Chapter 30: Pica

As the river flowed into the sea, explosive news came one after another, yet the ship remained calm and peaceful.

With Gu Jiu’an’s testimony, the culprit was quickly arrested in time and taken onto the helicopter in handcuffs. This time, trying to get released on bail would probably be as hard as climbing to heaven. Gu Jiu’an was also taken away at once for emergency treatment.

In order to temporarily block the news of a murder case, the cruise operator even took advantage of the helicopter taking off to start the drone performance ahead of schedule. After all, such a scandal was ultimately only part of the Gu family’s internal power struggle… They were also afraid of offending the Gu family if too many people learned the inside story.

On the gradually darkening sea, brilliant lights and shadows suddenly burst forth. The livestream cameras moved between the deck and the viewing platform, focusing on filming the latest naked-eye 3D technology display.

Yu Wangxiao had just finished an interview. The celebrities were promoting the movie about to be released, and the bloggers specially invited onto the ship were recording vlogs inside. No one knew the news that the head of the Gu family had suddenly died. Everything was lively, with singing and dancing, peace and prosperity.

Lin Jiangye returned to the third floor and ignored Lin Yu’s smug expression. Leaning by the window as he looked at Yu Wangxiao’s back below, he asked Chen Ming without turning his head, “Uncle Chen, do we need to do anything? Like go to the island and take a look?”

“It’s fine. The police will get there faster than us. Your younger brother won’t be…”

Chen Ming stopped there, as if suddenly remembering something. “They’ll probably search Moros Manor once. You’re not a suspect and weren’t present, so you don’t need to go give a statement. But when the time comes, you may need to sign an informed consent form. You can sign it online. After the search is over, the police will come confirm the property losses with you. Young Master, just let He Chen go over.”

Lin Jiangye was silent for an instant, somewhat incredulous. “He transferred the island under my name?”

“Yes.” Chen Ming narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Our Chairman Yu is the representative of keeping his word. If you don’t trust him, I’ll have to complain on his behalf.”

“Cough…”

Lin Jiangye felt a little guilty under his stare and silently brought over a plate of marinated shrimp from the freezer, pushing it to Chen Ming.

But he did not give any to Lin Yu.

The police probably had not suspected him because the property transfer had not happened long ago. In everyone’s understanding, Moros Manor was clearly still under Yu Wangxiao’s control.

Moreover, kidnapping someone silently in front of a large number of cameras required sufficient resources and manpower. Lin Jiangye had none of these.

So Yu Wangxiao was politely invited to the tea room and questioned as one of the suspects. Lin Jiangye tilted his head and secretly listened, discovering that the inside story of the kidnapping case was even more complicated than he had imagined.

The special police had discovered Lin Jingyao’s traces at the fastest speed not only because his new watch came with GPS positioning, but also because they had received a public report in advance—someone was hiding illegal items in Moros Manor and holding unreported group superstitious worship activities. It was extremely dangerous.

From a certain angle, this report was not entirely absurdly wrong… The corner of Lin Jiangye’s lips twitched. He wanted to laugh and also felt lucky. Fortunately, he had long ago expressed that he had no appetite for living dead, so Yu Wangxiao had moved that batch of Old Madam Gus elsewhere.

Otherwise, gun-resistant old ladies versus armed special police—it would be difficult to determine who would win. If people were accidentally injured or killed, that would be real trouble.

But luck was one thing. The reporter’s overly obvious malicious intent was another. Too many people wanted to carve flesh off Yu Wangxiao, and Lin Jiangye could not help suspecting that Lin Jingyao being taken away was also part of the frame-up.

Even if they could not frame Yu Wangxiao, perhaps there was still a chance to frame him, Lin Jiangye, in return. The network of interests among them was not complicated. Bringing down the fake young master was clearly beneficial to him.

“That was a gift I spent a great deal of money preparing for my lover. I trouble everyone to be careful during the search. If he gets angry with me… I won’t be able to coax him properly.”

