Chapter 498 Black Ostrich! Wearing a green hat?

Zhang Wei, his suspicion evident: “Then why did you call me?”

Leng Yan fell silent, subtle hesitation in her pause before she finally sighed: “I’m going to Xiushan. Would you come with me?”

Zhang Wei’s eyebrows arched in surprise: “Xiushan? Isn’t that in the eastern province? What’s the occasion?”

Leng Yan’s voice was low and serious: “It’s classified. I’ll fill you in on the way.”

Zhang Wei shook his head firmly: “Not going!”

He couldn’t justify leaving for some mysterious adventure when his ‘canaries’ were in distress, and he was still clueless about the full extent of their issues.

Leng Yan, as if she had already braced for his refusal, continued: “There are substantial rewards involved. You’ve been mixed in a lot of illegal activities, and there’s enough CCTV footage to prove it. I’ve already spoken with the regional deputy director general of the bureau—we can sort all your legal troubles out. After this, even Du Yun’er won’t be able to lay a finger on you.”

Zhang Wei, taken aback: “You know about Du Yun’er?”

Leng Yan: “Yes, she’s quite the troublemaker. Mei called me and suggested that if Du Yun’er becomes too much to handle, it might be wiser to flee to the capital.”

Zhang Wei felt an irresistible urge to grab his sugar mommy, Leng Mei, and plant a grateful kiss on her cheek if she were present!

However, clearing his throat, he realized that although he had resolved the immediate issue, he was still taken aback by how the purple fox continued to look out for him from behind the scenes.

Zhang Wei: “That’s settled then, but when do we leave?”

Leng Yan exhaled a deep sigh of relief upon his acceptance; she had additional incentives lined up should he have needed further persuasion!

The matter was about utmost secrecy, and the Public Security Bureau (PSB) was keen on keeping the military out of it, avoiding any unnecessary reinforcements.

She laid out the entire schedule for him, which, fortunately, did not conflict with the upcoming Auction.

After outlining the plan, she queried: “Now, tell me about you. Why did you start off with those odd questions earlier?”

“…”

Zhang Wei fell silent…

With a trace of hesitation, he recounted the two earlier phone calls, which was met with a weighty silence from Leng Yan on the other end.

Finally, she broke the silence, “Let’s begin with your… Canary. What happened before she returned? Are you aware of all the incidents?”

Zhang Wei hesitated, unsure whether to divulge the complete story but ultimately laid out everything, including the troubling events involving Xiong Mei’s father, mother, and sister.

After all, he had no concerns about Leng Yan betraying his confidence.

Leng Yan’s response was a stunned silence.

She was utterly flabbergasted!

The scope of the disaster was too much to comprehend.

The girl, Xiong Mei had merely taken him to her hometown for a festival, and he had somehow managed to kill her father and sleep with all her living relatives?

And set the whole neighborhood on fire!?

What on earth was he thinking!

At that point, she abandoned any attempt to counsel him regarding Xiong Mei.

Frustration tinged Leng Yan’s voice as she pressed on, “What about the other one? At least tell me you didn’t do anything excessive with her, right?”

Zhang Wei, “…”

Leng Yan: “Hey, Zhang Wei? Are you there?”

Zhang Wei: “Ah, yes… It’s just…”

Leng Yan’s sense of foreboding deepened when she learned he had kidnapped her own cousin on the day of her engagement, coerced her physically, and then even compelled her to attend the ceremony.

She was already on the brink of losing her mind.

The details about the mayor only compounded her frustration, causing her to smack her forehead in disbelief.

As if that wasn’t enough, exposing it all to her brother and then lying about it?

She wanted to scream— Hey, brother, it’s only been a few weeks!

How can you manage to stir up such chaos in such a brief period?

Leng Yan, resigned: “I… really can’t assist you with this.”

Zhang Wei: “I know.”

Leng Yan: “Zhang Wei… See… This girl, Xiong Mei, isn’t accustomed to the martial arts world or anything like that. You can’t just carry on this way and expect her to remain mentally stable. Killing men, abducting women—it’s far from normal for most people.”

She continued: “As for your cousin, I can’t say much, but I think she’s just struggling to adapt since, according to you, she doesn’t have a life-and-death grudge against you, even though she arguably should!”

Zhang Wei’s eyebrows shot up: “Problem adapting in…”

He vaguely recalled something along those lines.

After confessing to Leng Yan how he had instructed everyone in the household to isolate her, Leng Yan’s patience snapped.

Leng Yan: “What else do you expect her to do when she’s all alone?” 𝐟r𝚠eno𝘃𝐥.c𝗼m

Her voice cracked with anger as she sharply rebuked him, then abruptly ended the call.

It was all too much for her sanity!

She simply couldn’t listen to any more.

Beep… Beep…

As the phone line went dead, Zhang Wei’s expression tightened. “How am I supposed to get to Qingyun now?” he muttered under his breath.

He had initially hoped Leng Yan would facilitate a pickup through someone at the Xianghui police station.

Vroom!

At that moment, his attention was captured by the sight of what he affectionately called his “black ostrich” — not an actual bird, but Zhang Ming’s shinning black Porsche.

Zhang Ming, the epitome of cool, was behind the wheel, sunglasses perched on his nose, igniting the engine.

He had been pestering Cai Wenxi since the morning, trying to coax her out for a trip.

Each time, she declined, always with the same excuse: she needed to catch up on sleep.

Frustrated by the refusals, Zhang Ming had resolved to take a solo drive through the city.

“Haha, Brother Ming!”

“!!!”

Zhang Ming nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise as Zhang Wei casually approached and leaned against the car’s open window, greeting him with a mischievous grin.