Chapter Eighteen: Unfathomable

  The young man with the red hair and green bird on his head is none other than Gao Yunliang, Dong Jiayun's son. He can't be more than twenty years old, and by rights should still be in school, but this kid doesn't behave himself properly, hanging out with some street hoodlums, getting into all sorts of trouble, and has been to the police station more times than he can count, but unfortunately for him, his 'godfather' is a deputy director at the police bureau.

  With this backing, he can come and go safely at the police station every time he commits a crime. With this background, there are some little friends gathered around him, calling him "Liang Ge", so he starts to not study hard, and walks on the street with a big brother's attitude every day.

  Gao Yunliang actually doesn't look bad, and he has a 70% resemblance to his mother. After all, his mother also had a beautiful foundation, otherwise her 'uncle' wouldn't have crawled into her bed back then.

  What's even more infuriating is that he always tries to maintain a poker face, otherwise he'd feel like he's lost his big brother status. He glanced at Lin Zixian with disdain and coldly snorted: "A small security guard who doesn't know the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth, just watch how I'll deal with him."

  When she heard that Lin Zilei was going to be killed, Dong Jiayun was startled. Zhang Yang's domineering behavior was something she dared not do, and killing someone was still too far-fetched for her. She sternly warned her son: "Xiaoliang, just teach him a lesson, don't take his life."

  Previously, calling his son from the villa was a move to get back at Qiu Renzhan, but when Gao Yunliang heard that his mother said she had been bullied and didn't want to live anymore, he immediately became anxious and kept dialing his mother's phone. It wasn't until Qiu Renzhan left that Dong Jiayun answered his call.

  Dong Jiayun naturally couldn't let her son go to the villa where she and her old lover had a secret meeting, so after the mother and son returned home, they bumped into each other. Gao Yunliang immediately asked his mother who had bullied her and wanted to take his brother to avenge her. In this regard, Gao Yunliang can also be considered a good son.

  Dong Jiayun heard this and suddenly realized that her son was surrounded by some hoodlums, and the humiliation Lin Zile gave her was etched in her memory. If she didn't teach Lin Zile a lesson, she would be unable to eat or sleep peacefully, which led to this scene.

  She actually overestimated her son, Gao Yunliang. At most, he was just a street thug, unless he was momentarily impulsive, otherwise he didn't have the guts to really commit murder, at most he would just bully someone or get into a fight.

  Those who are truly ruthless and cunning on the road, no one will make themselves look like a red-haired green bird, for fear that when they do bad things, no one will recognize them, and when they show their faces, they all try to make themselves look like normal people.

  Gao Yunliang and his kind are, in the eyes of truly great figures, just some attention-seeking kids going through puberty, not even worthy of a straight gaze.

  Upon hearing his mother's warning, Gao Yunliang glanced at her and revealed a soft expression, saying "Alright, but I won't kill him, just break his arms and legs, otherwise it'll spread out and where will my face be?"

  Break your arms and legs! Dong Jiayun let out a sigh of relief, this was something she could still accept, and only in this way could she avenge her past grievances. However, she still frowned and instructed: "Xiao Liang, this is the last time, from now on you must study hard. Also, don't personally get involved in this matter, just let your friends around you handle it. Your 'uncle' is very unhappy about you mixing with those riffraff, if he finds out, who knows, he might blow up again."

  "Cut! He thinks he's my dad! Getting too involved." Gao Yunliang snorted disdainfully, following Lin Zixuan from a distance while leaning on the steering wheel.

  Dong Jiayun was left speechless by her son's words, she couldn't possibly tell him that his uncle was actually his father, and that he was born out of an affair between her and his uncle...

  Back in the hotel room, Lin Zi opened the TV and lay on the chair by the window, listlessly switching channels with the remote control, thinking about what to eat for dinner, when the phone beside him rang. He looked at the caller ID display and found it somewhat familiar.

  After picking up the phone, a voice came from inside: "Has Deputy Director Lin finished work?" accompanied by Ning Lan's soft laughter.

  Lin Zi suddenly lifted his spirits, just feeling bored, when a beautiful woman came to the door and teased him. He coughed and said: "It's time to get off work, why aren't you leaving? Are you waiting for Assistant Ning to invite me to dinner?"

  The person on the other end of the phone paused for a moment and said strangely: "But I remember someone asking me to treat them to dinner today?"

  "Huh... Really?" Lin Zixian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that he had said something like this to someone today, but it was just an offhand remark. Could it be that the other person actually took him seriously?

