Even during the Spring Festival, Manzhuang is no different from any other time, quiet and independent from the hustle and bustle.
In the evening, Xiang Mingzhang changed his clothes and drove to the Chu family to pick up Chu Shichen. Along the way, no one mentioned the farce at Jingpu mansion.
Chu Shichen was not very curious about the past of the Xiang family and the whereabouts of Xiang Long. He wanted to know more about Xiang Mingzhang's true attitude towards Xiang Long, Xiang Xingzhao, and the "home" where he had lived for many years but had no attachment to.
If they wanted to talk about the Xiang family's conflicts, they would inevitably have to talk to Bai Yongti, so Chu Shichen would not ask proactively. When he arrived at Man Manor, he spoke up, "Aunt, do you know why I came to visit you?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Well, I told her."
The gate to the courtyard was open. Chu Shichen got out of the car and picked up the gift. Xiang Mingzhang reached out to help him carry it, but he dodged and said, "It's okay. I'll carry it myself."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "Do you want to show off in front of my mother?"
Chu Shichen asked back: "Is your intention to please others too obvious?"
Xiang Mingzhang was joking at first, but seeing Chu Shichen's serious expression, which made him feel cared for, he said, "You have to show your feelings. Those who have a crush on someone are idiots, and those who give silently are fools."
Walking through the circular corridor, Chu Shichen said, "Then you are the most shrewd. You have said everything, using soft words and sweet talk, and hard words and threats. You have even calculated the cost and asked for a reward with both principal and interest."
"I never suffer a loss." Xiang Mingzhang admitted, "Besides, you are so reserved. If I am also dignified, maybe by the time I catch up with you, my niece will be an adult."
Chu Shichen chuckled and walked to the outside of the living room and stopped. He always straightened his clothes before entering the house, but today he didn't have his hands free, so he raised his neck towards Xiang Mingzhang.
The shadows of the two people were cast diagonally on the carpet in the living room. Xiang Mingzhang straightened Chu Shichen's collar. As soon as he stepped into the door, Sister Qing ran over and said, "Mr. Xiang, Mr. Chu."
Chu Shichen felt embarrassed. He had always troubled Sister Qing to cook for him during the days he lived in the South District. He was probably seen as lazy and greedy by her. He gave her the gift and said, "Happy New Year. This is just a little token of my appreciation."
Sister Qing was pleasantly surprised and said, "I have a share too. Mr. Chu paid for it."
There were seven or eight candlesticks in the living room, and the sofa was replaced with a brightly embroidered cushion. Only Bai Yongti remained the same, without any makeup, only with her hair combed. However, her facial features were deep and her skin was delicate, and her beauty was already difficult to conceal.
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Mom, I brought Shichen here."
Chu Shichen has been to Manzhuang several times and experienced many things with Xiang Mingzhang, but he and Bai Yongti did not have much contact and did not understand each other, maintaining a distance between host and guest.
The previous two times Chu Shichen came, he was in the capacity of Xiang Mingzhang's secretary. This time the meaning of his visit was completely different, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
His biological mother is very strict and cares about his studies and career, but Bai Yongti is the opposite. She doesn't care about worldly affairs and doesn't make any demands, which makes him not know how to behave.
Chu Shichen presented the gift and said, "Aunt, Happy New Year."
Bai Yongti always said calmly: "You're welcome, just come over."
Chu Shichen said: "Auntie copies scriptures every day. I picked out a brush and an inkstone. Would you like to try it?"
Bai Yongti showed a little interest and took them to the study. On the long desk were all the four treasures of the study. Chu Shichen opened the gifts and helped Bai Yongti wash the brush and grind the ink.
Xiang Mingzhang stood opposite the desk with his hands behind his back and said, "Shichen's handwriting is very good."
Bai Yongti's calligraphy was practiced for copying scriptures. It was average, but she was good at reciting while writing, with a sincere heart. She tried the brush and thought it was good, so she said, "Shichen, you should try it too."
Bai Yongti had called him "Xiao Chu" before. Chu Shichen noticed the change in address and responded, "Aunt, what should I write?"
On both sides of the desk were piled up copied scriptures. Bai Yongti had never written anything else, so she said, "It doesn't matter. You can write whatever you want."
Chu Shichen dipped the brush in ink skillfully and started writing. The scripture was dull and inappropriate for the Spring Festival. Writing poetry would seem like excessive literary deceit, so he picked up the paperweight and swept it lightly, then wrote down three words: Xiang Mingzhang.
Xiang Mingzhang's mind moved slightly: "Why write about me?"
Chu Shichen said implicitly: "You can write whatever you want, then I will write whatever I think."
Bai Yongti thought that she was insensitive to feelings and didn't care, but when she listened to Chu Shichen's words, she thought of the west wind in the horse farm and Xiang Mingzhang's confession of love over the railing.
She put away her pen and ink and said, "I have to give you a gift in return."
