Chapter 232: Missing
The sky had darkened, and Xu Youyou had expected that returning this time would be a piece of cake.
But to her surprise, what she was facing was the locked gate of the courtyard. From the outside, the courtyard looked pitch black.
Her bodyguard had been knocking on the gate for a long time, calling out inside, but there was no response.
“This is strange, there were people here during the day, but now at night, no one’s around,” the bodyguard muttered.
Xu Youyou was equally puzzled.
It was Xu Fang, who had a lot of life experience, who whispered, “Boss, could it be because of that little green-haired guy? Maybe he’s worried that Miss Gu’s miscarriage will be blamed on him, so he ran off?”
Xu Youyou was shocked. “He ran off? But could he really take his mom with him? Isn’t her condition not too good?”
Xu Fang said, “Maybe he used some special methods?”
At that moment, the system’s golden pointer was still pointing straight towards a spot in the courtyard.
Xu Youyou thought back to the chaotic events of the afternoon and couldn’t help wondering if this was the real test of the mission. Would there be unexpected events to block her path?
“Go check who owns this house. Find out if these mother and son are the owners or just tenants,” Xu Youyou said.
Before Xu Fang could agree, Lu Jingyao spoke up, “I’ll have Assistant Liu check. He’s good at these kinds of things.”
The Lu family also had a real estate company, and their connections in Jinling were extensive. Less than half an hour later, Assistant Liu sent Xu Youyou the preliminary information.
It turned out that the house indeed belonged to the little green-haired guy.
As a top assistant, Assistant Liu’s capabilities were not to be underestimated. Not only did he find the property information, but he also discovered quite a bit about the mother and son.
The previous owner of the house was the little green-haired guy’s father, a local from Jinling. His father had been disliked in the neighborhood because of his ugly appearance and a childhood case of polio that caused him to walk with a limp.
That man, nicknamed “Lame Yang,” was stingy and mean. When he was young, he failed at several matchmaking attempts. His conditions weren’t good, and he was so picky that no one wanted to introduce him to potential partners.
It wasn’t until twenty years ago that Lame Yang found a crazy woman on the street, took her home, and after a year, she gave birth to the little green-haired guy.
Three years ago, Lame Yang passed away, and the house was inherited by his son, the little green-haired guy.
“Miss Xu, when the house was transferred, it caused quite a stir. Although Lame Yang’s parents had passed away, he had a cousin. The cousin believed that since the house was passed down from Lame Yang’s grandfather, and the little green-haired guy wasn’t Lame Yang’s biological son, he wanted to contest the ownership,” Assistant Liu explained.
Xu Youyou frowned slightly. “How could a cousin compete with a biological son?”
Assistant Liu explained, “At that time, the little green-haired guy wasn’t yet of age. In fact, this cousin was his guardian.”
Xu Youyou, curious, asked, “So what happened later?”
“I asked around, but couldn’t find the exact details. I did hear that the little green-haired guy found an older brother, beat up his cousin, and after that, the cousin no longer dared to contest. It went on like this until the little green-haired guy came of age, and the house naturally went under his name.”
Xu Youyou then remembered the little green-haired guy’s mother. “What about his mother? Couldn’t she inherit the house?”
“Yang Lame and his mother never registered for marriage. If the little green-haired guy hadn’t been on the same household registration book as Yang Lame, inheriting the house might not have gone so smoothly.”
Xu Youyou saw the situation was escalating, and though she wasn’t sure what exactly she was supposed to pick up, she decided to play it safe. “Assistant Liu, please try and see if you can contact the little green-haired guy. I want to buy this courtyard.”
Assistant Liu glanced at Lu Jingyao, who had no intention of intervening. Lu Jingyao didn’t seem to want to convince Xu Youyou otherwise, and after all, buying a property in Jinling seemed like it could be a better investment than the little green-haired guy’s house.
The location wasn’t in a school district, nor in the city center, and the renovations were extremely outdated. It was hard to imagine what one could do with the house.
Lu Jingyao didn’t even ask. He nodded and said to Assistant Liu, “You handle this. It’s best if we get results by tomorrow.”
Assistant Liu agreed.
Xu Youyou didn’t think it would be too difficult, but by the next noon, before the agreed time had even come, Assistant Liu had already sent a reply.
“Miss Xu, it’s as if this person has vanished into thin air. Even his confused mother is nowhere to be found. I’m afraid I won’t be able to find them anytime soon,” Assistant Liu’s tone was full of apology.
Xu Youyou had also stationed bodyguards outside the small courtyard, but after such a long time with no sign of movement, it seemed like the little green-haired guy and his mother had disappeared completely.
Looking at the countdown on the system interface, Xu Youyou couldn’t help but feel a rare sense of panic. If she couldn’t buy the courtyard, she couldn’t just act like a lawless person and climb over the wall to take what she needed.
Just as she was about to stray into legal gray areas, Lu Jingyao spoke up. “Youyou, I’ve talked with Grandpa, and we’re going to his place for dinner tonight.”
Xu Youyou froze. Lu Jingyao wasn’t the kind of boyfriend who disrespected others. They had originally planned to meet with Grandpa Lu tomorrow morning, but the sudden change must have a reason.
“Is it your grandpa…”
Before Xu Youyou could finish, Lu Jingyao gently nodded.
“I don’t know why you’re so interested in this courtyard, but if he can’t find them in Jinling, then no one else will be able to.”
Xu Youyou’s eyes brightened. Overjoyed, she then asked, “But I wonder if your grandpa will like me? I’m going there with a request, will he be unhappy?”
Lu Jingyao smiled. “I think as long as you don’t break up with me in front of him, he’ll like you.”
Xu Youyou: …
The gift for visiting Grandpa Lu had already been prepared, so when the meeting time was brought forward, there was no panic.
Grandpa Lu didn’t live in the city center but rather in the suburbs. His villa wasn’t especially large, but the cameras all around and the burly security personnel clearly indicated this wasn’t a place where one could act recklessly.
As the villa’s gates slowly opened, the interior was quite different from Xu Youyou’s expectation of a luxurious, refined decor. Instead, it looked more like a simple farmhouse courtyard.
There were vegetables growing in the yard, and an energetic old man dressed in plain old clothes was working the soil in the garden, moving quickly with focused determination.
Xu Youyou thought he was a servant, but to her surprise, Lu Jingyao called out, “Grandpa, I’ve brought her back.”
