Chapter 37: Caught in Bed

Chapter 37: Caught in Bed

Ji Shukuan's office overlooked the street, and the occasional honking of car horns outside added to the lively and crowded atmosphere of the already cramped office.

Taking the photo from his elder brother, Ji Shutong examined it carefully and asked, "Are these the three concubines of Brother Zhao Zhiao?"

Standing beside his younger brother, Ji Shukuan nodded, "Yes. These are the photos I recently obtained. This is the Fourth Concubine, whom I’ve met before. I haven’t met the Second Concubine, but Zhao Zhiao has introduced her to others. Only the Third Concubine has never been introduced to others. See if that woman is one of these two."

Ji Shutong took another look and, as if relieved, shook his head, "She’s not in this photo."

Ji Shukuan was slightly disappointed, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Last time, I might have been mistaken, and from such a distance, I thought I saw her." Ji Shutong finally let go of his lingering worry and pulled out a chair, "I haven’t slept well lately. I was terrified that it might involve Brother Zhao Zhiao, turning us into enemies."

Ji Shukuan’s attitude was clearly different from his brother’s. If he could prove Zhao Zhiao’s involvement in their father’s death, he could ask the director to arrange for agents to deal with this traitor.

While avenging his father, he’d also have a chance if Lin Yufan became a widow.

But he couldn’t share this dirty thought with his brother, so he only asked again, "Are you sure you’d recognize her if you saw her again?"

Ji Shutong was certain, "I can’t draw her, but I’d definitely recognize her."

Ji Shukuan sighed helplessly, "Alright, you can head back now. I still have things to handle here."

Ji Shutong got up to grab his briefcase, but at the door, he turned back and reminded, "Brother, burn this photo. Otherwise, if Brother Zhao Zhiao sees it, it could cause unnecessary tension between our families."

"I know, you don't need to remind me."

*

Leaving the stationery store, Lin Yufan was nearly certain Wang Muxun had also been reborn.

This was good; she wouldn’t have to persuade him to take the right path.

After all, Wang Muxun in his past life was incredibly stubborn and hard to convince.

Even without a business together, knowing the world’s future, he’d do fine without her worrying.

Wang Muxun said, "Let me take you home."

Lin Yufan thought for a moment and declined, "No need. I happen to be going to a law firm, and it's very close from here."

Wang Muxun was slightly taken aback and asked with concern, "What are you going to a lawyer for? Did something happen?"

Lin Yufan shook her head with a smile, "Nothing happened. I just bought a house and need to entrust a lawyer to handle some property matters."

Wang Muxun rarely showed a smile, "Did you follow my advice and buy a house yourself? You didn't buy it on Hanlin Street, did you?"

Lin Yufan also smiled, "No, I bought it on Yilan Street."

It was clear that Wang Muxun was genuinely happy for her, "Buying your own house while you have the money will make life easier in the future. You did the right thing."

She took the opportunity to advise him, "You should buy one too when you have the money."

Under the setting sun, Wang Muxun's face was full of sunshine, "I'm saving money. Once I have enough, I'll make some money first, then buy a house later."

It wasn't just Lin Yufan who knew how to make money with what she knew; Wang Muxun wasn't foolish, he should also know how to make money with his own knowledge.

With so many properties already in hand, Lin Yufan's desire to make money wasn't as strong, so she didn't ask him how he planned to make money.

After they parted ways, Lin Yufan went to Guozheng Law Firm. The mortgage loan for her villa would be approved next week.

But there was a hiccup with the property division of Yilan Residence. The results were supposed to be ready this week, but they got delayed for no clear reason. It’s unclear for now when the property deeds will be ready.

Lin Yufan was confused and asked Lawyer Yan, "Didn’t you say everything was done and all the paperwork was taken care of?"

Lawyer Yan explained, "The property deeds need a stamp from the Housing Department’s admin section. It’s hung up on this step. I’ll go and find out what the problem is in the next couple of days. If any bribes are needed, I’ll let you know. Don’t stress too much; we’re almost there, and it’s just a matter of time."

At the time, many government offices in Hong Kong were pretty corrupt, and it was common for officials to ask for bribes.

"Thanks for your help, Lawyer Yan. Please keep me updated on any progress."

