Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

Looking at the luxury sports car parked not far from the entrance, Yang Ce felt rather puzzled. So Dong Jun would spend big money on a sports car after all? He had always seemed rather shabby before.

"This model—this year's is the last batch. A discontinued car; they've stopped making them," Dong Jun said, using the remote to unlock the doors, then turning to Yang Ce.

"Oh." Yang Ce had no mind to appraise the car's value. His heart was set on Zhang Bin, and he only nodded perfunctorily.

The sports car had no plates yet, and Dong Jun drove like a maniac the whole way, running every red light. In no time they arrived at Songjiang First People's Hospital.

It was just as Dong Jun had said—from the hospital director down to the head nurse, Dong Jun knew them all. Yang Ce had long known that Dong Jun was well connected in Songjiang, but he had not known his connections ran this deep.

"Brother Dong, I have to say, you really are something. Even the people at the First Hospital all know you," Yang Ce said with sincere admiration.

"Hey, never mind the First Hospital—I know people at the Second, Third, and Fourth, and the Red Cross Hospital too," Dong Jun said, not without pride.

Zhang Bin's injuries were not serious. Both arms had been hurt while he was blocking blows—meaning Zhang Bin had not been the target. The aim had simply been to smash up the company. Had Zhang Bin not tried to stop them, he would not have been hurt at all.

This only made Yang Ce more puzzled. He had assumed Zhang Bin had offended someone while setting up the company, bringing this disaster down on himself—but now it seemed that was not the case.

These people had not come for Zhang Bin. Could they have come for him? Yang Ce was at a loss, and the feeling was deeply unsettling. He had not felt this way in a long time.

All along, it had been he who played his enemies for fools, or the enemy in the open while he stayed in the shadows. And now, out of nowhere, someone had smashed up his company, and he still did not know why.

But if these people had come for him, why not seek him out directly? Why go after the jewelry company? And if they had come for the company, then who had the company offended?

Now Yang Ce could only pin his hopes on Baolin. According to Zhang Bin's and Zhao Sisi's recollection, those men had said nothing at all, left no message. They smashed things up and left quickly.

What was more, the things they smashed were only surface fittings—display cases and the like—worth little. Even repairing it all would cost no more than eight or ten thousand yuan.

This left Yang Ce even more baffled as to what these people were after. It did not look like vengeance from an enemy; it looked more like an attempt to disgust him—or to provoke him.

Only after seeing with his own eyes that Zhang Bin was not seriously hurt did Yang Ce set his mind at ease. He gave him a few instructions and told him to rest and recover.

Still, over at the company, it was time to find another helper. With Zhang Bin laid up, Zhao Sisi alone could not possibly handle everything.

To be continued

696. A Chance Encounter at the Restaurant

It was not until evening that Yang Ce received any worthwhile news. It was not for lack of effort on Baolin's part—he had tried his utmost. The tasks Yang Ce assigned him were never many, and now that he had a chance to prove himself, he would claw his way through anything to get it done.

Yet even after turning Songjiang upside down, they could not find that Hyundai van. They did, however, get information from the vehicle registration office: the plate had been reported lost half a year earlier, and the original vehicle had already gone through a transfer of ownership. Moreover, the original vehicle was not a Hyundai van at all, but a white Hiace van.

Yang Ce had not really expected to get any leads from the plate—after all, no one would commit a crime in their own vehicle. Baolin's check was simply a refusal to let slip even the slightest possibility.

The Hyundai van had vanished completely, and no one recognized the men inside it. The whole crew and their vehicle seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth, quietly slipping out of sight.

Or perhaps they had already left Songjiang and gone somewhere else—leaving no thread to pull.

The trail had simply gone cold. Reluctant as he was, Yang Ce had no choice but to let it drop. He instructed Baolin to leave a few men to keep following the matter, while everyone else returned to their posts and their own duties.

And so the matter passed, yet in Yang Lanxu's mind it left a knot that would not loosen. Never having gotten to the bottom of things left Yang Ce vaguely uneasy.

A jewelry company was, after all, a legitimate business, and Yang Shuoxuan had not given it much thought—but after this incident, Yang Yongjin had no choice but to assign a few more men to safeguard the company's day-to-day security.

Now that Chen Shutang knew about Lin Yanhe, there was no longer any need for Yang Shuoxuan to keep up appearances. The reason Lin Yanhe had never been allowed to work at the jewelry company was precisely the fear that Chen Shutang would find out and kick up a fuss.

Truth be told, Yang Ce felt he had done Lin Yanhe a real wrong. The New Year had come and gone, and the number of times he had visited her home could be counted on one hand.

A glance at the clock—just past two in the afternoon. Yang Ce had spent the whole morning at the jewelry company with Zhao Sisi, tying up the loose ends, and had been busy straight through until now without a bite to eat.

He stepped into Aunt Hong's "Commoner's Eatery." Around these parts, it was the only halfway decent snack shop, and back when Yang Mo had come to Fang Tian's house and arrived with an empty stomach, this was where he had grabbed a quick bite.

Aunt Hong knew Yang Ce was Lin Yanhe's boyfriend, so she was always especially warm whenever he came in.

"Little Yang, you're here! Come in, come in and sit." Aunt Hong greeted him warmly. "Take a private room."

"It's just me—what do I need a private room for?" Yang Mo found it odd. "Out here's fine."

"Well, ah—" Aunt Hong sighed, as though she wanted to say something but thought better of it.

That only left Yang Ce more baffled. He went inside, and just as he was about to drop into a chair at the first table he came to, he looked up and spotted another table not far off where a group of men sat drinking—and there, plain as day, was Li Dadong among them.

A moment's thought and Yang Ce understood what Aunt Hong had meant. She must have been afraid he and Li Dadong would run into each other and things would turn awkward, which was why she had tried to steer him into a private room the moment he walked in.

But the encounter had already happened, and Yang Shuoxuan could hardly pretend not to know him—especially since Yang Ce and he had gotten on rather well last time they talked.

For the full story on Li Dadong, see Chapter 547, "Contesting 'Big Winter Melon.'" Yang Hengye nodded at Li Dadong by way of greeting.

"Yang—Yang Ce—" Li Dadong started, then answered awkwardly, never expecting to run into Yang Ce here.

"Dadong, who's that?" asked another young man drinking with Li Dadong.

"A friend," Li Dadong said vaguely.

"Come join us for a drink!" another fellow, of a more hearty build, called out to Yang Ce.

"No, thanks—I'm meeting someone, just grabbing a bite and then I'm off." No sooner had Yang Yan finished speaking than he regretted it. Before coming, he had phoned Lin Yanhe; Yang Yan was a little hungry and had come here for a meal. Lin Yanhe had nothing much to do either way, so she told Yan she would come to the restaurant to find him.

Now, seeing Li Dadong here too, Yang Ce wondered whether he ought to call Lin Yanhe and tell her not to come—after all, it would be a bit awkward.