Chapter 16: A Day as Husband and Wife, a Hundred Days of Grace
Zhang Boquan’s face darkened as he immediately emptied the contents of the document bag onto the table. A thick stack of photographs and account statements spilled out. Every time he had wired money to Hongying Society’s overseas accounts—dates, amounts, locations—all were meticulously recorded within, even accompanied by bank photos taken on site as proof.
Just these alone were enough to confirm the Zhang family’s guilt of treason.
Hissing through his teeth, Zhang Boquan suddenly tore the documents and photos into shreds.
Lu Ye smiled mildly. “It’s useless. I have backups.”
“What tricks are you playing at, Lu Ye?” Zhang Boquan bellowed.
Lu Ye stared directly into his eyes and said, “Bring out your contact at Hongying Society. I want to meet him.”
Both Zhang Boquan and Zhang Yunjie were stunned. Why did he want to draw out a member of Hongying Society? Judging by Lu Ye’s attitude, it was clear he had no good intentions.
“That’s absolutely impossible! If Hongying Society finds out I betrayed them, our family will be wiped out!”
Lu Ye chuckled. “Fine, then I’ll leave.”
“I’ll submit all this evidence to the National Security Bureau. Do you know what fate awaits you? You’ll face confiscation of all property, permanent loss of political rights, life imprisonment—or even the death penalty!”
“If you choose to help me, I might give you a chance to redeem yourself.”
Zhang Boquan’s heart skipped a beat. “Lu Ye, what is your true identity? Undercover agent? Special operative?”
“You don’t need to know who I am. You only need to know that I’m the only one who can save your family from ruin,” Lu Ye said.
Zhang Boquan rubbed his temples. “Let me think it over.”
“Give me your answer before noon tomorrow.”
With that, Lu Ye turned to leave, but suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted back, “Damn, I almost forgot the main thing! Zhang Yunjie, damn you, return the project funds you stole from Yiren Group immediately!”
“I’ll return it, right away!” Zhang Yunjie hurriedly opened his laptop, trembling, and logged into online banking…
After personally witnessing Zhang Yunjie transfer one hundred million back to Yiren Group, Lu Ye swaggered out of the Zhang family villa.
Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Zhang Yunjie muttered, “Dad, should we report Lu Ye’s situation to Miss Liu and ask the branch to send reinforcements?”
Zhang Boquan scolded him in a low voice, “Fool! Never let Miss Liu know we met with Lu Ye, or she’ll kill us herself to cover it up!”
“So, are we really going to help Lu Ye and betray Hongying Society?”
“What else? Do you want to spend the rest of your life in prison?”
Zhang Boquan sighed deeply. “Honestly, I haven’t slept well for nights. I keep feeling that working for Hongying Society will only end badly, but we’re already riding a tiger and can’t get off.”
“If Lu Ye can rescue us, this is our chance to break free from Hongying Society’s control and start anew.”
Hearing his father’s words, Zhang Yunjie pondered. It did make sense. They knew their situation best: to Hongying Society, the Zhang family was just a puppet, fostered as a money-making machine—dispensable. If they lost their standing, the only fate was death, for they knew too much that should never have been revealed.
Zhang Boquan continued, “Son, for now, don’t make an enemy of Lu Ye. Try to mend your relationship with him. Do not let him lose patience. If those files end up with the National Security Bureau, we’ll never recover.”
Zhang Yunjie nodded solemnly. “I understand, Dad. Tomorrow, I’ll host a dinner, apologize to Lu Ye and Su Qianqian for the business espionage, and tell them we’re willing to cooperate.”
“A dinner’s fine, but keep it low profile. Hongying Society mustn’t discover you’re secretly in contact with Lu Ye.”
…
Leaving the Zhang villa, Lu Ye called Chen Xi.
“Sis, did you meet Meng the Beauty?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Was there any problem?”
“No problem. Everything he said makes sense, and the timeline matches.”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s left. Before leaving, he asked me to tell you he’s staying at 108 Xianle Lane.”
