Chapter 114: Second Watch

Chapter 114: Second Watch

When He Jueyun returned home, Qiong Cang was rummaging through her small room.

After moving in, Qiong Cang had gradually brought over many books from her original home. Seeing that she was running out of space, He Jueyun had specially allocated a study room for her to store them. Now, she had turned the once orderly study into a complete mess.

Qiong Cang's method of searching for things was completely different from how she usually did things—completely haphazard. She would just spread things out, toss them around, and even justified it by saying, "I remember where everything is."

...Even if you really do remember, shouldn't you at least consider the aesthetic aspect?

He Jueyun couldn't find a suitable spot to stand in her personal study, so he stopped at the doorway and complained, "What are you doing? Tearing the house apart?"

Qiong Cang turned around with something in her hand and said, "You're back?"

He Jueyun felt a mix of emotions upon hearing this, but considering that she had come home on time was already a good thing, so he responded with a light "Hmm."

He crouched down, holding up his pants, and picked up two books to flip through, asking, "What are you looking for?"

Qiong Cang knelt on the floor, thumbing through the pages quickly, and said, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Qiong Cang took a breath and said, "Looking for a feeling."

He Jueyun didn't know how to respond to that and chuckled awkwardly, "That's pretty out there, you geniuses."

Qiong Cang shook her head, put down what she was holding, carefully walked out of the room, and with a smile on her face, called out, "Brother He."

He Jueyun shivered.

She's calling me "Brother He" now? This is a big deal.

He asked warily, "What is it?"

Qiong Cang pulled him up and pushed him toward the study, speaking gently and respectfully, "Use your Sanyao access to help me look someone up."

He Jueyun suddenly understood and then felt a pang of disappointment. He put on a stern face and lectured, "So being nice means you want something, huh? Comrade Qiong Cang, do you think this is right?"

Qiong Cang thought to herself that Brother He's understanding was shallow. When she wasn't nice, things only got worse.

She pushed him into the seat and casually booted up the computer for him.

He Jueyun didn't refuse, but he couldn't pass up the chance to act smug. He coughed lightly and patted his shoulder. Qiong Cang obediently gave him a couple of rubs.

Feeling smug, He Jueyun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Haven't eaten? Is this light scratching supposed to count as a massage?"

Qiong Cang nodded, "I haven't."

He Jueyun was instantly speechless.

Qiong Cang even pulled up the webpage for him and asked him to enter his admin account.

He Jueyun skillfully typed on the keyboard and entered the backend to prepare for a database search. Only then did he ask, "Who do you want to look up?"

"Li ZhanYuan," Qiong Cang said, her eyes fixed on the screen as she wrote the characters in the air with her hand. "Li Lingsong's son."

"We might not find much information," He Jueyun said as he pressed the enter key.

Sanyao's database was vast, but that was only based on users who were willing to use the Sanyao software and authorize access. If the person in question was very cautious about their online privacy, they wouldn't be able to find much key information. They would still need to rely on law enforcement agencies to pull records or conduct field investigations.

He Jueyun set up the filtering conditions, and soon a system-organized information table popped up on the interface.

"XX Technology Co., Ltd., young and accomplished..." He Jueyun read out the information and paused, emphasizing, "Of course, not as rich as me."

Qiong Cang gave him a puzzled look.

What does your wealth have to do with me? Must you always show off?

He Jueyun continued scrolling down.

"Not married?"

Surprised, He Jueyun double-checked the personal information.

"Li ZhanYuan is over fifty years old, not divorced, but never married."

Qiong Cang said, "Maybe he's someone who avoids marriage. He might just prefer dating without the commitment."

He Jueyun became nervous and said to her earnestly, "Qiong Cang, let me tell you, if the other party doesn't agree, this is irresponsible and being reckless!"

Qiong Cang: "..." Are you lecturing me now?

Qiong Cang gestured with her finger, signaling him to scroll down.

Below were various interview articles related to Li ZhanYuan. He Jueyun flipped through them and clicked on an article from a well-known media outlet.

This interview recorded Li ZhanYuan's memories of his student days and the hardships of his entrepreneurship. It was an interview he gave as an outstanding alumnus when he was young, invited by his alma mater.

...In reality, it wasn't too difficult; Li ZhanYuan was smart, well-connected, and financially secure. During college, he gathered a group of classmates and directly started a company, then embarked on the path to wealth.

There was nothing noteworthy in the entire interview, mostly filled with platitudes.

—The person he is most grateful to is his mother.

—The person he admires most is his father.

