CM | Chapter 52

On the same day, Zhu Shengxi’s press conference for the Panda Blood Charity Fund also began as scheduled.

In front of the media, Zhu Shengxi publicly donated fifty million yuan to support the panda blood community in need.

But the reporters kept using the press conference as an opportunity to ask questions unrelated to panda blood. Some were curious why, in the Tian Fang case, Zhu Shengxi had testified for Tian Fang instead of protecting his own company executive, Lian Qiyun. Others were curious about the news that had recently leaked online, about Lian Qiyun’s special predilections and the rumors that his wife had once paid money to buy off witnesses.

Zhu Shengxi only said, “As a witness appearing in court, I signed a guarantee in court and will be responsible for my testimony. Also, as a matter of the most basic moral conscience one should have as a person, I think I should say a few words for the defendant Tian Fang.”

As soon as he finished, another reporter immediately pressed, “Then may I ask, Mr. Zhu, is it true that Lian Qiyun has already been fired by ‘Jiangcheng Gene’? Was that your personal order? Why has this never been brought up since the incident, and only exploded out at the trial?”

Zhu Shengxi glanced at the reporter and said, “This involves my company’s business secrets and Lian Qiyun’s personal privacy. If it weren’t for the fact that I have to tell the truth in court, you probably still wouldn’t have been able to catch any clues about it. But since you asked, I’ll take this chance to explain it clearly. Lian Qiyun has not been an employee of ‘Jiangcheng Gene’ for two months already. From the moment he left the company until before the incident, all the things he did while using the name of ‘Jiangcheng Gene’ to continue negotiating business outside have nothing to do with ‘Jiangcheng Gene’.”

Once those words were out, they quickly stirred up another fresh round of wild speculation among the reporters.

However, before the next reporter could even ask a question, Zhu Shengxi’s expression darkened, and he took back the floor. “I know everyone is interested in digging into the connection between the Tian Fang case and ‘Jiangcheng Gene’. I also know your imaginations are very rich, and you’re very good at filling in the gaps and making up stories. But no matter how many versions of the story are being spread outside, the truth will always be only one, and it is not nearly as complicated as you imagine. Also, today is the founding day of the Panda Blood Charity Fund. Our company established this fund because we hope more people will pay attention to this minority group, care about their lives and their well-being, and we also hope the media can promote it more, calling on more people in society to give a little love to minority groups, instead of turning today’s press conference into a gossip session about digging into the inside story of the Tian Fang case.”

Zhu Shengxi’s speech was soon posted online by people with ulterior motives. Because of his outstanding looks, his deep and elegant voice, and his crisp, standard diction, it quickly attracted the attention of a wave of netizens, who then reposted it en masse because of what he had said.

Ordinary fans went wild praising this young, handsome, outstanding entrepreneur for leading by example, and the fund soon drew close attention from panda blood groups in Jiangcheng and several nearby cities. Topics about caring for panda blood and stories about panda blood communities also quickly spread across the internet.

After the press conference ended, Zhu Shengxi did not leave by car immediately. Instead, he sat in the lounge behind the conference building and drank coffee.

He was waiting for someone.

His assistant was standing guard outside the door, and the corridor was utterly quiet.

Not many minutes later, a middle-aged man came walking down the end of the corridor. He had a greasy look about him in both appearance and dress, a thick air of streetwise underworld swagger, a face full of fleshy cheek, two half-moon bags under his eyes, and the meat on his belly still trembling as he walked.

This man was none other than Jin Zhizhong from the Zijing Palace nightclub.

Behind Jin Zhizhong were two underlings who also carried a fierce, menacing air. The three of them had shown a rather fearless, take-no-prisoners kind of momentum all the way here, but the moment they reached the door and the assistant pushed it open, that momentum vanished in an instant.

After entering, Jin Zhizhong quickly moved up to Zhu Shengxi, not even daring to sit down. He bent at the waist and called out, “Mr. Zhu.”

Zhu Shengxi lifted his eyelids a little. His expression showed no joy or anger, but his gaze was sharp. “Have you sorted out all the accounts under Lian Qiyun’s name?”

Jin Zhizhong hurriedly said, “Sorted out. Guaranteed to be watertight.”

