CH 143

“To tell the truth, I don’t know.”

The old director chuckled drily. “Would it still be called anonymous, otherwise? They didn’t show up when signing the paperwork, not even for the donation acknowledgement letter and the letter of gratitude we extended to them. What we obtained in the end was actual funds and a very… um… signature.” 

Gu Yan, “…”

A very… um… What was that supposed to convey?

The director was also well aware that this consortium behind the scenes might be critical to them. After a moment of deliberation, he said, “How about this, I’ll find a way to obtain the past files for you. Of course, I don’t have that much authority to give you access to the confidential documents, but I might be able to manage some documents like the acknowledgement and thank you letters. Do you need them?”

Given their present circumstance, naturally, the more clues the better. 

No matter how insignificant.

“That’ll be ideal. Thank you,” Gu Yan said.

The old director said, “But it’ll take some time. I need to contact some trusted friends. And I can’t guarantee that they are available now—”

He glanced at the time. “—They probably won’t be in a meeting at this time, but they could be dealing with some problem or other. You know, tiresome affairs always have the worst timings. They don’t come in the day, but just love to crop up right when you’re about to clock off work.”

Perhaps afraid that they’d be in poor spirits, the director cracked a joke, winking at Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi, eternally young at heart.

Yan Suizhi smiled, going along with his words. “I know this too well. It’s probably some cosmic law of the universe.”

Cosmic law prevailed.

The old director spent a long time trying to contact his friends only to be returned with busy tones. 

“What did I say,” the director shrugged, saying helplessly. “They might be unavailable until nighttime.”

Time moved much faster in Wine City than in De Carma.

It took only the span of what felt like a short conversation and a few calls for the sky to be dyed a black umber.

Joe and Ke Jin finally came out of the shut room. 

“I just got a call from Laura. She’s hitching a ride on her friend’s private cargo shuttle and will be reaching tonight.” Joe waved his smart device at Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan.

His throat was even more hoarse now.

“My goodness, dear child.” At the sound of his voice, the old director practically shoved a teacup into his hands. “Drink some tea and moisten your throat. How did your voice get so hoarse.”

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Llr fzqgfrrlbc jqqfjgfv ojaluefv, jcv atf gfv lc tlr fsfr tjv sfa ab gfmfvf. Lbkfnfg, tf ibbxfv wemt yfaafg atjc yfobgf.

Xe Tjc wfjregfv tlw eq jcv rfa tlr wlcv ja fjrf. Lf vlvc’a rjs wemt, wfgfis qjaalcu tlr rtbeivfg.

Joe was all too familiar with his best bud’s way of showing concern. He said, “Don’t worry, I’m not mad anymore.”

He requested for warm water and handed it to Ke Jin, watching the other slowly drinking it in little sips, then spoke gloomily, “Some people who didn’t get it said that Ke Jin was very dependent on me and that I was the one supporting him. Frankly, I was so narcissistic that I also believed that. It’s only afterwards I found out that he was actually the one supporting me…” 

“When I was contacting my friends earlier, I was actually a bit unable to control myself. My whole head was cursing out the Sweeper’s ancestors, rehearsing how I’d torture him if I ever found him, how to get him to fall to his knees begging for remorse, how to get him to lose his mind and experience absolute desperation and desolation… how to get him killed.”

Joe trailed off into silence, then he sneered. “All of that filled my head. I wasn’t even sure if I accidentally talked crazy while on the comms.”

That was why he stood in a corner through it all, never turning his head back for a long time.

“But when I looked into his eyes, those words wouldn’t come out.” 

As long as looked at Ke Jin, the other’s once crisp and clean voice would ring in his mind, joking with a straight face, “—No, stop, don’t disrupt my logic. The anger has shot to my head, you’re not to mess me up. I’m planning to collect every piece of evidence and honourably slap it on that scum’s face. Your ‘lynching him in a sack’ is pure chaos; don’t lead me astray.”

He didn’t know how many similar speeches came to his head, rising and falling one after the other, drowning out the madness bit by bit.

As long as Ke Jin was by his side, he could swiftly calm down, pull himself together, and even force out a chuckle.

And then, things wouldn’t seem that bad anymore. 

“I just made a vow to him that I will collect all the evidence and honourably pin this beast in the courthouse. Like this, whilst getting me out of my rebellious phase, after he… after he recovers, who knows. Maybe he’ll be happy.”

—

No matter how proficient Joe’s friends were, it still took them a while to obtain results.

So, they left the old director, intending to settle down at their accommodations first. 

Joe had similar tastes to Gu Yan when it came to booking hotels in Wine City, usually staying at Silver Tea on Kale Avenue whenever he came down. The night in that area was relatively quiet and conducive for rest. However, after the whole affair with the herdingbird was brought to light, he felt that it was too quiet and was conversely unable to calm his mind, changing his booking to a hotel in the busiest commercial district of Wine City instead.

