Free Web NovelChapter 668: Chapter 638: Rebellious Girl
Before his return, Secretary Zhou proactively contacted his son, Zhou Deming, realizing that if he didn’t reach out first, his precious son would not come to see him.
Zhou Deming went to Dongzhou Restaurant, but Secretary Zhou had to entertain an important guest last minute, a matter crucial to Dongzhou’s investment and business attraction, thus he couldn’t slack off. He had to postpone meeting his son and let him wait a bit, intending to have lunch together afterward.
Zhou Deming, being stood up by his father, had no choice but to look for Xu Chunliang first.
Arriving at the room’s entrance, he saw a dark-skinned girl pressing the doorbell.
Zhou Deming watched her from the side, guessing she was also here to find Xu Chunliang.
The girl stopped cautiously, glaring at Zhou Deming with some dissatisfaction: "What are you looking at? Never seen a beauty before?"
"Who are you looking for?"
"Is it any of your business?"
Zhou Deming pointed at the door: "I live here."
The girl sneered: "Living here makes you special?" She turned around and walked away, feeling a bit strange inside - it was supposed to be here, or did she remember the address wrong?
Zhou Deming couldn’t help but laugh, are all girls this fierce nowadays? In comparison, Zhen Chun is much gentler, and thinking of Zhen Chun, he felt a sweet warmth in his heart. freewebnoveℓ.com
He heard that when he drank too much, Zhen Chun specially flew all the way from Xiangjiang to see him. This kind of affection had long surpassed the category of ordinary friendship. Zhou Deming felt a bit of regret; Zhen Chun stayed in the Capital City for two days, but he never mustered up the courage to express himself, missing an excellent opportunity.
While standing at the door, lost in thought, Xu Chunliang returned from class and was a bit surprised to see Zhou Deming standing at his door: "Deming, why are you here?"
Zhou Deming sighed, explained about being stood up by his father, and having nowhere to go, so he came over to chat with Xu Chunliang for a bit.
Xu Chunliang opened the door and invited him in: "Deming, not to be blunt, but your dad has been here for so many days; you should have come over at least once."
Zhou Deming said: "But here I am, and now he’s busy. If he’s busy, he shouldn’t have arranged to meet me."
Xu Chunliang handed him a bottle of mineral water: "Secretary Zhou is busy with work, you should be more understanding."
Zhou Deming said: "It’s not that I don’t want to see him, it’s just that there’s nothing to talk about when we meet. He doesn’t understand my situation or know what I want."
Xu Chunliang secretly sighed; every family has its difficulties. He smiled and said: "Your dad is quite concerned about you and even asked me about your situation with Zhen Chun."
Zhou Deming’s face turned a bit warm: "He knows?"
Xu Chunliang said: "Don’t look at me, I didn’t say anything."
Actually, Zhou Deming felt a bit anxious inside: "What did he say?"
"What about?"
"About me and Zhen Chun’s situation."
Xu Chunliang said: "He’s quite happy about it."
"Really?"
"What’s the situation between you and Zhen Chun now, have you confessed?"
Zhou Deming shook his head. He wanted to, but despite everything he thought about, he lost his courage when meeting her in person.
At this moment, Zhang Song called Zhou Deming asking him to come downstairs for lunch. Zhou Deming told him he was at Xu Chunliang’s place.
Zhou Deming hung up the phone and said to Xu Chunliang: "See, even calling me has to go through the secretary."
Xu Chunliang laughed; he felt it was really not his place to meddle in matters between father and son. Zhou Deming invited him to join them for lunch. Xu Chunliang said he wouldn’t interfere with their conversation, and Zhou Deming, not long after leaving, called again, saying Secretary Zhou asked him to come over.
Xu Chunliang didn’t want to disrespect Secretary Zhou, so he went downstairs to Pengzu Hall, where Zhang Song was waiting outside. Zhang Song made an excuse to smoke and let Xu Chunliang go in first.
Xu Chunliang knocked on the room door. Zhou Deming came over to open it. Truly, the father and son didn’t have much in common. In Zhou Deming’s view, his father always repeated himself, asking about his studies and if he needed anything in life. Every meeting was just a repetition of the last one.
In front of his father, Zhou Deming behaved like a good student. He always felt that his father’s every action was restrained. Secretary Zhou was also helpless; underneath the polite surface between father and son was actually a kind of unfamiliarity. His nature of work determined he didn’t pay enough attention to his family, and looking back, he almost never inquired about his son’s upbringing.
Xu Chunliang smiled at Secretary Zhou: "Secretary Zhou, you two finally got a meal together, and you want me as a third wheel?"
Secretary Zhou said: "You’re not an outsider, come sit down, I have to leave as soon as I finish eating."
Zhou Deming said: "You’re so busy, there’s really no need to make time to see me."
Secretary Zhou was momentarily stunned, feeling that his son’s words carried a certain grievance.
Xu Chunliang said: "Deming, you don’t know how lucky you are. Secretary Zhou, though busy with work these past few days, has been thinking about you a lot."
Zhou Deming glanced at his father: "Really?"
Secretary Zhou nodded repeatedly, always feeling that the affection between father and son doesn’t need to be openly displayed.
Zhou Deming said to Xu Chunliang: "Do you and your dad have many common topics?"
Xu Chunliang said: "My dad can’t compare to Secretary Zhou." He wasn’t flattering him; the last time Xu Jiaxuan sent him to Hu Hai to offer condolences to Chen Biyuan, it caused him considerable trouble. In the end, it was his mother Feng Mingjun who extinguished the fire, but since then, his dad hadn’t contacted him.
