Chapter 337: Pretense or Sincerity

Liu Zhai, living room.

Pingping sat on the living room sofa, holding melon seeds in her hand, yet she hadn't cracked a single one for a long time, stealing glances from time to time at Liu Rusi, who was reading a book.

Liu Rusi turned a page of the book and asked without raising her head: "You've been restless all evening; what on earth is going on?"

Pingping was so startled that she spilled the melon seeds all over the floor; she lowered her head and said: "Miss, I told... He Yuzhu about your business."

"Slap!"

Liu Rusi slammed the book in her hand heavily onto the tabletop, and then she swept a celadon teacup from the coffee table onto the floor as well.

"Clang!"

The teacup hit the floor and shattered into two pieces, tea spilling everywhere.

"You dead girl! Even you have started bullying me, haven't you? I warned you a thousand times not to tell him, yet your mouth is still so loose!"

Pingping looked up, her eyes already red: "It was him who stopped me, insisting on asking if you and Engineer Yuan were... were that way..."

Liu Rusi was trembling with rage and cursed: "That little bastard! I haven't paid him any mind for months, and he still won't give up!"

"He said he was coming to see you tonight," Pingping said in a low voice.

"Even if he comes, I won't see him!" Liu Rusi turned her face away, her chest heaving violently.

Pingping stood up and began to clean up the shards on the floor, "Miss, why won't you let him help resolve the matter with the United States?"

"Why drag him into this mess?" Liu Rusi said.

Dajinsi Hutong, four burly men carried the large wooden crate containing He Yuzhu, their footsteps heavy as they walked outward.

Not until that figure disappeared around the corner of the hutong did Zhang Shuying finally lose her support, her tears breaking through like a dam.

It was I who harmed him... She leaned against the door frame and slowly squatted down, her voice choked with sobs, he was so good to me, yet I have been calculating against him all along... Father, go and beg Godfather, please don't take his life, will you?

Zhang's father stood under the dim light, his face blurred: That depends on how he chooses himself. If he is willing to submit, your Godfather naturally won't make things difficult for him. If he refuses to bow his head, I fear it will be more ominous than auspicious! You shouldn't stay here either; come with us.

I am not leaving. Zhang Shuying raised her head stubbornly, I want to wait here for him to return.

You foolish girl. Zhang's father shook his head, He Yuzhu was brought home by you. Even if he were even more foolish, it would be impossible for him to forgive you again. You participated in this scam from beginning to end.

That was all forced upon me by you! Zhang Shuying stood up abruptly, tears still hanging on her eyelashes, I never thought about harming him!

Zhang's mother came out from the inner room carrying a small leather suitcase and gently took her daughter's hand: Come with us. If He Yuzhu doesn't return home tonight, those secret Bodyguards of his will surely grow suspicious. I'm afraid we won't be able to leave tomorrow.

No matter how the two of them tried to persuade her, Zhang Shuying simply would not leave.

Zhang's father was truly at his wit's end; he looked at his daughter one last time, picked up the suitcase, and said: If she won't leave, so be it; we must hurry.

The sound of the two people's footsteps faded into the distance.

Zhang Shuying sat alone at the front gate, the moonlight casting her lonely figure onto the bluestone slabs.

In the suburbs, inside a secluded mansion.

He Yuzhu was dragged out of the large wooden crate and roughly tied to a wooden pillar in the hall.

Daobalian picked up a basin of cold water and splashed it onto his face.

He Yuzhu, who had been conscious the whole time, only pretended to wake up from his "coma" after being splashed with water.

He shook his wet hair, squinted his eyes to look around, and finally let his gaze fall on the few people in front of him, asking: "Wasn't I drinking at the Zhang house? How did I get here? What is this place?"

At this moment, Qian Yi pushed the door open and entered, walking closer with a cold sneer: "Everyone says you have great ability, little guy, but did you expect to fall into our hands?"

He Yuzhu looked innocent: "Mr. Qian, aren't you Shuying's Godfather? What is this for?"

Qian Yi stopped pretending and said sternly: "My true identity is Major Qian Jin of the Military Statistics Bureau; 'Qian Yi' is an alias. For Shuying's sake, I will point you toward a bright path—surrender to us and hand over the data on the Computer you are researching, and I will not kill you."

