Blank Charge

Jin Zhou believed what Yang Shi Yu said.

Just one sentence— “I’m busy.”

The work of a judge was indeed extremely tough. They had to handle hundreds of cases a year, sometimes being so occupied that they didn’t even have time to write judgments.

But it was precisely in such busy circumstances that Yang Shi Yu was willing to take the time to carry out private investigations, which proved his deep concern for that particular case.

As for his statement that Jin Zhou was overthinking, Jin Zhou didn’t believe it for a moment.

Even when their relationship was good, Yang Shi Yu would never admit to many things.

That aspect was similar to his habit of hanging up the phone. In Jin Zhou’s eyes, it was all incredibly unlikable.

Even before Yang Shi Yu never admitted that he was financially tight or constantly worried about tuition fees.

Initially, Jin Zhou thought that admitting those things would hurt Yang Shi Yu’s self-esteem, but later he realized that it was not the case. Yang Shi Yu simply didn’t like others meddling in his personal affairs.

But Jin Zhou, on the other hand, loved prying into Yang Shi Yu’s personal matters.

While Yang Shi Yu would list formulas on a scrap of paper for Jin Zhou to calculate , Jin Zhou would ask, ” Yang Shi Yu, are there people pursuing you at school?”

At first, Yang Shi Yu wouldn’t answer any questions unrelated to studying.

Later, perhaps unable to resist Jin Zhou’s persistent probing, he started telling Jin Zhou about things in university and even took him to the food street behind the school gate, encouraging him to strive to get admitted to that university.

So many years have passed in the blink of an eye, and their relationship seems to have not changed that much.

Jin Zhou had long figured out Yang Shi Yu’s nature, so when he confronted him over the phone, he didn’t expect Yang Shi Yu to admit it at all.

“Why are you so unlikable?” Jin Zhou absentmindedly put down his wine glass and muttered to himself.

The handsome young man beside him immediately shrunk his shoulders, blinked his eyes, and looked at Jin Zhou anxiously. “Jin Zhou, s-sorry, did I do something wrong?”

Liu Yongchang on the other side tilted his head and looked over, raising his chin to ask Jin Zhou, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like the newcomer?”

For a moment, Jin Zhou was so lost in his thoughts about Yang Shi Yu that he forgot there was a beautiful person beside him.

“No,” Jin Zhou pulled the young man’s waist into his arms, coaxed him and lightly kissed his cheek , “I wasn’t talking about you, baby.”

The young man breathed a sigh of relief, lightly thumped Jin Zhou’s chest, and complained, “You scared me, Jin Zhou.”

By comparing the two, it was clear that the one who was submissive was much cuter and more likable.

But making Yang Shi Yu submit to him seemed to be quite a difficult task…

Jin Zhou suddenly lost his enthusiasm and said to the person in his arms, “You go out first, the brothers and I need to discuss something.”

The young man obediently nodded and left the private room. Liu Yongchang on the other side also dismissed the accompanying lady, lit a cigarette, and asked Jin Zhou, “What’s wrong? Doesn’t the he meet your expectations?”

It wasn’t a secret that Jin Zhou was gay.

In the past, when Liu Yongchang brought Jin Zhou out for drinks, he would always arrange a bunch of accompanying ladies, as if, according to him, without women and alcohol, life would lose its meaning for men.

At that time, Jin Zhou was still somewhat naive, and those older sisters liked to tease the innocent young boys, always making Jin Zhou feel awkward.

Actually, Jin Zhou had no interest in big breasts and plump buttocks whatsoever. Eventually, he couldn’t bear it and honestly confessed his sexual orientation to Liu Yongchang.

He thought Liu Yongchang wouldn’t force women on him anymore, but Liu Yongchang didn’t let him off the hook and replaced the big-breasted and plump-bottomed ladies with eight-pack abs.

Jin Zhou had his own eight-pack abs, so naturally, he wasn’t interested.

It was as if Liu Yongchang was afraid that his little brother would become a pure-hearted monk, so he constantly insisted on having him describe the type of person he liked.

Jin Zhou couldn’t escape, so he had to confess honestly: clean, good-looking, and with substance.

The last point was something Liu Yongchang couldn’t fulfill, but it didn’t stop him from diligently selecting beautiful companions for Jin Zhou.

Although Jin Zhou still couldn’t muster much interest, soft and gentle young men were better than hard and muscular men. He started playing along with the accompanying young men, and Liu Yongchang finally stopped pestering him, as if saying, “My little brother has finally grown up.”

Thanks to Liu Yongchang, all the entertainment venues in the area had Jin Zhou’s “baby.”

“No, Liu Yongchang,” Jin Zhou absentmindedly rotated the wine glass on the coffee table, “I’m just not in the mood today.”

Until the truth about his parents’ matter was uncovered, Jin Zhou probably won’t be in the mood to drink for a long time.

Liu Yongchang nodded understandingly, exhaling a puff of smoke. He asked, “Any progress on your parents’ matter?”

“A little,” Jin Zhou abruptly stopped rotating the wine glass and hesitantly said to Liu Yongchang, “Brother Liu, can you do me a favor?”

