Chapter 159: The Note and the Shorts Guy
Chapter 159: The Note and the Shorts Guy
The sun was bright, and the River Embankment was crowded with tourists.
Li Zian was walking along the River Embankment carrying a vegetable basket, thinking about what Mu Chuntao had said.
He still could not figure out Mu Chuntao’s thoughts.
A woman’s heart was as deep as the ocean floor—it really was like that.
The only thing he was sure of was that Mu Chuntao genuinely wanted the best for him. She knew Li Zian could not bear to be separated from Li Xiaomei. If he divorced Yu Meilin, Xiaomei would definitely stay with Yu Meilin. After all, Yu Meilin was the one who gave birth to her and raised her this long. He had not known Li Xiaomei for very long, so a judge would never award custody to him.
It could be said that she gave up her status voluntarily because she felt sorry for him.
Such a good Taozi—he really needed to cherish her.
He did not want to hurt Yu Meilin either. They were husband and wife, after all. One day as husband and wife meant a hundred days of affection. Their daughter was already three years old and so adorable. What reason did he have to hurt Yu Meilin? Hurting Yu Meilin would mean hurting Li Xiaomei, wouldn’t it?
But repeatedly rejecting Yu Meilin’s desire to reconcile and not fulfilling his duties was also hurting her.
She was actually a pitiable woman. She had given so much for her career, only to receive betrayal and hurt from her relatives. In the end, only he and Xiaomei stayed by her side.
He thought and thought…
His head still ached.
“Handsome Guy, take a look, it’ll be good for you.” A familiar voice came.
Li Zian shifted his gaze to the woman who had suddenly cut across and blocked his path. Wasn’t she the auntie who handed him a flyer, which led him to meet Kang Xin?
Before Li Zian could say anything, the auntie handed a flyer into his hand. He glanced at it quickly. It was a promotional flyer for a newly opened supermarket, not far from here, just across the street, a ten-minute walk away.
The auntie gave Li Zian the flyer and then continued forward with the rest of her flyers.
Li Zian put the flyer into his vegetable basket, then turned and caught up to the auntie: “Auntie, let’s chat for a moment.”
The auntie looked at Li Zian with a strange expression, as if guessing what this Handsome Guy wanted to talk to her about.
Li Zian said: “Do you remember me?”
The auntie shook her head.
Li Zian reminded her: “A while ago, I asked you about a woman wearing white clothes. I even gave you fifty yuan.”
The auntie instinctively took half a step back: “You don’t want that fifty yuan back, do you?”
Li Zian smiled: “It seems you remember now. I’m not asking for the money back, I just want to chat with you.”
The auntie freed one hand and stretched it out in front of Li Zian: “I don’t chat for free. Give me fifty, and I’ll chat with you.”
Li Zian took out fifty yuan and gave it to the auntie.
The auntie took the money and casually stuffed it into her pants pocket: “Speak, what do you want to chat about?”
Li Zian probed: “Do you know that White-clad Woman? Where does she live?”
“Who are you talking about?” the auntie said. “I came from over there on the River Embankment. I’ve seen at least a thousand women wearing white. I don’t even know who you asked about, how would I know where she is?”
Li Zian was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice: “Green Mist Envelops, the Return Journey is Long.”
“What mist? What long?”
“Green Mist Envelops, the Return Journey is Long.”
“What stuff?” The auntie looked completely confused.
Li Zian said quietly: “A secret code.”
The auntie seemed to understand suddenly: “Oh, now I get it when you say it like that. I need to say the next line, right?”
Li Zian nodded, observing the auntie’s reaction.
The auntie thought for a moment, then said: “The Heavenly King covers the tiger, the Pagoda subdues the river demon.”
Li Zian: “…”
The auntie said with a smile: “You’re a good-looking young man, you speak nicely and are interesting. How about you treat me to a coffee or tea or something, and we can chat slowly? For one whole day, I’ll only charge you two hundred. If you have any other requests, you can add a bit more as you see fit.”
Li Zian turned and walked away.
Had this auntie misunderstood something?
Moreover, he observed carefully. This auntie did not know Gushi Dayueer, and couldn’t possibly be someone from the Lutu Company. Continuing to chat with her would be a complete waste of time.
“Young man, don’t go, let’s chat some more.” the auntie said.
Li Zian walked even faster.
After descending the River Embankment, he entered a Huawei store and bought a P30pro. Back when he was still in Crescent Moon Village, he’d heard this phone had 50x zoom, which was amazing, but he didn’t have money to buy it then. Last night his phone got water damage, so it was the perfect time to replace it. Things he couldn’t afford before were now trivial to him.
The store clerk helped Li Zian put his SIM card into the new phone and activated it.
He would deal with the software and stuff later at home. Li Zian paid, took his new Mobile Phone, and left the Huawei store. Not far away, he reached the newly opened supermarket.
The vegetables and meat were very fresh. Li Zian picked out some things that Li Xiaomei and Lin Shengnan liked to eat, then carried his vegetable basket to the checkout.
There were a few people in line at the checkout counter. Li Zian stood at the back. When it was his turn to pay, he took the items out of the basket and placed them on the counter. Suddenly, he noticed a note at the bottom of the basket.
He clearly remembered there was no note in the basket. He had no idea who put it there.
Feeling very curious, he picked up the note and opened it.
