285: Breaking Through the Empty Gates

[T/N: stealing when there’s no one present]

In order to collect definite evidence, Zhao Chenlin and Wei Wei decided to find a professional to stalk Wang Cheng.

Neither of them knew who the man with Wang Cheng was, only that he was involved with Wang Cheng. In fact, Wang Cheng was taking advantage of the cooperation between Eimer and the Zhou Group to interact with Chu Yifeng in a very open and honest manner.

Zhao Chenlin and Wei Wei had been recommended this private investigator by others. On his first day of duty, the private investigator took volumes of photos of the two entering and exiting different locations. The photos were quickly sent to Wei Wei’s mailbox. Zhao Chenlin worried that his mailbox was being monitored by Wang Cheng, so he didn’t dare use his own.

"Yes, it was that man!"

Wei Wei pointed to Chu Yifeng, who was walking with Wang Cheng in a photo.

Zhao Chenlin frowned and said: "You say that they have a different type of relationship, but these photos do not prove that the two of them are intimate. They are simply walking together in an upright manner."

"Though they obviously don’t dare to do anything in public, they will definitely show their feet in private. Bet let me call the detective so that he doesn't continue to send such useless photos," Wei Wei said firmly.

"Alright."

Zhao Chenlin was not going to tell his parents about this. His parents always felt that he wasn’t good enough and couldn't achieve anything. This time, he would show them that he and Wei Wei could bring Zhou Cheng using his own ability. However, the two didn’t know that the person they sent to follow Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng didn’t bother taking pictures of their private lives, and scandalous pictures of Wang Cheng would never be taken.

Wang Cheng received a call from Wang Ning'an.

It turned out that their first auntie had just called Wang Ning’an and told him that their house had been robbed, everything was in chaos. However, Wang Ning'an could not walk away during his meeting, so he wanted Wang Cheng to go over and have a look. Wang Cheng immediately asked Chu Yifeng to switch directions and drive to the apartment quickly.

Guan Meifang and He Ping were already waiting for them. The two still had some lingering symptoms of fear. After all, they were staying at a high-end apartment with a relatively high level of security, so it was quite incredible that the thief was still able to break through the door. Fortunately, the mother and son weren’t completely ignorant and had lived here for a while. By the time Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng came over, they had already told the apartment security about this matter. Now, the security was retrieving the surveillance video.

It had been two years since Binhai Garden was built, and things had been peaceful for those two years. This was the first such incident. They attached great importance to this matter, not just because of its rarity, but because the owners of these high-end apartments were not ordinary people.

"Auntie, Big Cousin, are you two okay?" When Wang Cheng called his auntie, she told him that they were in the security room. The two went straight there after arriving.

As Guan Meifang heard his words, her heart warmed. She hurriedly said: "We’re okay. The thief broke in while we were gone. It was only after I came back with Pingping that we saw the house had been turned upside down."

Chu Yifeng walked to the two security guards. The security guards had already retrieved the surveillance video within this time. After searching through the film, they finally found a suspicious figure, wearing a mask over his face and a baseball cap that blocked his profile. One could only see his figure in the video.

The man did not take the elevator, but the stairs, until he reached Wang Ning’an’s floor. Through the camera of that level, they could see him standing at Wang Ning’an’s door, taking out tools to commit the crime. About three minutes later, both the inner and outer doors were unlocked by the other party. He used very professional means, he was definitely not any ordinary lock-picker. Because this happened in such a short time, there was a high chance that the security guard was momentarily distracted.

The man was inside the apartment for nearly an hour, and then came out empty-handed.

Though Guan Meifang said that nothing had been stolen, the other party might have stolen a small object that couldn’t be seen by either her or the camera. This could only be determined by Wang Ning’an. However, both Wang Cheng and Wang Ning'an knew that the other party was most likely targeting the jade pendant. If this really was the reason, the other party must not have stolen anything, because the jade pendant had always been on Wang Cheng, who was never around ordinary people.

The security guard adjusted the surveillance to switch to the gate cameras, but they could not find the man again. And in the footage, they only saw a car leave through the gates.

The security guard said that the owner of the car was indeed a man, but he was not wearing a baseball cap, and his clothes were different from the thief’s. He also seemed professional and business-like, unlike the robber. However, as they continued to investigate, they could not find footage of the thief leaving. After they switched to the surveillance of other areas, they were able to find him entering the underground parking lot and hiding in the camera’s blind spot.

There was a car parked nearby. The footage displayed two cones blocking the exit of the parking spot. As the driver got out of the car and removed the sign, the man hiding in the blind spot took the opportunity to run behind the car, open the trunk, and get in. This car was the one they had seen through the gate’s camera. They finally knew how the thief had left Binhai Garden.

