Chapter 469: Bai Baoshan, the Killing Hour!

Besides strawberries, those two plain items were also a real headache—damn, I should’ve just thrown them out the airplane window when I boarded.

Wei Ming considered leaving them at the Overseas Chinese Apartment, but his mom cleaned too thoroughly—she might dig them up any day. If they were smaller, he could’ve just claimed they belonged to Gong Ying and Zhu Lin, but Li Zhi’s item was unusually large.

In the end, Wei Ming decided to store both garments in the three-hall Sihe Academy at Houhai, a place no one ever visited.

“Mom, I’ve got things to do—I’m leaving now.”

“Are you coming back for dinner tonight?”

“No, no.”

Xu Shufen sighed. Her husband, son, and daughter all had their own affairs; only she was stuck guarding this house. Bored out, she even considered having a third child—but the state still didn’t encourage it.

Screw it, better go play traditional five-stone chess with Old Lady Xiao next door—and bring her a jar of fiery beef chili sauce.

Carrying the evidence of his floral escapades in Hong Kong, Wei Ming arrived at Houhai. On his motorcycle, he even ran into Biao Ma—this place wasn’t far from her and her husband’s home.

Turns out today Huang Jiaoyan’s parents were babysitting Xiao Fengjiu. The girl’s full name was Zhao Zifeng, nickname Jiuer, because she was conceived in Jiuzhaigou; over time, people started alternating between “Feng” and “Jiuer,” and now Wei Ming called her “Fengjiu,” which drove the child insane—she spent all day wondering, Who am I really?

Biao Ma was thrilled. Now that she controlled the garment factory, profits at Xintiandi kept rising, and they’d bought Biaozi a two-hall Sihe Academy—finally, no more living in a communal courtyard.

After chatting with Aunt Qian, she said: “The neighborhood’s been unsafe lately—so many things getting stolen. Your uncle went to Tianjin to see Biaozi. I’ve got to head back quick.”

Aunt Qian’s words made Wei Ming’s eyelid twitch—and sure enough, trouble had struck.

As soon as Wei Ming shoved the key in, he felt the lock was loose, utterly lacking the tight, locked-in tension it should’ve had.

He didn’t turn the key—he just yanked, and the lock popped open!

“Shit, did we get robbed?!” Wei Ming pushed the door open and immediately confirmed: yes, they’d been robbed.

For convenience switching vehicles, Wei Ming always left his bicycle in the outermost courtyard—never even locked it—and rode his motorcycle there, then switched to a low-profile transport for Nánluógǔxiàng.

But now the bicycle was gone—nearly new, a 200-yuan Da Yongjiu, and a celebrity’s ride at that!

Wei Ming walked further inside, checking other rooms. The house had barely been touched since purchase—only one bedroom had been tidied up and a phone installed.

Though most rooms were locked, there wasn’t much of value inside anyway.

After inspecting, he confirmed the locks on the inner and middle courtyards hadn’t been tampered with—even the outer courtyard, aside from the stolen bicycle, showed no signs of forced entry.

This meant the thief, satisfied with the valuable bicycle, hadn’t ventured further.

After checking everything, Wei Ming entered the bedroom, hid the two undergarments at the very bottom of a chest, then covered them with quilts—henceforth, they’d be the family’s buried treasure.

He then called Snow Sister at Nánluógǔxiàng—no answer—then called the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

“Mom, has Dad come back?”

“Yeah, he’s back.”

Old Wei picked up the phone, grinning at first, then his expression turned grim.

“What? This happened? Okay, okay, okay, okay.”

After hanging up, Xu Shufen rushed to ask what was wrong. Old Wei pulled on his coat: “Eat without me—I’m going to the police station.”

“Why go to the police station without dinner? Do they feed you there?”

“Our son’s Sihe Academy was broken into—his nearly new Da Yongjiu was stolen!”

“Ah!”

Though the cost of a bike meant little to their family, it meant thieves could come and go as they pleased—proving the house was no longer safe, and even Nánluógǔxiàng now felt unsafe to Wei Ming.

So the black must be crushed—crushed hard!

