"Second Brother, why did you suddenly—oh, is it because of the shadow?" Zhou Jinglan finally realized.

Qiao Gaoyang and Leng Yingying are dating, so the reason Qiao Gaoyang is asking around is probably related to Leng Yingying, not really because of Leng Yinghong.

Only then was Zhou Jinglan completely relieved.

"Yes, Second Brother went out with Shadow and ran into the Leng family." Qiao Xinruo sneered, disdainfully saying, "This family is quite something. They probably found out about Second Brother's relationship with Shadow, and they immediately asked Second Brother to pay Leng Yaozu's betrothal gifts, 1,500 yuan, and even wanted to take the car. They're shameless..."

Zhou Jinglan gave the same cold laugh.

It's not surprising at all that the Leng family would do such a thing and say such a thing.

“It’s just traditional style,” Zhou Jinglan said.

When Zhou Jinglan was dating Leng Yinghong, he had personally experienced the shamelessness of this family; it was something that not just anyone could do.

Even so, he was so immersed in the joy of finding the Little Goddess that he didn't realize anything was wrong. He even willingly became a blood bank, spending a lot of money and energy for the Leng family, which he did with great pleasure. It wasn't until he was seriously injured during the mission and discovered that he had been deceived that he finally realized how despicable this family was.

"It's not surprising. The Leng family's most prized possession is Leng Yaozu. Whether it's his shadow or the former Leng Yinghong, they're nothing more than tools for the Leng family parents to make money. It would be strange if they didn't want to squeeze money out of the second brother after they discovered him," Zhou Jinglan commented. You could tell from his tone how much he disliked this family.

"So, in order to help Shadow resolve his worries, Second Brother plans to have Shadow sever ties with them, but this requires finding something to hold against the Leng family. Do you understand what I mean?" Qiao Xinruo explained.

Zhou Jinglan understood instantly; he completely comprehended it.

"The Leng family... well, they're insatiable. I remember after I mistakenly took Leng Yinghong for someone else, we spent less than half a month together before they started asking me for money. At first, they said their family was struggling financially and they wanted to improve their lives. Later, they said this person was sick or that person was injured. Anyway, they had a lot of excuses."

Looking back now, Zhou Jinglan also feels that he was terribly stupid back then.

How come he didn't notice it at all back then?

"If we're talking about leverage, the fact that the Leng family deceived me back then could be considered leverage, but the key point is that they shifted all the blame onto Leng Yinghong and even paid the fine, so now I'm afraid we can't use that as a reason to send their whole family to jail..."

Zhou Jinglan was extremely regretful. If he had sent his whole family in back then, there wouldn't be any hidden dangers left for Leng Yingying now.

“This matter is probably not going to work out. What about Shadow’s father and her stepmother? What are their characteristics?” Qiao Xinruo asked again.

Zhou Jinglan thought about it seriously for a while. He had little contact with Leng Yinghong's parents. To be precise, he and Leng Yinghong had mostly corresponded through letters. As for how well he knew her, it was all based on letters rather than real interactions.

However, in retrospect, the image portrayed in the letters may not be true.

"I can't speak for other things, but it's certain that their family is greedy. Moreover, Leng's father is an idle man who can't earn money to support his family. He also likes to drink a little and gamble a bit..."

Upon hearing about drinking and playing cards, Qiao Xinruo silently made a note of it, thinking that it might come in handy later.

The two talked about this topic for a long time.

Zhou Jinglan dug out the memories he had long wanted to forget, picked out the potentially useful information from them, and relayed it to Qiao Xinruo in as much detail as possible.

"In short, we should be able to dig up a lot of information from Leng's father. I think he must have done a lot of bad things," Zhou Jinglan concluded.

"Okay, I understand. I've noted down the key points. I'll tell my second brother when I get back," Qiao Xinruo said, very satisfied with Zhou Jinglan's performance today.

Whether or not he could help, Zhou Jinglan had at least tried his best.

The family worked together to solve the problem, asking questions and waiting for news. In just two days, Qiao Gaoyang had gathered a lot of information about the Leng family.

I won't go into the basic family situation; with Zhou Jinglan around, he knows everything he needs to know.

Most importantly, Qiao Gaoyang actually found the "handle" he wanted to use to negotiate with the Leng family.

"Great! I was wondering why they asked for 1,500 yuan as a bride price back then. It turns out it wasn't that simple," Qiao Gaoyang said excitedly.

He already had a rough idea in mind, and he roughly knew what to do next, each step. He just needed to refine it a little more.

As long as you follow the steps, you won't have to worry about not getting the letter of severance.

"The Bai family actually only asked for a dowry of one thousand yuan. The reason the Leng family asked for five hundred more is because they borrowed two hundred yuan at high interest rates," Lu Zhengjun explained to the others. This was all the latest information from Jiang Chenglin.

It has to be said that Jiang Chenglin, who runs a business in the suburbs, is faster at investigating than anyone else.

“Loan sharks? The Leng family has gone mad!” Su Yueya said. She hadn’t expected this family to be so outrageous as to dare to even touch loan sharks.

“Borrow two hundred, and you have to pay back two hundred and fifty a month later. There are about ten days left until the loan sharks repay the money. The Leng family absolutely cannot come up with two hundred and fifty, so this has become my bargaining chip in negotiating with them,” Qiao Gaoyang said confidently.

If he could spend 250 or 300 yuan to settle things with the Leng family and get the letter of severance, he would feel that the money was well spent.

"But why would the Leng family borrow money from loan sharks? It's strange. They almost couldn't pay back the fines they were sued for, but they didn't borrow money from loan sharks then. So why did they borrow two hundred?" Qiao Xinruo asked curiously.

“This is still inextricably linked to Leng Yaozu’s fiancée,” Lu Zhengjun said.

The incident where Leng Yaozu and Bai Shuyao went out to play, bumped into Zhang Fuqiang, and were extorted by Zhang Fuqiang was also thoroughly investigated.

The cause and effect of the matter, every step, is very clear.

Qiao Gaoyang tapped his fingers on the table, his mind racing as he plotted how to lure the enemy into a trap step by step.

"Second Brother, you're planning to use high-interest loans as leverage to get Leng Qisheng to sign the severance agreement, right? But have you thought about how to do it?" Su Yueya asked.

“I’ve thought it through. This makes things simpler, but I can’t go directly to the Leng family to negotiate now. I have to wait, wait for the most suitable opportunity.” Qiao Gaoyang had a determined look on his face.

When is the most appropriate time?

"The day before the loan shark's loan was due, it was like a sword hanging over someone's neck, about to fall."