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墨書 Inktalez
Zhang Xin lay in bed, ignoring the knocking and shouting from the maid Mei outside the room.
"Sister, you haven't eaten anything for two days. If you don't eat, you'll make yourself sick..." Mei said, holding a bowl of Braised Pork, continuously knocking on the door. "Sister, please just open the door! Today, the master specifically had the kitchen prepare this Braised Pork for you. Just eat a little!"
Seeing Zhang Zhaolin coming up the stairs, Mei nervously lowered her head. "Master."
Zhang Zhaolin snatched the bowl of Braised Pork from Mei's hands. "Useless thing, get lost!"
Mei quickly slipped down the stairs beside Zhang Zhaolin. This time, it was Zhang Zhaolin knocking on the door. "Xing Er, your father has personally brought you food. Just open the door. If there's anything bothering you or making you unhappy, tell me, and I will help you!"
There was still no response from inside.
At that moment, the housekeeper Liu Quan shouted from downstairs, "Master, Tao Gongjin is here."
Zhang Zhaolin replied to Liu Quan, "Let him wait in the front hall; I will be there shortly."
Looking at the bowl of Braised Pork in his hands, Zhang Zhaolin sighed and suddenly said, "Xing Er, I know that Tao Ziwen hasn't treated you well. Just wait and see how I deal with him."
With that, Zhang Zhaolin took the bowl of Braised Pork downstairs.
Hearing that her father was going to deal with Tao Ziwen, Zhang Xin could no longer lie still. She weakly got out of bed, walked to the door, and opened it, shouting down to Zhang Zhaolin, "If you dare to touch Tao Ziwen, I will jump down from here!"
Zhang Zhaolin stood in the hall below and looked up at Zhang Xin on the second floor. "If you want me not to deal with him, then you obediently eat this bowl of Braised Pork."
Zhang Xin walked down the stairs and took the bowl of Braised Pork from Zhang Zhaolin's hands. She sat on the sofa in the hall and began to eat heartily.
"That's more like it, Xing Er." Seeing his daughter finally willing to eat, Zhang Zhaolin's mood lifted immediately. He gently patted Zhang Xin's back and continued, "I only have you as my daughter; you are my precious one. Whoever dares to bully you will definitely not get away with it!"
Zhang Zhaolin left and went to the front hall. Zhang Xin watched Zhang Zhaolin's back, tears welling up in her eyes.
In the front hall, Tao Ziwen, who was waiting, quickly stood up and cupped his fists in greeting, saying, "Supreme Commander."
"Stop with the formalities! If it weren't for you being Tao Gongjin's son, I'd shoot you on the spot!"
With that, Zhang Zhaolin angrily sat down in the armchair. Tao Ziwen looked embarrassed.
Zhang Zhaolin said, "I have a long-standing friendship with your father, and I am a major shareholder of Dow Pharmaceuticals. I promised my daughter to you; that's a blessing you've earned over three lifetimes. I asked you to spend more time with my daughter, yet you took her to Sanli Pavilion?"
Tao Ziwen hurriedly replied, "I went there for a case; I didn't know Zhang Xin would follow."
Zhang Zhaolin didn't want to delve into the details and said, "Forget it; let's not bring up the past. That incident hit Xing Er hard; she's been hiding upstairs. As a military man, I have no experience with this. Xing Er likes you, so for these few days, don’t go to the police station. Take Xing Er out and spend some time with her."
Tao Ziwen looked troubled. "Supreme Commander, I'm a police officer!"
"I know you're a police officer," Zhang Zhaolin replied. "Don't worry; even if you don't go to the police station, the Sheriff won't dare to make things difficult for you."
Tao Ziwen gritted his teeth and finally mustered the courage to say, "I came here to tell you that I don't agree with the engagement arranged by you and my father. I would like to consider Zhang Xin as my cousin."
Tao Ziwen didn't notice Zhang Zhaolin's dark expression and continued, "I already have someone I like."
Zhang Zhaolin coldly asked, "Is that girl who runs a coffee shop named Cheng?"
Tao Ziwen looked at Zhang Zhaolin, unsure how to respond to his question. Just then, Mei rushed out from behind in a panic and shouted at Zhang Zhaolin, "Not good! Not good! Sister is missing! Sir, sister is missing!"
Zhang Zhaolin's expression changed dramatically: "Where did she go?"
"She... she only left this note..."
