DILLYH Chapter 29

TL: Hua

Chapter 29: Missing

This was a very tricky question. It was even a form of moral blackmail. Even if one has a compelling reason for their actions, they shouldn’t build their own happiness or vent their own pain at the expense of others.

Yu Haozhou worried that a direct response might provoke Xu Laizi’s emotions. He took a sip of the plain water that had just been served, carefully sidestepping the sensitive topic: “What did you encounter?”

Xu Laizi thought he was still concerned about her and smiled genuinely: “What if I told you that Zhou Zizheng is my father’s killer?”

Yu Haozhou’s heart seemed to stop. In that instant, his ears buzzed, and he couldn’t hear anything, only watching Xu Laizi’s bright red lips opening and closing.

The shock of the verbal information was too great, and Yu Haozhou was instinctively stunned. But in just a few seconds, he immediately calmed down. Zhou Zizheng could never do such a thing.

Thus, his accelerating heartbeat gradually steadied. But his mind was still reeling, and he even saw glowing black spots appearing before his eyes.

Yu Haozhou smiled faintly, once again needlessly picking up the cup and taking a sip of water: “What do you mean? Explain clearly.”

“You’re trembling.” Xu Laizi propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hand, and tilted her head to look at him. “Zhouzhou, you’re scared, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t come here to listen to your nonsense.”

Xu Laizi’s expression changed: “Are you now unwilling to even sit and have a cup of coffee with me?”

The illusion of peace between the two was completely torn apart. There was no going back. Even if Yu Haozhou had a generous heart to forgive her for her past actions, it was impossible to return to their former, pure friendship.

Xu Laizi’s emotions were unstable. It seemed that whenever Zhou Zizheng’s matter was brought up, she became easily enraged. This wasn’t the case before. When did she change? Probably on the day he and Zhou Zizheng went public with their relationship.

But Yu Haozhou realized this too late.

He had only thought it was temporary jealousy from a rival in love, which would slowly fade with time. But Xu Laizi said that her hatred for Zhou Zizheng had deepened ever since she learned the truth.

As she recounted the story, the karmic cycle of a decade ago was finally reaching its ultimate conclusion.

Xu Laizi’s father was involved in the kidnapping of Zhou Zizheng back then. After dividing the ransom equally, they all went their separate ways, cutting off contact, leaving the young Zhou Zizheng to fend for himself in the abandoned factory in the suburbs.

Mrs. Xie, who had lost her son, suffered a mental breakdown and, losing all reason, used all the connections she had to swiftly deal with those few families through brutal means.

Xu Laizi, who was originally the daughter of a wealthy man, instantly became the daughter of a debtor owing tens of millions overnight. In the office, she watched her father being beaten until he vomited blood by the debt collectors. Her once-imposing father knelt on the ground without dignity, begging them to spare his life.

He even uttered the absurd statement of using his wife and daughter to pay off debts.

Holding her trembling mother, Xu Laizi argued in despair with her father. She hid in her mother’s arms, bewildered by what was happening to her family, silently weeping.

Finally, her father realized he had provoked someone he shouldn’t have. The Xie family was determined to pursue this to the death. Mr. Xu regretted it, but there was no turning back. Unable to bear the pain, he jumped from a high building.

Xu Laizi’s eyes widened, nearly fainting. She was speechless, unable to even cry out the word “Daddy.” Mrs. Xu fiercely pinched Xu Laizi’s arm and sternly told her, “Laizi, listen up. Your enemy is the Xie family, the Xie family that is the richest in the capital. Don’t get it wrong.”

Xu Laizi listened in confusion. She saw that her mother’s eyes were bloodshot, and the fierce blue veins on her neck seemed about to burst through the thin skin. She timidly whispered, “Mom…”

Mrs. Xu had no time to comfort her. She only stared at the cold “executioners,” gritting her teeth and saying, “You see clearly today, and you remember clearly who forced your parents to die. You must avenge us, or don’t even come to see us in the afterlife.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Mrs. Xu jumped out the window without hesitation, like a gust of wind that could not be caught. The “executioners” didn’t even manage to grab the corner of her clothing.

In the space of less than ten minutes, she had lost both her parents. They turned back and looked at her with pity.

“Boss, what do we do with this kid?”

“Don’t worry about it. She’s not within the scope of our task. Let’s go.”

…

Yu Haozhou felt very dizzy. The objects in front of him became increasingly blurry, and the entire world seemed to be flipping over. Xu Laizi, who was sitting across from him, had tears streaming down her face, yet she was leisurely sipping coffee, looking at him with a vibrant, charming smile, as if appreciating some beautiful sight.

The scene was unsettlingly bizarre.

Yu Haozhou supported his temples and finally realized something was wrong with his body. He weakly raised his head: “What… what did you do to me?”

Xu Laizi just smiled: “Zhouzhou, are you dizzy? Do you want to sleep?” Yu Haozhou’s dizziness intensified. He desperately bit his lower lip, trying to break the skin to induce pain and snap himself awake, but his teeth had no strength. His entire body was limp, and the black fog before his eyes grew thicker.

“What… what exactly do you… want?”

He needed to call Zhou Zizheng. This was clearly a trap—a trap specifically targeting Zhou Zizheng. Xu Laizi knew exactly what his weakness was, even if the cost was losing Yu Haozhou as a friend forever.

