The next day, when Meng Jiuyi contacted Jiang Zhou, he asked him to help investigate the cause of Gao Xianyue's adoptive father's death.
More than ten years have passed since that incident, and she is far too far away to intervene. Jiang Zhou tentatively asked, "Miss Meng, may I ask about the reason? Of course, if it's inconvenient for you—"
"Can."
Meng Jiuyi succinctly stated, "My friend was the adopted daughter of the Gao family. She had a pretty good relationship with her adoptive father. After the adoption relationship ended, she severed ties with him and originally wanted to repay him in the future. However, her adoptive father had already passed away, and it was due to a hereditary disease that he had never had before. You know, there are many people who might want to harm someone like that kind of big shot. She felt something was amiss."
Jiang Zhou was not optimistic, saying, "So many years have passed, and many clues may have disappeared."
"I know you tried your best to investigate, but the result isn't really important. Also—"
Meng Jiuyi raised his eyes, "Are you good at fabricating evidence?"
Jiang Zhou was stunned by her words. He thought it would be a physically demanding job, but he ended up becoming a legal outcast.
When he called Tan Yuchen to report, he didn't know what adjective to use.
"Third Young Master, I feel that Miss Meng is quite similar to you. Both of you are unconventional and audacious."
Tan Yuchen chuckled softly and said casually.
"Isn't that great?"
Jiang Zhou: "......"
Since he had promised her, Tan Yuchen naturally wouldn't pry into the details, only giving her a brief explanation.
"Take good care of her."
After hanging up Jiang Zhou's call, Zhou Ting also sent Meng Jiuyi the photos of the follow-up. A few days ago, Meng Jiuyi had a private investigator conduct a simple background check on Xu Yungan. Although the Xu family and the Gao family were united by marriage, it was just a means of corporate restructuring, and the two did not live together.
Zhou Ting had been following Xu Yungan for several days but hadn't noticed anything unusual.
"What I find a little strange is his administrative secretary. Take a look at the photo I sent you."
Meng Jiuyi flipped through the photos one by one; the backgrounds of all the photos were in the obstetrics and gynecology department of a hospital.
“I’ve been following her for the past two weeks and I found that she goes for check-ups at a fixed time every week, but based on her private life, she doesn’t have a boyfriend and lives alone.”
Meng Jiuyi zoomed in on the photo; the woman's beauty was undeniable even with a mask on. She had naturally also investigated the people around Xu Yungan.
This administrative secretary graduated from Cambridge University, and coincidentally, she was Xu Yanzhi's classmate.
Meng Jiuyi seemed thoughtful. "If you don't have a boyfriend but are pregnant, whose child is most likely to be the father?"
There was silence on both sides of the line, but an unspoken answer was clear.
Zhou Ting asked, "Even if it's found out that the beast's death is really related to Gao Xianyue, aren't you worried that the Xu family will step in to protect her again?"
Of course I'm not worried.
The Xu family will only protect Gao Xianyue, but they certainly won't care about the irrelevant people around her.
Meng Jiuyi is trying to cut off her left and right arms this time.
--
She and Zhou Ting took turns caring for Zhang Ma. The next day, when she went to the hospital, there was a bit of traffic. When she arrived at the ward, she was surprised to see an uninvited guest.
Xu Yanzhi was dressed casually, a rare sight for him. He wore a blue sweater with crisp casual trousers. The sunlight shone brightly on him, giving him a rare gentleness amidst his noble bearing. He seemed to be chatting with Aunt Zhang about something, and there was a faint smile on her face.
A bouquet of flowers sat by the bedside; the petals of carnations, meant to bring good health, were tightly clustered together, resembling a delicate hydrangea, and wrapped in layers of tracing paper.
Meng Jiuyi was stunned.
Xu Yanzhi turned his head and saw her standing blankly by the door, and said gently.
"What are you daydreaming about? Come in!"
What are you doing here?
Xu Yanzhi stood up, took the things from her hands, and placed them on the table. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but information is shared between hospitals."
What sharing? He clearly looked it up himself.
Meng Jiuyi had nothing to say to him.
Although Aunt Zhang is blind and deaf, she has a keen sense of hearing.
From the way this man spoke and his composure when he came in, you could tell he was no ordinary person.
