Plunder-Chapter 268: Shocking the Tiger by Beating the Mountain
Director Huang didn’t stay long at Chu Garden before he left.
Zhou Jin’an then went back to his study for a while before returning to his bedroom.
It was almost eleven o’clock, and usually at this time, Qiao En would have already been asleep.
Zhou Jin’an tiptoed into the room, for fear of waking Qiao En. Just as he lifted a corner of the blanket to lie down, Qiao En opened her eyes.
"Did I wake you?"
Zhou Jin’an felt somewhat apologetic.
Qiao En shook her head, "I didn’t fall asleep at all."
He reached out his arms and pulled Qiao En into his embrace, "You have something you want to talk about, right?"
"Today’s incident, we were quite out of line, I even got impulsive and shouldn’t have called Director Huang."
Qiao En reflected.
Zhou Jin’an patted her on the shoulder, "You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s them who were truly despicable and shameless. En’en, I’m sorry that you had to suffer because of me."
Ever since they were young, Yao Chuman regarded Zhou Jin’an as a thorn in her side. He could get used to it, but he didn’t want the person he loved deeply to bear this grievance with him.
Qiao En wrapped her arms around Zhou Jin’an’s waist, "I’m not feeling aggrieved, I just feel bad for you."
Time seemed to stand still at that moment, and Zhou Jin’an remained silent for a long time.
Yao Chuman treated him that way, and Zhou Zhendong had always known it, but as a father, he had never intervened.
Even sometimes, he would stand on Yao Chuman’s side and together they would blame him.
As for Mrs. Zhou, she was only ever intent on clearing her own name, never really caring about him, let alone asking if he was doing well.
They didn’t care, and that had shaped him into someone who never shared his feelings with anyone.
But now, Qiao En, his wife, she told him she felt for him.
His hardened heart seemed to crack open, feeling the warmth of the sun for the first time.
He was speechless and could only hold her tightly.
"I have a suggestion."
Qiao En looked up at Zhou Jin’an.
With Yao Chuman making such a scene outdoors, it was both ugly and embarrassing.
Though she was old and dishonorable, she was still Zhou Jin’an’s stepmother.
Family shame should not be spread abroad.
It couldn’t be allowed for outsiders to point at Zhou Jin’an’s backbone and curse him for being unfilial.
"What is it?"
Zhou Jin’an asked, lowering his head.
"Don’t immediately oppose what I will tell you; I hope you will seriously consider my suggestion."
"Hmm."
Zhou Jin’an responded.
"Once the issue with An Jinhua is settled, I’d like to invite Mrs. Zhou and the others for a meal. Although they haven’t treated you like family, as juniors, we mustn’t lack manners. Director Zhou has always been very supportive of you, and I can tell he is sincere. Even if it is just for his sake, we should maintain a facade of harmony in the family."
As Qiao En finished speaking, Zhou Jin’an’s eyebrows were already deeply furrowed.
Having to sit at the same table with Yao Chuman and her son for a meal, he couldn’t imagine it.
"Let’s do it later."
He pulled his arm back and turned to burrow into the blankets.
"It’s quite late, let’s sleep earlier."
He added.
Qiao En understood that Zhou Jin’an instinctively resisted the idea.
She didn’t say much more, instead giving him space to consider.
As the bedside lamp was turned off, Zhou Jin’an lay with his eyes tightly shut, but couldn’t fall asleep at all.
What hovered relentlessly in his mind were memories from his childhood.
The first day Yao Chuman entered the Zhou family, he lost the privilege to sit at the dining table for meals.
It was Sister Rong who held him and fed him in the kitchen.
Back then, he was just over three years old, still an ignorant child.
Now, after more than twenty years, should he really be the one to seek reconciliation?
A voice in his heart kept firmly saying "no."
As dawn broke lightly, Zhou Jin’an got out of bed.
He changed into workout clothes and ran along the green trail of the back mountain.
When Qiao En woke up, Zhou Jin’an had already left the house.
She had finished washing up and was coming downstairs when Sister Rong was busy in the kitchen.
"Young Madam, please rest a bit, breakfast will be ready soon."
"Sister Rong, no rush, I’m not hungry yet."
Qiao En went to the back garden.
The garden’s hibiscus trees bloomed, clusters of pink. The two tall scholar trees were also showing their unique autumn charm.
There was a bench under the hibiscus tree, and Qiao En sat down to quietly appreciate the beauty of the scholar trees.
Suddenly, a scream came from the living room.
Qiao En immediately headed back and saw Sister Rong’s face pale with fright.
"Sister Rong, what happened?"
Qiao En quickened her pace towards her, but Sister Rong, terrified, kept waving her hands at Qiao En.
"Young Madam, don’t come closer."
"What exactly happened?"
Qiao En kept moving forward.
There was a newly opened foam box on the table, and Sister Rong held the tool used to open the box.