After leaving the law firm, Lin Yufan grabbed a cab near the foundation and then drove home.

*

When Zhao Zhiao got home, he headed straight to the third floor to Zhang Aiming’s room.

The room was dark, with a kitten curled up on Zhang Aiming’s lap, and it was completely quiet.

After giving her a quick rundown, Zhao Zhiao said, "There are two paths we can take next. Do you want the easy way or the hard way? If you go the easy route, you can say you’re visiting family back home, and I’ll arrange for someone to take you out of Hong Kong to the liberated areas."

Zhang Aiming gently stroked the kitten’s head, "If I leave now, they’ll just get more suspicious of you."

"It’s fine if they suspect me; they’ve got no proof."

Zhang Aiming shook her head, "The Nationalist spies sometimes act on just a hunch. This isn’t a courtroom; there’s no reasoning here. Plus, my mission isn’t done; I can’t leave."

Zhao Zhiao understood, "Then we can only choose the radical plan."

Even though it’d mess up his plans, this path might be safer in the long run.

Zhang Aiming expressed a slight apology, "Mr. Zhao, we owe you big time for always helping us out."

Zhao Zhiao smiled, "It’s not about owing anyone. I’m not doing this for you or anyone else, but for our country and a better future for the next generation."

Zhang Aiming showed a grateful smile, and the cat jumped down from her lap, lazily stretching its front paws on the floor.

"Still, I have to say thanks. If you ever want to join the party, I can vouch for you."

Zhao Zhiao thought for a moment, "If it were a few years ago, I would have been full of fervor to join the party, but given the current situation, the country will definitely need more non-party members to contribute from the periphery. I can play a bigger role outside the party."

Zhang Aiming also nodded, "You make a good point."

She looked out through the glass window and saw Lin Yufan and Zhao Jingxiu feeding goldfish by the pond downstairs.

Her eyes sparkled a bit more, "You’re lucky to have such a great wife. She must have guessed some things but hasn’t delved into them."

Zhao Zhiao smiled slightly without speaking, thinking to himself, you don’t know how my wife can scratch when she’s upset.

*

The next morning, in the second-floor office of Qunqing Press, Lin Yufan had just sat down when she was called into the director’s office.

In the director’s office, Uncle Qiang stood on one side with a grim face. Seeing Lin Yufan enter, he immediately challenged, "If you were missing documents, why didn’t you come back to get them? Now it’s delayed by a day, and when the editing room upstairs investigates, will you take responsibility?"

Lin Yufan glanced coldly at Uncle Qiang, "There were only ten minutes left before the deadline; coming back to get them was impossible."

Uncle Qiang tried to argue further, "Couldn’t you have called back to inform me of the situation in time, so I could think of a solution?"

"I did call back, but unfortunately, you had already left early. How was I supposed to find a solution with you?" Lin Yufan, usually amiable in the office, now confronted him without hesitation.

Exposed for leaving early, Uncle Qiang hastily defended himself, "I didn’t leave; I went to the restroom. Anyway, this matter was handled by you, and now it’s not completed on time; you must take full responsibility."

Lin Yufan couldn’t help but laugh, "Handling the book number was originally your job. You dumped it on me at the last minute without preparing the necessary documents. If it’s not your responsibility, whose is it?"

Uncle Qiang still insisted, "Whoever handles it takes responsibility."

Lin Yufan replied, "Let me jog your memory. Before I went, I repeatedly confirmed with you that if something went wrong, I wouldn’t be responsible. What did you say? You said if there was a problem, I didn’t need to worry, you’d take the blame. Is this your idea of taking responsibility? Several people in the office heard it."

Uncle Qiang was momentarily speechless, then put his hands on his hips and said, "Oh! So that’s it. So because I said I’d take the blame, you thought you could just mess around, huh? You left early, so why did you wait until the last ten minutes to call? Did you do it on purpose? Were you unhappy because I asked you to help with the ISBN, so you deliberately set me up, is that it?"

Lin Yufan knew Uncle Qiang was no good, but she didn’t expect him to be worse than she imagined.

