“Deputy Factory Director, I’ll make some inquiries for you. You must take good care of your health. If you collapse, how much longer could my aunt hold on?”
Lu Jianguo rested his elbows on the edge of the desk, massaging his throbbing temples as he nodded. “I know. Thank you.”
To his young secretary, this gesture appeared as if their deputy factory director was crying.
He quickly left the office to contact his brother-in-law.
Lu Family Compound.
“Li Yue, Feng Jing must have taken a lot of our family’s money. Otherwise, how would she know about the secret compartment where my mom keeps money?” Even she didn’t know about it.
Lu Qing’s face was full of indignation.
Li Yue ate her self-fried eggs, her thoughts already wandering far away.
She wasn’t listening to Lu Qing’s chatter at all.
Lu Jianguo had told Lu Qing precisely because he wanted her to keep an eye on Feng Jing. With his daughter’s temperament, she definitely wouldn’t let this matter rest, which meant Feng Jing would eventually slip up.
Although he had promised to keep it confidential for her, he hadn’t promised not to tell his family.
But Lu Qing didn’t know her father was using her as a pawn. Learning for the first time that their family had so much money, she had been emotionally charged ever since. Unable to find anyone to show off to or share with, she kept pestering Li Yue.
After eating four fried eggs, Li Yue stood up and tossed the plate into the sink.
“I’m going out. Let me borrow the bicycle.”
She reached out her hand for the keys.
Lu Qing immediately became wary, remembering that Li Yue had met Gu Huaichuan last night. She suspected Li Yue might be going to see him.
“No way. You’re going out dressed like that?”
Admittedly, Lu Qing felt somewhat envious. Although Li Yue’s clothes weren’t made of Dacron, the fabric looked truly comfortable.
Li Yue nodded.
“You can’t go out.”
Lu Qing was genuinely afraid she would go find Gu Huaichuan. Just thinking about how Gu Huaichuan had looked at Li Yue last night made her feel like there was a thorn in her heart – not painful, but irritating.
“Why? Are you trying to control me too?” Li Yue felt irritated and unconsciously raised her voice. She couldn’t just go buy a bicycle right now.
She didn’t know how to take the bus either – there were no such memories from the original owner.
She didn’t even know if there were buses running through this area.
For some reason, Lu Qing felt somewhat frightened when she met Li Yue’s dark, penetrating eyes.
Her response lacked conviction: “Who’s trying to control you? I just don’t want to lend it to you.”
Li Yue didn’t bother continuing the conversation with her and instead turned to leave.
She went to the courtyard and examined each bicycle one by one. Li Shaohua’s bicycle was locked, with that semi-circular lock in the middle that could secure the rear wheel with just a push.
“That damn woman is so sneaky, locking her bike even at home,” Li Yue cursed under her breath.
However, Lu Xiao’s Er-Ba Da Gang bicycle wasn’t locked, so she directly pushed Lu Xiao’s bike out the main gate.
The autumn air was clear and refreshing. Although the temperature was still somewhat warm, the early September sky was truly expansive.
The clouds gathered in clusters.
With a swing of her long leg, she straddled the bicycle seat, her feet able to reach the ground. After testing it out and finding it acceptable, she pushed off with one foot and rode the bicycle out of the Family Compound.
It was just at the turn that she encountered Lu Jianguo riding his bike home.
When Lu Jianguo saw the completely transformed Li Yue, he didn’t dare recognize her at first glance.
Only belatedly did he realize who she was.
He never expected she could ride a bicycle.
“Where are you going?” He jumped off his bicycle, blocking the intersection.
Li Yue had no choice but to plant both feet on the ground and brake.
“I’m going out for a stroll. Do you need something?”
“I thought I told you to go to the police station and talk to them?” Lu Jianguo assumed she was heading to the station. As long as she withdrew the case, those two would be released.
Did he really need to go and owe someone a favor?
Li Yue nodded. “Right, I’m going to the police station.”
