Chapter 43
Jennie and Yuanbao went to the police station together because Yuanbao bit someone in the street—no, to be precise, Yuanbao bit a bad guy in the street.
Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan rushed to the police station, only to find Yuanbao, a large golden retriever, in sight. When Yuanbao saw them, it barked twice, and Iris quickly squatted down to pet it: "Baby, don't be afraid, Shishi is here."
"Ah Yuan!"
“Old Chai!” Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew many people. There were always three to five familiar faces in the police stations in various districts. When he ran into a colleague he used to patrol with, he didn’t stand on ceremony. After bumping fists with him, he asked about Jennie’s situation.
"Oh, the guy took her and another girl to identify them. They'll be back in a bit. By the way, what's your relationship with this Ms. Mu?"
“My mother-in-law.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan then pointed to the person squatting next to him: “That’s my fiancée, Iris. BB, come and meet my old partner, Sergeant Chai Junxiong. Brother Chai is also very skilled.”
"Brother Chai," Iris greeted him obediently, then quickly inquired about her mother's condition: "Brother Chai, my mommy..."
"She encountered a group of thugs kidnapping a young girl on the street while she was shopping, so she released her dog to rescue her. It's understandable, and the dog didn't harm any innocent civilians, so we only gave her a verbal warning. We'll complete some formalities afterward, and that should be about it. Don't worry."
Iris breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Brother Chai, you've gone to so much trouble."
"Sure, sure." Chai Junxiong spoke politely to Iris. Then, he put his arm around Zhuang Zhuoyuan's shoulder and punched him first: "You rascal, where did you find such a pretty girl? Good things are coming soon! Have you set the date yet? Remember to invite me to the wedding banquet, you can't miss my meal!"
“Definitely not,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said happily when the topic of marriage came up. “The current plan is for the end of June, and I will personally deliver your invitation then.”
"Mommy!"
"Mommy, how are you?"
After reviewing several documents, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was about to sign them when Jennie reappeared, accompanied by her lawyer. Iris quickly went over to hug her, but Jennie acted as if nothing had happened, looking relaxed: "It's alright, I was just doing a good deed. Lawyer Zhao will also follow up on Yuanbao's matter, so we can take it home in a bit. Good boy!"
Yuanbao tilted its head back and barked.
Iris finally had time to look at the girl she had rescued; she was tall and slender with long hair, and had a refined demeanor. Her family arrived at that moment; she was a middle-aged woman with graying hair. As soon as she came in, she pulled Iris aside and looked her up and down: "Ah Qing, are you alright?"
The girl called A-Qing also had tears in her eyes: "Aunt Xing, I'm fine, don't worry."
How could I not worry?
Hearing the two names, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt they were somewhat familiar. He listened carefully to their conversation and gradually confirmed their identities from Aunt Xing's words.
"Aheng is in this state, and his father is in the hospital. What will I do if something happens to you too?"
Iris found it strange that Zhuang Zhuoyuan kept paying attention to the two women. She walked over, shook his hand, and asked in a low voice, "Is there a problem?"
"They might be acquaintances, friends of Ah Zu and Ah Tao." Guo Yaozu, who had taken Zhan Sir to a "martial arts tournament," discovered that the short man, Chen Liheng, who had repeatedly defeated him with grappling techniques, was actually a friend Zhan Hantao had met at the fruit market when they were on uniform patrol. After several encounters, the three became increasingly close. However, due to the fruit market dispute, Chen Liheng's family had recently been frequently harassed by the newly risen thug Liu Bingju and his men. The recent death of a thug in front of Chen's shop further implicated Chen Liheng in a murder case, making him a wanted fugitive. At headquarters, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had heard Guo Yaozu mention these things, and out of brotherly loyalty, he asked the two men, "Are you from Hengxinglong? Ah Heng's mother and fiancée?"
Jennie, believing she had a connection with Feng Zhiqing, decided to help them out completely after learning of their ordeal. She immediately arranged for the two women to move to ULO for a while to prevent Liu Bingju from sending anyone to harass them. After all, when they went to identify the people, they could only point out the two thugs who had gotten out of the car and kidnapped Feng Zhiqing. Their arrest would likely further ignite Liu Bingju's desire for revenge.
Iris went back to the villa with Jennie first, while Zhuang Zhuoyuan took Aunt Xing and Feng Zhiqing home to retrieve their luggage before arranging for them to check into ULO. After leaving the hotel, Zhuang Zhuoyuan thought for a moment, then called Zhan Hantao to briefly recount what had happened that day. He knew that Zhan Hantao and Chen Liheng had a very good relationship, and that only Zhan Hantao could persuade Chen Liheng to turn himself in.
"If he really didn't kill anyone, then the most he could be charged with is assaulting a police officer and stealing a police gun. We can get a lawyer to help with that and try to reduce his sentence. As for the evidence, although his shop caught fire and his computers were burned, I asked the senior colleague in charge of this case. They said that although the fire was large, not all the hardware was destroyed. The forensic team also said there's a possibility of repair, and the surveillance footage should still be available. Ah Heng has a good chance of clearing his name. So, Ah Tao, you really need to persuade him to come back quickly. His mother and Ah Qing can't be left unprotected."
