So they would team up for this operation.

Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua’s coordination came from their previous mission experience. Zhou Cheng had been trained by Pan Bohua, and now that Pan Bohua had left their original unit, Zhou Cheng showed signs of surpassing his mentor… Pan Bohua was brave but impulsive, with formidable personal combat skills.

Zhou Cheng complemented Pan Bohua perfectly. His combat abilities weren’t necessarily inferior to Pan Bohua’s – while Pan Bohua excelled in physical conditioning and hard techniques, Zhou Cheng was skilled with modern equipment!

In terms of strategy and planning, Zhou Cheng grasped concepts quickly, and Pan Bohua greatly valued his opinions.

Zhou Cheng gave his wife a helpless look:

“Let’s head back to the hotel first. On the way, Third Brother and I can discuss our plans.”

Zhou Cheng also lacked an understanding of the Hong Kong situation.

He knew about Xia Xiaolan and Zhang Jiadong’s group returning to China, and like Pan Bohua, had assumed Zhang Jiadong wouldn’t dare harm Xia Xiaolan – especially as they got closer to China… Who knew Zhang Jiadong would act so unexpectedly?

At any rate, Xia Xiaolan’s first instinct was that Zhang Jiadong was behind it.

Pan Bohua and Zhou Cheng thought the same.

Besides Zhang Jiadong…

Well, regardless of whether it was Zhang Jiadong or not, she’d treat it as if it was him. Though Xia Xiaolan was usually rational, once angry, she displayed a typical female trait: being unreasonable.

Anyone who tried to reason with an angry woman was truly foolish.

Xia Xiaolan quickly learned which hotel Councilor Zhang and his family were staying at.

Interestingly, the hotel belonged to Tang Yuanyue’s family.

“…!”

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t be bothered to think too much about it – she was a paying guest, wasn’t that normal?

A-Hua followed them to the hotel, confirming Xia Xiaolan’s check-in and room number before running back to report to his Young Master.

Zhou Cheng still didn’t quite understand.

Master Qiu was Xu Zhongyi?

Then why hadn’t he said anything during their meeting in Minsheng Province? If Zhou Cheng had known Master Qiu was Xu Zhongyi earlier, he could have avoided much passivity!

Pan Bohua twisted his mouth, “With his revenge unfulfilled, he probably wanted to handle his enemy himself.”

“But Xiaolan was already involved – what’s this talk about handling it himself? He’s too stubborn. No wonder Zhang Jiadong has been hunting him all these years.”

With his wife caught up in this, Zhou Cheng could hardly be expected to speak kindly.

He didn’t particularly agree with Xu Zhongyi’s approach of enduring humiliation and biding his time.

After the three checked in, they encountered a ghost-like Tina in the elevator.

Tina finally showed some expression, “Weren’t you picked up by someone?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded at her, “There was an accident on the way. I’ve decided to stay in Hong Kong temporarily and return to Shangdu with you all. Has your family reached a unified decision about your plans after returning?”

They hadn’t.

Just mentioning this topic made Tina want to escape, which was why she’d left her room.

Now with Xia Xiaolan asking again, Tina felt backed into a corner. She wanted to lash out at Xia Xiaolan, to ask if she had deliberately gotten close to her, to blame her for disrupting her family’s peace… But Tina had been well-taught – being coy didn’t mean being willful, and she was very understanding.

Blame Xia Xiaolan?

That didn’t make sense.

It wasn’t Xia Xiaolan who had deliberately approached her; they’d met by chance at Mrs. Wilson’s home.

She was the one who was attracted to Harold and had deliberately approached Xia Xiaolan to study Harold’s preferences.

Tina bit her lip:

“What kind of person is she? I mean Yu… Has she been alone all these years?”

Was she asking about Grandmother Yu?

Xia Xiaolan was somewhat surprised.

“Grandmother Yu hasn’t had it easy. When I met her, she was an eccentric old lady, very difficult to get close to. Later, when I learned what had happened to her, I understood why her temperament was poor… Of course, that’s all in the past. Now that Grandmother Yu has found you all, what kind of person she is – you’ll only know once you interact with her yourself.”

Tina was young, still a girl. Though she couldn’t accept it at first, seeing Grandmother Yu as a lonely old woman might soften her heart.

Farn would be harder to handle, having his ideas and set ways of thinking.

Xia Xiaolan had once mistaken Farn’s coldness for gentleness.

Better to deal with someone like Tina whose thoughts were transparent, showing everything on her face, whether rejection or curiosity – all clear to see.

Tina fell silent, riding up with Xia Xiaolan and the others.

Zhang Jiadong had booked the best suite. Xia Xiaolan, Zhou Cheng, and Pan Bohua’s suite was one floor below – meaning she would be staying directly under Zhang Jiadong.

The hotel rooms were well soundproofed.

It was practically impossible to hear what was being said upstairs.

Pan Bohua fiddled around for a while, sticking a small device to the ceiling, but after much effort, only got noise.

“There’s interference.”

Xia Xiaolan shrugged it off, “It doesn’t matter if we can’t hear what they’re saying. Xu Zhongyi has been investigating for so many years – he couldn’t have identified the wrong enemy.”

Zhou Cheng held her hand: “Neither of them is good. One used you to help Grandmother Yu publicly search for her family, luring Zhang Jiadong back to China; the other probably discovered Xu Zhongyi’s whereabouts long ago and is playing along, planning to draw him out and eliminate him.”

Xu Zhongyi wanted revenge.

Revenge for having his wife stolen, his child taken, his entire life destroyed, forcing him to hide like a sewer rat for years.

Zhang Jiadong wanted to protect his family.

No matter what evil he had done in the past, to Zhang Jiadong, he had formed an intimate family with Cui Yiru, Farn, and Tina. To protect this intimacy, he naturally wanted to eliminate Xu Zhongyi.

These two men were locked in a death match – when they clashed, only one could survive.

Zhou Cheng didn’t want to help either of them.

But for Xiaolan’s sake, and considering Grandmother Yu, he had to lean toward Xu Zhongyi.

“Xiaolan, their mutual probing wastes your time and increases unpredictable dangers. With both men playing games behind the scenes, why don’t we lift the curtain for them?”

Xia Xiaolan heard the anger in Zhou Cheng’s voice.

“What do you want to do?”

Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua exchanged glances, with Pan Bohua supporting Zhou Cheng:

“Chengzi, whatever you say, we’ll do!”

Zhou Cheng stood up and adjusted his clothes, “I’ll arrange an appointment with Councilor Zhang, and set up a time for him to have a meal with Xu Zhongyi. If there are issues, they can discuss them face to face. I want to see who dares not show up for this meal.”

Zhang Jiadong influenced Hong Kong.

Xu Zhongyi had power in Hong Kong.

They were evenly matched – whoever didn’t dare to attend this meal was a coward… And cowards deserved their hardships. When men needed to be tough, they had to be tough!

Zhou Cheng was eighty percent sure that both Zhang Jiadong and Xu Zhongyi would agree to this meal!

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Then I’ll go arrange it with Master Qiu.”

Though Xia Xiaolan couldn’t find him, Du Zhaohui certainly could – Du Zhaohui had already connected with Master Qiu.