Telephone
Wen Yunsheng and Tao Chu looked towards the doorway, then exchanged a glance.
"It's probably Tao Guohua," Tao Chu said.
"He doesn't have a card, so he can't get into the sixth floor—it must be Li Yue."
Wen Yunsheng gestured for Tao Chu to go into his bedroom first, but Tao Chu shook his head: "If she sees me coming out of your bedroom later, things will be even more complicated."
Seeing that Wen Yunsheng still refused to open the door, she gently pushed his back: "I can't keep hiding here with you forever."
As soon as the door opened, it was indeed Li Yue.
"Mr. Wen, Ms. Tao's father came to me saying he can't get in touch with his daughter. If he doesn't see her within five minutes, he's going to call the police."
Li Yue craned his neck to look inside, glanced at Tao Chu from head to toe, and then waved.
"Miss Tao, I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion with Mr. Wen—we still have a long time on the ship, how about we talk another day?"
Tao Chu glanced down at his phone: "Oh, it's almost ten o'clock. I forgot for a moment while we were chatting, and I'm sorry to have troubled Mr. Li to make this trip."
After saying that, she walked towards the door, brushing aside Wen Yunsheng's hand that was bracing against the door frame, but he grabbed her hand instead: "I'll see you off."
Li Yue stared at their tightly clasped hands and smiled brightly: "Then I won't bother you any longer."
Back in his room, Li Yue immediately dialed the phone: "Dad, did you see the photos I posted? Wen Yunsheng and Xu Weirong's daughter are having an affair!"
"I don't have time to look at photos. Just kill him, and be clean!"
“Tao Chu’s father and Wen Yunsheng are both here, it’s not safe to act now. Besides, Dad, haven’t you been disliking Wen Tao for a long time?” Li Yue took a deep drag on his cigarette and excitedly offered his suggestion, “Why don’t we bring Tao Chu to your place!”
Li Pengcheng made his fortune by enticing people to gamble and violently collecting debts. He had done many outrageous things, and Wen Tao, who had always had a good reputation, was unwilling to get too close to Li Pengcheng.
However, Li Pengcheng helped Zhou Bingcheng solve many of his troubles and earned Zhou Bingcheng's deep trust.
However, with so many subordinates and diverse backgrounds, some of them committed serious offenses that Li Pengcheng couldn't handle himself, so he passed the buck to Wen Tao.
Having suffered several setbacks in silence, Wen Tao later took precautions to prevent trouble by deliberately sabotaging Li Pengcheng.
Although the two did not have a public falling out, they disliked each other in private.
Li Pengcheng had always thought that Wen Tao was a hypocrite and a real scoundrel—he accepted large sums of money but made excuses when things went wrong, and even dug a hole for himself, sending his son to supervise him.
Zhou Bingcheng will retire in a few years, and when that time comes, Wen Tao will be in charge. How will I possibly fare well?
Fortunately, Wen Yunsheng wasn't as cunning as his father; he changed his mind once he met his childhood sweetheart.
After listening to Li Yue's suggestion, Li Pengcheng thought about it carefully—
If Tao Chu dies, Xu Weirong's matter will be completely over, and Wen Tao and his son will also turn against each other.
If Tao Chu is protected by Wen Yunsheng, and I take the opportunity to sow discord, Zhou Bingcheng will definitely suspect that Wen Tao is using his son to protect the witness in order to leave himself an escape route.
Therefore, whether Tao Chu dies or not, it will be advantageous to their side.
"Alright, bring her here—be discreet, there are guests on the boat."
"Don't you trust me to handle things?" Li Yue exhaled a smoke ring. "That kid Wen Yunsheng always acts all high and mighty. This time, he'll get what's coming to him!"
Tao Chu only let Wen Yunsheng escort him to the elevator on the sixth floor. After returning to his room, he loosened his tie and tried to unbutton the top button of his shirt.
As he hooked his index finger around the tie, he suddenly remembered Tao Chu's earlier gripping and wrapping motion, and his heart skipped a beat.
He slowly untied his tie, rubbed it in his hand a few times, folded it, and placed it beside his pillow.
He then picked up the Sprite she hadn't finished; the melted ice dripped down the side of the glass, staining the table.
He held it in his hand; it was ice cold. He went out onto the balcony and felt the river breeze.
He took a sip of Sprite, but the carbonated sweet water didn't taste good, and the frustration in his chest was hard to relieve.
This unexpected reunion was like a resounding slap to his heart, leaving him no choice but to accept it—
What exactly has his father done all these years?
Why did you commit perjury and frame Aunt Xu Weirong?
Did the father know the truth about the car accident?
If Aunt Xu Weirong was murdered, wouldn't Tao Chu be in grave danger?