—The most memorable were his humble college days.

Just as He Jueyun was about to close it, Qiong Cang pressed his hand. Qiong Cang took over the mouse, scrolled the page up, and selected a seemingly ordinary paragraph.

"...When the reporter asked him if life had always been so smooth and without rivals, Li ZhanYuan paused, showed a helpless smile, and said, 'No, actually I have a distant cousin who did better than me in academics and sports. Because our elders were close, we always attended the same school. At first, he was two years younger and two grades below me. Later, because he was too smart, he skipped grades and became my classmate. In college, we finally separated.'

"The reporter was surprised, 'Really? But I saw your resume, you won first prize in the national competition in high school.'

"Li ZhanYuan spread his hands, 'So did he.'

"The reporter laughed, 'He must not have been as popular with the opposite sex as you, right?'

"Li ZhanYuan also laughed, 'Although he was younger, he was the high school heartthrob.'"

The reporter probably had a bad premonition and didn't ask further, quickly changing the topic.

He Jueyun read it twice and asked, "What's the matter?"

Qiong Cang shook her head, "Nothing."

"Li ZhanYuan's distant cousin?" He Jueyun muttered, "Then this person is also your relative, right?"

Qiong Cang said coolly, "Probably."

He Jueyun turned his head and asked, "Do you know him?"

Qiong Cang pouted, "Not really. I hadn't met him before he was gone."

He Jueyun scrolled to the end of the article, where the editor had specifically included a photo.

The screen showed a group photo of award winners back at their school. The young man standing in the center had a clean and handsome appearance. Although his facial features and structure were not as defined as they would be in adulthood, they were already taking shape. Standing among other unkempt high school students, he really stood out.

He Jueyun suddenly turned his head and looked at Qiong Cang again.

Qiong Cang nodded encouragingly at him and said, "My dad."

He Jueyun was momentarily speechless, stammering, "Li ZhanYuan was your dad's classmate?"

"Probably, I don't know," Qiong Cang said. "I never looked into their past before."

He Jueyun closed the interview and searched for other clues.

Unfortunately, Li Lingsong was the type of person He Jueyun had mentioned, someone who valued online privacy.

He didn't like using Sanyao's third-party trading platforms, didn't manage personal social media accounts, and had no interest in games or forums.

On the public internet, He Jueyun couldn't find any significant information about him, such as illnesses or assets. Sanyao, of course, had no authority to investigate such matters.

Qiong Cang pondered for a moment, then nudged him with her elbow and said, "Look up Qi Kexu."

He Jueyun hesitated, "Are you sure?"

Qiong Cang nodded.

He Jueyun entered the search criteria related to Qi Kexu again.

Qi Kexu's situation was different; her life history was almost entirely laid out in the backend. This was mainly because the police had given Sanyao a lot of archival materials to create replica models, and Qi Kexu herself liked using Sanyao's software, leaving behind many traces.

This was also the first time Qiong Cang was learning about her mother's life when she was young. Previously, she had only heard snippets from others. She was glued to the screen, carefully reading the info.

He Jueyun pulled out a chair, making room for her to see more clearly.

Qiong Cang leaned forward, her right hand gripping the armrest of He Jueyun's chair, her fingertips unconsciously tightening.

She remembered that in the first scenario, Qi Kexu had excellent grades and should have had no problem getting into a top-tier university. Perhaps influenced by the incident back then, she failed her college entrance exam and ended up attending a second-tier university.

Her grades weren't good enough to get her a scholarship, and the tuition at the second-tier university wasn't cheap. Her family wouldn't cover it, so during her university years, she had to work part-time to earn her tuition.

Qi Kexu chose to work as a hospital caregiver. Although the job was exhausting, the pay was decent. However, the hospital was a rough place, and Qi Kexu, being strikingly beautiful and without any background, didn't have the protections of a regular employee, so she probably wasn't very happy.

Qiong Cang was halfway through reading when He Jueyun's phone, placed beside the keyboard, vibrated. Both, deep in their reading, were startled by the noise.

Seeing that it was He Chuanzhou calling, He Jueyun picked up the call, feeling guilty.

"Hello?" He Chuanzhou's calm voice echoed in the room. "Are you at the company or at home?"

He Jueyun adjusted his tone and replied as usual, "At home."

He Chuanzhou said, "Are you free? Can you look up some info on Li ZhanYuan for me?"

Qiong Cang: "..."

He Jueyun glanced at Qiong Cang and said awkwardly, "...Can't you look it up on your end?"

