Chapter 231 - 105: Sheepdog (Part 2)

Chapter 231: Chapter 105: Sheepdog (Part 2)

Zhang Shutong and Song Nanshan got out of the car. Song went to have a word with the lead police officer, while Zhang Shutong watched the four bodyguards unload professional gear from their vehicle.

Riot shields, head-mounted searchlights, tactical vests... Boss Gu was really throwing his money around. Zhang Shutong had no idea where he’d managed to procure so much equipment in such a short time.

Zhang Shutong watched as the four bodyguards began a grid search around the villa. They were drawing a hefty salary, and with a direct order to protect their young miss, they were so thorough they looked ready to tear apart every clump of wild grass.

’All of Gu Qiuyan’s little followers combined couldn’t compare to a single one of them.’

Zhang Shutong wanted to tell them, ’Don’t bother looking. I’ve already checked everywhere. There’s really nothing here.’ But they were professionals, and it wasn’t his place to interfere.

No one paid any attention to a kid like him, so he wandered around the yard. He would occasionally turn his head, hoping to find more clues, but it was difficult. ’Maybe Song was right,’ he thought. ’I should take a break. If I stay here any longer, I’ll go crazy.’

As he walked, he unconsciously found himself by the doghouse in the backyard. The Doberman was inside, dozing. Zhang Shutong had been a bit afraid of dogs as a child. He wasn’t scared anymore, but he still instinctively wanted to steer clear. Just then, however, the dog opened its eyes. The boy and the dog stared at each other. For some reason, the dog didn’t bark this time.

’Maybe because this is the third time it’s seen me, it considers me an acquaintance?’

Zhang Shutong felt a certain connection to the big fellow. He even felt a proud urge to tell it, ’You know, if it weren’t for me, you stupid dog, you would’ve been poisoned.’ But it was just a thought. The Doberman glanced at him once before lying back down to doze in its house. It was so sleepy its eyes wouldn’t even open fully, and a content, puffing sound came from its throat.

Only then did Zhang Shutong realize this was an old dog living a retired life.

Father Gu had raised it from a young age. It no longer had the ability to guard the house, but because Boss Gu was a sentimental person, he had brought it to the villa on the island.

’Song’s sheepdog analogy wasn’t entirely accurate in one respect,’ Zhang Shutong mused. ’It wasn’t made obsolete by high-tech equipment, but by highly trained, purebred hunting dogs.

’But at least this Doberman has a "pension" after retirement. That sheepdog has nothing. It’s just some dog that wandered in from who-knows-where, a mutt. To put it bluntly, a stray. It was a mess itself, yet it insisted on protecting the sheep. But now, a more elite force has arrived. It’s time for the sheepdog to retire and go home.

’Of course, you can’t blame the sheep for this. She’s just a very smart and rational sheep. She used to trust this sheepdog a lot, too. For some reason, things just suddenly changed.’

Zhang Shutong stood there for a moment. He still wasn’t used to the "stray dog" analogy. It sounded too harsh. If possible, he’d prefer to call it "the lackey’s retirement."

Song finished his briefing, and it was time for them to leave. Zhang Shutong waved goodbye to the Doberman. The dog gave him a look from under its droopy eyelids, as if seeing him as a fellow professional, and shifted a paw, seeming to encourage him to keep up the good work.

Seeing this, Zhang Shutong smiled and stood up.

He returned to the villa, and the three of them said goodbye to Gu Qiuyan and the nanny.

Zhang Shutong suddenly remembered he had forgotten to bring that down jacket, but he’d have to do it another day.

The nanny came out and opened the gate. Zhang Shutong had assumed she could use the facial recognition system, but it turned out to be a password keypad. He asked about it casually, and the nanny said only Mianmian’s family members were registered for facial recognition. ’It seems Boss Gu is a very suspicious man.’

Song’s car was still stuck, but this time, a bodyguard drove them home. Zhang Shutong sat in the back and glanced at the window of a room on the second floor. The curtains there were wide open.

Then he couldn’t see anything more as the car slowly started to move.

Song had promised to treat them to a meal, but now he realized that without his car, getting around was a problem. By the time they finished eating, the last bus would be gone, and they couldn’t possibly walk home in the snow.

Zhang Shutong saw his predicament and quickly said that he wanted to go home and rest early anyway.

"Alright then... I’ll treat you all tomorrow. I’ll see if I can figure out a way to get my car down then."

Zhang Shutong nodded and asked the driver to drop them off at the bus stop. He still had something to say to Lu Qinglian.

They both lived in the eastern part of the island, so it was on the way.

The two of them watched the Land Rover drive off into the distance. Zhang Shutong had expected Lu Qinglian to mock him a little. She was the type with a hidden dark side, and he had, after all, been in an embarrassing situation. Not long ago, they’d been talking about a partnership, and now he was the first one to get kicked out.

’It’s like you bring in a partner to take on a client’s project,’ he thought. ’Your partner works their tail off, and then you get replaced, making all their effort go to waste.’

But Lu Qinglian didn’t say anything. After a long moment, she finally spoke, her voice crisp and cool:

"It seems things didn’t go quite according to your plan."

"A little... Also, I’m sorry for making you run around all day while you’re injured."

Zhang Shutong said apologetically. In truth, he was fine, not as dejected as Song had suggested.

’This isn’t about landing a job and making money, after all,’ he thought. ’As long as Gu Qiuyan is safe, it doesn’t matter who does the job. But Lu Qinglian... first, I dragged her into a trap, then she spent half the day rushing around because of the figure in the restricted area, only for it to turn out to be two different people. We gained nothing.’

"There’s nothing to apologize for. It’s not your fault. There will always be unexpected changes."

