Chapter Fifty-One: Re-encountering Du Yifeng

  The first few days of the New Year are usually spent visiting relatives and friends, so time flies quickly, and before you know it, it's already the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

  Zhou Hui has been wanting to return home a few days earlier, but was detained by Dongfang Yu. She wants Zhou Hui to wait until the 15th of the first month and leave with us together. It's said that the snow hasn't melted yet and driving is not safe, but in fact it's also to keep Zhou Hui at home for a few more days.

  Dongfang Shu and Guo Si Sheng returned two days ago. Someone called to say that relatives had arrived at home, so they left ahead of schedule.

  Li Huanhuan has been very busy these days, teaching us shooting skills on one hand and helping my mother with work on the other. It's exceptionally busy, no time to talk to me at all.

  Sun Heng went to the Public Security Bureau to clarify the situation, and followed his junior brother, but never returned. Until now, he hasn't even made a phone call, and it's unclear whether he has clearly explained that matter or not.

  I once called him on the phone, but the one who answered was a girl. After I asked, I found out that she was from the Public Security Bureau. However, no matter how I asked, she just wouldn't say what Sun Heng's current situation is.

  This made me worry about Sun Heng, and I didn't know what had happened to him. Because of Sun Heng, I got up early today and rode my family's old motorcycle to the Public Security Bureau in the county town.

  I only told my father when I left and everyone else was kept in the dark, as I was worried that it would cause unnecessary misunderstandings and worries.

  The snow on the highway has started to melt, but there is still a thick layer of snow. So I can only ride carefully and slowly, and after arriving at the county road with less snow, I start to accelerate.

  After five hours, I finally arrived at the county town and came to the Public Security Bureau. Since I had been to the Public Security Bureau before, I was very familiar with finding the duty policeman on duty, explaining my intention, and asking him for directions.

  The duty police officer was quite polite and directly led me to the office of one of their deputy directors.

  This deputy director is new and I don't know him. After I explained my intention very politely, he also spoke to me very politely: "You are a friend of Sun Heng's, so I'll speak directly. Sun Heng went back to his unit at the end of last year because of a task. I think it was an urgent and confidential task, so he didn't tell you."

  I finally felt a little relieved, and thought to myself: So that's how it is, no wonder I couldn't get in touch with him... Then I said gratefully: "Thank you for the trouble, thank you for telling me this, sorry to disturb you."

  The deputy director smiled: "Don't be polite, we are serving you, so no matter how big or small your business is, as long as it's something we can handle, we will definitely not decline. This is our due responsibility, no need to be polite."

  I thanked him again and walked out of the Public Security Bureau, riding my bike back home. Knowing Sun Heng's situation made me feel much more at ease, so I didn't need to rush on the way back, taking a leisurely ride to appreciate the scenery of the county town.

  I went to high school in the county town, so I'm still quite familiar with this place. Riding a bike and stopping from time to time, looking at the red lanterns and green wine on the roadside, or the big and small vendors on the street, it has a different meaning.

  "Jin Cang, is that you?" Suddenly, a voice entered my ears.

  I hastily parked the car and turned around to see one of my classmates. This classmate was none other than my university classmate, Du Yifei.

  Du Yifei looked at me with a surprised face, saw me stop the car, and ran over, saying loudly: "It's really you, Jin Cang! You... how are you here? You... are you okay?"

  I also feel it's a coincidence, and I met Du Yifei here. Although she is my fellow villager and from the county town, with tens of thousands of people in the county town, running into her is really a very coincidental thing.

  I looked at Du Yifei and it seemed like he had lost some weight, so I smiled and said: "I'm fine, how about you? You seem to have lost a lot of weight, are you not feeling well?"

  Du Yifei smiled happily and said to me: "You're fine, that's good. You don't know how worried I was... By the way, why didn't you call me? Your phone wasn't reachable, and I didn't know your new number, which made me worry for a while..."

