Chapter 66
The sky in Jiang City had completely changed.
The small town wasn’t far from the urban area, yet there was no movement at all. Qiao Xi didn’t know what exactly was happening in the city. After settling Qiao Jianliang and preparing everything properly, she secretly returned ahead of schedule.
The usually peaceful compound had become an invisible cage, the atmosphere terrifyingly oppressive and gloomy. Those who used to be close to the Fu and Zhou families were now cowering. Some, fearing implication, had long since fled abroad under the guise of travel.
Zhou Meihe and Zhou Lin were still at the Zhou family home and hadn’t returned. The Qiao family’s main gate was tightly closed, lifeless. The Fu house next door was similar—main gate shut tight, room doors half-closed. Not a soul was seen all afternoon, nor until dark.
It wasn’t until past 11:00 PM that Father Fu drove Grandpa Fu back.
Father Fu, who used to drive a Cayenne, had switched to a domestic miscellaneous brand car, probably to avoid detection. Grandpa Fu’s figure was hunched, seemingly aged a lot, even using a cane. He was in very poor condition, supported into the house by Father Fu.
Qiao Xi watched from behind the window of her room on the second floor, pressing her lips almost into a line.
The Fu family’s situation was too unexpected, unforeseen. She hadn’t expected Second Master Tan to be so ruthless. When she went to find Second Master Tan, she had asked in a roundabout way, and the other party implied he wouldn’t touch the Fu family, only Liang Jincheng. She was relieved, only to fall into the old fox’s trap.
Second Master Tan wasn’t honest, saying one thing but doing another.
Qiao Xi thought too simply. With Liang Yuzhi there, how could the Fu family be completely separated from Liang Jincheng? Once something happened, they definitely couldn’t shake it off. To hit a snake, hit its seven inches. To hit Liang Jincheng, one must first hit the pillar behind him. Weighing the options, targeting the Fu family first was the most advantageous. After all, Second Master Tan was still fighting with the one in the high position and temporarily couldn’t handle that person, so he could only target the Fu family.
With the Fu family restrained, the Liang family naturally dared not move, and those small characters dared not act recklessly even more, acting like quails.
Unable to describe the feeling in her heart at this moment, Qiao Xi felt suffocated. Not knowing the current situation, she dared not act rashly. After struggling for a long time that night, she found Zhuang Qiyang’s number and called.
Zhuang Qiyang was close to Fu Bei and must know some inside information.
Late at night, Zhuang Qiyang was still outside. Surprised to receive the call, hearing Qiao Xi’s explanation, he was silent for a long time before saying, “I’ll pick you up at the main gate; let’s talk in person.”
Qiao Xi changed her clothes, adopting a style completely different from her usual one. Wearing a hoodie underneath, she pulled the hood up and kept her head down to avoid recognition as she went out.
Zhuang Qiyang was even more low-key than her, not even driving his car over. He led her out of the compound area, walking for more than ten minutes before reaching the parking spot. The two didn’t communicate the whole way. Only after getting in the car did Zhuang Qiyang say, “It’s inconvenient here; let’s find another place to talk.”
Qiao Xi nodded. The compound was under close scrutiny now; who knew how many people were watching in the dark? Afraid of causing trouble, she had sneaked in today, daring not show herself.
The car drove towards the North District. Zhuang Qiyang had an old house there, less likely to be noticed and relatively safer.
Approaching the North District, he explained specifically, “Sister Bei said if you came back, I should bring you here to stay for a few days.”
Fu Bei had arranged everything properly. Anticipating that Qiao Xi wouldn’t listen to her, she had informed Zhuang Qiyang long ago.
Hearing this, Qiao Xi paused, her red lips moving but stopping, giving a soft hum.
Zhuang Qiyang knew about their relationship but didn’t interfere much, just doing what Fu Bei instructed. He had been extremely busy recently, his expression showing a hint of fatigue. Originally not wanting to say much, seeing Qiao Xi, he couldn’t help adding, “It’s so chaotic now; you shouldn’t have come back. It had nothing to do with your family anyway.”
With such chaos now, anyone with a bit of brain would know to avoid it, wishing to be completely clean of it. Who would rush in at this juncture, fearing trouble?
Qiao Xi had originally decided to go out and avoid it, but now changed her mind temporarily and came back. What else could it be for?
Actually, Qiao Jianliang didn’t quite agree with her leaving the small town, but he couldn’t dissuade her. She knew what she was about to face. Glancing at the streetlights illuminating both sides of the street outside the car window, she said after a long while, “I know…”
Things had long spiraled out of control. The Qiao family had always been law-abiding; as long as they didn’t get involved, they were absolutely safe. Both she and Qiao Jianliang understood this principle. But Qiao Xi couldn’t stay in the small town, possessed, rushing back.
