SPMW 30 - A Painstaking Investigation II

T/N: I’ve “westernized” the bodyguard’s name for easier reference. Don’t worry, the names were literally what it meant in English. I.e. Xiao Wu (小五) literally meant Little Five, so I’m changing it to ‘Five’. (The author is lazy, so am I.) I will include more details at the end of this chapter. For now, enjoy the chapter~

30 A Painstaking Investigation II

Dazhou instructed his men to keep a close watch on that small company’s boss. At ten p.m., they reported that the target was at a private room inside a bar, seemingly waiting for somebody.

Dazhou brought Five along as they quietly arrived at the said bar. They met up with the men that were monitoring the situation and confirmed that their target was still in the private room. They found a secluded corner of the bar, ordered two drinks as they waited.

Indeed, when it was almost eleven p.m., Yin Hao arrived wearing a black coat with a peaked cap as he entered the bar. After looking around the area, he then entered the private room.

About an hour later, Yin Hao and their target left separately with a ten-minutes interval. Dazhou gestured Five to enter the private room as he stood at the door as a lookout. Very quickly, Five exited the room as both of them swiftly left the venue.

When they boarded their car, Five had a mini voice recorder on his palm as he spoke emotionlessly with an expressionless face, “We got it.”

Dazhou pursed his lips, “After following Young Master for so many years, you’d learnt nothing but his stone face.”

Five remained unmoved as he replied, “I dare you to say that in front of Young Master.”

The thought of his Young Master sent a shiver down Dazhou’s spine, “Forget it. I’ll take back my words. Let’s listen to it and hear what they were saying.”

Five pressed on the switch and even though there were music in the background, they could still hear Yin Hao and their target’s voice clearly transmitted.

“Yin Hao, we’re old classmates y’know. Don’t play out on me.”

“Relax, I’m definitely on your side no matter what.”

“Have you seen Shang Est.’s announcement on the papers? It doesn’t look too good to me.”

“Don’t be such a coward. Even if Metropolis Daily goes down, it wouldn’t affect us at all.”

“But those posts on the forums were indeed sent out from my company’s web portal. If they found out, I’ll be dead meat!”

“Don’t worry, even if they discovered it, can’t you push the blame onto that ‘charmingdemon’ person?”

“But he’s our company’s employee after all. Plus, I’m the one who authorized him to post it. If they really found out about it, he would definitely say that it was me who authorized him.”

“That’s easy to settle. Just give him some money and make him leave. Also, the news had been forwarded all over the Internet. It’ll be harder to discover the truth. Your worries are unnecessary.”

“I hope it’s just like what you’ve said. Sighs. I just feel anxious about it. Maybe I should ask him to leave after all.”

“Hm, we’ll deal with it soon.”

The duo started drinking again and chatted about women. Just when Dazhou thought there would not be any useful information, that small company’s boss started speaking again.

“Yin Hao, are those evidences really genuine? I’ve read the newspapers yesterday and even today’s. Those articles about Shang Est. were yet to be proven.”

“Tch. You know nothing. Those evidence on my hands were all retrieved from the authorities. Shang Est. had no chance to rebuke on that.”

“Say, what kind of people would want to mess with Shang Est.? Don’t try to brush me off, I am a boss of a company after all. Those unspoken things are not new to me.”

“Hn, Shang Yushang is such an opinionated bastard. He should be taught a lesson. Once Shang Est. gets a new leader, I won’t leave you behind.”

“That’s true. Shang Yushang acts smug and self-righteous, looking down on nobodies like us. It’s about time to let him have a taste of what it’s like to live relying on somebody else’s charity. So long as you fulfil what you had promised me, I’ll be satisfied. But those evidences of yours were also yet to be proven right?”

“Don’t bother yourself with that. Regardless of what it is, as long as it could take down Shang Yushang, it will be real.”

Upon hearing that, Five clenched his fist, “Brother Zhou, we can’t let this ‘charmingdemon’ escape.”

Dazhou sneered as the edge of his lips curled eerily, “Someone’s gotta face the brunt of our Young Master’s fury.”