On the other side, Yu Wangxiao was good-temperedly answering the police’s questions, looking quite helpless, as though he were being bullied. Without changing expression, he spoke nonsense and arranged Lin Jiangye into the most domineering, unreasonable boyfriend in history.

As a young entrepreneur whose name was on ranking lists, the gentle, good image he had maintained for a long time was brought into full play at this moment.

Lin Jiangye had to hold back his laughter so hard it felt uncomfortable. Others could not tell, but he could—Yu Wangxiao had nearly made himself pleased. This person actually liked the appearance of a domineering boyfriend.

The police officer in charge of questioning nodded repeatedly, eyes showing sympathy, and did not believe at all that kidnapping was something Yu Wangxiao would do. After formally going through the procedure, he even apologized with an excellent attitude and promised not to casually damage any private property on the island.

Yu Wangxiao lightly extricated himself and did not hurry. He did not even seem to want to personally go to the island and watch, appearing even more clear of guilt.

He only casually sent He Chen over, asking him to fully assist the police investigation.

Seeing that Yu Wangxiao was about to come upstairs, Lin Yu, who had rarely been quiet for a long time, began making noise again.

“Actually, for some dirty matters, Yu Wangxiao can solve them with a wave of his hand. It all depends on whether he’s willing. So why are you getting involved? Is this something you should touch?”

He leaned closer, frowning as he lowered his voice. “Do you know? Recently, Mom’s eyes have been swollen every day. She told me she’s worried about you, afraid you’re not living well, afraid someone will harm you…”

“Why is she worried about me?” Lin Jiangye found it inexplicable.

“You’re her youngest son. If she’s not worried about you, is she supposed to be worried about me? Lin Jiangye, if you really suspect our dad has a problem, just ask your man for help. Can you really rely on yourself messing around randomly? What ability do you have to scheme and plot? Mom isn’t made for this either. Don’t harm her, and don’t harm yourself.”

“Wu… Lin Yu, do you know? All schemes and plots are no longer schemes and plots under the premise that I can immediately kill you and perfectly hide the corpse.” Lin Jiangye spoke very slowly, in case he did not hear clearly. “You also don’t have the ability to scheme and plot. No wonder we’re blood relatives.”

Lin Yu looked at his extremely calm, beautiful face and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. “…What do you mean? How am I incapable?”

“In the end, you’re just an unreliable person. You can’t even protect Lin Jingyao. No wonder Lin Bingsheng can’t truly trust you. Even if he gave you the position of president, he would still stand behind you and grip your neck, keeping you completely ignorant of his private business.”

“Lin Jiangye!”

“And you’re already old, yet you still have no say among the shareholders. You can’t seize your father’s position at all. Compare yourself to Gu Jiu’an. He’s still a university student, but he has already secretly persuaded many elders. With the shares Old Madam Gu transferred to him, he can now crush Gu family eldest young master’s faction. Even if they hold a shareholders’ meeting tonight and confront each other head-on, he’ll win. As for Yu Lin…” Lin Jiangye smiled and said softly, “Yu Lin is mentally ill, but he’s more handsome than you, his family is richer than yours, and in reality, Lin Jingyao likes him more than you.”

Actually, Lin Yu could not hold back halfway through listening. He suddenly swung a punch at Lin Jiangye’s face. But Lin Jiangye unhurriedly tilted his head to the side. Lin Yu did not hit him at all and even lost his balance, nearly falling to the ground.

Lin Jiangye laughed softly again and deliberately showed a disgusted expression. “Did you hear clearly? Then behave yourself. Think more about what meaning your existence has, what use there is in being alive, and why Lin Jingyao should choose you. If you refuse to think, then this world’s brilliance will have nothing to do with you. You’ll only honestly be a mediocre person for your entire life, a stepping stone in the struggle between me and Lin Jingyao.”

Lin Yu stared wide-eyed in shock, his chest heaving violently. For a long time, he could not speak. And when he finally digested all of Lin Jiangye’s words, the angle from which he broke down was especially bizarre.

