. “Brother, can you let me go now?”

“No way! They attacked the police and caused a ruckus in the police station. We can’t just let them go!” Comrade Xiao Ding immediately objected.

Second Brother scoffed, “Now it’s us who won’t let you go.”

He directed his men to take the envelope from Pei Zheng’s hand. Holding it triumphantly, he shot a disdainful glance at Pei Zheng and said, “We got the letter. We’re leaving!”

Pei Zheng subtly pulled Xiao Ding behind him to protect him.

“Wait!” Just as they reached the door, Second Brother suddenly stopped. “This envelope feels wrong.”

Finally having a moment of clarity, Second Brother quickly tore open the envelope only to find it was completely empty. Damn it! He had been played by this kid!

Filled with rage, Second Brother hurled the envelope to the ground and spat, “You’re asking for it. Brothers, go after him!”

Pei Zheng dropped his earlier pretense of calmness and arrogantly raised his head. “Oh, so you just now realized?”

Second Brother, exasperated, shouted, “Hold him down! The letter is still on him!”

Capturing Pei Zheng was no easy task. He was incredibly agile, dodging the thugs even when surrounded. In the blink of an eye, he jumped onto a table to evade their grabs, leading to chaos as over a dozen people scrambled around the office.

Brother Zhong stood in the corner, staring intently at Pei Zheng. Suddenly, he sensed something was off. If Pei Zheng claimed it was just an ordinary letter, why was he hiding it so discreetly? If the letter was unimportant, then why was there no actual letter in the envelope? What was the significance of Pei Zheng hiding the letter so carefully?

There was only one possibility: this letter was extremely important, and everything Pei Zheng was doing was to buy time.

Brother Zhong’s expression changed as he quickly turned and ran toward the door. Seeing that the main culprit was fleeing, Pei Zheng swiftly dealt with the lackeys bothering him and chased after Brother Zhong.

Fortunately, the deceived police officers and Xiao Zhou, who had brought people with him, arrived just in time. Together with Pei Zheng, they cornered Brother Zhong. Gritting his teeth, Brother Zhong put up a desperate fight, but Xiao Zhou managed to subdue him, forcing him to kneel on the ground.

Inside the station, the lackeys were also taken down by the combined efforts of the police and soldiers.

“Comrade Lu Nong, may I use the restroom at your place?” a woman with triangular eyes said suddenly next to Zhao Xin.

“Of course,” Lu Nong replied. “There’s a restroom on the first floor, at the corner of the kitchen. You can use it freely.”

The woman with triangular eyes shot Zhao Xin a glance before getting up and heading to the restroom.

Zhao Xin took a sip of tea, as if suddenly reminded of something. She said, “Sister Lu Nong, I happened to see the letter that our Song Laixi sent to Pei Ji’an this morning. This child has been sulking with us and hasn’t sent a letter home for years to let us know he’s okay. His father worries about him every day. I want to ask if you’ve seen that letter and know how Laixi is doing.”

“What letter?” Lu Nong shook his head regretfully. “I hadn’t gotten up when Pei Zheng left. Did Laixi send a letter to him?”

She was speaking the truth.

Zhao Xin smiled and took another sip of her tea. Setting the cup down, she said, “Oh, look at me, I drank too much tea, and Sister Su and I have a problem. We need to pee urgently, so I’d like to borrow your bathroom.”

The restroom on the first floor was occupied by Sister Su, who had not yet come out, so Zhao Xin could only go upstairs. The study was on the second floor.

Zhao Xin considered the possibility that Lu Nong might stop her from going upstairs but was surprised when Lu Nong calmly said, “I’m not feeling well. Would it be alright if my Godmother took you up?”

Zhao Xin narrowed her eyes, unable to see through Lu Nong’s intentions, but feeling compelled to act, she followed Aunt Wu upstairs.

Aunt Wu walked ahead while Zhao Xin trailed behind her. As soon as they turned a corner out of sight, Zhao Xin struck Aunt Wu with a swift chop, knocking her out and gently laying her on the ground.

She then found the study and discovered the door was unlocked. A look of surprise crossed Zhao Xin’s face, but she didn’t have time to think; she pushed the door open and entered.

Inside the study, there were two desks. One desk was clearly used by a man, while the other was smaller and more delicate. On it sat a potted cactus and a family photo.

Zhao Xin’s expression grew more complex. Lu Nong actually shared a study with Pei Ji’an. This not only meant that Pei Ji’an indeed spoiled Lu Nong as the rumors suggested but also implied that she might leave empty-handed after this visit.

Given Pei Ji’an’s meticulous nature, if there were confidential documents hidden in the study, it would be impossible for him to be so careless.

The door to the study was left unlocked, allowing anyone in the house, even an outsider like her, to enter freely. This indicated there were likely no important documents inside.

Zhao Xin gritted her teeth. Since she was already here, it would not be a wasted trip if she could find something useful. She quickly began to search, leaving no corner unchecked.

Just when Zhao Xin finally found a file after much effort, her excitement surged as she was about to open it when—

“What are you doing?”

A man’s hand caught her hand as she was about to open the document.