Zhu Shengxi looked at Jin Zhizhong steadily and gave a soft “Mm.” Then he said, “It really has to be watertight. Mr. Gu has already asked twice, and I’ve made my guarantee too. If there are any slips on your side, you should know what the consequences are.”

Jin Zhizhong’s expression tightened, and even the flesh on his face quivered. “Yes, Mr. Zhu. I guarantee it to you!”

Zhu Shengxi lowered his eyelids and did not continue tangling with him over that topic. Then he shifted the conversation. “There’s one more thing. You need to handle it as soon as possible.”

Jin Zhizhong quickly said, “Please give the order, Mr. Zhu.”

Zhu Shengxi crossed one leg over the other and set down the coffee cup in his hand.

“That guy you checked on last time, the one called Xu Luo, find a chance to teach him a lesson.”

Jin Zhizhong froze. “You want to deal with him?”

The corner of Zhu Shengxi’s lips twitched slightly, and he cast a glance that left Jin Zhizhong to understand it himself. “Someone like him doesn’t even deserve the word ‘deal with’. Remember, do this cleanly. Don’t have our own people step in, and don’t let him suspect it was you. As for the degree, judge it yourself. Just don’t end up with a death.”

Jin Zhizhong immediately asked, “Does Mr. Zhu mean you want him to get out of Jiangcheng?”

“With his personality, unless you take his life, he won’t leave.”

Jin Zhizhong was a little confused. “Then… should I just give him a lesson?”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t answer right away. After a few seconds, he said, “That man makes too many little moves. He’s been making me very irritated. I suppose this counts as returning the favor.”

Only then did Jin Zhizhong understand.

So that was it, if you won’t let me have peace, then don’t expect to have peace yourself. Anyway, nobody gets to have peace.

Weird… exactly what had that kid done to offend this old lord so badly?

Just as Zhu Shengxi was preparing to strike back in his ruthless, unforgiving way, Gu Yao had also received the investigation materials on No. 171 Middle School that Xu Luo had sent over, only the materials were incomplete, missing two classes.

Xu Luo said that years ago, the archive room at No. 171 Middle School had been robbed, and the school intranet had also been attacked by hackers. The materials had probably been destroyed at that time.

Gu Yao quickly flipped through them carefully and could not find any materials for Class 1 and Class 2, the classes she and Zhu Shengxi had belonged to. Aside from that, she also could not find anyone named Xiao Ling. That meant Xiao Ling was a student from either Class 1 or Class 2?

But how could that be such a coincidence?

Someone had robbed the archive room and hacked into the intranet, all to destroy their records?

Why? What secret on them was worth destroying?

Or had something major happened at No. 171 Middle School that year?

Gu Yao could not figure it out no matter how she thought about it.

As for the group photo in Feng Zhenghui’s safe, after verification it belonged to the advanced class.

Gu Yao spent a long time checking every single person in the group photo one by one, and then she discovered Feng Zhenghui’s purpose in putting x marks after most of the names.

A crossed-out name meant no suspicion, or rather that there was nothing particularly noteworthy. These students had not stood out at school, they were all stuck in the middle, neither high nor low, and their family backgrounds were nothing special either.

As for the classmates whose names had check marks after them, they were either class cadres or problem students with the worst grades, just the two extremes.

But why would students at these two extremes be uniformly marked with check marks after their names? What was special about them?

Gu Yao picked up the photo of the girl who had taken a picture with Feng Zhenghui and, comparing it with everyone in the group photo, searched back and forth three times, but still could not find her.

How could that be?

By logic, this girl should have been one of that class. Otherwise why would Feng Zhenghui put two completely unrelated photos together in the safe?

Fortunately, the advanced class records had not been destroyed, and the student roster was still there. It could be matched against the names in the group photo, and almost all the students had participated in that group picture, except for one girl.

This girl’s name was Chen Yumin.

While silently repeating “Chen Yumin” in her mind, Gu Yao flipped open the individual photos in the school yearbook and, following the pinyin order of the names, quickly turned to the page beginning with “c”.

Looking more carefully, Chen Yumin was the first one in the third row.

She was a girl with shoulder-length hair, big eyes, and a round face. When she smiled, her eyes narrowed slightly, her smile was pure, and her gaze was clear.

And she was exactly the girl photographed with Feng Zhenghui!

Yes, Feng Zhenghui was looking for Chen Yumin.

