Chapter 142: The Past

Lu Fengzhou stood in the room for a moment before turning around. "Did she take anything with her when she left this place?"

His subordinate hesitated slightly. "Probably not. She had a shoulder bag when she came, and she only had that same bag in her hand when she left."

After a brief pause, the man added, "As you instructed us to search earlier, we've turned this place upside down. There's nothing useful here."

Lu Fengzhou nodded, stood in the corridor for a moment, and then walked toward Qiao Siman’s room.

During his severe illness and hospitalization, Qiao Siman’s room had been cleaned by the servants, and it looked quite neat now.

Lu Fengzhou only stood at the doorway, glanced around, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Let's go."

He was reluctant to return to this place; the intertwining of good and bad memories made him feel uneasy.

Stepping out of the main building, ahead of them was the dried-up fountain, its cracks visible under the sweep of a flashlight.

It had only been empty for a little over six months, yet it had already fallen into such disrepair.

Qiao Jiu had once mentioned that this fountain was personally designed by Qiao Siman, and the base was built by his own hands. The fountain wasn't large, but it had taken them several months to complete back then.

Lu Fengzhou glanced at it as he walked past, paying it no mind.

Stepping outside the front gates, the chauffeur hurried down to open the car door, but Lu Fengzhou spoke up, "You guys go ahead up, I'm going to smoke a cigarette."

He took two steps back and stood beside the main gate.

The chauffeur had been with him for quite a while and had a pretty good idea of his intentions, so he quickly called out to the accompanying subordinates, "You all get in the car too."

The others returned to the vehicle, the chauffeur turned off the headlights, and the surroundings instantly plunged into darkness.

Lu Fengzhou stood in the dark for a long time before slowly lighting a cigarette, half-turning to look at the villa shrouded in the night behind him.

He had sent his subordinates to search this villa more than once, but they hadn't found anything useful.

Qiao Jiu hadn't come back once in the six months since their divorce. Who knew what Liu Changyong had said to her today, or perhaps she had suddenly thought of something, prompting her to rush over here for a look.

***

When Qiao Jiu and Guan Wei left Jiang Qingchen's home, the sky was completely dark. Ruan Wen had not fully recovered and was in poor condition, yet she still came out to see them off.

It was evident that Ruan Wen was very happy. She even took Qiao Jiu’s hand and said, "My Qingchen has always had a difficult time because of me. You are the first friend of his that I know of. Feel free to come over and visit often when you have time."

Qiao Jiu quickly agreed with a nod. "Alright, I'll come see you again once your health improves."

She waved goodbye to Jiang Qingchen and then followed Guan Wei into the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed and it began descending, Guan Wei spoke up, "My dad praised Jiang Qingchen again today, saying his capabilities are quite good. He originally thought Jiang would need a period of adjustment since he just joined the company, but he didn't expect Jiang's adaptability to be so strong. Now he can handle some tasks completely on his own."

As if remembering something, she suddenly smiled. "None of those Jiang family sons are easy to deal with. Let me tell you, if Jiang Qingchen has any ambitions and puts in the effort, the Jiang family fortune might very well end up in his hands."

Qiao Jiu didn't know much about the affairs of the Jiang family and only asked, "How is the Jiang family's eldest madam doing now? Doesn't she know that Jiang Qingchen and his mother are still in Yuncheng?"

"She probably knows," Guan Wei said. "With such a deep thorn in her side, how could she not pay attention? Perhaps seeing all these years that the other party is still living a miserable life right under her nose has given her some form of release."

True, Qiao Jiu nodded. "She's also a pitiful person."

Guan Wei sighed. "Half a year ago, there was a banquet I attended with my dad. From afar, I saw the Jiang family's eldest son and his wife. Outwardly, their relationship seemed alright, but according to my dad, they are estranged in spirit. Back then, the incident blew up and had a huge impact, especially since women find it hard to let go of such matters. Those two haven't been living well, and since the eldest son of the Jiang family is unpromising, the eldest madam's anger is burning pretty fiercely."

Qiao Jiu murmured an acknowledgment and said nothing more.

Guan Wei drove Qiao Jiu home. Upon returning, Qiao Jiu took a shower first, then checked her phone afterward. Lu Fengzhou hadn't contacted her.

She went back to bed and pulled out those old magazines. The magazines were weathered; whether from frequent flipping or sheer age, the pages in the middle were falling apart.

The family servants had always been responsible, keeping even the storage room neatly organized. Not a single one of her schoolbooks from the past had been kept, yet these tattered magazines had survived until now, making it hard for her not to pay attention.

Lying face down on the bed, she flipped through the book on landscape architecture, which was all about fountain construction.

Qiao Jiu couldn't make head or tail of it. Even if her old man wanted to build a fountain himself, he could have just hired a master to teach him. There was no need to deliberately buy a book to study it, wasting time and effort.

After leafing through it for a long time without making any sense of it, she finally gave up, tossed the book aside, and rolled over onto her back.

A full stomach brings sleepiness. Lying there like that for a little while, she drifted off into a muddled slumber.

However, Qiao Jiu's sleep was not peaceful. She had a series of chaotic dreams. In her dream, she was a child again, and Liu Changyong and Qiao Siman were drinking at home.

Perhaps her subconscious was at work, but the two of them in the dream were discussing that plot of land over their drinks.

Liu Changyong said the government planning maps were about to be released and they needed to get their hands on that land as quickly as possible; otherwise, once the planning maps came out, land prices would skyrocket, making negotiations difficult.

Qiao Siman took a sip of his drink. "How many times have those people gone over there? They are all stubborn as mules. I seriously suspect they got wind of some news beforehand."

Then the scene shifted. Only Qiao Siman was left at the dining table. Liu Changyong's whereabouts were unknown. There were no stir-fried dishes on the table, only numerous empty beer cans.

Qiao Siman drank alone, his brow furrowed in a deep frown, clearly troubled by vexing matters.

After a short while, the scene changed again. Many people came to the house, carrying gifts and uttering flattering words.

Qiao Siman was beaming with joy, and Liu Changyong was still nowhere to be seen.

After that, the setting changed several times, ending with Qiao Jiu standing by the window, watching Qiao Siman build the fountain base in the courtyard.

Not a single person was around him. By then, the family already had money, and building a fountain wouldn't cost much. She actually couldn't understand why they needed to pinch pennies over such a small amount.

Drifting aimlessly through the night until dawn, Qiao Jiu woke up as she tossed and turned.

The image of Qiao Siman building the fountain faded piece by piece from her mind as she propped herself up and sat in bed.

For some inexplicable reason, she felt as though something was about to be recalled, but the moment she tried to concentrate and search for it, that thought immediately dissipated.

Sitting in bed until daylight, Qiao Jiu washed up and went out to cook breakfast.

While eating, she scrolled through her phone and casually flipped to the WeChat contact of the person Jiang Qingchen had recommended to her yesterday.

Nothing seemed amiss with the person's WeChat profile; it gave off the vibe of a peaceful, ordinary citizen leading a quiet life.

Yet yesterday, when she told the person what she wanted investigated, the individual hadn't hesitated at all, guaranteeing that they would look into it and make everything crystal clear.

Jiang Qingchen had worked as a bartender for many years and knew plenty of people from all walks of life. Many capable and extraordinary individuals often hid among the common folk, and this person perhaps possessed some unusual skills.