  I'm a bit touched: "Thank you for caring about me so much. After contacting you last time, I encountered the Wanlong Society again and was chased to death, so I could only escape. So... you know, people who are escaping with their lives don't have the time or energy to call and catch up with classmates, so I didn't contact you... seeing that you're okay is enough, I'm planning to head back today, let's not talk too much now, we can chat more when I get back to school another day!"

  Du Yifei hastily stepped forward, grabbed my hand and loudly said: "Don't go!"

  I was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said: "What's up, you have something else?"

  Du Yifei's face turned red, but she still gritted her teeth and said to me: "I have something to say to you, don't go back today, stay at my place for a night, and go back tomorrow, okay?"

  I thought for a moment and smiled: "Isn't this bad? It's New Year's Day, if I go to your house, your parents will misunderstand."

  Du Yifei's face turned red as she glared at me: "What misunderstanding? Don't think nonsense. I really have something to say to you, so you must go to my house and stay overnight."

  I was still about to make excuses, but Du Yifei glared at me and said in a very displeased tone: "If you come up with another excuse, be careful or I'll hit you! Don't think that I'm begging you, if I get desperate, don't think of yourself as my classmate or fellow townsman..."

  I'm really afraid of Du Yifei's sudden change in attitude, this kid is truly unreasonable, but it's also true. So I didn't dare say anything else, and just carefully said: "Then I should at least call home to let them know, can't let them worry about my whereabouts!"

  Du Yifei suddenly said, "Didn't I tell you not to make phone calls?"

  So I quickly called home and told my father what was going on, then hung up the phone and said to Du Yifei: "Alright. Let's go buy some gifts, and then we can head to your place."

  Du Yifei frowned and said, "What gift should I buy?"

  I smiled: "It's New Year's Day, how can I go to your house empty-handed? I have to show some sincerity."

  Du Yifei was stunned, suddenly her face turned bright red, and she jumped onto my motorcycle without saying a word. I felt strange but didn't think much of it, so I rode the bike to a supermarket.

  Supermarkets are still a new thing in our county, so many people go to supermarkets to buy things for freshness. I also want to experience something new, so I chose to go to the supermarket to buy gifts.

  Du Yifei didn't know what she was thinking about, and even now her face is still flushed red. When I talk to her, she doesn't dare look at me either.

  I didn't know what gift was suitable, so I had to ask her: "What gifts does your family usually bring when visiting relatives?"

  Du Yifei thought for a moment and said in a very soft voice: "Anything is fine. But my dad likes to smoke and drink, so you can just buy some cigarettes and liquor as gifts."

  I nodded and casually asked: "What kind of wine does your dad usually drink, what kind of cigarettes does he smoke?"

  "Drink osmanthus fragrant wine, smoke Yellow Crane Tower, eat ordinary rice, drive a Road Tiger..."

  She didn't finish her sentence because I was completely stunned. To think that someone who can drink Orchid Flower everyday, smoke Huanghe Lou, and drive a Range Rover is what kind of person? Not just a rich person, but... anyway, it's someone who really knows how to enjoy life. And people like this wouldn't even notice the small gift I bought.

  Du Yifei asked me with some confusion: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

  I smiled wryly and said, "What do you think? With your family's conditions, what else can I buy as a gift? I might as well just go to your house and eat and drink for free... Honestly, why didn't you say so earlier? You made me run all this way for nothing!"

  Du Yifei was taken aback, and then coldly said: "It was you who said to buy a gift, not me." After a pause, she suddenly became gentle again: "Jin Cang, just for my sake, come to my house and stay overnight, okay? I'm begging you."

  I was stunned too, and after a long while, I said: "Are you okay? Are you really uncomfortable? This... this isn't like you at all..."

  Du Yifei flew into a rage again, shouting loudly: "What is not my character? If you want to scold me for being ungentle, just say it straight out. Don't beat around the bush, I hate people like that the most. Say, what do you want to do before going to my house?"