Chen Yumin had not been present for this group photo shoot. Maybe she had something going on and couldn’t make it, or maybe she had transferred schools, or perhaps she had already disappeared by then?

Gu Yao then pulled out the written records for this batch of students.

In Chen Yumin’s file, the teacher’s comments were basically things like “studious,” “diligent and hardworking,” “actively participates in school activities,” and so on.

Chen Yumin had once participated in a school sports meet and won third place. She had also taken part in a singing competition, acted as the class conductor, and in her second year of high school, Chen Yumin had even been elected publicity committee member.

In other words, she was a talented and cheerful, optimistic girl.

It was not until she flipped to the materials for the first semester of senior year that four words suddenly appeared before Gu Yao’s eyes, September, transferred schools.

What? Chen Yumin transferred schools, and that was only half a year before the college entrance exam?

Then where did she go after transferring?

If it had only been a transfer, Feng Zhenghui would not have been unable to find her.

Also, what connection was there between the several students whose names were checked off in the group photo and Chen Yumin’s transfer and disappearance?

Clearly, the existing materials were still not enough to piece together a complete picture. She was still missing a hook sturdy enough to connect all the fragments.

Gu Yao propped her head up and thought hard for a moment, but finally gave up.

Rubbing at the center of her brow, she let out a sigh, then picked up her phone and contacted Xu Luo again.

Xu Luo had just taken a shower in the lounge, and his hair was still dripping wet. He had casually towel-dried it a couple of times and had just come out ready to find something to drink when he heard the old phone ring out with a terrible ringtone.

Xu Luo jumped, muttering, “This woman,” while answering the call. “Hello, what now?”

Gu Yao got straight to the point. “Is Xiao Chuan all-powerful? Can he hack into any kind of system?”

“What are you trying to do?”

Xu Luo had already taken out a can of cold beer. Just as he popped the tab open, he instantly went on alert at those words. “Let me make this clear in advance. Illegal stuff can’t be done, and it’s not like he can just break into any network he wants. If you accidentally make a mess, ten Xiao Chuans still wouldn’t be enough to clean it up…”

Gu Yao had no patience at all for Xu Luo’s chatter. Did this man even know what “illegal stuff” meant?

She cut in bluntly, “Fine, I don’t care what system Xiao Chuan hacks into. In short, I want the records of a few people, preferably everything from birth to schooling, employment, and their current situation and medical records. I want all of that.”

“…” Xu Luo said nothing. He just poured the beer into his mouth and gulped down two mouthfuls, while inwardly grumbling, Are you treating me like a servant? Using me pretty smoothly, too…

Then Gu Yao added, “Oh right, and also, there was a very sensational case in Jiangcheng last year. The culprit was named Feng Zhenghui. Do you know him?”

Xu Luo paused. His clever brain instantly caught the key point. “Huh, the person you were doing psychological counseling for today is Feng Zhenghui?”

Gu Yao was silent for two seconds.

This man really was sharp sometimes.

Gu Yao said, “So what if it is?”

“Nothing much, you want to investigate his case?”

Gu Yao almost blurted out, “What business is it of yours?” But just as the words reached her mouth, she remembered she had come asking for a favor, so she had to clear her throat and soften her tone. “Yeah. I’m a little interested in Feng Zhenghui’s case. Knowing more details will also help with my next step of psychological counseling.”

“Then why doesn’t Feng Zhenghui say it himself? Why do you need to investigate it on your own?”

“Well, maybe he’s been in prison too long and bored out of his mind, so he wants to play a guessing game with me. I happened to have nothing better to do, so I went along with it.”

“Oh…” Xu Luo responded, and soon there was no more sound.

Gu Yao waited for a while, but he still did not spit out a single word, and she gradually began to get impatient. “I’m saying, I want to investigate Feng Zhenghui’s case. Do you have a way to get hold of some information?”

Xu Luo’s lazy voice drifted from the other end. “Whatever you want, I have it here. The question is, what good do I get out of it?”

Gu Yao patiently bargained with him. “Didn’t you also want to get an analysis of the diary from me?”

Xu Luo let out a soft laugh. “That? Actually, you could choose not to give it to me. Anyway, if you don’t give it to me, then I won’t give you the later diaries.”

“…” Gu Yao closed her eyes, feeling her patience slowly slipping away. “If you’re interested in this case, I can convince Feng Zhenghui to appeal his verdict and let you be his defense lawyer. How about that?”

