Yan Heng glanced at the text message, got out of bed, and opened the front door as instructed by the message. A man stood outside his door, panting heavily.
If Zhu Yaya had been present at this moment, she would have definitely recognized that the man was the Store Manager of the Once in a Lifetime milk tea shop.
The Store Manager turned and quickly walked into Yan Heng's home, closing and locking the door behind him.
"What's wrong?" Yan Heng asked, noticing his poor complexion and gloomy face.
The Store Manager didn't answer Yan Heng immediately. He walked briskly to the coffee table in the living room, picked up the pitcher, poured himself a glass of cold water, and gulped it down.
After downing several glasses of water in a row, the Store Manager finally wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and told Yan Heng what he had just encountered.
"Isn't there a fugitive wanted for economic crimes from an eastern province who fled to our area? I received information about his hideout. Good grief, I thought I could catch him early, but I didn't expect the son of a bitch who sold the information to screw me over. I staked out the place from nine o'clock until past two in the morning, and didn't see a single soul. Sigh, it was a waste of time. Good thing you didn't go."
Yan Heng thought of the attacked Zhu Jianjun and Zhu Yaya hiding in the storage room, a flicker of indiscernible dark light flashing in his eyes. He lowered his head and murmured in a voice too low for the Store Manager to hear, "Good thing, indeed."
The Store Manager stretched his back, yawning, and said, "I'm dead tired! Yan Heng, let me borrow your sofa for a bit."
Before Yan Heng could say anything, he lay down on the sofa on his own accord. The sofa was a bit small, so it was inevitably somewhat uncomfortable for a grown man to lie there, but he didn't care. Perhaps he was truly exhausted, because before long, thunderous snores filled the room.
Yan Heng frowned but left him be, returning to his own room. He was already suffering from insomnia tonight, and now with someone snoring in the living room, sleep was even more elusive.
Lying on his side in bed, he recalled everything that had happened on New Year's Eve. Why would Zhu Jianjun, who had never made any enemies, be maliciously attacked? Zhu Jianjun was just an ordinary policeman. After attacking Zhu Jianjun, why did that person trick Zhu Yaya into leaving her house? Who was the mastermind behind all of this?
If he hadn't gone to Zhu Yaya's house on New Year's Eve but had followed the Store Manager instead, wouldn't Zhu Jianjun and Zhu Yaya have...
Yan Heng sighed.
He reached out and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Unlocking it, the screen displayed a photo of Zhu Yaya. Just looking at the picture made his eyes soften with immense tenderness.
Yaya.
He gently stroked the person on the screen inch by inch with his right thumb, silently swearing in his heart: I will protect you. He didn't want the tragedy that befell his parents to repeat itself with him and Yaya. He was going to protect his girl well.
Meanwhile, in a highly secretive private club in the eastern district of the city, a tall Burly Man stood with his head bowed, motionless in a VIP room.
The room was spacious, with a massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. As the chandelier slowly rotated, its dim light cast a kaleidoscope of colorful shadows that rippled across the room. Beneath the chandelier sat a Young Man on a premium Italian leather sofa.
He had his legs crossed, his face hidden within the dappled light and shadows. A White-shirted Youth rested his upper body on his lap. He gently stroked the youth's head, absentmindedly, as if petting his own animal.
The White-shirted Youth looked up and smiled ingratiatingly at him, only to be forcefully shoved away in disgust by the Young Man. Caught off guard, the White-shirted Youth fell to the floor. The Young Man wasn't done yet; he viciously kicked the White-shirted Youth with his right foot.
He sneered with deep disdain, "Who told you to smile!"
The White-shirted Youth trembled, kneeling at the Young Man's feet to beg for mercy, "I'm sorry, I was wrong."
The Young Man gave a cold snort, planted his right foot on the youth's back, and casually picked up a crystal ashtray resting on the arm of the sofa, hurling it at the Burly Man standing with his head bowed not far away.
"Trash!"
The Burly Man didn't dodge. The ashtray struck his head, and blood began to ooze from his forehead.
The White-shirted Youth cowering at the Young Man's feet trembled even more violently.
The Young Man harshly reprimanded, "You useless piece of trash, you couldn't even handle a lowly policeman."
"I stabbed him," the Burly Man muttered defensively.
Veins bulged on the Young Man's forehead. "But right now, Zhu Jianjun is lying perfectly fine in the hospital! And what about Zhu Yaya? She's a weak little girl who couldn't even hurt a fly, how could you fail to catch her?"
"I went to her house to look for her but couldn't find her, and she didn't answer when I called her."
"You idiot, you actually called her! You're just beating the grass to scare the snake!"
The Burly Man looked up in bewilderment. "What does a grass-scared snake look like? I... I didn't beat no snake!"
Young Man: ...
Unable to bear it any longer, he snatched up his phone and called his Butler: "I told you to find an experienced assassin, how did you find such an idiot!"
The Butler's helpless voice came through the phone: "Young Master, this is already the best assassin on the market. Right now, the government is cracking down hard on gangs and organized crime, and many assassins and underworld figures have been thrown behind bars. Assassins are hard to hire these days! Even the Ling family has been called in for questioning by the authorities several times!"
Young Man: ...
"Roll out of here!"
Before preparing to literally roll out, the Burly Man didn't forget to ask the Young Man, "When I called that girl, I even topped up her phone credit with fifty yuan. Can I get that fifty reimbursed?"
Young Man: ...
Suppressing his rage, he asked, "You even topped up her phone bill?"
"Yeah, the girl's phone was out of credit. I couldn't even call her."
Young Man: ... What the f*ck.
"Roll!"
Hearing this, the Burly Man swiftly squatted down, hugged his head with both hands, and strenuously rolled himself across the floor.
Young Man: ...
He had never been so speechless in his entire life.
He lowered his body and reached out to lift the chin of the White-shirted Youth kneeling at his feet. The youth shivered, looking up at him with fear in his eyes.
The Young Man chuckled, his laughter tinged with a twisted edge. "Zhu Yaya! You really are something else!"
At eight o'clock on the morning of New Year's Day, Zhu Yaya woke up and sneezed several times.
Is someone thinking about me?
Zhu Yaya rubbed her nose, and Yan Heng's figure instantly popped into her mind. Her face flushed, and she shook her head, trying to shake off these fanciful thoughts. Zhao Jing had already gone over to see Zhu Jianjun and left her a note with Zhu Jianjun's ward number, telling her to buy three portions of breakfast and come to the hospital after she woke up.
It was already so late, Mom and Dad must be starving! The scene from last night surfaced in Zhu Yaya's mind: Zhu Jianjun lying in the hospital bed, pale and on the verge of death; Zhao Jing washing her face with tears.
A sense of guilt welled up from the bottom of Zhu Yaya's heart. She quickly bought three breakfasts and rushed to the hospital.
As soon as she entered the ward, she saw Zhu Jianjun half-lying on the hospital bed with Zhao Jing sitting beside him. The two of them were watching a TV drama with great relish while cracking sunflower seeds.
