Lu Pingzhang still wanted to buy Sui Ran’s company, but Qiao Jin had reminded him earlier, so he had to abandon that plan.
In addition, Qiao Jin instructed him not to let the bodyguards take photos of him without permission, and Lu Pingzhang agreed. He then took a screenshot of his phone screen and sent it over.
The top left corner of the screen displayed the time, and below it was the screensaver he had set—a photo of Qiao Jin wearing a short-sleeved shirt working out in the gym.
Qiao Jin glanced at it and roughly guessed which day it was taken. He replied, “The bodyguards take photos too obviously every time. If it weren’t for the equipment in between, the camera would be right in my face.”
Lu Pingzhang called him, and he pushed the keyboard in front of him back, leaned back in his chair, and massaged the back of his neck: “Are you busy?”
“Hmm,” Lu Pingzhang listened to his voice, “Does your cervical spine hurt?”
“A little.”
“Don’t just sit there, stand up and move around a bit,” Lu Pingzhang said, “and don’t forget to put in your eye drops.”
Qiao Jin paused, then asked with a smile, “Should I stand up and move around first, or sit down and put in my eye drops first?”
“Why don’t you stand up and put in your eye drops? That way you can do both at the same time,” Lu Pingzhang said.
“Alright,” Qiao Jin listened to him, stood up, took out the eye drops, put them in his eyes, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back.
Lu Pingzhang’s mind was filled with the image he had imagined, and he suddenly asked, “Is there no one else in the office?”
Qiao Jin reached for his phone on the desk, held it to his ear, and said, “No, it’s just me.”
Lu Pingzhang fell silent.
Qiao Jin asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lu Pingzhang’s shallow breathing could be heard through the phone as he whispered, “Every time you tilt your head back to put in the eye drops, it makes me want to kiss you.”
The tone was too suggestive and insincere, so Qiao Jin pretended not to hear it and remained silent.
His voice was even lower than before, as if he had already picked up Qiao Jin and could touch him with just a reach.
Lu Pingzhang sighed: “If I pick you up every day, will you stop working overtime every day?”
“If you can, I can.” Qiao Jin opened his eyes, sat back, and saw a news alert in the bottom right corner of the computer. He clicked on it to read.
It was Hou Wude’s verdict.
Lu Pingzhang must have seen it too, as he rang the bell to call Secretary Yin over: “Go check it out.”
Secretary Yin didn’t leave, but said, “The private information I got also confirmed that the verdict was handed down this morning. A media company called ‘October’ snuck in and took photos, which they released. Two years, to be carried out immediately.”
Qiao Jin looked at the notification again: “Two years?”
“That’s not much.” Lu Pingzhang’s voice finally returned to normal, resuming his usual casual tone, and asked Secretary Yin, “He’s been running around a lot lately, so it seems his efforts weren’t in vain. Wasn’t the result supposed to come out next week?”
“They say Hou Wude voluntarily accepted the penalty.” “ Secretary Yin replied, ”The reason is that if he doesn’t admit it, his wife will divorce him. No doubt about it, Mr. Lu, this court connection is reliable.”
This “reliable” court connection should be Secretary Yin’s boyfriend.
Lu Pingzhang frowned, looked at him for a moment, let it go, and didn’t comment on his boyfriend.
“It’s not impossible,” he explained to Qiao Jin. “Hou Wude is a son-in-law who made his fortune. His wife’s family is wealthy, and her father has been promoting him since they got married, which is how he rose to power. Now that he’s in trouble, he can’t keep his own business, and whether his father-in-law’s business can be saved depends on whether he can bring himself to kick him out.”
He chuckled and commented, “It seems his wife is smarter than him.”
“Hmm,” Qiao Jin said.
Lu Pingzhang noticed his lack of interest and glanced at the time: “Should we get back to work?”
“Half an hour,” Qiao Jin said, “Let’s discuss it at home.”
Lu Pingzhang agreed and added, “Since Hou Wude has been settled, shall I accompany you to Fenglin Park tomorrow?”
Qiao Jin hesitated for a moment, and Lu Pingzhang added, “You promised me last week that we would go together. I haven’t seen my family in a long time, so I should go too.”