That suggestion was, of course, complete nonsense. Feng Zhenghui had no intention of appealing at all.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Xu Luo said, “Tsk, your tricking skills are way too crude. Don’t forget I’m a lawyer. Blowing hot air and talking nonsense is my strong suit.”

Gu Yao had no choice but to ask, “Then what do I have to do before you’ll agree to help me?”

But Xu Luo didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “Huh? You’re angry?”

Gu Yao: “…”

Xu Luo said, “Don’t be angry. It’s no big deal. How about this, you let me investigate with you, and whatever you want, I’ll give you.”

Gu Yao said, “Why? Give me three reasons.”

Xu Luo smiled. “First, I’m interested in him too. Second, you need a bodyguard. Third, Xiao Chuan only listens to me.”

A stretch of silence followed.

Gu Yao said, “Fine, I can let you participate, but you can’t go too far. What I’m investigating is only Feng Zhenghui’s matter. I don’t want to deal with anything else.”

“Okay, no problem. You’re the boss, you call the shots. I’ll give you the materials tomorrow.” Xu Luo agreed with a smile, then suddenly shifted the topic again. “By the way, the fifth diary entry is very exciting. Remember to read it.”

After hanging up, Gu Yao only then remembered to open WeChat. It turned out Xu Luo had sent her the diary an hour ago. She had been so absorbed in those photos of Feng Zhenghui and the matter of No. 171 that she had completely forgotten about the diary.

Just like that, Gu Yao pushed aside the materials in front of her and opened the fifth diary entry instead.

…
…
201x, May, sunny
Ever since I had tutoring from Sister Lingling, my grades have improved by leaps and bounds. This time, my ranking in the midterm exam went up by twenty places, and both my homeroom teacher and classmates were very surprised. The teacher even took me aside to question me and made me solve a few new problems on the spot.

I solved them all.

But the homeroom teacher’s expression was a little awkward, and she then praised me for making progress.

I knew she was actually suspecting me of cheating.

But I don’t mind her thinking that, just like Big Brother said. My grades are my own, and I’ll definitely improve even more in the future, just like Sister Lingling, becoming a top student.

That day, I happily took my report card home to show the old man, hoping to use the chance to ask for a little more pocket money.

Who would have thought that as soon as I entered, I would see the uncle in a suit with a very gentle smile, the one who had come by last time.

The suit uncle was also very happy to see me. When he saw my report card, he even praised me for being as clever as ice and snow. Only after the adults were ready to talk business did the old man tell me to go back to my room and review my lessons.

I went into the room, but I didn’t obediently run to read. Instead, I crouched near the door and pressed my ear against the door panel to listen to what they were saying.

I couldn’t hear very clearly, though. I only vaguely caught something about “panda blood,” something about “seventeen years old,” and one sentence, “Since I promised you, I won’t break my word.”

That suit uncle didn’t stay long. He left in less than ten minutes.

Then the old man called me out and began asking me about my studies.

I took the opportunity to praise Sister Lingling’s unbeatable tutoring abilities to the old man. He was very satisfied after hearing it and even stuffed a thousand yuan into my hands, telling me to treat Sister Lingling to a big meal and keep the rest as my pocket money.

I was secretly delighted and was thinking that I should message Sister Lingling in a moment when the old man suddenly asked me, “If you had the chance to study abroad in the future, where would you want to go?”

I froze and looked at the old man in surprise. “Study abroad?”

The old man rarely smiled at me once. The way he smiled was really ugly to the extreme. The wrinkles on his face crumpled together, and no matter how he smiled, he could not hide the fierceness and viciousness in his eyes.

He said, “Yes. When you graduate from high school, I’ll send you abroad. England, America, France, you can choose any one you like. Any expensive school is fine, but the prerequisite is that you have to get in.”

I couldn’t say anything for a long time. I had never even thought about this before.

The old man didn’t force me either. He only said I should think it over carefully. If I wanted to go out, then from now on I would have to study foreign languages hard.

A few days later, it was again the day Sister Lingling was supposed to tutor me.

I had arranged to meet Sister Lingling at a dessert shop, and I told her this news, wanting to hear her advice.

