Chapter 63

Picking up Edward at the airport close to midnight, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was surprised when Edward put his arm around his shoulder like a brother. Despite the long flight, Edward was still full of energy, asking him a few questions before inquiring about Iris. Jennie actually told him about their daughter every day, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan, being her husband, always seemed to know a little more than his mother-in-law.

Sure enough, when Edward heard that Iris was currently anxious about her changing waistline, he laughed out loud: "That's so Iris, you should praise her more."

This view coincided with that of his father-in-law; Zhuang Zhuoyuan always felt that his wife was the most beautiful woman in the world.

When the topic of his new house came up again, the group took a quick look around. Construction had started around the same time as his mother's house, and the basic renovations were now complete. The floors, walls, and ceilings had all been redone; they just planned to air it out for a while before buying furniture and moving in. Edward strongly supported this decision, including the new furniture, believing that this process needed to be repeated.

After walking through each room and returning to the living room, Edward didn't hold back his praise: "You've done a great job. If I were to compare it to when I married Jennie, I was about the same as you are now."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew, of course, that this was his father-in-law's encouragement. He had seen their old photos; the two elders had married very early, and the wedding room Edward prepared for Jennie back then was much bigger than this one.

Edward patted him on the shoulder with a smile, not minding at all: "We weren't in Hong Kong back then, and I suddenly had two kids to raise. Just keep working hard, Yuan, Daddy believes in you."

What the couple hoped for most was that Zhuang Zhuoyuan could bring Iris happiness. With her parents' companionship coming to an end, Iris needed someone else to love her for a long time.

Naturally, the topic of that incident came up again. Edward was eager to hear how Zhuang Zhuoyuan would handle the other two key figures. Zhuang Zhuoyuan truthfully replied, "As for Ding Huihui, I asked Iris, and she said it was because Huihui hadn't cashed her mother's check that she wanted to see how Huihui was doing. Iris is hesitant about whether to send an invitation to Huihui."

“Hmm,” Edward wasn’t too surprised by the reason, “So what do you mean? This is your wedding too, and I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan shook his head: "I used to consider Huihui a friend, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, Iris was hurt several times because of her, so I still think it's safer not to send invitations."

"If you want to remain friends, there's no rush. Perhaps you can wait until she's a bit more mature before you two start hanging out together again. Let's do as you say for now."

Edward's commanding presence and powerful aura reassured Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who felt more confident after receiving his support. However, he couldn't help but wonder if his in-laws would agree with Iris's opinion.

Edward seemed to see through his thoughts and then said, "However, if you want to appear generous, it's fine to send her an invitation. After all, we invited so many people, it wouldn't be good to leave her out. In fact, one more person won't make a difference, as long as you remember to protect your wife and children. Zhuoyuan, Daddy only has one thing to tell you: no matter what, family is the most important thing."

As for Ding Youtian, Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't even need to find anyone to collect evidence against him; the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) was already investigating him. He and his gang of thugs were involved in various crimes, including extortionate land sales, illegal gambling operations, and loan sharking. If convicted, they would face at least three to seven years in prison.

Edward smiled with satisfaction: "Thank you for your hard work, Zhuo Hua."

Even with her daddy in Hong Kong, Iris didn't want to go out. Chatting with her parents at home was enough to make her happy. However, she still often pushed her husband out for some fresh air, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan always spent happy hour with his SDU friends, and they always went to PC Bar.

Because of the embarrassing incident last time, poor Derek was severely punished by AK again. Iris felt very sorry and, taking advantage of this lull, urged him to relax with Zhuang Zhuoyuan so they wouldn't be so tense every day.

As fate would have it, Derek, who had finally left home after being bothered by Iris for three days, ran into that jerk Ding Youtian the moment he stepped into PC Bar. He was already looking for a place to vent his anger, and was planning to find an excuse to go out for a stroll after that good-for-nothing left, loosen up his muscles, and then come back—that way, he could at least give AK a proper explanation.

