Chapter 36: Jinjiang's exclusive post "Chenchen, don't forget...

It was the weekend after returning from a business trip, and Lu Chiyuan asked the driver to take Jiang Chen home directly and told him to have a good rest.

Jiang Chen didn't sleep well, so he didn't bother to flirt with Lu Chiyuan. He got off the car as soon as he got to the destination. He went upstairs with his luggage, and when he opened the door to change his shoes, he subconsciously looked at the photos on the wall.

The photo wall he noticed on the first day he entered the house, he was the only one in the photo, and the occasional passerby was blurred by the camera.

He was surprised at the love and care of Jiang's parents, and felt envious but also a little lonely.

Looking at these photos again now, Jiang Chen found something strange. The backgrounds of the photos were very diverse, including schools, villas, amusement parks, and scenic spots...

In one shot, Jiang Chen saw a field of ivy, lush and green like a huge piece of green cloth, and in front of the ivy was a peach tree that had not yet grown up.

Jiang Chen was slightly shocked.

"Qiuqiu, is the background of this photo the Lu family's old house?"

Snowball landed on Jiang Chen's shoulder. Looking at the photo that Jiang Chen was pointing at, the person in the photo was very small, and the peach tree was not big either, but now the peach tree has grown up.

[Yes, but the two sides have business dealings, so it’s not surprising that there are photos. ]

Jiang Chen was not convinced by its words. He stared at the photos, and the more he looked, the weirder he felt.

He is also someone who has taken photos and has some understanding of composition. Many of these photos are two-person compositions, but there is only one person in the picture, which makes the other side of the photo appear very empty.

Shouldn't there be someone in that extra space?

Jiang Chen was shocked by his own thoughts and felt horrified.

He rubbed his arms, a chill ran down his spine, and then all his thoughts disappeared. He turned his eyes away from the photo and wheeled his suitcase into the bedroom.

Qiuqiu followed behind him like a domestic pet. As soon as he entered the door, he went onto the bed and squatted on the bed to lick his paws.

While Jiang Chen was packing his luggage, he looked up at it and said, "Qiuqiu, tell me honestly, is there something wrong with this world?"

Snowball froze while licking his paw, and his cat eyes turned around, saying, "Chenchen, if there were no problems in this world, we wouldn't temporarily recruit time travelers to rewrite the plot."

What a nonsense question and answer.

Jiang Chen was speechless. He tried to sort out his logic, but found that what Xueqiu said was correct.

He is required to complete tasks only because there are problems. The weirdness and unreasonableness he encounters are also included in the world's problems.

"So what is the bug in this world?" Jiang Chen asked sincerely.

Snowball lowered his head in silence, wanting to bury himself in the quilt.

Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't know how many times you have avoided my question. Can't you tell me?"

Snowball the cat poked his head out, lowered his ears in confusion, and looked at Jiang Chen pitifully: [So Chenchen will forgive the little cat, right? ]

Jiang Chen didn't comment and just looked at it quietly.

Snowball pretended to whimper twice, but couldn't stand Jiang Chen's gaze, so he lowered his head and said: [The last time you met Mother Lu, I realized that the world map was not fully displayed to me. I contacted the main system, and its reply was that it was missing a key item. ]

The appearance of Li Siya complicates simple interpersonal relationships. Although Snowball is a melon-eating system, it still receives relevant training. It realized that there was a problem at the time, but it was not sure whether the instability of the world was caused by the main system going haywire, or other factors.

It contacted the main system and only received a response recently.

It takes over the job of the strategy mission, which means it needs to expand the map as the mission progresses.

In order to help Jiang Chen understand the situation, Xueqiu continued to explain: [Key props often play a role in promoting the plot. Chenchen can try to send something to Lu Chiyuan.]

Jiang Chen was silent. Why did this sound like a trap? Especially since Xueqiu had led him astray before and asked him to give her the ring.

Xueqiu looked at him sincerely: [It can be the brooch you bought, or a bouquet of flowers, but I think a ring is better.]

Sure enough, Jiang Chen looked like he had expected this and was not at all surprised that Snowball would say that.

It is true that the world has problems, but this key prop is up for debate.

Jiang Chen put the empty suitcase next to the closet, glanced at Snowball, ignored its big watery eyes, and said coldly: "I'm sleepy, go to sleep."