With a stern face, he said, "Since you're here, aren't you going to introduce me? I didn't even know how to address you earlier."
Meng Jiuyi then remembered and said "Oh".
"Godmother, he is my senior from university."
She wouldn't say the second half of her sentence, and Xu Yanzhi knew she was still sulking, so he was even stingy with his introduction.
He smiled and said, "Auntie, please call me whatever you like, just call me Yanzhi."
No one outside dared to call him by his name so directly, mostly because Chairman Xu was afraid of offending him with his tone.
The nurse knocked on the door, saying she would be giving the patient an injection soon. Meng Jiuyi was used to wiping her hands while she was awake, and then took the urine bag from the previous day to clean it, but she couldn't find it today, only the new one was hanging by the window.
"you....."
Xu Yanzhi spoke calmly and casually, saying, "It was just something I did on the spur of the moment."
She didn't know how he managed to do this so easily. Her most private side was suddenly spied on by him. There was no joy in sharing secrets; she just couldn't wait to close that door.
Meng Jiuyi couldn't help but say.
"You really don't need to do this."
The passing doctors nodded to the man. Half an hour before her arrival, even the hospital director came in person, but was politely refused entry to the ward by Xu Yanzhi.
He had been holding back the itch in his throat for a long time, but when he got to the balcony, he couldn't help but clench his fist and cough. The uncontrollable series of coughs startled Meng Jiuyi.
"Do you have a cold? Why did you get it wet?"
"It's nothing, just a slight cough."
Xu Yanzhi's brows furrowed slightly in exasperation. "Meng Jiuyi."
She exclaimed "Ah!" and as soon as she raised her head, he gently tapped her head with his bent hand.
"I'm not as detached from worldly affairs as you think. I had elderly relatives before, and I was quite capable of taking care of them. Every time you give me that look, it's like you're going to worship me like a god. Next time, are you going to light incense and offer fruit right in front of me?"
Meng Jiuyi smiled slightly at his humorous tone.
“That’s the person who raised you from childhood, they’re definitely different. Thank you for your help.”
"Thanks?"
Xu Yanzhi repeated the word casually, "I've received this word too many times, I don't really want it anymore."
"Then what do you want?"
She naturally continued the conversation, only to find him staring at her without saying a word after she finished asking. His light-colored eyes gradually deepened, and he chuckled softly.
"He can ask you for anything?"
Not knowing if he was implying something, she inexplicably felt her mouth dry, hastily looked away, then turned back to gaze at him quietly.
"Of course, what does Senior Brother Xu want?"
Sunlight fell on her pure white sweater, tinging her lips and nose with pink. She tilted her head up and looked at him innocently, her eyes like a pear blossom blooming in winter.
I wanted to ask you—
Xu Yanzhi looked down at her and asked, "How can you open up to me more? Besides leaving you at the Cen family banquet last time, did I do anything else that made you unhappy?"
He speaks with focused eyes and a gentle tone, as if coaxing a child, making you feel that he has endless patience for you.
Meng Jiuyi had never met anyone more self-reflective than him, and his smile froze for a moment before returning to normal.
"have."
Xu Yanzhi listened patiently.
"Actually, we're both the same. Last time I asked Senior Brother Xu to take a look at the wound on my lower abdomen, but he only opened it up a tiny bit. You're pretty stingy too, aren't you?"
Xu Yanzhi: "......"
His gaze lingered on her face, a rare hint of something more meaningful in it. "If you really want to see, that's fine too. How about we schedule a time separately?"
"No! No!"
Meng Jiuyi quickly waved his hand, "I need to go to the Second Hospital next door to get some prescription medicine for Aunt Zhang later. If you have time, could you give me a ride?"
The Second Hospital's outpatient department was packed with people in the afternoon. Xu Yanzhi asked her, puzzled, why she had come here to get her prescription. Meng Jiuyi had already prepared an excuse.
"The Fourth Hospital has run out of the original drug recently. If I ask the hospital to buy it on my behalf, they will charge a handling fee. Since I have time, I came in person."
Xu Yanzhi silently memorized it, and the people on the stairs kept rushing up and down. He held the railing with one hand, leaving her half an area.
Once upstairs, Meng Jiuyi said, "Wait for me here."
When the woman wearing a mask passed by Meng Jiuyi, she knocked Meng Jiuyi's bag off her shoulder.
