Chapter 546 — Yaoyao's Trail

Having confirmed that Gu Mengyao was not in the villa, Qing Bo slipped away without a sound. By now he was certain: not two people could be hidden here—not even one.

Zhong Yongliang's house was so spacious that the furniture stood far apart, and whether someone was hiding there could be seen at a glance.

Once out of Zhong Yongliang's villa, Qing Bo phoned Gu Pengzhan.

Gu Pengzhan was destined for a sleepless night, tossing and turning as he waited for news from Qing Bo. When the call came, half the weight on his heart lifted at last; he knew Qing Bo's search was over, and whether or not his daughter was in Zhong Yongliang's villa, it was good news either way.

"Hello, Li Fu. How did it go?" Gu Pengzhan asked in a low voice.

"Miss Gu is not in the villa. After Zhong Yongliang came home, there was no unusual activity—he ate and went to bed," Qing Bo reported the situation briefly.

"Oh? So Yaoyao has been hidden somewhere else?" Gu Pengzhan breathed a sigh of relief. If so, Zhong Yongliang very likely had not yet succeeded! Young men were utterly infatuated with that sort of thing; Gu Pengzhan did not believe Zhong Yongliang could have done it once and not go for a second time! How could he still sleep soundly at home!

Once he had done it, no matter what stance Gu Pengzhan took, he would be unable to wait to do it a second time! Even if Gu Pengzhan sent him to prison, he would have to get his fill first, would he not? And if his status as son-in-law were acknowledged, then doing it would be perfectly normal—how could he possibly hold back?

"It must be so!" Qing Bo said. "Mr. Gu, I think Miss Gu should be all right. Zhong Yongliang has not succeeded yet."

"That is my judgment as well." Gu Pengzhan laughed. "Li Fu, I must trouble you to stay glued to Zhong Yongliang and keep constant watch on his movements!"

"I understand, Mr. Gu. Rest assured." Qing Bo too knew how important Zhong Yongliang was: follow him, and Gu Mengyao would surely be found! Nor did Qing Bo worry that Zhong Yongliang might send someone else to find Gu Mengyao, for some things only Zhong Yongliang himself could do—surely he could not hire a stand-in for that?

So if Zhong Yongliang had not yet succeeded, there was no need to worry; and if he had, worrying would be of no use.

"By the way, Mr. Gu, should we inform Mr. Lin about this matter?" Qing Bo asked.

"Not for now. Xiaoyi has his own affairs to busy himself with. I would rather see him have a career of his own than merely trail about at Yaoyao's side like a lackey." Though Gu Pengzhan did not know what Wei Zhao was doing, he knew Wei Zhao could not be wasting his time on useless things—and a man ought to stand on his own feet, ought he not, rather than live off a woman?

"Very well." Qing Bo had only meant to remind him; since Gu Pengzhan had said so, he said no more.

The night passed without incident. Zhong Yongliang slept through it and went to school as usual the next day. These past two days Zhong Fabai had been busy with the Bing Shao Company and naturally had no time to drive Zhong Yongliang to school, so Zhong Yongliang took a taxi himself.

Qing Bo followed him at a distance to the school, somewhat puzzled: why had Zhong Yongliang come to school as if nothing were wrong? Was he not worried about the matter with Gu Mengyao?

In truth, Zhong Yongliang was very worried, but he also knew worrying was useless. Gu Pengzhan's attitude had still not been settled, and he could not take the next step, so he had no choice but to drag things out.

Qing Bo could not well follow him into the school himself, but Gu Pengzhan was a shareholder of First High School, so Qing Bo casually found a few people and asked them to keep an eye on Zhong Yongliang. These people naturally scrambled for the task.

Among them, of course, was Director Wang Zhifeng, an adept schemer who had been chafing for a suitable chance to curry favor with those above him—and then Qing Bo handed him a task. He thumped his chest and guaranteed he would keep a close watch on Zhong Yongliang's movements.

This time Wang Zhifeng did nothing else. Paying no heed to how others might see it, he tucked a notebook under his arm and went to Class Five of the twelfth grade to sit in on a lesson.

It was quite normal for the academic director to come inspect the work, but inspecting for a whole day at a stretch was a first. Wang Zhifeng, however, cared nothing for what others thought; he sat down in the back row of Class Five and would not budge.

And as ill luck would have it, he sat right beside Zhong Yongliang, who was nearly bursting with frustration. What the devil was this? Now he had no chance even to discuss a plan with Gao Xiaofu! He prayed for this plague god to finish his inspection and leave, but the man sat through the whole morning without the slightest intention of going.

At noon, Zhong Yongliang was thinking of going outside with Gao Xiaofu to talk over a plan, but Wang Zhifeng called him back with a dark face: "Zhong Yongliang, where are you two off to? Thinking of hiding in the toilets for a sneaky smoke?"

"I..." Zhong Yongliang put on a mournful face, not daring to refuse to answer. "I'm going to eat lunch..."

"Oh, then let this classmate... Gao Xiaofu, is it? You go buy them and we'll eat in the classroom! Just get them from the cafeteria. I'm hungry too, as it happens, so buy a portion for me as well. My treat!" With that, he fished out fifty yuan and handed it to Gao Xiaofu.

Now that the dean of academic affairs had spoken, how would Gao Xiaofu dare refuse? Still, he could not quite make sense of it. The dean was actually treating the two of them to a meal? Was he mistaken? It was only boxed lunches, true, but such treatment was utterly unheard of!

Seeing that matters had come to this, Zhong Yongliang had no way out either. Still, he was not overly suspicious. Wang Zhifeng had never much liked the sight of him at the best of times, and especially after Jin Gubang had withdrawn as a shareholder, Wang Zhifeng seized every idle moment to make trouble for Zhong Yongliang.

Who knew what had gotten into Wang Zhifeng today? Zhong Yongliang truly did not dare offend the fellow.

Qing Bo had not expected Wang Zhifeng to be so diligent; the man was practically Zhong Yongliang's personal bodyguard. That said, it did afford him some time. Taking advantage of the morning, while no one was at Zhong Yongliang's home, he slipped back in and conducted a careful search. He had not searched Zhong Yongliang's room the night before, so today he might as well search it too.

Yet he found nothing of use in Zhong Yongliang's room either, and by now Qing Bo could be one hundred percent certain that Gu Mengyao was not in Zhong Yongliang's house. But if Gu Mengyao was not at Zhong Yongliang's home, where was she? The crux of the matter was that Shen Yushu had vanished as well; the two had disappeared together. Two living women, and where could Zhong Yongliang possibly be keeping them?

Qing Bo wiped away every trace he had left in Zhong Yongliang's home. If the other party were merely ordinary people, they would never have noticed any sign of his visit, but in Qing Bo's book, caution was always worthwhile; it was a habit by now.

Only after all this was done did Qing Bo steal out of Zhong Yongliang's villa, though he had left a tiny listening device behind in Zhong Yongliang's room. RO