Zhou Cheng forgot about the cigarette in his hand. It kept burning until it nearly singed his fingers before he snapped back to attention.

“Third Brother, I have some guesses about what you’re implying, but I’m not certain!”

“That’s enough said. Think about the rest yourself. Kang Wei told me you were willing to sacrifice yourself to clear my name. Even if you hadn’t contacted me, I was planning to reach out, but with you at the academy, it wasn’t convenient for me to contact you.”

Pan Baohua couldn’t contact Zhou Cheng directly.

The last time had resulted in Zhou Cheng being isolated for investigation.

Though that storm had passed, Pan Baohua didn’t want to stir up trouble again.

Zhou Cheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Third Brother, you know which parts of Kang Wei’s words to believe depends on the situation—”

Pan Baohua impatiently interrupted him:

“I think Kang Wei was right. Now the Jiang family is dangling some dubious material in front of you, and you’ve fallen for it, thinking it could bring down the Jiang family and take care of Jiang Wu. It’s not that I don’t trust that little girl Jiang Yan, but even if the material is genuine, she’s willing to betray her parents – what’s she getting in return for such a sacrifice? Zhou Cheng, hand on your heart, can you give Jiang Yan what she wants?”

Striking at the vital point, Pan Baohua knew Zhou Cheng all too well.

Using Jiang Yan’s materials to trip up Jiang Wu would leave Jiang Yan estranged from her family – how could he and Zhou Cheng repay her?

Pan Baohua didn’t care for himself.

He was single anyway – if Jiang Yan expressed interest in him, he could marry her immediately.

Marriage was marriage, and Pan Baohua was a responsible man. Whether there was love didn’t matter; a husband’s duties must be fulfilled.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yan hadn’t set her sights on Pan Baohua.

Seeing Zhou Cheng’s silence, Pan Baohua pressed on:

“Weren’t you just full of confidence? Why aren’t you continuing now? You can’t give Jiang Yan what she wants. If you could, she might have sided with us long ago. It was impossible before, and it’s even more impossible now that you have Xiaolan… Such a good girl. Cheng, as your brother, I envy you – the person you love also loves you. No matter how far you travel, you have a home in your heart, someone to think about, someone to care for!”

If Zhou Cheng accepted Jiang Yan’s “favor,” Pan Baohua knew him well enough to know he’d eventually face an impossible dilemma.

Not just about Jiang Yan leveraging her help, but when Zhou Cheng had investigated all the clues and only needed the original key document, at that crucial moment, if Jiang Yan made just one request, how could Zhou Cheng choose?

Choose Jiang Yan, and he’d wrong Xiaolan and his own heart.

Don’t choose Jiang Yan, and he’d miss the final piece to clear the case, feeling he’d betrayed the brotherhood.

In Pan Baohua’s view, why put yourself in such a painful dilemma – he shouldn’t have gotten involved with Jiang Yan from the start.

Zhou Cheng took a deep breath and pulled out another cigarette:

“Third Brother, I didn’t believe in those materials before either. While traveling with Xiaolan, I made a side trip to Nanjing. The person who might know something was transferred six months ago, but just after I finished gathering information, Jiang Wu showed up right on my heels. If the lead was false, Jiang Wu wouldn’t be so nervous.”

Pan Baohua frowned: “You encountered Jiang Wu? He’s like a mad dog – once he latches on, he won’t let go. You’re practically redirecting his hatred from me to yourself! Zhou Cheng, I must warn you to be careful of Jiang Wu. He has no moral bottom line and is capable of anything.”

Armies at war don’t kill civilians.

Those in the underworld don’t harm family members.

These were unwritten rules.

Jiang Wu had become twisted, shedding even the facade he used to wear.

While others left families alone, Jiang Wu, this mad dog, would bite hard once he discovered Zhou Cheng’s weakness.

Making Zhou Cheng suffer and regret wouldn’t benefit Jiang Wu at all, but it would please him… Yes, Jiang Wu took pleasure in others’ pain – he was that kind of pervert!

In the middle of summer, Zhou Cheng suddenly felt cold.

“I’ve been around Shanghai for two days, and only after making sure no one was following did I send you the message, Third Brother.”

Pan Baohua’s expression changed, and he and Zhou Cheng rushed out of the room one after another.

They ran straight into Xia Xiaolan at the corridor corner.

The bread Xia Xiaolan was carrying fell to the ground. Though they’d only been apart briefly, Zhou Cheng held her with a feeling of having nearly lost her.

“Zhou Cheng, why are you running?”

Pan Baohua leaned against the wall, catching his breath. “I was telling Cheng I’m not as old as I look, that my stamina isn’t worse than young people’s. He didn’t believe me. I suggested we race to the riverbank and back, but now we don’t need to compare.”

Xia Xiaolan was speechless – Third Brother Pan wasn’t even trying to make his lie convincing.

Zhou Cheng had been running out of fear.

She had never seen such an expression on Zhou Cheng’s face before.

Something must have happened.

Xia Xiaolan picked up the bread from the ground – still wrapped in paper bags, it wasn’t dirty.

“Do you two want to eat the bread first and then tell me, or tell me first and then eat? You have to choose one.”

Zhou Cheng looked at Pan Baohua, who sighed:

“Then I won’t hide it from you, sister-in-law. You think Jiang Yan likes Cheng and warned him to be careful not to fall into her trap, not to fall for her beauty scheme.”

Xia Xiaolan strongly agreed: “Third Brother, I think so too. You’ve all stopped associating with her, any normal person would get the hint! But Jiang Yan won’t give up. Before even repairing your friendship, she already dislikes me for various reasons. If the friendship is repaired, will there be any place for me by Zhou Cheng’s side? But I’ve discussed this with Zhou Cheng – whatever materials Jiang Yan has, for the sake of those materials, I can allow her to parade herself in front of Zhou Cheng.”

Pan Baohua was momentarily speechless.

This was already very tolerant towards Zhou Cheng. He truly hadn’t chosen his wife wrongly – she was not only smart and beautiful but also understood what truly mattered.

She knew what was important and lived with great clarity.

But how could he and Zhou Cheng tell Xia Xiaolan that her real problem wasn’t Jiang Yan, but the mad dog Jiang Wu?

A love rival was a small matter – as long as Zhou Cheng kept his heart true, a hundred Jiang Yans wouldn’t matter. Among the Jiang siblings, the dangerous one was Jiang Wu. Normal people couldn’t reason with a mad dog; no one could predict who he would bite next.

Zhou Cheng was already feeling extremely guilty.

He should have focused on accompanying Xiaolan, following their original plan to take the boat from Jiangcheng to Shanghai – then none of this would have happened.

Third Brother Pan was right; after getting Jiang Yan’s materials, he became obsessed with clearing the case.

He couldn’t resist stopping in Nanjing.

But this let Jiang Wu see Xiaolan.

Could he protect Xiaolan at all times?

“I’ve dragged you into something dangerous, and I don’t know what to do to make up for my mistake!”

Just now had been a false alarm – he and Third Pan had scared themselves.

Zhou Cheng couldn’t be sure the next time would also be just a false alarm.

Xia Xiaolan frowned:

“I knew things weren’t that simple. Are you afraid of Jiang Wu?”