WWY Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Gu’s Conspiracy. Going out at this hour, must be the young couple…

Lan He’s painting studio was next to his bedroom, connected to a large terrace on the side of the villa.

Early summer was a season of flourishing growth. The terrace was covered with lush greenery, the tables and chairs hidden amidst the thriving plants, and several unopened paint buckets were piled against the wall.

Lan He was still a novice when it came to coloring with paint, purely doing it for fun. He excelled at sketching the most fundamental aspects of everything with charcoal, usually using pencils and colored ballpoint pens. The things he drew were lifelike, a result of self-teaching over the years.

Some people rely on effort for painting, while others rely on talent. He was a typical example of someone who took a unique approach based on talent.

Since returning from the sanatorium, he had been organizing his previous works in the studio, picking out a few that he considered presentable to take to the sanatorium next week for Dan Han to give him some pointers.

Of course, that wasn’t the primary purpose.

He spread a blank A4 sheet of paper on the table and began to create a draft based on his memory, outlining the shape of a wide-mouthed bottle with a few strokes.

He held up the paper to look at it from left to right, and satisfied, twirled the pencil in his hand and opened the drawer.

The drawer was full of colored ballpoint pens, all kinds of models and colors. He ran his slender fingers over them one by one, picked out a few and placed them on the table, stretched his shoulders and neck, and prepared to show off his skills.

Unlike the relaxed and enjoyable drawing process of the past, Lan He was very focused today, his eyelashes occasionally fluttering. He approached each stroke with seriousness, and the smooth rolling beads gradually gave life to the things under his pen.

Halfway through the drawing, his phone on the corner of the table rang with a WeChat notification.

He glanced at it indifferently, then, as if startled, put down his pen and picked up the phone.

[Tuxi Ling: Are you free?]

[Lan He: /Yeah yeah]

[Lan He: What’s up?]

[Tuxi Ling: Come out for a bit? Something’s up, can’t talk on the phone.]

[Tuxi Ling: Private matter.]

[Lan He: /OK, where?]

A long time of “The other party is typing” convinced Lan He that he had contacted him on the spur of the moment, and it must be urgent.

[Lan He: White Oak?]

[Tuxi Ling: Okay, call me when you’re almost there, no rush.]

[Lan He: /OK.]

Unknowingly, the sky outside the window had turned orange-red, it was evening.

Lan He rummaged through his closet, changed his clothes, and ran downstairs, just in time to meet Aunt Long carrying a plate through the living room. She saw him rushing down from the second floor in a flurry and exclaimed, “Young Master Lan, slow down!”

She also noticed that he was carrying a jacket and asked loudly, “What’s this? Going out again?”

“Yeah, I won’t be eating at home, you and Uncle Ni can eat!” Passing by her, he saw a few scallion oil abalones on the plate, picked up a piece of the beautifully cut abalone and stuffed it into his mouth.

“What are you doing? You haven’t even warmed your seat yet! Be careful!”

“Got it!” Lan He sucked his finger, turned and waved to her, “Save me two, smells so good!”

Aunt Long smiled; she thought Young Master Lan was in unusually good spirits today.

Going out at this hour, it must be a date for the young couple, right?

How nice!

–

Lan He arrived first and waited for Tuxi Ling in the lobby, his eyes fixed on the valet parking area at the front entrance, searching for that beat-up BYD.

Unexpectedly, he came in from the other side of the door, hesitantly patting him on the shoulder from behind.

Lan He turned around and smiled at him naturally. He looked at Lan He as if he were a different person in shock. “Your hair, did you cut it too short?”

Lan He grinned and touched his head: “Shorter is cooler!”

Tuxi Ling glanced at Jiu Ya sitting opposite Lan He and nodded to greet him. Jiu Ya quickly stood up and bowed, making him feel very awkward.

“Did you walk here?”

“Yeah.”

“I knew I should have picked you up.”

“No need, it’s better to be low-key.”

Lan He could tell that he really had something important to talk about today, and asked, “Then is it inconvenient for you to be seen? I was planning to take you to a restaurant for a meal.”

Tuxi Ling glanced at Jiu Ya again, “No need, the team is busy, I’ll just say a few words to you alone and leave.”

Lan He pouted in disappointment.

They opened a room, and Jiu Ya guarded the door.

Lan He straddled the chair, rested his arms on the back of the chair, and rested his chin on the back of his hands, waiting for Tuxi Ling to speak.

His unconventional behavior, coupled with today’s style, made Tuxi Ling feel strange.

Lan He’s appearance was strange, and he himself was also strange, always having the urge to reach out and touch his hair.

Dangerous thoughts.

He sat up straight, organized his words, “You, and Vice President Gu, how are you two?”

Lan He didn’t expect it to be this, feeling inexplicably guilty, “How is what?”

“To be blunt, my colleague accidentally overheard Gu Ya’s assistant talking to the financial officer while processing the explosion site, asking if a certain batch of accounting books had been damaged.”

“Ah…”

Lan He thought these accounting books must have problems, but didn’t know what it had to do with him. Could it be related to group interests?

Then again, even if it was related to the He family, he should be looking for Si’nian He, not him.

Tuxi Ling quickly gave the answer: “Afterwards, our police conducted a series of covert investigations and found out that Gu’s Trading has been faking accounts for the past two years.”

