Chapter 323: Probing
It wasn’t that Xu Youyou was deliberately targeting Cheng Yu, but from the start, Liu Xiangyi simply didn’t like him.
If Liu Xiangyi had thought highly of him, Xu Youyou would have immediately paid more attention, but since Liu Xiangyi looked down on him, Xu Youyou naturally didn’t bother to waste her efforts dealing with him.
Xu Youyou didn’t take this matter to heart. She turned away and forgot about it immediately. After all, the island wasn’t that big, and her schedule today was in Hualien.
Hualien had always been known as the backyard garden of the island — beautiful scenery, rich in mineral resources. The Liu family originally built their fortune in the marble business and had nearly monopolized all the marble mines in Hualien County back then.
Liu Yishou accompanied Xu Youyou as they strolled through the streets and alleys of Hualien, introducing the place with a humble tone:
“Hualien is considered a major county on the island, but compared to the mainland, it’s nothing. Miss Xu has been living in Hu City for years. I’m afraid seeing Hualien now must feel like looking at plain congee and small dishes.”
Xu Youyou casually replied, “Plain congee and small dishes have their own flavor too. There’s no need for you to be so modest.”
Liu Yishou smiled, though he wasn’t entirely sure of himself. His most important task today was to accompany Xu Youyou, but from the beginning, she hadn’t said what business she had in Hualien.
Wandering aimlessly around the city didn’t seem like she had any serious matters to attend to.
Not only was Liu Yishou clueless about what Xu Youyou wanted to do, Xu Youyou herself was lost as well. After much effort, she had gotten a note from the Heishui family, but the address on it was extremely vague.
Xu Youyou originally thought it would be easy to follow the address, but upon checking, she realized that the place had been demolished more than a decade ago.
Xu Youyou basically came to Hualien on a gamble. Now, the system’s golden pointer was acting erratically, pointing aimlessly all over the city.
She could only be thankful that she and Liu Yishou had no past dealings. Even if he thought something was strange, he would just assume she was an odd person, not overthink it.
What neither Xu Youyou nor Liu Yishou expected was that it wasn’t just them feeling confused — Cheng Yu, who was hiding in the shadows, also found it bizarre.
They were all adults; naturally, Cheng Yu could tell that Xu Youyou had been perfunctory toward him the night before. But with the Cheng family on the brink of bankruptcy, even though Lu Jingyao had once helped him, Cheng Yu now had no choice but to scheme against Xu Youyou.
Cheng Yu repeatedly comforted himself in his heart — it wasn’t that he wanted to be a bad friend, but Xu Youyou left him no choice by rejecting his business proposal.
“You have to understand, a promise from the Dragon King isn’t something easy to get. If you dare to brush him off, your family will end up a thousand times worse than the Chai family.”
Hearing the threat from the other end of the phone, Cheng Yu shivered. But thinking about Star Diamond’s massive influence and how the Chai family had once been so prosperous — and yet collapsed so quickly — he knew better.
Although everyone in the industry said the Chai family was taken down by Lu Jingyao and Xu Youyou working together, everyone knew that the first to abandon the Chai family had been the Red Dragon King.
Now that he had finally gotten a chance to cling to the Red Dragon King, Cheng Yu, having no other options, could only cling to it with all his might.
“Yes, yes, yes, don’t worry, Master. I’m not an unreasonable person. It’s just that this brat is wandering all over the place, and I really can’t tell what she’s up to,” Cheng Yu said humbly over the phone, almost about to bow and scrape over video call.
The other end of the line was silent for a full half-minute before speaking coldly:
“I don’t care if you really don’t know or if you’re pretending. Just know that if you mess this up, you know what the consequences will be.”
After this threat, the call was abruptly hung up.
Cheng Yu stared gloomily at his suddenly disconnected phone. After a moment, he composed himself and continued tailing Xu Youyou with his lackeys.
Xu Youyou wandered the streets of Hualien nearly the entire day, even grabbing meals at random small diners. Liu Yishou, although wanting to treat her better with nicer restaurants, had no choice but to follow her lead.
Finally, as night fell, the system’s golden pointer stopped flashing.
Xu Youyou thought her opportunity had come, but to her shock, the golden pointer shattered into countless specks of gold light midair.
Xu Youyou felt the last bit of hope in her heart die. She no longer refused Liu Yishou’s offer to rest for a while.
Liu Yishou, who had walked tens of thousands of steps that day, already had sore legs. Yet Xu Youyou had remained full of energy all day, and as a man, Liu Yishou had felt he couldn’t show weakness.
Now that the “little ancestor” finally agreed to rest, Liu Yishou almost wanted to celebrate.
Xu Youyou declined the offer to stay at the Liu family’s home, opting instead to stay at the best hotel in Hualien.
After ensuring that Xu Youyou had settled in and wasn’t planning to go out again that night, Liu Yishou finally left the hotel. However, just as he reached the hotel lobby, he saw Cheng Yu waiting there.
“What are you doing here in Hualien? Planning to go upstairs and bother Miss Xu too?” Liu Yishou asked, knowing the recent troubles of the Cheng family and feeling a little pity for his old friend.
Cheng Yu forced a bitter smile: “I’m feeling down. I just wanted to give it one more shot.”
Liu Yishou patted his shoulder and led him outside to his car.
“Ah Yu, we all know about your family’s situation, but this isn’t Miss Xu’s responsibility. Brother Lu also told us to take good care of Miss Xu and not to let anything bother her,” Liu Yishou advised.
Cheng Yu secretly cursed in his heart. In the past, they had all called him a brother, but now that trouble had come, they all ran faster than rabbits. Liu Yishou was blocking him just because he didn’t want to offend Xu Youyou and risk affecting the Liu family’s interests in Hualien.
Still wearing a bitter expression, Cheng Yu said, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare go up and bother her. I just wanted to ask if you know what Miss Xu likes. I want to cater to her tastes.”
Liu Yishou replied helplessly, “I wish I knew what Miss Xu liked. I’m just afraid I’ll mess up the hospitality and make Brother Lu unhappy.”
“Where did you guys go today? Was she happy?” Cheng Yu asked.
Liu Yishou was about to answer when his expression changed slightly, and he casually said, “We just wandered around the city. The sights are the usual stuff. Since Miss Xu is from the mainland, maybe she finds it novel.”
Cheng Yu could easily tell that Liu Yishou was brushing him off, obviously unwilling to tell him the truth. He could only take the initiative:
“Is Miss Xu looking for someone? Given her status, she must have seen all kinds of beautiful scenery. There’s no reason for her to come to a small place like Hualien. I heard she’s an orphan — could she be here to look for her family?”