  I was yelled at by her loud voice and felt a bit dizzy: "I... I didn't. I mean, whether or not I buy gifts is the same to me, your parents won't care about this. I didn't mean anything else..."

  Du Yifei turned her head and snorted twice: "Then don't buy it, at most I'll just get scolded by my parents, no big deal."

  I let out an "ah" and said, "It's better to buy some gifts! Let's go buy Zhenpin No. 1 and Huanghe Building now." After a pause, I couldn't help but laugh and say, "I hope your dad won't force me to drink, I really can't drink baijiu, you'll have to help me out then."

  Du Yifei also smiled: "Don't worry, my dad would never be willing to let you drink his wine. Who knows, maybe my mom won't even give you food to eat..."

  I laughed, Du Yifei's joke was also too much...

  I bought a good gift and followed Du Yifei's directions to the county town's only villa district. When I entered the gate, I went ahead to talk to the security guard, but he didn't believe me that I was Du Yifei's classmate, saying I was a "three-nothing" person trying to sneak in, which almost led to a fight between us. In the end, it wasn't until Du Yifei showed her access card that the security guard let us in. However, my motorcycle was detained at the gatehouse by the security guard, who said motorcycles were not allowed inside according to regulations.

  We walked for several more minutes along the neat streets before arriving at Du Yifei's home. It was a mountain-top villa with a very good geographical location, and although the mountain was only a small hill, there was only this one villa on the entire mountain top, occupying an extremely large area. I roughly estimated that it might be tens of thousands of square meters.

  The villa's front gate was equipped with a very high-end anti-theft device. After Du Yifei opened the gate with her fingerprint, I also saw two Tibetan mastiffs being raised in the yard.

  Du Yifei greeted the two Tibetan Mastiffs, and they stood up on their hind legs, looking very happy. I saw that these two dogs were at least half as tall as an adult when standing upright, and for a moment, I was quite afraid of them.

  Du Yifei smiled and said: "This is XiXi and HaHa, they won't bite you, don't worry."

  These two fierce Tibetan Mastiffs actually have such funny names, it seems that this must be Du Yifei's masterpiece.

  I was genuinely scared of these two dogs, so I didn't greet them and followed Du Yifei directly into the house.

  The villa's door was pushed open by Du Yifei, and immediately a very kind voice came: "Miss, you're back?"

  Du Yifei smiled at the old man and said: "Grandfather Su, I brought a friend back, remember to prepare slippers and a room for my friend."

  The old man's surname was Su, and I didn't know his name either. So I followed Du Yifei to call him "Grandpa Su": "Grandpa Su, thank you!"

  Du Yifei said beside: "Grandpa Su has been watching me grow up, he has always been in our home, just like my own grandfather."

  "Miss, don't say that, I dare not! Old Su Shi-hong, you are Miss's friend, just call me Old Su and it will be fine."

  I smiled and said with great respect, "Don't be polite, I'm a classmate of Du Yifei's. Since Du Yifei calls you 'Grandfather Su', it's only logical that I should also call you 'Grandfather Su'."

  Su Shi Hong laughed and said: "Haha, okay, I was too presumptuous. You haven't told me your name yet. What should I call you?"

  I hastily said: "My name is Jīn Cāng, 'Jīn' as in 'Golden', 'Cāng' as in 'Warehouse', Jīn Cāng."

  Su Shi Hong nodded, muttering "Jin Cang" and looked at me with a smile: "Jin Cang, Jin Cang, overflowing with gold, it seems your father hopes you'll become rich and accomplished!"

  I nodded: "Grandpa Su, you're right. When Father gave me this name, that's exactly what he was thinking."

  Su Shi Hong laughed again and turned to get me slippers. The villa's living room of Du Yifei's family was all carpeted, I couldn't just wear the shoes that walked outside on the road in, or it would dirty the carpet.

  Du Yifei was still waiting for me at the door, she had already changed her shoes, simply waiting for me. I smiled and said: "You go in first, I'll wait a bit."

