Chapter 62 — Finding a Place to Talk

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Watching Yang Huaijun settle back into his usual calm, composed self, Qiu Lingshan blinked oddly a few times and finally could not help asking, "Captain Yang, you and Wei Zhao know each other?"

"He reminds me a lot of a friend of mine. I got worked up and mistook him for someone else." Yang Huaijun smiled. "Didn't scare you, did I?"

Since Wei Zhao had forbidden him from revealing his true identity, Yang Huaijun could not say much either.

"No..." Qiu Lingshan shook her head. Curious as she was about what kind of friend could make Captain Yang lose his composure like that, she did not press further.

When Wei Zhao came out of the police station, he was about to hail a taxi when he saw Qing Bo's Bentley glide slowly to a stop beside him. Qing Bo poked his head out. "Mr. Lin, get in."

Wei Zhao nodded without any fuss, walked over, pulled open the front passenger door, and got in — only to discover, to his surprise, that there was actually a man sitting in the back seat: Gu Pengzhan.

"Hello, Uncle Chu," Wei Zhao greeted him politely.

"Xiao Yi, are you all right?" Seeing Wei Zhao, Gu Pengzhan's face broke into a kindly smile.

Wei Zhao had always felt that Gu Pengzhan was a little too good to him. Was there something hidden behind it, or...? But since Gu Pengzhan did not bring it up, Wei Zhao could hardly ask. "I'm fine. A few gang members came to the school making trouble, and I gave them a lesson. After the police got the story straight, they let me go."

"Good that you're fine." Gu Pengzhan nodded. "About Yaoyao's business — I have you to thank for it this time. I just heard about yesterday from Li Fu. You did very well."

"It's what I should do," Wei Zhao said, thinking nothing of it. Take a man's money, spare him his troubles — he had taken Gu Pengzhan's money, and not for nothing.

"By the way, how are you and Yaoyao getting along? Has she tried to drive you off again?" Thinking of his daughter gave Gu Pengzhan a headache.

"No, Yaoyao is quite easy to get along with." Wei Zhao smiled. Naturally he would not complain about Gu Mengyao in front of Gu Pengzhan — that would be pure idiocy. However unruly Gu Mengyao might be, Gu Pengzhan only ever cherished and protected her; if he himself started wagging his tongue and got himself fired, that would be a real mess. So Wei Zhao made sure to put in a timely good word for Gu Mengyao.

Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Qing Bo opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end held his tongue...

"Oh? You two are getting along well?" Gu Pengzhan seemed pleased by this, and a gratified smile spread across his face. "Yaoyao is actually a good child, just a bit headstrong. If you just humor her a little more, that will be fine."

"Don't worry, Uncle Chu, I will." Wei Zhao agreed readily. But thinking of what the bald man had said yesterday in the robbers' car, he hesitated a moment, then decided he ought to tell Gu Pengzhan. "Uncle Chu, there's something I think I should tell you."

"Oh?" Gu Pengzhan looked startled for a moment, then smiled faintly. "What is it? Go ahead."

"It's about yesterday... about the bank robbery..." Wei Zhao said.

"How about this — let's find a place and talk it over in detail. Qing Bo is no outsider, but he's driving, and I'm afraid it would distract him," Gu Pengzhan nodded and said.

"All right." It looked as though Wei Zhao would not be attending school today either, so he simply decided not to go.

"Mr. Gu, are we going home?" Qing Bo asked.

"Yes, home — back to the Bay Villa," Gu Pengzhan instructed.

The Bay Villa was Gu Pengzhan's private residence, though because he was usually busy with business and often away, the villa stood empty most of the time. Gu Mengyao, for the convenience of attending school, lived in the Pengzhan Villa Complex in the city.

That complex had also been developed and built by Gu Pengzhan's Gu Group. Of course, the bigger reason Gu Mengyao lived there was that Shen Yushu lived there too — the two had been sworn friends since primary school, sisters whose bond could not have been tighter.

Gu Pengzhan's villa was built entirely in the suburbs, occupying a large stretch of open land bordered by verdant lawns and flowerbeds, with a single road leading to the main structure.

This, of course, was private property; outsiders were not allowed to enter freely. At the gate, Uncle Qing held up a laser keycard to scan it before the doors slowly swung open.

Wei Zhao glanced at the brand of the door opener. It appeared to be the most advanced rolling-code access system on the international market — even if the keycard were lent to someone else, it could not be cloned. Each time the system and the card interacted, a unique access code was generated: the system emitted a code, and the microcontroller inside the card computed a result based on it and fed it back to the system to complete the unlocking sequence.

Still, it was not beyond cracking. Wei Zhao, of course, kept this to himself, since by civilian standards it was already quite secure. But if yesterday's incident remained unresolved, he intended to overhaul the security at Gu Mengyao's villa — he could not guarantee that he would be by her side twenty-four hours a day.

The car pulled up in front of the villa. Uncle Qing stepped out and opened the car doors for Gu Pengzhan and Wei Zhao in turn. Once both men had alighted, he returned to the driver's seat.

"Isn't Uncle Qing coming in with us?" Wei Zhao had heard Gu Pengzhan say earlier that Uncle Qing was no outsider, which was why he asked.

"He's parking the car in the garage, then he'll be right back." Gu Pengzhan had read Wei Zhao's mind. He smiled and patted Wei Zhao on the shoulder. "Li Fu has been with me for over ten years. From now on, when I'm not around, if anything urgent comes up, you can go straight to Uncle Qing."

Wei Zhao nodded. If Gu Pengzhan said so, then Uncle Qing must be someone thoroughly trustworthy.

The villa's interior was not what one would call opulent — certainly not the kind of gilded grandeur one might expect. Instead, it leaned toward understated elegance and classical refinement. It was clear that Gu Pengzhan was a man of taste, nothing like the typical nouveau riche.

"Make yourself at home. Don't stand on ceremony — treat it like your own house." Gu Pengzhan personally fetched a pair of slippers for Wei Zhao and set them before him.

The gesture left Wei Zhao slightly flattered, and yet it also deepened his suspicion that Gu Pengzhan was perhaps being too familiar with him. This did not feel like the way one treated a subordinate — it was closer to how one might treat a member of one's own family.

"Thank you, Uncle Chu." Wei Zhao did not put on airs. After thanking him, he changed into the slippers.

It was Wei Zhao's composure that drew Gu Pengzhan's quiet approval — not a trace of constraint on his face. Although Gu Pengzhan knew nothing of Wei Zhao's past, the young man carried himself like someone who had seen the wider world.