Chapter 74: Qiao Xier’s First Kiss

  Zhang Yang quickly called Qiao Xier, but to his shock, she didn’t answer.

  He anxiously called several more times in a row, but there was still no response.

  What’s wrong with this girl? Why isn’t she answering? Zhang Yang looked around nervously and was just about to call Tian Tian when Qiao Xier called back.

  Overjoyed, Zhang Yang answered, but the voice on the other end wasn’t Qiao Xier’s.

  “Pervert… who are you, harassing my junior sister so late at night?” a clearly unfriendly female voice said. It was Tian Tian.

  “Pervert?” Zhang Yang froze, then asked quickly, “It’s me, Zhang Yang. Why do you have Joyce’s phone?”

  “Ah, it’s you. Then why does it show up as ‘Pervert’ on her screen… Anyway, what’s up? Oh right, why didn’t you guys come home tonight?”

  “I’ll explain later. First answer me—where’s Joyce?”

  “Her? I don’t know. I was half-asleep when I heard someone open the door and leave. When I got up to check, she was gone and the door was still open. I thought it was weird. I went back to sleep but forgot to close the door. Her phone started ringing and woke me up again… oh right, she went out without her phone… hey, are you listening?”

  “How long has she been gone?” Zhang Yang’s voice grew tense. That wasn’t like Qiao Xier at all—she was always careful and composed.

  “About twenty minutes or so. Zhang Yang, it’s so late and she’s been drinking too. What should we do? You’ve got to think of something!” Tian Tian was panicking too.

  “I know. I’ll go find her. Don’t panic—stay home and wait. If she comes back, call me right away.”

  Hanging up, Zhang Yang thought for a moment. If Qiao Xier was looking for him, there were only two possible places—Qingyuan Hotel or Qianshui Street. Since Xu Danlu and the others hadn’t gone back tonight, could she have gone to the hotel?

  If so, he could probably catch up to her there.

  He thought as he walked toward the street. Seven or eight minutes later, he reached the intersection just as a night taxi passed by. He flagged it down but hesitated before getting in.

  He apologized to the driver and let him go.

  Because he had a strange premonition—that girl was probably coming to Qianshui Street.

  He waited for over twenty minutes. Qiao Xier didn’t show up, but a call from Chen Tianxiong did.

  “We’ve already dealt with those people as you asked. It’s confirmed that the ringleader was Ah Ye. As for why Ah Ye wanted your friend’s father dead, that’s still unclear. Unless we find him, there’s no direct evidence pointing to the Bai family’s involvement.”

  Zhang Yang frowned. “You said there’s no direct evidence. That means there’s indirect evidence then?”

  “Right. One thug confessed that Ah Ye’s been throwing money around lately. He’s even gotten into drugs and is keeping a woman. He used to be just a small-time enforcer, so where’d the money come from? I had someone check that woman. She said that last night, a drunk Ah Ye bragged that he was close with someone from the Bai family who had given him a hundred thousand in cash.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “But whether that thug or the woman is telling the truth remains uncertain. I’ve already sent people to find Ah Ye, but he’s slippery—it might take a while.”

  “Thanks. That’s enough.”

  “You planning to go after the Bai family? Without Ah Ye, you’ve got no proof.”

  “Brother Xiong, we’re not the police. We don’t need proof,” Zhang Yang said calmly. Chen Tianxiong didn’t know about his other grudges with the Bai family, so it wasn’t surprising he asked.

  Zhang Yang paused, then added, “Put out an underground bounty—five hundred thousand for capturing Ah Ye.”

  The amount wasn’t large, but it was enough to cause a stir. Who knew how others would react? The Bai family, at least, would be terrified—wishing Ah Ye would vanish from the face of the earth.

  Chen Tianxiong agreed without asking further.

  Once that was done, Zhang Yang finally let out a breath. He leaned against a wall to rest, and as soon as his back touched it, he saw a white R8 driving toward him from afar, its blinding headlights making him squint.

  The car stopped. Qiao Xier jumped out, ran straight toward him, and stared at him blankly.

  The wind was sharp as knives, whistling down the wide street.

  Zhang Yang looked at her, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “Are you crazy?”

  Qiao Xier didn’t say a word. She rushed forward, hugged him tightly—and kissed him.

  It was clumsy but carried a faint cool sweetness. Zhang Yang instinctively pulled her closer, took control, broke through her lips, and captured her delicate tongue. Her tongue was soft and warm, but clearly inexperienced.

  Zhang Yang didn’t hesitate to entwine and devour it. He didn’t know how long it lasted until she was nearly out of breath, her small fists weakly thumping his chest.

  “Bastard, that was my first kiss!” Qiao Xier gasped, blushing furiously. She wanted to say something but couldn’t, then glared at him. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Waiting for you!” Zhang Yang pressed his cheek against hers, feeling her heartbeat pounding behind her chest as he growled, “Running out this late without your phone—don’t you know people worry?”