Lu Pingzhang’s family was buried in the cemetery at Fenglin Park. At the time, it was Lu Pingzhang who decided to have Qiao’s mother’s ashes placed there as well, saying it was closer and she wouldn’t be alone.
Qiao Jin recalled the quiet, desolate scenery of Fenglin Park in winter and said, “Sure, let’s go together.”
Hou Wude’s verdict had finally been handed down, so the bodyguards could be dismissed. Qiao Jin sat in the car on the way to Fenglin Park and couldn’t resist opening the window a little.
The outside wind blew in, lowering the dry heat inside the car. Lu Pingzhang’s newspaper fluttered unreadably, so he pressed down on the rolling edges.
After a while, Qiao Jin was still blowing cold air, and Lu Pingzhang frowned, “If you keep blowing, you’ll catch a cold again.”
“I’m not that fragile.” Qiao Jin felt free as the wind blew on him.
His fragility was obvious to everyone, but Lu Pingzhang coldly reached out and shut off his “freedom.”
Maple Forest Park was located to the west, not far away, in a prime location.
The traffic wasn’t heavy, but because it was the weekend, there were slightly more cars than usual.
Xiao Chang glanced at the navigation system, bypassed the congested section ahead, and turned onto a side road.
It seemed that other cars had also noticed the traffic jam ahead, as several white cars followed them onto the side road.
Qiao Jin glanced at Xiao Chang and asked, “Is there a traffic jam ahead?”
Qiao Jin was about to say something else when Lu Pingzhang interjected, “That’s fine.”
The road was almost at its end when it was blocked by a van parked in the middle of the road.
Xiao Chang looked around, honked the horn twice, but the van didn’t move.
Xiao Chang got out of the car to negotiate, and the white car that had been following behind also stopped. Then there was a loud roar of the engine, and the white car’s aggressive front end lunged forward, colliding with Lu Pingzhang’s car with a thud.
Qiao Jin was caught off guard and collided with the seat in front of him. He was dazed for a moment before looking back.
Xiao Chang glanced back and saw the accident behind him. He immediately gave up on negotiating and ran back. The van’s door finally opened, and three or four people got out, swinging sticks at him. Xiao Chang didn’t have time to react and was knocked unconscious on the ground.
Lu Pingzhang hated car accidents more than anything in the world.
But this was not just a simple car accident. The door of the white car behind him opened, and the driver got out and opened the back door. Hou Wude stepped out from inside.
At the same time, the doors of several cars following the white car also opened, and a group of bodyguards armed with weapons got out.
Lu Pingzhang reached out and touched Qiao Jin’s forehead where he had been hit, then pressed hard on the ring on Qiao Jin’s hand, hearing a faint click.
He patted Qiao Jin on the back, speaking in a low voice against the light: “Go to the front, ram that van, and drive toward the city center.”
As he spoke, he reached out to pull the car door open, but Qiao Jin grabbed his arm and stopped him: “What do you mean?”
Hou Wude had already stepped out of the car and took the stick handed to him by his subordinate, weighing it in his hand.
“It means we can’t go together,” Lu Pingzhang pushed him aside and said in a low voice, “Do as I say.”
Qiao Jin was pushed into the driver’s seat, and Lu Pingzhang opened the door and got out of the car.
He closed the door gracefully, and Hou Wude snorted, swinging the stick toward his head. Lu Pingzhang dodged to the side, and the stick hit the car with a thud, leaving a dent in the door.
Hou Wude swung again, and this time Lu Pingzhang had no place to dodge, so he could only reach out to block it.
Hou Wude struck his arm without mercy, hearing the sound of bones shattering, and exhaled a puff of smoke: “There’s one more.”
Qiao Jin stepped on the gas pedal, and the car sped off!
He dodged Xiao Chang, who was pinned to the ground, and crashed into the front of the van at high speed.
The van was pushed aside. As Qiao Jin reversed, he drove toward the crowd, who hurriedly dodged out of the way. Immediately after, Qiao Jin rammed into the van again!
The van was pushed aside at a sharp angle, but Qiao Jin didn’t reverse. He forced his way out through the gap.
