Chapter 372: 372: Jiang Zhi Learns He’s Going to Be a Father, Discovers His Background (4000 words)
“Jiang Zhi.”
It was Zhou Xufang.
She was still draped in a sopping wet sack, from head to ankle, water dripping down from her forehead: “The kidnappers aren’t after money.”
She had guessed it, it wasn’t money they wanted, but to sow discord.
Jiang Zhi pulled Zhou Xufang to her side, the gun muzzle shifted slightly.
“Bang!”
The shot, fired? Wang Lixian was dumbfounded while staring blankly, and as the holster on his waist tightened, Jiang Zhi had already returned the gun, then said, “My girlfriend is still in the water, not yet retrieved.”
Congtou, trembling on the ground, looked up hesitantly: “Then she, she is…” Isn’t this your girlfriend?
Jiang Zhi remained calm: “She is a ghost.”
Congtou: “…”
Zhou Xufang glanced at Lu Xinglan’s arm; the clothes were torn, but no blood was visible.
Oh, Jiang Zhi was turning the tables.
She said to Lu Xinglan: “Your grandma is also a ghost.”
The implication was: just like her, the person has already been rescued.
Lu Xinglan had deliberately not dodged Jiang Zhi’s shot just now, he had guessed as much, so —
Although he was half a step slow, he still embraced his hand and crashed his back against the cabin wall in a most unconvincing performance, chanting emotionlessly like a machine, “Jiang Zhi, you’ve shot through my hand.”
Jiang Zhi: “…”
He knew his own accuracy; it was at most a scratch.
At that mont, the major cris unit rushed to the scene.
“What’s going on? Who fired the shot?”
Zhou Xufang imdiately hid inside the cabin, she was a ghost, she couldn’t be seen.
The witnesses who had seen the entire process, Fourth Young Master Qiao said: “Call an ambulance, Young Master Jiang has injured Young Master Lu.”
The two who arrived saw Young Master Lu clutching his arm, his face contorted in ‘pain,’ and Young Master Jiang standing by with a look of ‘anger’.
Hurry, call an ambulance!
The news that Young Master Jiang had injured Young Master Lu spread quickly.
From start to finish, Wang Lixian and Congtou: “…” Wasn’t it just a scratch? Were they seeing things?
Jiang Zhi approached them: “Don’t understand?”
Don’t understand!
“You can’t spread rumors if you don’t understand,” his face unruffled, he pressed further in an unhurried voice, “Do you understand this statent?”
Understand!
You must keep silent about the affairs of both the Jiang and Lu families, as well as the fact that Jiang Zhi’s girlfriend is still alive, keep completely silent, just remain quiet like a ‘corpse’!
Forty minutes later, Lu Xinglan was lifted into an ambulance headed for Changkang Hospital. Jiang Zhi stayed at Xinhai Fish Port, continuing the search for his girlfriend’s ‘corpse,’ flanked by police and both Jiang and Lu families, turning the nearby water area upside down.
At the stern, the wind was strong, Jiang Zhi was on the phone, a call from Lu Xinglan.
“My grandma is already at the hospital, no serious harm,” she just hadn’t woken up yet.
Jiang Zhi said, “Keep the news quiet for now.”
Lu Xinglan probably guessed what he was planning: “Turning the tables?”
Jiang Zhi didn’t specify: “I’ll co to the hospital to find you later.”
Hanging up the phone, he returned to the cabin.
This boat was a sightseeing cruise, the hold contained several passenger rooms, Zhou Xufang’s clothes were soaked, she undressed and wrapped in a blanket, waiting on the bed.
Jiang Zhi approached: “Are you injured?”
“No.”
Lin Qiunan had swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater, Zhou Xufang had pulled her ashore while she was still unconscious.
Zhou Xufang perford first aid, borrowed a passerby’s cellphone to call an ambulance, and even notified the Lu family before swimming back to find Jiang Zhi.
She wasn’t sure of Lin Qiunan’s condition: “And what about Lu Xinglan’s grandma?”
The elderly lady was of advanced age, had been frightened, and had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, Zhou Xufang was very concerned about her.
The seaside wind was strong, and the temperature low, Jiang Zhi wrapped her well in the blanket: “She’s alright.”
That was a relief.
Zhou Xufang’s sinking heart eased, and she got down to business: “This matter is very strange, the person who kidnapped and Grandma Lin is from a professional errand company, aning, soone hired an errand runner to plan this kidnapping.”
Jiang Zhi added to her speculation: “Yes, the ransom was just a ruse, their goal was to murder.”
Zhou Xufang suddenly realized, the ‘fisherman’ ntioned by Xiong Jie who would co fishing referred to the police, he knew soone reported the case, deliberately waiting for police to arrive and then ‘accidentally’ killing the hostages.
She understood completely: “They ant to kill and Grandma Lin?”
Kidnapping was the ans, murder was the end.
“It’s probably not just that, the major cris unit of the Xin Hai District got involved midway,” Jiang Zhi analyzed, “Ordinarily, the least desired outco in a kidnapping case is to spook the criminals, yet a policeman fired shots. I suspect there’s a mole within the police, deliberately creating the impression of alarming the kidnappers to give them a reason to murder.”