  Du Yifei took a look at the cigarettes and wine in my hand, smiled and said: "Then you should also give me the gift first, can't just hold it and wait? Aren't you tired?"

  I took a glance at the cigarette and wine in my hand, and laughed: "I haven't seen your parents yet, if I give it to you now, won't it be awkward when we meet them later?"

  Du Yifei glanced at Su Shi-hong who had already walked over and said with a straight face: "Suit yourself, anyway I don't want to carry it."

  I hastily stuffed the cigarettes and wine in Du Yifei's hands, whispering: "You take them, my hands are numb from carrying them."

  Du Yifei smiled lightly and took the cigarette and wine, then went in first. At this time, Su Shihong had already brought me a new pair of slippers, I tried them on, they fit just right, not too big or too small.

  When I thanked Su Shi-hong, he lowered his voice and said to me: "You're Miss's boyfriend, right? Be careful later, Mr. Du and Mrs. Zhang have been in a bad mood these past few days, plus... Ah, just be careful, that's all. Also, if Mr. Du or Mrs. Zhang do anything wrong, bear with them, I'm apologizing for them in advance."

  Su Shi-hong's words left me stunned, and I didn't know how to respond. Just as I was hesitating for a moment, I heard Du Yi-fei's voice coming over: "Jin Cang, aren't you coming in yet? My parents are here."

  I knew Du Yifei's parents must have come down from upstairs, so after smiling at Su Shi-hong, I quickly went into the house.

  Du Yifei, who was sitting in the living room, quietly pointed to a couple coming down from the second floor, hinting that they were her parents.

  I quickly stood up and smiled: "Uncle and aunt, hello!"

  Du Yifei also stood up and said: "Dad, mom, this is the Jin Cang I told you about. I just found him on the street, so I brought him back to let you take a look."

  Du Yifei's words made me stunned, but before I had time to think carefully, I heard Du Yifei's father, "Mr. Du", say: "You're Jin Cang? Where are you from?"

  I felt that Du Yifei's father was speaking to me in a condescending tone, like a superior talking to his subordinate. I felt somewhat uncomfortable, but for the sake of Du Yifei's face, I smiled and said: "My name is Jin Cang, I'm also a local. My family is from the countryside, just west of the county town..."

  I didn't finish speaking, because Du Yifei's mother, "Madam Zhang", couldn't wait to say: "So he's just a farmer, I thought he was some young master from a good family... and yet my Feifei has taken a liking to him..."

  This sentence made me stunned again, and then I heard Du Yifei refuting her mother very angrily: "Mom, what are you talking about? He is my friend, don't talk to him like that."

  It wasn't until then that I understood what Su Shi-hong meant by his words, and why he had apologized to me on behalf of Mr. Du and Mrs. Zhang in advance. I was hit even when lying down, bad luck followed me home.

  This really left me speechless, Du Yifei brought me to her house, it turned out she had an ulterior motive. But what I still can't figure out is why did she say I'm her friend? And this friend, isn't just any ordinary friend, seems like it's that kind of boyfriend/girlfriend relationship...

  "Feifei, why are you so disobedient? The young master of the Tan family is worth tens of millions, a graduate of a prestigious university and a high-achiever who already has his own company at such a young age... How can you not look up to him? What's good about this Jin Cang? In my opinion, he can't even compare to one of the Tan young master's little fingers. You silly girl, why can't you understand?"

  Du Yifei gritted her teeth, looking at me anxiously as I stood by, and suddenly became furious, unable to help but shout loudly: "Mom, stop talking! Stop talking! You only care about money, have you ever considered my feelings? I've told you before, I won't agree to marry that scoundrel with the surname Tan. I like Jin Cang, I just like him! If you don't like him, I'll take him and leave this place, leave this family..."

  She said as she rushed towards me, grabbed me who was still in a daze and wanted to run out of the house.

  I didn't follow her, but instead pulled her back. In the face of Du Yifei's disbelieving expression, I slowly said: "What's the point of this? They're your parents, can you really bear to leave them? Calm down, let's sit down and talk things through, maybe we can resolve the problems you're facing peacefully."

