FY - 53

The weather has been bad recently. It changes unexpectedly, with either scorching sun or heavy snow.

The big tree outside the criminal investigation team building was covered in a thick layer of snow, which looked dazzling in the sunlight.

Zheng Zhi, chewing a hand-grabbed pancake, came in through the front door and threw one to Wei Li’an in the office. “The years are passing by so damn fast!”

Wei Li’an had been up for half the night and only slept for a few hours. His eyes were still swollen. He gargled in the bathroom, brushed his teeth with his finger, and chewed a dental tablet. He came out, wiped his face with a towel from the hanger, and said, “There are new leads in an old case. You’re coming with me this afternoon.”

Zheng Zhi swallowed the pancake in his mouth. “My day off is Tuesday. I’m not going. I just came to bring you breakfast, not to work overtime. Don’t you think you’ve overworked me enough?”

Wei Li’an picked up the pancake and turned on his computer. “Do you have something else to do?”

Zheng Zhi: “Yeah, the Yaogu annual meeting is this afternoon. I’m going.”

Wei Li’an frowned. “Dongsheng Pharmaceutical?”

Zheng Zhi: “Yep.”

Wei Li’an: “Where did you get the ticket?”

Zheng Zhi: “The woman I arrested last night for causing trouble at a nightclub gave it to me.”

Seeing that Wei Li’an was about to scold him, he quickly added, “Don’t talk to me about discipline. She gave it to me as a gift of friendship. She’s in jail for three days anyway, so she can’t go. Wouldn’t it be a waste if no one used the ticket?”

Wei Li’an had nothing to say.

Zheng Zhi took out his phone, opened the news, and walked over to hand it to him. “Si Wen is going to make a public appearance with Zhou Yan.”

Wei Li’an didn’t look. He could imagine them standing together.

Zheng Zhi smacked his lips. “These two are both incredible. One is a prodigy who transformed himself from a soldier to a successful businessman. The other is a woman from the bottom of society, who lived in the dark and filth, but managed to become a phoenix.”

Wei Li’an didn’t respond to that. He put a tea bag in a mug and asked nonchalantly, “How many tickets do you have?”

Zheng Zhi pretended not to notice his act. “Two.”

Wei Li’an: “Let’s give that old case to Sanzi. What do you think?”

Zheng Zhi put the tickets directly on his desk. “If you want them, just say so. Don’t beat around the bush with me.”

Wei Li’an picked up the tickets, looked at them, and said, “Si Wen has been busy being a knight in shining armor lately. As soon as the news of their reconciliation came out, he organized a grand annual meeting. I have a vague bad feeling about it.”

Zheng Zhi didn’t think so. “When does he not hold an annual meeting? When is it not this grand?”

Wei Li’an put the tickets away and didn’t waste any more words with him.

This saved Zheng Zhi from arguing with him again.

________________________________________

Feng Zhongliang had been traveling between Qizhou and the provincial capital for some time, but his movements were secretive. No one knew his itinerary except his subordinates.

He had expected Si Wen to take action after the charity gala, but he didn’t expect him to be in a relationship, and such a high-profile one at that. It was completely different from the Si Wen he remembered.

He had investigated whether Si Wen had engaged in any illegal activities in recent years, and the results were both gratifying and frightening.

Si Wen was clean. But if that was the case, why did he specifically go to the provincial capital to provoke him?

It didn’t make sense. Or was Si Wen already involved in illegal activities, but just very good at hiding it?

Now that he heard Si Wen was holding an annual meeting, which was his biggest move recently, Feng Zhongliang had to go and see what he was up to.

________________________________________

Yaogu.

Zhou Yan got the most expensive hair and makeup done to be led into the annual meeting venue by Si Wen in the evening. The whole process took most of the day. The dress she wore was also one she had never worn before, the kind that could buy a small apartment. She didn’t feel guilty, but she wasn’t particularly happy either.

After she was ready, the makeup artist led her into Si Wen’s office.

Si Wen was sitting in a booth, drinking coffee. He was wearing silver-rimmed glasses and was dressed in all black. He only had a shirt on, with a wide-open collar and no tie, but something like a choker with a fake chain attached. He was also wearing a pair of black gloves.

Have accessories become S&M-themed now? Or was this Si Wen’s idea? Could he really wear this out?