What could she do coming back? Just the same old things, still unable to change the current situation, just closing the distance to know the movements here earlier.
The old house was on the edge of the North District, quite far. The facilities inside were complete and clean. Only after entering and turning on the light did Qiao Xi ask, “How is she now?”
Something happened to the Fu family. Fu Bei and Liang Yuzhi were missing. Now only Grandpa Fu and Father Fu were at the Fu house. As soon as Qiao Xi returned to the city, she secretly inquired about news but got no useful information.
Fu Bei’s disappearance was definitely inextricably linked to Zhou Qun. The specific reason was unknown. She called Zhou Meihe to ask, but Zhou Meihe knew nothing, crying instead, wanting Qiao Jianliang to help pull the Zhou family up. This turmoil wasn’t small; how it would end was unclear, but there would inevitably be a few scapegoats. Now that the Fu family was bearing the brunt, it was hard to guarantee nothing would happen.
At this time, whether letting go or not wasn’t important; getting through this hurdle was the key.
Qiao Xi behaved with restraint, showing no extra expression on her face, indistinguishable whether she cared or not, her tone very calm.
As a bystander, Zhuang Qiyang had always been clear about the entanglement between the two. Looking at her with difficulty, he said after a while, “She’s fine for now; don’t worry.”
Hearing his certainty, Qiao Xi’s expression shifted slightly. “Where is she?”
Zhuang Qiyang didn’t answer directly, only saying, “Will be back in a while, when these things are over.”
He deliberately didn’t tell Qiao Xi the truth, but he didn’t lie either. Fu Bei was indeed fine. As for the current situation and when she could return, he didn’t mention a word.
If she were truly fine, the Fu family wouldn’t be in its current state. Having been dragged into the water, how could they get out so easily? Qiao Xi understood the reasoning. Unconsciously pursing her lips, thinking of something, she asked directly, “Was it Second Master Tan?”
Zhuang Qiyang was stunned. Stopping his movements to look back at her, the words on his lips were swallowed back. He equivocated, “These matters aren’t something you can intervene in. I can’t do anything either. She has her plans; just ignore it. When the time comes, she’ll come find you.”
It wasn’t intentional concealment; this time it was truly to protect her. The muddy waters were hard to navigate. Qiao Xi wasn’t alone; she had Qiao Jianliang and the Qiao family behind her. She didn’t understand the twists and turns. Blindly intervening would only make the situation messier.
Determined not to tell, no amount of asking worked. After settling things here, Zhuang Qiyang left overnight, specifically instructing before leaving: “Call if you need anything; I’ll come back when free.”
Once he left, only Qiao Xi remained in the empty old house.
That night, Qiao Xi couldn’t sleep at all. Dozing off groggily at dawn, she had a nightmare about bad things. Waking up, her neck was covered in cold sweat, sticky and uncomfortable.
As night gave way to day, the sky was clear. She looked out the window with lingering fear. Getting up after a long time, she took a shower. Only after calming down completely did she carefully ponder the current situation.
Next, she secretly checked the Zhou family’s situation, then covertly observed the Zhao family, Chen family, and Second Master Tan’s side.
With limited connections, Qiao Xi couldn’t find out much. The Zhou family was now like ants on a hot pan. Because Zhou Qun caused quite a few problems, Elder Zhou was frantic. However, being anxious was useless; they could only wait. The Zhao family remained neutral, favoring no one, not showing up from beginning to end, seemingly not planning to get involved. The Chen family’s attitude was ambiguous. Even though Chen Shuo and Fu Bei had a good relationship, they showed no intention of helping this time.
Their actions weren’t hard to understand. After all, at such a time, having kicked a steel plate, the bottom line wasn’t a joke. Acting rashly guaranteed falling into the water together.
On the other hand, since the Fu family’s incident, those who were originally on good terms with them drew a clear line, wishing to cut off contact, fearing trouble.
Qiao Xi found out that the Fu family’s incident was indeed related to Liang Yuzhi. As for the specific relationship and why Fu Bei was implicated, it wasn’t clear yet.
Liang Yuzhi often cleaned up messes for Liang Jincheng, helping a lot. Being implicated now was expected. However, the rest of the Fu family had little connection with Liang Jincheng, rarely interacting in business. This was thanks to the old lady. When alive, she disliked the Liang family, feeling Liang Jincheng had crooked intentions, so she forbade the Fu family from having deep interactions with that side. After the old lady passed, Father Fu continued to implement this. After weighing the pros and cons and thinking of Zhuang Qiyang’s instructions, Qiao Xi finally chose to believe.
And on this night, Liang Jincheng was taken down.
He had done many dirty deeds over the years. Often walking by the river, one’s shoes are bound to get wet. Now he fell into the river with a splash, and no one could save him.
