Chapter 82: The Real and Fake Young Master
Jiang Li froze. Four people got out of a car and headed in her direction. Thinking they were here to file a police report, she stepped aside to let them pass.
But the white-haired old man at their head walked straight up to her. "Miss Jiang," he said respectfully, "my young lady asked me to give this to you.
My young lady is currently in poor health, so please forgive her for any lack of courtesy."
Jiang Li stared at the old man, utterly bewildered, as a heavy wooden box was thrust into her hands.
"Who is your young lady?"
"Miss Jiang, my young lady will come to see you in person one day."
With that, the old man led his people back to the car and they promptly departed.
Lu Xingye stared at the box in Jiang Li’s hands, his mind immediately jumping to the worst possibilities: weapons, a bomb!
"Wait! Don’t move!"
Hearing Lu Xingye, Jiang Li froze instantly. A chill crept down her spine.
Lu Xingye cautiously took the box from her and hefted it. The weight felt off, and so did the sound it made.
’Could I be overthinking this?’
Noticing the others staring at him, he passed the box back to Jiang Li. "Ahem. It seems fine. Why don’t you open it and take a look."
Jiang Li opened it right there in front of them. A second later, everyone stared in shock at what was inside.
"A—a whole box of gold?" Wu Ming gasped. At current gold prices, Jiang Li was now officially a rich woman!
Before Jiang Li could even react, Wu Ming was clinging to her leg. "Jiang Li, be my sugar mama!"
Jiang Li’s mind was a whirl of confusion as she thought about the "young lady" the old man had mentioned.
"I’ll go check who they are," Lu Xingye said, heading inside.
Jiang Li looked at the box of gold in her hands, swallowing hard. There was so much... she could buy a big house...
Soon, Lu Xingye and Zhou Tiancheng came back out. Zhou Tiancheng glanced at the glittering gold in her hands and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, that old man is named Huang Zhongyu. He’s the butler of the Huang Family."
The Huang Family was famous for their philanthropy, so any foul play could be ruled out.
"So it’s from a legitimate source? I can use it?" Jiang Li asked, tilting her head at Zhou Tiancheng. She suddenly had an inkling of who the old man’s "young lady" might be.
’It must be Huang Daxian from my dream.’
"Yes, you can."
Jiang Li’s eyes immediately lit up. Looking at Yu Huannian and Miao Anji, she announced, "Tomorrow, your big sis is taking you to buy a big house!"
"I have a friend in real estate. How about I take you?" Lu Xingye offered, looking at Jiang Li.
"Okay, that would be great. Thanks."
Seeing how happy Jiang Li was, Zhou Tiancheng quickly added, "Jiang Li, don’t forget to contact us if you have any new developments!"
"I will, Officer Zhou." Jiang Li then left with her brother.
The next day, Lu Xingye first took them to liquidate some of the gold, then they went to a real estate sales office. "Have you thought about what kind of layout you’re looking for?"
"Something near the police station, big enough for four or five people is fine," Jiang Li said, looking at the floor plans in front of her.
Lu Xingye’s friend quickly found three fully renovated units for her to choose from, all in a similar price range.
Jiang Li asked Yu Huannian and Miao Anji, but neither had any objections. As long as they had a place to sleep, they were happy.
In the end, Jiang Li chose a two-story unit with good security and amenities. She paid for it on the spot.
"Thank you for your trust, Miss Jiang. I’ll take you to handle the remaining paperwork now."
Jiang Li looked at the man. "Since Officer Lu recommended you, I trust you."
By the end of the day, the house was settled. Jiang Li called movers to take their things to the new home. Afterward, she contacted her old landlord, who simply told her where to leave the key and refunded her deposit. And just like that, it was done.
Exhausted from the busy day, Jiang Li collapsed onto her new two-meter-wide bed and fell fast asleep.
In her dream, she found herself cornering a teenage boy in an alley, punching and kicking him.
The fresh-faced boy was bleeding profusely from the assault.
"Wang Changfeng, are you angry? So what? Your parents are mine now. Your family’s fortune is mine.
And you’re just an unloved, unwanted orphan!"
"You bastard! I treated you like a brother, and you stole my parents! I’m going to expose you! I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’re not their son!"
The boy, covered in wounds, struggled up from the ground. A fresh, terrifying scar marred his face.
A triumphant laugh escaped his throat. "Go on, then. In the state you’re in, looking like something between a man and a monster, they wouldn’t recognize you even if you were standing right in front of them."
The words struck the boy so hard he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His breath grew weak, but his eyes burned with hatred as he stared at his tormentor.
"I’m going to kill you!"
The boy snatched a sharp object from the ground and lunged, stabbing viciously. The bully sidestepped, but a sharp pain shot through his arm.
"Feng, are you okay?"
A cry of alarm rang out from behind him. A moment later, a worried-looking couple was hugging him, fussing over his injury.
He saw the utter disbelief and dead despair in the other boy’s eyes, and a surge of triumph went through him.
’Now, everything the Wang family has is mine!’
Finally, he was led away by his doting ’parents’, leaving the boy in the alley behind, his fate unknown.
Jiang Li’s eyes snapped open. She was awake. ’The real and fake Wang Changfeng? The real and fake young master?’
She took out her phone and called Ji Qinghe. "Hello, Officer Ji. Have you identified the victim yet?"
"We have. His name is Zhou Zihang, a college sophomore. The cause of death is still under investigation. Do you have a new lead?"
"Yes. I’m on my way to the station now."
Jiang Li hung up, washed her face, and got ready to leave. "I’m going to the police station. If you guys go out, remember not to go too far."
After giving Yu Huannian and Miao Anji her instructions, Jiang Li headed out.
When she arrived at the police station, Ji Qinghe, Qin Shu, and Zhao Shuo were already waiting for her.
"Tiancheng and Xiao Ye have already gone to the dump site," Ji Qinghe told Jiang Li. "We’re still trying to locate the swimming pool you mentioned, so they went to the disposal site first to see if they could find any other clues."
"Officer Ji, can I see a photo of Zhou Zihang?"
Ji Qinghe nodded and handed her the case file, which contained all the information they had on Zhou Zihang.
Jiang Li froze. This wasn’t the person from her dream at all.
"Officer Ji, last night I dreamed about someone else. His name was Wang Zifeng, a male, around fifteen or sixteen, with a scar on his face.
In the dream, it seemed like he’d had his identity stolen by someone. The real Wang Zifeng’s life had been usurped.
I thought this victim would turn out to be Wang Zifeng, but I didn’t expect him to be Zhou Zihang."
Ji Qinghe was lost in thought.
Qin Shu looked at her. "The skeletal age of this headless corpse is around twenty-two. It can’t be the Wang Zifeng you mentioned."
Qin Shu finished, then gave her a smile. "Still, it gives us a new direction to investigate."
Jiang Li nodded, her heart heavy. Ji Qinghe saw a figure outside and suddenly remembered there was something else she hadn’t told Jiang Li.