Wei Ming entrusted reporting the theft to Old Wei. Zhu Lin was a celebrity—unsuitable to appear in person. But Old Wei, by revealing his father-daughter bond with Zhu Lin, would ensure the local police took it seriously—perhaps preventing similar incidents.

As for Wei Ming, since the Nánluógǔxiàng phone didn’t connect, he mounted his motorcycle and headed straight for Tuanjiehu.

From downstairs, he could see lights on in Zhu Lin’s home—someone was home.

He bounded up the stairs, opened the door, and heard Gong Ying singing—the recording was from her debut album, “Me and My Motherland.”

The song exploded after the Spring Festival Gala, so China Record Company rushed out this red-themed album—other tracks were old revolutionary songs, yet it still sold a million copies easily; Snow Sister’s popularity was still enormous.

“Who’s there? Snow?” came Zhu Lin’s voice from inside—apparently Snow Sister wasn’t home.

Wei Ming pushed the door open, leaning against the frame with a sly grin.

Zhu Lin turned off the recorder: “What are you grinning at? You just went to Hong Kong for a prize—stayed away for days.”

Wei Ming spotted A Min’s cassette beside the player, smiled, and switched off the light.

“Oh!” Zhu Lin gasped softly—Wei Ming was already before her, wrapping his arms around her.

“Aren’t you usually the one who likes the light on? Says it’s clearer,” Zhu Lin whispered.

“Let’s try something different tonight,” Wei Ming said, kissing her, then immediately attacking her neck.

He’d kissed her before, but tonight he was unusually eager—was he treating her neck like a duck neck?

“Hey, stop it—I have a theater performance tomorrow!”

But Wei Ming ignored her—though he held back, didn’t bite hard.

The strong-willed Zhu Lin immediately counterattacked, biting his neck like a vampire.

As they played, the light turned on—Gong Ying stared at them: “Why’d you turn off the light?”

Wei Ming: “Mood.”

Zhu Lin immediately turned to Gong Ying for judgment: “Snow, check—no red marks on my neck, right? I’ve got a show tomorrow.”

Gong Ying examined them: “Your neck’s fine, but Xiao Wei’s neck has several bites.”

Wei Ming smiled—ha, he’d gotten away with it.

Zhu Lin waved her hand: “He doesn’t care—he’s got no shame.”

Wei Ming pulled Gong Ying onto the bed: “You’re just in time—we’re having a family meeting. Important matters to discuss.”

Seeing his seriousness, they sat one on each side of him.

Wei Ming: “First, Linjie, your Houhai Sihe Academy was broken into.”

“What?” Zhu Lin shot up, “Didn’t they steal anything valuable?”

“Nothing valuable there—just my bicycle.”

Gong Ying: “Still, that’s heartbreaking.”

Zhu Lin: “Yeah, such a shame.”

Wei Ming shook his head: “Stealing money? I don’t care how much. But home invasions often lead to worse—assault, even murder. Luckily, the thief targeted the Houhai house. What if it had been Nánluógǔxiàng? What if Snow Sister had been alone?”

Hearing his concern, Gong Ying and Zhu Lin fell silent—they thought of the armed killers “Northeast Wangs,” rumored to have fled to Wuhan.

Wei Ming held their hands: “I’m terrified just thinking about it!”

The current social order was deeply worrying. The state had opened the floodgates for people to make money, but legal avenues were scarce—so naturally, some turned to crime for quick cash.

Beijing’s safety climate had already made Gong Ying and Zhu Lin afraid to go out alone at night.

“So, until I find a solution, Snow Sister, you’ll stay with Linjie—and buy another bicycle to leave in the outer courtyard of the Sihe Academy.”

“Why?” Gong Ying frowned.

Wei Ming explained his plan: “For ordinary thieves, a bicycle’s value is high enough—equivalent to three months’ wages. Once they get that, they’re unlikely to risk entering the inner courtyard.”

The inner courtyard of the Nánluógǔxiàng Sihe Academy—even the calligraphy and paintings left outside the safe—were extremely precious to Wei Ming.

Gong Ying and Zhu Lin nodded—it made sense. A small loss to protect a greater one.

“Alright,” Wei Ming squeezed their shoulders, calming them, “Second matter concerns Snow Sister.”

“Me?”