Jiang Chen still had an uneasy sleep. He was in a dream, but this time the scene was not in an orphanage, but in a hospital.

There were many people around him whose faces could not be seen clearly, there was a lot of noise, his hand was held by someone, and someone was crying quietly.

"He has brain damage caused by prolonged suffocation, which has caused problems with his memory, so he doesn't remember you for the time being."

"You can let him get used to the familiar environment and don't be too pessimistic."

"He is in good physical condition, which is good news."

The doctor's voice was very far away, and Jiang Chen had to try very hard to hear it clearly.

The person holding his hand seemed unable to accept such an outcome and couldn't help but squeeze his hand tightly. He frowned in his dream and cried out in pain.

Through a layer of unclear fog, the man's voice was cold, overbearing and unreasonable.

"Chenchen, don't forget me!"

Jiang Chen woke up from his dream, it was already dusk outside. He felt dizzy and sore all over, as if he had had a fight with someone in his sleep.

Jiang Chen turned over in pain. The scenes in his dream faded away. He only remembered a few fragments. There was a little kid who kept pulling him and seemed to say something to him.

But he couldn't remember.

Snowball was silent, and the only sound in the room was Jiang Chen's breathing. He turned over and buried himself in the quilt, and the clothes he was wrapped in revealed a slender waist.

Jiang Chen didn't sleep well, so after sleeping for a while, he got up from the bed reluctantly. He went to the bathroom to wash up, and looked at himself in the mirror with slightly longer hair. He raised his hand and touched it, as if it was time to cut his hair.

Jiang Chen was still used to his short hair. He looked out the window. Fiery clouds filled the sky. The light and shadows projected on the glass, reflecting gorgeous colors.

Just like that, a new day approaches dusk, coming and going in a hurry.

Jiang Chen had a terrible weekend due to poor sleep quality, which resulted in him almost not getting up on Monday morning. He arrived at the company to punch in on time, and collapsed directly into the chair as soon as he entered the office.

Xu Chen passed by his office door and saw that he was listless, so he went to the tea room and brought him a cup of coffee.

Looking at the coffee in front of him, Jiang Chen raised his head and met Xu Chen's scrutiny.

"Why do you look like someone has drained all your energy after you came back from a business trip?" Xu Chen said with a smile.

Jiang Chen sat up, picked up the coffee and took a sip. The bitter taste spread in his mouth, which stimulated his sluggish spirit very well.

"It has nothing to do with the business trip. I didn't sleep well."

Jiang Chen rubbed his temples. He had frequent dreams. In his dreams, there was always a little kid by his side, following him closely, whether they were playing, traveling, or sleeping.

He was like a shadow, and would talk to Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen thought what he said was very important in his dream, but he would forget it as soon as he woke up.

Not only could he not remember anything, he also became very sleepy.

Xu Chen thought it was some gossip, but it turned out to be just a simple insomnia problem. He curled the corners of his mouth in disappointment.

"I made a rough plan for what you told me before you left. Lu Chiyuan said you wrote a plan and you can send it to me to take a look."

Xu Chen thought of Lu Chiyuan who never forgot to remind him of his work even when he arrived at the company. He smiled on the surface but was not happy in his heart. He came to work here just to be lazy, so why was he making trouble for him?

But he was still happy to help Jiang Chen. After all, in his opinion, he was just bringing Jiang Chen along, and the rest could be pushed back to Lu Chiyuan.

Jiang Chen's plan was on his computer. Lu Chiyuan had checked it for him before and found no major problems. He transferred it to his mobile phone and could send it to Xu Chen now.

Seeing the message "successfully sent" on his phone, Jiang Chen looked up at Xu Chen, pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I have a question. Are our positions not suitable for this project?"

Lu Chiyuan agreed so readily that Jiang Chen overlooked some problems. Now that the arrow was on the string, he became hesitant.

Xu Chen looked through the message and said without even looking up: "What are our positions? Aren't we mascots?"

Lu Chiyuan only needs Lu Mingxuan as his special assistant. If Lu Mingxuan is too busy, he has his own assistant to share the work.

Xu Chen has a clear position for himself. As long as Lu Mingxuan and Lu Chiyuan are in the company, he will do whatever he wants. Unless they are not there, no one can expect him to work hard.

