The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie-Chapter 162 - : 162: Raise the Daughter-in-law like a Daughter (First Update)

Chapter 162: 162: Raise the Daughter-in-law like a Daughter (First Update)

“Why didn’t you get me a blanket?”

Oh, the blanket.

Wen Baiyang went to the bedroom, brought out the blanket from her bed, and placed it on the sofa.

He lay there, motionless, with drunkenness glinting three or four points in his eyes, an ambivalent emotion seemed to swell within, yet he spoke not a word, just watched her.

For a long time.

Then he finally said, “Help me cover up.”

He was so different today, like a small child in need of care.

Wen Baiyang squatted down, fluffed the blanket, spread it evenly, covering him entirely except for his head peeking out, and she detected a strong scent of alcohol, “Are you feeling upset?”

“Uh-huh.”

She could tell, he was in a low mood.

She didn’t know how to comfort him, “Do you want to drink more?”

Qiao Nanchu laughed.

Thinking he wanted to drink, she stood up to get the alcohol, but as soon as she stood, he grasped her, “You can’t offer alcohol to men, and certainly not at home.”

She was still young, inexperienced.

After drinking, most men are no good, and those who drink at a girl’s home, taking advantage of the inebriation to act like beasts, are even more common.

He released her, sat up slightly, asked patiently, “Do you understand?” He truly resembled a competent and old-fashioned elder, no wonder Xue Baoyi said he raised a daughter.

Indeed like raising a daughter.

She nodded, not fully comprehending.

He didn’t dwell on this adult topic further; to continue would spoil the mood.

He picked up his cup, sipped tea. This barley tea was her own concoction, slightly different from what’s outside; he had some at home, all gifted by her, yet he particularly came here to ask for a drink.

On the coffee table, besides the teapot, there was an ashtray. The last time he came over, he asked if she had one to use for smoking, but she said no.

This was a new addition.

Next to the ashtray, there was an old photograph.

“When was this taken?”

In the photo, he was in police uniform, with a little girl only reaching his chest, making a silly scissor hand gesture.

Wen Baiyang used sign language, “The year I came to Imperial City.”

Back then, her face still bore the distinct highland redness, and she seldom smiled.

At the time, he was still studying at the police academy.

Qiao Nanchu picked up the photo, looked at it, and asked her with a smile, “When you first came, were you one point five meters tall?”

“…”

Wen Baiyang, “Yes.” She always respected her benefactor and never contradicted him, but this time, she wanted to correct him seriously, “I was one point five one meters tall then.”

Now she was one meter sixty-three.

Qiao Nanchu laughed again. She had been raised quite well, having grown quite a bit taller.

He put the photo down, his movement halted as he touched the cup, fixating his gaze on the police badge number in the photo.

14Z083, it was his police number while he was at the academy.

Six characters, a mix of digits and letters; the first two were the year of entry, and the same numbering format was used for all students at Imperial City Police Academy.

After contemplating for a moment, Qiao Nanchu dialed Jiang Zhi’s number.

It rang for a long time before finally connecting, Jiang Zhi was woken up, answered reluctantly, “What is it? It’s so late.”

“Is the note with 0893 for Zhou Xufang still there?”

Jiang Zhi sounded very sleepy, his voice bubbly with slurring, “It’s here.”

“Don’t sleep; I’m coming over.”

He was extremely tired, yawned, “I’ll leave the key under the doormat, let yourself in.” He was going to sleep first.

Qiao Nanchu hung up the phone, stood up, “I have to go.”

Wen Baiyang nodded, “Wait for me.”

She ran to the kitchen, packed the small dishes from the refrigerator into a large bag and brought it out, “Take this to eat.” Handing over the bag, she instructed, “If you don’t finish it, put it in the refrigerator.”

Qiao Nanchu took the bag, “Lock the door well, don’t let anyone in at night, except for me.”

“Okay.”

Qiao Nanchu called a substitute driver and went to Qingshan Mansion.

Jiang Zhi had placed the key under the doormat at the entrance; he went straight in. The lights were off inside; he turned them on, headed to the bedroom, and pulled away the blanket.

“Jiang Zhi.”

No reaction.

“Jiang Zhi.”

The lump lying down shifted, “Mmh…”

Qiao Nanchu grabbed a pillow, tossed it on his head, “Get up.”

Jiang Zhi, annoyed, ran a hand through his hair and sat up, hair tousled in a chaotic haze of smog blue, “Couldn’t you wait until morning?”

Qiao Nanchu, “No.”

Jiang Zhi kicked off the pillow, clambered out of bed, yawned, and staggered sleepily to the study. The note left by 0893 had blood on it, just a string of numbers.

Jiang Zhi nestled on the sofa, too lazy to move, “Is there a problem?”