The makeup artist left after bringing Zhou Yan there.

Zhou Yan didn’t rush over and just stood at the door.

Si Wen didn’t look at her. He was scrolling through his phone. “It starts at seven tonight.”

Zhou Yan’s tight black dress made her legs look even whiter and slimmer, but Si Wen didn’t even look at her. She was unhappy. “I’ve never seen you so lavish with me before. Why don’t you be generous all the way and just give me Dongsheng Pharmaceutical too.”

Si Wen finally looked up. When he saw her, his expression didn’t change, but he put his phone down.

He leaned back in the booth, his arms stretched behind him on the backrest.

Zhou Yan walked over slowly. “Hmm?”

Si Wen called his secretary in and told her to draft a gift contract for both movable and immovable property. Shares were a bit more complicated, as they required a shareholders’ meeting to add a new shareholder, but Si Wen also made arrangements for a meeting to be held after the annual meeting. Zhou Yan hadn’t even processed it, and the secretary had already drafted the gift contract. The lawyer came in with her, and the contract was placed in front of Si Wen. Si Wen didn’t even look at it and just signed “Si Wen” in the designated places.

He capped the pen and put it down. Si Wen said, “It’s yours.”

Zhou Yan took the contract in her hands, not looking at it. She asked him, “Is that it?”

“You pick a time, and I’ll go with you to get it notarized,” Si Wen said.

That was really a surprise. Zhou Yan took a deep breath and threw the contract on the table.

Si Wen saw that Zhou Yan wanted to do something and waved the others out.

Zhou Yan looked at Si Wen. “Do you think I look good today?”

Si Wen didn’t seem to like it. “Average.”

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow. She reached under her skirt, took off her panties, and threw them at his face. “How about now?”

Si Wen grabbed her panties. “Much better.”

Zhou Yan sat on the low table opposite him, her high-heeled feet on the bench between his legs. She pulled the chain around his neck. “Your lips have no color at all. Should I give you some?”

Si Wen looked at her without answering.

Zhou Yan pressed her lips against his. She looked again, and it was better. At least there was some color. But his face was too pale, almost translucent. She reached out a finger, put some lipstick on it, and drew a lipstick mark on his face from his brow to the bridge of his nose.

She finally stopped at his lips, right between his upper and lower lips.

Si Wen unexpectedly opened his mouth and took her finger inside, sucking and savoring it.

Zhou Yan’s foot on the bench slipped out of her high heel and gently rubbed against his crotch. She saw a subtle change in his expression. She slowly lifted her foot and put it inside his shirt, the sole of her foot pressed against his chest and abdomen.

He grabbed her foot, undid the two buttons on her shirt, held her foot to his mouth, and kissed it.

He looked up, his eyes meeting hers.

Zhou Yan took a breath, pounced on him, and bit his lips and ate his tongue with abandon. Her hands went to his belt.

She pulled it twice and then sat on him, moaning aloud.

Si Wen grabbed her waist. The strength of his firm waist lifted her up, making him go deeper and harder.

Zhou Yan held onto his neck, the frequency of his thrusts forcing her to let out a cry of pleasure.

Si Wen reached his hand to her knee, lifted her up, and walked toward the west window, thrusting all the while.

Zhou Yan was placed against the window, penetrated by him, and he finished inside her.

Afterward, Zhou Yan leaned against him. “My hair and makeup are ruined.”

Si Wen: “Do them again.”

Zhou Yan: “I don’t have half a day to do my hair and makeup.”

Si Wen: “Then just go like this.”

Zhou Yan: “Then people will talk about you, saying you have bad taste, that you fell for a prostitute who has no experience and doesn’t know how to dress up.”

Si Wen: “Can it be called experience without me? Isn’t seeing me every day enough?”

Zhou Yan: “Tch.”

Si Wen kissed her eyes. “If you think this is unacceptable, then do them again. Let them wait.”

Zhou Yan got up from him. “You really dare to say that? So many people are waiting for me to do my hair and makeup?”

Si Wen didn’t see anything wrong with that. “Is there a problem?”

Zhou Yan was speechless.

Okay. He was Si Wen, after all.

And so, Zhou Yan redid her hair and makeup, but this time she went for a simpler style that saved time and suited her better.