Compared to Uncle Qiang’s fury, she remained relatively calm. "First of all, I wasn’t unhappy when you asked me to help with the ISBN. If I really didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have helped. But because the time was so tight, I was afraid there might be mistakes, so I repeatedly confirmed with you: who would be responsible if something went wrong? You said you’d take the blame, so I agreed to help you. But who would have thought, Uncle Qiang, your words are meaningless—not only do they mean nothing, but you also try to shift the blame. When a problem arises, your first thought isn’t how to solve it, but how to pin it on the person who helped you. People like you, anyone who helps you is asking for trouble."

Uncle Qiang was left speechless: "..."

With the office door open, others were watching from the doorway.

Sister Hong couldn’t stand it and said, "Uncle Qiang, I heard you say it myself—you’d take the blame if something went wrong. How is it now Yufan’s fault?"

Uncle Qiang said, "If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve gone myself and there wouldn’t have been a problem."

Director Chen frowned and asked, "So why didn’t you go yourself?"

Uncle Qiang coughed and explained, "I was tied up with other things and couldn’t leave. But Lin Yufan deliberately wasted so much time on the way, so the responsibility lies with her."

Wang Muxun had just arrived at the office. He had been listening outside and now squeezed in to support Lin Yufan. "Yesterday afternoon, I went to the printing factory and was on the same route as Yufan. I know the situation. Uncle Qiang, you gave her the materials too late. It’s not like we can just get a taxi right away when we leave here. We wasted six or seven minutes waiting for a taxi, and by the time we got there, there were only ten minutes left before four. I was afraid she wouldn’t find the office, so I personally took her there. We didn’t waste any time. So the key issue is that Uncle Qiang didn’t prepare the materials on time and then suddenly asked Lin Yufan, a newcomer, to handle the ISBN. The time was tight, and if there was traffic, we might not have made it to the General Administration of Publications by four. When we realized we were missing materials, we called back immediately, but the colleague who answered said you had already left just after we did."

Wang Muxun, who usually didn’t talk much, laid out the whole story in one breath. Even the slowest person could figure out what happened.

Uncle Qiang still tried to downplay it, "I didn’t leave; I just went to the restroom."

Sister Dao, standing at the door, said, "Well, I saw you leave for almost an hour. I left work, and you still hadn’t come back. You don’t need an hour in the restroom for constipation, do you?"

Lin Yufan sarcastically added, "Maybe he fainted in the restroom."

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Sister Dao mocked, "He probably had a baby in there."

A few younger colleagues laughed even louder, making Uncle Qiang’s face turn red and then green. He couldn’t speak for a long time.

Director Chen glanced at Uncle Qiang and said, "Uncle Qiang, you don’t need to explain. I was at this window around 3:30 yesterday afternoon and saw you leave."

Uncle Qiang: "..."

Director Chen concluded, "This matter ultimately is your mistake, Uncle Qiang. Since it didn’t cause major consequences, you’ll lose this month’s allowance and bonus. But since you left early without reason, you’ll also lose three days’ wages. Additionally, Lin Yufan, as a new employee, took on a task she wasn’t familiar with without authorization. She’ll get a verbal warning."

Uncle Qiang’s face turned red, "Director, such a small mistake, and you’re punishing me so harshly. That’s not fair."

"If you think it’s unfair, go upstairs and lodge a complaint," Director Chen said, then turned to Lin Yufan. "In the future, don’t take on tasks that aren’t yours. In this world, good intentions don’t always pay off!"

Lin Yufan, of course, knew this. She had only wanted to learn the process of handling ISBNs, not to help Uncle Qiang.

But since she hadn’t suffered any losses, there was no need to argue with Director Chen. She just nodded and said, "Got it."

After leaving the director’s office, Uncle Qiang slammed things on his desk, clearly dissatisfied but powerless.

Others gave Lin Yufan looks, signaling her to ignore him.

At noon, Lin Yufan treated Wang Muxun to a double chicken rice dish. As they were finishing up at the roast meat restaurant, she said, "I’m treating you to this meal not because you guessed correctly yesterday about who I bought the pencils for, but to thank you for speaking up for me this morning."

"Didn’t I guess right? The pencils weren’t for your son?"

Lin Yufan replied, "They were for me. I did want to adopt a son before, but it didn’t work out..."

Wang Muxun was shocked: "You didn't adopt a son?"

