A Chan – CH 127

Chapter 127: I Want to See You (2)

Li Weiyi’s greatest strength was her ability to assess situations and adapt to changing circumstances. After a night, although she was still full of doubts, she had regained her composure. She unconditionally trusted the real Zhang Jingchan. Since he told her to wait, she wouldn’t act rashly and obediently stayed in this “temporary cage,” observing how things would develop.

However, from dawn till dusk the next day, Zhang Jingchan didn’t send any further news, and the situation seemed to be worsening.

According to the bodyguard, Zhang Moyun and his wife were in intensive care, still unconscious, not allowing visitors, and not out of danger.

More and more police were on the streets, and it was even reported on the news that the wanted criminals who had risked embezzling a huge sum of money from the Fuming Group and those involved in attempted murder hadn’t been caught yet.

“Zhang Jingchan” called, saying that although Fuming was now able to pay off all its debts, many subsequent matters still needed to be decided. Therefore, besides going to the hospital, he spent all his time managing the group’s aftermath. He apologized for not being able to be with Li Weiyi, but Li Weiyi said it was alright and that important matters came first. He seemed too busy to mention buying her a phone, and Li Weiyi, understanding, didn’t bring it up either. She even uttered a few words of concern, and he remained silent, moved; everything was understood without words.

Around 7 or 8 p.m., Li Weiyi finally couldn’t sit still any longer. After all, they would travel back in time in just one more day, and Xu Yi and Zhang Jingchan would switch places. She not only didn’t understand Zhang Jingchan’s intentions, but she also didn’t understand Xu Yi’s intentions as the imposter. She had a premonition that in the past two days, outside this safe cage, the two men might have already clashed in life and death several times, only she had been tacitly excluded by them.

This feeling of waiting for fate to pronounce its verdict was truly unbearable.

So Li Weiyi decided not to wait any longer.

She said to the bodyguards, “Give me a phone. I want my sister to come and keep me company.”

The bodyguards exchanged a glance, then said hesitantly, “It’s so late. How about we ask Young Master Zhang tomorrow?”

Li Weiyi was very unhappy: “Why can’t my sister come? She’ll be Zhang Jingchan’s sister in the future!”

However, the bodyguards had clearly been instructed beforehand, replying, “Chairman Zhang and his wife are in trouble. You went out last night and almost got lost. We’re doing this for your own good. Don’t contact anyone for these next few days. Don’t give criminals any opportunities. Get through these next few days peacefully; don’t make things difficult for us, okay?”

Li Weiyi argued a few more times, but they resolutely refused to let her pass. Li Weiyi tried to force her way through, but the two tall, burly men blocked the door, refusing to budge despite her shouting and slapping.

While the two sides were at a stalemate, suddenly, the doorbell rang. All three were startled.

“Miss Li, please go back to your room,” one of the bodyguards said in a low voice.

Li Weiyi cooperated somewhat, running back to her room but leaving the door ajar, her head peeking out.

“Who is it?” the bodyguard asked.

“I’m Li Weiyi’s sister, Li Xiaoyi,” a female voice spoke. “Ah Chan gave me the address and asked me to come.”

Li Weiyi had already run out: “Open the door! It’s my sister’s voice! We’re so in sync!”

The fact that Li Weiyi was at this address was kept secret. Since Li Xiaoyi said that Young Master Zhang had sent her, the two bodyguards believed her to be mostly right.

And since she was her own sister and a woman, the bodyguards didn’t think much of it and opened the door.

Besides, Li Xiaoyi was outside, along with the tall and muscular Zhong Yi.

The two bodyguards hesitated for a moment, then Li Weiyi rushed out and pulled them inside: “Sister, brother-in-law, you came to see me? You know I’m so bored here, right?”

Li Xiaoyi shook the fruit she was carrying: “Weren’t you having a stomachache? Something came up at home yesterday, and I rushed to the hospital, but you were already gone. Are you feeling better now?”

“I’m fine! I’m jumping around like a baby.” Li Weiyi pulled them towards her room.

Since Li Xiaoyi was sent by Young Master Zhang, the two bodyguards naturally didn’t report back to “Zhang Jingchan” over the phone.

As soon as the door closed, the smiles on all three faces vanished. Li Weiyi was on the verge of tears, asking pitifully, “How did you find this place?”

Li Xiaoyi looked at Zhong Yi, whose sharp eyes replied, “This isn’t the Zhang family’s house; it’s probably their hidden property. Yesterday you called Xiaoyi, so I went to the hospital with… him. He went to see you and asked me to wait outside the hospital, following your car, and that’s how we found this place.”

A bittersweet warmth welled up inside Li Weiyi because this was exactly what Zhang Jingchan would do—decisive and thoughtful.

“When did he contact you?” she asked.

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Ding Chenmo knew too, right?”

Zhong Yi nodded: “Otherwise, he would have been arrested long ago.”

“How could you believe it was him?”

Zhong Yi smiled: “He had a way of making us believe him.”

