They got along so well, which was something I hadn't expected.
I chatted with them for a bit, telling them to continue playing, and then left the room with Wen Siqiang.
Wen Siqiang said that Zhou Yingying had called and was waiting for us at the hotel.
I said okay, I needed to get more details from her about Principal Sun and Wu Guodong. I knew too little.
Wu Guodong was trying so hard to hunt me down, there must be immense profit supporting it. First, where did Principal Sun's funding come from? How could he have such substantial funds? This was the knot I needed to untangle.
Only by finding Principal Sun's money-making channels could this mystery be solved.
I suspected that Principal Sun's drug chain was definitely not confined to our city. It was highly possible that his network had already spread to the provincial capital, or even outside the province!
I was startled by my own deduction. If that were true, he was involved in something earth-shattering!
I arrived at the hotel lobby and saw Zhou Yingying waiting for me on the sofa. She stood up when she saw me enter.
I said, "Come with me."
As I spoke, I took the room card from Wen Siqiang and went to the room he and Qian Fugui had booked.
The room was on the second floor. Qian Fugui was sleeping on the bed. He got up and went out when he saw me enter.
I gestured to the chair in the room for her to sit down, and I sat on the bed. She asked, "Did you go to the opposite side?"
I nodded. She said, "Principal Sun was very angry, saying Wu Guodong's men were too incompetent to have let you die even when they had you."
I said, "It's not that they were incompetent, it's just that we had a bit of luck, a narrow escape."
She said, "The people from the other side are unscrupulous and will use any despicable means."
I said, "Yes, I've experienced it."
She said, "The one surnamed Sun said he was going to see a doctor, took leave from school, and went to the provincial capital."
My heart sank. His sudden departure might be a guise for seeing a doctor while doing something illicit.
I asked, "Who did he go with?"
Zhou Yingying: "He found another female junior high school dropout to be his assistant and took her with him."
Could this person surnamed Sun really be as I suspected?
I asked her, "When did he leave?"
Zhou Yingying: "At noon, he left by plane."
I checked the time. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. The flight to the provincial capital from here was at most an hour. He should have arrived by now.
I said, "Do you know where he might be going?"
Zhou Yingying: "He might be looking for someone named Brother Hui. It's said that this Brother Hui is from our area, has been in the provincial capital for many years, runs a very large and famous business. He said he was going to do business with Brother Hui."
As expected, he was hypocritically preaching virtue while committing vice.
I called Brother Leopard and asked if he knew Brother Hui.
Brother Leopard: "Yes, I know him. The one in the provincial capital? Very famous. What, do you need something from him?"
I said, "What kind of business does he do?"
Brother Leopard: "It's said he does engineering and mining, and even hotels and nightclubs. But I'm not entirely sure. It's all what people say. This person has great influence; there's nothing he can't handle."
I said I understood, Brother Leopard, and hung up.
Since Brother Hui was so famous, finding him shouldn't be difficult.
I then called Jing Lei and asked her to check the afternoon flights to see if there were any going to the provincial capital.
Jing Lei said she would call the airport right away and asked me to hang up first.
I put down my phone and said to Zhou Yingying, "Are you going to keep following him like this? If he goes further down the drug path, he'll risk his life. Aren't you afraid of being implicated?"
Zhou Yingying looked troubled and said, "Junior, I'm stuck in the mire he's dragged me into, and it's hard to get out. If I break off with him completely, he won't let me go, nor will he let my whole family go. I really don't dare to make that decision. Actually, my leaving him might not be a bad thing; at least I can get the information you want. If the day comes when he falls, and I need to testify, I will do so without hesitation."
She was right. I told her to leave for her own good, to stay away from this mess. However, with her by the side of the one surnamed Sun, she became our eyes and ears, which reduced the difficulty of dealing with him. As she said, perhaps it was better for her to follow him.
Just then, Jing Lei called back. There was a flight at six in the afternoon. She asked if I wanted to book it. I said yes, for Wen Siqiang and me. She acknowledged and hung up.
I said to Zhou Yingying, "Your performance is up to you now. If that day comes, I will also stand up to testify for you and clear your name."
She said gratefully, "Thank you. I treated Teacher Li so badly, yet you still help me. Thank you!"
I said, "That's why I say it depends on your performance. You choose whether to be a person or a ghost. I'll have Wen Siqiang take you back. From now on, you'll contact him directly. After all, he's worked with you before, and your communication won't arouse suspicion from the one surnamed Sun. We two should not meet unless absolutely necessary."
She said okay, and I asked her to go downstairs to find Wen Siqiang and have him take her back.
After seeing Zhou Yingying off, I called Lan Ya. Wen Siqiang and I were going to the provincial capital. I told her that Qian Fugui would go to find her shortly, and asked her to arrange for him to help out in the lobby on the first floor; he could also help if anything happened.
Lan Ya: "Okay, you go and do your thing. As I said before, protect yourself when you go out and come back to me safe and sound."
I said I understood. I felt that after these few incidents, she was particularly worried about me.
Such a carefree person had also become overly cautious, but every time she cautioned me like this, I felt warmth in my heart.
After hanging up, my eyes were actually moist. With them loving me so much, all my efforts were worth it.
I went downstairs. Qian Fugui had probably left with the car; I didn't see him in the lobby.
The divine doctor was coming from Tengchong tomorrow and would arrive at noon. If all went smoothly, I would return on the first flight tomorrow morning.
I went to the front desk and asked for the elder's room number. I called him and told him I was going to the provincial capital. He paused for a moment, then said that if I didn't mind him, he would go with us.
I was thrilled. When he said that, I quickly agreed and told him to get ready to come downstairs, and I would wait for him downstairs.
After hanging up, I notified Jing Lei to add another ticket.
This was wonderful. With the elder helping me, what couldn't I achieve?
The elder's skills and prowess were something I could only look up to, unattainable.
At this moment, Wen Siqiang's car pulled up outside the door. I went over and told him that we would drop Qian Fugui off at the World of Grandeur, and then the three of us, along with the elder, would go to the airport.
The elder came downstairs. I asked him if he had rested. He said he was old and slept little, so he hadn't slept, but had been meditating in bed.
I said, "Let's go, let's drop Qian Fugui off first."
Wen Siqiang started the car. Seeing us all get in, he engaged the gear and drove off.
The elder: "Third brother is coming tomorrow, have you arranged the time?"
I said, "We'll be back on the first flight tomorrow, it's enough time."
He didn't say anything. This time, he wasn't gripping the armrest; he seemed much more at ease than he had been in the morning.