On the same night, ‘charmingdemon’ silently “left” under his boss’ threats and promises.

Yin Hao returned to his house to find Elder Yin still in the living room. “Yin Hao, you’re back.”

“Granny why are you not asleep yet?”

“I’m waiting for you. How was it?”

Yin Hao sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette, “No worries grandmother. Everything’s going smoothly.”

Elder Yin had an unpleasant expression as she said, “Then that’s good. Stick close with Shang second Young Master. The Yin family is relying on him from now on.”

“I understand, granny.”

“Hn, He Changning, you think just by marrying Young Master Shang and you’ll have backup? Wait till the second Young Master gets the throne. I shall see what you’re going to use to show off to us.”

“Don’t worry granny, I’m sure you’ll see that day.” Yin Hao smiled evilly as he recalled his previous encounter with Shang Yuchen.

Shang Yushang, He Changning, I shall wait for that day where both of you will kneel and beg me to let you off.

Meanwhile, Dazhou successfully caught ‘charmingdemon’ and waited for further instructions.

Seven and Twelve and the director of the jewelry department, Fang He was following up on the fake jewelry incident. They did a detailed investigation from the suppliers to the production factories and every employee that had been involved. The accessories that were produced in the same batch with the supposedly fake jewelries with high amount of radiation detected were all sent to ten different authorized evaluation centers for testing, which would take around three to four days for the results to be generated.

Meanwhile, it was the struggle between Shang Est. and Metropolis Daily.

It was a busy late night once again. By the time Shang Yushang arrived at the Shang’s old mansion, it was almost past midnight. If it wasn’t because he had not returned home for the past few days, he wouldn’t have the heart to wake Changning up; He was missing Changning very much.

He pushed open the door lightly to find the lights in the living room was still switched on. Changning was in his pajamas, standing in the living room. When he saw Yushang walking in, his eyes were filled with heartache as he went up to Yushang and wrapped his arms around his waist, “Jianzhi? Why are you back this late? Have you had your meal? You look like you’ve lost weight.”

Yushang returned the hug tightly as he pressed a kiss on Changning’s forehead, “I missed you, so I came back.”

Changning pulled Yushang to sit at the couch as he poured him a glass of water, “Have you eaten anything?”

“I did, don’t worry.”

“You should pay more attention to your health. How’s everything?”

“Everything is going smoothly. It’s all thanks to the leads that you provided.” With that, Yushang embraced his partner and rested his chin on Changning’s shoulder, “It’s my blessing to marry you.”

Changning pushed away the fuzzy head as he spoke, “Since when did you learn how to sweet talk?”

Yushang lowered the lids of his eyes and said, “Changning, I miss you.”

Changning blushed and replied softly, “Hm, I know.”

Yushang straighten his body as his eyes narrowed, “Babe, let’s return to our room.” Without any hesitation, he carried Changning in his arms and took big strides to the second level.

They entered the bedroom and locked the door. Yushang anxiously pushed Changning onto the bed as he murmured into Changning’s ears with his deep voice, “Changning, I want you.”

Changning felt his heart fluttered as he recalled the details from the other night. He knew how passion Yushang was and although it was a normal thing between married couples, he just could not believe that Yushang would be able to get turn on so easily. He bit his lips and answered softly, “I know.”

Seeing his partner’s bright eyes looking back into his, Yushang could feel the heat raising in his body. He could not wait to have all of him but even that would not satisfy him. He removed his clothes and roughly tear away Changning’s pajamas. The buttons flew apart as Yushang started tracing kisses on his partner’s pale skin.

After hastily expanding the tight muscles, he pushed his member inside and brought his lover to the peak of lust.

Changning lost count of how many times he moaned and cried. Neither did he remember how many times Yushang released inside him before he was willing to part from his body.

It was when the sky started to turn bright, Yushang carried Changning to bed as they fell asleep peacefully.

By the time Changning opened his eyes again, it was already one p.m. There was no sight of Shang Yushang beside him. He gritted his teeth as he silently scolded Yushang from head to toe. Changning dragged his aching body as he went to the bathroom to wash up.