But years of hate had consumed her; she was no longer able to break free.

Who told Zhou Zizheng to be the Xie family’s only son and Yu Haozhou’s lover, of all people?

The hand Yu Haozhou used to hold his phone weakly dropped to his side. In the second before losing consciousness, he heard the sound of the phone hitting the floor, and then his head fell onto the table.

Xu Laizi held his face, gently repositioning it on the table.

The screen of the phone on the ground was cracked. A call came in—the bright words “Zhou Zizheng” appeared. Xu Laizi sneered. Don’t worry, I’ll be coming for you soon.

She raised her hand, and the two waiters at the front desk immediately rushed over: “Boss, what do you need?”

Xu Laizi turned off Yu Haozhou’s phone, put it in his pocket, and said plainly, “Move him to my office to rest. If he wakes up in two hours and wants to leave, don’t stop him.”

The waiters lowered their eyes and replied, “Understood.”

Perhaps knowing that after Yu Haozhou woke up this time, they wouldn’t be able to chat peacefully again, when only the two of them remained in the office, Xu Laizi still greedily grabbed Yu Haozhou’s hand and gently stroked her own face with it.

Her feelings as a young girl were genuine; she had sincerely liked Yu Haozhou. After learning his sexual orientation, she only offered her blessings. She thought, As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters,” even if she could only stay by his side as a friend.

She was always careful about their boundaries, never wanting Yu Haozhou to feel burdened by the friendship. Even when she learned he married someone of the same sex, she didn’t feel too sad, because she knew he was happy.

But that person couldn’t be a member of the Xie family.

“I’m sorry…”

*

Zhou Zizheng couldn’t reach Yu Haozhou. The thing he had been worrying about had finally happened. He no longer had a reason to wait. He immediately grabbed his car keys, preparing to go look for him.

Han Jin called to say he couldn’t reach Xu Laizi, who had also turned off her phone. Zhou Zizheng cursed, slamming the steering wheel. A sudden, sharp honking sound echoed in the parking lot: “Where could they have gone?”

Han Jin was also anxious and rattled off several possible addresses. The two decided to split up to search.

He had been staying home with Cheng Qianyu recently and hadn’t gone out much. His hurried change of clothes and rush to leave caught Cheng Qianyu’s attention. She was sitting on the living room sofa, idly watching a drama: “What’s wrong? Why the rush?”

Han Jin hesitated while changing his shoes in the entryway but still replied, “Haozi ran into some trouble. I’m going to check on him.”

Cheng Qianyu just said, “Oh,” and didn’t ask any further questions. He suddenly felt a sigh of relief, afraid she would bring up Zhou Zizheng again.

“Oh, right—”

“…”

The inevitable had come. His heart, which had been calm for just a second, jumped again. He sped up changing his shoes, wanting to rush out the door immediately and avoid the coming conversation.

“Are you coming back for dinner tonight? Should I save a plate for you?”

These are truly the sweetest words in the world, Han Jin thought. “Of course! I’ll rush back.”

“Good.”

…

When Zhou Zizheng was investigating who kidnapped Wu Yichen previously, the clues stopped halfway. He got a bit obsessed and used people from the Xie family to continue the search, but his parents found out.

They thought he was trying to get revenge for Wu Yichen. They firmly forbade him from digging any deeper, only saying that no one in the capital dared to cross the Xie family, and no one was capable of it. No serious consequences arose at the time, and Zhou Zizheng also let the matter go.

Yu Haozhou’s current disappearance forced Zhou Zizheng to rethink the feud between him and Xu Laizi. Before, he only thought it was the normal dislike between rivals in love, but it was clearly not that now.

Because just two minutes ago, he received an anonymous message telling him to wait quietly at the office, and someone would bring him to see Yu Haozhou.

Zhou Zizheng turned back to his office and called Mrs. Xie, asking if she knew a person named Xu Laizi. Mrs. Xie shook her head, saying she had no recollection.

Zhou Zizheng then asked if any of the families involved in his kidnapping that year were named Xu. Mrs. Xie was silent this time. After a pause, she asked hesitantly, “Son, what’s wrong?”

Not wanting her to worry, he gave a half-truth: “It’s nothing much; I just wanted to confirm something. She seems to have some issue with me.”

Mrs. Xie was not reassured and wanted to personally come over and settle things with Xu Laizi. Zhou Zizheng rested his fingers on his forehead, tilting his head, and said flatly, “Mom, this matter started because of me. Just leave it to me to resolve. I can’t live under your wings my whole life.”

Mrs. Xie sighed softly: “Son, are we causing you trouble?”

It wasn’t exactly ‘trouble.’ The grudge was indeed caused by him. If Mrs. Xie hadn’t done those things back then but instead had tried every way to have a second child, Zhou Zizheng wouldn’t have decided to acknowledge his heritage so quickly.

He just hoped this matter, which had spanned over a decade, could end with Xu Laizi. After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zizheng quietly lay on the sofa, resting his eyes, waiting for Xu Laizi’s visit.

He wondered how Zhouzhou was doing.

Compared to knowing nothing, searching aimlessly and without a clue, this outcome was a form of relief for him. At least Zhouzhou was safe, and the person was coming for him.

He wished for all of this to end quickly. He wanted to hug Yu Haozhou.