  "It's a pity about the money, don't want to invite just drag along, when I didn't say." Ning Lan's tone seemed somewhat unhappy, with a feeling of wanting to hang up the phone.

  "Wait, wait!" Lin Zixian cried out in laughter: "I'm telling you, Assistant Ning, don't joke with me. You're a big beauty and the chairman's assistant. At least a few colleagues would be willing to circle the building for the chance to take you out to dinner. Although I'm the most handsome one at Minghua Corporation, I didn't think you'd call me just to eat a meal. It's too much of an honor! Assistant Ning, speak directly! What do you want from me? Is it another instruction from Chairman Qiao?"

  Ning Lan was amused by him and chuckled, "Who said I was joking? The most handsome guy from the famous Flower Group is inviting me to dinner, such a great thing, why wouldn't I agree?"

  Lin Zixian still didn't quite believe it and suspiciously asked: "Is this for real? Or are you just messing with me?"

  "In one sentence, will you invite me or not?" Ning Lan hummed.

  "Please, beautiful lady has an appointment, can't ask for more!" Lin Zixian helplessly said: "But I'm not too familiar with Donghai, and I don't know where to take you to eat that would suit your taste!"

  "That's alright, I'll show you the way, just pay for it... where do you live?" The sound of a car engine could be heard from the phone, Ning Lan was apparently calling him while sitting in the car.

  "Not far from the Lihua Building..." Lin Zixian had just reported the hotel room number, and the other party hung up the phone. He still felt a bit puzzled, thinking that Ning Lan's finding himself shouldn't be as simple as eating together.

  Before long, the doorbell rang. Lin Zile walked over to open the door and saw Ning's assistant standing at the doorway with a smile: "Deputy Director Lin, I've come all the way to pick you up, won't you invite me in for a sit?"

  Lin Zixian's face was filled with suspicion as she sidestepped, making way for a path.

  Ning Lan entered the room and began to look around everywhere, even running into the bathroom for a glance.

  Lin Zixian was dizzy from being turned around by her, and found that the other party was not at all like the serious look during work hours. She finally couldn't help but shout: "Ning Assistant, what are you doing?"

  Ning Lan nodded slightly as she came out of the bathroom: "You're staying in a high-end hotel, it seems you're not short on money, so there are more options for dinner. There's no sign of women or others in the room, proving that you live alone, and you can enjoy your dinner slowly without worrying about ruining anything."

  As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Lin Zi, who was staring blankly, and asked, "You're not young anymore, why aren't you married?"

  Lin Zi Xian was a bit unable to keep up with her pace, and dazedly shook his head: "No!"

  "Don't you have a girlfriend?" Ning Lan's eyes flickered with a hint of slyness, with a teasing tone.

  "There have been a few, but they've all broken up, and there isn't one currently... why are you asking me this? Is it related to inviting me out for dinner?" Lin Zixian circled around her twice, looking her up and down, scratching his forehead as he asked: "I know I'm very handsome, and I also know I have a lot of charm, could it be that you've developed feelings for me?"

  She didn't know how to react when the girl asked her such a straightforward question, and Ning Lan half-jokingly replied with a smile: "What do you think?"

  Lin Zi lazily rolled his eyes, he was just joking around and didn't really think Ning Lan would like him. He lit a cigarette, couldn't understand what this woman wanted to do, so he just sat aside to cool off, waiting for the other party to reveal their purpose when they felt like it, and didn't bother to beat around the bush anymore.

  Seeing him like that, Ning Lan's heart inexplicably tightened. Although the other party had a lecherous appearance with no reserve, she didn't see any unusual feelings towards herself in his eyes, not even a hint of masculine desire. In his gaze, there was only a sense of longing for something far away.

  Ning Lan couldn't help but doubt his own charm, feeling a little melancholy. When he glanced to the side, he saw an old copper harmonica on the bedside table and walked over to pick it up, playing with it in his hand as he smiled and asked, "You still know how to play this thing?"

  Lin Zi Xian turned around and walked over, pulling the harmonica out of her hand and putting it into his own pocket, as if he didn't want anyone else to touch it without his permission. He did it so naturally that he was still smiling wryly and said: "Ning's assistant, you really came just for a dinner?"

  Ning Lan's hand, which was holding the harmonica, slightly recoiled, as if pricked by a needle. However, her face still wore a smiling expression: "I came to pick you up in person, don't you believe me?"