"Feel sorry."
The other woman looked up and saw the man beside her; her face turned pale instantly. Xu Yanzhi picked up the things he had dropped, noticed her, and his expression changed instantly as well.
He glanced at the department she came out of, his previously gentle face stiffening with disgust.
What are you doing here?
--
Sometimes the meetings went on too late, and a helicopter would land on the roof of the Xu's Building and fly directly back to the Xu family mansion, bypassing half of Kyushu. He was dressed in a dark suit, his expression as solemn as ever, and Uncle Zhuang bowed respectfully.
Xu Yungan asked, "He's back too?"
"Young Master is waiting for you in the study."
The father and son had always been at odds. In the past, Xu Yungan had tried to ease the tension, but his blunt words had little effect. This was the first time that Xu Yanzhi had waited for him specifically like tonight.
His brows relaxed, no longer as sharp as before.
Upon entering the study, he was met with a strong smell of alcohol. The man sat with his back to him on the sofa, with empty bottles beside him, as if he had already drunk several glasses by himself.
Xu Yungan disliked his unserious manner and suppressed his anger, saying, "Didn't Uncle Zhuang say you have a bit of a cold and it's best to drink less?"
Xu Yanzhi ignored his feigned concern and asked, "Do you remember what day it is tomorrow?"
"Of course I remember. Tomorrow is your mother's day. I was just about to call you when I got back tonight to ask you to make time for tomorrow."
He sat opposite me, trying to ease tensions, saying, "I haven't forgotten a single day of these years—"
"Is this the big gift you gave her on the anniversary of her death?"
Xu Yanzhi threw the document out; it was a prenatal checkup report. His gaze was cold and sharp.
More than ever before.
The name on the prenatal checkup report was clearly visible, and Xu Yungan took it and flipped through it without any change in expression.
“I don’t know anything about this. She didn’t ask for my permission, and I’ve told you that you’re my only son, so you don’t need to worry at all—”
"What do you think I'm worried about? The future inheritance of the Xu family."
Xu Yanzhi said, "I know I'm disgusted by you, but you still allowed her to climb into your bed because she's my classmate. How am I supposed to address you from now on, stepmother?"
His voice was calm yet chillingly cold, "If my mother had known this day would come, she would never have boarded the flight to see you; she would have died with her eyes wide open in disbelief!"
In the dim light, his expression felt unfamiliar to Xu Yungan, as if he were about to lose this son.
"The love you speak of is just as disgusting as you are."
After Xu Yanzhi finished speaking, he went downstairs and did not stop no matter how loudly Xu Yanzhi ordered him to do so.
--
The night at Ruijin Mansion sheds the hustle and bustle of the day, like a black silk ribbon gently covering the backyard, with lights scattered like stars, connecting the lawn like a tranquil ink painting.
In the undulating cool breeze, Xu Yanzhi stared intently at the sycamore trees on the lawn, his eyes as turbulent as a snowstorm.
In Kyushu, it is customary to plant a tree for a newborn child, and the Xu family was no exception. This mansion is covered with lush greenery. Xu Yungan bought this five-star hotel just for this lawn and planted the tree with his wife.
It is a celebration, and also a tribute to their love that will never fade.
Xu Yanzhi watched without any emotion, his fingers trembling inexplicably; the coldness and oppression he felt couldn't be relieved even by nicotine.
"Go get a shovel," he ordered the person next to him.
The shovel was brought over, but the waiter had no idea what the young master was going to do. Then he saw Xu Yanzhi walk to the center of the lawn and forcefully dig the shovel into the soil around the base of the sycamore tree.
"Young Master!" The waiter was terrified. From his first day of training, he knew that the value of this sycamore tree surpassed all the hotel's cultural relics, and they would not be able to compensate for any damage to it.
However, there was no way to stop him. Xu Yanzhi's gaze was so cold that no one dared to step forward.
With most of the pit already dug, the sycamore tree, having lost its roots, was about to collapse and fall to the ground.
A fair hand suddenly grabbed Xu Yanzhi's arm. The force wasn't strong, but it pulled him back to his remaining rationality.
Meng Jiuyi stopped him, saying, "Xu Yanzhi, I won't allow you to dig!"
--
The word count of the two chapters is combined into one chapter. Good night.
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