Chapter 73
The next morning, Iris delivered a generous gift directly to Chong Cheuk-wah. Since it was anticipated that the To Tin-yu couple had most likely already left the Chiang family, it would be pointless for the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) to force another conflict with Chiang Pak-yiu. Iris didn't object to Chong Cheuk-wah visiting the Chiang family again, but she supported the latter shifting the focus of her investigation to someone else.
"Sister Ping?" Zhuang Zhuohua looked at the old woman with gray hair in the photo, puzzled.
Iris smiled confidently: "A person's personality and behavior are greatly influenced by their childhood experiences. When I was doing a psychological profile of Yao Meiling, I looked into her childhood. Both her parents died, and she was raised by Sister Ping, who used to work at their family's restaurant."
Zhuang Zhuohua immediately understood: "So if she's going to run away, she'll definitely go see her benefactor one last time before she leaves."
“Right!” Iris snapped her fingers. “Jiang Baiyao must have spent a fortune this time. The king and queen of thieves stayed at their house. I don’t believe they left without taking any souvenirs.”
"With a large sum of money and Du Tianyu's injuries, Yao Meiling probably just wants to leave Hong Kong with her husband as soon as possible." Zhuang Zhuohua had already begun making arrangements, but before leaving her seat, she didn't forget to ask Iris again: "Based on your deduction, what methods do you think they might use to escape?"
In Hong Kong, what could be more convenient than taking a ferry? Iris didn't voice her answer, but simply winked at Chong Cheuk-wah, who smiled knowingly, gave her a thumbs-up, and then grabbed her coat and headed out. The whole process was fluid and efficient, befitting a shrewd female detective.
However, when it came to the breakfast meeting between the two sisters-in-law, Jennie, who had watched the whole thing, she only had one comment. She praised Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who hadn't said a word either: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, you're such a good boy. You don't talk while eating or sleeping."
"Mommy!" Iris immediately turned around and acted coquettishly.
Jennie put down her knife and fork and said seriously, "Iris, I just want you to remember that you're going to be someone's mom soon. So after I leave, be considerate and don't make everyone worry, okay?"
This advice naturally drew a disgruntled grumbling: "I've clearly been doing a great job lately."
This morning, her desire to participate in the investigation was practically written all over her face, and her whole family knew her all too well. But he couldn't ignore his beloved wife's displeasure. Zhuang Zhuoyuan exchanged a glance with his mother-in-law, took Iris's hand, and coaxed her softly, "Baby, you've been exceptionally well-behaved lately. Mommy just wanted to give you a few more words of advice before I left."
"Do you even need to say these things?" Iris snorted, showing no appreciation for her husband's efforts, but under the combined pressure of the two men, she had no choice but to back down: "Okay, okay, I know. I'll continue my seclusion. At worst, I'll cancel all the short trips Pauline and Uncle Chao asked me about, and also Lala and Mr. Yi..."
“Okay, okay,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said, quickly grasping both hands as he saw her counting on her fingers. “We’ll make up for what we owe you on our honeymoon. If we can’t make it up, I’ll take you around to play some more after we get back to Hong Kong.”
"Of course, it can't all be made up for at once." Iris reluctantly agreed, but a fleeting expression revealed the joy of her successful plan. Three months before and three months after, an unexpected pregnancy would tie her down for at least six months. How could she maximize her benefits during those three months if she didn't negotiate the terms? Besides, now that she was forced to waste this precious vacation time, she naturally wanted to recoup some of the "interest." So, she leaned against Zhuang Zhuoyuan's shoulder, hooking her arm around his hair, and said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Honey, I haven't had your cooking in so long."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan tapped Iris's nose and said, "Tell me, do you want to go to the supermarket or the farmers' market this evening?"
"I haven't decided yet!" That's so agreeable, I deserve a kiss. Iris smiled and pressed her advantage: "But how about I pick you up after work? We can decide where to go together then."
It was all too obvious that she "didn't care what she ate" and too predictably "anything was fine." Jennie couldn't bear to watch the young couple's sweet talk. She wiped her lips and turned her gaze to Derek, who was standing to the side. With just a glance, the bodyguard knew what to do. Derek, who had been idle for days, finally showed some signs of life. But the barely suppressed excitement on his face stemmed more from Iris's earlier decision—she wasn't going to that farm day trip, so he had a legitimate reason to avoid Ding Huihui. It couldn't be better. Heaven knows why that girl kept clinging to him. Looking at himself, he realized he didn't look like a good man at all! Maybe it was really necessary to find an opportunity for the young lady to profile this woman. He really wanted to get a definite result so that when he saw her again, he could confidently tell her, "If you're sick, go get treated!"
Derek's idea was truly outlandish, but Iris's prediction was remarkably accurate. Zhuang Zhuoyuan's cries for help during Zhan Hantao's grueling training were cut short as the whereabouts of the thief couple were detected by the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB).
Following Ping-jie's workplace all the way to the couple's hideout, Zhuang Zhuohua immediately reported to her superiors and summoned SDU help as soon as she confirmed the criminals' location. They quickly made arrangements, but they hadn't expected Du Tianyu to be so vigilant. No sooner had they been in position than the mastermind behind the hideout suddenly appeared outside to patrol. Through the scope, Zhuang Zhuoyuan could clearly see the gun tightly gripped by Du Tianyu, his finger on the trigger, clearly indicating he had no intention of leaving any survivors after detecting any movement. Meeting Du Tianyu's cold and ruthless eyes, Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately understood Iris's caution—this so-called mastermind was far more troublesome than they had imagined.
