To obtain solid evidence, Zhao Chenlin and Wei Wei decided to hire a professional to follow Wang Cheng.
Neither knew who Chu Yifeng was. They assumed he was simply the man Wang Cheng was secretly involved with. But thanks to Aimer’s partnership with Zhou Group, Wang Cheng could now spend time with Chu Yifeng quite openly.
The investigator they hired came recommended by an acquaintance. On his very first day, he took several rolls of photographs showing the two men coming and going. The images were sent straight to Wei Wei’s email account. Zhao Chenlin was afraid Wang Cheng might be monitoring his own email, so he did not dare use it.
“That’s the man!”
Wei Wei pointed to Chu Yifeng standing beside Wang Cheng in the photographs.
Zhao Chenlin frowned. “You said they have a relationship they’re hiding, but these photographs don’t show them doing anything intimate. They’re even walking around together in broad daylight.”
“Of course they wouldn’t dare do anything in public. They’re bound to give themselves away in private. I’ll call the investigator and tell him not to bother sending useless pictures like these,” Wei Wei said firmly.
“All right.”
Zhao Chenlin was not planning to tell his parents yet. They always thought he was a failure who could never accomplish anything. This time he would show them he was capable of bringing Zhou Cheng down on his own. What neither young man realized was that the investigator did not dare get close enough to Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng, so he missed the occasions when the pair were genuinely affectionate in private.
Wang Cheng received a call from Wang Ning’an.
His eldest aunt had just called to say that someone had broken into their home and turned everything upside down. Wang Ning’an was in a meeting and could not leave, so he asked Wang Cheng to go see what had happened. Wang Cheng immediately asked Chu Yifeng to change direction. The two hurried to the apartment as quickly as possible.
Guan Meifang and He Ping were waiting for them. Both were still shaken. After all, they lived in an upscale apartment complex with relatively strict security. A break-in there was almost unimaginable. Fortunately, the mother and son had kept their wits about them. Having lived there for some time, they knew what to do and had already alerted the building security guards. The guards were checking the surveillance footage.
Binhai Garden had been completed two years earlier. In all that time, nothing like this had happened. It was the first such incident. Since the residents who could afford these luxury apartments were hardly ordinary people, management took the matter very seriously.
“Eldest Aunt, Cousin He Ping, are you all right?” Wang Cheng had called his aunt, and when she told him they were at the security office, he and Chu Yifeng headed straight there.
Warmth spread through Guan Meifang when she heard his concern. “We’re fine. The thief broke in when we weren’t home. Pingping and I only found out when we came back and saw the whole place had been ransacked.”
Chu Yifeng went over to the two guards. They had already retrieved surveillance footage from the relevant period and, sure enough, spotted a suspicious figure. The intruder wore a mask and a baseball cap that concealed half his face. The footage showed little more than his build.
He avoided the elevator and took the stairs. On reaching Wang Ning’an’s floor, he stopped in front of the apartment door and produced a set of tools. In about three minutes, he had opened both the outer and inner doors. His methods were extremely practiced. This was not some ordinary amateur burglar. Because it happened so quickly, the guards might have been occupied elsewhere and missed it.
The man stayed inside for nearly an hour. When he emerged, his hands were empty.
Guan Meifang had not noticed anything missing. It was still possible the intruder had taken some small item, and they would have to wait for Wang Ning’an to return to be certain. But Wang Cheng and Wang Ning’an knew perfectly well he had probably come for the jade pendant again. If so, he had found nothing: the pendant was with Wang Cheng, whom ordinary people could not easily approach.
The guards then checked the cameras at the main entrance. They did not see the intruder leaving, though a car drove out not long afterward.
The driver was a man without a baseball cap, dressed differently from the burglar and looking thoroughly respectable. He did not resemble a thief. Yet no matter how many recordings they checked, they could not find the masked man leaving. When they examined footage from other areas, they finally spotted him entering the underground parking garage and hiding in a blind spot.
A car later stopped near the blind spot for more than ten seconds. The camera showed two signboards lying across the driving lane. The driver got out to move them, while the hidden man slipped behind the vehicle, opened the trunk and climbed in. It was the same car they had seen on the footage from the main gate. At last they understood how the burglar had escaped Binhai Garden.
