bodyguard against fate

Chapter 40: A Sudden Attack and Unleashing a Powerful Move

Just as Feng Weida was lost in thought, Lao Zheng suddenly arrived.

Old Zheng made a special trip to visit Feng Weida during his break, bringing a basket of fruit with him. However, what Feng Weida didn't know was that a sharp fruit knife was hidden in the fruit basket.

"Come on in, don't be so polite!" Feng Weida quickly took the fruit basket and ushered Lao Zheng into the house.

"I didn't have time to say hello when we last met, so I came to see you." This time, Old Zheng finally had enough time to take a good look at the house he lived in twenty years ago. "It's changed. It's changed so much."

"Old Zheng, how did you know I lived here?" Feng Weida asked casually.

Old Zheng gave him a meaningful look: "We mental patients don't talk nonsense. We'll find out as soon as we ask around at your factory."

"Sit down!" Feng Weida rarely has guests; there aren't even teacups for guests, let alone tea. "What would you like to drink?"

In TV dramas, this question is usually asked when the host opens the refrigerator, revealing a wide variety of drinks to choose from. Feng Weida asked this because he only had two glasses of water in front of him—one freshly poured, the other leftover from the previous day. Some people just like to drink a glass of leftover water on an empty stomach in the morning—it's refreshing!

Old Zheng didn't care about what they drank at all: "Little Feng, out of dozens of patients in the mental hospital, I took a liking to you at first glance. Do you know why?"

Feng Weida shook his head.

"Because I feel that you are like my son."

Sure enough, good friends can never escape ethical dilemmas. By that logic, Chen Ergou would have to call Lao Zheng "Grandpa".

"Old Zheng, you're right. We mental patients don't talk nonsense." Feng Weida didn't know how to answer for a moment. Would it be too abrupt to call him "Dad" directly?

"Xiao Liang's greatest strength is that he never lies," Lao Zheng emphasized again.

"If you put it that way, we're quite alike." Feng Weida felt that he had finally accepted this father figure.

"Then tell me the truth, did you take the gold?" Old Zheng said.

"What gold?" Feng Weida was a little confused.

Old Zheng looked at him without saying a word. The fruit basket was right next to Old Zheng. If Feng Weida's answer was not satisfactory, he could pick up a fruit knife and stage a scene of righteous indignation against his own family.

You can adopt any son you want, but gold isn't something you can have anytime.

"Oh, No. 16, Group 4, Committee 8, Renmin Road—" Feng Weida remembered.

Old Zheng's eyes could practically spit fire; it seems he knew.

"I've inquired, and there's no such address," Feng Weida said. "You're lying to me, aren't you?"

He threw the boomerang to Old Zheng.

"You really don't know?" Old Zheng didn't think Feng Weida was lying. Although he had told many mental patients about this, the address he gave Feng Weida was the only one that was real. Moreover, among those who had left the mental hospital, only he and Feng Weida knew about it; no one else did. Could it be...?

"Who else did you tell about this?"

"About the gold?" Feng Weida sensed that Lao Zheng's face was terribly gloomy. "I told my boss, and he asked me about you—"

"He Xiuli?"

"Mr. Wu, Mr. He's husband." Feng Weida wasn't stupid; he immediately realized something. "Could the gold matter be related to Mr. Wu?"

"I'll peel an apple for you—"

Old Zheng calmly took out a fruit knife from the fruit basket and peeled an apple for Feng Weida.

"When I was young, I always wanted to do something big. I couldn't help it; I was terrified of poverty when I was young, and I just wanted to make money, lots and lots of money. Xiao Liang, remember this: people like us without resources or connections can't take the conventional path if we want to succeed. We have to be bold. You have to dare to do what others don't dare to do, and take the risks others are unwilling to take. Only in this way can you have a chance to turn your life around. Although I lost a lot, overall, I still made a profit, which is why I started this garment factory. I've never cheated or harmed anyone in my life. I don't understand why God treated me this way, leaving me with nothing in the end. Is it wrong to want to make money? Is it so hard to start a business?"

Feng Weida felt as if they had returned to a mental hospital at this moment.

What kind of career do you want to pursue?

"Anything is fine, as long as it makes money!"

"Are you only doing business to make money?"

"Otherwise what? How can I provide you and your child with a good life?"

Old Zheng seems to have had a mental breakdown; he can no longer distinguish between Feng Weida and Xiao Liang.

"Then why not do it? Is it because you don't have the capital?"

"I had prepared ten gold bars as start-up capital," Old Zheng sighed, "but now they're all gone, and I can't do anything."

"If you don't have money, you can do live streaming. Live streaming is free."

Old Zheng looked at Feng Weida: "Is live streaming very profitable?"

"My ex-wife earned a million in three months!"

Old Zheng remembered that Feng Weida was arrested for this very reason.

"Live stream..." Old Zheng's mind was filled with images of those alluring women on Dean Gao's phone. "No way, I can't do it, they're dressed too scantily."

"You can livestream our mental hospital, that would be great material!" Feng Weida genuinely wanted to help him solve the problem.

Old Zheng shook his head: "I finally got out, I don't want to go back."

Seeing Lao Zheng's disheartened look, Feng Weida felt helpless.

Have you eaten? Shall I cook you a bowl of noodles?

Feng Weida didn't have much to offer his guests at home, and he heard Old Zheng's stomach rumbling.

"No, I have to go," Old Zheng said, tucking the fruit knife into his pocket before leaving. He then turned to Feng Weida and asked one last time, "I'll ask you one last time, you really didn't take the gold?"

Feng Weida shook his head: "Whoever took it will end up in a mental hospital!"

Old Zheng believed him. In Old Zheng's view, this was simply the most vicious oath in the world. No one would joke about their own fate.

"Xiao Liang, you're feeling hot and bothered. Remember to eat more oranges."

"Aren't oranges supposed to cause internal heat if you eat too many?"

Old Zheng came and went without a sound, as if he had never been there at all, except for the basket of fruit and an apple that was already half-peeled.

So here's the question: Could I really be Xiao Liang, Dad?

Jiang Xue opened a nail salon, and early in the morning, her first customer was He Xiuli!

Although the two had never met, Jiang Xue already knew who He Xiuli was from Wu Renxing's phone. Her first reaction was that something was wrong; He Xiuli had come to confront her. But there was no escaping it; He Xiuli was blocking the doorway. He Xiuli remained quiet, neither making a fuss nor causing a scene, simply surveying the shop.

"Hello, what style would you like to make?"

Jiang Xue forced a smile and asked, bracing herself for the worst.

He Xiuli glanced at the display on the counter, not even giving Jiang Xue a second look.

"this."

He Xiuli randomly picked a design. She rarely gets her nails done and doesn't really care about the style.

"Please sit here."

Jiang Xue calmed herself down and comforted herself, thinking that maybe it was just a coincidence. After all, what woman doesn't love beauty? She should just pretend that nothing had happened.

Jiang Xue didn't say much and quietly started doing He Xiuli's manicure.

"How long have you been with Renxing?"

He Xiuli suddenly asked a question.

Jiang Xue's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that she knew. I knew it. She wouldn't come to the temple without a reason.