Secretary Zhou said: "I believe your dad has his difficulties. What father doesn’t love his son?"
Zhou Deming nodded and said: "That’s true, didn’t your dad buy you a villa at Hidden Lake Villa?"
Xu Chunliang said: "That was for him to show filial piety to my grandpa."
Everyone laughed. Zhang Song arranged to serve the dishes, and manager Li Xiumei personally brought the food. Seeing Xu Chunliang present at even Secretary Zhou’s family gathering made her look up to Xu Chunliang even more.
Secretary Zhou asked her to keep it simple, as they would soon return to Dongzhou, suggesting that they not drink. Remembering his son’s recent overdrinking incident, he advised: "Deming, drink less when you’re out alone."
Zhou Deming said: "Dad, have you never drunk too much in your life?"
Secretary Zhou pursed his lips and said: "Precisely because I have, I know it feels terrible, so I don’t want you to drink too much."
Zhou Deming said: "Actually, no matter how much you remind me, some mistakes I’ll still make."
Xu Chunliang said: "This is what is commonly said: no pain, no gain. It’s only by suffering losses and taking knocks that you remember deeply."
Zhang Song said: "Xiaoxu, that’s a painfully learned insight."
Secretary Zhou smiled with emotion: "We parents always want to protect our children, afraid that you’ll suffer losses or be deceived, but recently I’ve realized such worry is unnecessary."
Xu Chunliang said: "Suffering losses is a gain. The human brain is actually perfected through experiencing setbacks and being deceived."
At this moment, Hua Zhuyue called, and Xu Chunliang went outside to answer. Hua Zhuyue sounded a bit anxious; Ji Jiajia had disappeared suddenly. She said the house was too stuffy this morning and wanted to go out for a walk. Hua Zhuyue specifically arranged four bodyguards to accompany her, but after a restroom break, she was gone. Furious, Hua Zhuyue scolded the four bodyguards, saying so many people couldn’t even keep an eye on a little girl.
Xu Chunliang told Hua Zhuyue not to worry, as Ji Jiajia was very smart and the Capital City’s security was good, nothing would happen in broad daylight. He contacted Xie Yuanzheng, asking the police for help in searching.
Though Xu Chunliang spoke lightly, he didn’t dare slack off. After all, Ji Jiajia’s situation was delicate, and he could not rule out the possibility of Pan Tianhua and his son taking desperate measures to remove obstacles.
Xu Chunliang went back to bid farewell to Secretary Zhou, who happened to be leaving as well. Xu Chunliang walked him out, watching as Secretary Zhou got in the car and left.
Zhou Deming waved goodbye to his father and invited Xu Chunliang to play ball in the afternoon, but Xu Chunliang said he had other matters.
Hua Zhuyue arrived by car, and as soon as she got out, she said: "Chunliang, I heard from the bodyguards that she wanted to find you."
Xu Chunliang said: "I haven’t seen her."
Zhou Deming said: "When I went to find you just now, I saw a little girl with dark skin at the door."
Upon hearing this, Hua Zhuyue quickly took out a photo of Ji Jiajia to show him: "Is it her?"
Zhou Deming nodded: "It was her."
Judging by the time, Ji Jiajia had appeared here an hour and a half ago. Xu Chunliang returned to Dongzhou Restaurant and asked Li Xiumei to help retrieve the surveillance footage. From the parking lot footage, they saw Ji Jiajia getting on a motorcycle. The person riding the motorcycle was the Belarusian Bear whom Xu Chunliang had met before, during an outdoor challenge at Moat Bridge.
Hua Zhuyue called Ji Jiajia several times, but her phone was off. She was a bit frustrated, as the girl was too headstrong. Everything was clearly explained to her, yet she insisted on going out, claiming her freedom couldn’t be restricted. But with freedom and being allowed to go out, she still managed to ditch four bodyguards.
Xu Chunliang suggested going to Moat Bridge, after all, the first time he saw Ji Jiajia was there. Zhou Deming, having nothing to do, also went along to help search.
Hua Zhuyue drove to the location and saw a group gathered by Moat Bridge. People come here daily for the hands-above-the-bridge challenge. The guy hosting the challenge recognized Xu Chunliang, thinking he came for another challenge and came over to greet him.
Xu Chunliang nodded at him and asked if he had seen Ji Jiajia. The guy shook his head, saying Ji Jiajia hadn’t been here for several days.
Xu Chunliang then inquired if anyone had seen the Belarusian Bear. Someone nearby signaled to him, so Xu Chunliang followed the guy aside, pulling out a pack of cigarettes for him. The guy said: "Ji Jiajia and the Bear gathered a bunch of friends; I heard they’re planning something big."
Xu Chunliang asked: "What kind of big move?"
"You don’t get it. Apparently, Ji Jiajia was bullied, and they’re helping her get back at them."
"Do you know where they went?"
The guy smiled and extended his hand. Xu Chunliang understood, taking out a wad of cash from his wallet, about a thousand yuan: "Thanks for your help, brother."
The guy nodded: "Old industrial park, fights usually go down there."
Xu Chunliang returned to Hua Zhuyue, shared the information he had gathered, and Hua Zhuyue immediately realized Ji Jiajia might be causing trouble. She told Xu Chunliang to drive to the old industrial park and quickly called Pan Weidong.
Pan Weidong answered the phone, teasing: "President Hua, what’s up? Miss me?"