  Du Yifei stared at me absent-mindedly, and after a long time, he said: "Are you angry? I know you're angry. Don't listen to my mom, she only cares about money, not even basic human relationships... Let's leave now, let's get out of here, don't be angry, okay?"

  I smiled: "Don't get excited first, listen to me for a few words, okay?"

  Du Yifei nodded slightly, looking confused. I looked at her and nodded too, pulling her back to sit down before speaking: "You're Mrs. Zhang, right? I'm indeed Du Yifei's classmate and friend. And yes, I'm a very poor rural kid, a farmer. Everything you said is true. If it were me, I'd also choose the wealthy Tan...Tan what?"

  My last sentence was a question for Du Yifei. Du Yifei said in a low voice, "Tan Jiahui is the son of one of our family's business partners."

  I nodded and continued: "Tan Jiahui, yes, if I were to choose, I would also choose Tan Jiahui. This is not just because Tan Jiahui has money, but also because we can see that Tan Jiahui is very capable. A young multimillionaire with his own company should be the ideal partner for all women. So in this regard, Mrs. Zhang did absolutely nothing wrong."

  Du Yifei and others waited for me to finish speaking, they all stood up in a hurry, their eyes could kill people. However, I deliberately avoided looking at her and continued: "But I want to say one more thing, that is the so-called freedom of marriage. What era are we living in now? Is everything still dominated by parents and arranged marriages? Mrs. Zhang, you might as well think carefully, if Du Yifei really marries Tan Jiahui, will she be happy? Does having money necessarily mean happiness? Respecting Du Yifei's own choice, isn't that a kind of respect and recognition for parents towards their children? I don't believe Mrs. Zhang thinks her daughter, Du Yifei, is someone who needs others to make decisions for her in everything."

  Mrs. Zhang wanted to say something else, but Mr. Du interrupted and said: "I understand what you mean. You just said you were Feifei's classmate and considered her a friend, what do you mean by that?"

  I was secretly thinking, "Mr. Du is so formidable, he has already found the weakness in my words." I directly said: "My intention is what I said. Du Yifei was also forced to think of this trick, and pulled me as a shield. You can try to think about it, this time Du Yifei pulled me as a shield, you can say it's not a big deal. But next time, how will she do? Will she lose her mind? Will she go to extremes? Will she...

  Mr. Du interrupted me and hastily said, "I understand everything, you don't need to say anything else. We... we will consider it carefully, we... we won't force FeiFei to do things she doesn't like anymore... Jin Cang, welcome to stay for dinner, let's play a round of mahjong or poker together. Sorry for the offense earlier, please forgive me and don't take it to heart."

  I smiled: "You're too polite. Let's eat next time, I'm in a hurry to go home, so I won't bother you anymore. And Mrs. Zhang, my words were a bit extreme, please forgive me." After finishing speaking, I started walking towards the door. I had already been pulled over by Du Yifei to deal with her parents, where could I still stay? Besides hurrying away, I really couldn't think of a better solution.

  Du Yifei suddenly grabbed me and cried loudly: "I didn't want you to come and help me out, I really like you! Jin Cang, you big fool, why can't you understand my feelings? I've liked you for a long time, do you remember? Even back in high school, I hinted at it many times. When we took the college entrance exams, I could have gone to an even better university, but I still insisted on going to the same school as you... didn't you notice anything?"

  I was stunned and couldn't react for a long time, staring blankly at Du Yifei, unsure of what to say.

  Du Yifei looked at me and continued: "You think I brought you here to be my shield, right? Let me tell you now, I'm not! I brought you here to tell my parents that my boyfriend is you, Jin Cang! How can't you understand my thoughts? I've already hinted to you many times, but you're such a big fool, a big idiot..."

  All of this was completely beyond my expectation, and for a moment I could only stare blankly at Du Yifei, having no idea what to do.