However, he had barely met the bartender, Uncle Cheng, and hadn't even finished his drink when another acquaintance walked in through the door. Derek almost spat out the drink he had just taken a sip, turning his back and hoping the other person wouldn't notice him.

"What, an enemy?" Uncle Cheng noticed his evasiveness and jokingly framed the romantic entanglement as a feud. Derek frowned, his head throbbing at the woman's talk of fate and love. He pointed to his head at Uncle Cheng and said, "That guy, there's something wrong here."

Perhaps because of his casual attire, Ding Huihui didn't recognize him. She looked around and spotted Zhuang Zhuoyuan throwing darts, then immediately walked towards him: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan!"

Derek's ears perked up, and he instantly felt a jolt.

Meanwhile, Ding Youtian, who had been lurking around waiting to "hunt" the beautiful women, headed straight for Ding Huihui.

With the situation in a triangle, Derek had no choice but to head towards the center and take on Ding Huihui, this tough nut to crack. Seriously though, if Zhuang Zhuoyuan were to play the hero and cause Ding Huihui to develop feelings for him again, AK might very well skin him alive as the top bodyguard and chop him into mincemeat to feed the dogs.

Everything seemed to replay itself yesterday. Ding Youtian and his gang looked menacing, and Ding Huihui hid behind him, trembling with fear. Only those burning gazes grew longer and longer with each glance. Derek felt like he was being pricked by thorns.

Ding Youtian also felt uneasy. Subconsciously, he looked around to see if the woman from that night's bar entrance was there. His dislocated wrist had only just healed, and the other wounds on his body were still throbbing. Having escaped death, he absolutely did not want to experience the threat of death again.

He was still unaware of Derek's relationship with Iris, let alone that Zhuang Zhuoyuan was about to become Iris's legal husband. The only thing Ding Youtian knew was that the latter was a police officer. Because of this, he was fearless. If the person in front of him dared to hit him, he could call the police on the spot and shout, "Sir, you're hitting someone!" If the police officer next to him did it, that would be even better, and he could shout "Sir, you're hitting someone!" even more.

His smug look infuriated Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Old grudges and new hatreds flared within him. The thought of this scoundrel harassing his wife made Zhuang Zhuoyuan want to grab Ding Youtian by the collar and give him a good beating. His fists clenched tightly, but Ding Youtian smiled knowingly, as if he had read Zhuang Zhuoyuan's mind, and deliberately leaned closer to provoke him: "What, you want to hit me? Come on, officer, aim here, and you'd better hit me hard."

"What are you doing? Causing trouble here?" Yu Xueli, even more hot-tempered, joined in, along with a large group of newly arrived Flying Tigers officers, instantly filling the small space with people. Seeing the two groups arguing, Uncle Chao rushed over to mediate. However, Ding Youtian, upon learning that he was Zhan Sir's father, became even more arrogant. He outwardly yielded and sat down to drink, but soon after, he accused PC Bar of hiding nails in the drinks and threatened to report them to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. The police present could see through this gangster's tricks at a glance, but they lacked evidence and couldn't take them to the police station. Instead, they had to watch these scoundrels twist the truth. Uncle Cheng, unable to stand it any longer, finally stepped in to defuse the situation, hoping to use his old gangster status to get some face from these thugs. However, he was instead mocked by several arrogant young men as "Jail Cheng," ridiculing him as a washed-up gangster who had been to prison.

Derek couldn't stand it anymore and slammed his fist on the table, ready to strike. Zhuang Zhuoyuan stopped him, but he just smiled slyly: "It's okay, I'm not a cop, I'm just doing my duty. Don't worry, I'll choose my positions carefully, making sure he's in pain but only slightly injured in the end. As for what happens after that, Ed will find a lawyer to handle it for me."

Isn't this a bit too blatant?

