A Chan – CH 123

Chapter 123: Knife Points Facing Each Other (2)

It wasn’t complicated. She started dating Zhang Moyun, a construction foreman, when she was eighteen or nineteen. Young people often bicker, and she was a renowned beauty with a proud personality; Zhang Moyun had a fiery temper and strong will and was solely focused on making money, so they frequently clashed.

The worst time was when they broke up for two years.

Li Yilin was Wu Xinhui’s first love in high school. He was completely different from Zhang Moyun—fair-skinned, handsome, gentle, and good at sweet-talking. He pursued her again, and Wu Xinhui wavered, getting back together with him.

However, after about a year, Wu Xinhui broke up with him again. She still couldn’t forget Zhang Moyun.

Zhang Moyun never knew about this, and Wu Xinhui never mentioned it. In his heart, his wife had only ever been with him, the purest of all.

So when Li Yilin came knocking, Wu Xinhui panicked. She didn’t want Zhang Moyun to know that she had slept with Li Yilin back then. Li Yilin only came for money, and he didn’t ask for much, so Wu Xinhui simply paid him off. As for Li Yilin’s advances, Wu Xinhui resolutely resisted, and after a few scuffles, Li Yilin didn’t dare to do anything more.

“But…” Li Weiyi was puzzled. “Even if Uncle Zhang finds out, it’s been over twenty years; he shouldn’t be angry, right?”

Wu Xinhui looked dejected and replied, “Li Yilin has some…photos. I was young and foolish back then, and he coaxed me into taking them. I didn’t expect him to still have them. I don’t want Moyun to see them.”

Li Weiyi understood. Li Yilin was too useful a pawn for those people. A mix of truth and deception, a ruthless elimination.

Li Weiyi solemnly said, “Auntie, don’t worry, I’ll tell Ding Chenmo about this privately, and he’ll find those photos and destroy them. I absolutely won’t let anyone else see them.”

Wu Xinhui’s eyes reddened: “Good child, I feel much better now that you’ve said it. Thank you!”

—

Li Weiyi and Wu Xinhui came out of the room, and Ding Chenmo had already gone upstairs with two policemen. Li Weiyi hurriedly followed to Zhang Jingchan’s room, where she saw him personally handing a USB drive to Ding Chenmo. Zhang Moyun stood solemnly to the side.

This was a moment of peace, the result of so many efforts she and Zhang Jingchan had made, yet everything seemed so calm. Li Weiyi slowly let out a breath. But why did she still feel a vague unease? Perhaps it was because Xu Yi was too cunning; since arriving here half a day ago, he hadn’t made a move.

Ding Chenmo held the USB drive, examined it carefully for a while, and asked, “Did you collect this?”

Zhang Moyun nodded.

Because this economic case involved Fuming, the city’s leading enterprise, with a huge sum of money involved, and potentially a criminal case involving attempted murder, Ding Chenmo had received instructions from his superiors before setting off. He had the economic crime investigators conduct a preliminary review of the documents on Zhang Moyun’s computer.

After reviewing the documents for a while, the investigators nodded to Ding Chenmo, who was also watching closely, his brow furrowed, seemingly lost in thought.

Ding Chenmo straightened up and said to them, “I will now have the bureau issue arrest warrants for Liu Ying, Zhang Fengming, and Cheng Chuan. As for Xu Yi, we will need to conduct a more thorough investigation to determine if he is involved.”

Zhang Jingchan said, “Xu Yi is Liu Ying’s younger brother.”

Ding Chenmo glanced at him sharply and said, “I see.”

Just then, a policeman knocked on the door and called Ding Chenmo to the door for a whispered conversation. Ding Chenmo turned around, his expression even more serious: “We found arson fuel and tools at Liu Guizhi and Li Yilin’s residences. They’ve been detained. Liu Guizhi hasn’t said anything yet, but Li Yilin confessed everything after being threatened: he received money, and Liu Ying instructed him to set fires tonight, supposedly to scare the Zhang family. This is no longer a simple economic crime; it’s extremely serious. I will report this to my superiors immediately.” He paused, then said, “We will also take Xu Yi into custody immediately.”

Li Weiyi was slightly taken aback.

She felt that Ding Chenmo was acting strangely today, unlike his usual decisive and unyielding self; it seemed like something was on his mind.

She quickly understood. Ding Chenmo was a shrewd man; the Zhang family’s report was too sudden. Perhaps the old man had become suspicious again, or perhaps he, too, was affected by the repeated cycles, experiencing fragmented perceptions.

“Then let him be.”

Li Weiyi smiled at him. Ding Chenmo noticed, gave her a deep look, and said, “Li Weiyi, come with me.”

Zhang Jingchan asked, “What is it?”

