Chapter 54 Did Something That Felt Good

Chapter 54 Did Something That Felt Good

In December, Hong Kong was so warm you didn’t even need a coat.

This was something Wang Junyao had really come to like in the half year she had been in Hong Kong.

"The winter here is really warm and comfortable," she said.

She had gone to a few pingtan shows with Mrs. Peng, who was eager to set Zhao Lixiang up with a few girls. Unfortunately, before Zhao Lixiang could even meet them, Wang Junyao had politely turned them down.

It’s only because Mrs. Peng is so easygoing; anyone else would have stopped talking to her.

That morning, Wang Junyao slipped into a simple cheongsam and stood in front of the mirror trying on a coat. She was getting ready to visit Ji Shuping.

"The ones Mrs. Peng introduced are either like us, from noble families but now just poor in name, or the illegitimate daughters of rich locals. None of them hold a candle to Ji Shuping," she commented.

Hui Lan didn’t quite understand, "What’s so bad about being an illegitimate daughter?"

Wang Junyao had her own standards, "It’s a huge difference. Not only is the dowry less, but half-brothers won’t be much help later on."

Hui Lan helped Wang Junyao into a light green knit jacket, "But Miss Ji... didn’t you say the Ji family’s ancestral grave is cursed?"

Wang Junyao replied, "There’s a limit to everything. After three deaths in a row, things should start looking up."

Moreover, the key point is that with the men in the Ji family gone, Ji Shuping is set to inherit a fortune.

Previously, it was heard that Ji Shukuan had dropped hundreds of thousands on a building deal, so he must’ve been loaded. And Commander Ji didn’t seem like an honest official, so the inheritance he left must be worth a fortune.

With her brothers gone, everything would now belong to Ji Shuping.

Besides, Ji Shuping was good-looking and had a pleasant personality, which Wang Junyao had always liked. They were both from Haicheng and knew each other well. Better to have our Li Xiang step in than let others swoop in.

Hui Lan quietly reminded her, "But the Eldest Master previously didn't allow the Second Master to associate much with Ji Shutong..."

Wang Junyao pondered slightly, "The Eldest Master is more calculating than I am. Now that the situation has changed, he should also change his mind."

She looked at herself in the mirror, "This one will do."

As the mistress and servant came out of the room, they happened to meet Zhao Lixiang in the corridor.

"Let's go, along with your sister-in-law, the three of us will visit Miss Ji. She hasn't been to work these two days after her brother's funeral, right?"

Zhao Lixiang replied, "She's on leave until next week."

Wang Junyao tugged at her son's arm and whispered, "You're her colleague and friend, so show more concern for her in daily life."

Zhao Lixiang glanced at his mother, "Mom, you're so fickle. Not long ago, you told me not to associate with her too much, and now you're telling me to show more concern. Even a chameleon doesn't change as fast as you."

Wang Junyao said, "How can it be the same now? Shu Ping is all alone now, without any relatives. It's so pitiful."

Zhao Lixiang shook his head, truly unable to understand his mother's thoughts.

They went downstairs and drove with Lin Yufan to the Ji family's apartment in the city to visit Ji Shuping.

Ji Shuping had lost weight, the recent events had hit her hard, and she looked utterly dejected.

After some words of comfort, Wang Junyao asked her, "Where's your sister-in-law? Isn't she at home?"

Ji Shuping shook her head without speaking.

Wang Junyao and Lin Yufan exchanged glances, guessing that the sisters-in-law must have had a conflict.

Previously, Ji Shutong's wife had flown to Hong Kong to handle his funeral, and there had been arguments with Ji Shuping during the ceremony.

Lin Yufan didn't want to get involved in other people's affairs, but Wang Junyao couldn't help it. She had to ask, "Does your sister-in-law have any ideas?"

Ji Shuping: "She wants to split the family assets with me."

Splitting the family assets is a polite way of saying it; the less polite version is dividing the property.

Wang Junyao held Ji Shuping's hand, "She has no children, what claim does she have against you? Yufan, don't you have a familiar lawyer? Recommend a top-notch lawyer to Shuping. If it comes to it, we'll take it to court."

Lin Yufan was speechless. She had to remind her, "Mom, as Shutong's widow, she has the right to inherit his estate."

Ji Shuping also felt embarrassed to trouble others, "I have a lawyer here to help handle the inheritance. I intended to separate the estates of my father, eldest brother, and second brother. But my sister-in-law wants to divide all the property equally with me. She's eager to split the assets and return to Haicheng."

Wang Junyao was furious: "Did her family come to assist her? Can she remain loyal to your brother? If not, how can she have the audacity to claim a share of your Ji family's property? I see your sister-in-law is usually quiet and doesn't like to socialize, but it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for."