After watching the surveillance, they could all tell that the thief had already planned all this. Although they didn’t catch the thief, it was fortunate enough that the apartment owner, Wang Ning’an, did not lose anything. The security guard was relieved.

After dealing with all that footage, the group returned to the apartment.

Though Wang Cheng did not intend to pursue this matter with Binhai Garden, the manager said that he would continue to investigate. After all, he had to display Binhai Garden’s attitude to the other apartment-owners.

Guan Meifang didn't dare to touch the crime scene, so when they went back up, the apartment was still the same mess the thief had left it. They all cleaned it up, and it was soon restored to its original state. Guan Meifang poured a glass of water for Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng, and then went to the kitchen to make lunch.

He Ping glanced at the two, then also went to the kitchen to help. Wang Cheng felt that his cousin seemed to become smarter than the average person ever since his brain operation. Within a month, he had actually learned to observe words and watch colors*.

[T/N: *observe/analyze other people]

"Do you know the origins of that thief?" Chu Yifeng asked after He Ping walked away. Wang Cheng knew that he couldn’t hide things from him. He had planned to tell him about this before, but he was dragged off to bed by a certain person and forgot about it. "I don't know the origins of the other party, but I do know what he was looking for."

"What is it?"

Wang Cheng said: "A jade pendant that my paternal grandma had left for my father. My brother and I encountered two separate people attempting to steal the jade pendant on our way back from Shanhai City. The other party also sent someone to sneak into my family’s house, but they didn’t end up stealing anything. I left the jade pendant in the villa, so I can show it to you when we get home. My elder brother said that the jade pendant is made of imperial jade, so it must be very precious. To pass down such a treasure to each generation, this family is either wealthy or straight-up nobility.”

"Although it is from over fifty years ago, since it is imperial jade, it shouldn't be too difficult to find which family it came from. Are you planning on investigating this?"

"Of course. Though the other party isn’t going to give up, the jade pendant is still the only token my grandmother left to my dad, so I can’t let them take it."

"Make sure you don’t beat the grass and startle the snake too early."

Wang Cheng nodded. "I know, but my elder brother and I are probably being tracked right now, so I might need to ask for your help with this matter." When they couldn’t find the jade pendant with his elder brother, they would more or less become suspicious of himself.

The two left after eating lunch there. Wang Cheng planned to go to the company today. He had gradually begun contacting the leaders of the Zhou Group. His grandfather also made an exception for him, a layman, by allowing him to participate in the cooperation with Eimer. A few days ago, the Zhou Group began their promotions abroad; apparently it received great feedback. Due to the reputation of Eimer, many foreign upper-class customers were willing to give the Zhou Group some face.

Wang Cheng arrived at the company after separating from Chu Yifeng, and happened to meet the Zhou Lin husband and wife who had just come out from their meeting. Zhao Jiansheng gave him a meaningful look, while Zhou Lin seemed a bit upset. However, they both still pretended to be familial elders who were concerned for Wang Cheng.

"I heard that your grandfather has given you access to the hotel project, it’s really great news."

"Thank you, auntie. Grandfather gave me this opportunity because he knows I’ll work hard for it. On the other hand, I’ve heard that my cousin Chenlin has recently returned to his old habits, often going to nightclubs and bars. I hope that auntie can take care of his matters, or else you might end up losing money, and then you’ll lose more than you gain."

Wang Cheng hadn’t actually sent anyone to follow Zhao Chenlin. However, knowing Zhao Chenlin's character, he would definitely be able not stay in place for too long without his elders strictly controlling him. When Zhou Lin heard his ridicule, her expression slightly distorted for a moment. If it weren't for her worrying about the presence of other employees, she would have completely flipped out.

A nearby employee just wanted to disappear right then and there. Just by innocently passing by, she heard a big secret. There had long been rumors floating around the company that Manager Zhou’s family and Zhou Shao didn’t get along. However, they had only seen Zhao Chenlin bothering Zhou Shao, not Manager Zhou. More often, they saw her warmly greet Zhou Shao. Everyone had thought things were not the way they looked on the surface, and now they could see that she was indeed acting.

Wang Cheng went to the chairman's office.

Feng Yifan was in there, but he had just been about to leave. The two nodded at each other as they passed through the doorway.

"Come here." Zhou Shichang beckoned him over. Wang Cheng sat next to him and asked, "Grandfather, did you call me here for something?"

"Yes, there’s something for you to handle. We’ve established the foreign branch, but there is still no one to watch over it. President Feng recommended Assistant Xie, but your grandfather wants you to go with Assistant Xie. Are you interested in this?" Zhou Shichang briefly explained what was going on.

Wang Cheng was stunned.

***

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