The marks on his body could be easily seen through the mirror, reminding him of their crazy night earlier. His body felt clean and his bottom did not feel horribly terrible but with a tinge of cooling sensation. He knew that Yushang must have applied medicine for him after he cleaned him up. Still, it did not stop Changing from frowning – why am I on the receiving end all the time.

Nevertheless, the resentment was useless. Changning soaked himself in a hot water bath and relaxed. When he was done, it was time to face old madam Shang. Changning really felt like digging a hole to bury himself. Or maybe he should just hide himself and not leave the room at all. However, things rarely go the way he planned. When Six and Thirteen heard the rustling inside the room, they knocked on the door lightly, “Young Master Ning, have you gotten up?”

Changning, who just dressed himself, was contemplating if he should head downstairs when he heard the question. He paused for a moment before realizing that Yushang must had instructed his men to keep a watch over him. That idiot, he cursed. Here he was thinking of how to explain to old madam Shang on why he woke up late. But Yushang had to make it obvious that they had indulged themselves in a passionate night together and even got his men to guard the room, disallowing anyone to disturb him. How was he going to face everyone?! Changning thought as he stomped his feet.

Knowing that it was meaningless to hide in his room, Changning braced himself as he calmly opened the door, “Hm.”

Thirteen bowed before he spoke, “Young Master Ning, this is Six. We are instructed by Young Master to ensure your safety. Regardless if you’re at the residence or in public, we will be on standby for any situation. Rest assured that we will not affect your daily life.”

Changning understood that Yushang must have had his reasons for doing so. With the experience of Five, Seven and Twelve protecting him from the shadows, Changning did not opposed to the arrangement of having someone watching over him. He did not regard the protection as surveillance or spying. He knew that it was not a coincidence that those troubles had happened to Shang Est. – it was always better to be careful than sorry.

“I understand. No need to be uptight when we’re in the house. There’s no need to hide when we’re outside. Just stay by my side directly.”

Thirteen and Six answered at the same time, “Yes, Young Master Ning.”

Aunt Qin heard sound of talking from upstairs. She asked, “Did Changning woke up?”

Together with Thirteen and Six, Changning went downstairs and greeted, “Aunt Qin.”

Aunt Qin smiled as she nodded back, “You must be hungry. Come, I’ve prepared porridge and some side dishes for you. Sit down and have some.”

Changning took a seat on the chair with cushion as his lips twitched slightly, “Where’s grandma?”

Old Madam Shang just arrived home when she heard the question, “You looking for me, Changning?”

“Grandma, you went out?”

Old Madam Shang smiled in return as he gestured at Changning to sit, “Why don’t you have more rest?”

Changning could feel the heat rushing to his face. Dammit, Shang Yushang, why must you make it known to everyone, how am I going to face them?!

Seeing Changning’s blushing face and awkward expression, the elder lady shrugged it out, “I’m an elderly lady in my seventies. I’m not even bothered over, you should be more openminded than me! There’s nothing to be embarrassed. I’m not an old-fashioned person anyway, otherwise how could you have married Yushang.”

Changning was desperate to find a pit to hide himself, “Grandma, stop it…”

“Fine, fine. I shall stop my teasing. Quick, have some food. You must be really hungry by now.”

The meal was finished with Changning blushing red face. Old Madam Shang then instructed the helpers to prepare lots of snacks and tonics for Changning – under the glorified name of supplementing her grandson-in-law’s health.

Seeing the pile of nourishment dishes that replenished energy, enriching the blood, and many more other healthy benefits, Changning really felt like finding a block of tofu and smash it on his head.

When Yushang called back home to ensure that Changning had woken up to eat, he was planning to speak to his wife for a short while. But when he heard that the old madam had prepared a whole bunch of nutritious tonics for his love one, he decisively hung up the call. What a joke, his lover must be resenting him now, he should wait for his wife’s anger to be extinguished first.

For three days straight, Metropolis Daily had been rendered useless after the attack from the top ten publishing companies. Director Du of Metropolis Daily could not handle it anymore as he called to seek help, “Hello, second Young Master? What should we do now? The pressure from the public opinions are getting increasingly heated. I can’t hold on much longer.”

