Jiang Lin
At 2 a.m., Cen Le was already waiting at the highway exit.
On a damp and cold night, a light snow began to fall. Cen Le, her previous polished and beautiful appearance vanished, wrapped herself in a black down jacket and snow boots, pacing anxiously back and forth by the car.
The driver's assistant, who was dozing off, sat in the driver's seat while she waited.
There are very few cars exiting the highway at this point, and most of them are trucks.
At 3:10, Cen Le saw a silver sedan pass by. Less than a minute later, a black SUV came straight from the highway. Cen Le quickly went to meet it.
She saw Tao Chu, who looked even more disheveled than herself—wearing a cream-colored loungewear set, fluffy loafers, and a pale, tired face. What shocked her most was his buzz cut!
Cen Le gasped, quickly taking off her down jacket and draping it over Tao Chu's shoulders: "Why are you like this? What happened?"
The assistant quickly got out of the car and said to Cen Le, "Sister, it's cold outside, you should get in the car first."
"This is my assistant, Xiaolin," Cen Le introduced to Tao Chu.
Tao Chuchong nodded to Xiaolin: "Thank you for coming out so late."
Before the other person could even exchange pleasantries, Tao Chu continued, "Could you please fill up my car with gas? I have cash in the glove compartment. After you're done, park it in a public parking lot not far from Cen Le's house, either at a shopping mall or on the street. Thank you."
Xiaolin was stunned for a moment, then quickly took the key from Tao Chu.
Tao Chu got into Cen Le's car. The red sedan was filled with fluffy decorations and had a sweet perfume scent.
Tao Chu leaned back on the fluffy, soft neck pillow and adjusted the seat.
As she leaned backward, her stiff and tense body finally relaxed, and drowsiness washed over her.
Before drifting off to sleep, Tao Chu briefly explained the situation: "My mother died in a car accident, and it's definitely related to that group in Jianglin City. I almost died just now too."
Cen Le was terrified and couldn't help but slam on the brakes, turning her head to look at her.
But Tao Chu had already closed his eyes, as if he were asleep.
She started again, driving very slowly and steadily. She stopped at a red light and, using the streetlight, looked Tao Chu up and down.
After three or four years of stable life, Cen Le went abroad to visit Tao Chu once. At that time, she was in her early twenties and looked much the same as she remembered.
After growing taller, she lost her baby fat. Although she is not as talkative and cheerful as before, she is still full of confidence and energy.
Tao Chu has lost a lot of weight. A small mole has appeared on the side of her high nose bridge, and her chin is angular. Even her sleeping face has a cold and hard look against the backdrop of her buzz cut.
Her skin was so fair it was almost translucent, and the bluish-gray under her eyes was even more pronounced, making her look tired and haggard.
Cen Le turned up the car's air conditioning temperature a bit more, hoping Tao Chu could get a good night's sleep.
She had just parked the car in the underground garage and turned off the engine when Tao Chu opened her eyes.
After returning home, Cen Le pointed to the second bedroom: "The bedding and blankets are clean. Go and get some sleep first."
Tao Chu shook his head: "I don't have time to sleep. I have to leave as soon as it's light, so that no one can follow me to your house."
Cen Le could tell that she didn't want to cause trouble for herself, so she didn't try to persuade her further: "Alright, let's get down to business."
She found a charger for Tao Chu and plugged in her phone to charge.
Then the two snuggled up on the sofa, turned on a floor lamp, and halos of light enveloped the walls and them.
Tao Chu briefly recounted his experiences over the past two days, and Cen Le listened with a furrowed brow.
Then, Tao Chu took out the old Nokia phone from the pocket of his loungewear and handed it to her: "Here, find a compatible charger and keep it on. If anyone calls or texts, let me know immediately."
"Okay." Cen Le took the phone. It was small, but heavy. She immediately felt a great sense of responsibility. "I'll definitely hold it carefully, don't worry!"
