Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Gao Weimin stayed behind in Dongwu.
The criminal organization headed by the Four Lin Brothers was completely rounded up by the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, thanks to the Paranormal Bureau’s cooperation with the police investigation and arrests.
With that, Operation Tornado came to a successful conclusion.
“You’ve all worked hard lately. The New Year is almost here, so take some time off and go home.” With a generous wave of his hand, Cai Zeyu gave Yun Jianyue ten days off to return to her hometown for the holiday.
The other employees at the Paranormal Bureau only got four days off, and they even had to take turns working over the holiday. Only a temp like Yun Jianyue received such special treatment.
Yun Jianyue nodded eagerly. “I’ll gladly take the vacation. How is the interrogation of Luo Tiancheng going?”
It had been nearly half a month since she brought Luo Tiancheng back, yet the Paranormal Bureau hadn’t told her a thing.
“To be honest, Luo Tiancheng is no longer in City A. A restriction was placed on him, so we couldn’t get anything out of him about the mysterious person behind all this. Even Si Wuming couldn’t break it. When headquarters heard about the situation, they transferred Luo Tiancheng the day before yesterday. He’s currently being held in the capital.”
Cai Zeyu took a red envelope from his drawer and handed it to Yun Jianyue. “I’ll let you know the moment we receive any updates. Happy New Year.”
Yun Jianyue pinched the thick red envelope, her eyes going as round as saucers. “This is too little for a bonus, but isn’t it a bit much for New Year’s money?”
One light squeeze was enough for her to tell that the envelope contained a whopping thirty-six hundred yuan!
“It’s New Year’s money from me, your dad, plus contributions from Du Minghao and the others,” Cai Zeyu said, rolling his eyes at the little money-grubber. “Your bonus won’t be issued until after the holiday. It’ll probably have to wait until the Four Lin Brothers have been sentenced.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Yun Jianyue stuffed the red envelope into her pocket. “Thanks, Dads!”
Cai Zeyu was speechless.
This girl had absolutely no shame! Was thirty-six hundred yuan really all it took to get her to call someone Dad?
Well, actually, that was a pretty steep price. It was thirty-six hundred yuan, after all!
Yun Jianyue skipped out of the office, even politely closing the door behind her.
She immediately bought a high-speed rail ticket back to her aunt’s home. After casually packing a couple of items of clothing, she took Lu Changxue with her and headed home.
After getting off the train, she made her way to the hardware store near the station and bought a chainsaw, as if she’d done it a hundred times before.
“This feels extremely familiar,” Lu Changxue remarked. Surely Yun Jianyue wasn’t going to buy a chainsaw here every single time she came home from now on?
Yun Jianyue assembled the chainsaw, immediately confirming Lu Changxue’s suspicions. “Don’t worry. It’ll feel familiar plenty more times in the future.”
The two of them first returned to her aunt’s house, bringing plenty of New Year goods with them. Then they dragged their luggage over to her grandparents’ home.
Yun Jianyue had spent every New Year with her grandparents for years. Her aunt was a married woman with a family of her own, so she couldn’t exactly abandon her husband and daughter during the holiday to return to her parents’ home.
Besides, before Yun Jianyue’s mother passed away, she and her mother had spent every New Year with her grandparents.
After greeting her grandparents, Yun Jianyue bought some milk and fruit, then carried everything to Lu Changxue’s hometown.
She had promised to take Lu Changxue home to visit her family.
If she got to go home, then Lu Changxue should get to go home too.
After recuperating inside the jade pendant for so long, Lu Changxue would be fine spending a day or two away from Yun Jianyue. And so, the living woman and the ghost each celebrated the New Year with their own families.
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yun Jianyue received red envelopes from her grandparents.
“I’m already twenty-two this year. You’re still giving me red envelopes?” Holding the two thick envelopes, Yun Jianyue affectionately linked one arm through her grandfather’s and the other through her grandmother’s.
