Chapter 43
When Tang Ruxin was twelve years old, she learned she had a brother named Zhao Zheng, seven years her senior. Shortly after the Zhao family fell into trouble, he was taken back to their hometown in Tong'an Township by his grandparents.
How could she resist the temptation to look for him? Coupled with the death of her adoptive mother and the revelation that she was not Tang Jiulin's biological child, Tang Ruxin spent a long time hoping to find Zhao Zheng, her blood relative. So she made repeated, secret trips to Tong'an Township, thousands of miles away.
Tang Jiulin naturally wouldn't allow a twelve-year-old to travel across half of China to search for her relatives, but he was often away on business and didn't have the time to constantly watch her. The housekeeper he hired couldn't keep an eye on her, and he couldn't just lock her up at home and not let her go to school. After several attempts, he finally found the place where her grandparents had lived, but it had long since changed hands.
The house had changed hands several times over the past decade, and she had lost track of the Zhao family who had once lived there. Village elders told her they had moved away long ago, and no one knew where. She went to the police station to inquire, but not only did they not get any information, they sent her home.
Tang Jiulin was troubled by her repeated attempts to run away from home to find her relatives, only to be sent back by the local police. It even affected his work. That's when he adopted Yu Zhe to challenge her, distracting her and putting her off looking for Zhao Zheng.
"Don't you want a brother? There's no kiss, so you can make do with this one."
This is how Tang Jiulin introduced Yu Zhe at the time. As a result, Tang Ruxin either had a huge fight with Yu Zhe or simply didn't go home.
This went on for two or three years, with her running away from home and causing trouble for Yu Zhe. Tang Jiulin had no choice but to tell her that Zhao Zheng had actually died a long time ago. He said that Zhao Zheng had inhaled too much gas, causing severe brain damage, and died shortly after being taken back to his hometown by his grandparents. He hadn't told her because he didn't want to upset her.
At this point, Tang Ruxin's search for her relatives came to an end. She was less than fifteen years old that year.
"Have you never doubted it?" Yu Lei asked.
Tang Ruxin was silent for a moment, then said, "I didn't want to look for him anymore at that time. I was tired. I've been looking for him for three years, so I think I've done my best." She glanced at Yu Lei and continued, "I don't owe him anything."
Yu Lei was almost choked to death by her words, but he couldn't refute her, so he choked and coughed with the breath stuck in his throat.
"If you want to keep looking, just think that Tang Jiulin is lying, otherwise just think that he is dead." Although you owe him a lot - the remaining sympathy made Tang Ruxin swallow the last sentence, mainly because she still remembered that she needed help from others and could not offend Yu Lei to death.
"You're better than me." Yu Lei's lips curled slightly, revealing a smile uglier than crying. "I really started looking for him after I became a police officer. Due to my position, I found out more than you did. After Zhao Zheng was taken away, your grandfather died of a stroke the following year. Grandma suffered a series of setbacks and didn't hold on for long either."
Tang Ruxin's breath caught in her throat. "Then he..."
"Zhao Zheng was sent to an orphanage. That orphanage is now a fitness park. I went to the Planning Bureau and the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, but all I could find was approval for the orphanage's demolition 21 years ago. There's no record of where the children from the orphanage were sent. What's certain is that Zhao Zheng was there until the orphanage was demolished."
Tang Ruxin's mind was a bit confused. After some mental calculations, she said, "Zhao Zheng went to an orphanage when he was about ten years old. It was demolished when he was fourteen. I started looking for him when I was twelve, and by then the orphanage had already been demolished for five years... Tang Jiulin is lying."
Yu Lei nodded and rubbed his sore eyes.
"I can't find out about this. Unless Tang Jiulin has been following Zhao Zheng's situation, he wouldn't know whether Zhao Zheng is dead or not. Tang Jiulin should have been busy establishing Donghe Refining in those years. He had no time and no need to worry about Zhao Zheng."