Cen Le ran back to her bedroom, put her old phone away, and then took two bottles of coffee from the refrigerator.
"So what are your plans next?"
Tao Chu took the coffee and took a big gulp.
"First, I need to save my life. After dawn, I'll go find Tao Guohua—he may be selfish, but he's not inhuman."
"That's right, after all, she's his own daughter, he'll definitely take you in."
Tao Chu smiled sarcastically, recalling his hesitant attitude after receiving the call.
“A biological daughter alone isn’t enough; she has to be valuable to him. Tao Guohua has promotion ingrained in his bones. A few years ago, I heard that he turned his attention to Wen Tao’s group. I gave him a little hint so he would think I had something on Wen Tao.”
"Besides that text message, do you have any other clues now?"
"Whether it looks like there are clues or not is more important than whether it actually is."
After Tao Chu finished speaking, seeing that Cen Le looked completely confused, he explained:
“The mastermind thought I had clues, so they wanted to silence me. I needed to appear completely unaware while seeking protection—only when they assessed that the risks of eliminating me outweighed the benefits would they be willing to let me go.”
Seeing Cen Le blink twice and slowly nod, she continued speaking.
"As for Tao Guohua, if I reveal a little something now, he might be able to keep me around. But if I can't uncover any new clues, I'll only cause him more trouble than I'll be of any use..."
Cen Le murmured, "He'll just abandon you like he did with your mother back then... You've taken too much of a risk. You have to pretend to be innocent and ignorant while secretly investigating. You have to be wary of everything..."
Tao Chu smiled wryly: "To fight against these people, you have to play a game of deception to have any chance of survival."
"So how are you going to investigate the clues?"
“Tao Guohua will find a way. The more hesitant and timid I appear, the more eager he will be to get me close to Wen Tao’s group.”
"Wen Tao is in the news all the time. What position does your father hold? Getting close to him probably won't be easy."
"There's always someone better. Tao Guohua's specialty is currying favor with powerful figures, but his vision and intelligence are limited, so we can't rely on him entirely. Fortunately, Wen Tao's son, Wen Yunsheng, has been in contact with me, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get to him—are you still keeping an eye on Li Pengcheng?"
"Of course! I entered the influencer circle not only to earn a living, but also to get close to the people around Li Pengcheng." Cen Le's gaze sharpened immediately upon hearing Li Pengcheng's name. "What, is Li Pengcheng also related to your mother's car accident?"
“Yesterday a policewoman mentioned ‘Xiaoyaoda Logistics’ to me, and I guessed that the truck driver involved in the accident was from this logistics company. I did a search, and one of the shareholders is Li Pengcheng.”
Cen Le nodded: "That's right, Xiaoyaoda is related to him. Since Li Pengcheng found a new backer, he has cleaned up his act and started a real estate company. Later, he got involved in the hotel, tourism, catering and logistics industries and established a 'Jianglin Yuanmao Group'."
"Li Pengcheng has a lot of dealings with the Wen family? I found out that after Wen Yunsheng returned from studying abroad, he joined this group as the general manager."
"It was so-so before, but it's been very close in the last two or three years. Ever since Zhou Bingcheng entered the provincial government a few years ago, Jianglin City has been under Wen Tao's protection. Li Pengcheng, this watchdog, is the best at finding his master."
Tao Chu nodded; this information was a godsend for her: "It's good that you're here in Jianglin."
Since leaving Jianglin City eight years ago, Tao Chu thought that apart from occasionally returning to visit his grandparents during the Spring Festival, he would no longer have any connection with Jianglin City and would no longer care about these people and people.
"Oh dear, those second-generation rich kids love to invite minor celebrities and internet influencers to drink and party to liven things up. I'm in this circle, and if I just pay attention and ask around, it's not hard to find out about these things."
"What exactly is the relationship between Wen Tao and Li Pengcheng? Are they so close that they're not afraid of getting involved in a murder case and taking the blame?"