She had also heard the gunshots on the ship, which ant that the report to the police was part of the sche from behind the scenes.
“The major cris unit said Lu Jingsong reported the case, but the initial location given by the kidnappers was Dock No. 7. They changed to Dock No. 3 along the way for fear that I and the Lu family might interfere. Lu Jingsong wouldn’t have known the new location,” Jiang Zhi conjectured, “Unless soone deliberately told Lu Jingsong the new address and used his na to report it.”
If there was a hacker involved, pinning the bla with a phone call was a piece of cake.
Jiang Zhi continued, “If the kidnappers had their way and murdered you and Old Mrs. Lu, the police might treat it as a regular kidnapping case, blaming the murder on the police report. Then, I, seeking vengeance for you, would bla the Lu family for the mistake.”
The person behind the scenes knew him well, aware that Zhou Xufang was his Achilles’ heel. If anything happened to Zhou Xufang, he indeed would seek revenge; not just the Lu family, anyone related to the incident wouldn’t be spared.
After hearing this, Zhou Xufang had an epiphany: “The culprit wants to set you against the Lu family?”
“Yes, and incidentally kill you and Old Mrs. Lu.”
It was killing two birds with one stone.
So cunning! So evil!
Zhou Xufang angrily kicked her leg, pulling a muscle, and winced.
Jiang Zhi caught on imdiately: “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head.
Jiang Zhi lifted the blanket only to see a finger-length wound on her bare calf, already scabbed over: “Didn’t you say you weren’t hurt?”
Zhou Xufang pulled the blanket up, “It’s fine already.”
Where was it fine!
Jiang Zhi wouldn’t let her cover up, and gently touched the wound with her hand, frowning deeply, “How did this happen?”
“It must have been scraped by a rock in the water.”
There are hidden reefs in the sea.
Jiang Zhi kissed her leg, “Go to the hospital.”
Zhou Xufang felt a bit ticklish and shrank back, “Okay.”
Hundreds of people had been salvaging in the Xinhai Water Area for nearly two hours, and still hadn’t recovered anything. Zhou Xufang’s ‘body wasn’t found dead or alive,’ and Jiang Zhi had ‘overwheld with grief,’ fainted on the boat, and Qiao Nanchu sent him to the nearest hospital—Changkang Hospital.
Apart from Wang Lixian and Congtou, nobody else knew the truth, and the story spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred. The general version was: Young Master Jiang’s girlfriend disappeared, Young Master Jiang was grieved to death, Young Master Jiang hated the Lu Family to death, he shot Young Master Lu out of anger, Old Mrs. Lu was gone too, the Lu Family was devastated, and they were going to be utterly destroyed by Jiang Zhi’s revenge, because they had called the police…
At one in the morning, Jiang Zhi t Lu Xinglan in the hospital. They leaned against the wall on each side and had a chat.
“So?”
“Let’s just fall out then.”
“You’ve got good aim.”
“Don’t ntion it.”
After the talk.
Lu Xinglan, dressed in hospital attire, returned to his room.
Officially, it was his room, but the one staying inside was Lin Qiunan.
Lin Qiunan had only drunk a few sips of water, overly frightened, but he was okay, “That girl is alright, isn’t she?”
Lu Xinglan closed the door, “She’s fine.”
Lin Qiunan also breathed a sigh of relief, “We owe her a lot this ti. If it hadn’t been for her, I would have died tonight.”
Lu Xinglan went over to the couch and lay down to catch up on sleep, “Soone impersonated my dad and reported the cri. Once the police arrived, the kidnappers killed their hostage.”
Killing a hostage was a way to conceal the real intention to murder.
Lin Qiunan pondered, “It seems that person not only wanted to kill but also wanted to place the bla on our Lu Family.”
No wonder the kidnappers had sent the address to Lu Jingsong’s phone, to create the illusion that the Lu Family had called the police. They had calculated everything ticulously.
Yao Bixi asked Lin Qiunan, “Mom, do you know who’s behind this?”
“I do know, I just can’t quite figure out how she could even plot against her own grandson.” It was one thing to kill her, but Jiang Zhi and Zhou Xufang were also part of the sche.
Yao Bixi imdiately understood, “Is it that person from the Jiang Family?”
Lin Qiunan, not yet recovered from her pallor, leaned against the pillow, half-lying down, weakly said, “Who else could hate our Lu Family so much besides her.”
After all these years, still holding a grudge, Xu Jiuru’s life was indeed exhausting.
Lu Sheng still couldn’t figure sothing out, “But Jiang Zhi is part of the Jiang Family. If they wanted to deal with our Lu Family, Old Mrs. Jiang could have just given the order. Wouldn’t her grandson listen to her? Is there really a need to kill Zhou Xufang and fra her?” She thought for a mont, “Or is it that Jiang Zhi and Old Mrs. Jiang have fallen out, going so far as to sche against each other?”