We must protect Tao Chu and ensure she disembarks safely...
As for Aunt Xu Weirong's matter... he will ask his father about it in person in a couple of days.
Tao Chu returned to the fifth floor and saw Tao Guohua pacing anxiously as soon as he opened the elevator door.
Seeing his daughter return safe and sound, Tao Guohua breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly asked, "How did it go? What did you find out?"
Tao Chu shook her head in acknowledgment. After entering the room, she stood against the wall, her hands tightly gripping the chain of her handbag, and whispered:
“Wen Yunsheng… has changed a lot. He started touching me before we even exchanged a few words. Luckily, Dad, you went to see President Li, which gave me a chance to escape.”
Tao Guohua was filled with mixed feelings. Of course, he didn't want his daughter to be taken advantage of, but if he didn't find out any new clues, how could he explain it to Sui Liyong when he returned to Jianglin City?
Tao Chu watched as Tao Guohua paced back and forth with his hands on his hips, sighing repeatedly. Helpless, Tao Chu lowered his head.
Finally, Tao Guohua tapped his index finger a few times in the air and approached Tao Chu:
"This is a rare opportunity, Chuchu. You should make good use of your time on the ship and try to get as much information as possible—of course, you should also be careful."
The concluding twist is ridiculously unnecessary.
Tao Chu nodded in agreement and dismissed Tao Guohua.
She was finally able to change out of her restrictive evening gown, remove her wig, and let out a long sigh of relief as she leaned against the sink.
When she looked up and saw the mirror, she couldn't help but reach out and touch her slightly longer buzz cut; it didn't feel so prickly anymore.
Using your fingers as a comb, you run them through the short, upright hair, like a fish swimming through a shallow pond strewn with pebbles.
She turned her head to the side and looked at the scars on her shoulder and back, which were still very obvious.
She suddenly wondered, if Wen Yunsheng saw her like this, would he be shocked or disgusted?
She recalled his face, which had been so close to hers, and imagined the expression he might have made, but then felt that she shouldn't be thinking about such trivial things at all.
She glanced guiltily at herself in the mirror, rummaged through her bag for a mint, popped it into her mouth, and felt a little relieved as the familiar cool taste filled her throat before heading into the bathroom.
After taking a refreshing hot shower to wash away the chill and anger, Tao Chu snuggled in bed and called Cen Le to talk about what happened that night.
Cen Le said that Li Yue sent her a message asking her to come to his room, but she pretended not to see it.
Tao Chu was worried that Li Yue would continue to provoke her, but Cen Le said that these young masters' novelty wore off quickly and they weren't that persistent.
Just as Tao Chu hung up the phone and was about to go to sleep, she suddenly received another call from Cen Le.
After she answered, she asked, "What, is there something you forgot to say?"
There was no response from the other end.
Tao Chu was stunned for a few seconds, thinking that Cen Le had accidentally touched it.
Just as she was about to hang up, she suddenly realized—someone was calling the old phone, and Cen Le was relaying the message!
Tao Chu quickly sat up straight, not daring to speak again.
Her heart pounded, her left hand clenched into a fist, and she waited quietly for more than ten seconds, but the other party hung up.
Cen Le finally spoke up: "It was 'HP' calling!"
"I knew it!" Tao Chu pounded the bed a few times and shouted excitedly, "If 'HP' contacts the old phone again, whether by phone or text message, you must tell me immediately!"
Cen Le readily agreed, then asked, "You started talking as soon as the call connected, and the other party didn't reveal their identity yet. It should be fine, right?"
"After all, that person wasn't sure who had the old phone, so it's understandable that they didn't say anything for the time being. Once I gradually build trust, I'll have a chance to find out more clues."
Cen Le smiled with relief: "That's good. I'll put it next to my pillow tonight, and I'll make sure I don't miss a single message!"
After hanging up the phone, Tao Chu let out a long sigh and stared at the ceiling light, lost in thought.
She originally planned to get in touch with Wen Yunsheng to uncover the inside story of Zhou Bingcheng's faction.
However, there are too many uncertainties involved.
Firstly, after today's probing, Wen Yunsheng probably hasn't yet gotten to the core information. Once he reveals his stance of protecting himself, he will definitely be more wary.
Secondly, even if Wen Yunsheng could obtain evidence of their illegal and criminal activities, it wouldn't mean he would hand it all over to him. After all, Wen Tao was definitely involved. How many people in this world could put aside their own family for the greater good?
In comparison, the clues from "HP" are more direct and safer.
But why would they contact me at this time?
Did they know that I was on the "Dream Chaser on the River"?
Could this phone call be hinting at something?
She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, pondering the possible hidden meaning behind the phone call, until she finally drifted off to sleep at the first light of dawn.
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