The teeth-grinding screech of metal on metal lasted only a moment before Qiao Jin sped off, his tires kicking up clouds of dust that obscured the van from view.
This time, not only Hou Wude, but even Lu Pingzhang was stunned.
In his memory, Qiao Jin had always been mild-mannered and law-abiding. He sometimes had his own opinions, but he rarely overreacted. It seemed as though he was naturally devoid of any arrogant or provocative tendencies.
But what was happening now could no longer be described as merely arrogant or provocative.
Hou Wude’s cigarette fell to the ground. He stomped it out with his foot and ordered the two men to get in the car: “Pursue him.”
He then turned his head toward Lu Pingzhang and smiled smugly: “Are you surprised to see me, Lu Ge?”
“Room?” Hou Wude laughed as if he had heard a joke.
He wiped the tears from his eyes and ground his stick into Lu Pingzhang’s fractured forearm: “To lure you out, I spread the false news of my conviction all over the world, risking my reputation and dignity. Now you ask me if there’s any room for negotiation.”
“You’re truly a romantic. I was just waiting for you and Qiao Jin to come out.” He glared at Lu Pingzhang with hatred. “I bet right. Tell me, is there any room for negotiation?” Murder is a crime, Hou Wude. Have you lost your mind?”
Just then, the roar of a car engine came from the end of the path. It was Qiao Jin, returning in his car!
As Qiao Jin hung up the call with Secretary Yin, he took off the ring on his finger and threw it into the bushes. He then dialed Fu Linshao’s number. As soon as the call connected, he said, “At the small path west of Qing Shui Lake in Fenglin Park, someone has kidnapped Lu Pingzhang. Secretary Yin will take at least twenty minutes to arrive, and the bodyguards will take fifteen minutes to locate us via GPS. Do you know anyone here who can arrive immediately?”
Fu Linxiao spoke with unprecedented calmness: “I’ll contact them right away.”
Qiao Jin hung up the phone decisively and dialed the number of a media outlet while squeezing past the van.
He held the steering wheel with one hand, scraped back through the gap between the van and the ditch, then floored the accelerator and charged straight at Hou Wude!
Hou Wude didn’t expect him to be so bold and immediately took several steps back, pulled away by the bodyguards he had brought with him.
“I have a scoop,” Qiao Jin quickly gave the reporter who answered the call the address, braking, reversing, and accelerating in one fluid motion without pausing, continuing to charge toward Hou Wude. “Hou Wude has kidnapped the president of Lu Group. If you can’t get here within five minutes, I’ll give the exclusive report to someone else.”
The person on the other end of the phone gasped repeatedly. As Qiao Jin stepped on the brakes, he said quickly and coldly, “Remember to bring more people.”
Hou Wude had someone hold Lu Pingzhang in front of him to stop Qiao Jin’s reckless driving.
The bodyguard smashed the driver’s side window with a loud crash, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Two pieces hit Qiao Jin’s forehead, leaving a few thin lines of blood.
Qiao Jin casually wiped them away. Hou Wude walked in, leaning on a wooden stick, his menacing gaze fixed on the people inside the car: “If you dare to step on the gas again, I’ll smash Lu Pingzhang’s head open. Try it.”
Qiao Jin stared at him, and Hou Wude’s men immediately wedged the stick into the car’s axle to prevent him from continuing to ram forward.
“Get out,” Hou Wude thrust the stick through the window and tapped his head. “I didn’t expect your feelings to be so deep.”
“Hou Wude,” Lu Pingzhang frowned, his voice sounding as if it had been soaked in ice shards, “Don’t you dare touch him.”
Hou Wude turned his head to look at him, snorted derisively, and tapped Qiao Jin’s exposed neck with the stick, commenting, “Pretty pale. Stop stalling, get out of the car.”
Lu Pingzhang violently shook off the two bodyguards holding him down, threw them to the ground, and kicked them away, then stormed out fiercely.
Hou Wude didn’t have time to react and took a heavy punch, feeling a burning pain from his ear to his cheek. His head buzzed for a moment before he managed to steady himself against the car.
Immediately, a group of bodyguards rushed forward and pinned Lu Pingzhang down tightly.
Hou Wude turned to look at him, startled by his gaze, and couldn’t speak for a moment.
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