Flying Tiger and his gang were thinking about it when one of them spoke their thoughts aloud from behind. Everyone turned around and saw that Iris's father had somehow entered the bar. Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Derek stood up simultaneously. Edward smiled, greeted everyone, and sat down in Zhuang Zhuoyuan's previous seat: "Iris told me you guys were here, so I came to join in the fun. You don't mind, do you?"

"Welcome." Zhan Hantao handed over a bottle of wine, which Edward accepted. Seeing that Edward's mind was still on his father, he understood and reassured him, "Don't worry, someone will come to handle it in a moment." He then gave instructions to Derek: "Go over there and stall for time."

Zhan Hantao thought that what he was going to do was still the same thing Derek had suggested before, and he didn't quite agree with it: "Uncle, it's not a good idea to confront them head-on."

Edward calmly replied, "I know."

The group silently wondered who his accomplice would be, but none of them expected that it would be the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) that arrived in the end. Madam Zhuang and her team stormed in and quickly handcuffed Ding Youtian and his gang of thugs. With the evidence of their illegal betting operations laid out before them, Ding Youtian was ashen-faced, but he couldn't fathom how his ledgers had ended up in Zhuang Zhuohua's hands.

Chong Cheuk-wa and Edward exchanged a knowing glance. Chong Cheuk-wa walked over and thanked him. Edward was also impressed by the speed of the police's actions. It turned out that ever since Chong Cheuk-yuen revealed that Chong Cheuk-wa was investigating whether the death of the gambling addict Qiu, who had previously fallen from a building, was related to Ting Yau-tin, Edward had secretly instructed his men to take action. Some were investigating the crime scene, some were reviewing surveillance footage, and some were searching for witnesses. With many people involved, even if they didn't find a needle in a haystack, they would still find some small fish.

"In the end, Uncle's men found a middle school student living in the high-rise building across the street. When he was playing with his binoculars, he happened to see Ding Youtian pushing Du Qiu down the stairs through the lens. With him as a witness, it was much easier to apply for a search warrant, so they also found evidence of his involvement in illegal activities."

"So, sister, you haven't been home since yesterday. You've been busy with this all along." Faced with this result, Zhuang Zhuoyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Ding Youtian, that bastard, deserved his fate.

Edward gave Chong Cheuk-wa a final reminder: "Chuk-wa, after sending you the message, I also notified the reporters. They should all be here by now."

Chong Cheuk-wa smiled and said, "What a coincidence, Uncle, I also informed the media."

The best outcome would actually have been to arrest Ding Youtian when he and his men checked into a hotel, which would have truly humiliated him. However, after investigating Ding's background, Edward abandoned this simple trap and opted for the laborious needle-in-a-haystack approach, solely to eradicate Ding Youtian completely in one fell swoop. He wanted a swift and decisive victory, ensuring no mishaps occurred at his daughter's wedding. His gaze fell on Ding Huihui in the crowd, and Edward suddenly smiled, reaching behind him. His assistant immediately handed him an invitation. He first looked at Zhuang Zhuoyuan, the meaning of his glances clear.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately knew who the invitation belonged to, and he later recounted his conversation with Edward to Iris. Iris's final decision clearly stemmed from this.

Noticing the way Ding Huihui was looking at Derek, Zhuang Zhuoyuan no longer hesitated. He took the invitation from Edward and walked towards her: "Huihui, this is my wedding invitation with Iris. You are welcome to come."

"Thank you." A gold-embossed '&' symbol formed a heart, connecting Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan's names, along with the capitalized "I" and "Y," creating a truly sweet impression. Ding Huihui hadn't expected to receive this invitation; she'd already heard about their wedding date from others long ago. Turning to the inside page, she saw two small cartoon characters printed on the paper. Looking at them, Ding Huihui couldn't help but sigh, "Please tell Iris I'm thanking you again, and wish you happiness. I'll have someone deliver the wedding gift, but as for attending, I probably won't be able to; I'll be in France then and won't be back yet."

Derek felt this was the most reassuring place.