“…You scolded me bloody, and you still expect me to help you investigate my own father, right? Lin Jiangye, how many times have you scolded me lately? I’m your ge! Why do you never scold anyone else and only scold me?!” Lin Yu’s eyes were red, and he actually looked rather hurt.

“Because you’re especially rude. Besides, other people never scold me either. Lin Yu, you kind of deserve it.” Lin Jiangye picked up a glass and poured himself a cup of still-cold champagne, drinking it slowly. He looked extremely infuriating.

Lin Yu was speechless for several seconds, breathing in large gulps. Immediately afterward, he actually ran away from anger.

There was no helping it. He could not beat Lin Jiangye, and he could not even win an argument. If he continued embarrassing himself and the matter spread out, maybe Xiao Yao really would dislike him and would no longer consider having any future with him…

“Going to see Xiao Yao now is the most important thing. I won’t stoop to the level of a cold-blooded guy like you who likes sophistry!”

He roared without looking back, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as he turned and left. On the way, he almost ran straight into Yu Wangxiao… He did not greet him and simply braced himself to go around him and leave.

“No manners.” Lin Jiangye shook his head and stretched.

When Yu Wangxiao entered, he was in quite a good mood and did not mind the rampaging Lin Yu at all. He walked straight over and pinched Lin Jiangye’s face. “I heard it all, Tuantuan. You’re so fierce.”

For some reason, arguing with Lin Yu had felt natural while doing it, but the thought that Yu Wangxiao had actually listened to the whole thing made Lin Jiangye feel inexplicably warm in the face. He held Yu Wangxiao’s hand and shook it. “Cough, I only wanted to take the opportunity to do an experiment… I’ll explain the details when we go home.”

“In the future, you can be a little fiercer with me too.”

“Wu?”

“I like the way you curse people.” Yu Wangxiao took the glass he had drunk from and took a sip himself. “You can curse at me too. I’ll like it. But don’t do it to others.”

“…Pica.” Lin Jiangye was silent in shock for a long while before squeezing out these three short words. This was also something he had recently learned while surfing the internet, and he felt it was extremely precise.

Chen Ming could no longer listen and was completely unable to endure his boss acting as if no one else were around. Pinching his nose, he swiftly slipped out the door.

Yu Wangxiao’s smile deepened. He curved his lips and whispered by Lin Jiangye’s ear, “Tuantuan, before calling someone else pica, first think about what you’ve eaten, and what you like eating most.”

“…”

Lin Jiangye had no way to refute him.

So he swiftly changed the subject. “Will the police still trouble you?”

“No, don’t worry. He Chen alone can handle it. If I appear now, I’ll only be followed by reporters. It’s best to avoid trouble for now… Do you want to visit Lin Jingyao?”

Lin Jiangye shook his head. “I don’t want to. As long as he isn’t dead, that’s fine. Then after watching the fireworks show, where are we going? Do we still need to cooperate with your cameras?”

“Next, I’m only responsible for accompanying you to have fun. Once you’ve had enough, we’ll retreat. No more appearances. Also, after getting off the ship, can we go to Renshen Hospital? Gu Yuan was sent to Director Li’s place. After emergency rescue, he was admitted to the ICU. I’m afraid he won’t last long.” Yu Wangxiao patiently explained slowly. “Old Madam Gu is my friend, after all. If I personally watch her son walk the final stretch, it’ll be acceptable in terms of courtesy.”

“Of course! I also want to personally see how the bald man dies… He’s especially bad. Oh right, who do you think kidnapped Lin Jingyao?”

“I suspect Yu Lin. There should be accomplices, but Yu Lin definitely participated.”

Lin Jiangye’s eyes slowly widened. “You suspect Yu Lin?”

“He knocked out the housekeeper at the old residence. I just received the notice. Sneaking onto the cruise isn’t difficult for him.” Yu Wangxiao sighed lightly, kneading Lin Jiangye’s hand. “Ignore him. Let’s go play around the ship first.”

“…Wait, then why exactly did he kidnap Lin Jingyao?”

“He’s sick.”

Lin Jiangye suddenly understood. “That makes so much sense. So objective!”

