Chapter Nine: Secrets
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Naturally, Yu Chen would never relay such words to his father, nor would he mention them to his family. His father had his reasons for what he did—it was his work, his conviction. As a son, Yu Chen never interfered more than necessary. As for those thugs, Yu Chen believed he could handle them himself.
What he hadn’t expected was how closely they would tail him. Ever since he stopped living at school, he always tried to slip out the back door before they showed up. But it only took a few days before they caught on, and after school one afternoon, they dragged him to a secluded, dimly lit spot.
“Kid, our boss has changed his mind. Help us out with one thing, and we’ll let you go.”
One of them spoke, cigarette dangling from his lips.
Yu Chen was restrained by the others, glaring fiercely at them.
Catching his glare, the man’s temper flared. He kicked Yu Chen hard. “What are you looking at, you little punk!”
“You and your father are both a pain in the ass, always meddling where you don’t belong.”
The man grabbed Yu Chen by the collar. “Tomorrow afternoon, have your father pick you up. Got it?”
“If you’ve got the guts, go talk to him yourself!” Yu Chen retorted.
“If it weren’t for the recent crackdown, I’d have already had you tied up and finished off. You’re just like your father, hiding in the police station all day, impossible to get to.”
“What are you planning to do to my dad?!” Yu Chen shouted.
“Nothing much. Just going to teach him a lesson, make sure he knows his place,” the man replied with a sickening grin.
As they left, the man added, “Think it over. Otherwise, you’ll be the one getting taught a lesson! And if you go to the cops, your sister will pay the price!”
Yu Chen had considered calling the police, but the way that gang acted, so brazen and confident, convinced him it was useless. Since they knew his father was on their trail, it meant they must have someone inside the police station.
Given the circumstances, Yu Chen could only bet that, fearing the current crackdown, they wouldn’t dare go too far with him.
The next day at noon, they came to threaten him again—it was the scene Li Bingxia had witnessed.
“They said if I didn’t cooperate, they’d break my leg so I couldn’t ride my bike, and then they’d have an excuse to make my dad pick me up,” Yu Chen explained to Gu Yan.
Earlier, Yu Sheng had said Yu Chen’s leg was broken by some thugs, but now it seemed there were powerful people orchestrating things from behind the scenes.
“If nothing else, those guys are pretty stupid, aren’t they?” Gu Yan commented after hearing the story.
“Exactly. I found it odd too. Usually, with their temperament, they’d just cut to the chase. Why all these mind games? First it’s one thing, then another,” Yu Chen replied.
“Just be glad they’re fools! Otherwise, we might not be talking to you right now. But it is suspicious,” Gu Yan said.
“But why are they so fixated on my dad? He’s not the only cop on the case.”
Gu Yan thought about it but couldn’t come up with an answer.
“You said the boss is Liu Quan?”
“That’s right,” Yu Chen nodded.
“Okay, you go home for now. I’ll take care of this,” Gu Yan said.
“You’ll take care of it? Brother Gu Yan, do you have a plan?”
Gu Yan patted Yu Chen on the shoulder, smiling. “Remember what I told you? Killing without leaving a trace—trust me.”
Yu Chen still didn’t quite understand.
“When it’s done, I’ll let you all know. But for the next few days, don’t go out unless you have to. If you get caught again, we can’t take them on, right?”
Yu Chen laughed at that.
For some reason, the person in front of him gave him a sense of reassurance, someone he could trust.
“Alright!” Yu Chen nodded.
After Yu Chen left, Gu Yan thought for a moment and decided to make a call. He was glad his memory was sharp enough to recall the number.
After the monthly exams, they’d have two days off, which meant he might have to go without sleep for the next two days. The best way to defeat violence was with brains.
Gu Yan dialed the number from memory, hoping he could persuade him.
“Hello, who is this?” came a familiar voice on the other end.
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“Song He, it’s Gu Yan, your future roommate. I need your help with something!”
There was silence. Gu Yan glanced at his phone—the call had been hung up.
Damn!
He called again.
“You’re currently at First High School in Y City. You like hacking other people’s programs and got caught once for it. Your girlfriend is Nan Xiaoniao, and you like eating bread crusts and hard foods.” Gu Yan rattled off a list.
“These days, scammers sure do their homework. Must be hard work,” Song He replied lazily.
Song He, you’ve forced my hand, Gu Yan thought.
“You have a birthmark on your left buttock and one on the sole of your left foot.”
There was a few seconds of silence.
“Are you serious? Did you guys install cameras in my house? Listen, if you’re after my money, think twice—I might just end up taking yours instead!”
“Oh, come on, Song He! What will it take for you to believe me?”
