The phone call was the harbinger. His men had found it: my car.
It lay dumped in a derelict factory in the east, buried under rubble and construction debris. Thirteen kilometers from the ring road crash site.
And with it, they pieced my journey.
9:20 a.m. departed dorms southbound.
9:30 picked up pre-ordered bouquet from florist.
10:45 exited southbound, then abruptly U-turned, entering east highway.
12:05 car captured at toll station east of city, twenty kilometers from ring road. Then vanished into traffic.
The florist remembered too.
"He asked which flowers to express love. I suggested red roses, but he insisted on white. Said only pure white could suit her."
Her.
She had left me hollowed. Even the vendor recalled my face pale, heavy.
Lu Wei sneered, teasing softly, "So, Lu Zhen. We all laughed at you. Love struck fool."
I slumped small in Jiang’s arms. Couldn’t answer.
His own face had gone black as steel, rage silent, eyes heavy.
Still, Lu Wei slapped his palm, memory clicking.
"Zhou Manman. Of course. Li Haofang’s cousin. Didn’t your boss hook you up once? She lived south too. Bet you were headed there."
My ears twitched. Zhou Manman. Yes, I knew her. Attended family dinners through Haofang.
Did I like her? No. Did I feel anything? No.
But my memories frayed. Could it be I had changed?
We contacted her.
Her answer was utter denial.
"Yes, once my cousin tried pairing us. But Zhen had no interest. I asked him out several times, rejected flat. We haven’t spoken for ages."
Lu Wei scratched his head, defeated. "Then hell if I know. Who the hell else could you like?"
I tilted my cat head, dazed, equally lost.
Jiang was the one to murmur, quiet and sharp:
"If not her, then why the U-turn? Why abandon one direction and barrel east? Did he receive a message? A call urgent enough to pull him away from an appointment?"
The words etched heavy under his breath.
The search field was broad, too wide, but after days of digging we narrowed suspects in the eastern district people I had once crossed paths with. Four names surfaced.
Li Haiyang and Wang Quan were business partners, straight-faced investors we had crossed in day to day deals.
Then there was Juno, that silver-haired punk who ran the Crown Nightclub, always clashing with my boss Li Haofang over turf.
And lastly, Wang Guangzhong, a thuggish quarry-owner who carried a personal grudge against me.
"I remember the bastard," I muttered, my voice odd coming out of the cat-body. "He came to our nightclub drunk, started harassing one of the staff. Talked so filthy, I couldn’t stomach it. So I tuned him up a little."
Lu Wei shook his head. "Nope. Not possible. Cops locked him up two years ago."
"Then who?" I frowned.
"Li Haiyang maybe," Jiang suggested coolly. "You were negotiating the Beihai Resort project with him around that time."
I shook my furry head. "Doubtful. We had a legit partnership. He’s not the type to drag me east on a single phone call. Especially not out of nowhere."
Turned out I was right. Li Haiyang had been abroad the day of my accident. He hadn’t reached out. The contract had already been sealed.
Leaving him behind, we drifted through Far Ocean Trading Company’s sterile glass lobby in silence. Lu Wei finally sighed, looking beat down.
"We’re running blind."
But Jiang only shook his head, confident as ever.
"No. Once we get close enough, Lu Zhen will feel it. His body will call to his soul."
We still had daylight, so we decided to test Juno next.
Lu Wei waved us off. "I’ve got errands from Haofang. You two, good luck."
But he didn’t even finish the excuse before a too familiar voice rang behind us.
"Well, well, if it isn’t President Jiang."
I turned, ears twitching, to see Juno strutting toward us.
Juno, king of theatrical entrances, wore his usual mirrored sunglasses and flashy silver-dyed hair. A decent face, ruined by constant cocky arrogance. He practically oozed delinquent energy, twitchy like a moth to every flame.
Even though we were enemies in business rivalry and street politics, Juno always made a point to saunter up, drape an arm around me, act like we were blood brothers. It grated hard.