Lin Yufan nodded: "Yes. They said my destiny was incompatible with his son's, so it didn't work out."

Wang Muxun's mind raced through several thoughts, feeling something was off, but he couldn't question it. He could only sincerely feel happy for her: "That's great. Now you can start a whole new life."

Lin Yufan smiled: "I'm already living a brand-new life."

"That's true. You've bought a house, which is a new life. Hey, I've been researching horse racing lately. I'm confident I can pick the winner in tomorrow's race. You should go with my picks." Wang Muxun said as he took out a pen from his pocket.

His pen, which he had used for many years, wasn't working well. He shook it a couple of times, but no ink came out.

Lin Yufan asked: "Is it out of ink?"

"I just filled it this morning. It's a little finicky, but it'll work." After a few more shakes, ink finally came out. He wrote down three numbers on a newspaper and handed it to her: "It might not be a big prize, but if you bet on the trifecta, there's a 20x payout. If you bet 100, you could win 2000."

In a past life, Wang Muxun had written a novel about horse racing. He had studied the winning numbers from 1948 and might still remember some impressive ones. So, following his picks should be safe.

Lin Yufan asked him: "How much are you planning to bet?"

Wang Muxun lowered his voice: "All my money."

Lin Yufan: "..."

"But all my money only adds up to about two hundred bucks."

Lin Yufan also lowered her voice: "I have a little more than you. If I win, I'll give you a 200-dollar bonus."

Wang Muxun laughed: "No need, just buy me some roast goose rice."

"I can treat you for a month."

"Deal. No backing out."

Lin Yufan nodded with a smile: "Deal."

After work, when she got home, Qi Yunxin had just given her next month's allowance.

Lin Yufan called Gui Xiang over: "How much rent do you have there?"

Gui Xiang said: "The rent from five apartments adds up to 320 dollars, and the rent from three shops is 900. There's also a deposit of 3600."

Lin Yufan handed the allowance she had just received to Gui Xiang: "Make it 5000 HKD and have Tie Long buy these three sets of horse tickets, betting on the trifecta."

Gui Xiang worried: "Betting that much? Miss, I heard that horse racing bets are hard to win."

"Don't mind others. Is Tie Long back? Have him buy it." Lin Yufan only wished the bank loan had come through, otherwise, she would have bet at least ten grand, aiming for the jackpot of 200,000 dollars.

"Then I'll have Tie Long buy it."

Lin Yufan was still uneasy, "Have Tie Long come to see me. I'm afraid he might buy the wrong ones."

Soon, Tie Long came up.

Lin Yufan explained in detail how to buy them, worried he might make a mistake, she even wrote a note: "Give this to the betting staff. I think they might be closing soon, so take my car to the betting station."

"Driver Deng often bets on horses; he's very knowledgeable. I'll have him come along."

Just as Tie Long left, the phone rang.

Lin Yufan answered the phone, "Hello!"

"Yufan? It’s Ji Shukuan."

Lin Yufan was slightly surprised, "Brother Ji, what’s going on?"

Ji Shukuan chuckled, "I heard your application to split the property rights for that dormitory building wasn’t approved?"

Heard from them? Who told him?

Lin Yufan asked, "How did you know?"

Ji Shukuan: "I was at the Housing Department today on business. The head there is a friend of mine, and he brought it up."

Lin Yufan: "Yeah, Lawyer Yan told me yesterday it’s still pending."

Ji Shukuan: "I asked my friend to fast-track the approval for you. He’ll take care of it for me, so no worries."

Lin Yufan felt like she’d swallowed a fly, suspecting that Ji Shukuan knew the director of the administrative section and that all this was deliberately orchestrated by him.

Forcing her to feel indebted to him.

Lin Yufan refused to accept his so-called favor: "Oh, really... Zhao Zhiao already talked to the Housing Department director, and he said it’s approved, so I’m not worried."

Ji Shukuan’s slightly smug tone immediately cooled down: "Oh, I see. That’s good. With both sides pushing, your application should go through."

Lin Yufan laughed, "I didn’t think such a small thing would trouble you, Brother Ji."

Obviously, Ji Shukuan felt a little put off by her calling it a small matter. He didn’t say much more, only adding, "Let’s get tea together sometime."