Zhang Zhaolin snatched the note from Mei's hand, read it once, slammed it on the table, and then drew a handgun from his waist, aiming it at Mei: "You useless piece of trash!"
Tao Ziwen rushed over in time to push down Zhang Zhaolin's arm.
"Tao Ziwen: 'Supreme Commander, this has nothing to do with her. The priority now is to find Zhang Xin.'"
Zhang Zhaolin suppressed his anger and sat back down in the armchair. Tao Ziwen picked up the note and saw a brief sentence written on it: "Dad, ever since Sanli Pavilion returned, I suddenly feel more stifled at home. I want to go out for a walk, perhaps never to return."
Zhang Xin had exited through the back door of the Zhang Family. She casually hailed a taxi on the street and got in.
The taxi driver asked Zhang Xin: "Miss, where to?"
Zhang Xin replied with a sorrowful expression: "Just keep driving west until there’s no road left, or stop whenever I say so."
And so, Zhang Xin drove away with the taxi.
...
Outside the port, Cheng Shuhua was walking and talking with a man of similar age.
This man was the general manager of the port. Tao Gongjin had to go through this port for every shipment, so this man provided Cheng Shuhua with information about Tao Gongjin's shipments, allowing Cheng Shuhua to stay informed about the goods entering and leaving Dow Pharmaceuticals Group.
The man's name is Xu Zhongping, and the Cheng Sisters affectionately refer to him as "Uncle Xu." Long before Cheng Shuhua met Zhou Junsheng, Xu Zhongping had a romantic connection with her.
Cheng Shuhua shared with Xu Zhongping that their trio had been discovered by Guo Zhuanghuai. At that moment, they were discussing how to deal with the impending crisis.
Cheng Shuhua said, "I think the situation is more complicated than we imagined. Since they've recognized us, I believe we should stop operating the café. If we continue, something serious will eventually happen."
Xu Zhongping disagreed, saying, "If you stop the café, it will imply that you are carrying Thorned Rose. In that case, they will do everything possible to eliminate you. The most important thing right now is for you to return home quickly. Once you are home, with the influence of the Zhou family and the Ou family, no one in Shanghai would dare to harm you."
Cheng Shuhua lowered her head in silence.
Xu Zhongping understood what was on Cheng Shuhua's mind and asked, "Are you still hesitant about going home?"
"I'm afraid that once we return home, Tao Gongjin and Zhang Zhaolin will discover my daughter's identity and won't let us go."
"If Zhou Junsheng hadn't been looking for you, he wouldn't have been kidnapped and wouldn't have developed a drug addiction because of it."
"I know," Cheng Shuhua said with mixed emotions. "Now our home is surrounded by the police; if we rashly return, we might fall into a trap."
Xu Zhongping replied, "They won't be able to surround it for long. In the meantime, you can contact your brother. You don't have much of the antidote left. Once it's used up, you'll have to go back."
Xu Zhongping and Cheng Shuhua arrived at a long bench where Xu Zhongping sat down.
Cheng Shuhua sighed, "Yes, the antidote still needs Zhou Junsheng to make it."
Cheng Shuhua sat beside Xu Zhongping.
Xu Zhongping provided Cheng Shuhua with news about a shipment from Dow Pharmaceuticals: "Recently, Dow Pharmaceuticals has imported a lot of illegal drugs. It seems these are the two that have arrived. Cheng Yuyao and Cheng Yuwan have both collapsed, so it might be difficult for you to seize the goods alone."
"Then let's let this one go," Cheng Shuhua paused for a moment, looking at Xu Zhongping with gratitude. "Without the information you provided, my sisters and I wouldn't have been able to destroy so many illegal drugs from Dow Pharmaceuticals."
"We're all in the same boat," Xu Zhongping sighed. "If you hadn't gone to study in the UK and met Zhou Junsheng, perhaps we could have become... Ah! Fate plays tricks on us!"
Cheng Shuhua replied, "If I had married you, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."
Xu Zhongping looked at Cheng Shuhua and said, "That's true. In that case, we would be living a completely different life."
Cheng Shuhua felt a bit flustered and quickly said, "I need to get back. My sisters are still resting at home, and I need to prepare medicine for them."
"Alright, take care," Xu Zhongping said as he stood up to bid farewell when he saw Cheng Shuhua getting ready to leave.
Cheng Shuhua smiled slightly and then walked away.
Xu Zhongping looked on with regret.
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