The waiter quickly brought over the menu: "What would you two like to drink?"
Gao Yang took the menu, didn't even look at it, and handed it directly to Xing Zhaozhao.
"I'd like an espresso," he said, then asked Xing Zhaozhao, "What would you like, Sister Xing?"
Xing Zhaozhao took the menu, frowned, stared at it for a while, and asked Gao Yang, "What is espresso?"
"Coffee," Gao Yang said.
"Is it good?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"It's your first time trying it, so I wouldn't recommend it. You could try a latte instead," Gao Yang suggested with a smile.
Xing Zhaozhao accepted his suggestion: "Then I'll have a latte."
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and turned to ask the waiter, "Do you have cheesecake here?"
The waiter nodded: "Yes, we do."
“Then I’ll take one,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
Before the coffee arrived, Gao Yang asked Xing Zhaozhao, "Is there anything you need my help with?"
"I'd like to ask you to help me investigate someone," Xing Zhaozhao said, looking at him earnestly.
"Who is it?" Gao Yang asked.
“His name is Zhang Wenming,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
Last night, she thought about it for a long time. Zhang Wenming came from Beijing to work in the countryside. Not to mention their village, no one in other villages knew him. It was basically impossible for her to expose his true colors over there.
But things are different here. If Hao Xiuning hadn't misunderstood her, she could have directly learned about Zhang Wenming's situation from Hao Xiuning.
However, even without Hao Xiuning, she believed that finding Gao Yang would be the same. With such a large Zhaohong Group behind him, investigating someone would be a piece of cake.
"Zhang Wenming?" Gao Yang frowned upon hearing this.
This name sounds familiar... I think Hao Jiaxiu's ex-husband had this name too.
Just as Gao Yang was about to ask more questions, the waiter brought over the coffee and cake they had ordered.
Xing Zhaozhao took a sip of the latte and her face scrunched up: "It's bitter."
How could anyone like to drink this stuff and even open a shop specifically to drink it?
She quickly grabbed the cake plate, scooped out a spoonful, and put it in her mouth. Her face, which had just been wrinkled, instantly relaxed, and she even squinted her eyes in pleasure.
That feels good.
Cheesecake is definitely the best.
Moreover, the cheesecake here is even better than the one she had at Hao Xiuning's house before.
After taking a couple of bites, Xing Zhaozhao reluctantly put down her spoon and asked Gao Yang, "Can I take this cheesecake home if I can't finish it?"
Gao Yang was a little confused, because she had clearly seen her eating quite happily before.
"What? Is it not good?" he asked.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head: "The kids at home haven't tried it yet, I want to bring it back for them to try."
Gao Yang smiled and said, "It's okay, we can just order three more to take away later."
As he spoke, he called over a waiter: "Three more cheesecakes, please, to go, thank you."
"No need, two portions are enough," Xing Zhaozhao corrected.
Gao Yang was puzzled.
He clearly remembered that she had said she had three children.
“My youngest daughter is only a month old and can’t eat this much, two servings will be enough,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
"Let's have three servings then." After Gao Yang finished speaking to the waiter, he smiled at Xing Zhaozhao and said, "Don't you like it? Here's one more serving, you can keep it for yourself."
Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment, then accepted it without hesitation: "Thank you."
When the waiter left, his eyes were wide open like saucers, and he looked incredulous. He quickly ran off to gossip with his colleagues.
I can't believe it! Mr. Gao actually found such a plain-looking woman, and she's a mother of three. What's he after? This is too much!
"Who is this Zhang Wenming?" Gao Yang then asked Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao considered for a moment and said, "It seems that he was an educated youth sent to work in the countryside in the 1960s, in a village called Xiaogaozhuang, which is under Lanyuan Town."
Gao Yang's heart skipped a beat.
Xiao Gaozhuang? She found out that he really was Xiu Ning's ex-husband.
Gao Yang looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a thoughtful expression: "Why are you looking for him?"
"Oh." Xing Zhaozhao's eyes darted around, and she quickly made up another lie.
Perhaps it's because she's been lying so much lately, but she feels she's becoming more and more adept at it.
"She's an aunt of my uncle's next-door neighbor. Years ago, she rescued an injured educated youth in the woods and took him home to nurse him back to health for a few days. You know how it goes."
“That educated youth said his name was Zhang Wenming, and he was sent to work in a village called Xiaogaozhuang. He said he was going back to get a marriage certificate and would come back to marry my great-aunt. But once he left, he never came back.”
“My great-aunt has never married, and now she’s almost gone. Because of this obsession, she’s still clinging to life and refuses to leave. My elders asked me to come out and find out if that person is dead or alive. They asked if he didn’t go back because he was deliberately lying to my great-aunt, or if there’s some other hidden reason. I need to know the truth so I can go back and tell my great-aunt and help her let go of her obsession.”
"Such a thing actually happened?" Gao Yang exclaimed in surprise.
He knew that his aunt Xiuning's ex-husband was a scumbag, but he didn't expect him to be so scumbag that he had deceived more than one person.
He never doubted that Xing Zhaozhao was lying to him.
“Okay, I’ll have someone check for you right away,” Gao Yang said.
"Really?" Xing Zhaozhao looked at Gao Yang with surprise and delight. "How long will it take to get the results?"
"About an hour," Gao Yang said.
Xing Zhaozhao was surprised: "So fast?"
Gao Yang nodded.
After all, the Gao family and the Hao family are practically relatives, and they already have almost all the information about that scumbag. It just takes some time to organize it.
"Then... I'll just wait here?" Xing Zhaozhao said.
“Okay.” Gao Yang said, and immediately called his assistant to give the instructions.
Because of the special relationship between the Gao family and the Hao family, Gao Yang's father got the news as soon as Gao Yang's assistant made a move and immediately called Gao Yang.
Gao Yang's expression hardened when he saw the old man's phone call.
"I'm going out to take a call," he told Xing Zhaozhao, then got up and left the coffee shop.
"Dad? Is something wrong?"
"Are you investigating Zhang Wenming's case?" the old man asked directly on the other end of the phone.
"Yes," Gao Yang replied.
"Why?"
Gao Yang then told the old man about the aunt Xing Zhaozhao had mentioned: "...I just found out that that person not only harmed Aunt Xiuning, but since the information is readily available, we can help as many people as we can."
The old man was somewhat surprised: "Is that so? I really haven't heard of it."
“Aunt Xiuning probably doesn’t know,” Gao Yang said.
"Alright, I understand," the old man said.
"The information?" Gao Yang asked.
"It's not a secret, so I'll just give it to you. That's all," the old man said.
"Okay," Gao Yang replied, turning and heading back into the coffee shop.
When Xing Zhaozhao saw Gao Yang return, she asked, "Did you finish the call? Who called? Was it your assistant? You found out so quickly?"
On the other end of the phone, Gao Hongfei was about to hang up when he heard this voice, and his heart suddenly tightened.
That sound is...
A strong sense of familiarity welled up from the depths of his buried memories.
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