"Sure, let’s arrange it then."

She quickly hung up and turned to find Zhao Zhiao at the door.

Lin Yufan was startled, "Why don’t you make noise when you walk?"

"You were so into the call, of course you didn’t hear me," Zhao Zhiao said with a dark expression.

Lin Yufan’s face was even darker than his, "Which eye saw me happy? If you can’t even tell, your eyes are useless—just gouge them out."

His dark expression softened with amusement, "Was it Ji Shukuan’s call?"

Lin Yufan recounted the incident to him, "I think he had his friend stall the approval just to call and act like he’s doing me a favor. People like that are so gross."

Zhao Zhiao slightly raised his eyebrows, "At least you know he’s gross."

What to do next?

Lawyer Yan could’ve handled such a small thing, but Zhao Zhiao still called his friend.

That evening, his friend called back and said it was taken care of.

Lin Yufan was still disgusted, "Can we change the number upstairs? I don’t want to hear from him again."

"No need. He won’t be calling much anymore."

"Why’s that?"

Zhao Zhiao didn’t answer but changed the topic, "You free tomorrow? Let’s go to the circus."

Tomorrow is the horse race, and Lin Yufan originally wanted to go to the racecourse to watch the horses run, to soak up the atmosphere.

But considering she had already stood him up once for the circus, she couldn’t say no again. The circus would be fine; she had never seen one before.

*

When Tielong returned around six, he gave Lin Yufan the horse tickets he’d bought.

Lin Yufan checked them over and found everything in order.

Kang Nian hired a helper for Tielong, and Lin Yufan had met him a few times. She asked, "How is that boy doing?"

"Ah Dong? He's doing well. Hardworking and knows Hong Kong well, but there’s a bit of a language barrier. He struggles with Mandarin, and I often can’t understand him. However, he is very effective in communicating with the construction workers. Yilan Residence should be finished next week."

If they can smoothly obtain the split property deeds, they can sell them for money next month.

Just thinking about it makes her happy.

Lin Yufan remembered that Yilan Residence is located inside the shoe factory gate, which would make it a hassle for residents to get in and out. "Has the shoe factory arranged for a new factory manager?"

Tielong shook his head, "I heard the deal’s still up in the air. The shoe factory still belongs to Boss Xie's family."

Lin Yufan was surprised, "Why hasn’t the deal been finalized?"

"Eldest Master Ji had griped about Boss Xie dragging his feet, then tried to lowball him. Boss Xie probably felt he had already suffered a loss with the previous dormitory building and was determined not to give in this time. They’ve been going back and forth for a while, and it was supposed to be finalized next week. But then some big shot swooped in, interested in the shoe factory and wanting to buy it outright."

Lin Yufan was surprised so much had gone down in less than a month.

"Ji Shukuan bought it with several partners, right? His friends aren’t pushovers; would they agree?"

"Probably not. I heard Eldest Master Ji has called in some help, and now neither side wants to back down. Things could get messy."

Tielong had been swamped since coming to Hong Kong, with no time to rest. Only in the past few days has he finally had some free time.

With some free time, he was itching to see how things played out.

Actually, Lin Yufan hoped the shoe factory would be sold to someone else, since having Ji Shukuan as a neighbor would be a pain.

*

It was the couple’s first outing together since getting married.

As they arrived at the temporarily set-up circus venue, Zhao Zhiao had just gotten out of the car when someone came over to say hello.

It turned out that today was a private event hosted by Sir Luo, and most of Hong Kong’s who’s who were there.

Lin Yufan was wondering if they might run into Ji Shukuan, but Zhao Zhiao said, "Commander Ji is no longer here, and this is Hong Kong, not his turf. Someone like him doesn’t even make the cut here in Hong Kong."

Just as they were speaking, someone greeted, "Zhi Ao! You’re early today."

Across from them was a gentleman in his fifties, elegant and with a slight Jiang-Zhe accent in his Mandarin, obviously not from around here.

"Director Peng! Mrs. Peng! You’re early today too."

"And who is this?" Director Peng looked at Lin Yufan. He had heard that Zhao Zhiao had married in Haicheng, a somewhat attractive widow from the same clan. But the woman before him was far more beautiful and refined than just "somewhat attractive," making him wonder if she was Zhao Zhiao’s new mistress.

