Chapter 510: A Look of Utter Bewilderment!

Chapter 510: A Look of Utter Bewilderment!

He Shiqin hadn’t expected her daughter to be so “disobedient” as to answer the call outright.

Although He Xinxin occasionally argued with her mother at home, things were usually different when Wu Chen was around. He Shiqin didn’t know what methods Wu Chen had used to make her daughter behave so obediently in his presence.

He Shiqin reached out to “snatch” the phone.

“You rotten scammer! You bastard! You piece of trash!” But He Xinxin had barely answered before she launched into a tirade without waiting for the other person to say anything.

He Shiqin’s outstretched hand abruptly stopped.

“What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep calling? If you’re sick, go get treated! If there’s something wrong with your head, go to the hospital! If they can’t cure you, go jump off a building! What’s the point of you being alive, you piece of trash? Get lost! Get lost! Get lost!” He Xinxin fired off the insults in a rapid stream, then swiftly pulled the phone away and ended the call.

She didn’t give the other person a chance to talk back.

Perhaps because her mother was beside her, He Xinxin had actually been fairly restrained. She hadn’t used any of the curses involving someone’s mother, though she’d certainly managed to deliver a proper scolding.

More importantly…

He Xinxin had no idea who’d been calling.

He Shiqin did.

He Xinxin moved quickly. As soon as she’d hung up, she went straight into her phone settings and turned on the whitelist as fast as she could, afraid the caller would ring back and curse at her.

He Shiqin stood rooted to the spot, watching her daughter’s movements. It was certainly the sort of thing Xinxin would do. The problem was the person she’d just cursed at…

At the thought, He Shiqin couldn’t help letting out a little laugh.

Given Ding Ruilong’s temper, he was already furious, and now his own daughter had answered the phone by cursing him out. He was bound to lose his mind.

“You little brat. Since when did you learn to swear like that?” He Shiqin gave her daughter’s shoulder a gentle push, trying to look stern while fighting back a smile.

“Mom, I was standing up for you! Why are you scolding me?” He Xinxin protested at once, with a hint of childish wheedling.

“Teacher Wu, look at my mom! She’s still criticizing me, and I didn’t even say anything that bad…” He Xinxin got up, crossed over to Wu Chen’s armchair in a couple of steps, tugged at his arm, and complained to him about her mother.

He Xinxin didn’t really know what had come over her.

She simply felt that Wu Chen could take her side.

After all, she’d seen the way her mother treated Teacher Wu.

“Swearing at people is wrong, after all,” Wu Chen said, admonishing He Xinxin first.

“Hmph…” She gave a little snort and pouted, looking unhappy and unconvinced.

“But this time, you did the right thing,” Wu Chen added with a smile.

“Heh!”

He Xinxin immediately grinned again and shot her mother a look.

He Shiqin looked both exasperated and amused.

The three of them chatted a little more about whether Xinxin had been right to swear. Then she went upstairs again to continue packing up her art studio.

Wu Chen waited until the sound of footsteps upstairs had completely faded before resuming his discussion with He Shiqin about matters Xinxin couldn’t be allowed to hear.

“Once Ding Ruilong loses contact with both of you completely, he’ll certainly send people to Donghai to look for you. He already has some men here, too. From now on, don’t use your credit cards. I’ll have someone arrange two cards for you…”

Wu Chen went over many other details with He Shiqin.

Soon afterward.

A few minutes later.

He Shiqin suddenly thought of an extremely important question.

“Mr. Wu, Ding Ruilong can check my call records, can’t he? He’ll find out I’ve been in touch with you, and he’ll also find out about my calls with Miss Li…” As she spoke, He Shiqin grew anxious again.

She had Li Ruobing’s phone number too. After all, she was living in one of Li Ruobing’s houses, so naturally they’d been in contact.

“It’s fine. My phone number is encrypted on the carrier’s end…” Wu Chen said with a smile. “Ruobing’s is too. Her protection level isn’t as high as mine, but her records can’t be accessed either.”

Wu Chen’s phone number and bank accounts were both protected.

Whenever his phone connected with anyone, the telecom company’s back-end system automatically deleted the call record. Any related records were deleted as well.

So whether Wu Chen called someone or someone called him, there would be no record of the conversation in either party’s telecom provider’s call logs.

As for his bank cards… very few people had the authority to access Wu Chen’s bank account information.

Li Maoren had arranged all of this!

After Li Maoren came to Donghai, met Wu Chen, and was maneuvered by him during their detailed discussion, he returned and ordered Wu Chen’s information-confidentiality level raised to the highest that his own influence and authority allowed.

Other people couldn’t even look up Wu Chen’s high-speed rail booking records.

At first, Li Maoren had done this to prevent anyone from uncovering his contact with Wu Chen. After all, what the two had agreed to do was enormous. They absolutely couldn’t afford a slipup over such a “minor matter.”

Wu Chen didn’t explain all this to He Shiqin in detail.