She also changed her black dress to a red one. She seemed to have found herself again.

The annual meeting started on time. Si Wen led Zhou Yan into the car. There was a car in front leading the way. Their car was in the second position, followed by his secretary, assistant, and finally bodyguards. They arrived at the venue exactly at seven.

A doorman stepped forward and opened the car door. Si Wen had already gotten out and walked around to the other side, reaching out his hand to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan gave him her hand and was led out of the car.

As they walked, they were met with camera flashes and staring eyes. Zhou Yan wasn’t nervous, but she still gripped Si Wen’s arm tightly.

She hadn’t experienced this before. She could adapt, but not immediately.

Si Wen was originally holding her hand, but feeling her discomfort, he put his arm around her waist.

Zhou Yan looked up at him. His expression was still the same, but she felt a sense of warmth.

She instinctively leaned against him.

________________________________________

Zheng Zhi and Wei Li’an stood in a corner, each holding a drink. It was a professional habit not to drink alcohol in an unfamiliar environment.

Wei Li’an glanced at Zhou Yan, then looked away and finished his drink.

Zheng Zhi was still not used to his suit and tie. He felt uncomfortable all over. “These clothes are so uncomfortable. I used to think our uniform design was unreasonable, but now I know I was ungrateful.”

Wei Li’an put his glass back. “Be careful. This annual meeting is at a mountain resort. The location is too remote. If something happens, no one outside will know.”

Zheng Zhi thought he was overthinking it. “There are so many people here. It can’t be that bad.”

Wei Li’an felt that Zheng Zhi was not as enthusiastic about the case as before. “I remember when I told you not to investigate this case, you were unhappy and insisted on investigating it secretly. What’s wrong now? Did your passion fade?”

Zheng Zhi shook his head. “The water is too deep. I’m not going to investigate anymore. I’m in my twenties. It’s time I learned to cut my losses.”

Wei Li’an laughed. “You’re always acting like a barbarian. I almost forgot you’re a graduate of a proper police academy. You have some brains after all.”

While the two were talking, Si Wen had already led Zhou Yan upstairs.

There was a private lounge upstairs.

Zhou Yan took a few deep breaths and exhaled. “Did I do okay? I didn’t embarrass you, did I?”

Si Wen walked to the tea table. He used tweezers to put a teacup into a pot of boiling water to wash it. After it was sterilized, he took it out again, opened the kettle lid, and pressed the automatic water-filling button. The water stopped automatically when it reached the right level. He closed the lid and pressed the button to boil the water.

After five minutes, the water was ready. He had already put tea leaves in the glass pot. He poured the hot water into the tea filter and gently pressed the filter down. The tea was squeezed into the pot. He poured a cup for Zhou Yan and handed it to her.

Zhou Yan took a small sip. “It smells so good.”

Si Wen brushed her hair. “I have to go out and talk about something later. You just stay here. No matter what happens, don’t come out.”

Zhou Yan frowned, looking at his eyes. She didn’t see any danger, but she felt uneasy. “Can I ask?”

Si Wen: “You can, but I won’t answer.”

Zhou Yan was worried. “Won’t I be in danger here either?”

Si Wen reached out and held the back of her head, pulling her toward him. He kissed her forehead. “I’ll rush back and sleep with you.”

Zhou Yan had nothing else to say. “I’ll wait for you.”

Si Wen squeezed her earlobe, trying to use a little bit of pain to make her temporarily forget her worry about him.

But her belief was too strong, and she was too worried about him.

He couldn’t bear it and pulled her into his arms. “How can I not come back when you’re here?”

Zhou Yan wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you, Si Wen.”

Si Wen gently stroked her back.

But you don’t love me as much as I love you.

After years of being in the shadows, I have no regrets starting over for you.

Zhou Yan, how much do you think I love you?

________________________________________

Zhou Yan still let Si Wen go. This was a given.

She was only willful about trivial things. At crucial moments, she was always exceptionally sensible.

Si Wen left the venue in a hurry, and Wei Li’an and Zheng Zhi saw him.

Outside the mountain resort, Feng Zhongliang, who was waiting in his car, also saw him in the rearview mirror.

Zheng Zhi followed Wei Li’an out of the venue, his expression serious. “There really is a problem!”