Chu Shichen waved his hands quickly. It was only natural for the younger generation to respect the elders. Besides, Bai Yongti lived a simple life. He said, "Aunt, it is enough for you to allow me to visit you. There is no need to follow the worldly etiquette."
Bai Yongti opened the first drawer of the low cabinet, took out the things she had prepared in advance, and smiled: "As long as you don't mind it being tacky."
Chu Shichen took it in his hands. It turned out to be a jewelry box. He opened the lid and found an antique brooch inside. It had a gold base with red agate embedded in it, and was decorated with broken gems. The embossed image was of the goddess of flowers, Flora.
The brooch was placed on the black velvet, bright and beautiful like brocade. Chu Shichen did not expect Bai Yongti to give him such jewelry.
"I saw you were wearing an agate ring with carvings on it," Bai Yongti explained, "and I heard that you gave Mingzhang an antique pocket watch, so I picked out this antique brooch, thinking you would like it and that you two would be a good match."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Mom, this is one of your dowry."
Bai Yongti used to own more jewelry than she could wear, but she auctioned off or donated most of them, leaving only a portion of her dowry. She said, "Well, these are my things from before I got married. They are clean."
Chu Shichen paused and said, "It's too precious. I can't bear to wear it."
Bai Yongti walked closer, picked up the brooch and said, "There's nothing to be reluctant about. You're handsome and elegant, so it won't be a waste if you put it on your collar."
Chu Shichen lowered his hands and let Bai Yongti help him put it on.
Xiang Mingzhang couldn't wait to say, "It looks good."
Bai Yongti had another consideration: "The flower god represents spring. Shichen had an accident this spring, so he can be considered to have lived again. Let's take it as a commemoration."
Chu Shichen looked down at Flora on his chest, feeling it was unreal, and said with emotion: "Thank you, auntie, I will treasure it well."
Before coming here, Chu Shichen didn't know what he would face. He checked on the Internet and some people said that there were two consequences of meeting his parents. One was being separated, and the other was being kicked out of the house. Even if the parents accepted, they would still be interrogated.
Chu Shichen understood that Bai Yongti was different from other parents, but the hearts of all parents in the world were the same. He took the initiative to say, "Aunt, I am serious about Mingzhang, please rest assured."
Bai Yongti smiled: "I'm relieved, you are all serious."
The reunion dinner was ready, Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen washed their hands and moved to the restaurant. Every time they came, they had a feast, and today was even more sumptuous, the round table was full, and after the three of them sat down, there was an extra set of bowls and chopsticks.
Soon, Xu Liao arrived.
Chu Shichen had met Xu Liao briefly in Yunjiao, and this time he finally saw clearly that Xu Liao was less than fifty years old, with a strong physique, better than that of young people, and a little tanned than the last time they met.
He greeted, "Mr. Xu, nice to meet you."
Xu Liao initially thought that Chu Shichen was just Xiang Mingzhang's secretary, but later he felt that the two had a close relationship. Now, when he saw the brooch on Chu Shichen's suit, even if he didn't have an epiphany, he had figured out something.
There was only soup on the table tonight. Chu Shichen remembered Xiang Mingzhang saying that Xu Liao was Bai Yongti's friend and they would probably have dinner together every Spring Festival.
Bai Yongti still didn't talk much, but she was in a relaxed state. Lingtuaner slipped in halfway through. She put down her chopsticks, hugged the cat and stroked it, looking less lonely.
Just like before, Xiang Mingzhang did not mention any people or things related to the Xiang family, and Bai Yongti did not ask.
After dinner, Bai Yongti worshipped Guanyin and copied scriptures as usual, and then went to another room.
After cleaning the table and brewing a pot of Taiping Houkui, Xu Liao took out a file bag from his bag and said, "This is what I have found so far, you can take a look."
Xiang Mingzhang untied the white string that sealed the book, spread the information inside on the table, and asked, "How did you check it?"
Xu Liao said based on the descriptions of Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen: "Alan knows yachts and is good at sailing. Further analysis shows that there are only two types of people who know yachts: those who play with yachts and those who serve yachts."
Chu Shichen said: "People who play yachts may not understand it. My friend has a special team to help him manage it."
"That's right, and those who ride yachts are all rich people. Even if they are committing crimes, they would not do such dangerous things." Xu Liao said, "So Alan should be the second type, who has helped rich people manage yachts."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "We speculate that he may not be Chinese."
Xu Liao said: "I checked the major marinas in Southeast Asia and found that there are many yacht management companies, especially in Thailand, whose employees have very high turnover and are difficult to lock down."
Chu Shichen remembered several of Alan's characteristics: he had good English, could speak Mandarin, could play the bass, had deep eye sockets, and had well-developed muscles.
Xu Liao used these conditions to narrow down the scope. Physical appearance filtered out some, Mandarin eliminated more than half, and playing bass was not easy to verify.
Chu Shichen recalled what Xingyu said: "A week before the party, Chang Cheh was injured, and Alan, who was singing in the bar at the time, took his place. So he had been staying in China before that?"