Li Weiyi stared at him intently: “So you kept it from me alone?”

Zhong Yi coughed lightly: “I didn’t intend to hide it from you. He said he would call you first, but you didn’t answer. Later, you were with the fake one and hidden away, so you had no chance to contact him. He said he might as well play along and avoid alerting him.”

Li Weiyi remained silent.

Li Xiaoyi, standing nearby, quickly smoothed things over. Although she was somewhat confused about what these men were doing, she had a general idea. She said, “Weiyi is so smart. Yesterday, as soon as she made that phone call, I asked when your ‘iron stomach’ had ever hurt, and Zhong Yi knew you were looking for Ah Chan. You don’t know how difficult it was for Ah Chan to evade the police and go to the hospital. Just to speak a few words to you in person, I offered to relay the message, but Ah Chan refused.”

Li Weiyi thought of the man from yesterday, whose appearance had changed, yet whose eyes, actions, and tone remained unchanged. Her heart throbbed slightly. She said, “Doesn’t he have Ding Chenmo covering for him?”

Zhong Yi said, “This case has alarmed the province; there’s a city-wide manhunt, and the Economic Crime Investigation Department is cooperating. Ding Chenmo is just a criminal investigation team leader; he can’t convince other police officers of something so bizarre.”

So, was he still facing difficulties?

Li Weiyi clutched the bedsheet, her hands crumpled into a ball: “Where is he? I need to see him and get to the bottom of this.”

Li Xiaoyi turned to look at Zhong Yi, who touched his nose and said, “Ah Chan means he’ll handle everything. Once you switch back tomorrow, it’ll all be over. I guess he doesn’t want you involved in any danger.”

Li Weiyi’s heart skipped a beat: “He’s going to do something dangerous, isn’t he?”

Zhong Yi hadn’t expected her to react so quickly and was momentarily speechless. Li Weiyi suddenly said to Li Xiaoyi, “Sister, if you were me, and Zhong Yi was keeping everything from you, would you feel at ease? Even if you couldn’t help much, wouldn’t you want to be with him?”

Li Xiaoyi immediately replied, “He’s downstairs, in our car.”

Zhong Yi: “…”

Li Xiaoyi stopped looking at Zhong Yi and asked worriedly, “But how are you going to get down?”

Li Weiyi and her sister held hands, her eyes darting around. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

Ten minutes later, Li Weiyi’s door opened halfway, and her voice came out, “Sister, brother-in-law, tell Mom and Dad not to worry. I’ll be home in a few days; I have to take the college entrance exam.”

The two bodyguards on the sofa turned around and saw the tall Zhong Yi, with his arm around Li Xiaoyi, walking out of the room. Li Xiaoyi was petite, her head down. Inside the room, the girl leaned against the door, still wearing her sportswear, backlit, revealing only half of her profile, and waved her arm.

Zhong Yi greeted the two bodyguards with a smile, then turned to comfort the girl beside him. “What’s there to cry about? She just had gastroenteritis yesterday. She didn’t blame you for not going. Don’t cry…”

Seeing the two of them being so affectionate, the two bodyguards didn’t approach. They watched them walk out the door, and Li Weiyi’s room door closed behind them.

Because she had stayed in her room for almost two days, the bodyguards were used to it.

As soon as they stepped outside, Zhong Yi let go of Li Weiyi, and the two quickly pressed the elevator button to go downstairs to the underground parking garage.

Zhong Yi’s car was parked in a secluded corner. He pointed and said, “Go ahead.” He went to the side to smoke.

Li Weiyi vaguely saw someone in the back seat of the car. She walked over, gripped the door handle, hesitated for a moment, then opened it and got in.

The man beside her took off his hat and mask, then turned to look at her.

“Zhang Jingchan, this is the most unhappy cycle I’ve ever experienced,” Li Weiyi said. “The person beside me isn’t you, yet I almost mistook him for you.”

He pressed one hand against the back of the seat in front of him and the other on the back of her seat, almost encircling her in his arms, but without actually embracing her.

“You won’t,” he said. “Because I know that no matter how he imitates or deceives me, as long as I stand in front of you, you will definitely recognize me.”

Li Weiyi smiled, her nose stinging, and punched him lightly: “Blindly confident! Aren’t you afraid of messing things up? Have you been alright these past two days? Have you suffered any hardships?”

His complexion didn’t look good. When she opened the door, she saw him with his eyes closed, head leaning back, looking very tired. Heaven knows what he had been through these past two days.

He smiled faintly, as usual, and said, “I’m fine.”

Li Weiyi’s tears welled up. She said, “Fine, my foot! The whole city’s police are after you, Xu Yi is definitely still trying to kill you, and…” She swallowed her words, not mentioning his parents. Because he seemed calm, as if he didn’t know. Was it that Ding Chenmo couldn’t bear to tell him?

Li Weiyi asked, “What exactly does Xu Yi want? What have you been doing these past two days? The cycle ends tomorrow; can we win this time?”