He Chuanzhou: "We've checked, it's very clean."

He Jueyun said slowly: "It's very clean on our side too."

He Chuanzhou understood: "Oh..."

Awkward.

The atmosphere fell eerily quiet for a moment, then He Chuanzhou asked again: "Is Qiong Cang with you?"

"Yes."

Seeing there were no outsiders, He Chuanzhou just went ahead and said it.

"Qiong Cang, I've asked Director Li. He said that your mother worked as a caregiver at D University’s affiliated hospital back then, and it was Li ZhanYuan who introduced her there."

Qiong Cang became serious and took He Jueyun's phone.

"What?"

"Yes. Li ZhanYuan's company has a charity project that sponsors students in need, and your mother was one of their beneficiaries. Because she was financially tight, Li ZhanYuan proactively introduced her to this job. He even specifically asked the hospital staff to assign Qi Kexu to care for female patients who were more cooperative. Li Lingsong was quite reputable at D University’s affiliated hospital, and despite Qi Kexu's unstable working hours, she still received many assignments. Later, when your father injured his eye, he was also sent to D University for treatment." He Chuanzhou went on, took a breath, and continued, "Your father had just been injured at that time and was very stubborn, insisting on not having a caregiver. Later, Li ZhanYuan had Qi Kexu try, and she went. Coincidentally, they unexpectedly got along well and ended up together."

"Ah..." Qiong Cang murmured, "So that's how it was..."

As if she had witnessed the entire story of her own origin.

He Chuanzhou added: "That's it. Not long after your father was discharged, he was ready to propose. Honestly, I didn't expect your dad, even with his eyesight failing, to have such sharp taste, finding such a beautiful wife. Isn't that just inviting envy?"

Qiong Cang thought to herself, she was quite envious too.

He Chuanzhou paused, then said: "Li ZhanYuan and your father had a pretty good relationship. Although they weren't closely related by blood, because they lived in the same school district, they communicated quite frequently. Later, when your dad became a policeman and Li ZhanYuan went into business, their relationship gradually faded. Other than that, there's nothing special."

Qiong Cang hummed in acknowledgment, and He Chuanzhou also fell silent.

He Jueyun was leisurely leaning back in his chair, patiently listening to Qiong Cang's origin story, when suddenly there was silence, and a pair of burning eyes were staring straight at him.

He Jueyun felt a chill down his spine, straightened his posture, and asked warily: "Why are you looking at me?"

Qiong Cang encouraged: "Relationship expert."

He Jueyun said sarcastically: "Aren't you the social ethics expert?"

Qiong Cang sighed: "This skill isn't effective on oneself, and I want to hear a normal person's thoughts."

"No, what do you want me to analyze? What do you mean by a normal person's thoughts?" He Jueyun held his breath, feeling that the two of them were particularly outrageous, and spread his hands: "I don't know much about this either!"

He Chuanzhou coaxed: "Just based on what you know, give it a try."

"What can I try?" He Jueyun was at a loss and started rambling, "Could it be that Li ZhanYuan was infatuated with your mother, took great care of her, but before he could confess, Ms. Qi fell in love with your father because of his introduction. Li ZhanYuan, who had always been overshadowed by your father since childhood, finally had an emotional outburst after losing his beloved, his psyche began to twist, and he gradually went down the path of perversion. He used the various information Li Lingsong had to plan, taking pleasure in ruining others' lives. Do you think that's credible?"

"The logic is quite forced." Qiong Cang said disappointedly, "It seems Brother Q's imagination isn't rich enough."

He Chuanzhou said: "Should I let Xiao Xie try?"

Qiong Cang refused: "Xiao Xie is too fanciful, better to be cautious."

He Jueyun saw that they were really getting into it, and said with a mix of amusement and exasperation: "Are you guys having a storytelling session? This is too casual!"

He Chuanzhou suppressed a laugh and said: "Alright, alright, I won't joke with you, let's talk about something serious. Qiong Cang, tomorrow we're going to interrogate Zhu Yanhe, if you're interested, come over."

He Jueyun was slow to react: "Who's Zhu Yanhe?"

"That addict from last time, the one who almost strangled Qiong Cang." He Chuanzhou's tone became stern, "This guy has been feigning madness and stupidity, refusing to say anything, and neither of our teams could get anything out of him. I suggested bringing you over to try. Just act as the victim, go negotiate, and come in with us."

As soon as she mentioned it, He Jueyun remembered and cursed under his breath.

Qiong Cang quickly responded: "Okay."