Seeing Yu Lei's tired face, Tang Ruxin finally remembered the time. Her phone was not turned on, so she pinched Yu Lei's wrist and checked his watch.
"If you don't rest now, it will be dawn." She was not sleepy at all, as she slept a lot during the day.
Yu Lei glanced at her and pulled his hand back.
"What about you? You can't live in my office."
"Why not?" Tang Ruxin blinked and pointed to the single bed in the corner.
Yu Lei slowly opened his eyes wide, "You, really don't treat yourself as an outsider. I've already told you that my office has a lot of confidential documents. What do you want to do?"
"You're here, how can I steal secrets in front of you?" Tang Ruxin glared at him coquettishly.
"I'm not going home?" Yu Lei said rudely, waving his hand. "You go stay in a hotel."
He hadn't even considered taking her home with him. Tang Ruxin curled her lips. Playing pitiful and weak was useless in front of this bastard, but she really didn't want to be alone.
"Lend me your cell phone." Tang Ruxin held out her hand.
Yu Lei locked the office door, unlocked his phone, handed it to her, and said casually:
"Looking for Tong Jiayu? Well, the hospital can get you a companion bed. Director Tang is so stingy that he doesn't even want to stay in a hotel for a few days."
When she suddenly heard Tong Jiayu's name, Tang Ruxin paused and her face darkened.
"Look for Song Mu. I'm going to stay at his house."
Yu Lei frowned and looked at her for a moment. This answer was indeed beyond his expectations.
"Is it appropriate?"
"It's not suitable. People will get cold when you leave. But Song Mu is a good person. He shouldn't force me to sleep on the streets."
Yu Lei heard that she was scolding him for being a bad person.
Tang Ruxin first called the Donghe Refining and Chemical Dispatching Office's landline, a number she remembered, and then asked the dispatcher for Song Mu's cell phone number. Before she could press a few numbers, the phone was taken away by Yu Lei.
"I don't lend my cell phone to bad guys." After saying that, he walked away.
Tang Ruxin stared at his back in disbelief. She angrily pulled out her phone and tried to turn it on. She pressed her finger on the power button, then put it down after two seconds.
——A tiger in dire straits is bullied by a dog!
Tang Ruxin cursed the "dog's" ancestors in her heart all the way, but Yu Lei stepped on the accelerator and took her directly back to his residence.
He took out the key and threw it to Tang Ruxin, "You go up first, I'll have a cigarette."
"Is it appropriate?" Tang Ruxin looked at him sideways.
Yu Lei lit a cigarette and took a deep breath. "It's not suitable. There's an All Seasons restaurant across the street."
Tang Ruxin grabbed the keys and jumped out of the car, then walked into the dark and dilapidated corridor without looking back.
The next day, when she woke up, Yu Lei had already left, and it seemed he had taken her phone with him. Tang Ruxin looked at the still warm sandwich and milk on the table, and a slight smile rose on her lips.
When she arrived at the bathroom, she saw unopened toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a towel on the sink, clearly delivered from the food delivery platform she ordered last night. It seemed these were all the toiletries the door god could think of; in fact, she also needed facial cleanser and a comb.
"A penny can kill a hero..." Tang Ruxin muttered to herself while washing her face with soap.
She was so panicked when she left home that she didn't even have her bank card with her. Without her phone, she was practically broke. In her 29 years, this was the first time she'd experienced relying on a man for her livelihood. It was outrageous.
After washing up and starting to have breakfast, Tang Ruxin discovered that there was 500 yuan in cash and an IOU under the milk bottle.
—An IOU for five hundred yuan. She picked it up and glanced at it, momentarily unable to comprehend the Door God's train of thought. Was he teasing her? Five hundred yuan was worth an IOU? Tang Ruxin found a pen and drew a rooster next to Yu Lei's signature on the IOU. On the rooster, she wrote the word "iron."
After dinner, Tang Ruxin found a black baseball cap from the closet, covered her messy hair, and then went out.
She took a taxi to Song Mu's house.
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