Plunder-Chapter 172 I Want to Stand with You

"You... you’ve got the wrong person."

Detective Wu wore a fisherman’s hat, with sunglasses covering half of his face. At first, he was startled, but after recognizing Jin’an, he quickened his pace to leave. However, Jin’an forcefully blocked his path.

He reached out and took off the hat on Detective Wu’s head, "Stop pretending, I’ve seen this outfit before, this hat, these sunglasses, and these shoes, I recognize them."

That night, a cool breeze was blowing, but cold sweat was seeping out on Detective Wu’s forehead.

"Director Zhou... Director Zhou, I just came to have a cup of coffee. Do you... do you need me for something?"

He tried hard to remain calm, yet his nervousness leaked through his voice.

"Come with me."

Jin’an took long strides forward.

Without looking back, Cheng Lu had already driven the Maybach over.

Jin’an got into the car, leaving the door open.

Detective Wu didn’t know what Jin’an was planning, and he stood still in place.

In Rong City, he couldn’t afford to provoke Jin’an.

Similarly, in Rong City, if he had Jin’an as a protector, no one would dare to touch him.

He was a man who knew how to weigh pros and cons.

So, after a few seconds of hesitation, he decisively got into the Maybach.

The car headed straight for Chu Garden, with Jin’an leaning back in his seat, his eyes slightly closed.

He didn’t speak, yet the car was filled with an oppressive silence that captured the soul.

Detective Wu kept his head down; he waited for Jin’an to speak first.

But Jin’an remained silent.

Jin’an’s character was clear to him; his poor lies couldn’t possibly deceive Jin’an, and might even bring disaster upon himself.

Being a private detective, if Jin’an made a move, he would have no standing in Rong City.

With Jin’an not speaking, he couldn’t keep his composure and took the initiative to confess.

"Director Zhou, it was Secretary Qiao who asked for my help. I... I owe her a favor and must repay it."

"..."

Jin’an didn’t make a sound.

Detective Wu told the truth about how Qiao En initially found him, how she asked him to fake an identity, and how they planned the escape, spilling everything out.

"Director Zhou, Secretary Qiao came to find me today because of a photo."

"What photo?"

Jin’an’s eyelids lifted, his deep, dark eyes looking at Detective Wu.

He hurriedly explained, "That photo is related to Secretary Qiao’s family background; she suspects that she and Su Nian may be biological sisters."

"Where is the photo?"

Jin’an asked suspiciously.

Qiao En was born into the Qiao family, and Su Nian came from an orphanage. Though they looked somewhat alike, they couldn’t possibly be blood sisters.

But the words of Detective Wu left a question mark in his mind.

"The photo is with Secretary Qiao."

"Director Zhou, I only know these things. If... if you mind, from now on... from now on I won’t help Secretary Qiao with those investigations anymore. Director Zhou, please let me go."

He clasped his hands together, apologizing to Jin’an.

As the car was about to approach Chu Garden, Jin’an signaled Cheng Lu to stop.

"Get out, and don’t tell Secretary Qiao about today’s events. Do whatever she asks you to do, but the next time she contacts you, report to Assistant Cheng immediately."

"Yes, yes, Director Zhou, don’t worry, I will do exactly as you say."

The car door opened, and Detective Wu scrambled out like a man escaping.

He was cautious and vigilant, looking left and right to confirm there was no one around before walking away quickly.

The Maybach remained stationary, with Jin’an’s cold gaze fixed on the car window, until Detective Wu’s figure had completely disappeared into the night.

"Director Zhou, is Secretary Qiao really biological sisters with Miss Su?"

Cheng Lu’s mind was clouded with confusion.

He hadn’t seen Su Nian, and at the moment, only the image of Chen Yin lingered in his mind.

Could Chen Yin be sisters with Qiao En?

His imagination was limited, and he couldn’t believe it.

Jin’an sighed softly, "Go to Chengnan Apartment."

"It’s almost midnight now, Secretary Qiao has probably already gone to rest. Director Zhou, do you still want to go there to find her?"

"Why so much nonsense?"

Zhou Jin’an frowned displeasedly.

Cheng Lu dared not say much and immediately drove off, taking Zhou Jin’an straight to Chengnan Apartment.

Arriving downstairs, Zhou Jin’an looked up to see that Qiao En’s window was already a dark expanse.

"Director Zhou, why don’t we go back first? Secretary Qiao is already asleep. If you go up now, she will surely give you a cold shoulder again."

Cheng Lu boldly suggested.

But Zhou Jin’an wasn’t listening.

After meeting with Detective Wu, his heart was shocked and also complex.

He hadn’t expected that he had made Qiao En feel so insecure, to the point where she went to great lengths to choose to flee.

He hadn’t expected that after her return to Rong City, her trust in him was still minimal.

He had no right to blame Qiao En, as the situation today was caused by himself.

Outside the door, Zhou Jin’an raised his hand to knock.

He knocked for quite a while, but there was no sound from inside.

Inside the bedroom.

Qiao En had just taken a sleeping pill and lay down.

It seemed that since the day she returned to Rong City, she started to suffer from relentless insomnia.

To cure her insomnia, she took sleeping pills every night before bed and wore noise-canceling earplugs.

So, right now, she couldn’t hear the knocking at the door at all.

This sleep, she slept restlessly and heavily.

In her dreams, it was again the scene of a van rolling off a cliff. She clutched at the backrest in panic, but the car kept slipping out of control.

"Mr. Zhou, save me!"

In her sleep, she awoke again screaming.

In the room, which was pitch-dark, Qiao En sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat.

This dream, repeated over and over in the night.

It was the nightmare she could not escape.

Unable to sleep, she turned on the bedroom light, unlocked her phone, and played a De Yun Society crosstalk, listening intently, releasing her own fears amidst someone else’s liveliness.

Zhou Jin’an didn’t go downstairs; after his futile knocking, he simply sat down outside Qiao En’s door.

The darkness surrounded him, allowing him to see his own heart more clearly.

He cared about Qiao En, the kind of caring where she mattered more than himself.

So this time, not only did he want to keep her, but he also wanted to break through the barriers of her heart.

The break of dawn arrived.

Qiao En got up, showered, applied makeup, changed clothes, and was ready to come out.

Just as she turned the doorknob, Zhou Jin’an, who was leaning against the door, fell to the ground unprepared with the door’s opening.

"Mr. Zhou, what are you doing here?"

Qiao En was startled at first, then more suspicious.

Zhou Jin’an braced himself with one hand and slowly stood up.

He had been too tired in the late night and hadn’t expected to fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

"I knocked on the door."

"I didn’t hear."

Qiao En explained.

"I have something to say to you."

Zhou Jin’an faced her with dark circles under his eyes, his head still a bit foggy, but he was alert.

Qiao En glanced at the time on her phone and sighed lightly, "Mr. Zhou, there’s only half an hour left before work starts, I need to hurry to the company."

She was someone with a strong sense of time.

As Secretary Qiao, she arrived at the company punctually at seven-ten each day, and by seven-thirty, she always placed Zhou Jin’an’s schedule and work arrangements for the day on his desk.

"This morning, you don’t have to go to the company."

Zhou Jin’an’s eyes darkened.

He was the boss; he had the right to determine Qiao En’s schedule.

"Mr. Zhou, if I remember correctly, you have two meetings this morning, and you have a lunch with a supplier at eleven-thirty..."

Before Qiao En could finish, Zhou Jin’an made a call to Cheng Lu.

"Postpone all my work this morning."