As for Jiang Chen, Xu Chen looked up at him. His job was to be responsible for Lu Chiyuan's daily schedule, but he was too ambitious. Lu Mingxuan adhered to the principle of making good use of people who could be used, and arranged a lot of things for him.

Jiang Chen always completed his work very well, so things would naturally come to him.

Jiang Chen probably didn't expect that he would have such a position, and for a moment he was unable to refute Xu Chen.

Xu Chen slid through the document he was given. The more he looked at it, the more surprised he became. His originally careless expression became serious.

Jiang Chen does have an idea, no wonder Lu Chiyuan supports him to do it.

Xu Chen originally thought that Lu Chiyuan was just trying to cheer him up and let him have some fun, but judging from the plan, it didn't seem like a joke.

Xu Chen became serious and said, "I'll go back to the office and discuss it with you after I'm done."

Jiang Chen waved at him, Xu Chen's eyes fell on Jiang Chen's head, and chuckled: "The new hairstyle suits you very well."

Jiang Chen raised his hand and scratched the short hair on his forehead. He really cut his hair when he said he wanted to, without hesitation for a second: "Thank you, I think it's suitable too."

After seeing Xu Chen off, Jiang Chen finished the rest of his coffee and started planning his work for the day.

But before he could do anything for a while, Lu Mingxuan came and knocked on his door.

"Jiang Chen, go to Brother Lu's office. He wants to see you." Lu Mingxuan paused and said, "He became very serious after receiving a phone call. He might not be in a good mood."

Lu Mingxuan didn't say what it was about, so Jiang Chen went upstairs with doubts.

The door of Lu Chiyuan's office was open. He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window was a bustling world with tall buildings springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Lu Chiyuan put one hand in his pocket, holding his cell phone, wondering what he was thinking about.

Jiang Chen knocked on the door but he didn't turn around, just said "come in".

Jiang Chen walked towards him and stopped one meter behind him: "Brother Lu, are you looking for me?"

Lu Chiyuan turned around and saw Jiang Chen was slightly stunned, his serious expression was covered by surprise.

The short and shabby hair really suits Jiang Chen, because it is short enough that no trace of curl can be seen. The ears are exposed on both sides, and the facial features are completely exposed. The brows are straight and the eyes are bright and energetic. The facial lines that were too soft modified by the shaved hair become tough, and there is a bit of unruliness in the refreshing look.

Compared with his previous gentleness, he is now vigorous and full of vitality, like a pine or cypress growing wildly, forming a forest of its own, unrestrained.

Lu Chiyuan curled his fingers slightly, his heart trembled, and his Adam's apple moved unconsciously.

His eyes met with Jiang Chen's. Seeing Jiang Chen's slightly confused expression, he realized that he was distracted and his palpitations became more obvious. He subconsciously avoided Jiang Chen's gaze and swiped his phone.

Jiang Chen with short hair was like a scorching flame, and just one glance at him made him feel like he was going to be burned to ashes.

"Brother Lu?" Jiang Chen tilted his head, somewhat puzzled.

Lu Chiyuan looked at the call record, adjusted his mood, and said: "I just received a call from Uncle Lin. Huang is dead. The driver who reported the case said that he hit the car himself. It was too dark at night and he couldn't see clearly."

Jiang Chen was shocked and asked subconsciously: "What about Shen Zhiyi?"

"Chen Zhiyi wasn't with him." Lu Chiyuan's face darkened. "He died in City A the night before we returned."

That was the day after they met him.

Before this, Shen Zhiyi was still with him.

His death was too sudden. Jiang Chen thought of Gu Tingsen who appeared in City A and suddenly realized the problem. The role of the little yellow-haired girl has always been to promote the encounter between the male and female protagonists. After Shen Zhiyi left the Shen family and the university, she faced the dilemma of being sent abroad.

Once she was sent away, there would be no possibility for her and Gu Tingsen to meet again.

So the world consciousness found the little yellow-haired girl and took her to City A. Lu Chiyuan did not chase after her as arranged in the novel, but chose to call the police.

Although he eventually went to City A for other reasons, it had nothing to do with Shen Zhiyi. Jiang Chen also deliberately concealed the existence of the little yellow-haired boy, so he skipped the part of the plot related to Shen Zhiyi.