Wei Li’an didn’t believe Si Wen was a criminal. He still firmly believed that he was fundamentally a good person. “Alright, I’ll follow him. You go back to the team, get a team together, and communicate in time if anything happens. If I can’t handle it, I’ll let you know, and you can apply for support from the higher-ups.”

“Okay!”

Two cars, one after the other, left the venue.

In front of their car was Feng Zhongliang’s car. He wanted to know what Si Wen was doing even more than Wei Li’an and Zheng Zhi.

________________________________________

Si Wen went to a four-star hotel on the northwest side of Qizhou.

He went upstairs and headed straight for room 8021.

He used a card to enter and caught Zhao Youjin, Xue Peng, and Hu Lai in the middle of a transaction.

It was so quick and clean, without any prelude or beating around the bush.

When Zhao Youjin saw Si Wen, her face changed. He... wasn’t he at the annual meeting?

Xue Peng’s hands started to tremble. The toughness he had put on earlier was gone.

Didn’t they say Si Wen was busy in a relationship with a prostitute? So how did he know? His underlings didn’t even know what they were doing! He and Zhao Youjin had carefully planned for so long. It might not have been flawless, but it shouldn’t have been this easy to break, right?

Hu Lai didn’t know what was going on, but his intuition told him it wasn’t good. He instinctively tried to leave.

Si Wen’s men went up, pinned him down, and took control of him.

Zhao Youjin didn’t dare to sit anymore. Her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground.

Xue Peng was a little better than her, but his mind was also a mess. He couldn’t figure it out.

Si Wen told them, “Do you think I would let the whole world know about a relationship? Why do you think I chose a place where news can’t get out for the annual meeting? It was to prevent you from knowing I would rush over. So you could feel safe to make your transaction.”

When Xue Peng heard that, he was choked by a lump in his throat and coughed violently. His face turned blood-red, a shocking sight.

Zhao Youjin only heard the first half of the sentence. She pointed at him, her hand trembling. “You, you, you did it on purpose! You caused a big fuss with that woman to make us think you were letting your guard down!”

Xue Peng picked up the water glass from the table and smashed it, yelling at Zhao Youjin. “He already knows! You don’t have to say it!”

Zhao Youjin shivered in fear and started to cry silently. She shouldn’t have listened to Xue Peng.

Xue Peng had a lot of fat on his thighs, but it wasn’t as heavy as Si Wen’s wrist.

At this point, Xue Peng gave up the act. Since he was in Si Wen’s hands, he wouldn’t be leaving with a whole body anyway, so he might as well die knowing why.

After a while, he asked, “I’m not going to ask if you’re a captain (marijuana dealer). I just want to know, if you never intended to do this, why did you agree to work with me? And why did you have me contact Zhao Youjin?”

Si Wen let him die with an answer. “The time you were dealing with the police, you managed to survive. You thought it was because fate was on your side, or that you were skilled. I’ll tell you, I saved your life.”

Xue Peng’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. His masseter muscles twitched, the veins on his temples bulged, and his arms began to twitch uncontrollably.

“I wanted you to survive and then come to me. Then I would lead you to Zhao Youjin,” Si Wen said. “Zhao Youjin’s network covers Qizhou, but it’s mostly legitimate. The illegitimate ones don’t deal with this stuff, so she couldn’t use them. She would inevitably think of Hu Lai, whom she had always looked down on.”

Hu Lai, whose name was mentioned, flinched.

Xue Peng and Zhao Youjin had to admit it. They had no choice but to admit it.

Si Wen had been planning this for so long. He even knew they would go to Hu Lai. So was Hu Lai his real target?

Si Wen then turned to look at Hu Lai. “We finally meet.”

Hu Lai narrowed his eyes. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”

Si Wen glanced at the tea and the two bags of meth on the table. He turned and took a bottle of water from one of his men and took a sip. “Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is that you’re highly favored by drug lords, after all, you have such a big network in Japan and Korea.”

Hu Lai started to struggle, smashing the teapot on the table. “Let go of me! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Si Wen said calmly, “Don’t struggle. Your people are all under my control. No one will come to save you even if you signal for half an hour.”

Hu Lai finally shouted, “What do you want to do!”

Si Wen bent down, his upper body slowly approaching him, his foot on his abdomen. “I want you to go find Ban Ma and tell him you want to work with him.”