Now, seeing him march toward us, I instinctively shifted in Jiang’s hold, wanting to leap down and hide behind Lu Wei. Except traitor that he was, Lu Wei had already bolted the scene.
Great. I had no choice but to scrunch myself tighter into Jiang’s coat. Luckily, the layers shielded me, and maybe Juno would overlook the odd weight in his arms.
Indeed, the idiot didn’t notice. He walked straight up and, without preamble, swung a fist into Jiang’s face.
The impact resonated. Jiang staggered a step, sharp lines in his jaw flashing red.
In panic, I leapt from his arms, fur bristling.
Juno ripped off his sunglasses, bloodshot eyes glowering. Not with malice, but with grief. His voice cracked as he seized Jiang by the collar.
"You dug up Lu Zhen’s grave?"
I froze mid pounce. "What the hell?"
Jiang said nothing, his eyes shards of cold ice. His pale cheek bore the fist-mark, yet he stared back silently.
My chest swelled seeing it. Heart squeezed. I launched up his sleeve and clawed across Juno’s hand in righteous rage.
"Agh." Juno yelped, stumbling back. Blood welled in scratches across his hand.
I pressed my paw to Jiang’s cheek tenderly, shame igniting in my heartsick chest. He calmly rubbed behind my ears, soothing me.
And then patience snapped. Jiang’s boot slammed into Juno’s gut.
One strike, decisive. Juno tumbled, groaning on the ground, unable to rise.
Jiang stared down at him with the expression reserved for garbage. His voice cut like glass.
"The day Lu Zhen died. Did you see him?"
Juno blinked up, confusion flickering, before shaking his head. "No."
Jiang leveled him with suspicion. "That certain?"
A bitter laugh twitched Juno’s lips. "Last year I saw him twelve times. Nine of those, he was shouting at you. Barely even looked my way."
My furry ears twitched. "Wait. What do you mean by that?"
Jiang’s expression soured, colder still. He clearly did not want to linger. He turned, intent on leaving.
But Juno was not finished. Laying half-sprawled on the dirt, voice cracking, he bellowed after us:
"Jiang Yuyan. You bastard. Why did you grave rob Lu Zhen? What are you hiding?"
His words were filth laced curses.
I slapped my paw desperately over Jiang’s ear like a furry censor bar.
Jiang pinched my ear gently, not flinching, and continued walking.
But in my little brain, question marks fired like fireworks.
Wait. Was Juno implying what I thought?
Did this delinquent fool like me?
"What the hell," I muttered, tugging at Jiang’s collar.
Jiang simply turned and, in private frustration, kicked Juno across the ribs a second time. Hard. Too hard.
The man collapsed silently, sunglasses flying into the weeds.
Flat on his back, hollow-eyed, Juno murmured skyward:
"When he died, was it bad? That crash? I heard his body was shattered." His voice cracked into sobs.
My tail stood upright in awkward horror.
Jiang’s face twisted, trapped between disdain and irritation. He could not stay, could not sit with this scene.
But then Juno staggered upright, rubbed at his raw face, and rasped:
"Yes. I called him. That morning. Warned him. I told Lu Zhen to watch his back. To keep an eye on Lu Wei."
The words pierced straight into me. My fur fluffed with cold recognition.
Juno admitted bitterly:
"One of my men ran lending. Lu Wei owed massive sums. When I found out, I called Lu Zhen. Told him. He brushed me off. Said he knew."
A pause, then a hollow laugh.
"Three days later, after Zhen died, wouldn’t you know, Lu Wei’s debt was paid in full. One hundred fifty million. Principal and interest. Settled overnight."
Jiang’s gaze darkened, storming within, lips pressed shut in silence.
Then Juno whispered:
"I know you like him. I know he liked you too.
So if there’s hope, bring him back.
And if not, then let him go properly. Don’t leave him caged in shadows."
And with that he finally broke the moment, looked at me, face twisting, contempt layered to mask grief.
"By the way, who brings a cat that ugly out in public?"
Enraged, I lunged with a shrill hiss, teeth and claws blazing.
"Mrow."
Chapter 05
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