The yellow-haired man who promoted the plot died, and Lu Chiyuan who should have been affected was not affected. The only ones left were the bootlicker Xiao Yin and the protagonist Gu Tingsen.

Jiang Chen felt annoyed. He should have been more cautious when he met Xiao Yin.

"What did the police say?" Jiang Chen communicated with Lu Chiyuan, and did not forget to ask Snowball in his heart.

[Qiuqiu, how is Shen Zhiyi doing now? ]

[She was bought by Gu Tingsen.] Xueqiu flipped through the story lines, and the story lines of the male and female protagonists have been refreshed.

Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows: [Buy? ]

That's a living person, not an object.

"The police have found out that he and Lan Luo did have illegal transactions and will investigate his death."

Huang Mao was involved in human trafficking, fraud, and gambling, and the police would not hastily close the case. While Lu Chiyuan was answering Jiang Chen, he was also listening to Jiang Chen and Xueqiu talking.

Jiang Chen nodded, and Snowball collected the information and said: [This yellow-haired man loses nine times out of ten in gambling, and he never changes his bad habits. After selling all of Shen Zhiyi's belongings, he still owes a lot of debts. In order to pay off the debts, he sold Shen Zhiyi as well. ]

[Uh...] Snowball paused, and couldn't help but raise his voice, [Chenchen, that casino belongs to Cui Ji, and he was the one who took Shen Zhiyi away.]

[What a smiling Buddha with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He uses the charity gala to gain fame, attracting those celebrities who want to be famous, and young people who want to find partners, and draws portraits for them. After the charity gala, he holds another auction and sells them to the sponsors.]

[Shen Zhiyi was in that building at the time, and Gu Tingsen recognized her portrait and bought her. ]

Snowball was indignant. He didn't expect that the charity gala under the banner of women and children had another layer of dirty deals.

It looked through Cui Ji's history of making a fortune. On the surface, he was a caring entrepreneur and philanthropist, but secretly he ran a casino, lent money at high interest rates, pimped, and forced others into prostitution.

There are many people like Shen Zhiyi who have been dragged into this situation because of gambling debts and loan sharking.

Jiang Chen felt a chill down his spine as anger built up in his heart. These crimes could not be summarized in a few words from a novel world, but were a bloody reality.

Since Gu Tingsen was able to enter the second-floor auction hall, he must have known about it, but he remained indifferent and still became a beneficiary.

Jiang Chen suppressed his anger and said: [Did he hire someone to kill Huang Mao? ]

[No, he wanted to tear the yellow hair apart and sell it for money, but the yellow hair escaped, and he ran onto the road in a panic, which is why he was hit.]

Snowball explained, but the ending doesn't matter, it's the same.

Jiang Chen tightened his fingers, lowered his eyes to hide the emotions in his eyes, controlled his expression, looked up at Lu Chiyuan, and wondered how to guide the police to follow this line of investigation.

The auction was not a love affair between Shen Zhiyi and Gu Tingsen, but a real crime.

“Brother Lu, are you going to City A now? After all, Huang Mao is in trouble, and Shen Zhiyi is still missing.”

Jiang Chen thought of Lu Chiyuan's serious expression before he came in, and knew that he was worried about Shen Zhiyi.

After all, he is still my brother. It doesn't mean I will just hand him over to the police.

Lu Chiyuan did have this plan, but Jiang Chen's inner voice told him the whereabouts of Shen Zhiyi, and he felt that his worry just now was unnecessary.

He laughed at himself, put away his useless worries, and said, "The police station here will send someone over. If there is a need, they will notify us."

Seeing him so rational, Jiang Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head and thought about it, remembering that Huang Mao had sold Shen Zhiyi's jewelry before. He was ready to use this clue to guide the police to Cui Ji.

[Qiuqiu, can you call the police? Tell them the whereabouts of Shen Zhiyi's jewelry. ]

Xueqiu opened his homepage: [Chenchen, I'm afraid not. Shen Zhiyi is on the news, um... you are on it too. ]

As soon as Xueqiu finished speaking, Lu Mingxuan appeared at the office door.

He looked at the two people in the room and knocked politely before entering.

Lu Chiyuan and Jiang Chen looked up, and Lu Mingxuan said, "An unexpected situation occurred. Shen Zhiyi and Gu Tingsen were photographed in the hotel, and then the news targeted you two."