Lan He asked: “So what?”

Many companies more or less engage in such illegal activities, not enough to make an experienced criminal police officer make a fuss.

“Lan He, Gu’s Trading has a serious deficit. After investigation by the Economic Investigation Department, it is suspected that even the collateral they gave to the bank is fake. If verified, then Gu Ya and her father, Gu Jia’an, who retired behind the scenes, are suspected of breaking the law!”

“…Oh.”

He was too calm. Tuxi Ling suspected that he knew it long ago, and asked directly in desperation: “Do you know?”

His expression was so serious that it was scary. Lan He quickly raised his hands in surrender: “I don’t know! I’m innocent! The main thing is that this has nothing to do with me. Not to mention Gu’s, I’ve never intervened in our He family’s business either, so it’s not my turn to be in jail, right?”

“But you married Gu Ya, aren’t you worried about her?”

“…”

Lan He felt like he had dug a hole for himself, a big hole.

Tuxi Ling frowned: “Actually, the main purpose of my coming here today is to remind you that your sudden marriage to Gu Ya, and even your father Weiyu He’s death, may not be as simple as they seem on the surface. The Gu family needs money to fill the deficit, and your family’s situation…”

“You mean, He Weiyu was threatened by the Gu family, forcing me to marry Gu Ya?”

Tuxi Ling nodded: “It’s my personal speculation, without any evidence.”

“Oh.” Lan He looked at him strangely, “No evidence, all speculation, then what do you want to remind me? To scare me?”

“I want to remind you not to get too close to Gu Ya for the time being, the Economic Investigation Department…” Tuxi Ling stopped himself in time, exhaled, and changed the subject, “I think your father took a very clever step. He should have been threatened in some way and had no choice but to agree to the Gu family. But he was afraid that the Gu family would try to harm you after the marriage in order to seize the family property, so he left such a harsh will. No matter what, they have to guarantee your survival within three years. After three years, you have no inheritance, and they don’t need to target you anymore.”

The part of the speculation about Weiyu He made Lan He slightly moved, but he just nodded lightly.

“Anyway, as long as you maintain the status quo, you’ll be safe. If something is wrong, call me immediately.” Tuxi Ling stood up, “I have to go back.”

Lan He also stood up and was sending him to the door when he suddenly remembered something and grabbed his arm.

Tuxi Ling looked at him questioningly: “Is there anything else?”

Lan He took out the necklace from his pocket. The sixteen-sided dice gold pendant lay in his thin white palm, and the red agate chain was wrapped around his slender fingers twice, hanging down along the gaps between his fingers.

Tuxi Ling thought it looked pretty good and was about to take it over to take a closer look when he heard him say “I’ll give it to you,” and he withdrew his hand as if burned.

“Give it to me? What for?”

“It’s your birthday tomorrow.”

Tuxi Ling was puzzled at first, thought about it carefully, and it really was. He tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that kept struggling to rise: “How did you know?”

“I saw your police ID!”

Mentioning the past, Tuxi Ling’s face darkened immediately.

Lan He laughed twice and shoved it into his hand, afraid that he wouldn’t accept it, he made up a story: “It’s a talisman to keep you safe, it’s been blessed, the gold plating and glass balls aren’t worth much money, not enough to be considered bribery, just wear it for fun!”

He looked so sincere that Tuxi Ling felt that it would be pretentious to refuse.

Who would make gold into the shape of dice if they were a normal person? It must be a toy.

Thinking like this, he took it over, his fingers gently stroking the lightning cracks on a few agates, looking like they were accidentally knocked out.

Lan He happily patted him and emphasized: “It’s a Tai Sui year, right? Remember to wear it close to your body, it’s been blessed!”

“What blessing, we’re not allowed to wear these!”

“You’re not wearing a police uniform right now, just wear it secretly!” Lan He stepped forward on tiptoe.

Tuxi Ling complained that he was making him violate discipline, but still let him put the necklace around his neck, stuffing the pendant into his collar.

“Very good, good luck, safe and sound!”

“What is it, superstitious!” Tuxi Ling waved his hand, trying to suppress the corners of his mouth as much as possible, but still looked back before going out, “Thank you!”

But his steps back were much lighter than when he came.

Actually, he really wanted to have a meal with Lan He, but he really didn’t dare to stay any longer.

These days, Xiao Xu has been staring at the mysterious account on the game platform, not even blinking. As soon as he goes online, the other party will send a message immediately, inviting him to play together. In the last two times, the two people chatted more, and it seems that they are not far from the goal.

As soon as he returned to the team, he saw a circle of people around Xiao Xu’s computer.

He was tall and directly bypassed several heads to look at the screen. It was indeed the interface of the game platform. Xiao Xu communicated with the other party through the friend chat system.

[Bro, I’ve looked at the game history. You’re an expert at 21 points, teach me? I want to make money!]

[You have to cry when you lose too.]

[Who are you looking down on? I can afford to lose!]

[Why are you like a child, how old are you?]

[Twenty-two, just graduated from university this year. My dad just gave me ten million to start a business. What kind of business should I start? Isn’t it better to just win a double? Bro, teach me, when I win money, I will definitely give you a big, big, big red envelope!]

Tuxi Ling was embarrassed.

When you’re out and about, the persona is really given by yourself.