***

As a new type of cruise ship recently unveiled and brought out to attract customers and advertise, the entertainment facilities on board were indeed richer and more colorful than Lin Jiangye had imagined.

A smoke-free office, VR game room, deep-water swimming pool and diving classroom, a classical little ballroom with a billiards table and flashing disco ball… not to mention restaurants and bars of different styles, as well as a duty-free shopping center. Everything was designed to ensure that passengers could experience diverse culture and cuisine during long-distance travel.

Unfortunately, in order not to waste the little curls the stylist had made for him, Lin Jiangye did not plan to change clothes and go play in the pool. He was very satisfied just eating, drinking, and strolling around normally.

He pulled Yu Wangxiao along and focused on looking everywhere. As expected, Yu Wangxiao bought everything he picked up to look at, including an expensive baseball set.

Actually, Lin Jiangye only liked the metal bat a little.

They also ran into Li Yushen and Ji Ting once. Li Yushen’s “Little Lamb” was stuck in his throat, fully charged and ready to go. But after he caught sight of Yu Wangxiao leisurely following behind, the two brothers turned around and slipped away on the spot like mice seeing a cat.

“Am I that scary? They ran away, and Lin Yu ran when he saw me too.” Yu Wangxiao seemed thoughtful, deeply reflecting on whether his recent approachability had declined.

“They’re just relatively smart and know they can’t offend you. As for Lin Yu… he’s sick.”

“That makes so much sense. So objective.”

“Eh, Yu Wangxiao, you’re copying what I said.”

“Mm, what you say is cute.”

“Then it’s fine.”

The two chatted randomly as they walked around. Yu Wangxiao did not care at all about how many things he bought. As for how to bring them home, there was no need for him to worry. The merchants would naturally deliver them tonight.

But he did become somewhat annoyed, because more and more people were following behind them and buying things… “Same style as Chairman Yu” seemed to be a rather valuable phrase. Unfortunately, the invited guests on the cruise did not lack this bit of money.

Yu Wangxiao was experienced in many matters, but only inexperienced in this kind of situation. He was too busy, and for safety reasons, he never personally went out shopping.

Inexplicably accompanying Lin Jiangye to buy a few things had actually almost stirred up a shopping frenzy. It was troubling.

At the same time, after looking at the staff members’ delighted faces, then looking at the corner of Yu Wangxiao’s lips that had dropped by one pixel, Lin Jiangye suddenly discovered in surprise that he seemed to have become smarter.

He could actually understand such detailed micro-expressions and facial cues!

Lin Jiangye leaned over, squeezed away the staff member, hugged Yu Wangxiao’s arm, thought about it, and opened his mouth to coax him. “Baby, I’ve had enough fun. Tonight I ate well, drank well, the fireworks show was also beautiful, and I’m especially happy… How about we go to the hospital now? Let’s quickly finish seeing that old bald man, then quickly go home and sleep.”

He had never practiced how to coax people, so his tone was still a little stiff. But that “baby” had a good effect. It successfully made the staff members tactfully move farther away, not daring to come over and talk about any black-gold membership club anymore.

Yu Wangxiao smiled. “Mm, I’ll listen to you. You’re still growing, so you need sufficient sleep.”

The lowered pixel finally returned. Lin Jiangye let out a breath of relief and held Yu Wangxiao’s hand as they walked onto the deck.

The night had deepened. The cruise had already steadily returned and arrived back at South Harbor. Chen Ming had brought the car over in advance and was leaning against the car door, his expression somewhat serious.

Yu Wangxiao glanced at him, got into the car without changing expression, and only after the sedan quickly disappeared into the night did he casually ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Chairman Yu, news just arrived. Chairman Gu’s condition is critical. When Old Madam Gu learned that her son was severely injured, she… died on the spot from a heart attack.” Chen Ming answered methodically, though his expression seemed slightly subtle.

Lin Jiangye’s expression also gradually became subtle.

Old Madam Gu died from a heart attack?

These two things put together… why did he feel like he could not quite understand it?