Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

After all, Wei Dekang was dead, and Boss Niu was half in the know. True, he could not be certain that Bao Lin had killed Wei Dekang, but it was best to shut his mouth first.

And in fact, when Boss Niu learned the next day that Wei Dekang was dead, he too privately suspected Bao Lin. But it was only suspicion—he never dared speak it aloud. Would he dare? Wei Dekang was dead. Did he want to die too?

If Bao Lin hadn't done it, there was no need for him to say anything. If Bao Lin had done it, then he dared even less to say anything.

Yang Ce led Lin Yanhe along for some distance before they got into the car; because of the traffic jam, the car had not been parked nearby. Then, with some distress, he said, "Zhiyun, didn't I tell you? I said not to push yourself so hard—so why did you still work overtime so late?"

"I... I just felt rather useless. And the economics courses I learned at school aren't much use in real application, so I wanted to teach myself something useful as quickly as possible." Lin Yanhe lowered her head and said in a small voice.

Yang Ce sighed. What Lin Yanhe said was, after all, a very common problem these days. Many university textbooks were written in the nineties or even the eighties, and no longer suited current teaching.

For example, in the hardware course Yang Ce and his classmates took in computer science, the textbook said that a hard drive contained one, and only one, platter—whereas nowadays it was very common for a hard drive to hold three or four platters.

And these things could only be grasped through practice.

"Even so, you didn't need to work that hard. You scared me to death today. If I hadn't gotten there in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable!" Yang Lanxu said, still shaken.

Lin Yanhe nodded silently. Indeed, when she thought it over herself, it was frightening. If Yang Ce hadn't discovered it early—then wouldn't she have... "Yang Ce, what was wrong with you today? From the moment you called, I felt something was off." Lin Yanhe hesitated, then asked.

"Do you believe in the sixth sense?" Yang Ce said with great seriousness. "I was talking with Chen Shutang at the time, and suddenly I had a feeling—a feeling that you were in danger. That's why I kept calling you, asking whether you were all right. Later I still couldn't rest easy, so I ran to the company, and what do you know, I found the entrance on fire."

Yang Ce spoke in a way that was half true, half false. Though not very detailed, it was not exactly a lie to Lin Yanhe either, for it could indeed be called a kind of sixth sense—he had sensed the danger to come in advance.

"Ah, so that's how it was." Girls tended to believe in the sixth sense, and Lin Yanhe was no exception. So whatever Yang Cenbin said, she believed.

"Yes. But it seems my sixth sense is still quite useful," Yang Hengye said. "All right, don't worry anymore. We won't go home tonight. I'm afraid you'll have nightmares, so I'll risk my life to keep a beauty company—I'll hold you while you sleep all night."

Hearing Yang Juehuan's words, Lin Yanhe couldn't help but burst out with a "pfft" of laughter. What kind of reasoning was that? He was plainly just lecherous, yet he made it sound so aboveboard. Lin Yanhe, face flushed crimson, said, "Then aren't you afraid that I'll have a nightmare at night, mistake you for a villain, and bite you to death?"

"Heh heh, I'm not afraid of being bitten—so long as it's not some special part being bitten." Yang Ce chuckled.

"You're awful!" Lin Yanhe and Yan had been intimate many times by now, so when Yang Puqi said that, her thoughts followed along to something else.

Still, Lin Yanhe called home to tell her parents she would not be back that night and was staying with Yan. Lin Changqing and Shen Yueping had long since tacitly accepted their daughter's relationship with Yan, so they said little and simply agreed.

Yang Ce drove the car straight back to the villa. Lin Yanhe was rather curious. "Can people live here now?"

"Heh heh, of course they can. Chen Shutang is here too." Yang Yuting nodded and said.

"Ah, Sister Yanyan is here too?" Lin Yanhe was startled. "Then why did you bring me here?"

"There's a reason, of course. And while I'm at it, I'll introduce you to a good sister of yours." Yang Ce chuckled.

"Ah—a good sister?" Lin Yanhe was baffled. "What good sister?"

"The one Mengyan told you about before—Zhou Yanning," Yang Yanzhou said.

"Isn't she in the hospital?" Lin Yanhe was puzzled. Then, all at once, something occurred to her, and she cried out joyfully, "She's awake?"

To be continued.

973. A Slip-Up, a Slip-Up

"Yes, she woke up yesterday and has already been discharged. She was with Mengyan all last night." Yang Yuting nodded. "Oh, right—there's something I should tell you in advance."

"What is it?" Lin Yanhe asked, puzzled, wondering what it could be that had to be said at the door, away from Chen Shutang and Zhou Yanning.

"It's like this," Yang Ce explained. "Yesterday, when Zhou Yanning woke up, Mengyan—she..."

Yang Ce recounted the story Chen Shutang had fabricated—that Zhou Yanning had already become her girlfriend—and then said, "In a moment, just act as though you've known Zhou Yanning for a long time. Best not to give anything away."

"So that's how it is." Lin Yanhe understood now. "I see. But I'm afraid I won't be able to act it well."

"It doesn't matter if you don't. Mengyan has probably told her in advance already. Although the two of you knew each other before, you didn't have many chances to interact, so there shouldn't be any problem," Yang Yanzhou said.

"All right, then I'll do my best." Lin Yanhe nodded.

What Yang Lanxu was thinking was this: last night Chen Shutang and Zhou Yanning had slept together and shut him out, a lonely man left outside the door. Today he was bringing Lin Yanhe back with him—surely the three of them couldn't all sleep together? They'd have to leave one for him, wouldn't they?

Yang Ce parked the car, and hand in hand with Lin Yanhe he entered the villa—only to find Chen Shutang sitting anxiously before the television, and even Zhou Yanning looking uneasy.

Seeing Yang Ce come in, Chen Shutang was startled for a moment, then rose and rushed at him. "Yang Ce, are you all right?"

"I'm back already—what could possibly be wrong?" Yang Hengye said. "What's all the fuss about?"

"The TV news just reported the fire at your jewelry company. The flames are out now, but I was still so worried about you!" Chen Shutang threw her arms around Yang Ce and spoke in a rush.

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all. Look—Zhiyun's fine too, isn't she?" Yang Hengye said airily. Fearing Chen Shutang would fret, he kept his tone deliberately light.

Zhou Yanning was worried about Yang Ce as well, but she was not as bold as Chen Shutang, so she merely stood to one side, not daring to embrace him—though in her heart she rather hoped to.

Yang Ce set Chen Shutang down, glanced at Zhou Yanning beside him, and smiled. "Jiajia, you must have been scared too. Come on—I don't mind lending you this broad, imposing chest of mine to hold on to."

"Ah?" Zhou Yanning flushed halfway to scarlet and stood there frozen. The Yang Ce in her memory had always been cool, even distant, toward her; true, they had become friends later, but the only tenderness between them had come in moments of accidental misunderstanding. Now that Yang Ce suddenly wanted to hold her, she found herself at a loss.

But before Zhou Yanning could say a word, Yang Jiyan had already pulled her into his arms, laughing. "There, there, don't be afraid—your husband's just fine." Yang Ce had accepted Zhou Yanning in his heart by now, and so he had few scruples left; he gathered her straight into his embrace.