"Are you trying to comfort me?" Zhang Shutong asked, surprised.

"You can interpret it that way," she said flatly.

"There’s no need for comfort," Zhang Shutong muttered to himself. "It’s actually good news. Four bodyguards, two police officers, and they have weapons, working in 24-hour shifts. By the way, let me ask, could you beat them?"

"I couldn’t," Lu Qinglian said, shaking her head.

"In that case, if even they can’t handle the culprit, there’s no point in us staying here either. But getting her off the island is a huge hassle. Even if Gu Qiuyan agreed, at this point, her dad never would."

Zhang Shutong said, his head aching.

As they were talking, the bus arrived.

He reached for some coins but realized he had changed his jacket today and had no money. In the end, it was Lu Qinglian who took two coins from an inner pocket of her cyan robe and paid for his fare.

No one went out in this kind of weather, so the two of them were the only ones on the bus.

They found a pair of seats by the window. Zhang Shutong had just sat down next to Lu Qinglian when he remembered she didn’t like physical contact with people. He was about to stand up and move to the back, but the girl sighed as if getting a headache:

"Zhang Shutong, I’m not that melodramatic. Besides, haven’t you been close enough to me all day?"

’Alright then.’

They had sat close together while eating, in the car, and on the way down the mountain.

Zhang Shutong stayed put beside her.

The plastic bus seats were, of course, rock-hard. Lu Qinglian asked again:

"So you’re planning to give up?"

"Of course not," Zhang Shutong said, staring out the window. "I’ve come this far. There’s no way I’m just going to go home and sleep on it, calling it quits just like that. I have to at least keep an eye on things until Monday. Besides, I promised you I’d find that figure from the restricted area. You’ve helped me so much; I can’t just terminate our partnership because things are safe on Gu Qiuyan’s end."

"You’re more true to your word than I thought."

"Did you have such a low opinion of me?"

"Why do you always say such useless things?"

Zhang Shutong just said, "Oh."

"So, what’s the plan now?"

"It’s only four o’clock," Lu Qinglian said, looking at the clock at the front of the bus. "I can head back to the mountain a bit later. What about you?"

"First, I need to figure out how to get a vehicle. It’s too inconvenient to get around right now. That way, I can drive to the villa on Saturday night to check things out, and if I want to investigate anything tomorrow, I can give you a ride."

"A car?"

"Not quite, a motorcycle," Zhang Shutong said, showing her his phone. "Didn’t I say my mom left the island to meet my dad? My dad rode his motorcycle here. They met up at the island’s port and then drove a car onto the ferry. The motorcycle was left at the port. And my mom just messaged me saying she’s not coming back tonight, so I’m planning to go get it."

Lu Qinglian tapped her chin, noncommittal.

"In that case, I’ll have to get off soon. We can set a time for tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at the foot of the mountain."

They finally settled on eight in the morning.

The Gu Family Villa was in the south, Cyan Snake Mountain was in the east, and the port was in the northern part of the island.

This was the only bus route on the island. It wasn’t very convenient, but it did make a complete loop around the island.

It ran clockwise.

North at the top, south at the bottom, west on the left, east on the right. This meant they had to pass through the western part of the island first, then the north where Zhang Shutong would get off, and finally the east, where Lu Qinglian’s stop was.

She rarely seemed to take the bus, preferring to walk, and didn’t even recognize some of the stops. So, Zhang Shutong briefly explained the route to her and where she needed to get off. Lu Qinglian listened attentively and said she had it memorized.

After that, neither of them spoke.

The day’s events had been truly exhausting. They had been running on pure adrenaline, and now that it was gone, all he wanted to do was lean his head back and zone out.

Lu Qinglian was leaning her head back, her small face tilted up to watch the bus hand straps. Her pale eyes swayed back and forth with their movement.

Zhang Shutong, meanwhile, was looking out the window. If he could, he would have opened it a crack to let the wind in, which might have woken him up a bit. Unfortunately, he was on the aisle seat.

Until:

"Could you please not sit so close?" Lu Qinglian said, pulling her gaze back and frowning.

Zhang Shutong also pulled his gaze back and realized he was indeed a bit close.

"Oh... Sorry, but didn’t you say you didn’t mind?" The bus was now passing through the western part of the island, approaching the restricted area. He had been so focused on looking out the window that he hadn’t noticed, so he asked casually.

"It’s not that I didn’t mind. I was just tolerating it because you looked so pitiful after working hard all day for nothing."

’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’This woman knows exactly how to mock me.’

As she spoke, Lu Qinglian shifted further toward the window, her expression blank.

"But that doesn’t mean you can push your luck. Or did you get shot down by Gu Qiuyan and decide to switch your target to me?"

Zhang Shutong really was no match for her in an argument.

He consciously scooted away from her.

The bus continued on its way.

But the girl named Lu Qinglian frowned again.

Because the person who had just apologized was a repeat offender, this time leaning almost completely against her.

She was just about to remind him again;

When he suddenly slapped the window:

"Look! Is that her?"

Lu Qinglian whipped her head around. The bus was high off the ground, so from their seats, they could see over the dense reeds to the scene on the shore.

Then, both of their expressions froze.

—A figure was standing in the waters of the restricted area.

Zhang Shutong shot to his feet and slammed the emergency stop button above the rear door.

"Stop the bus!"

He dashed to the door in a single bound.

Startled, the driver slammed on the brakes. The massive vehicle skidded to a halt, carving two long ruts in the snow. As his body and his vision tilted with the sudden stop, Zhang Shutong gripped the handrail tightly, watching as the pneumatic doors opened with a hiss, revealing a narrow gap;

The bus hadn’t even come to a complete stop, and before he could leap off;

A figure flashed past him. Lu Qinglian was already out the door—