“OK, that’s all then. Good night, sis!”
“Good night.”
After hanging up, Lu Ye looked at the battered Porsche Panamera parked before him and fell into deep thought. How would he explain to the owner that he’d damaged her beloved car so badly? What you dread always comes to pass…
When Lu Ye returned near the Su family mansion, he saw Su Qianqian, clad in plush pajamas, standing outside the gate gazing toward the street.
He was surprised. Was she waiting for him?
“Old woman, what are you doing outside in this cold?”
“Where have you been? Why are you so late?” Su Qianqian’s tone was so much like a wife scolding her husband that she didn’t even realize it herself.
“My car… what happened?”
Sure enough, the spiderweb-cracked windshield, the gaping holes in the hood, and the two dark punctures in the door couldn’t escape Su Qianqian’s sharp eyes.
Lu Ye casually made up a story. “I ran into an elderly lady on the way who suddenly fell ill, so I sped her to the hospital. Drove so fast I banged up the car.”
Su Qianqian yanked a throwing knife from the car door with a flourish, waved it in Lu Ye’s face, and sneered, “You banged up Li Xunhuan’s flying dagger by accident?”
“I…” Lu Ye was speechless. He didn’t want to tell her about being ambushed by Meng the Beauty, knowing it would only worry her.
Su Qianqian took a deep breath and said, “Half an hour ago, Zhang Yunjie wired the money back to our Yiren Group account. That’s what you went out for tonight, isn’t it?”
“You little rascal, don’t be so reckless next time. Still, I have to thank you!” Su Qianqian assumed the car’s damage was from Lu Ye clashing with the Zhangs over the debt. No matter her prejudice, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat moved.
Lu Ye let her continue her misunderstanding and grinned, “No need for thanks—‘one day as husband, a hundred days of kindness,’ right?”
Su Qianqian replied expressionlessly, “We’ve never had a day.”
“Damn, old woman, your sharp tongue only grows better with age!” Lu Ye was stunned.
Su Qianqian snorted, “Haven’t I been corrupted by a certain rascal? By the way, do you remember what you promised me this morning?”
Lu Ye certainly remembered—it was about returning her beautiful punch…
Damn!
So that’s why she was waiting outside so attentively tonight?
“How could I forget your request? Let’s talk inside. Shall I come to your room later?”
Su Qianqian thought for a moment, “I’ll come to your room, but only after my parents are asleep. Leave the door open for me.”
“No way!” Lu Ye shook his head rapidly. “I need to shower later. What if you sneak in while I’m distracted and try to peep? My innocence would be lost for nothing!”
Su Qianqian scoffed, “With your looks? Who’d want to peep at you?”
Lu Ye retorted, “Who says no one’s interested? Did you see how those aunties looked at me today? Their eyes were shining—they looked ready to eat me alive!”
“Pfft!” Remembering the scene of the older ladies crowding around Lu Ye, Su Qianqian couldn’t help but smile.
…
At midnight, the door to Lu Ye’s room creaked open. Su Qianqian tiptoed inside and quietly shut the door.
Hearing the steady breathing from the bed, she softly called, “Little rascal, are you asleep?”
No response. She raised her voice. “Little rascal?”
Still no reply. Damn you, Lu Ye!
Su Qianqian leapt onto the bed, pulled the covers off triumphantly—
“Ah, you pervert!”
Lu Ye suppressed a laugh, opened his eyes leisurely, and said, “Old woman, don’t try to play the victim—you’re the one who barged into my room and yanked off my covers in the middle of the night.”
Su Qianqian’s cheeks flushed crimson. “Shameless! You knew I’d come over tonight—why are you pretending to sleep without any clothes on?”
“Well, what do you think of my physique?”
Lu Ye flexed his biceps in a bodybuilder pose. Every muscle was perfectly defined, neither bulky nor thin—truly the golden ratio.
Truth be told, Su Qianqian’s heart skipped a beat, but she would never admit it.
“Disgusting! Put your clothes on!”