Chapter 56 Confidence: "You have me now."
The lingering heat of late summer has lost its intensity, weaving a dense net over Kunming, sticky and oppressive.
Qiao Yunzheng and Wen Hong spent a period of quiet and comfortable days hiding in the Qiao residence, oblivious to the turmoil outside. Only when the excitement surrounding the Wen family gradually subsided, settling beneath new hot topics and fading from people's conversations, did the doors of the Qiao residence quietly open.
With Wen Jinliang being prosecuted, various problems within the Wen Group also emerged, with one scandal after another exploding, adding fuel to the already chaotic situation.
As the only son of the Wen family, and with the added advantage of being seen as a righteous figure who "sacrifices family for the greater good," Wen Hong was naturally entrusted with important responsibilities and began to devote himself to a busy and demanding schedule.
For several days in a row, he left early and returned late, so busy that he barely had time to rest.
Qiao Yunzheng wasn't idle either. Without Qiao Zhenhuai's meddling, the Qiao family business was thriving. In a moment of relief, she finally found time to start working on the old case of the safety accident at the Chengbei project site.
She categorized the collected materials on her desk, listing the key clues one by one on the whiteboard. The marks from various colored pens gradually wove into a complex web.
Finally, she turned her gaze to the black hard drive she had placed on the top shelf of the bookshelf.
Ever since Wen Hong gave her that thing, she hasn't had the courage to open it.
Although she had long suspected what happened back then, and although the scab had fallen off in her heart and a stronger layer of skin had grown over her father's death, she was still too timid to easily uncover it.
She feared that the scar, which had finally healed, would crack and break open again, revealing an even more bloody and unbearable reality.
But some things, you just have to face them.
She got up, drew the bedroom curtains, thought for a moment, then went out and told Yao Jing that she was a little tired and wanted to go to bed early. She returned to the bedroom and quietly locked the door.
Qiao Yunzheng took out the hard drive, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She tried several times before she finally plugged it into the laptop's USB port.
By the time Wen Hong returned, it was already very late at night.
As usual, the lights were left on in the porch.
He felt a warmth in his heart and glanced in the direction of Yao Jing's room. The light in the corridor in front of that door was already off, so she was obviously asleep.
Since they returned to the Qiao residence, in order to create a relatively independent space for the young people, Ms. Yao Jing has moved to the first floor and rarely goes upstairs to disturb them.
Wen Hong smiled slightly, changed into slippers, took off her coat, and tiptoed upstairs.
As usual, the lights in the second-floor corridor were on. He habitually turned the doorknob, only to find that the door was unusually locked from the inside.
He wasn't sure if Qiao Yunzheng was asleep, so he gently knocked on the door: "A-Zheng?"
No one answered.
He frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then took out his keys.
Pushing open the door, the room was pitch black.
A swaying wave of air rushed in from the direction of the balcony, the wind carrying the weariness of late summer, like a dull sigh.
The balcony door was open, and even with the air conditioner on, it didn't feel cool at all.
Wen Hong could keenly smell the undertone of tobacco in the wind.
He turned on his phone's flashlight. The ashtray on the desk was empty, but a few curled pieces of cigarette ash were scattered on the table next to it.
The laptop was placed next to it, with the black hard drive still plugged in.
He frowned, and finally caught a glimpse of the curled-up figure in the corner of the bed.
He sighed softly, closed the balcony door, turned around and took a quick shower in the bathroom before quietly climbing into bed.
The girl beside me was not sleeping soundly. She was frowning, her eyelashes were trembling violently, and her body was shaking slightly and rapidly, as if she were having a nightmare.
Fine beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, her lips trembled slightly, and she unconsciously murmured something.
Wen Hong reached out and gently patted her back. As he got closer, he heard her call out "Dad."
Suddenly, she grabbed his arm, her nails clenching tightly, as if grasping at a straw in despair.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes.
Qiao Yunzheng was stunned for a long time, seemingly unaware of where she was until Wen Hong gently called her, at which point she came to her senses.
"I was dreaming." Her throat was a little dry, and the stray hairs on her forehead were already damp with sweat.
"Hmm," his forearm hurt a little from her pinching, but he didn't move, only gently comforting her, "It's just a dream."
She reached out and turned on the light. The first thing she saw was the ashtray on the desk not far away. Only then did she remember that she had locked the door to avoid being discovered by Ms. Yao Jing, but she had forgotten about it because she was too emotional.
She looked at Wen Hong apologetically: "I'm sorry, I forgot about you and locked the door."
He pulled out a tissue and wiped the sweat from her forehead, nonchalantly saying, "I'm here now."
She sat up, leaned against the headboard, and still looked somewhat dazed.
The scene in her dream was so vivid that even now, the dull ache in her heart hasn't disappeared, enveloping her in that heavy mood.
He leaned close to her, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, "What did you dream about?"
Her lips moved slightly as she recalled the scene from her dream, her trembling still uncontrollable.
She dreamed again of the old tank farm in the north of the city, where a man named Shen Xingduo was wearing rubber gloves and holding a towel soaked in disinfectant. He was squatting on the railing of the platform at the top of the tanks, wiping them over and over again.