As a widow herself, Lin Yufan found these comments unbearable. In her view, everyone has the right to fight for their own interests.

As an outsider, it's best not to interfere in family matters.

But it was clear that Wang Junyao's attitude had changed, and Lin Yufan could see it.

Lin Yufan found an excuse and left first.

Wang Junyao could sense Lin Yufan's attitude. She realized she had been overly involved, so she didn't say much more. Instead, she let Zhao Lixiang stay at the Ji family's place. In case Ji Shuping needed assistance, he could be there to help.

*

In Director Gao's office, Captain Zhuang sat across from him. Their stance on the series of incidents in the Ji family was consistent: they didn't want to get involved.

With the current chaos, everyone is overwhelmed. Who has time to deal with these minor issues?

This matter belongs to the police. If they completely ignore it, they fear demoralizing the other staff in the office, so they still have to assign someone to be responsible for this matter.

As they were speaking, Deng Kuan entered.

This time, Deng Kuan was responsible for following up on Ji Shutong's case.

Director Gao asked, "Any updates in the last couple of days?"

Deng Kuan stood aside and reported, "No progress. The police looked into those who arrived in Hong Kong by ship with Ji Shutong that day. Someone witnessed Ji Shutong being picked up by a man. The police also had an artist create a sketch based on the witness's description."

Captain Zhuang asked, "Did you take a photo of that sketch?"

Deng Kuan: "Just developed a few; here, take a look."

He handed a photo each to Director Gao and Captain Zhuang.

The sketch wasn't a frontal view but a profile. The most noticeable feature was the man's slightly receding chin.

After a closer look, Director Gao frowned slightly and quickly glanced at Captain Zhuang.

Captain Zhuang looked serious. He stared at the photo and asked, "Don't you think it looks familiar?"

It looks a bit like Cui Yuan.

But Director Gao habitually shook his head in denial, "Quite an ordinary appearance."

Captain Zhuang pointed at the chin, "Cui Yuan's chin is like that too."

Director Gao: "A lot of people with bad teeth have chins shaped like this. I can't see it, Deng Kuan, can you?"

Deng Kuan hesitated to voice his opinion and smiled, "We just passed the photo around the office, and no one thought it resembled Captain Cui."

Captain Zhuang asked, "Was Cui Yuan in the office then?"

Maybe because Cui Yuan was there, people didn't speak up?

Deng Kuan shook his head, "Captain Cui hadn't shown up yet."

As they were speaking, Cui Yuan entered.

He overheard the conversation at the door, "You guys talking about me?"

The three shared an awkward look, and Deng Kuan quickly greeted, "Captain Cui."

Cui Yuan snatched another photo from Deng Kuan, looked at it, and hissed, touching his chin, "Damn, it kinda looks like me."

The office went quiet again.

After a while, Director Gao asked him, "Where were you at about 8 a.m. that day?"

Cui Yuan thought seriously, "That was days ago, how should I remember? If I wasn't on duty, I was probably asleep. If I was on duty, I was probably grabbing breakfast."

Deng Kuan, handling the case, knew the timeline best, "That day, Captain Cui, you and Wang Liu had off."

"The day Wang Liu and I had off?" Cui Yuan remembered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "That day, Wang Liu and I went..."

Director Gao raised his voice, "Where to?"

Cui Yuan: "Where else? To pick up women. We've been strapped for cash lately, so Wang Liu and I found one together... We didn't wake up until noon the next day."

Director Gao: "..."

Captain Zhuang: "..."

Deng Kuan held back his laughter and didn't speak.

Cui Yuan added, "Wang Liu and that woman can vouch for us."

Captain Zhuang didn't say anything more at the moment. After he and Deng Kuan left, Cui Yuan reported his current work to Director Gao.

Director Gao glanced at Cui Yuan and asked, "Any recent activity at Zhen'an Apartments?"

Cui Yuan shook his head, "We're swamped, no time to watch them."

Director Gao said skeptically, "Move fast. If someone catches on, they'll get suspicious."

"We're moving."

*

Captain Zhuang left the Hong Kong office and drove directly to the surveillance point near Hongxing Paper Factory.

During this period, their surveillance points had changed locations three times in the surrounding area, with the responsible police working in shifts day and night to monitor the factory's activities.

Sergeant Li happened to be there as well. Seeing Captain Zhuang enter, he quickly said, "We made a new discovery last night."

"What new discovery?"

"Their construction progress is very fast. The newly built warehouse was completed the day before yesterday, cleaned up yesterday, and last night, they brought in more than a dozen trucks of pulp."

