Chapter 701: He Cooperated Too Much

Only questions with this kind of contrast can reveal a person’s true reaction.

Correct, Yu Dazhang was still wary of Zhou Jiacheng before him.

Although in his eyes, this college student was not a man of deep scheming, it was still possible he was a naturally gifted performer.

Just like Zhang Sen—under certain specific circumstances, Zhang Sen could truly make falsehood appear real.

“I don’t know.”

Zhou Jiacheng shook his head, looking utterly confused:

“The last time I saw him was at a restaurant outside campus; the time before that was at the hotel where he stayed.”

“He never said it outright, but I know he has no family in Jinling, so he has no fixed address.”

He fell silent for a moment, as if recalling something, then spoke slowly:

“I never ask about him. When my mother was alive, she often told me not to inquire about anything related to Uncle Zhang.”

As he said this, his tone grew slightly heavier:

“I remember clearly—after my mother passed away, Uncle Zhang asked me if I wanted to go away with him and start a new life somewhere else…”

Zhou Jiacheng suddenly fell silent, lowering his head.

This made Yu Dazhang even more curious.

He had never understood why, if Zhang Jiangke had always kept watch over his own biological son, he still let Zhou Jiacheng enter the children’s welfare home.

Yu Dazhang could understand why Zhou Jinyan’s parents refused to accept the child.

After all, the elderly couple had firmly opposed Zhou Jinyan giving birth to the child; they must have long suspected the child’s origins.

In the older generation’s mindset, such a situation was often seen as shameful, and given their deep hatred for human traffickers, their refusal to acknowledge the child was only natural.

Now he understood: Zhang Jiangke had once considered taking Zhou Jiacheng away, and had even sought the child’s opinion.

But he didn’t know why nothing came of it.

Seeing Zhou Jiacheng keep his head lowered and say nothing, Yu Dazhang did not press him, only sat quietly across from him, watching.

After a moment, Zhou Jiacheng’s shoulders trembled slightly, then he slowly raised his head, eyes reddened, looking at Yu Dazhang.

“I refused. I wanted to stay with my mother. If I left, no one would clean her grave.”

When he spoke again, his voice had grown hoarse:

“I have to stay with her. Since I couldn’t care for her while she lived, I won’t let her wait alone in the cemetery after death.”

“Her whole heart was on me. If I didn’t visit her for a long time, she’d miss me.”

Again with this superstitious nonsense… Yu Dazhang irritably pinched the bridge of his nose.

Regardless, the fact that he had this filial heart showed Zhou Jiacheng was fundamentally not a bad person.

Zhou Jinyan probably didn’t tell him about his father because she didn’t want him dragged into trouble.

Zhang Jiangke must have thought the same—his own sins, he didn’t want to burden his only son with.

So after Zhou Jiacheng refused, he didn’t insist further.

“What did he talk about when he last saw you?” Yu Dazhang asked again.

He felt Zhang Jiangke wouldn’t just vanish like that.

Zhou Jiacheng was his only blood relative; this departure might be permanent, and at his age, he had no other hope except this son.

From any perspective, Zhang Jiangke should have come to see Zhou Jiacheng before leaving.

Also, last time he only left behind a new phone and ten thousand yuan.

For Zhou Jiacheng, that barely covered tuition.

So Zhang Jiangke must have left Zhou Jiacheng a sum of money before leaving—and it would have been in cash.

Because once the police started watching him, every financial trail would be treated as illicit funds.

“He didn’t say anything special.”

Zhou Jiacheng thought for a moment, then replied:

“He just told me to take care of my health, and said if I had any trouble, I could leave him a message—any kind of trouble, I could tell him.”

Message? Yu Dazhang’s eyes lit up.