Back To The 80s-Chapter 454 - 464: Objective _1

Gu Xiaobei had also lost his appetite. He had already eaten outside. Anything else aside, he was simply curious as to why Guo Huaqiang had suddenly started to show goodwill towards Lu Zhanguo.

Considering Guo Huaqiang’s state, the greatest possibility is acting out of interests. Xiaobei couldn’t help but ask Xiangmin, "What’s Guo up to these days?"

Xiangmin glanced at Guo Huaqiang, and said with a laugh, "He is trading timber in a little bit of business with someone."

Xiaobei nodded, "That does sound like it can be quite profitable."

After small talk that felt dry and uninteresting, Xiaobei felt that it was time to call it a night. He expressed his thoughts to Zhanguo, "Let’s go home. It’s getting late. Xiaopang and Mo Wang must be making a ruckus back home."

Zhanguo nodded, picked up the bottle of liquor, filled up his own cup and Guo Huaqiang’s, and took a deep drink. He gave Guo a meaningful look and said, "Regardless of the business you’re in, never forget you were once a man of the battlefield."

After that, he left with Xiaobei.

Once the couple had left, Guo Huaqiang’s face darkened. He glared at Xiangmin and said through gritted teeth, "Get out!"

Startled, Xiangmin stood up, her eyes landed on the child in Ding Guihua’s arms. She said, "Didn’t you say that as long as I maintain a good relationship with Xiaobei and his group, you would let me see the child?"

Guo Huaqiang gave a scornful laugh. "You? Just leave. You’ll taint the child’s eyes."

Tears gushed down Xiangmin’s face. Looking at Ding Guihua, she pleaded, "Mom, please, just let me stay with Xinxin for a little while. Just a little while."

Ding Guihua pressed the child’s face into her embrace and said bitterly, "Don’t call me Mom. I can’t bear it. Where were you when the child needed a mother? You left her, and now you come back pretending to be a mother. Xinxin doesn’t need you."

Xiangmin stood frozen, staring at the child in Ding Guihua’s arms. She felt regret. She had felt life had become too hard, with her heart weary every day, disputes with Ding Guihua, cold war with Guo Huaqiang; she felt like she was on the brink of collapsing.

Finally, in a moment of desperation, she had abandoned the child and ran away from home. The moment she stepped out of the house, she felt regret, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize and return. Hoping that Guo Huaqiang would come looking for her, she hung around in the city for a while. But he never did, so she just hopped on a train and went to the provincial city.

She didn’t have much money, so she took odd jobs here and there. When she was desperate and couldn’t find work, she even sold her blood a few times until she ran into Ding Guihua shopping for groceries while carrying Xinxin. She couldn’t resist and followed them back to where Guo Huaqiang was currently living.

No matter how hard life had gotten, she never cheated on Guo Huaqiang or sought out other men. So, despite her mistakes, she believed she hadn’t done anything to wrong Guo Huaqiang.

Seeing Xiangmin standing there, crying endlessly, Guo Huaqiang got up with a scowl, gave the stool a kick and snapped, "Go cry somewhere else. No one’s going to sympathize with you." Then turning to Ding Guihua, he said, "Mom, take Xinxin and go home first. I’ll be back in a bit."

Hearing this, Ding Guihua left the private room cradling Xinxin. When she passed by Xiangmin, she contemptuously spat at her and cursed, "You shameless hussy."

Guo Huaqiang too followed and left. Before closing the door, he warned Xiangmin, "You’d better know what you’re doing. Otherwise, you can forget about ever seeing Xinxin again." And with that, he slammed the door behind him.

Watching the door being slammed shut, Xiangmin couldn’t help but collapse to the ground. She buried her head in her hands and wept.

Upon exiting the doorstep of Huixiang Building, Xiaobei suggested that they ride their bicycles back at a leisurely pace to digest their meal.

As they walked, Zhanguo pushed his bicycle along, and Xiaobei hooked his arm. It was dark anyway, and nobody would notice.

Zhanguo felt a bit awkward at first, but he let her have her way as long as she was happy.

"Do you think Guo Huaqiang and Xiangmin have really reconciled?" Xiaobei asked, seeking some gossip.

"Unlikely, did you see how Xiangmin would carefully glance at Guo Huaqiang every time she spoke?" said Zhanguo, who felt like the two were just putting on a show.

Xiaobei nodded, "Yes, you’re right. When we walked in, none of the three had happy faces. I couldn’t help but wonder why Guo Huaqiang suddenly wanted to make amends with us." Speaking, she casually slung her second arm around Zhanguo’s and leaned her body into his, letting him pull her along.

"I’ll have someone check on what Guo Huaqiang is really doing in the provincial city. As for Xiangmin, just ignore her if she comes to see you again," said Zhanguo.

"Right, don’t worry. I never pay attention to unimportant people. I was just curious about why Guo Huaqiang and Xiangmin suddenly resurfaced. It’s very strange," responded Xiaobei, who was merely interested in Guo Huaqiang and Xiangmin’s intentions at this point.

Zhanguo suddenly remembered the case last time when Xaio Bei was robbed of 20000 yuan worth of goods. The goods disappeared under strange circumstances, and Xiaobei had suspected an insider.

If it was Guo Huaqiang’s doing, then he also knew Chen Zhao and the others. Was it possible that they inadvertently leaked information?

He glanced sideways at Xiaobei, who was listlessly kicking pebbles on the road. His gaze darkened; if Guo Huaqiang dared to mess with Xiaobei, he would not hesitate to take his life.

Suddenly, Xiaobei looked up and rewarded Zhanguo’s concerned gaze with a bright smile. "Do you still remember the first time we visited the park together?"

Zhanguo was stunned by the sudden brilliance of her smile. A smile crept onto his face as he replied, "Let’s just go straight home, not bothering to pick up Xiaopang and Mo Wang."

"Why?" As soon as Xiaobei asked, she immediately understood. This man was in a hurry to get home and ’do homework’.

After they entered their home, Xiaobei had just taken off her shoes and removed her coat when Zhanguo suddenly pounced on her, kissing and nipping enthusiastically.

"Be gentle..." Xiaobei said, holding the head resting on her chest. He had a habit of marking her each time.

However, any sounds she made only spurred him to be rougher.

Right when things were heating up and could not be put off...

There was a knock on the door.

The knocking at the door was relentless, the rhythmic beats becoming more and more urgent.

Xiaobei pushed the man on top of her, "Quick, go see who it is. What if it’s something urgent?" She was confident that it was Hongmei, who lived across them, knocking on the door.

Panting heavily, Zhanguo lay on Xiaobei’s neck. Whoever was at the door had better bring earth-shattering news.

Once he had composed himself, Zhanguo told Xiaobei to go to the bedroom while he went to answer the door.

Xiaobei gathered the clothes on the sofa and the floor and ran towards the bedroom like a thief.

After Xiaobei had closed the bedroom door, Zhanguo, with a dark expression, finally opened the front door to see an anxious looking Zhao Hongmei.

Zhao Hongmei could tell that the couple had just gotten home and were busy because her knocks had gone unanswered for a while. However, she had her own urgent matter that provoked her to come knocking despite everything.

"Did my sister-in-law need something?" a frowning Zhanguo asked.

"Is Xiaobei here? I need to see her... It’s urgent," Zhao Hongmei expressed her urgency.

Zhanguo glanced at her then turned around to call Xiaobei from the bedroom.