Yu Fanghua fainted several times from crying over Liu Meiling's disappearance, and Liu Jingye hadn't slept for two days and two nights. To curry favor with the Liu family, Zhang Jintao set his sights on Zhou Yuanyuan from the Zhou family.
However, Zhang Jintao came to General Zhou without Liu Jingye's knowledge, hoping that General Zhou would use Zhou Yuanyuan as bait to lure out the perpetrators hiding in the dark, for the sake of the missing girl. General Zhou flatly refused.
If Liu Jingye knew Zhang Jintao was coming to see General Zhou, he would definitely stop him. Who was General Zhou? China's military god, the most trusted and respected elder among the supreme leaders. To offend General Zhou's family for a reckless Liu Meiling, he'd have to be a fool to do that.
It’s a pity that I didn’t know it earlier. Zhang Jintao is not from the aristocratic family circle, and he does not have the vision that Liu Jingye has cultivated since childhood.
By the time Zhang Jintao was transferred to Jingdu, General Zhou had already retired. His daily life consisted of gardening, fishing, and playing chess, with no involvement in government affairs. Zhang Jintao considered General Zhou a washed-up veteran. Aside from Zhou Zhixin, the rest of the Zhou family was small and weak. Their only male great-grandson, a man, hadn't even considered taking over Zhou Zhixin's duties, instead pursuing scientific research. He couldn't possibly match the Liu family's meteoric rise.
"Deputy Director Zhang, if the case isn't solved, it's definitely your fault! Did you come to the Zhou family just to shirk responsibility?" A flicker of anger crossed Zhou Xi's face. Trying to pin the missing girl's safety on Zhou Yuanyuan—could Zhang Jintao's actions be any more disgusting? Their young lady was a well-known figure among the top leaders. Not only Zhang Jintao, but even Liu Jingye himself couldn't step on her if he wanted to.
After Zhou Xi became "Zhou An," although he had transformed from an octogenarian into a young man, he also lost his previous status and position. If it were the old Zhou Xi, with the status of Zhou's steward, Zhang Jintao would definitely not dare to complain in front of him, even though General Zhou had clearly refused.
"Captain Zhou, we have to act in an emergency. The lives of several girls are at stake! We can't wait until Miss Yuanyuan is free, right?" Zhang Jintao argued.
"Humph! Other people's children are important, and our little lady is important too. Only you, Zhang Jintao, would think of letting my little lady be the 'bait'."
After Zhou Xi said this, the depression in his heart dissipated a little. If General Zhou hadn't forbidden him to do it, when Zhang Jintao said this, Zhou Xi wanted to throw him out the door. What the hell? "For the safety of the Liu family's daughter, I have to ask Miss Yuanyuan to go on a mission." Bah! Compared with his little lady, Liu Meiling is nothing! Besides, the little lady is not an employee of their security department. Is it his turn, Zhang Jintao, to run to General Zhou and make decisions?
What Zhou Xi hated most was Zhang Jintao's behavior of praising Liu Meiling and putting down Zhou Yuanyuan when he said this.
If Zhang Jintao and his two departments couldn't solve the case together, they could ask the top leadership to transfer the case to Zhou Xi's special operations team. However, Zhang Jintao, while not wanting to let the top leadership know about his department's incompetence, set his sights on Zhou Yuanyuan. This truly disgusted Zhou Xi.
"This..." Zhang Jintao was at a loss for words. In his excitement just now, he had indeed said some inappropriate things. But it was not entirely his fault! If General Zhou had agreed to let Zhou Yuanyuan help earlier, wouldn't he have been able to say those harsh words?
"Hurry up! The general needs to rest." There were still two steps to the yard gate. Zhou Xi's men used a little force to push Zhang Jintao out of the door and closed the yard door.
Zhang Jintao looked at the closed door and had to leave in disappointment.
After Zhou Yuanyuan figured out why Zhang Jintao had come to the Zhou family, she withdrew her consciousness and focused on massaging General Zhou's head meridians. Looking at General Zhou's expression, Zhou Yuanyuan knew without asking that he must have been irritated by that idiotic deputy director.
After about ten minutes, General Zhou felt that his throbbing eyebrows had gradually calmed down.
General Zhou raised his hand, motioning Zhou Yuanyuan to stop, then patted the sofa beside him and called out, "Yuanyuan, come and sit down."
"Great-grandfather, are you alright?" Zhou Yuanyuan couldn't help but ask, noticing General Zhou's serious expression. General Zhou only addressed her by her name when he had something to discuss; usually, he would call her by nicknames like "good great-granddaughter" or "little dear."
"It's okay. I'm old and my spirits are weak." General Zhou looked at Zhou Yuanyuan and said, "Yuanyuan, I want to ask you, is my body really at the end of its life? Your grandfather took my pulse and whispered to Ah Xi for a long time, but he kept it from me."
When General Zhou talked about this incident, there was a hint of grievance in his tone.
After the Lunar New Year, General Zhou's spirits had deteriorated considerably. He used to be energetic with eight hours of sleep a day, but now he needed ten. Furthermore, Zhao Qingshan whispered to Zhou Xi after taking General Zhou's pulse, which made General Zhou wonder if there was something seriously wrong with his body.
Originally, General Zhou didn't care how long he could live, but Zhang Jintao had just provoked him! He wasn't dead yet! The little deputy director of the Security Bureau dared to come and slap him in the face. If he died, wouldn't anyone in the Zhou family be able to step on him if they wanted to?
In his anger, General Zhou forgot about the strength of his younger brothers. No one in the Zhou family was a pushover. Take Zhou Jiasheng, for example. On the surface, he appeared to be a harmless researcher, smiling broadly. But was he truly harmless? Hehehe… Only Zhou Jiasheng and Zhou Yuanyuan knew the answer.
"Grandpa Zeng, what nonsense! You're fine, and you'll definitely live to be a hundred." Zhou Yuanyuan smiled, but a sense of dread sank in her heart. General Zhou's health was indeed declining. Xiaoyu's spiritual energy had almost completely lost its effect on General Zhou. If Zhou Yuanyuan couldn't find a replacement for his "innate spiritual energy" within six months, General Zhou would only have three years left to live.
Three years was a very short time for a cultivator like Zhou Yuanyuan. More importantly, it had only been less than ten years since their family and General Zhou had been together.
Zhou Yuanyuan once thought about using the life essence liquid from the tree of life to regulate General Zhou's body, but unfortunately, after trying several times, the life essence liquid could not be taken out of Zhou Yuanyuan's sea of consciousness.
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are normal for human beings. I'm the one who's upset." General Zhou sighed and said, "Yuanyuan, don't mind what I just asked. When people reach a certain age, they can't escape death. I used to think I was a person who was not easily surprised by praise or criticism, but I didn't expect..."
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