She watched with her own eyes as he grinned savagely, and watched his father, oblivious, climb the steel ladder step by step, until he fell from the height like an autumn leaf.
That wasn't her imagination; it was the real truth, recorded on the hard drive.
She didn't answer his question immediately. Like a lifeless rag doll, she just sat there blankly, staring into the void.
Wen Hong didn't ask any more questions. He got up, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to her.
After the glass of water was mostly gone, she finally spoke: "Wen Hong, am I... pretty useless?"
He paused, then asked, "Why do you say that?"
"He left so lonely and in so much pain, and for so long, I knew nothing about it."
Wen Hong took the water glass from her hand, put it back on the table, got into bed, and hugged her tightly: "No, our A-Zheng is already amazing."
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with self-reproach and guilt.
He stroked her head: "Our Azheng has protected her father's life's work. Our Azheng has taken good care of herself and her mother for her father. Our Azheng is the most outstanding girl in the world. How could she be useless?"
She still looked at him pleadingly, as if hoping for an answer: "But for so long, for so long I knew nothing, I didn't even suspect anything at first..."
She was plunged into deep self-blame and regret, like stepping into a swamp, where all her struggles were in vain.
Wen Hong looked at her with heartache. Seeing Qiao Yunzheng like this, he suddenly felt empathy for the father he had never met.
“Ah Zheng, don’t blame yourself,” he gently stroked her face, wiping away the tears in her eyes. “I remember you told me what your father said to you before he died.”
Qiao Yunzheng's eyes widened as his words reminded her of her father, whose body was covered in tubes and whose face was unrecognizable.
"He probably knew something, but he didn't tell you the truth about the accident, nor did he ask you to avenge her. In his last moments, he was just worried about his little Azheng being left unprotected and about how much suffering you would endure in the future."
Yes, that day, he used all his strength to raise his hand and touched her face with affection: "Our A-Zheng is probably going to suffer."
Wen Hong gently kissed her forehead: "Compared to the Qiao family, or even compared to his own life, what he cares about more is you."
If it were him, he would also hope that his girl could live a more relaxed and carefree life.
"So, Ah Zheng, can you understand him?"
Qiao Yunzheng stared blankly at the man in front of her. After a long while, she raised her hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes and nodded very seriously: "Mm."
Wen Hong smiled and gave her a reassuring smile: "Besides, things are different now. The things Dad was worried about won't happen, because," he took her hand and placed it on his heart, "you have me now."
He pinched her cheek: "Don't forget, your husband is a famous, top-notch lawyer!"
When the room returned to darkness and the two lay down again, Wen Hong suddenly whispered in her ear, "When did you learn to smoke?"
Qiao Yunzheng's back stiffened. Before he came back, she had specially opened the doors and windows for ventilation and cleaned up the scene, but she didn't expect him to still find out.
"Just now..." she said in a muffled voice, sounding somewhat guilty.
"How does it taste?" He smiled knowingly, with a nonchalant air. "Want some more?"
Qiao Yunzheng suddenly felt a large hand gripping her waist under the blanket, the threat quite obvious.
She shrank her neck and wisely shook her head: "No, it's too spicy and pungent, the taste is not good at all."
Even with this evidence in hand, Shen Xingduo is currently in northern Myanmar, and it is difficult for anyone to contact him. The matter was stalled again just as it was starting to take off.
Wen Hong said, "Given Wen Jinliang's style of doing things, Shen Xingduo probably won't be coming back." His eyes darkened. "He deserves what he got. However, the person behind him is indeed cunning. At least so far, we haven't found any dirt on him."
Too much time has passed. The project in the old tank area in the north of the city has been completely transformed and put into production. Those who knew about it back then have either been transferred or left their jobs. Very few people remember that incident anymore, and it is even more difficult to find evidence.
Qiao Yunzheng couldn't help but feel worried.
Wen Hong remained calm and pointed to her furrowed brows: "Don't worry, some people are more anxious about this than we are."
Not long after, just when Qiao Yunzheng was at her wit's end, she received a call from an unknown number.
"Miss Qiao, do you remember me?"
Qiao Yunzheng recognized the voice but couldn't quite place it: "You are...?"
"I, Jiang Qi, have made some progress on the person you asked me to investigate before."
She then suddenly remembered that she had asked Jiang Qi to investigate a few people in the Chengbei Tanker District team, but there had been no news for so long, so Qiao Yunzheng thought there was no hope left.
Firstly, quite a bit of time had passed. Secondly, given the fact that she and Jiang Qi barely had any real relationship, his agreement to help her was likely partly just a polite formality.
Unexpectedly, he actually took this matter to heart and even brought good news.
“One of the old foremen from that project team is now in Shencheng. Would you like to meet him?”
Qiao Yunzheng's hand trembled slightly as she held the phone: "Yes, I want it."
Jiang Qi paused, seemingly with some regret: "But you should be prepared, this person is currently in a sanatorium, and it's said that he has some mental problems..."
Author's note: Thank you "Sunshine" for the nutrient solution! Spinning around and lifting me high~ Mwah!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
