11 1.11 (1/2)
While Chen Yu was enjoying the concert and Zhao Cui was enjoying holding Shao Li, Madam Liu was in her car, barely suppressing her frenzy. As soon as she caught her breath, she called her older brother, He Qiang.
After Madam Liu defied her family to marry her husband, her disappointed parents gradually became distant and reticent, but her older brother continued to dote on her. It was also He Qiang who usually helped her to get rid of her husband's mistresses.
”Meimei, why are you on the phone? Aren't you at the concert?”
Hearing the warm voice, Madam Liu sobbed, ”Qiang-ge...”
He Qiang startled and pushed his wife away to sit up in bed. His sister had always maintained her composure, she rarely displayed any emotions even when handling her slag husband's affairs. What could have upset her so much?
”Is it your husband? Did he make trouble outside again?” He Qiang clenched his fists. If it was that worthless trash, he'd teach him a lesson this time no matter what his sister wanted.
Madam Liu glanced around the parking lot furtively before lowering her voice. ”Qiang-ge, you've heard about what happened to Yaoyao, right?”
Confused, He Qiang grunted in acknowledgment.
”I ran into the one who was behind what happened, that Sh-Shao Li, and—” Madam Liu shuddered.
”And what? Did he do something to you?”
Whispering, Madam Liu finished, ”And he looked exactly like that child we dealt with long ago! That five-year-old child!”
He Qiang reflexively shook his head. ”Meimei, that boy died so many years ago. Remember how we have the film of how the car hit him? There's no way this Shao Li is the same person.”
Afraid that her brother wouldn't believe her, Madam Liu restrained her panic and calmly said, ”Qiang-ge, we have to make sure that they both died on the spot. After all, we didn't take care of the bodies ourselves, right?”
He Qiang still didn't believe such a coincidence could happen, but to reassure his sister, he promised, ”Alright, well, I'll see if it's possible from Shao Li's orphanage records and then talk to someone in the mercenary team we used that time.”
Relieved, Madam Liu's suppressed tears burst out. She choked out, ”Thank you Qiang-ge. And...if it turns out that boy managed to stay alive...”
He Qiang chuckled. ”It goes without saying that if the job wasn't finished, we should get it done.”
---
Several hours later, Shao Li swayed out of the concert hall, drunk on the music. Zhao Cui carefully guided the boy into the passenger seat of his car, smiling at the dreamy, glittering eyes. His baby really couldn't be left alone.
By the time Chen Yu woke up from his daze, they had arrived in front of his apartment.
Recollecting that Madam Liu had probably made some trouble out of agitation, he grew eager to check, so he casually pecked Zhao Cui's chin again and leapt out of the car.
Abandoned by his Shao Shao, Zhao Cui's brooding stare followed after the cheerfully disappearing figure, but he comforted himself with the thought that tonight the boy had voluntarily kissed him twice.
Anticipating the day he could coax Shao Li into being hidden from any prying eyes, Zhao Cui rushed back to his hotel to watch what Shao Li was doing.
But a marvellous concern arose along the way. What if his baby agreed to live with him but his habitat wasn't ready for him?
As expected, the problem rebounded to the hapless assistant. ”Ming Wu, has a house with a music room been prepared?”
The bewildered childhood friend who couldn't understand what this tyrant was thinking: ”...Almost done, just waiting for the soundproofing.”
The memory of Shao Shao being embarrassed in front of his driver flashed across Zhao Cui's mind. ”Insulate every room. And make sure the instruments are the best out there.”
”Soundproof all the rooms...” Ming Wu mouthed speechlessly. Was his boss trying to make him quit?
Zhao Cui nodded, issued a terse ”keep everything running for a few more days,” and hung up.
Ming Wu flailed around on his bed. What 'keep everything running'? He wanted to quit!
In the meantime, Chen Yu had effortlessly routed Zhao Cui's spy cameras to show a video loop of himself playing the pieces he'd heard tonight so that he could freely examine what he'd caught.
En, the phone call between the siblings was recorded, He Qiang had obtained the orphanage documents Chen Yu had previously modified to hint at Shao Li's origins, and the argument between He Qiang and the mercenary leader about what happened to the boy's corpse was progressing nicely.
Fast-forwarding through He Qiang and Madam Liu's conversation, Chen Yu was somewhat surprised. Hm, this He Qiang truly cared for his sister. Oh well, he shrugged. It was a pity he'd made the mistake of trying to kill Chen Yu.
Satisfied that the game could finally progress, Chen Yu turned to Zhao Cui's files. When he'd hacked in last time, he'd noticed that Zhao Cui seemed to be moving to crush the Liu family slowly and painfully.
Madam Liu had thought that other people were distancing themselves because of Liu Yao's scandal, but the more critical reason was that Zhao Jia had signalled that the Liu family should be cut down. Unbeknownst to Madam Liu or her husband, all their business partners had already found replacements for them.
Chen Yu actually didn't have any bad feelings towards Shao Li's biological father.
In his opinion, the intermittent care the original owner had received until he was five years old and the nonchalance towards his ostensible death balanced out rather well.
To this man's indifference, Chen Yu would only respond in kind. Of course, this also meant that he wouldn't step in regardless of what actions Zhao Cui took.
Tuning back into He Qiang's discussion with the underground group head, Chen Yu found that they'd settled on having the boy being handled as per the original deal. Considering that this Shao Li was in the public eye right now, they decided to wait a few weeks so that his death wouldn't cause a fuss. At that time, they'd send someone in.