Grandma Yun smiled. “No matter how old you get, you’re still our granddaughter. As long as you don’t get married or have children, all the red envelopes from your grandpa and me will be yours. Once you have a child, we’ll give the red envelopes to your child instead.”
Yun Jianyue blinked guiltily.
Strictly speaking, she did have a husband. Her husband just wasn’t human, that was all.
The house in their hometown had been rebuilt a few years ago. It was now a small, multistory home of the sort commonly seen throughout the countryside.
The three of them enjoyed a warm and harmonious breakfast together. Yun Jianyue cleared the dishes and put them in the sink, with no intention of washing them. According to local custom, no work was allowed on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Otherwise, the entire year ahead would be filled with endless toil.
As soon as she stepped out of the kitchen, Yun Jianyue heard her grandmother’s voice coming from the courtyard.
“Are you a friend of our Xingxing’s? Her boyfriend, or just a friend?”
What boyfriend? Don’t tell me it was that bastard Mo Chen!
Alarmed, Yun Jianyue rushed into the courtyard. There stood Si Wuming, awkward and uneasy, holding two bottles of Moutai, two boxes of bird’s nest, and a case of outrageously expensive milk as he spoke with her grandmother.
“Just a friend…” Si Wuming could normally put on a cold, aloof front so no one would realize he was actually terrified of social interaction.
But today, he was facing Grandma Yun. If he stayed silent and acted aloof, it would be terribly rude, so he had no choice but to force himself through the small talk.
The moment he finished speaking, Si Wuming’s sharp eyes spotted Yun Jianyue. He lit up as though he had just seen his savior. “Xingxing!”
Grandma Yun’s aged eyes widened. He was already calling her by her childhood nickname, yet he claimed they were only friends? Did he really think she was too old to see what was going on?
“What are you doing here?” Yun Jianyue took the New Year’s gifts from Si Wuming and introduced him to her grandmother. “Grandma, this is my boss and also my friend. His name is Si Wuming. You can just call him Xiao Si.”
“So you’re Boss Si from the company where Xingxing is interning? Why didn’t Xingxing tell me in advance? I haven’t prepared anything.” The moment Grandma Yun heard that he was her granddaughter’s boss, her attitude became much more formal. She was afraid of causing trouble for Yun Jianyue.
Grandma Yun took the gifts from Yun Jianyue and urged, “Xingxing, hurry and take your boss inside. Pour him some tea too.”
Si Wuming looked completely at a loss, his puppy-like eyes filled with panic. “I’m not Boss Si…”
Before he could finish, Grandma Yun had already carried the gifts inside to put them away.
“Let’s go, Boss Si,” Yun Jianyue teased wickedly, drawing out the title.
The tips of Si Wuming’s ears turned scarlet. Head lowered, he followed Yun Jianyue inside.
Once they entered the house, Yun Jianyue poured him a glass of water and said, “Make yourself at home, Boss Si.”
“Stop teasing me.” Si Wuming kept glancing nervously toward the door, as if terrified that Grandma Yun might walk in at any moment.
Yun Jianyue set the glass down in front of him with an infuriating grin. She lifted his chin with one hand and leaned in close, her expression full of wicked intent. “Xiao Si, coming all the way here to see Sister Hua during the New Year… Don’t tell me you’re hoping Sister Hua will take advantage of her position and have her way with you?”
The girl’s face suddenly filled his vision. Si Wuming’s pupils contracted sharply. He shoved Yun Jianyue away in a panic and stammered, “No… I-I have time off, and I had nowhere else to go.”
“Aren’t you Fang Lin’an’s junior martial uncle? Can’t you go back to your sect for the New Year?” Yun Jianyue remained as bluntly oblivious as ever.
Si Wuming lowered his eyes, his voice betraying no emotion. “The first sect leader of the Lingxi Sect once did me a great kindness. I’ve been nominally affiliated with the Lingxi Sect for the past thousand years, but it was only to repay that debt. I don’t know the people there well.”
Yun Jianyue clicked her tongue and forced Si Wuming to look up at her. “What, you’re confessing your true identity to me on the very first day of the New Year?”