Since he said there was no problem, she didn’t ask any more questions.

They spoke a little longer before Wu Chen stood and took his leave. He agreed on a time with He Shiqin and said he would return to pick up her and Xinxin.

Wu Chen left.

Downstairs.

The underground parking garage.

Wu Chen had only just climbed into his Lamborghini when his phone rang.

Ring, ring…

It was Meng Junhao!

They’d already agreed to meet for a proper discussion.

“Mr. Wu.” As soon as Wu Chen answered, Meng Junhao’s slightly nervous voice came through.

“Ding Ruilong called you,” Wu Chen said directly.

“Uh… yes. He called me himself just now. He told me to follow you and also to find two people—a mother and daughter…” Meng Junhao had called to tip Wu Chen off.

Wu Chen had known Ding Ruilong would assign Meng Junhao to investigate. That was why he’d arranged to meet him.

And Meng Junhao clearly didn’t know what relationship He Shiqin and He Xinxin had with Ding Ruilong.

As it happened, more people within the Ding family probably knew that Ding Ruilong had a daughter born out of wedlock, but very few outsiders did.

A family as powerful as the Li family, on the same level as the Dings, would naturally have discovered it when investigating the Ding family in preparation for a marriage alliance.

In Modu, Mao Rusong knew because he had some personal ties to Ding Ruilong and had long helped keep an eye on He Shiqin and He Xinxin.

But someone of Meng Junhao’s standing, based in Donghai, had neither the connections nor the opportunity to know.

“I know. We’ll talk when we meet.” Wu Chen didn’t waste words with Meng Junhao. After another couple of sentences, he hung up.

The Lamborghini left the Jinzun Manor residential complex.

Once the car reached the main road, Wu Chen drove with one hand and dialed another number.

It connected quickly.

“Mr. Wu.” A slightly hoarse voice came over the line.

It was Old Dao!

He had almost completely recovered from his injuries and was currently on standby. When he had nothing to do, he visited Jiang Chuan, who was being held in secret, and chatted with him. Wu Chen had given him an eight-figure sum in operating funds, and he’d been directing people by phone, bringing more men to Donghai.

In fact, Old Dao himself was extremely wealthy.

He’d spent many years as a professional killer and fugitive and had close connections with local organizations in northern Myanmar. His net worth was at least nine figures.

It was just that he’d been trapped in that life for so long, unable to extricate himself, with no way back.

Wu Chen had helped him get out.

But Old Dao’s money was his own. Since Wu Chen employed him, he naturally wouldn’t shortchange him or simply threaten him with leverage. In fact, compared with everyone else, Old Dao was now the person Wu Chen trusted most.

Although Wu Chen had stabbed him several times, he had afterward given him an entirely new life—one that was neither dangerous nor dark!

Old Dao’s character alone made him worthy of trust.

After all, he was the first real man Wu Chen had encountered during his thousand years in the time loop who had managed to withstand his interrogation under torture!

“Drive a decent business vehicle to Jinzun Manor in the North District. Wait for me outside,” Wu Chen instructed.

“Got it, Mr. Wu,” Old Dao replied.

Half an hour later.

A commercial street in Donghai’s Central District.

The speeding Lamborghini began to slow. From a distance, Wu Chen spotted a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class parked along the roadside outside the north entrance to the pedestrian shopping street. He parked his Lamborghini behind it.

He got out.

Wu Chen walked toward the Mercedes. Just as he was approaching the driver’s door, it opened. The driver had spotted him and stepped out—a man wearing a black suit and sunglasses.

He was one of Li Ruotai’s trusted bodyguards, left behind in Donghai to look after Crown Entertainment.

Wu Chen knew his name: Hu Bai. He’d served in the military and joined the Li family immediately after leaving the service.

The Li family had developed a system for cultivating trusted subordinates. Anyone taken on as a bodyguard was either exceptionally skilled, highly trained, and capable in a fight, or someone who already had connections to the family.

Hu Bai belonged to the latter category. His own uncle had been one of Li Maoren’s trusted bodyguards for more than ten years.

“Mr. Wu.” Hu Bai greeted Wu Chen as he got out and handed him a set of keys.

He had come to deliver the villa keys. Li Ruotai had sent him.

Wu Chen accepted the villa keys, then tossed Hu Bai his Lamborghini keys. “Let’s swap cars. Take mine to Ruobing’s office building and give her the keys…”

“Of course, Mr. Wu,” Hu Bai replied without hesitation.

Whatever the reason for the arrangement, he wouldn’t ask questions he wasn’t supposed to ask. He was a professional.

The two exchanged cars.

Wu Chen set off again in the black Mercedes.

Heading for the East District!

A little over ten minutes later, in the East District, at Tree Island Café.

This was where Wu Chen and Meng Junhao had first met. Meng Junhao had opened the café for his lover. It was his territory and completely secure.

A sign on the glass door said the café was temporarily closed.