Captain Zhuang asked, "A dozen trucks full of pulp?"

Sergeant Li replied, "It looks like pulp on the outside, but who knows what’s inside? They unloaded everything in the yard."

Captain Zhuang inquired, "Did the trucks take anything out?"

Sergeant Li answered, "No, they used flatbed trucks. They left empty after unloading. Should we go in and search?"

Captain Zhuang hesitated slightly, "Let me mull it over."

He was mainly concerned that it might actually be pulp.

If they tipped them off, their half-month of surveillance would be wasted.

As they were talking, two plainclothes officers coming to take over entered from outside.

One of the officers said to Sergeant Li, "Boss, we’ve got something new."

"What is it?"

"We were grabbing food at a street stall outside and ran into the on-duty guys from Gangxing Paper Mill. There was a fat guy limping, and from their chat, he was griping about how heavy the boxes were last night, and moving them injured his foot, almost smashing his toes."

Sergeant Li asked, "Weren’t they moving pulp?"

"How heavy is pulp, really? Injuring toes would probably just cause slight redness, not crush them."

The plainclothes officer said, "That’s what made me suspicious."

Captain Zhuang asked, "Are they regular workers from Gangxing Paper Mill?"

The plainclothes officer shook his head, "No, they’re workers recently moved over from Zhao Zhiao’s company. But it seems they didn’t know what they were moving, that’s why they were so upset."

Hearing this, Sergeant Li and Captain Zhuang exchanged glances. So last night’s shipment was definitely fishy.

This time, without Captain Zhuang saying anything, Sergeant Li had already taken action. "I’ll call for backup. Everyone, get ready to move."

Two hours later, the police closed in on Gangxing again.

After the workers from Gangxing opened the door, they wouldn’t let us search. Tie Long led the team guarding the front. "No one’s searching until our boss gets here."

Sergeant Li took out his baton. "We’re the police, and we’re here to do our job. Who’s in charge here? Open the warehouse door right now. Otherwise, we’ll break it down. Let’s work together—it’ll be easier for everyone."

"Which warehouse?"

Sergeant Li pointed to the back. "Start with the new warehouse."

Afraid that the newly made door would be damaged, and remembering Lin Yufan’s instructions to not confront the police if they came, Tie Long opened the new warehouse door.

Sergeant Li and Captain Zhuang stood at the entrance of the new warehouse looking in. The brand-new warehouse was already packed with pulp—something wasn’t right.

Unlike last time, this time the police were confident and ready to move and check everything.

Sergeant Li loudly reminded, "We’ll know if there’s something inside just by checking the weight."

Other things are easy to hide, but such a large quantity of gold is not.

Over thirty cops, raring to go, began to move and check all the pulp bit by bit.

Worried that there might be a secret room underground, they checked every nook and cranny, even the floor gaps.

Unfortunately, after nearly two hours of searching high and low, inside and out, there was no sign of gold.

As it was getting dark, Lin Yufan finally arrived, accompanied by Zhao Zhiao and Superintendent Charlie.

Sergeant Li quickly stepped forward to greet them, saluting first: "Sir!"

Then he greeted Mr. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao: "Mr. Zhao, Mrs. Zhao."

Captain Zhuang also followed, standing to the side and nodding slightly in greeting.

Charlie asked, "Sergeant Li, with such a big operation this time, any new leads?"

Sergeant Li looked troubled: "Nothing yet."

Zhao Zhiao's eyes darted between Sergeant Li and Captain Zhuang: "I’m curious, you’ve been watching me every day, and now you’re targeting my wife. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Sergeant Li coughed awkwardly: "We’re just following protocol, not intentionally making things difficult for Mr. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao."

Zhao Zhiao: "Since you say you’re following the rules, does that mean we’re under suspicion? Where’s the evidence?"

Sergeant Li could only deflect: "The evidence is all with the National Government Hong Kong Office."

Captain Zhuang didn’t expect Sergeant Li to pass the buck so smoothly, but since he was the only one from the Hong Kong Office here today, he couldn’t shift the blame further. He smiled and explained: "On my way here, I overheard your workers saying that one of them almost crushed his foot moving pulp last night. Everyone knows pulp is just wood fiber—how could it crush a foot? That’s why we decided to come and check. We’re not intentionally making things difficult for Mr. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao; we hope you’ll understand."

Lin Yufan asked Tie Long: "Did a worker injure his foot last night?"

Tie Long replied: "One of our workers was struck by a large scale weight while unloading the truck."

Lin Yufan looked at Captain Zhuang: "Captain Zhuang, right? Our worker was struck by a scale weight—does that make him a suspect?"

