Chapter 91: The Love Life of the Rich and Handsome

2022-05-20

Liu Yinyan has lived a life that could only be called legendary. There are wild theories on the internet about him: If you could travel back forty years, don’t bother doing anything else—just seek out a man named Liu Yinyan. Befriend him, support him, and you’ll live out your days in comfort and luxury.

Everybody knows Liu Yinyan succeeded, but nobody seems to know what he actually did in those crucial years. Some claim that the first pot of gold is always tainted. So how did Liu Yinyan, who started out with nothing, pull himself up to become a titan in the venture capital world, sitting on billions in personal assets? What really happened on his path to the top?

Did Liu Yinyan have secrets he kept from the world? Why did people suddenly bring this up—was it to shame him or get revenge?

I spoke up. “Mr. Liu, what kinds of businesses does your Rongding Group have under its wing?”

Mr. Liu replied, a little impatiently, “Rongding Group focuses on venture capital. Basically, whenever we see a company with potential, we invest in it. In return, we get a share of ownership. So, really, Rongding Group is involved in more industries than you can imagine. Real estate, internet, animation and film—you name it, we’re in it.”

I nodded. If Liu Yinyan alone held assets in the billions, then Rongding Group’s total assets were probably beyond imagination.

Following the logic of the phone call, it was clear: Liu Yinyan had to know about that incident. But if he wasn’t willing to talk, there wasn’t much we could do.

“Mr. Liu,” I said, still trying to offer him a way out, “since they contacted us like this, there are really only two possibilities. One is that they’re just trying to mess with our plans. The other is that this is some kind of payback against you. As for why they’d want revenge, you should think about it carefully. If you figure it out, you can have Xiao Liu pass the message to us.”

As I was talking, I walked over to Xiao Liu and quietly said, “Xiao Liu, Gu Chen asked me to tell you something before he left. He said his words earlier were too harsh and asked me to apologize for him. Also, could you give me the car keys? I need to go out for a bit.”

Xiao Liu let out a sigh and handed me the car keys. “It’s nothing, you guys are still young. Getting angry doesn’t solve everything—finding Liu Feier is what matters now. I know what kind of temper Gu Chen has, it’s fine. Oh, I’m stuck here for now, so if you have time, could you buy me a lottery ticket?”

I nodded. Xiao Liu has always had a soft personality—there’s really no one he’d bother holding a grudge against. But he does have one big hobby: playing the lottery. Nearly every day for the past three or four years, he’s bought a two-yuan ticket, but he’s never won even once. He really doesn’t have any luck at all.

“See you,” I called to Liu Yinyan from across the room. “If they call again, make sure to listen to Team Leader Shao.”

With that, I left with Guan Zengbin.

On the way, Guan Zengbin asked, “Where are we heading now?”

I smiled. “We’re going to check out the four names on the whiteboard, starting with the one easiest to investigate and rule out.”

“Who’s that?” Guan Zengbin asked.

“Hou Yao,” I said, “one of the so-called four campus beauties. Judging from what we know, this probably isn’t about money—there must be another reason. Maybe someone provided funding for this. And Hou Yao definitely has both the motive and the means.”

“So, how much do you think a life is worth?” Guan Zengbin looked at me. “Two people have already died.”

“Honestly? It doesn’t take much money to snuff out a life,” I replied as I started the car. “Let’s get in touch with the department head at her university. We need to find Hou Yao—there are a lot of questions to ask her.”

We arrived at Dongxing University, one of the top universities in Dongxing City.

After parking in the underground lot and heading up, we found ourselves at the edge of a basketball court. The place was full of students in motion, energy crackling in the air.

I couldn’t help but sigh. “I regret never making it to university. I’ve always wondered what that experience must be like.”

“Slacker!” Guan Zengbin teased.

That’s when I remembered—at just nineteen, Guan Zengbin was still a college sophomore herself. But after spending so much time together, I’d almost forgotten.

As we strolled down a quiet, tree-lined path, I really did see a lot of couples walking arm in arm. Walking with Guan Zengbin, we probably looked the same. We were the same age as these students, yet our lives couldn’t have been more different. It made me think—life really is unpredictable.