Wu Chen got out, straightened his suit, slipped one hand into his pocket, and walked inside.

He pushed open the café door.

Naturally, there were no customers while the business was closed. And unlike his first visit, when the place had been full of fierce-looking men, there were very few people inside this time. Meng Junhao had brought only a few of his most trusted confidants. All of them were sitting near the entrance. When Wu Chen came in, they immediately stood.

Not to intimidate him, of course. It was simply a gesture of courtesy.

“Mr. Wu.” Meng Junhao, seated in a corner against the inner wall, stood too and beckoned to him. Stepping away from his seat, he gestured toward the stairs. “Mr. Wu, let’s go upstairs…”

The two went upstairs.

The café’s second floor.

They sat by a window, the curtains half drawn.

“Mr. Wu, what’s Young Master Ding… what’s that man Ding up to this time? Is he going to…” Meng Junhao couldn’t wait to ask. He genuinely felt he was in a difficult position. Although Wu Chen rarely called on him, he still felt as if he were walking a tightrope.

Meng Junhao knew Wu Chen had told Li Ruotai that Meng Junhao was one of his people.

The trouble of being a double agent seemed to have been resolved.

But Meng Junhao was still afraid something might happen to Wu Chen. If it did, Li Ruotai certainly wouldn’t spare him.

“Here’s what you’ll do. Ding Ruilong told you to investigate me, along with He Shiqin and He Xinxin. Make preparations and arrange for your people to be in position. Around five o’clock this afternoon, have them…” Wu Chen didn’t explain much. Instead, he went straight into giving instructions.

First, Meng Junhao needed to understand what he was supposed to do.

“Once you’ve taken the photos, send them to Ding Ruilong tonight. Tell him you found them while following me—that you discovered them and took the pictures during your surveillance…” Wu Chen finished outlining the arrangement.

“Uh… all right!” Meng Junhao hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

It wasn’t that he had doubts about Wu Chen’s instructions. He was simply baffled by Wu Chen’s behavior. He knew Ding Ruilong was investigating him again, yet he was handing information straight over? Voluntarily?!

“Mr. Wu, may I ask something, if you don’t mind…” Meng Junhao began cautiously.

“Go ahead.” Wu Chen nodded with a smile.

Just then.

Footsteps sounded on the staircase. A rather attractive woman wearing somewhat heavy makeup came upstairs with a small tray. She was Meng Junhao’s woman, the owner of the café, and had come to bring them coffee.

Naturally, Meng Junhao had arranged this in advance.

The two men paused their conversation.

The woman set a cup of coffee beside each of them and left without saying a word.

Only after she’d gone downstairs did Meng Junhao speak again.

“Mr. Wu, why are you… I mean, you know Ding Ruilong wants to…” Meng Junhao couldn’t quite figure out how to ask. Ding Ruilong’s instructions seemed entirely normal to him. The man had once sent assassins to kill Wu Chen. They were mortal enemies, and Ding Ruilong was obviously plotting against him.

But Wu Chen’s actions were truly, utterly bizarre!

“Just giving Ding Ruilong a little provocation. He’s the sort of man who makes mistakes very easily. One wrong step leads to another.” Wu Chen smiled as he spoke, leaving Meng Junhao completely bewildered.

He could tell that Wu Chen didn’t want to explain too much.

In fact, that was probably better. The less he knew, the safer he’d be.

But Meng Junhao was still afraid.

He didn’t know whether Wu Chen had privately told Li Ruotai about his unsavory history as a double agent. He didn’t dare gamble on it. Right now, Wu Chen was the only person who could keep him safe.

Nothing could be allowed to happen to him!

“Mr. Wu, then… those two women, the mother and daughter… why… are they… with you… no, that doesn’t make sense either…” Meng Junhao tried asking again. He’d been wondering whether He Shiqin was a woman Wu Chen was keeping on the side and whether He Xinxin was Wu Chen’s daughter born outside marriage.

Perhaps Ding Ruilong was investigating them so he could complain to Li Ruobing.

But he immediately realized that couldn’t be right.

Wu Chen was only fucking twenty-two! There was no way he could have a fourteen-year-old daughter!

Did Wu Chen have a thing for widows?

Photos and other information about He Shiqin and He Xinxin had already been sent to Meng Junhao’s phone. He’d seen He Shiqin’s picture and knew she was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Wu Chen smiled, his expression subtle.

Meng Junhao wasn’t an especially amusing person. What amused Wu Chen was the man’s current state of mind. He really was terrified something might happen to Wu Chen!

“Mr. Wu…” Meng Junhao was still trying to ask.

Wu Chen picked up his coffee and took an unhurried sip. He turned to glance out the window, then looked back at Meng Junhao and said, “She’s Ding Ruilong’s daughter.”

Meng Junhao had just lifted his own coffee when his hand suddenly shook, spilling quite a bit of it onto the table.

He froze.

A look of utter bewilderment!

He was completely dumbstruck!