But Sister Lingling seemed a little distracted, and her mood didn’t seem high either. I asked her twice in a row before she came to her senses and said, “Anywhere is fine, as long as it’s a place you like.”

I said, “I’ve never been to those countries, they feel so unfamiliar. How would I know whether I like them or not?”

Sister Lingling smiled and said to me, “There are some places where, even if you’ve never been there once, your heart will still long for them. There are also some places that, even though they look very unremarkable, can give you freedom and peace. When you have time, go online and look up information about those countries. Maybe you’ll suddenly fall in love with a place at first sight.”

I only half understood what Sister Lingling said, but she didn’t seem to want to say more either. Soon she pulled out her English review materials and started teaching me more advanced grammar.

I was very focused, and time passed unnoticed. By the time she finished teaching grammar, more than an hour had passed.

Sister Lingling glanced at a message on her phone and suddenly changed expression. She said she had to go back early and couldn’t teach me math today.

I asked her what was going on, but she didn’t say. Very quickly, she stuffed her things into her backpack and got up to leave.

After Sister Lingling walked out of the dessert shop, I noticed that a ballpoint pen had fallen to the ground. I immediately picked it up and ran out after her to return it.

I saw Sister Lingling standing by the roadside. A black sedan had stopped in front of her, and the window was lowered. It seemed like a man was sitting inside.

Sister Lingling seemed very unhappy. She ignored the car, turned around, and walked along the roadside. The car then slowly moved forward and followed her along the road.

It wasn’t until Sister Lingling stopped and glared at the person in the sedan with a long face that the car finally stopped too.

The car door opened, and the man leaned half his body out, reaching out as if he wanted Sister Lingling to get in.

Sister Lingling hesitated twice, then got in.

And I stood at the entrance of the dessert shop watching all of this, almost forgetting the ballpoint pen in my hand, because the man who had leaned out of the sedan looked familiar to me, like he was the… suit uncle who had come by a few times before?

But I didn’t dare be certain. The distance was too far, and I had a bit of astigmatism too.

I never told Big Brother about this. I always felt that Sister Lingling and the man in the sedan had an unusual relationship. I was even thinking that when I ran into Sister Lingling again a few days later, I could follow her to the roadside and take another look.

Who would have thought that Sister Lingling would suddenly send me a WeChat message saying that the tutoring session a few days later had to be rescheduled because she had something going on recently and couldn’t get away.

I was very curious and asked a few more questions, but Sister Lingling only replied with a few words, “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

Later on, when Big Brother came to check my grades, I asked him what had happened to Sister Lingling recently, why she wasn’t coming to tutor me, and why she was always ignoring my WeChat messages. Was she in trouble, or did she think I was annoying and not like me anymore?

Big Brother smiled and rubbed my head, saying, “She’s been in a low mood lately. She’ll be fine after a while.”

I pressed on and asked, “Why is she in a low mood? Did something happen?”

Big Brother paused and said, “A girl at school had an accident. That girl was Sister Lingling’s friend.”

So that was it…

I let out an “oh” and said, “I thought girls as cool as Sister Lingling wouldn’t have any friends.”

Big Brother looked at me with some surprise and amusement. “You think she’s cool?”

I said, “Even though she looks cool on the surface, she’s actually really nice, smart, and pretty. I really like her!”

Big Brother didn’t answer. He just smiled.

Looking at Big Brother’s smile, I suddenly asked him, “Big Brother, do you also really like Sister Lingling?”

Big Brother froze for a moment. He didn’t answer, only looked away and said, “Your top priority right now is studying. Think less about other things.”

I didn’t know why Big Brother was avoiding my question, and I didn’t know what kind of accident had happened to Sister Lingling’s friend that Big Brother mentioned.

It wasn’t until several days later that I heard a message at our school saying that a girl with the surname Chen from No. 171 Middle School in the south district had been in an accident. She had originally been on a spring outing with the school group to climb a mountain, but somehow got separated along the way. By evening, she was finally found, and there were also signs that she had been violated by someone.

…
…
By the time she finished reading the diary, Gu Yao still had not come back to her senses for a long while.

She only felt the hairs on her body stand up one by one, and there was only one thing in her mind. The girl who had gotten into trouble during the May spring outing was Chen Yumin, and by September Chen Yumin had transferred schools, and Xiao Ling knew Chen Yumin.

In other words, Xiao Ling was the hook she was looking for!