Captain Zhuang didn’t buy the story about the scale weight. If they had nothing to hide, they’d let them search.

But Zhao Zhiao, a busy man, specifically brought the Superintendent here—wasn’t it to stop them from continuing the search?

Captain Zhuang pointed to the right: "Let us search the other two warehouses, and then we’ll be satisfied."

Lin Yufan: "Didn’t you already search the other two warehouses?"

Captain Zhuang smiled slightly: "That was two weeks ago. We now suspect the dozen or so trucks that delivered goods to your yard last night were involved."

Zhao Zhiao stared at Captain Zhuang: "Opening the doors to those two warehouses is no problem, but if you don’t find what you’re looking for, how do you plan to explain it to us?"

Captain Zhuang had never considered having to explain himself if they didn’t find anything.

Seeing the seemingly polite captain of the secret service department hesitate, Zhao Zhiao pulled out a gun: "If you find the stolen goods in our warehouse, I, Zhao Zhiao, will take a bullet from you. Otherwise, you’ll take one from me."

Captain Zhuang’s face immediately paled.

Zhao Zhiao was indeed a tough man; saying this in front of Superintendent Charlie was meant to force him to back down.

"Do you dare?" Zhao Zhiao loaded a bullet into the chamber.

Superintendent Charlie and Sergeant Li both realized that their repeated searches had truly angered Zhao Zhiao; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so furious.

Zhao Zhiao pressed the gun to Captain Zhuang’s chest: "Do you dare?"

Captain Zhuang, caught between a rock and a hard place, knew that backing down now would be the best move—saving face with Charlie and Boss Zhao while keeping himself out of danger.

But he couldn’t back down; obviously, Zhao Zhiao was guilty—that’s why he was putting himself in such a desperate position!

If he backed down now, he'd be walking right into their trap.

Captain Zhuang gritted his teeth: "Alright. If I don't find any stolen goods in your paper mill, you can take a shot at me."

Zhao Zhiao withdrew his gun and slightly raised his chin: "Be my guest. Search away."

Lin Yufan shot Tie Long a glance, and Tie Long hurried to unlock the other two warehouse doors.

Captain Zhuang and Sergeant Li each took charge of fifteen men, combing through both warehouses at the same time.

With the experience from the previous search, this time they worked faster. After scouring every last corner, they came up empty-handed.

This can't be right!

Captain Zhuang wasn't satisfied. He ordered the officers to turn the place inside out once more.

The result was still—nothing.

Had he been chasing shadows this whole time?

No way! That's just not possible.

Unless Mrs. Zhao had set him up from the get-go, biding her time to humiliate him and the Military Statistics Bureau that had been on their case.

Sergeant Li had long been fed up with Captain Zhuang, but now, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.

"Look, Captain Zhuang, just swallow your pride and beg for mercy. I'll put in a good word with the superintendent. Don't be stubborn. Your life's on the line here."

Right now, pride's the last thing you need.

Captain Zhuang's face turned grim. He was the face of the Military Statistics Bureau. Kneeling to some businessman, especially with the Brits watching? No way.

The harsh courtyard lights cast his pale face in stark relief. Teeth clenched, chin lifted in defiance, Captain Zhuang spat out, "Go ahead, shoot!"

Zhao Zhiao grabbed the gun. Offing Captain Zhuang in front of all these cops wasn't exactly practical.

A busted leg would teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget.

And if he was going to shoot, it had to be the right leg—no question.

Zhao Zhiao flicked off the safety and zeroed in on Captain Zhuang's right foot.

Sergeant Li looked away. A shattered leg would leave Captain Zhuang's foot good for nothing.

But with Captain Zhuang refusing to beg, Sergeant Li couldn't step in. He was forced to stand by, powerless...

The other officers, though, were practically giddy. They'd all had it up to here with Captain Zhuang.

You play with fire, you're gonna get burned. Captain Zhuang had always picked on easy targets, but now he'd bitten off more than he could chew.

Zhao Zhiao squeezed the trigger—BANG!

"AAAHHH!!!" A blood-curdling scream ripped through the night.

Lin Yufan recoiled in shock, stumbling back half a step.

When she dared to look, Captain Zhuang was doubled over, clutching his left hand in agony.

The courtyard fell silent, the only sound Captain Zhuang's ragged breathing. Every eye was fixed on Zhao Zhiao, waiting to see what he'd do next.

It was then that everyone realized that Zhao Zhiao hadn’t broken Captain Zhuang’s right leg but had shot his left hand, and it was clear his hand wasn’t permanently damaged.

Superintendent Charlie reminded Captain Zhuang, "Don’t you think you should thank Boss Zhao?"