  “And you’re one to talk! Who disappears in the middle of the night with a million, saying it’s for a friend’s emergency? If I hadn’t gone to Zhongshan Hospital and run into Lulu by chance, I’d have been fooled by you!”

  “You even went to the hospital?” Zhang Yang looked at her, surprised.

  From the villa to the hospital, then all the way here—just how fast had this crazy girl been driving?

  “Yeah. How come you didn’t tell me about what happened with Gao Qi’s family?” Qiao Xier had calmed down by now and pushed him away.

  “Didn’t want to ruin your night of drinking.” Zhang Yang reluctantly let her go, walked to the car, opened the door, and sat in the driver’s seat.

  Qiao Xier stared at him in surprise. “You can drive?”

  “Is that weird?” Zhang Yang fastened his seatbelt. “Nowadays, you can’t even apply for a job without a driver’s license.”

  Qiao Xier got in, shot him a glare, and huffed, “And you didn’t tell me? I’ve been driving you around all this time!”

  Zhang Yang glanced at her. “If I wasn’t worried you’d get busted for drunk driving, I wouldn’t have said anything. But to be clear—I haven’t driven since getting my license.”

  Zhang Yang’s driving wasn’t great. How bad? Hard to say—but several times along the way, Qiao Xier nearly grabbed the wheel herself.

  By the time they reached the hospital, she had to lean out of the car to vomit. When she was done, she cursed Zhang Yang furiously, “Only you could make a sports car drive like a tractor!”

  Zhang Yang patted her back, puzzled. “Why don’t I feel sick?” He figured she was nauseous from drinking and the cold wind, but she stubbornly refused to admit it.

  Outside the ICU, Xu Danlu and Gao Qi were asleep in their chairs. Li Jindong and He Shan were quietly chatting. Despite his bulky frame, Li Jindong was surprisingly good at comforting others, making the young woman believe her father would be fine.

  Gao Qi woke first. Seeing Zhang Yang and Qiao Xier, she asked drowsily, “Is it morning already?”

  Zhang Yang pointed to the pitch-black window and patted her shoulder. “Not yet. Go back to sleep.”

  Both she and Xu Danlu had lost their virginity just after midnight and spent most of the night exhausted. If they weren’t careful, their bodies would collapse.

  Gao Qi gave him a slightly resentful look and shook her head. “Can’t sleep anymore.”

  Zhang Yang glanced at He Ting inside the ICU. “What did the doctor say?”

  “Still in critical condition, but improving slightly.”

  Zhang Yang nodded, then looked at Xu Danlu, who was sleeping curled up like a kitten. “I’ll find a hotel nearby for you two to rest. If you don’t sleep, how will you take care of He Shan tomorrow?”

  Gao Qi looked at her sister chatting with Li Jindong and nodded. Their mother had died young, and their father was all they had. Taking care of him was their shared responsibility.

  After arranging rooms for her and Xu Danlu at a nearby hotel, Zhang Yang and Qiao Xier headed back to the villa.

  This time, Qiao Xier refused to let Zhang Yang drive.

  When they got back, it was already six in the morning. Qiao Xier yawned, ready to sleep, but Zhang Yang dragged her into the room.

  “What now? Can’t I sleep?” Qiao Xier looked at him, her face suddenly red. “Don’t think that just because I kissed you today, you can fuck me too.”

  Zhang Yang almost spat blood at that. He sniffed the air—the alcohol was gone. Had this crazy girl picked up bad habits from Liu Zixuan? He looked at her and said, “That share transfer agreement you gave me today—was it real?”

  “Obviously!” Qiao Xier jumped up indignantly, as if insulted.

  “Then help me cash out some money. I need it urgently.”

  “How much? I can lend it to you. Don’t you know Xingyun’s stock is skyrocketing right now? Cashing out now would be stupid.”

  “One hundred million.”

  Qiao Xier frowned. “What for?”

  “To crush Bai Pharmaceuticals.”

  “Crush Bai Pharmaceuticals? Even if you wanted to, a hundred million isn’t enough. And what’s this got to do with Bai Pharmaceuticals anyway? Tonight’s incident was connected to them?”

  “Remember the old man we saved that day? He’s the one in the ICU right now—Gao Qi’s father.”

  Qiao Xier looked at him silently for a moment, then asked, “What are you going to do with that hundred million?”

  “Start a company,” Zhang Yang said flatly. Although crushing Bai Pharmaceuticals through Xingyun was possible, Xingyun didn’t fully belong to him. Operating through it would be inconvenient. If he built his own company, everything would be easier—and he’d make sure Bai Pharmaceuticals was utterly destroyed.