The note had one sentence written on it: Be careful, they are going to make a move against you.
The handwriting was delicate and graceful, seemingly written by a woman.
Li Zian hurriedly looked back, but faced a crowd of unfamiliar faces. Who could be the one who left the note?
He didn’t even stop to pay; he rushed into the shopping area of the supermarket.
A woman in a white dress came into his view. She had her back to him and was looking at a product on a shelf. She had golden hair, was very tall and slim, and gave him a familiar feeling, as if he had seen her before.
He ran over and grabbed the golden-haired woman’s hand: “Let’s talk.”
The golden-haired woman turned around with a look of astonishment.
Li Zian got a clear look at her face and quickly let go of her hand.
This woman did have golden hair, but her eyes were black, her skin tone was somewhat yellowish, and the hair was dyed, not natural golden hair. Just now, he thought he had grabbed Gushi Dayueer’s hand, but he had mistaken her for someone else.
The dyed blonde woman had already raised one hand, clearly preparing to slap the molester. But after looking at the handsome face of the man who had just grabbed her hand, she paused for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She even said: “Okay, why don’t we go to the nearby Starbucks?”
This was the difference and treatment between a Handsome Guy and an ugly guy.
If it were an ugly guy, the girl’s hand would probably have already slapped his face. But with Li Zian’s level of handsomeness, how could this girl possibly bring herself to hit him?
The dyed blonde woman said with a smile: “What, you dared to grab my hand, but now you’re shy?” She extended a hand towards Li Zian, “Let’s get to know each other. What’s your name, Handsome Guy?”
Li Zian originally intended to apologize and leave, but he didn’t expect her to extend her hand wanting to get acquainted. He had offended her first, yet not only did she not say anything bad about him, she was even so kind. He couldn’t very well refuse, so he extended his hand and shook hers, but didn’t give his name.
A man must have manners.
“My name is Qiuqiu, what’s your name?” the dyed blonde woman asked again.
Qiuqiu—this was probably a stage name.
“Well, my name is… Yu Jiahao. Sorry about just now, I mistook you for someone else.” Li Zian finally apologized, then turned to leave.
Damn brother-in-law, don’t blame your Brother-in-law. Who made you born looking like you’re meant to take the blame?
“Don’t rush off, let’s exchange WeChat.” the dyed blonde woman said.
Li Zian walked even faster.
The River Embankment was still bustling with people coming and going, extremely lively.
Li Zian carried his vegetable basket, his eyes scanning the crowd for any possible white figure. In his heart, he was also pondering the note that had appeared in his vegetable basket.
Even though he didn’t see Gushi Dayueer and had never seen her handwriting before, he had a mysterious confidence, sure that it was her who secretly slipped him the note.
If it wasn’t Gushi Dayueer, who else could get close to him and place a note in his vegetable basket without him noticing at all?
Ahead on the River Embankment, a burly man wearing shorts and a sweat-shirt, with sunglasses, was walking towards him.
Suddenly and without warning, a sense of caution rose in Li Zian’s heart.
This man wore large sunglasses, so his eyes couldn’t be seen. But his build, physique, and clothing gave Li Zian a somewhat familiar feeling.
Combined with the note he just saw in the vegetable basket, Li Zian had already matched this man to the shorts-wearing man who chased him along with Huang Bo last night.
The shorts guy came closer and closer.
Li Zian’s right thumb slid to his ring finger’s knuckle and pressed lightly. The Alloy Barb inside the Mechanism Ring silently extended.
The Alloy Barb was coated with Movement-Halting Ointment, which could anesthetize a person within seconds.
But just as he prepared to act, the shorts guy stopped walking and put one hand behind his back.
Li Zian also stopped, his heart suddenly tensing up. In movies, that action meant drawing a gun. He hadn’t brought the alloy toolbox made for him by Tang Qing on this grocery trip. He had nothing to block bullets with.
Their eyes met.
Li Zian suddenly started moving, accelerating towards the shorts guy.
No matter how he dodged, he couldn’t be faster than a bullet. It was better to face it head-on. It wasn’t like he didn’t have the strength to fight back. This shorts guy’s ability was far inferior to Huang Bo’s. As long as he got close and pricked him once, he could subdue him.
Just as he thought this, the shorts guy brought the hand from behind his back forward. In his hand was a folding fan. With a swift motion of his large hand, the fan snapped open with a rustle.
Li Zian slowed his pace, but he still transferred the vegetable basket to his left hand, ready to strike at any moment.
“Friend, sell you a second-hand Mobile Phone.” the shorts guy said.
As soon as he spoke, Li Zian was sure—it was indeed the shorts guy who chased him with Huang Bo last night. He also remembered Huang Bo calling the shorts guy by his nickname, Da Chui.
Li Zian pretended not to have recognized him, putting on a disgusted tone: “Which eye sees me as someone who needs to buy a second-hand phone?”
But Da Chui still reached into his pants pocket, pulled out an old-fashioned Mobile Phone, and handed it to Li Zian, saying: “Take it. Someone will call you.”
Li Zian took the phone and asked: “Who will call me?”
“You’ll find out.” After saying this, Da Chui walked forward.
Li Zian watched Da Chui’s back, feeling an impulse to rush up and prank him. But in the end, he held back.
The enemy’s motives were unclear; he couldn’t act impulsively.