“Just say it,” Liu Yongchang stubbed out the cigarette he had only taken a few puffs of. “No need to be polite with me.”

Jin Zhou knew that Liu Yongchang would definitely help him, but what he wanted to do was not that simple.

He lifted the wine glass and finished it in one gulp, looking at Liu Yongchang. “Help me set up a venue.”

Yang Shiyu, that gloomy person, was completely unreliable, and there were no new updates from Sun Yi. Jin Zhou had to figure out a way to find Wang Darong himself.

When he visited Wang Darong’s home before, Jin Zhou saw dice and chips on the table, concluding that Wang Darong was a gambler, not addicted to online gambling but the kind who went to real casinos to play.

People like him couldn’t go three days without gambling; even if they were hiding and running, they would find a way to gamble.

However, the current situation was different from before. The “official” and “safe” underground gambling venues were few and even if there were any, they constantly changed locations, never staying in one place for long.

For a gambler, nothing was more frustrating than not being able to find an organization.

Therefore, what Jin Zhou wanted Liu Yongchang to do was to set up a fake gambling venue to lure Wang Darong.

“How long will this venue be needed?” Liu Yongchang asked.

“At most three days,” Jin Zhou said.

Under Jin Zhou’s guidance, Liu Yongchang had already completely washed his hands of illegal businesses. Although, with his connections, it was not difficult for him to set up a gambling venue, boundaries needed to be maintained, or else it would be hard to explain to the police.

“No problem,” Liu Yongchang said, “You handle the law, I’ll handle the personnel, just make the arrangements.”

The gambling venue wouldn’t be big; it would be set up in the VIP room of Liu Yongchang’s bar. Everyone in the room would be Liu Yongchang’s subordinates, whether they played blackjack or baccarat, they would play as they pleased, except with fake chips, treating it as a card game.

Up to that point, it was still manageable since everyone in the venue was their own brothers. However, once the information was released, the venue would undoubtedly become chaotic. It would then depend on whether Wang Darong would take the bait immediately, as the fake gambling venue couldn’t be maintained for too long.

Jin Zhou was afraid that his crew would make mistakes, so he personally kept watch until late at night. As a result, when he arrived at the car repair shop the next day, he was so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open.

“Jin Zhou, why don’t you go back and rest?” Xiao Wu said, working on something . “I can handle things here.”

Actually, Jin Zhou didn’t want to come either. The reason he was still sitting in the shop was that he didn’t want Xiao Wu to think he was a useless shop manager, always running around and not doing any work.

But being sleepy was indeed sleepy. In the past, he could stay up for two nights in a row without any issues, but now, even if he slept slightly later, he would feel completely exhausted the next day.

“In that case, I’ll go back and get some sleep,” Jin Zhou stood up and stretched lazily, “I’ll come back in the afternoon.”

Compared to being a good shop manager, sleep was more important to Jin Zhou.

However, just as Jin Zhou was about to leave, a small car suddenly pulled up at the shop’s entrance. A woman in professional attire, wearing sports shoes, got out of the car. She first glanced at the situation inside the shop, then looked at Jin Zhou and asked, “How long does it take to repair a car here?”

Jin Zhou inexplicably felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar, but for a moment, he couldn’t remember where he had seen her before.

“It depends on the situation,” Jin Zhou took the initiative to step forward and examined the car. At first glance, he noticed a dent on the car door. “Where did this happen?”

“In the parking lot, against a pillar,” the woman replied straightforwardly, “I’ve only had my driver’s license for a short time, and I must have turned the steering wheel too early.”

Jin Zhou nodded and crouched down at the dent, asking, “Why didn’t you go to the authorized dealership?”

“The waiting time is too long, and I don’t have that much time,” the woman spoke quickly and without hesitation, “Also, I have this feeling that something is not quite right with this car. Can you help me check it again?”

“What seems to be the issue?” Jin Zhou opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat. As he started the car, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a professional DSLR “Digital Single-Lens Reflex.” camera placed on the passenger seat, accompanied by expensive lenses.

This was getting a bit strange.

The price of this car wasn’t high, just a little over a hundred thousand yuan, and people who drove that type of car wouldn’t typically indulge in expensive luxuries like owning a DSLR.

But it wasn’t an absolute certainty.

Taking a step back, considering the woman’s attire and way of speaking, Jin Zhou could be certain that she was an efficient career-oriented woman.

Career-focused women in the workplace usually kept their work and personal life separate and wouldn’t carry their hobbies with them at all times.

Unless—

The DSLR was related to her profession.

Underneath the driver’s seat, there was a pair of pointed high-heeled shoes, indicating that the woman’s job had certain grooming requirements, and she also needed to walk frequently. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have changed out of high heels and into comfortable sports shoes.

A vague guess formed in Jin Zhou’s mind. He pretended not to care and glanced at the woman, and suddenly, a specific scene flashed in his mind.

Coincidentally, wasn’t this woman the journalist who had run out of the neighboring courtroom on the day Wang Darong was reported?