After everyone's efforts, Chen Liheng finally surrendered himself, bringing the matter to a close. Now they just need to wait for the forensic report. Because she was worried about Yuanbao, Iris moved back to the villa, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan naturally followed. Zhuang Zhuohua was also brought over a few days later. The villa was lively, and Jennie was the happiest. She warmly welcomed Zhuang Zhuohua, saying it should have been done sooner: "We specially reserved a room for you during the renovation. I heard from Ayuan that you were planning to move to a bigger house, but don't bother, we're family, just move in here. After the baby is born, this house will be even more lively, and you won't have to worry about the room being empty."
Jennie's enthusiasm initially made Zhuang Zhuohua quite uncomfortable, but gradually, the advantages of having an elder in the family became apparent. At least Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan noticed that, unless absolutely necessary, Zhuang Zhuohua was becoming more and more punctual in leaving work. She would have dinner with everyone on time, chat afterwards, and take a walk together. Because she felt embarrassed to refuse Jennie, Madam Zhuang's schedule underwent a huge change, and she began to live a more normal life.
“Ah Hua, are you really that busy over there? If it's not too urgent, then come with us…”
"Ah Hua, I've had someone stew it... Remember to come back for dinner tonight."
"Ah Hua, do you have time to sit with me for a bit..."
With just three sentences, Jennie had Zhuang Zhuohua completely under Jennie's control, and Iris thought her mother was truly amazing. Although she didn't agree every time, Madam Zhuang's after-work life was definitely much richer. The three women together not only did yoga at home every day, but also did beauty treatments and watched TV together. Occasionally, Zhuang Zhuohua's professional books would be replaced with trendy magazines, leaving Zhuang Zhuoyuan completely astonished and realizing how dispensable he was in this family.
“You can join us.” Iris straddled him, stirring the face mask in the bowl and applying it to Zhuang Zhuoyuan’s face little by little. “Try this new product. I had Gigi, the beautician who came this afternoon, mix it for you. If it works, you can switch to this from now on.”
Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt his skincare routine had leveled up again. Back home, Iris would always drag him over to do her facials, but now, looking at the pile of bottles and jars on the bedside table, he realized it would probably take at least an hour to finish all that skincare. Zhuang Zhuoyuan wanted to escape, but he didn't dare move.
Iris chose this position for this very reason. She looked with satisfaction at Zhuang Zhuoyuan's face covered in mud mask before carefully getting off him. "Now's the time to think carefully about what our baby's nickname should be. Calling him 'baby' every day is making me confused myself."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan clutched his chest: "Sigh, I'm no longer your only baby."
"Jealous, stingy." Iris took something from the table, accidentally knocking over a stack of brochures next to her. Zhuang Zhuoyuan got up to tidy up, picking one up as he did so, and found it was a pile of tutoring courses: "Didn't you just sign up for a new parenting course a couple of days ago?"
"Yes, these were sent by the bank today, some courses about investing. Mom wanted to ask you and your sister if you want to participate."
“We’re going to a lot of places this whole time, my sister and I definitely won’t have time, and I’m not really interested in any of this. You can manage my money.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan glanced around and noticed there were courses on kidnapping response and social etiquette. He raised an eyebrow: “BB, do you need to take these classes? Or are these all for me?”
"No, it's just for you to see. If you're interested, you can take it; if not, that's fine too. It's not really necessary learning anyway. I'll remind you if you need it. I've already studied these course contents before. The ones at the back are what Mommy prepared for the baby. She's planning the baby's education at different stages."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally understood what his mother-in-law was busy with at home every day. However, since Jennie had specifically mentioned this "rich second generation investment study group," he thought it was necessary for him to find out his mother-in-law's attitude: "Baby, does Mommy want me to learn about investment?" After all, their family is in business, and it wouldn't be good if he knew nothing about it.
Iris scoffed, "The bank's primary motivation for organizing this training program is to make money. While you can indeed learn some things from it, the people they can invite are mostly those carefree rich kids. Those who are truly ambitious have already been taught by their families. And hanging out with these spendthrifts, you'll be lucky if you don't get corrupted. BB, don't worry, if you're willing, I'll teach you slowly. We'll have plenty of opportunities to broaden your horizons in the future, and you'll accumulate knowledge eventually."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan nodded blankly.
Iris wanted to ask about something else: "My mom and I were watching the news today, and we saw that your SDU is even getting involved in catching petty thugs? Isn't that a bit of a waste of your talents?"
"The person we arrested was Liu Bingju, that black sheep from the fruit market," Zhuang Zhuoyuan said, feeling quite pleased with himself. "He was smuggling red oil. The place where we arrested him was an illegal red oil factory. At the time, there was a gang fight, and the higher-ups were worried that the red oil factory would explode, so they sent our SDU to help. Speaking of which, that guy got his comeuppance. He was too arrogant and stepped on someone else's territory, and even stole someone's girl. As a result, he was beaten like a pig's head in the factory. He was crying and wailing. After being rescued, he still refused to admit anything and shouted loudly. As a result, he was punched and kicked several more times by the newly arrested thugs. He was lying on the ground and couldn't get up."
Iris immediately knew the officers at the scene had gone easy on them, and laughed at them, "You guys are wicked! But good job!"
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