Pan Baohua couldn’t answer whether Jim was safe or in danger. His ability to easily escape Los Angeles was impressive, but Pan Baohua had no way to gauge the competence of the private investigator Xia Xiaolan had hired.

“No contact doesn’t necessarily mean bad news. The fact that he could send you this photo tells us something. He might have been detected by Zhang Jiadong and wants to avoid leading them back to you,” Pan Baohua consoled Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan’s expression remained tense. “Maybe I’m overestimating Zhang Jiadong. If he could monitor everyone’s movements so closely, surely being a city councilor wouldn’t satisfy his ambitions.”

It was truly absurd – a person involved with organized crime becoming a Los Angeles city councilor. Were the FBI agents just collecting paychecks without doing their jobs? Back home, officials’ backgrounds would be scrutinized for three generations!

Pan Baohua felt restless – staying inactive was torture for him. “Gang influence has its territories. This Zhang is only powerful in Los Angeles. He wouldn’t dare touch you in New York. Before, we didn’t know he was lurking in the shadows, but now we know who he is. How could he harm you and expect to get away with it?”

Pan Baohua spoke casually. He wasn’t afraid if someone wanted to use underworld methods – that would be perfect, as he could respond without restraint!

Xia Xiaolan frowned. “I still find it strange – what’s Cui Yiru thinking? Was she deceived into marrying Zhang Jiadong, or was she coerced? Besides Tina and Fayne, do they have any other children after all these years?”

Pan Baohua could guarantee that Zhang Jiadong was a local celebrity in Los Angeles, known for his good relationship with his wife and their two children – one son and one daughter, with no other offspring.

“Tch, so he’s a cuckold who likes raising other people’s children!”

Despite the heavy atmosphere, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but laugh at Pan Baohua’s words. “Third Brother, how can you say that? That only happens in wuxia novels.”

She referenced “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” where the Jin prince Wanyan Honglie fell for Bao Xiruo, killed her husband, and married her when she was already pregnant, treating his rival’s son as his own… Even novelists wouldn’t write about raising two of your rival’s children. An unborn child might be understandable, but the older one was already five or six and clearly remembered Zhang Jiadong wasn’t his real father.

Pan Baohua disliked speculation: “Why not just ask that Xu boy!”

Xia Xiaolan’s heart stirred. “You mean ask Fayne?”

Pan Baohua snorted, “What Fayne? Isn’t he Xu Changle? Remarrying is one thing, but changing the kids’ names too, giving them these neither-here-nor-there American names.”

Fayne’s name was clever – “Fayne” means joy or happiness, corresponding to his original name “Changle” (meaning long-lasting joy).

Xia Xiaolan had been searching for Xu Changle, and when he appeared before her, she didn’t recognize him right away. At least she knew now – better late than never.

Remembering similar novel plots, Xia Xiaolan felt frustrated: “Third Brother, Xu Changle was just a five or six-year-old child when everything happened. He was too young to understand the family tragedy. He’s been raised by Zhang Jiadong since childhood and probably sees him as his real father. If we tell him now that Zhang Jiadong was responsible for his father Xu Zhongyi’s death, that he’s been treating his father’s murderer as his father all these years… would he even believe us?!”

In novels, Yang Kang certainly didn’t believe it. Even when he did, his heart still sided with Wanyan Honglie.

Pan Baohua scratched his head, finding the issue too complex: “You’re saying we have no evidence?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Yes, no evidence. Everything is just our speculation. Whether Zhang Jiadong was one of the killers back then, whether he’s connected to Zhang Jiaqiang – we can’t prove any of it!”

The arson happened in San Francisco, yet Zhang Jiadong had built his career in Los Angeles. They couldn’t accuse someone just because their name was similar to “Mouse Qiang” and they employed over 20 bodyguards. Rich people could hire as many bodyguards as they wanted – who were they to judge?

The claims about Zhang Jiadong’s criminal connections were based on Pan Baohua’s judgment and warnings from Daniel. These were all circumstantial evidence.

Did they have any direct evidence?

Certainly not.

If there had been direct evidence, Zhang Jiadong probably wouldn’t have become a Los Angeles city councilor.

Xia Xiaolan thought of the phrase: A great villain appears virtuous.

“There’s another thing – Zhang Jiadong must know about my existence, so why did he send his daughter Tina to study in New York? I know people in the Wilson family, and Zhang’s family even entrusted Tina to Mrs. Wilson’s care. We were bound to meet eventually… Once I saw her, I would inevitably want to investigate. Shouldn’t Zhang Jiadong have kept Tina and Fayne far away from me?”

The logic didn’t add up.

Tina came to New York to study, and Fayne also worked in New York.

Pan Baohua also found it thorny – fists alone couldn’t solve this.

“Should I go back to Los Angeles to investigate?”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “Third Brother, the first time you went, you hadn’t contacted me yet, so Zhang Jiadong wasn’t wary of you. You even came to Ithaca to meet me. How could Zhang Jiadong let you investigate freely now? No, no, you’re already exposed. You won’t find anything useful, and I’d worry about your safety.”

Pan Baohua grinned, “That’s nothing. If I don’t go, I can send others.”

Xia Xiaolan looked at him curiously.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t come to America alone. Like I said, I came to deliver cargo, so naturally, there are other crew members.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Then let’s go to New York to visit Jiang Yan. I still want to understand Fayne’s – I mean Xu Changle’s – thoughts.”

If Zhang Jiadong wasn’t afraid of Tina and Fayne having contact with her, why should Xia Xiaolan be afraid?

Without contact, how could they be sure they weren’t wrongly accusing an innocent person?

Maybe it really had nothing to do with Zhang Jiadong – perhaps he simply loved Cui Yiru and was willing to marry her and care for her children with Xu Zhongyi.

“Alright, to New York!”

Pan Baohua decided to stay by Xia Xiaolan’s side while having others investigate Zhang Jiadong in Los Angeles.

Xia Xiaolan drove him directly to the hospital where Jiang Yan was recuperating.

Jiang Yan had been in America for four months. Apart from Xia Xiaolan’s occasional visits, Pan Baohua was the first person from home to specifically visit her.

Her relationship with Pan Baohua had always been close, and seeing him brought genuine joy to her face.

“Third Brother, what brings you here!”

Pan Baohua showed no favoritism – he had brought her a small bag of walnut kernels and placed them within her reach.

“I’ve wanted to come for a long time but couldn’t get away from work. Now that I’m in America delivering cargo, of course, I had to visit you. Jiang Yan, I promised your parents I would always take care of you. Don’t think Third Brother isn’t considerate – taking care of a woman means not letting her suffer. I must ensure your living standard doesn’t drop, at least not lower than when you were with the Jiang family!”