While conversing, they walked down to the welfare home’s courtyard.

At this time, some of the young men who had come to help out were calling it a day, loosening their muscles and chit-chatting as they prepared to go home.

Joshua Dale jogged over the moment he saw Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan. He was still scratching his head somewhat awkwardly at first, but when he heard Joe say the name of the hotel, his eyes instantly brightened. “So you’re going to be staying at Two Moon Street?” 

“Yes.” Gu Yan nodded.

“That’s great. If it’s Two Moon Street, then that’ll be much closer to us…” Joshua said. “Grandma Kitty would like to invite you for dinner, is that okay?”

“Grandma Kitty?” Yan Suizhi exchanged a look with Gu Yan, thinking that this address was quite interesting. “Are you talking about your neighbour, Ms Kitty Bell?”

Joshua nodded. “Yeah, that’s her.” 

Yan Suizhi arched his brows. “Incredible, you abducted a grandmother for yourself like that?”

“What do you mean abducted!” Joshua Dale’s tanned face flushed. He glared at Yan Suizhi.

Despite the days that they hadn’t seen each other, Yan Suizhi was still able to turn this little brat red-necked.

Seeing that he couldn’t win this fight, Joshua threw down a line. “Hold on a sec.” 

He turned heel and ran out of the gates, towing someone back with him.

It was a boy a few years older than him, but in Yan Suizhi’s eyes, he was a little brat all the same.

“Go on.” Joshua flung the boy in front of everyone, stepping to the side like an overseer.

“Erm… I’m Chester, we’ve met before.” The boy’s expression immediately turned guilt-ridden at the sight of Yan Suizhi. “About that… is your leg doing well?” 

Yan Suizhi, “Pretty well. Would you like to say hi to it?”

Chester, “…”

Gu Yan, “…”

As soon as Gu Yan heard that someone was starting to speak in non-human language again, he opened his mouth to ask, “Has Kitty Bell recovered?” 

Chester, red-necked victim no. 2, was extricated from his predicament. He immediately said, “She’s fine now. She got better long ago, she’s in the pink of health now.”

Gu Yan nodded.

“So here’s the thing,” Chester said. “Joshua told me that you guys were here, and I told Grandma Kitty. She made sure I came over to invite all of you to dinner. As… an apology for scalding you with water last time, as well as a thank you for helping with the case.”

Seeing that Yan Suizhi and the others were about to politely decline, Joshua added, “Whether Chester can sleep at home tonight rides on this dinner.” 

When they arrived at Kitty Bell’s house, they discovered some major changes.

The wall that had separated Joshua’s and Kitty’s houses had been bored through, and now a door with direct access to both sides stood between, essentially merging the two houses into one property.

This old lady who had been hurt and hospitalised never turned away from kindness, taking the two siblings, who had also suffered from the cae, under her wing, giving them an elder and a home to rely on. 

But this house was still small even after the merging. The dining table was a traditional long table, just barely adequate to fit everyone.

Whether it was Yan Suizhi, Gu Yan, Joe, or Ke Jin, all of them were not lacking in height. When they sat down, it was a bit of a tight fit.

Such a dining experience was a first for Yan Suizhi and the rest, with Ke Jin being the only exception. He had experienced the same crowded atmosphere having spent his childhood in an orphanage, with arms pressing up against arms, and at times without space to even set down their hands. However, they had a particularly warm and fun nanny looking over them, so those days weren’t too grim for him, and he’d even be nostalgic for it from time to time.

Of course, these were only what Joe and Gu Yan had once heard Ke Jin say. 

When he heard it, Joe actually was unable to understand how someone could still be happy when squeezed with others. Yet now, crowded around the table, everyone felt that it actually wasn’t that bad.

Joshua Dale’s sister, Rosie, had her eyes crinkled into a smile when she saw Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan.

This young girl clung to the door frame without entering, and after smiling at them, she whipped her head around and dashed off. After a while, she skidded back into the room. She stuffed two candies into Yan Suizhi’s hand, then stuffed two candies into Gu Yan’s as well.

Joe and Ke Jin were strangers to her. If this were in the past, she would have ignored them. But this time, groundbreakingly, she stuffed candies in their hands too. 

Joshua Dale critiqued, “The little missy is going delirious with delight.”

This was the purest and most direct kindness from a child. No one was capable of refusing it.

However, when Rosie was stuffing Ke Jin candy, everyone’s palms had secretly worked out a sweat. It was too easy for this unexpected action to shock Ke Jin out of his own world, causing an emotional outburst.

Ke Jin stared at the sweets on his palm for a long time before reacting. 

He unwrapped one and placed it into his mouth. After a long while, he pressed the other one onto Joe’s hand.

And so… lil’ Young Master Joe went delirious with delight.