Chapter 45

They waited for Ling Yucheng to pick them up. They went to the police station to give a statement, and Ling Yucheng stayed in the hospital to help the family members of the injured. The night wasn’t very cold. The heat during the day was gone, and the evening breeze carried a comfortable temperature. Jiang Tingzhou looked up at the night sky without stars, perhaps because of what Ling Yucheng said and maybe because of Su Meng who sat beside him. He was always a little impetuous, and for the first time he felt a sense of peace.

In fact, Ling Yucheng left another sentence when he passed by before they were taken away by the police. What Ling Yucheng said to him was, “Settle accounts after the autumn harvest (to wait until the time is ripe to settle accounts.)” He pointed out another way to protect the people he cared about. It was true that the impulsive actions may vent his anger, but in fact, that was the most crude and straightforward method, and it most likely to cause endless troubles.

Su Meng raised her head and saw the dark sky and blinked, “There are no stars.”

When she was a child, she occasionally went to the country’s grandmother’s house. The countryside environment was good, and one could see the twinkling stars above their head at night. It was just a pity that her family all left in that earthquake one after another. Maybe  she would never set foot in Grandma’s house again in her life.

Jiang Tingzhou retracted his gaze towards the sky, and looked sideways at Su Meng, who looked up at the night sky. Her eyelashes were long, and when she blinked, he always felt a bit of innocence that needed protection. He couldn’t hold back, stretched out his hand and gently stroked her long and curly eyelashes with his fingers.

Su Meng felt it, patted his hand off, and glared at him, the big villain. Jiang Tingzhou was silent for two seconds, and it was rare that he didn’t ‘bully’ like usual. Her eyes were clear, simple, and her unique innocence makes people want… to always protect her innocence. A car stopped not far from them. It was Ling Yucheng who came to pick them up.

After they got into the car, Jiang Tingzhou and Ling Yucheng’s eyes collided through the rearview mirror. The two didn’t continue to discuss what happened in the Moon Bay Hotel. The incident was considered to be repressed. It was late, Su Meng who was frightened at night, was already a little groggy at that time. When they reached the door of Ling’s house, the old couple were already waiting there.

The two old people were not young anymore. They should have been asleep at this time, but they were still waiting at the door anxiously for their return. After seeing them, Su Meng’s sleepiness disappeared.

She made them worried. After some cold and warm questions, Su Meng turned around and realized that Jiang Tingzhou had left. At that time, the old couple were busy and distressingly let her and Ling Yucheng into the house. Grandma Zhang held her hand and said distressedly, “Mengmeng, you were frightened today.”

Su Meng shook her head and said softly, “That person didn’t succeed.” There was no danger, because Jiang Tingzhou stopped him in time. Grandma Zhang said gratifiedly, “That’s good.” She glanced at the time and said, “Go back to the room and take a bath early, then go to bed. If you are afraid, then tell me.”

Su Meng continued to shake her head, her tone was gentle, “Grandma, don’t worry, I’m not afraid.”

Grandma Zhang gently touched Su Meng’s head and let her go back to the room. After Su Meng took a shower, she fell into a sweet dream as soon as she touched her head on the warm and comfortable pillow. On the other side, Jiang Tingzhou didn’t sleep all night. He sat at the desk with his back straight, his hands on the desk, his eyes down slightly, as he was thinking about something. He didn’t even turn on the light, the curtains were tightly drawn, and the room was pitch black and no light could penetrate through it. Slowly, the sun rose little by little from the east, and the warm sun shined through the curtains into the room little by little. It wasn’t until the sunlight illuminated the whole room that he took his cell phone out of his pocket and called his grandpa for the first time in his life.

His mother died early. His mother’s relatives, other than his uncle, weren’t close to his grandparents. His grandfather had only two children, one was his younger uncle and the other was his mother. His uncle was in his early thirties and was devoted to his career. He hadn’t married or had children, and Jiang Tingzou was his grandfather’s only grandson. The relationship between his grandfather and his grandson wasn’t close, because back then, his grandfather strictly refused his mother to marry his father. His grandfather felt that although Jiang Guangshi looked like a loyal dog, he was a beast inside. Moreover, the Jiang family’s qualifications and status were actually not comparable to his mother’s. And his mother had a better choice back then. Due to Jiang Guangshi’s affairs, his mother quarreled with his grandfather, and their quarrels became fiercer. In the end, his mother insisted on marrying his father. And as grandpa expected from the beginning, Jiang Guangshi was indeed a well-dressed beast, and her married life wasn’t happy.