Qiao Nanchu pointed it out to him, “Could this ‘2’ possibly be the letter ‘Z’?”

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

He glanced at it twice, “Doesn’t really look like it.” However, “It could also be that ‘0893’ mistook ‘Z’ for a ‘2’.”

That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

Qiao Nanchu took out a pen and wrote a series of characters on a piece of paper, asking Jiang Zhi, “If it’s ‘Z’, do these two formats look similar?”

14Z083.

14Z096.

Jiang Zhi hummed, “What are they?”

Holding the pen in his hand, Qiao Nanchu twirled it twice before the pen tip steadied and fell onto the paper, “14Z083 was my police number at the police academy.” And 14Z096, was a clue left by an undercover. If ‘2’ was indeed ‘Z’…

Outside the window, the night was deep, with a few stars and a full moon.

In the detached villa, there were cat cries echoing through the empty, serene house, one after another.

“Meow.”

“Meow.”

The lights on the staircase came on, and the homeowner came downstairs in slippers, dressed in a white silk nightgown that clung to her body, outlining her slender curves.

She turned on the light downstairs and picked up the Scottish Fold cat that was meowing incessantly in the corner, “What’s all this noise, aren’t you sleeping?”

“Meow.”

The Scottish Fold cat meowed again, struggled for a bit, and then fell to the ground.

At that moment, the mobile phone on the coffee table rang.

The homeowner picked up the cat, placing it on her lap with one hand, and answered the phone with the other, absentmindedly stroking the cat’s back.

“President Zhang.”

She asked, “Is it all taken care of?”

The man on the phone replied, “Hua Jun and Hong San’s wife and child have been taken away.”

“Watch the people closely before the execution.”

“I understand.”

After hanging up, she dialed another number.

“Mr. Smith,” she spoke in fluent English, “do you still have goods on hand?”

Outside the house, the moonlight was hazy, and a faint white glow streamed in through the French windows that were left slightly ajar, letting a fine breeze in that lifted the fringe of the curtains, tangling them on the cabinet against the living room wall. On top of the cabinet was a photo of a young man and woman, both dressed in police uniforms.

The girl’s badge on the uniform was somewhat blurred, and the number on it wasn’t very clear. You had to look closely to make out the characters: 14Z096.

Half a month earlier.

“Have you caught the mole?”

The laptop on the table had a video call in progress; the person on the other side didn’t show their face. Only a pair of slender legs was visible, along with white cotton slippers beneath.

Oh, and a picture frame on the cabinet in the background made it into the frame, but it wasn’t very clear due to the distance.

“Not yet.” Hua Jun sat in front of the desk, hesitating a bit, “There’s a suspect.”

The woman’s voice was soft and slow, speaking three words in a matter-of-fact tone, “Take care of it.”

“But it’s just a guess; we cannot be sure.”

She laughed lightly, as if she found the other party naive, and countered, “Do we really need to be sure before taking action?”

It’s better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let go of one, that was the code of the street.

At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Ah Hao barged in clumsily, “Brother Hua—”

Hua Jun turned around, and then with a snap, he shut the laptop, immediately becoming cold-faced and swearing, “Don’t you fucking know how to knock?”

Ah Hao, seemingly unconcerned, scratched his head and laughed apologetically, “Sorry about that, Brother Hua.”

14Z096.

He had seen the number on the photo in the video.

As the end of the year approached, the weather grew colder. Last week, the premiere at the opera house was abruptly halted, and Director Feng lodged a request with the event planning company to redo it within half a month, the sooner, the better.

“President Zhang.”

After knocking, the secretary came in and placed the documents on the desk, “This is the premiere planning proposal.”

Zhang Zixi flipped through a couple of pages casually, not looking closely, “I’ll give you a response tonight.” She put down the documents and stood up, grabbing her bag.

The secretary asked with a smile, “Heading out?”

“Yes, I have a class reunion.”

The reunion was set at a Luo Family hotel, not far from Zhang Zixi’s company. A fifteen-minute drive would do, but parking was difficult to find during the rush hour peak. She had to circle around before finding a spot.

As soon as she parked, there was a loud bang, and she was rear-ended.

It was a hard hit; her forehead knocked against the steering wheel. It took her a moment to get out of the car and walk to the rear.

The other car was an SUV.

Looking at the driver on the other side, Zhang Zixi couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s you.”

Qiao Nanchu got out of his car, his gaze casually sweeping over her forehead, which was reddish, “Are you hurt?”

Zhang Zixi had just come from the office, her face still wearing light makeup, smiling with elegance and grace, “It’s nothing.” She joked, “Last time I rear-ended you, this time it’s you, we’re even now.”

Qiao Nanchu walked to the back of the car, examined it for a moment, “The damage is pretty bad, I’ll call someone to tow the car, and I’ll take you after we finish up here.”