By then everyone realized the break-in had been carefully planned. They had failed to catch the thief, but at least the owner did not seem to have lost anything. The guards breathed a sigh of relief.
After watching the footage, everyone returned to the apartment.
Wang Cheng did not intend to hold Binhai Garden responsible, but management promised to continue investigating. They needed to demonstrate a responsible attitude to the other residents as well.
Guan Meifang had not dared disturb the scene, so the apartment was still a mess when they returned. The group tidied it together, and the work was soon done. Guan Meifang poured Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng each a glass of water, then went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.
He Ping looked from one man to the other and went to help in the kitchen too. Wang Cheng thought that ever since his older cousin had recovered his normal mental faculties, he seemed even more perceptive than most people. In less than a month, he had learned how to read a situation and act accordingly.
“Do you know who’s behind this?” Chu Yifeng asked as soon as He Ping left. Wang Cheng knew there was no point hiding the truth from him. He had intended to tell Chu Yifeng earlier, but had been distracted by his lover and forgotten. “I don’t know who they are, but I do know what they’re looking for.”
“What is it?”
“A jade pendant. The one my grandmother left to my dad. When Big Brother and I came back from Shanhai City, two separate groups tried to get it from us. They also sent someone into my family’s house, and nothing was stolen there either. I’ve kept the pendant at the villa. I’ll show it to you properly when we go back. My brother says it’s imperial-green jadeite, incredibly valuable. Whoever would use something like that as a family heirloom must have been rich or powerful.”
“It may be more than fifty years old, but if it really is imperial-green jadeite, investigating its origins shouldn’t be too difficult. Are you planning to look into it?”
“Of course. Whoever they are, they plainly have no intention of stopping. The pendant is the only keepsake my grandmother left my father. We cannot let them take it.”
“We mustn’t alert the people behind this.”
Wang Cheng nodded. “I know. But my brother’s movements and mine might be under surveillance, so I may need your help again.” If the thieves could not find the pendant with Wang Ning’an, they were bound to suspect Wang Cheng.
They left after lunch. Wang Cheng had planned to go to the office that day. He was beginning to participate in the center of power at Zhou Group, and his grandfather had even made an exception and let him join the partnership work with Aimer. The group had launched its overseas advertising campaign several days earlier, reportedly with excellent results. With Aimer lending its name, many members of high society abroad were willing to take Zhou Group seriously.
After parting from Chu Yifeng, Wang Cheng arrived at the company and ran into Zhou Lin and Zhao Jiansheng, who had just come out of a meeting. Zhao Jiansheng gave him a meaningful look. Zhou Lin seemed unhappy, but still forced herself to act like a caring elder.
“I hear your grandfather has started letting you work on the hotel project. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Auntie. Grandfather has given me this chance, so I’ll work twice as hard. As for Cousin Chenlin, I hear he’s slipping back into his old habits, spending his nights in bars and clubs again. You really ought to keep an eye on him, Auntie. It would be a shame for all your previous efforts to go to waste.”
Wang Cheng had not actually sent anyone to follow Zhao Chenlin. But someone with his temperament was never likely to stay out of trouble for long without his elders watching him. Zhou Lin heard the sarcasm, and her expression twisted for an instant. Were there not other employees nearby, she would have lost her temper on the spot.
The employee standing nearby wished she could vanish. She had merely been passing and had stumbled upon a major family secret. Rumors had circulated for ages that Manager Zhou and her family did not get along with Young Master Zhou. But employees had mainly witnessed Zhao Chenlin quarreling with him. Manager Zhou, on the other hand, was always seen fussing over Young Master Zhou as a concerned elder. People had suspected there was more to it than met the eye, and now it seemed they were right.
Wang Cheng entered the chairman’s office.
Feng Yifan was there too, but he was just about to leave. The two men nodded to each other as they passed.
“Come here.” Zhou Shichang beckoned. Wang Cheng sat beside him and asked, “Grandpa, did you want to see me about something?”
“I do. We’ve established the overseas subsidiary, but we still need someone capable to take charge there. General Manager Feng recommended Assistant Xie. I’d like you to go with him. Are you interested?” Zhou Shichang explained the reason for the meeting succinctly.
Wang Cheng stared at him in surprise.