Hu Lai’s face turned pale. Ban Ma was a drug lord on the U.S.-Mexico border. No one dared to call him Ban Ma. They all called him “the drug lord.” Therefore, not many people knew his name. This man knew it. Who was he?

Si Wen saw his eyes darting back and forth, guessing his identity, but he didn’t plan on telling him that he was the fearsome Si Wen who worked under Ban Ma. “I’ll give you a chance to connect with him, but you have to use your resources to lure him out of his lair.”

Hu Lai only half understood. “What are you going to do? I won’t give you a chance to use me.”

Si Wen took a photo from one of his men and threw it to Hu Lai. “Your two wives and six children are in my hands.”

When Hu Lai saw the photo, he went crazy and rushed forward to kill him. “If you dare touch them, you’ll see what happens!”

What was there that Si Wen wouldn’t dare to do? “The National Security Bureau couldn’t track your movements. It was a headache for me not to be able to find you, but I didn’t expect Zhao Youjin to have met you once, and you even gave her an opportunity for cooperation.”

Zhao Youjin didn’t want to listen anymore. This was beyond the scope of what her brain could handle.

Xue Peng also understood, but he still didn’t get it. What did this have to do with him? Why did he have to be involved? “If you wanted to find Hu Lai, you could have just gone to Zhao Youjin. Why did you have to find me?”

Si Wen didn’t look at him. “Because I don’t have the drugs, but you do. To lure Hu Lai out, drugs and Zhao Youjin are both essential.”

Xue Peng was overcome with anger. After holding it in for half a minute, he spat out a mouthful of blood. It wasn’t a lot, but the scene was already pitiful.

Zhao Youjin’s face was ashen. “Just tell us what you’re going to do with us.”

Si Wen walked up to her and handed her a gun. “Kill Xue Peng.”

Zhao Youjin looked up, the lifelessness on her face replaced with a little something else. Her lips trembled, and her teeth chattered. “You want us to kill each other?”

Si Wen handed her the gun, his voice very, very soft. “Kill him.”

After his face, Xue Peng’s whole body turned pale. He scrambled backward, saw that Zhao Youjin had actually taken the gun, and desperately got up and ran toward the window.

Bang—

After a gunshot, Xue Peng was left hanging in front of the shattered floor-to-ceiling window.

Zhao Youjin hadn’t dared to shoot.

It was Si Wen who had fired the gun. After killing Xue Peng, he put the gun back on the table. His hands, clad in black gloves, crossed in front of him, a deadly kind of sexiness.

It was after this shot that Si Wen’s men took Hu Lai and escaped from the balcony to the adjacent suite. Their professionalism allowed them to successfully avoid the police and surveillance cameras and leave through the parking lot.

Room 8021 was then opened with a key card and burst open. Feng Zhongliang entered, followed by Wei Li’an and two armed teams.

Feng Zhongliang and his wife were reunited under the threat of more than twenty guns.

Si Wen was on the side, still in his defiant attitude, not intimidated by the scene in front of him. Of course, he wouldn’t be intimidated. He was the one who had led them here. He wanted the police to know that Zhao Youjin, the wife of Anti-Narcotics Bureau Director Feng Zhongliang, was a drug dealer and a murderer.

—The gun with her fingerprints was enough to convict her.

And he, Si Wen, had only come because he had received forty million from Xue Peng, and the purpose of the money was not specified. He was confused and wanted to find out why. He happened to hear that Xue Peng was meeting a friend here, so he came to check it out and ask him. By coincidence, he saw Zhao Youjin here.

It turned out that the forty million was for Xue Peng to help Zhao Youjin out of a difficult situation. He gave it to Si Wen because he wanted Dongsheng Pharmaceutical to produce a batch of medicine to be shipped overseas.

But what they were talking about was not the medicine. It was drug trafficking.

There were also two bags of meth on the scene as key evidence for their actions.

Zhao Youjin couldn’t argue that she had nothing to do with the two hundred grams of meth, and Feng Zhongliang couldn’t explain why he was here alone without notifying the Ministry of Public Security.

He wouldn’t explain. One was his partner, and the other was his wife. They were both people he felt guilty about. Even if he had a choice, he would give up.

Only Si Wen could explain it, and very logically at that.