Shang Yuchen’s expression darken as he replied, “What do you mean what to do? You just have to insist that the poisoning incident and the fake jewelry incident had indeed happened, that’s all. Also, harp on the fact that Shang Est. is killing people like scything grass just so that they could rake in money. Now that something had happened, they decided to cover up for themselves and mislead the public, using their status to suppress the voiceless. Publicize that on the front page of your papers. Director Du, don’t worry, I’ll do what I’ve promised you.”

After feeling reassured, director Du was less worried, “Okay. I’ll hang on to it. But it won’t last too long. You should take your next step, second Young Master.”

“Relax, things will be resolved very soon.”

As the call was hung up, Yuchen turned around to look at Lin Changqing who was sitting in his office, “I’m sure director Lin heard that too. There’s not much time left for us. How’s things at your side?”

Lin Changqing stretched his body and changed into a comfortable position, “No worries, all preparations had been made. On the general shareholders’ meeting tomorrow, you’ll surely see a satisfactory result.”

Inside Shang Yushang’s office, Dazhou was reporting on the information that he just obtained, “Young Master, these are all the information that are in our hands.”

Yushang nodded his head, “How’s things going on with Five?”

“They’ve received the evaluation results. Separately, Yin Hao has also lead up to the person who tampered with the jewelries. I’ve found the old director of that evaluation authority, he would be giving you an explanation personally. As for the ‘charmingdemon’, he also gave us some information, saying that his boss gave him the authority to post those articles on the website. The fake accounts were also hired by a friend he knew from that industry. The expenses were paid by Yin Hao. Plus, he accidentally heard the conversation between his boss and Yin Hao, saying that it was a matter time for Shang Est. to change its chairperson. There are also big shots behind this whole incident, he just needs to do as instructed and he’ll be rewarded.”

Shang Yushang’s gaze became even colder as he spoke, “Big shots? Seems like some people just can’t wait for their time to be up.”

Dazhou replied in high spirits, “Indeed. After enduring silently for all this while, they wouldn’t have let go of this chance when you and Young Master Ning get married.”

“Inform the people in our house, take care of grandmother and Changning. They must not have any mishaps.” Yushang paused before he continued, “Has Three that’s guarding Bai Mo got back to us?”

“They did. It’s confirmed that the patient’s coma was caused by lymphoma. It’s already at its last stage. The doctor that we’ve detained mentioned that he was instructed by the higher ups to say otherwise. They insist that they had no idea of the reason behind it. The team of experts that Dr Bai brought along with him already had been in contact with the hospital’s in-charge and had a few meetings together. The in-charge states that they are unaware of such incident, which means both sides are just pushing blames. The person sent out to investigate on the patient also got back to us. A week before the poisoning incident, that patient’s personal bank account had been transferred thirty hundred thousand dollars. According to the lead provided by the bank, they have traced the person who made the transfer. It was from a sales manager from a small company. With much difficult, we found out that the manager was Director Lin Changqing’s distant relative and had not been in contact for quite some time.”

“What great efforts they’ve put in just to pull me off the position.”

Dazhou wiped his tears of pity for second Young Master and director Lin. To think that they would go all out to offend Shang Yushang rather than living their lives contently. They would surely be punished gravely for their mistakes this time. “I’ve instructed our men to speak to the patient’s family. They’re quite appreciative and told us whatever they knew, promising to come out to clarify for this incident.”

“Hm. Seems like tomorrow will be a pleasant day, don’t you agree, Dazhou?” an evil smirk hung on Yushang’s lips.

Dazhou unconsciously took a small step backwards, “Yes Young Master. Tomorrow will be a pleasant day.”

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Translator’s Note (II):

Changes for bodyguard’s name:

Lao-san 老三 – Three

Xiao-wu 小五 – Five

Xiao-liu小六 – Six

Xiao-qi小七 – Seven

Shi-er十二 – Twelve

Shi-san十三 – Thirteen

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