A Chan – CH 124

Chapter 124: My Ah Chan (1)

That evening, as the city lights began to twinkle…

After returning from the police station, Zhang Moyun received a call from Ding Chenmo, who informed him that three arrest warrants had been issued and a covert search for Xu Yi had begun.

However, the four men had vanished without a trace.

The higher-ups took this case very seriously, mobilizing a large police force. Every street in the city was heavily guarded, and major traffic arteries leading out of the city were under tight surveillance. The atmosphere was tense and fraught with suspicion.

Ding Chenmo whispered a few more instructions before hanging up. Zhang Moyun sat silently for a while, then picked up his cigarette case and lighter and went downstairs.

Seeing him about to leave, the police and bodyguards stood up. Zhang Moyun waved his hand: “It’s stuffy inside. I’ll just have a smoke at the front door. Don’t follow me.”

Zhang Moyun walked to the iron gate, lit a cigarette, and stood there motionless. The police and bodyguards kept glancing at him occasionally, but didn’t follow.

The night was as thick as fog, with a single streetlamp dimly lit in the distance. Besides him, there was no one else on the road outside. Zhang Moyun held the cigarette between his fingers, slowly smoking, then looked at the starry sky and sighed.

Light footsteps approached. Zhang Moyun turned around and saw a man in black clothes, a baseball cap, and a mask hurrying out from around the corner. Zhang Moyun’s cigarette froze in mid-air; before he could react, the man bumped into him violently. Zhang Moyun immediately saw the dagger sheath at the man’s waist, his throat went dry, and he was about to speak when the police inside the building called out, “Chairman Zhang?” Footsteps followed.

The man in black turned and ran.

When the police came out, the street was deserted. The police asked, “Was someone just here?”

Zhang Moyun stared in the direction the man had disappeared, his brow furrowed.

—

The apartment Zhang Jingchan arranged for Li Weiyi was in an upscale neighborhood in the city center, with convenient transportation, excellent security, and located on the top floor with only one unit. Access to the elevator required a card, making it extremely safe.

The two bodyguards were watching TV in the living room. Li Weiyi chose a guest bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, took a shower, and then realized her phone was missing.

She sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the entire Chen City, scratching her head, trying to remember. She had taken her phone with her when she left her house, but hadn’t used it since, just casually putting it in her pocket. She glanced down at the shallow, wide pocket of her sweatpants and had a bad feeling.

Li Weiyi went to the living room and said, “I lost my phone; I need to go look for it.”

The bodyguards asked, “Where do you want to look?”

“At Zhang Jingchan’s house, and in the car you just drove here.”

The two bodyguards exchanged a glance, looking troubled. “Miss Li, Young Master Zhang specifically instructed that those criminals haven’t been caught yet, and there’s a city-wide warrant for their arrest. He told you not to go out for the time being; otherwise, it would be a serious dereliction of duty on our part. We can look in the car, or we can call others to help look at Zhang’s house. But please listen to Young Master Zhang… If it’s less…”

Li Weiyi laughed and said, “It’s not that exaggerated. Aren’t you two with me? Xu Yi doesn’t have three heads and six arms.”

The two bodyguards blocked her way, saying, “Young Master Zhang repeatedly emphasized, very sternly, Miss Li, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

Li Weiyi: “You mean, I can’t even go out now?”

The bodyguard whispered, “Wait until the thugs are caught, or Young Master Zhang comes over, then you can talk to him directly.”

Li Weiyi turned and went back to her room, lying heavily on the bed. She thought that perhaps it was because Xu Yi had taken her away that Zhang Jingchan was scared. Thinking back to that evening when she transmigrated, his restraint and loss of control at her house seemed to explain his current forceful demands.

But the more Li Weiyi thought about it, the more restless she became, feeling an emptiness and uncertainty in her heart. She rested her arms behind her head, gazing at the drifting clouds outside the window, forcing herself to calm down and mentally review every event that had occurred since she woke up that morning, big or small.

Suddenly, she got out of bed and went to the living room. A bodyguard hurriedly said, “Miss Li, I’ve already checked the car, but I didn’t see your phone. I also called the villa to check, but it’s not there. Why don’t you think carefully about where you put it?”

“I can’t think of it. Can I borrow your phone? I need to call Zhang Jingchan.”

The bodyguard immediately gave her the phone, but Li Weiyi dialed twice without an answer, remembering that he might still be at the police station giving a statement.

Li Weiyi said, “I need to report the SIM card lost and buy a new phone.”

The bodyguards fell silent.

“Still can’t go out?”

In the evening, the bodyguards ordered takeout, and Li Weiyi ate in her room without coming out.

The bodyguard knocked on the door and handed her a phone: “Young Master Zhang.”

Li Weiyi took it, closed the door, and Zhang Jingchan’s voice came through: “Are you angry?”

Li Weiyi was silent for a few seconds, then answered, “A little… but I can understand, but not having a phone… is so uncomfortable.”

He smiled and said, “My parents and I just came from the police station, and we can’t take our phones with us all afternoon. The telecom office is closed now, too. I’ll come over first thing tomorrow morning and go with you, okay?”

“That’s more like it.”

He was silent for a few seconds, then said, “If you’re okay, I won’t…”

“It will distract me.”

“I understand.”

—

Around midnight, the two bodyguards were fast asleep on the living room sofa when Li Weiyi’s bedroom door suddenly opened, the light came on, and her painful groans came through: “Someone…someone come quick…”

The two bodyguards jumped up alertly and rushed over. They found Li Weiyi clutching her stomach, crouching on the floor, curled up in a ball, her face flushed, tears welling in her eyes: “My stomach…it hurts so much…ah!”

She cried out several times, her body shrinking even more, startling the two bodyguards. They tried to help her up, but she wouldn’t let them.

“What’s wrong? Did you eat something bad?” the bodyguard asked. “Or… that pain?”

“I haven’t had my period yet…” Li Weiyi sobbed. “It might be acute gastroenteritis. The food I ate tonight wasn’t clean.”

“But we ate it, and we were fine…”

The other bodyguard gave his partner a reproachful look and said, “A young girl’s stomach isn’t as tough as ours! Why don’t you drink some hot water first, see if it helps?”

Li Weiyi shook her head: “No! I threw up as soon as I drank it… I need to go to the hospital, boohoo! To the hospital! It hurts so much.”

She cried incessantly, and the bodyguards were completely at a loss. One went outside to call Zhang Jingchan, but no one answered. The two exchanged a glance and made a decision: “To the hospital!”

If they delayed and something really happened to Li Weiyi, they couldn’t bear the responsibility.

One of them carried Li Weiyi on his back, while the other looked after her. Li Weiyi cried, “I need to call my sister and ask her to come with me.”

This wasn’t an unreasonable request, and the bodyguard immediately handed her the phone.

Li Weiyi called Li Xiaoyi: “Sister, I woke up in the middle of the night with a really bad stomachache. I think I have gastroenteritis. I need to go to the hospital, to the People’s Hospital emergency room. Can you come with me?”

Previously, Zhang Jingchan had Zhang Moyun explain the protection arrangements for her to the Li family, and the Li family felt that having professional bodyguards would be safer.

Li Xiaoyi panicked upon hearing this: “I’m leaving right away.”

Zhong Yi’s voice came through the phone: “Is this Weiyi?”