It was night, and the heavy rain pattered on ceaselessly.
Shangguan Yao was buried in the soft quilt. Due to jet lag, he had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and was sleeping soundly.
But the person next door wasn't so lucky. After lulling Lan Mengfan to sleep, Yan Xia returned to her own room. She originally intended to go straight to sleep and put all of Shangguan Yao's words from today out of her mind, but no matter what, she just couldn't fall asleep.
She took a sleeping pill, yet her mind still buzzed. In a daze, Shangguan Yao's words and the things with Lu Qianzhou became even clearer in her mind.
Many times, the more you try to escape something, the more it will come at you. Just like how she was afraid that after Lan Mengfan returned to China, she would have to make a choice again: whether to stay abroad or go back to China with her. And then Shangguan Yao showed up. Was it that even God was forcing her to make a decision?
Tossing and turning all night, Yan Xia didn't sleep well. It was as if those who had lost someone were especially nostalgic for the past.
Because she had gone to sleep so late the previous night, by the time she woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
She was dazed for a long time after waking up. Suddenly, she remembered that besides the young Lan Mengfan, there was also Shangguan Yao in the house.
She went to Lan Mengfan's room, but the child wasn't there. So she rushed downstairs. Originally, she was worried that the unreliable Shangguan Yao would take the child outside. But to her surprise, when she got downstairs, she saw the two of them huddled on the sofa, munching on snacks and watching TV. They even had the same posture.
She had always been quite strict with Lan Mengfan. Snacks were only given at set times and in limited quantities; there was absolutely no extra allowance. Looking at the situation now, there was a large pile of garbage bags on the table. She had no idea how much the child had eaten.
Yan Xia quickly walked up to Lan Mengfan and lifted her up to stand on the sofa.
"Eating so many snacks in the morning. What did I tell you? How much did you eat?"
Lan Mengfan glanced at Shangguan Yao from the corner of her eye and finally shook her head. "Mom, I only ate one bag of chips and one piece of candy. The rest was all eaten by Uncle."
Looking at her cute and mischievous look, Yan Xia really couldn't get angry.
Yan Xia looked down and glared at Shangguan Yao. "How much longer do you plan to mooch off me?"
She issued the eviction order without the slightest hesitation. If he stayed here, he would surely spoil the child.
Shangguan Yao threw away the snack bag in his hand, clapped his hands, and reached out to poke Lan Mengfan's shoulder. "You little ingrate. It was clearly you who said Mom was too strict and wouldn't let you eat snacks, so you asked me to get them for you."
Lan Mengfan was very cute. She stuck out her tongue at him and hugged Yan Xia tightly.
He was such a grown - up, yet still acting like a child.
Yan Xia was still waiting for his answer. Only after Shangguan Yao and Lan Mengfan had a little showdown with their expressions did Shangguan Yao say, "I haven't even been here for a full day and night yet. I'm just waiting for you to make a decision. Are you going back to China with me or not?"
"My answer is already very clear. I'm not going back."
The moment Yan Xia refused, Shangguan Yao immediately winked at Lan Mengfan, as if signaling her. Maybe they had reached some consensus and made an arrangement in advance.
Suddenly, Lan Mengfan hugged Yan Xia and started to act coquettishly. "Mom, go back with me. I don't want to leave you. I'll miss you if I go back alone. Please go back with me."
The child's soft voice was enough to melt anyone's heart.
How could Yan Xia not see through their little tricks? In fact, after tossing and turning all night last night, her heart had wavered.
She really wanted to know what kind of deep - seated hatred could make Lu Qianzhou hate them so much. After killing Cheng Hua to silence him, it wasn't enough. He even wanted to get rid of her and her sister.
But she didn't know if going back to cooperate with Shangguan Yao to investigate Lu Qianzhou would make her fall into the mess again and be unable to extricate herself easily.
Many times, curiosity killed the cat.
Yan Xia ordered the two of them to clean up the living room. Then she left them and went into the kitchen to prepare lunch, but she was always preoccupied.
After lunch, while Lan Mengfan was taking a nap, Shangguan Yao suggested going out for a walk.
Walking on the broad roadside, there were a few ducks in the lake not far away. A neighbor was taking a child to feed the ducks. Thinking about it, she had already lived here for three years. Time really flew by.
"Have you made up your mind?" Shangguan Yao suddenly asked as they walked side by side.
Yan Xia's breath trembled slightly. "Why do you want me to go back? I can't help you with anything."
Shangguan Yao said, "You know very well how important you are. Whether it's the Cheng family, Wang Keding, or Fang Jiangyi. You've been involved with all the people affected by these three parties. Others don't know how Lu Qianzhou has been pulling the strings behind the scenes and scheming against them, but you must have some idea."
He lifted his foot to kick a pebble on the ground and stuffed his hands into his pockets. It was actually quite cold that day, but he was only wearing a thin coat, as if he wasn't afraid of the cold at all.
Shangguan Yao seemed to sense her worry. "You don't have to worry that Lu Qianzhou will do anything to hurt you. Since I've come to find you, I will definitely guarantee your safety. Just relax."
As if suddenly enlightened, Yan Xia followed him and sat down on a bench by the lake.
She only asked Shangguan Yao, "If I agree to go back and cooperate with you to investigate Lu Qianzhou, what do I have to do for you?"
Seeing that her attitude had finally softened, Shangguan Yao was extremely excited and immediately seized the opportunity.
"Lu Qianzhou has big ambitions now. It's not just about legitimate business in the market. Recently, we've been keeping an eye on the leader of an international gray - industry gang, and we've found that Lu Qianzhou has been getting very close to this leader in the past few months. After all, Lu Qianzhou also has businesses abroad. If he cooperates with them, he will have a great advantage and many shortcuts to take."
Yan Xia listened quietly to Shangguan Yao's words. The wind blew past her ears, and her mood was unexpectedly calm.
"You suspect that Lu Qianzhou is also involved in this gray industry and doing illegal business?"
She wasn't surprised. One could say that she wouldn't be surprised by anything Lu Qianzhou did now.
Shangguan Yao nodded. "You can put it that way."
Yan Xia couldn't help but ask, "Shangguan, I also want to ask you. What's your reason for keeping such a close eye on Lu Qianzhou now? Why did you suddenly become a police officer? Is it because you hate him for what he did to Wang Keding, or is it just out of a policeman's duty?"
She hoped that Shangguan Yao could clearly separate public and private matters.
This question was a bit difficult to answer. Shangguan Yao thought for a moment and then replied.
"I don't hate him. I just want to know why. There's curiosity, but more importantly, it's out of a policeman's duty."
He had never had any feelings for Wang Keding. Wang Keding had never taken care of him, and his mother, being too busy in the entertainment industry and blindly pursuing a life of luxury, had ignored him. Shangguan Yao even once thought it was a miracle that he could maintain a good attitude and live safely until now.