Silence reigned all around. Everyone held their breath, afraid of arousing the attention of the bandit king. Fortunately, after a cold glance around, Du Tianyu holstered his gun and went inside. He simply waited for them to come out in full force, then wiped them all out in one fell swoop…
"Bang! That was really dangerous!" Iris, who first mentioned Qiu Junxuan's glorious moment of shooting the small boat the thief couple were using to escape, was also startled by Jianren's sudden exaggerated voice and actions. With her sister-in-law finally appearing, she naturally received better treatment than before. The group playfully pushed Jianren to the back and continued to report the details of the operation to Zhuang Tai: "No one expected Du Tianyu to be feinting. Not long after he went in, a group of men prepared to move. But this old fox pushed his two men to the front as scapegoats, while he and Yao Meiling hid in the back. If it weren't for the Second Young Master's relentless pursuit, and the final shot hitting their small boat, those two would probably be enjoying themselves right now."
Actually, letting them go like this might not be a bad thing. Yao Meiling's farewell this time was so thorough that Iris guessed the couple were probably going to retire from their criminal activities. Women often have an incredible influence on men, and it probably wouldn't be easy for Du Tianyu to pull off another big heist. However, given how things have developed, the outcome might very well tilt towards the other extreme…
After thinking it over all night, Iris couldn't resist poking Zhuang Zhuoyuan's cheek before going to sleep. Zhuang smiled, moved closer to pull his wife into his arms, and said very gently, "What's wrong? Want me to buy you some late-night snacks again?"
Dinner had already been fed to her heart's content. Iris shook her head, her skin rubbing against his arm, but she wasn't thinking of playing any guessing games. She went straight to the point: "BB, what do you think about me asking Daddy for another tracking chip?"
"Why bring this up out of the blue?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan was worried about his wife's overreaction; he didn't want her little head to be filled with information about the possibility of being harmed all the time.
Iris saw right through his thoughts, gave a soft snort, and then poked his chest hard indignantly, saying, "I meant Ah Xuan!"
“Xuanzai?” Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn’t help but be surprised. “Du Tianyu, he…”
"That's how vicious they can be!" Iris said firmly. She could only hope the search team would bring good news; otherwise, if they couldn't find their bodies, the consequences would be dire, and they wouldn't have peace for a long time. Explosions often cause burns; if Du Tianyu was injured, it would be alright, but if Yao Meiling was injured, both of them would probably go insane. "Honey, remember this: no woman doesn't love beauty."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan suddenly thought of the disfigured, twisted old woman in his wife's martial arts novel. He couldn't help but shudder. It wasn't the ugliness he was thinking about, but rather the inhuman torture that awaited Qiu Junxuan, the "culprit," if Yao Meiling's face were burned. Furthermore, severe burns could very likely lead to various fatal complications. If Yao Meiling died then, Du Tianyu would likely become even more uncontrollable. "I think I should travel with Xuanzi as much as possible before Daddy's chip arrives. It'll be good to have someone to look after you along the way."
Iris propped herself up, cupped her husband's face, and kissed him deeply: "I knew you were loyal, but Ah Xuan has to be careful, and you have to be careful too, you know? You absolutely, absolutely cannot get into trouble."
"How could I dare, BB?" It was often at times like this that Zhuang Zhuoyuan sighed for Iris's pregnancy. His affectionate embraces always had to be tempered by her body, and now even their positions were carefully considered. A few months later… Zhuang Zhuoyuan brought up something he'd been thinking about lately: "BB, how about we consider Daddy and Mommy's suggestion? We could take a year off from school—"
"It's me, not us!" He was interrupted by a clearly annoyed voice before he could finish speaking. Zhuang Zhuoyuan wisely shut up, but Iris didn't stop talking: "It's just a simple subject. Even if fieldwork is inconvenient, I can still find and organize literature in the library and archives. Everyone has been very considerate of me, and the school hasn't asked me to suspend my studies yet!"
“Yes, yes, yes,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan was especially afraid of her getting angry now, so he carefully helped her lie back on the bed. He stroked her hair and said, “Why don’t we go to Jason’s place tomorrow to buy some cakes and have high tea with Dr. Pun and your classmates? You haven’t been out for a long time. Now that Du Tianyu’s temper has been put down, why don’t you go out and get some fresh air? Otherwise, when we go to England again, you won’t be able to see them again until before the start of the semester.”
Iris turned her head away, pouting, "Hmph, I don't want you to make arrangements!"
His wife should be leaving the house tomorrow. Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked at her tightly closed eyes, his hand slowly moving to gently cover Iris's belly, silently thinking: Tangyuan, Tangyuan, you should take after Daddy's personality. Otherwise, if you quarrel with Mommy, Daddy won't be able to take care of you.
The only fear is that when that day comes, the whole family will be in a complete mess. Mr. Zhuang, who hasn't officially taken on the role of parent yet, is already worrying about prenatal education. Being a parent is truly not easy!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