He Yuzhu pretended to have a sudden realization and said: "You should have said so earlier! If you wanted the data, couldn't you have just let Shuying tell me? Why go through such a big circle?"

Qian Yi clearly did not believe He Yuzhu's claim; his expression darkened: "I don't have time to trade barbs with you!"

He Yuzhu immediately changed his expression and asked coldly: "Shuying's Godfather, how many people do you have here in total?"

Qian Yi frowned: "Why do you ask that?"

He Yuzhu chuckled, his tone growing colder: "You probably haven't heard of my methods. Back when the Japanese devils were here, I was able to throw the heads of seventy or eighty traitors onto Qianmen Street. With just you few people, do you really think you can control me?"

A chill ran down Qian Yi's spine, and he immediately shouted outward: "Come here!"

He Yuzhu laughed instead: "Shuying's Godfather, you are too nervous; I was just saying that casually, look how I scared you."

Qian Yi forced himself to stay calm and continued to lure him: "As long as you are willing to cooperate, once we get that data, I can arrange for you and Shuying to go to the United States together. By then, we will still be one family."

More than a dozen armed subordinates quickly rushed into the room, their gun barrels pointing in unison at He Yuzhu.

"You only have 13 people, and you want to deal with me?" He Yuzhu said with disdain.

Qian Yi sneered: "Heaven's arrogance brings rain, man's arrogance brings disaster; I want to see just how much ability you have! Let him taste the branding iron."

He Yuzhu said no more; he shook his arms, and the ropes on his body snapped with a sound.

Qian Yi was shocked and screamed hoarsely: "Fire!"

Before the words had even faded, the people within six meters of He Yuzhu—including Qian Yi himself—actually vanished into thin air!

Only the two guards standing at the door were lucky enough not to be affected, but they were so terrified by this incomprehensible scene that their souls flew away, and they stood frozen in place.

He Yuzhu raised his hand and fired two shots.

The two agents fell to the ground immediately.

He Yuzhu quickly cleared the battlefield, discovering two military radios, over twenty Submachine Guns, two hundred million yuan in cash, and twenty heavy gold bars in the cellar. But what made his breath hitch was the Blue and White Plum Vase that Xu Damao had once obsessed over, which was now standing quietly in the corner.

He Yuzhu carefully picked up the plum vase, his fingertips brushing over the cold, glazed Intertwined Lotus Pattern.

Although he was no expert in porcelain, the warm luster and exquisite brushwork convinced him that this object was extraordinary.

After storing all the spoils into his space, he threw a torch.

The raging flames soon engulfed the entire mansion.

On the road driving back to the city, he felt a bit of burning anger; he had actually been deceived by Zhang Shuying's innocent appearance.

But her concerned attitude toward him, her patience in teaching the children, and her full enthusiasm for the people around her didn't seem like an act; could it be that she studied acting?

When He Yuzhu returned to Dajinsi Hutong, he was stunned to see that Zhang Shuying was still sitting alone on the doorstone, as if waiting for something.

He Yuzhu grabbed her and pulled her into the courtyard, then turned and shut the gate.

"Where did your parents flee to? Why didn't you flee with them?"

Tears instantly welled up in Zhang Shuying's eyes.

She suddenly lunged forward, wanting to embrace him, but was shoved away hard by him.

"You female secret agent, what face do you have left to embrace me?"

"They forced me..." She stumbled backward, "My feelings for you have always been real... I have never done anything to harm you, and I didn't even know they were going to capture you tonight..."

She wept until she could barely catch her breath, her thin shoulders trembling incessantly under the moonlight.

He Yuzhu stared at her, then suddenly leaned down and gripped her arm: "Stop acting pitiful for me; I saw Daobalian, who abducted you. This was a trap from the very beginning."

"They forced me to do all of that," Shuying sobbed, "I had always wanted to go abroad, and they used that to make me get to know you. In reality, my parents are both teachers, not secret agents; they were being coerced by Qian Yi!"

"Keep lying!" He Yuzhu said coldly.

"If you don't believe me, I'll bash my head against this wall and die!" After saying this, Zhang Shuying lunged toward the wall.