Chapter 90
After this incident, Xie Jiaxing felt guilty for a long time. Although things eventually had a happy ending, he still felt regret and lingering fear whenever he thought about it. Iris wanted to comfort him in person, but Tangyuan started to become restless, so she had to focus all her attention on her son. She even took leave from school early and rested in bed every day, preparing for the possible premature birth.
Thus, the task was assigned to another person—Larine, who was currently bored and adept at manipulating others' emotions. This was also for the sake of Yu Xueli and Su Wenqiang. Last time Yu Xueli was hospitalized, Su Wenqiang, after struggling, disregarded regulations and sneaked out of the base to visit him late at night, only to find Larine comfortably lying on Yu Xueli's hospital bed, entertaining herself. Fortunately, Yu Xueli wasn't in the ward that day, but the angry woman wouldn't listen to any explanation. Coupled with Larine's provocations after leaving the hospital, Su Wenqiang ignored Yu Xueli for a whole week. This time, when Yu Xueli came to Iris for help, Iris could only come up with this manpower transfer solution.
Larine had virtually no recollection of Xie Jiaxing. She knew this man had participated in the mission to protect her, but at that time her attention was focused on Yu Xueli; she wouldn't have paid any attention to the minor bodyguard. Even when she visited him in the hospital later, her focus was on Guangzai, who was injured while saving her and her brother; she had no idea whether Xie Jiaxing was even there. This time, Iris suddenly contacted her, which puzzled her greatly. However, since she had nothing else to do, she figured she could deliver some things to the nursing home, do a good deed, and offer some comfort.
After the kidnapping of the rich second-generation, Larine, deeply remorseful and primarily for Yu Xueli's sake, resolved to mend her ways. In the past six months, she shed her carefree, spoiled-rich attitude and humbly began learning, now handling matters with surprising competence. Xie Jiaxing, seeing her constantly smiling, was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but glance at her a few more times while helping distribute items. As a result, the spoiled heiress immediately came looking for her afterwards.
"Thank you so much for your help today." Miss Shu's words surprised him. Xie Jiaxing hadn't expected her to thank someone, and his response was somewhat awkward: "No...you're welcome."
Larine flashed her signature smile: "You're Ah Xing, right? Just call me Larine. We've met before, we must be friends."
"Hmm." Xie Jiaxing still couldn't quite process her friendliness.
At this moment, Larine was already inwardly cursing. This Ah Xing truly lived up to his nickname, "Stone Star." It was always men who approached her, but this time, she had condescended to do so, yet he reacted so indifferently—he was utterly ungrateful. Remembering Iris's request, Larine maintained her smile: "I run a public relations company, and I'm here to help Iris out. Sometimes it's quite enjoyable to come here and connect with the older folks, isn't it?"
Xie Jiaxing finally said a few more words: "So many people came to visit today, and you made them happy, these grandparents should be even happier."
Larine felt relieved. She curled her lips into a smile, making no attempt to hide her smugness or her intentions: "You didn't seem so happy when I arrived."
Xie Jiaxing remained silent for a moment before replying, "It's my personal reason."
"Is it about that drug dealer?" Larine didn't wait for his plan; waiting for the stone to speak on its own might take three to five years, to exaggerate a bit. "I saw the news. Wasn't that drug dealer sentenced to death in Thailand?"
"Hmm." Xie Jiaxing responded with a sound, and after a while, he whispered again, "A stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
"Everyone's happy now, so what are you worried about?" Larine asked dismissively. Her seemingly casual question made Xie Jiaxing feel less pressured when he answered. Or perhaps, he had been holding it in for too long and needed to vent to someone relatively unfamiliar. So, unusually, he continued, "I made a mistake; I almost let that bad guy go."
Larine played with her nails: "So what? In the end, that person died, so it's a good outcome. Were you punished?"
"Mm." Xie Jiaxing nodded.
"Was the punishment severe?" Larine shifted her position, propping her head up to look at him. "You were dismissed? If you're unemployed, I can help you find a job."
Xie Jiaxing choked: "It's not that serious."
Larine gave an "Oh," looking quite experienced. "So you're unhappy with the punishment you received from above?"
"No, not exactly." Xie Jiaxing answered honestly, "This punishment is something I deserve."
"Then what are you still agonizing over?" Larine's tone was quite disdainful, and it took a lot of patience for her to force herself to stay and finish the conversation. "The outcome is satisfactory. You reflected on the problem, and you're not dissatisfied with the punishment. Isn't that a win-win situation?"
Xie Jiaxing's furrowed brows did not relax: "That's true..."