Seeing her agree so readily, Lu Jianguo was suspicious but still stepped aside.
“Make sure you talk to them properly.”
Just as Li Yue was about to leave, she suddenly remembered Feng Jing’s matter.
“Dad, what was my sister-in-law doing in your room last night? Lu Qing said a lot of money is missing from the house.”
Her gossipy little eyes, in Lu Jianguo’s view, were nothing but gloating.
“Who knows what she took? I really underestimated her. I checked, and I didn’t see anything missing,” he said irritably.
Li Yue didn’t miss the flash of hostility in his eyes.
He must be feeling pretty frustrated, having lost so many things but not daring to speak up.
Li Yue left, leaving her two-faced father-in-law with a very carefree silhouette.
The time was a little past two in the afternoon.
Gu Huaichuan arrived at the entrance of People’s Park and spotted Li Yue sitting on the back of a bicycle from afar.
“Xiao Yue—”
He ran over in long strides.
Seeing that Gu Huaichuan had actually come, Li Yue felt quite happy inside.
She got off the bicycle and went to meet him.
“Xiao Yue, I didn’t expect you to call me so soon. I thought I’d have to wait several days.”
Last night, after returning home, Gu Huaichuan told his family about finding Li Yue.
At first, his mother said it would be perfect for him to marry Lu Qing, so the two of them would become relatives.
But after he told his mother about Li Yue’s ordeal, she finally stopped pressuring him to meet Lu Qing.
Li Yue kept it brief. When confirming Gu Huaichuan’s identity, she hadn’t planned to contact him so quickly.
But plans always change faster than expected.
Finding the account book last night meant this matter had to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
She didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. “Here’s the thing—I want to ask for your help.”
Gu Huaichuan was affected by her serious expression and nodded earnestly, even unconsciously straightening his posture.
“I’m planning to report someone anonymously, but he might have some influence, which could cause the report to fail. Could you talk to your father and ask him to keep an eye on this matter too?”
Hearing this, Gu Huaichuan immediately patted his chest and promised without hesitation.
“Don’t worry, my dad knows about your situation and even wanted to report it to the police for you. He’ll definitely be willing to help.”
Li Yue smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much. I’m planning to go to the Discipline Inspection Commission.”
“Hiss? You’re not planning to report your partner, are you?” Gu Huaichuan thought she was going to report her mother-in-law for forcing her into kidney donation.
“No, I’m reporting Lu Jianguo.”
“That’s your father-in-law?”
“Yes.” Li Yue didn’t hide it.
“Then I’ll make a call and let my dad know.”
He didn’t dare to promise on his father’s behalf because his father was about to be promoted to County Party Secretary and was in a sensitive period.
Li Yue understood. Since the towel factory was still state-owned, if things got complicated, it might even affect the County Magistrate.
The two found a small shop and made a call.
County Magistrate Gu asked his son to bring Li Yue to his office.
The two rode their bicycles to the county government.
About twenty minutes later, Gu Huaichuan, with Li Yue on the back, arrived at the entrance of the county government on Huaiyin Road.
The county committee residential building was right across from the county government—that was Gu Huaichuan’s home.
“My place is in Building 3, Unit 201.” Gu Huaichuan pointed toward the neat residential buildings across the way.
Li Yue turned to look and nodded in acknowledgment.
When Gu Huaichuan took Li Yue to the County Magistrate’s office, they didn’t register at all, and even entered quite smoothly.
County Magistrate’s office.
Li Yue was offered a seat on the single sofa.
From the moment she stepped across the threshold of the county government building, her entire body had been tense – it was simply too quiet.
The corridor was so silent she could only hear her own footsteps and the faint rustling of pen strokes from the offices.
A high-pressure work environment inevitably affects one’s nerves.
After entering the office, an inexplicable sense of oppression washed over her, making her breathe more lightly.
She couldn’t help but reflect inwardly: so this is how suffocating a civil servant’s work environment can be.
Yes, truly suffocating.