Zhao Zhiao quickly introduced with a smile, "This is my wife, Lin Yufan. Yufan, this is Director Peng and Mrs. Peng from the Children’s Charity Welfare Association."

Lin Yufan greeted them with a smile, "Director Peng! Mrs. Peng! How do you do?"

Mrs. Peng, with her plump and kind appearance, smiled warmly and took Lin Yufan’s hand, "Finally meeting you in person, Mrs. Zhao! Mrs. Zhao is absolutely stunning, a real knockout! Zhi Ao, you are so lucky!"

Lin Yufan modestly replied, "Mrs. Peng, you flatter me too much."

"Look at how pale your hands are, like a porcelain vase."

Director Peng pretended not to know and asked with a smile, "Zhi Ao, when did you get married? How come none of us knew?"

Zhao Zhiao exchanged a few words with them, and soon others came over to say hello.

Before long, Lin Yufan found herself surrounded by the society ladies.

They all gathered around, complimenting her cheongsam’s exquisite craftsmanship, her chic hairstyle, and her striking beauty.

Before the show began, Zhao Zhiao finally managed to take Lin Yufan to meet the hosts, Sir Luo and his wife.

Standing next to Sir Luo and his wife was another guest, Director Gao from the National Government Hong Kong Office, Ji Shukuan’s superior.

Director Gao, dressed in a Zhongshan suit and standing ramrod straight, didn’t bring his family. His eagle-like eyes scanned the faces around him, as if trying to read their thoughts.

But when he spoke, his tone was warm and laced with humor. He smiled at Zhao Zhiao and said, "Last time, I was going to have Shukuan invite you for a game of cards, but you were in Guangzhou."

Zhao Zhiao laughed, "Director Gao, just call me anytime you want to play cards. As long as I’m in Hong Kong, I’ll be there."

Director Gao joked, "I’m just worried Mrs. Zhao might give us a hard time."

Zhao Zhiao replied with a hint of pride, "My wife is gentle and virtuous; she never meddles in my outside affairs."

Lin Yufan: "..."

She remembered what he said about her, seemingly obedient and docile, but behind that was all assertiveness.

"Ah, Zhi Ao, you’re the envy of everyone!"

"When will Director Gao bring your wife here?"

"She doesn’t want to come. But with how quickly things are changing, who knows." After all, in public, as a government official, Director Gao couldn’t comment much on the current situation.

As they chatted, they began making their way into the venue.

As the circus performance was about to begin, Zhao Zhiao took Lin Yufan’s hand, and they found their seats in the audience.

He slightly turned his head and said to her, "I see you’re handling these people with ease."

Lin Yufan had a clear understanding, "These people are also showing you respect."

"My reputation alone isn’t enough." As they spoke, someone else came to greet them, and Zhao Zhiao and Lin Yufan stood up to chat.

The performance officially started, and they sat down again.

The Royal Circus primarily featured animal acts and acrobatics. Lin Yufan, who had been eager for the horse racing and betting, was soon captivated by the live performance, watching intently and applauding along with the crowd.

The performance lasted 45 minutes, and afterward, there was, of course, a luncheon.

After the luncheon, Zhao Zhiao still had social obligations, and Lin Yufan, not wanting to exhaust herself, decided to head home first.

Today, Gui Xiang stayed home to listen to the horse racing broadcast. After stepping out of the car, Lin Yufan was about to head straight to her room to ask Gui Xiang about the horse racing results when she was stopped by the commotion of crying and shouting from the small villa behind.

"What’s happening?" Lin Yufan asked the maid who had opened the car door for her.

The maid lowered her head and stammered, clearly too afraid to speak out of line.

Hearing the car, Gui Xiang had already come out to greet her and whispered in her ear, "Second Master and the young mistress were caught red-handed by the first and second mistresses..."

Today, the senior and junior wives went out to pray at the temple and eat vegetarian, saying they would return in the afternoon. Why are they back so early?

Did they come back early just in time to catch the adulterous couple in bed?

This is going to be juicy!

"Is Kang Nian at home?"

"He just came back."

No sooner had Gui Xiang spoken than screams erupted from inside, and someone shouted, "Help me!!"