Chapter 139
After learning the identities of Shen Youlin's parents, Ye Ping and Yu Feng felt uneasy everywhere. The gap was no small matter.
But Yu Fanxing and Shen Chaowen had no airs at all. Shen Chaowen chatted with Yu Feng over drinks, asking about Yu Yang's studies, just like any ordinary elder. As for Yu Fanxing, she had neither airs nor graces. While eating the dishes prepared by Ye Ping, she cried as she ate.
"So delicious, so delicious, wuu...After this meal, I'll need to work out for ten extra hours at the gym."
Shen Youlin couldn't stand watching anymore: "Hey lady, could you at least mind your table manners a bit?"
If it weren't for his mother-in-law's presence, Shen Youlin would have said something much ruder.
Yu Fanxing straightened her back, slowly put down her chopsticks, and asked with elegant grace as she dabbed her mouth: "Is this what you mean by table manners?"
"Too pretentious," Shen Youlin couldn't bear to look.
Yu Fanxing's straight back instantly collapsed: "That's right, it's so tiring to put on an act. We'll be family soon, why should I bother?"
Her words put Ye Ping and Yu Feng more at ease than any reassurances could.
At the dinner table, they discussed Ye Ping and Yu Feng's upcoming long journey. Yu Fanxing enthusiastically shared her travel photos and anecdotes, making Ye Ping even more eager to set off.
The family gathering ended successfully. Soon after, Ye Ping and Yu Feng embarked on their journey, while Yu Yang returned to school. Shen Youlin resumed his happy days spent clinging to Yu Shu. If there was any unhappiness, it was that Yu Fanxing had not yet left and kept inviting Yu Shu to go shopping, get beauty treatments, and have afternoon tea every two or three days.
Shen Chaowen had returned to the Capital, but Yu Fanxing, that idle lady of leisure, was still lingering in Rong City without leaving.
Yu Shu was busy learning the ins and outs of the marketplace from Yin Minbi and preparing for her graduate entrance exam. Her scant free time was all taken up by Shen Youlin. Yu Fanxing invited her out ten times, but Yu Shu rejected seven or eight of those invitations. That day, feeling exhausted, she accepted Yu Fanxing's invitation for a spa day.
Yu Shu mentioned her search for an assistant. Several candidates she thought were good had been driven away by Shen Youlin's meddling.
"I'm a boss of sorts now, right? It doesn't look right for me to show up without an assistant at many events. Right now, I'm still borrowing Yin Minbi's assistant."
Yu Shu continued, "You don't know what that jerk Shen Youlin did. During interviews, he'd drag a chair over and sit right next to me, constantly finding fault. Several of them just stormed out."
Yu Fanxing laughed uncontrollably: "I bet the ones who stormed out were good-looking with abs, right?"
She was well aware of her good-for-nothing son's foul temper.
"Yes, I can't hire ugly ones, can I? I'll have to take them out in public eventually," Yu Shu said, thinking of Shen Youlin's jealous vigil against potential rivals gave her a headache. "Men won't work. Maybe I should hire a woman instead? No, he wouldn't agree to that either."
The female applicants were all sleek and capable. Shen Youlin felt women would more easily let Yu Shu's guard down, allowing him to take advantage—the sly Yin Minbi was a prime example. He adamantly refused to have a woman assistant.
While chasing away any man with abs from Yu Shu's vicinity to guard his position as her husband, Shen Youlin was also working out obsessively. For the first time, he went to the gym with Yu Shu. Zheng Rourou came toddling over and threw herself into Yu Shu's arms: "You meanie, it's been so long since you visited."
Shen Youlin's powerful frame shuddered as he tried to kick her away—but didn't connect, only managing to numb his own leg.
After understanding the full story, Shen Youlin was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions as he leaned against Yu Shu, whimpering for a long while—he couldn't even beat a effeminate guy!
But on the other hand, Zheng Rourou's appearance gave Shen Youlin a new idea—to find Yu Shu a male assistant who preferred men! Preferably a foreigner, ideally one with a marriage certificate and stable relationship with their partner!
Yu Fanxing held back her laughter to prevent creasing the corners of her eyes: "So you'll just let him carry on?"
"Let him be," Yu Shu waved a dismissive hand. "As long as the assistant is useful, I don't care if he's uncomfortable. I won't have an easy time of it either."
"How magnanimous!" Yu Fanxing praised her. "We women are all just acting for the occasion out there. Once we've had our fun, we still need to come home and secure the homefront."
Yu Shu stifled a laugh: "Exactly, you're absolutely right."
After the spa session, as Yu Shu was changing back into her clothes, she received a call from an unknown Capital number. After a moment's hesitation, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Yu Shu, it's Jiang Han. Are you alone right now?"
Jiang Han sounded tense, making Yu Shu tense up too: "Yes, I am."
"Listen to me. In our investigation into Shen Hui's illegal fundraising case, we discovered that he has been covertly involved in money laundering for a long time—stable, long-term money laundering under the guise of overseas trade. We've traced the source of the laundered money to the Golden Triangle drug lord, Jin Mao."
Yu Shu was familiar with the name Jin Mao, not just from news reports but also from what Shen Youlin had told her—the kidnapping of Shen Youfei and the death of Yan Xingnan had been the work of this drug lord's men, though not directly by Jin Mao himself. The kidnappers had been executed by firing squad, but Jin Mao had remained untouchable by the law.
"Shen Hui failed to make it out of Qingdao to flee overseas. He's been hiding in the Capital all this time. Last month, we tracked him down to his hideout, but he had already left. Reviewing the surveillance footage from his residence, we spotted another person, Zhang Yi, who had been in frequent contact with Shen Hui. We're confident they left the Capital together. Yesterday, there was a shootout on the China-Myanmar border as Jin Mao's men tried to smuggle Shen Hui into Myanmar, but Zhang Yi wasn't with them."
If Zhang Yi had been with Shen Hui all along, and Shen Hui had already fled overseas, where could Zhang Yi be? Traveling southward from the Capital, it was highly likely she passed through Sichuan Province.
Yu Shu suddenly recalled an overlooked question—the Shen family's servants all underwent stringent vetting, so how could a drug trafficker's men infiltrate their security detail so easily? Could Zhang Yi have been involved in that as well?
The more Yu Shu thought about it, the more alarmed she became. Hanging up, she hurried next door to the changing room to find Yu Fanxing: "Xingxing, are you changed yet? We need to go back."
Yu Fanxing didn't respond. Yu Shu grew frantic, knocking urgently: "What's wrong? Are you having another hypoglycemic episode?"
"You should be more worried about yourself," a chillingly cold voice answered.
A chill ran down Yu Shu's spine, like icy snakes slithering up her back. Before she could react, a chloroform-soaked cloth clamped over her mouth and nose.
Yu Shu tried to hold her breath, but it was too late. Her consciousness faded, the last thing she saw was a face thickly coated in powder and makeup, belonging to a woman no longer young.
She was smiling.