"No, I tend to think he is overseas," Xu Liao said. "Find someone from overseas to come and leave immediately after the incident. It will be difficult to trace the traces before and after the incident."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "It's a pity that we can't determine the time range of his entry."
The data collected the websites of some yacht companies, some formal and some private, and obtained photos and resumes of more than 200 people. Xu Liao said: "At present, I can only screen to this extent."
Chu Shichen saved the photo and said, "I'll make an appointment with Director Peng some other day and ask him to identify it."
These gains were already considerable. Xiang Mingzhang poured Xu Liao a cup of tea and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Xu Liao asked: "If the yacht explosion was a man-made accident, what was the motive and purpose of the murderer behind it?"
Chu Shichen put himself in his shoes and said, "The murderer doesn't want Xiang Yue to acquire Yisi, doesn't want me to sell my shares? Or does he simply want my life?"
"The plan failed," Xu Liao said. "The contract was signed, the shares were sold, and you didn't die."
Chu Shichen and Xiang Mingzhang looked at each other. Only they knew that the real "Chu Shichen" had not been rescued. This was also the reason why Chu Shichen insisted on investigating. If there was another real murderer, he would find him out and give an explanation to the Chu family.
Xiang Mingzhang said: "There are many people at the party, and it is at sea. If it gets out of control, more than one person may die. Most people would not choose to do it on a yacht."
Xu Liao said: "Although the risk is high, the more people there are, the more suspicion there is. In addition, it is not conducive to protecting the scene and collecting evidence at sea, and it is difficult to investigate afterwards."
Chu Shichen felt that Xu Liao was very professional. Investigations required logic and techniques, and he seemed to have experience in this area. He asked curiously, "Mr. Xu, may I ask, what did you do before?"
Xu Liao replied: "I used to be a policeman in Canada."
Chu Shichen was quite surprised: "No wonder."
Xu Liao is eight years younger than Bai Yongti. Their two families were neighbors when they were young. His parents had a bad relationship, so he would go to Bai Yongti whenever they quarreled.
Later, Xu Liao's parents divorced, and his mother remarried and moved to Canada with him. He kept in touch with Bai Yongti, and when he grew up and started working, he returned to China to visit his family and learned that Bai Yongti was not happy.
Xu Liao wanted to help Bai Yongti leave the Xiang family, but Bai Yongti refused. Not long after, his mother got into trouble in Canada and he lost his job.
At that time, Xiang Mingzhang was in the start-up stage and already had his own staff, so he took the initiative to contact Xu Liao for help. Later, Xu Liao settled in China, and on the surface he was running Yunjiao, but in fact he was helping Xiang Mingzhang do things.
After listening to this, Chu Shichen realized that some things had been skipped. Why was Bai Yongti unhappy and why did she refuse to leave the Xiang family? Was there something strange about Xu Liao's experience? Did he work for Xiang Mingzhang all these years just to repay his kindness
When Bai Yongti came back from copying the scriptures, it was getting late, so Xu Liao stood up and prepared to say goodbye.
Bai Yongti: "I'll take you to the door."
"What can I give you?" Xu Liao smiled a little silly. "It's cold outside. You should go to bed early."
Chu Shichen probably understood that sometimes the depth of feelings did not need to be stated explicitly; a look or expression was obvious enough.
He left with Xiang Mingzhang. The winding corridor was just like his mood throughout the day, with both joy and sorrow. When he walked out of the courtyard, he said, "It's time for me to go home."
Xiang Mingzhang said, "Stay tonight, we'll go to the South District."
Chu Shichen shook his head: "Staying out all night on New Year's Day is outrageous."
Xiang Mingzhang thought about it and realized that it was right. Mrs. Chu knew that he was the one who took Chu Shichen away. If he didn't return him after one night, it would damage his gentlemanly image. She said, "Then I'll take you back."
There were not many cars on the streets during the Spring Festival, and Xiang Mingzhang drove at a steady speed.
Chu Shichen was sitting in the passenger seat looking at his phone. There were more than 200 photos, and in his opinion, everyone looked pretty much the same. He flipped through the photos hastily, his fingers swiping across the screen faster and faster.
Swipe from the last saved photo to the first one, and then back, and it's a short video he shot.
The video played automatically, and it was a shelf in a Guangzhou audio-visual store. Chu Shichen said, "Aunt Tang especially likes to give her albums, and she serves me more food every day."
Xiang Mingzhang smiled and said, "Can you finish it?"
"I can't finish it." Chu Shichen poked the video and played it a second time, "So she's nagging me again."
In the video, outside the window of the music store, the tour group was scattered in a mess, but one person stood still.
Chu Shichen noticed it and felt it looked familiar. He moved it frame by frame and pressed pause to enlarge the picture.
He was slightly stunned. The man in the video was standing across the alley, staring at the window. He was dark-skinned, with deep eye sockets, and a vest over his bulging muscles.
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "Why are you silent?"
Chu Shichen said: "I think I found Alan."
(End of this chapter)