Sergeant Li rushed over to steady him, "Quick, thank Boss Zhao."

Captain Zhuang was sweating profusely. He hadn’t expected Zhao Zhiao to go easy on him. To his surprise, he felt no hatred, only gratitude. He nodded, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Thank you!"

Zhao Zhiao scoffed and handed the gun to Shen Te behind him, "Zhuang, you should thank my wife. I didn’t want to mess up her new paper factory, that’s why I showed mercy."

Captain Zhuang glanced at Lin Yufan. Though he suspected Lin Yufan had set him up from the beginning, he couldn’t say much in front of everyone. He’d lost fair and square.

"Thank you, Mrs. Zhao."

Lin Yufan barely blinked, as if to say, ‘Noted.’

Superintendent Charlie apologized profusely to Zhao Zhiao and his wife, worried the incident might reach the higher-ups and jeopardize everyone’s promotions.

*

On the way home, Lin Yufan was in high spirits.

After all, it was her plan, and Zhao Zhiao was just the final piece of her scheme.

She was the mastermind.

She murmured, "I thought you were really going to break his leg."

Zhao Zhiao laughed, "To control someone, you first have to push them to their limit, and at their most desperate moment, hold back and give them a better outcome than they expected. Even if they still harbor some hostility towards you, this hostility will weaken by three parts while increasing respect by several parts."

That’s exactly what he wanted.

Clearly, Boss Zhao was a master manipulator. Lin Yufan nodded slightly, "You had him terrified for a moment, but when he found out he was shot in the hand and not the leg, a flicker of hope crossed his eyes."

Zhao Zhiao said, "He’ll likely tread carefully from now on and won’t come after us anytime soon."

As they chatted along the way, Zhao Zhiao asked about the situation at the publishing house.

He stroked the back of her hand and asked, "Is Zhao Lixiang still publishing Ji Shutong’s books as usual?"

Lin Yufan replied, "Yes, as usual. Should we stop?"

Zhao Zhiao shook his head, "We can’t stop now, just continue publishing his books as per the normal process."

Stopping abruptly would only arouse suspicion.

"It’s about to be published, and we might need to contact the Ji family then."

"We should not interfere with the lawsuit between the sisters-in-law of the Ji family, and you tell mother not to meddle either."

Lin Yufan said, "You should tell mother yourself, it’s not appropriate for me to say."

Zhao Zhiao nodded slightly, indicating he would communicate himself.

Talking about the name of their publishing house, Zhao Zhiao asked if they were still going to change it.

Lin Yufan explained in detail, "Keep the original Qunqing Press, which will specialize in urban novels, and then open a new publishing house to publish magazines and culturally profound readings."

Zhao Zhiao was curious, "You want to publish a magazine?"

"Yes. The name has been decided, the magazine will be called ‘Panorama,’ meaning all-encompassing. Our new publishing house will be called Seeking Light Press."

Zhao Zhiao frowned, "What's the name of the publishing house?"

"Seeking Light," Lin Yufan wrote the name on his palm, "Do you like it?"

He looked even more displeased. He withdrew his hand and muttered, "It's pretty basic."

Lin Yufan looked down at him, a bit confused. Why did he suddenly get so upset?

She asked, puzzled, "Don’t you like it?"

Instead of answering directly, he asked, "Who came up with the name?"

"I did. I'm the boss," she replied.

He became even more displeased, "It’s tacky."

Just as Zhao Zhiao finished his critique, Lin Yufan’s face also darkened, feeling unfairly criticized.

"Then you pick one, let’s see how much better it is."

He shot back, "Backlight, Shaoguang, Starlight... Aren’t these better than 'Seeking Light'?"

Lin Yufan snapped, "I don’t think any of these are better than 'Seeking Light.'"

She turned away, ignoring him.

After just finishing something they were both happy about, the two who had gotten into the car happily got out without saying a word to each other.

They had planned to have dinner together, but they ate alone at home.

Lin Yufan lay in the bathtub, soaking and thinking about their earlier argument, feeling like something wasn’t right.

As she thought about it, she suddenly realized that all the names Zhao Zhiao had proposed contained the word "light," but he’d left out the word "seek" on purpose.

Seek?

Was he jealous of Wang Muxun?

Did he think she named the publishing house "Seeking Light" because of Wang Muxun?

What a jerk!

She cursed.

After venting, she felt better.

After finishing her bath and applying lotion, she noticed Zhao Zhiao hadn’t come over. If she didn’t go talk to him, he’d probably sleep alone tonight.

After much deliberation, Lin Yufan decided to go to him to clarify things, lest he couldn’t sleep at night.