Second Master Tan acted quickly. Having lurked in recent years, he either stayed immovable as a mountain or raided the opponent’s base completely, leaving no threat behind.
Zhuang Qiyang came to the old house the next morning but didn’t mention a word about this. Qiao Xi knew it in her heart and didn’t ask much. After Zhuang Qiyang left, she still stayed here, not as anxious as before.
The subsequent changes revealed no information, not a whisper of wind. Some things wouldn’t be brought to light until completely resolved. When news leaked again, it was basically time for the curtain call.
The Fu family walked on the edge of the storm for a while, then wasn’t dragged in again. As for the other involved personnel, none escaped. When filth was exposed and sunned under the sun, everything slowly appeared. Anyone who crossed the line couldn’t escape; there would be no fish slipping through the net.
Second Master Tan’s move was simply perfect—quick and efficient, handled cleanly without alarming the public. A ruthless and decisive move eradicated the opponent root and branch.
Qiao Xi didn’t investigate the grudges between Second Master Tan and the one in the high position; it wasn’t within her scope of concern.
For the general public, this period was just an ordinary annual leave, no different from previous years. Happily finishing the New Year, returning to the city for work on the seventh.
Those struggles had nothing to do with ordinary people, with little impact.
The seventh passed, and Fu Bei was still nowhere to be seen.
She expected Qiao Xi to return and asked Zhuang Qiyang to take her to the old house for temporary shelter, probably thinking she could get away earlier. Who knew she couldn’t?
Qiao Xi was patient enough to wait until the tenth before asking Zhuang Qiyang.
Zhuang Qiyang had no choice, confessing, “I have no news either. Wait first; wait and see.”
Besides waiting, there was no other way. Even the Fu family had no way; what could they do?
Qiao Xi returned to the small town to see Qiao Jianliang once. Tang Yi and her family were still there, living comfortably and happily in the small town, planning to leave after the Lantern Festival.
With Secretary Chen presiding over the overall situation at the company, arranged in advance, Qiao Xi wasn’t in a hurry. While paying attention to the movements in the city, she muddled along in the small town.
Qiao Jianliang knew something happened without asking, mentioning not a word about it, recuperating peacefully.
Until the Lantern Festival passed, still no news came.
Instead, Zhou Meihe called five or six times a day, insisting on returning quickly. At first, Qiao Xi had the patience to deal with her, but later couldn’t be bothered. Zhou Meihe’s mind was on her maiden family before; now remembering Qiao Jianliang, her reaction was fast enough.
On the sixteenth, the group returned to the city together. Qiao Jianliang invited Tang Yi’s family to the compound as guests for a meal together.
Zhou Meihe minded Qiao Jianliang’s departure very much. Once Tang Yi’s family left, she started nagging incessantly. If she truly cared, saying so would be fine. However, she was just venting, knowing Qiao Jianliang and Qiao Xi were deliberately hiding to avoid getting involved. Feeling awkward inside, she felt this was targeting her.
She simply couldn’t figure it out. The more she thought, the more aggrieved she felt. Knowing Qiao Jianliang not helping was the most correct move, she just minded his attitude. Thinking about how Qiao Jianliang treated Qiao Xi and his ex-wife, she minded even more.
Later, the couple had a quarrel.
Qiao Jianliang, half-paralyzed, usually tired of speaking two sentences, couldn’t win the argument, his blood pressure soaring with anger.
Qiao Xi couldn’t stand it, still worried about Qiao Jianliang’s physical condition. Glancing coldly at Zhou Meihe, she said in a deep voice, “Are you done yet?”
Just this one sentence completely broke the previous facade of peace, causing a chaotic mess.
With Qiao Jianliang the patient here, Qiao Xi couldn’t leave. In the end, Zhou Meihe left with Zhou Lin.
Father and daughter remained silent.
Days of waiting made Qiao Xi anxious about gains and losses. The depression pressed on her uncomfortably, yet she was powerless.
Whether the Fu family, the Qiao family, or people like them, they were actually very ordinary, without the ability to cover the sky with one hand. At this critical juncture, their abilities were ultimately limited.
Jiang City began a period of daily sunshine. The temperature gradually rose, warm and incredibly comfortable. Everything revived; trees sprouted new buds, and all things grew vigorously.
The Qiao house was silent and deserted; the Fu house was also silent and deserted.
Qiao Xi would watch from the balcony for an hour or two every day, but never saw the light in the room diagonally opposite turn on.
Some things, no matter how big the fuss, seeming like the sky is falling, are just a small report in the legal column. Not many ordinary people would notice; life goes on as usual.
The momentum of this incident was huge, but handling it was silent, not disturbing the public, resolved lightly. Moreover, the news was suppressed all along; the actual progress wouldn’t be made public for the time being.
Father Fu ran out every few days, haggard beyond endurance.
Before long, the Fu house became completely empty, moving away overnight.