“Leave the problems for next time,” Larine raised her hand to stop him. Although the cost of trial and error seemed much higher for him, in her eyes, it was all the same. No one is infallible; if you didn't do well this time, just try harder next time. Constantly dwelling on the past will inevitably lead to getting nothing right later. She wasn't the kind of theorist who spouted long-winded theories; she preferred to prove things with actions. Right now, she was the best example—a positive, prodigal son-turned-returnee model.
"Are you sure it's okay to hand Ah Xing over to Larine?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan checked the delivery kit again, rehearsing his entry into the delivery room. Iris lay on her side in bed, her anxiety lessened than in the first few days. She placed her hand on her belly, silently counting Tangyuan's movements. Unable to count accurately, she distracted herself by answering Zhuang Zhuoyuan's question: "You have to believe in God's arrangements. Just like Xu Qixia's plane encountered a typhoon and had to make an emergency landing at a Thai airport, and then someone reported him—everything will have a good ending." Xu Qixia also had several lawsuits in Thailand. Before his plane even landed, an anonymous person reported him to the Thai authorities that he was going to enter the country. Falling into this place where the death penalty was a possibility, Xu Qixia's final fate finally brought everyone some comfort.
Everyone was somewhat skeptical about the matter. Zhuang Zhuoyuan revealed to Iris, "We think the anonymous person might be Zhong Wei'en." "Oh!" Iris exclaimed, but then she wasn't surprised. This was very much in line with Zhong Wei'en's style, and the CIB's resources were enough for her to track Xu Qixia's whereabouts. "Anyway, she's doing a good thing." "That's right," Zhuang Zhuoyuan agreed.
With the matter settled, given that Zhan Hantao had reported to his superiors that concealing the fact that Loot Lat and Xu Qixia had switched identities had a certain impact on the Flying Tigers team members' emotions, the A Team members were soon arranged to participate in a police-community recreational activity organized by the Public Relations Department. This was intended to both relax them and improve the police force's image.
Fencing, archery, basketball—Iris was quite interested in participating in these activities. However, being tightly bound by Tangyuan, she even lost the basic conditions for her "escape." Zhuang Zhuoyuan promised that he would bring a surprise when he returned home.
With a little effort, Iris was easy to please. From the first day she took leave from school, Zhuang Zhuoyuan planned to create little romantic moments to make her happy every day. Even Guo Dewei, who called himself a "heartbreaker," was ashamed of his own lack of effort. At the day of recreation for the disabled, the two went to the shooting range to assist the disabled participants with their shooting training. Guo Dewei, who was used to sniper rifles, was a little nervous about archery and relied on Zhuang Zhuoyuan to take on the main instruction role. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had tried archery a few times with Jennie in England, so he had some experience, but he didn't dare to be arrogant. He simply reminded Guo Dewei that the breathing techniques for both sports were interchangeable. Unexpectedly, upon seeing that the person shooting was a pretty girl, the young man automatically took on the role of instructor, boasting that he was an expert in archery.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan smiled helplessly and gave the area to the two to compete. The girl in the wheelchair named Huihui looked frail, but she drew her bow and arrow with considerable force. Zhuang Zhuoyuan could tell from her movements that she was an expert. Sure enough, all three arrows hit the bullseye. Now, the pressure was directly on Wei Ge, who had been casually shouting "Ladies first" earlier. "It's your turn now," Zhuang Zhuoyuan deliberately leaned over, patting his shoulder with a look of amusement.
He was mischievous, and Wei Ge was just happy about it. No matter the outcome, he could always find topics to chat about with Hui Hui. As long as the most important goal was achieved, he didn't need to care about anything else.
Guo Dewei focused his attention on his students, while Zhuang Zhuoyuan went to help other athletes. There weren't many people training there, and most of them already had a foundation, so his coaching work wasn't strenuous. After most people had left, he even had time to entertain himself.
He was still in a great mood, and when Derek and Ding Huihui appeared in his sight, Zhuang Zhuoyuan even invited Derek to come and compete with him. He was wondering why the two of them would meet here, until he saw Ding Huihui cheering for Derek like a fangirl. Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately guessed that this was because of Iris's recommendation.
“Isn’t this a bit too cool?” Zhuang Zhuoyuan whispered as they passed each other. Derek insisted, “I only agreed to go on a date with her, not to love her.” He quickly fired three arrows, hitting the bullseye just like Zhuang Zhuoyuan, with the arrow tips grazing the latter’s three arrows.
There's nothing we can do about that; you can't force a relationship. Zhuang Zhuoyuan reached out and shook hands with him, anticipating that Ding Huihui would come over to ask Derek for guidance, and that he shouldn't be a third wheel. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Derek lower his voice: "I just heard that Inspector Pan might be parachuted into your SDU."
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