“Sometimes I wonder,” Guan Zengbin mused, watching the yellow leaves about to fall from the branches, “maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to finish college quietly, land a normal job, get married, have kids… But then again, this thrilling life probably suits me better. Corpses, murders, suspects—how many people get to live like this?”

Her words struck a chord. For some people, living without a goal just isn’t an option.

We were welcomed by the director of the School of Economics and Management. Guan Zengbin had already arranged everything. Investigating students is no small matter. The director’s surname was Wang. He was a portly man with a thin ring of long hair circling his head—if he ever straightened it, it’d probably reach his waist.

“Ha!” Director Wang rubbed his head with a laugh. “I used to be just like you—young and dashing. Now I’m down to fifty strands of long hair.”

“Has student Hou Yao arrived yet?” I asked after the laughter subsided.

Director Wang shook his head and sighed. “That Hou Yao, let me tell you, she’s a handful. It’s class time now, but if she wants to skip, she skips. Still, even though she cuts class, her grades are always good—never failed an exam. I’ve already called her father. We should be able to find her soon.”

Director Wang invited us to wait in the faculty break room. Suddenly, I remembered someone and said, “Do you know a student named Zhang Yunhu? If he’s around, can you send for him too?”

“Sure, Zhang Yunhu, right? I’ll go ask.” Director Wang left the room.

A moment later, he brought me a list with details on everyone in Hou Yao’s class, and told us that Zhang Yunhu would be over soon.

Looking at the list, I saw the names Liu Feier, Hou Yao, and Zhang Yunhu right there. It even had parent contact numbers and detailed family backgrounds. This Zhang Yunhu was a rich kid, though still a notch below Liu Feier and Hou Yao.

I glanced over and joked, “You wouldn’t believe how many rich kids are mixed in here. Probably a third of the class comes from families with real wealth—nice homes, nice cars, never having to worry about basic needs.”

Guan Zengbin just shrugged. “Of course money gets you better resources, but the kids who make it here from poorer backgrounds are the ones I really respect.”

As we talked, the break room door swung open and in walked a strikingly handsome young man. He had to be at least six feet tall, same height as Gu Chen, with a well-built but not exaggerated physique. His clothes looked simple but were all designer brands. His hair was slicked back, neat and confident.

If I hadn’t seen the roster, I might have mistaken him for a celebrity. But it made sense—there’s no way girls like Hou Yao or Liu Feier would fall for a sloppy mess.

Zhang Yunhu eyed us with some confusion. We were about his age, but he didn’t recognize us.

Director Wang explained, “We just need to ask you a few questions. Just tell us what you know.”

“Have a seat,” I said to Zhang Yunhu, nodding. “Do you know why we called you here?”

Once he was seated, Director Wang joined us.

After a brief pause, Zhang Yunhu said, “You’re here about Liu Feier, aren’t you?”

“Smart guy,” I said.

He shook his head. “It’s been all over the news—Liu Feier disappeared, still no sign of her. Besides, I’m her boyfriend. If I couldn’t figure that out, I wouldn’t have gotten into Dongxing University.”

“So, on the day Liu Feier disappeared, did any of your classmates act strangely? For example, Hou Yao?” I asked.

Zhang Yunhu hesitated for a moment when he heard the name, then replied, “Hou Yao is in my class. I don’t think she’d do something like that.”

“But didn’t Hou Yao once say she’d make Liu Feier disappear for good?” I pressed.

“She did,” Zhang Yunhu said, glancing at us and then at Director Wang. “To be honest, before I dated Liu Feier, I was with Hou Yao. It was the second semester of our freshman year. One night, after dinner and too much to drink, things happened.”

Zhang Yunhu looked helpless. “As a man, I wanted to do the right thing. But by chance, I saw her messaging someone else and realized the whole dinner was set up by Hou Yao. Honestly, it made me feel sick to my stomach.”

“I broke up with her, but didn’t say why—I wanted to spare her dignity,” he continued. “It’s not a big deal, because I’d liked Liu Feier all along. A month later, I confessed, and Liu Feier said yes. But Hou Yao was furious—she thought I left her because of Liu Feier.”

The love lives of the rich and handsome are beyond me, so I kept quiet and listened.

“Once, Hou Yao lost her temper and told me, in front of a bunch of classmates, that she’d make Liu Feier disappear someday.”

Zhang Yunhu looked deeply troubled.