She was really frightened, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Qiao En leaned in and took one look, and her face also turned deathly pale.
In the foam box, lay a blood-soaked rat.
Look carefully and you can even see a newly formed baby mouse lying next to the adult one.
To kill a person is to stab at the heart.
"Young Madam, please go back to your room. Don’t look at these disgusting things."
Sister Rong quickly supported Qiao En.
Her heart was pounding nonstop.
Two mice, a large and a small one.
What was sent was not just mice, but a representation of Qiao En and the child in her womb.
She wasn’t foolish, she understood the sender’s intent.
Sister Rong helped Qiao En sit down on the sofa, "I’ll call the young master."
As she spoke, she immediately called Zhou Jin’an, but he hadn’t taken his cell phone with him when he went out for a run.
Qiao En suddenly realized something and immediately instructed, "Quick, have someone look for the young master."
Since Cheng Lu was not there, Sister Rong had no choice but to call the driver, Fang Ping.
"Okay, I’ll head to the back mountain right away."
Upon receiving the call, Fang Ping immediately went to carry out the task.
Qiao En calmed down for a moment, then quickly got up and walked towards the foam box again.
But Sister Rong stopped her, "Young Madam, please don’t look anymore. Let the young master handle this."
"I won’t look, just show me the address on the delivery box."
Sister Rong hurriedly did as instructed.
The foam box had an address on it, but it was clearly a fake address.
It appeared someone had deliberately done this.
About twenty minutes later, Fang Ping brought back Zhou Jin’an.
"What’s the matter?"
Fang Ping, not knowing the details, only told Zhou Jin’an there was an emergency at home, and he rushed back, seeing that Qiao En was not looking unusual.
Sister Rong pointed towards the box.
"Just now I heard the doorbell ring and went out to check. There was a delivery box at the door, this one. I thought it was something the young master or young mistress had ordered, so I brought the box inside. When I opened it, to my surprise, inside were two dead mice!"
Sister Rong recounted what had happened.
Zhou Jin’an’s face turned ashen, and he immediately instructed Fang Ping to check the surveillance around Chu Garden.
Soon, the surveillance video was brought up.
A man in full black attire appeared on a motorcycle, left the box, and then departed.
He wore a cap and a mask, hiding his face completely.
However, his build was very tall and sturdy.
"Young master, we should call the police!"
Sister Rong suggested.
Zhou Jin’an pondered for a moment, then nodded.
Half an hour later, personnel dispatched by Director Huang arrived.
Professional investigation tools were in place, but they couldn’t pinpoint the man.
His counter-surveillance capabilities were too strong; he had worn gloves and shoe covers, so his fingerprints were nowhere on the box, and he hadn’t even left footprints at the door.
"I appreciate your efforts. If there’s any news, let me know," Zhou Jin’an instructed.
Qiao En was seriously frightened, and her heart was in turmoil.
The implication of the two mice was all too clear.
"Were you scared?"
Zhou Jin’an helped her to sit down on the sofa.
Qiao En’s face looked terrible, "I’m not scared, I’m just afraid they might hurt the baby."
The security around Chu Garden was already very strict, but the fact that the other party could still penetrate so many barriers raised Zhou Jin’an’s alert.
The unseen hand lurking in the shadows was more formidable than he had assumed.
"I won’t go to the office today; I’ll stay home with you."
He couldn’t bear to leave Qiao En alone to face her fear.
However, Zhou Jin’an ended up working from home for three days, and Chu Garden returned to its calm state.
"You should go back to the office; there are so many things that need your attention there. I won’t be alone; Sister Rong is with me, I’ll be fine."
Qiao En urged Zhou Jin’an to go to the office.
"If anything happens, call me immediately, I’ll come back right away."
Zhou Jin’an had arranged almost twenty people in Chu Garden to protect Qiao En around the clock, twenty-four hours a day.
That day, Zhou Jin’an went to the office early.
Sister Rong, escorted by two bodyguards, went out to buy groceries and came back two hours later.
Throughout the trip, nothing unusual happened.
Life seemed to have returned to its tranquil beginning.
When Sister Rong came back, Qiao En was warming porridge in the kitchen.
She had gotten up a bit late, and the porridge had cooled off.
"Young Madam, you go and rest; I’ll take care of the warming," Sister Rong set down the grocery basket and went to help.
Seeing the especially fresh vegetables in the basket, Qiao En said, "Sister Rong, let me add some greens to the porridge."
Sister Rong, stirring the porridge with a spoon, replied, "Sure, those vegetables are fresh; they will taste great. I’ll handle it."
As she spoke, she put down the spoon and was about to go do it.
Qiao En had already grabbed a handful of greens.
Suddenly, something caught her fingers.
Qiao En looked down to find that a thin line was tangled around her fingers.
At the end of that line, shockingly, was connected to a bomb.