"That's hard to say. They're all in cahoots, so they're definitely not good people! But whether they're completely of one mind is unclear. Li Pengcheng is ruthless and vicious, so Wen Tao might be wary of him."
After saying that, Cen Le frowned and shook his head: "But Wen Yunsheng has been working at Jianglin Yuanmao Group and has appeared at some major events recently, so the relationship should be okay."
When Tao Chu heard her mention "Wen Yunsheng" again, she asked, "Are there any major events recently?"
Cen Le took out his phone, opened the official WeChat account of Jianglin Yuanmao Group, and showed Tao Chu an article.
“There was a big event during the Spring Festival: the maiden voyage of the Yangtze River cruise ship ‘Dream Chaser on the River’. Many celebrities and internet influencers were invited. I was also invited—don’t worry, I used the online name ‘Di Ying’ and changed my ID card to my mother’s surname. If you want to go, you can board the ship under my assistant’s name.”
Tao Chu nodded: "Okay, I'll see if I can get on the ship through other means. If I get recognized, it will implicate you. Tao Guohua shouldn't miss this good opportunity to make connections with powerful people."
Cen Le remained noncommittal, but when asked about her shaved head, the two chatted until dawn.
Cen Le received a message from Xiao Lin: "Xiao Lin said she parked her car on the B1 floor of the mall across the street. I asked her to bring the keys over now and bring us two bowls of noodles, okay? You haven't been back for a long time. Do you want hot dry noodles or beef offal noodles?"
"Either is fine. I don't have much of an appetite, so I'll just buy a little."
While waiting for Xiaolin to bring the keys, Cen Le went back to the study where he usually did his live streams and rummaged through everything. In the end, he came out with a set of clothes and a black chestnut wig.
"Because I often need to change my look for live streams, I have dozens of wigs in various colors. Some of them are custom-made with really good hair quality, and they look natural when worn! This wig has a more everyday color, why don't you give it a try?"
Tao Chu took it, put it on her head, and was about to get up to look in the mirror.
"Oh dear, wearing it like that will give you away. Go change your clothes first, and I'll help you put it on in a bit."
After Tao Chu changed her clothes, Cen Le pressed her down into a chair and carefully adjusted her wig while teaching her.
"First, determine the position of your hairline, then tuck your hair in, and finally cover all the edges and corners—I told you our head shapes are similar, and it really works!"
Tao Chu walked to the mirror and looked at herself with her long, straight black hair, feeling both strange and familiar.
Cen Le gently placed her hand on Tao Chu's shoulder and winked at Tao Chu in the mirror: "To get close to a rich young man, you either have to take the influencer route like me, or you have to be the dignified, elegant, and gentle type. You know Wen Yunsheng, so you should know which type he likes."
Tao Chu tried hard to recall, but Wen Yunsheng's memory was like ink stains soaked in water, blurry and indistinct.
She once liked him, then disliked him, and later tried to avoid him and forget him...
"I haven't seen him in a long time, so I'll just have to play it by ear. Besides, I don't plan to seduce him with my looks—superficial infatuation won't help me with something as crucial as this."
Cen Le smiled and said, "People are visual creatures. We're all adults. Relying on old feelings can only help us reminisce for a while. But if we want to rekindle old flames, we still have to put on a show, especially for people like them who live in the world of sensual pleasures."
Cen Le wanted to teach Tao Chu all her experiences as an online influencer over the past few years, but there wasn't enough time, so she could only forward her a bunch of tutorials on makeup, hairstyles, and outfits.
"Maybe Wen Yunsheng still prefers your casual and natural way of being, but there's no need to fight an unprepared battle—with a brain as smart as yours, you can learn everything after watching a few videos."
Tao Chu understood that she was thinking of him, and nodded in agreement.
"I've also sent you the parking address. Feel free to contact me anytime." Cen Le waved her phone.
"Okay, remember to delete the message."
"I understand, be careful on the road."
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