On the sofa, Lu Xinglan squinted his sleepy eyes and yawned, “Zhou Xufang is related to Zhou Qingrang. That old lady probably doesn’t trust her own grandson, fearing he’ll side with our Lu Family.”
The lack of trust between grandparent and grandchild indicated that the Jiang Family had significant internal problems.
“Xufang is my lifesaver. No matter what Jiang Zhi wants to do, you will cooperate with him,” Lin Qiunan said, then furrowed her brows in thought.
Over there, after Jiang Zhi finished talking with Lu Xinglan, he too returned to a VIP hospital room. Officially, it was his room, but it was actually used to hide Zhou Xufang.
“Jiang Zhi.”
Zhou Xufang sat up from the bed.
He pressed her back down onto the bed, “Lie down, don’t move.” He made sure she was covered with the blanket and pulled up a chair to sit by her bedside, “Did you get caught on purpose?”
Lying with several pillows propped behind her back and wearing a hospital gown, Zhou Xufang lay on her side, “Mm, it was on purpose.” On one hand, it was because Lin Qiunan had been caught, and she wanted to save people. On the other hand, it was because she couldn’t afford to get into fights now.
“Can you not do that next ti, okay?” Jiang Zhi wasn’t as kind-hearted as she was; he only cared about her, “I hope you can prioritize your own safety.”
“I can ignore others, but I can’t ignore the Lu Family.” Zhou Xufang was uncomfortable lying down, so she sat up, took both of Jiang Zhi’s hands in hers, and her expression beca serious, “Jiang Zhi, you might be from the Lu Family.”
Jiang Zhi was slightly stunned, “Where did you co up with that conclusion?”
Would Xu Jiuru, who hated the Lu Family so much, raise a child for them?
Zhou Xufang explained, “I saw a painting of Lu Jingyuan in the Lu Family house. He painted your mother, and there were words on the painting, implying ‘rebirth’.”
So she had reason to suspect that Guan Wansu had been pregnant with Lu Jingyuan’s child before she married into the Jiang Family. Only neither the Lu Family nor the Jiang Family knew about it.
“You told before that Xu Jiuru has always openly and covertly made you target the Lu Family. But why didn’t she act herself? Why wasn’t it Jiang Xiaolin and Jiang Fuli who helped her seek revenge, instead insisting on you?” Zhou Xufang paused for a mont, speculating, “Could it be because you are of Lu Family blood, and she wanted you to fight amongst yourselves?”
Jiang Zhi had also said that Xu Jiuru loved to make others do her dirty work.
There was another point that made her suspicious, “The Jiang Family claims you were prematurely born, but they are in the dical industry. Making a full-term child seem like they have deficiencies from premature birth isn’t difficult at all.”
Jiang Zhi had been placed in an incubator imdiately after birth, with both heart and lung issues, and had never been off dication since he was a child. If he hadn’t truly been premature, then it must have been the dication.
Following this line of thinking, everything that followed made sense: Xu Jiuru had been giving him dication since he was a child, all the way into adulthood, keeping him barely alive, languishing in sickness, yet never killing him because her revenge wasn’t fulfilled yet—even in hate, she wouldn’t let him die.
“The premature birth thing must not have been orchestrated by Xu Jiuru.” Jiang Zhi’s expression was calm, and he kept his emotions deep in his eyes, “It was my father, Jiang Weixuan. A week before my mother was due, he took her out of the Jiang Family house. I was born outside. If all your assumptions are correct, my father must have made my symptoms appear premature in order to protect , to keep Xu Jiuru deceived and allow to survive.”
If Xu Jiuru had known from the start that Guan Wansu’s child was of the Lu Family, Guan Wansu would not have been able to step into the Jiang Family house. Whether small or large, probably none would have survived.
Jiang Zhi continued reasoning along these lines, “It was probably around my hundredth-day celebration that the pretense of premature birth was uncovered by Xu Jiuru. That’s why my mother was killed around that ti, and since then, under the pretext of congenital deficiencies, Xu Jiuru began to drug .”
Everything fitted perfectly. It was a grand ga of chess.
Zhou Xufang’s face was full of worry, her heart uneasy, “Xu Jiuru kept you alive to take revenge on the Lu Family.”
If all the conjectures were correct, then it should be so.
“Did you get a paternity test?” Jiang Zhi understood her; since she had suspicions, she certainly would seek confirmation.
Zhou Xufang nodded, “I pulled out so of Jiang Weili’s hair for the test. The results will take three days to co back.”
No wonder Ah Wan said she had climbed through the window to Yulin Mansion.
He held her hand, not saying a word, his eyelashes drooping, casting a shadow beneath his eyes in the light.
“Why aren’t you talking?”
“Let’s wait for the test results before we discuss it,” he said, already at a loss for words with Xu Jiuru.
Zhou Xufang reached out her hand, encircling his neck, “Are you very upset?”
Jiang Zhi didn’t speak, simply holding her.
She obediently rested her head on his shoulder and patted his back, “You’re so upset, so shall I tell you sothing to cheer you up?”
His voice was faint, “Mhm?”
“Jiang Zhi,” she tilted her head and whispered into his ear, “We’re going to have a baby.”
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