Ding Chenmo replied, “Don’t protect her! Such a big case, what’s she, an unrelated child, doing getting involved? She should have been made to leave earlier. I have to give her a lecture; you don’t need to come.”

The two walked up the stairs. Ding Chenmo’s eyes were still sharp enough to send chills down one’s spine. Li Weiyi felt he probably also realized that she and Zhang Jingchan hadn’t switched places this time.

Ding Chenmo didn’t say anything, but he did give a serious warning: “From what I’ve seen, these criminals are extremely vicious and vengeful. You’re just a young girl, underage, so you don’t need to get involved in the rest. Stay out of it these next few days and be careful. Once the case is closed, you can be inseparable from that kid again.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Zhang Moyun gathered all four bodyguards to guard the villa. He had personally hired these bodyguards from out of town; they were safe and reliable. Seeing this, Ding Chenmo left two policemen for protection and hurriedly left with the others, instructing the Zhang family to go to the police station to give their statements that afternoon.

Li Weiyi went back upstairs. Zhang Moyun was sitting on the sofa, holding the weeping Wu Xinhui, his eyes red. Li Weiyi thought she might be able to guess what the couple had talked about. Zhang Jingchan sat beside her, his handsome eyebrows slightly furrowed, also somewhat lost in thought.

Li Weiyi tugged at the back of his shirt. Zhang Jingchan turned his head, his gaze softening. He sat down, took her hand, and said, “It’s alright, it’s over. We won. Now it’s just the police arresting them; they can’t turn the tables.”

Li Weiyi was overwhelmed with emotion. She stood still, her eyes meeting his. He held her hand, simply smiling quietly.

“Thank you for your trouble, Weiyi.” Zhang Moyun glanced over.

Wu Xinhui stood up. “Good child, are you hungry? I’ll go make you something to eat.”

Li Weiyi quickly waved her hand. “No need!” She glanced at the time; it was just noon. “I have to go back to school. After all, I’m a senior in high school.”

Her words made it difficult for the Zhang couple to keep her any longer. Wu Xinhui nudged Zhang Jingchan. “You take Weiyi to school. See what she wants to eat on the way and buy it for her.”

Zhang Jingchan smiled. “Mom, you don’t need to tell me.”

Li Weiyi’s face flushed slightly. She and Zhang Jingchan walked out of the villa gate side by side. A policeman and a bodyguard followed them out about ten meters away. Zhang Jingchan said, “There are two things we need to be wary of now: first, Xu Yi might have guessed our actions, and we need to prevent them from escaping abroad, but that can only be handled by the police. Second…” He put his hands in his pockets and lowered his head slightly. “Xu Yi is very obsessed with you, and you just escaped from his meticulously crafted secret room. If he can’t escape and gets stuck, he might come back looking for you; I’m worried.”

Li Weiyi remained silent, stunned.

Zhang Jingchan glanced at the villa: “So I’m thinking of moving two bodyguards to follow you 24 hours a day until they’re all caught.”

Li Weiyi thought for a moment and nodded: “Okay, I’ll do as you say.”

Zhang Jingchan’s expression relaxed. He called over the bodyguard behind him, gave him a few instructions, and soon another bodyguard arrived.

Li Weiyi was troubled: “I can take a few days off from school, but if they come home with me, where will they stay?”

“Sleep on the floor?”

“Such a big commotion; I’m afraid it will scare my parents.”

Zhang Jingchan thought for a moment and said, “Then stay in a hotel? Book a suite, or stay in another house of mine. I’m also afraid Xu Yi will come looking for you. I’ll come to you after I’m done cooperating with the police here.”

“Then stay in your house,” Li Weiyi thought. The Zhang family was almost bankrupt; a hotel suite would be too expensive.

The two looked at each other for a while. Zhang Jingchan put his arm around her shoulder and leaned down to kiss her. Li Weiyi quickly dodged, blushing, and said, “No! I’m still a high school student and a minor. The bodyguards and police are watching us.”

Zhang Jingchan laughed, released her, and didn’t insist. Instead, he asked, “When will you turn 18?”

“…I won’t tell you!”

Li Weiyi turned her head to look aside, then suddenly froze. Before them lay a road within a villa district, lined with detached villas and dense trees. About a hundred meters away, behind a large tree beside a villa, stood a man dressed in black, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, watching them intently.

Before Li Weiyi could speak, Zhang Jingchan, beside her, shouted, “Who?!” and charged forward. The policeman and a bodyguard behind them reacted immediately and gave chase. The man behind the tree flashed away, turning and running, quickly disappearing from sight.

Li Weiyi stood still, the other bodyguard nervously protecting her. The blurry image of the driver in that black jeep, which she had seen many times before, flashed through her mind, and that uneasy feeling surged back.