“No matter what you say, there’s no way I’d believe you, right?” Song He snorted. “But even my parents don’t know my hobbies this well, hmm…”
“That’s because we’ll be roommates in the future.”
“Fine, I’ll believe you for now. So what do you want from me?”
Seeing Song He come around, Gu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
“I want you to help me investigate a gang-related case.”
“What’s in it for me?” Song He asked.
“This is an international case. If you succeed, think of the credentials you’ll gain! It’ll be great for your future fame!” Gu Yan coaxed.
He knew Song He didn’t lack money, so the only way to persuade him was with prestige and notoriety.
“Sounds good. But are you really from the future? What’s my future like?” Song He, as usual, wasn’t in a hurry.
“You’re amazing in the future. Otherwise, why would I come to you for help?” Gu Yan pressed, anxious since time was short.
That made Song He happy—he loved being praised, and flattery always worked on him.
“Alright! What do you want me to do?”
“You need to help me send those idiots where they belong!”
Gu Yan and Song He worked through the night and managed to get half the work done—a remarkable achievement.
Thank goodness for Song He, Gu Yan thought.
They didn’t rest until dawn. Gu Yan slept until nearly noon, then went straight to Yu Sheng’s house for lunch.
When he arrived, Yu Chen glanced at him, silently asking a question. Gu Yan nodded, giving him a reassuring look.
“What’s going on with you two lately? You seem odd,” Yu Sheng asked, noticing their exchange.
“It’s a secret!” Gu Yan winked, then added, “But if you really want to know, I could tell you.”
“I—I don’t want to know! It can’t be anything good anyway.” Yu Sheng had been feeling jealous of how close Yu Chen and Gu Yan had become recently.
She couldn’t quite explain why she felt that way; it was as if her brother had taken something that belonged to her.
Startled by her own thoughts, Yu Sheng was taken aback.
What am I thinking? Gu Yan is just a tenant and a classmate—when did he become something of mine?
“Yu Sheng, come to my house tomorrow afternoon. Yu Chen will come too,” Gu Yan said.
Yu Chen immediately understood Gu Yan’s intention and nodded.
Wei Yabo was pleased to see Gu Yan inviting Yu Sheng and Yu Chen over; she’d worried that Gu Yan might not be adjusting well to the local life.
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“Yan Yan, do you need fruit and snacks? Would you like Auntie to prepare something for you?” Wei Yabo asked.
“No need, Auntie, we have everything at home,” Gu Yan replied.
After all, what he meant by “playing” wasn’t the usual kind.
As they were talking, Gu Yan’s phone chimed with a new message—it was Song He.
Goodness, a major discovery!
Upon seeing Song He’s message, Gu Yan quickly finished lunch and headed home.
“What did you find?”
“The company you asked me to investigate—I hacked into their system and found abnormal cash flows. There are international transactions.”
“But they don’t have any overseas branches, which means they’re laundering money.”
“Exactly.”
Gu Yan was stunned—he had only said it was an international case to convince Song He, but it turned out to be true.
But now that it involved foreign elements, this was beyond what two high school students could handle.
“Let’s keep investigating. Send me all the evidence you’ve found so far that proves their crimes. I’ll talk to someone I know.”
“Got it!”
Gu Yan had only suspected that the gang had powerful backers, which was why he wanted to use the national anti-gang campaign to bring them down. Now, it was clear the situation was more complicated. If he could really uncover the truth, it would be like removing a malignant tumor.
That afternoon, Gu Yan went to Yu Sheng’s father’s police station. That’s right—the person he wanted to talk to was him.
He had already asked Yu Chen for his father’s number and sent him a message outside the police station.
“I have evidence on the people you’re investigating. Waiting for you at the station’s entrance.”
Sure enough, before long, Yu Dong came out. Seeing Gu Yan, he didn’t immediately connect him to the message.
“Gu Yan? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
“It’s me, Uncle. I’m the one who just messaged you.”
Hearing this, Yu Dong’s expression grew complicated.
“Let’s talk out front.”
“Alright.”
Yu Dong didn’t take him inside the station but led him to a nearby café.
Gu Yan got straight to the point, handing over the documents.
“This is it.”
But Yu Dong didn’t open them right away.
“You say this is evidence on the people I’m investigating, but do you even know what I’m working on these days?”
Gu Yan smiled. “Uncle, just take a look and you’ll know whether you can trust me.”
Yu Dong hesitated, then cautiously opened the envelope.
“This… where did you get all this?”
“Uncle, you don’t need to know that. I’m just here to help you.”
“Some of the material here—we don’t even have access to it. How did you get it? You know that investigating these things privately is illegal, don’t you?” Yu Dong stared intently at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan heard the implication but remained calm—he had anticipated this reaction.