Chapter 48: Misunderstandings and Miscommunications

  Congye sat on the small bed until 2 am, when he was frozen stiff again. He came to the west end of Rizhao Lane and ran for more than half an hour on another north-south street. Just as he arrived at the corner of Rizhao Lane, he suddenly saw a ghostly figure under the dim yellow streetlight in the distance. Congye's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately leaned against the wall to observe the figure's movements secretly.

  All he saw was that the man walked quietly, sticking to the wall root and walking forward. Soon, he came to the door of Yan Qingcheng's residence. Standing at the door, he looked around for a while, and then stretched out his hand to gently push the tightly closed big door.

  Then he slipped to the window of the old medical building, stuck to the glass, seemingly wanting to see if there was anyone inside. Cong Ye waited at the west end of Ri Zhao Lane, motionless, wondering what the man would do next, while guessing in his heart whether this person was the one who hijacked Zhi Xiao Hui that day or just a passing thief.

  Only the silhouette of a person on the window, stayed for less than three seconds, then got up and came to the old clinic's two wooden doors facing the street. Because Cong Ye only lightly closed the door every time he went out for a run, exercising his frozen limbs, so the silhouette simply raised its hand and pushed it open, and immediately flashed in. Cong Ye was about to appear, thinking of rushing over to block the person inside. Unexpectedly, the shadow that entered the house came out again in an instant. There was still a piece of clothing in his hand, and when Cong Ye saw that the person had an extra piece of clothing in his hand, he immediately understood that this person was the old man who had taken away Zhi Xiao Hui.

  Cong Ye didn't move, but in his heart he was thinking to himself, "As I expected." This person had risked life and limb to return here, all for the sake of that bank card with one million yuan stored on it. He saw the man standing in front of the old clinic, quickly rummaging through the pockets of the clothes he was holding, then putting them on, after which, without a moment's hesitation, he swiftly left by the same route he had come.

  As he watched his opponent disappear at the eastern end of Rizhao Lane, Cong Ye finally emerged from around the corner and continued to track him down along Rizhao Lane.

  Zhang Cheng didn't expect things to go so smoothly. As soon as he arrived at Rizhao Alley, he originally wanted to check if there was anyone in the house on the street first, but unexpectedly saw the clothes that he had been forced to abandon last time in order to leave quickly, casually hung on the back of a chair by the window. Moreover, the bank card was still in its original pocket. Zhang Cheng's heart skipped a beat with joy, guessing that Cong Ye probably didn't pay attention to this card. If it were him, he wouldn't have noticed it either. Who would put a bank card with millions of dollars in cash in their pocket casually?

  As Zhang Chengxi quickly moved forward, he secretly congratulated himself on the wise decision not to report the card lost over the phone in Sifang City. Occasionally, he glanced at an ATM at a bank entrance and walked up to it, inserting the bank card into the machine to check if the money was still inside. Only then did he remember that there was another note with the password written on it.

  However, Zhang Cheng searched through the four pockets of his jacket and didn't find any note with writing on it. His face turned green at that moment. He now knew that not only did he need to go through the procedures for replacing a new card, but even if he forgot his password and went to the bank to change it, he would still have to bring his ID to the counter in person.

  How can this be good?

  "This bastard Ren Yusi."

  Zhang Cheng had already forgotten about Cong Ye at this time and began to secretly resent his apprentice.

  Unbeknownst to him, Cong Ye was hiding at a nearby street corner, secretly observing him. When Cong Ye saw the black shadow's movements, he felt delighted in his heart. Hehe, last time he transferred the money from the card and thought that an empty card with a password was useless, so he casually threw away the note with the password written on it. As for leaving behind the bank card without any money and the jacket, the purpose was the same - to use them as bait to lure him in and prevent him from entering the small courtyard and disturbing Yan Qingcheng and Zhi Xiaohui.

  The man stood still for a moment before lifting his foot again and quickly walking towards the train station.

  "Shall we chase after him?"

  The leaves hesitated.

  Finally, Cong Ye didn't continue to chase after him, but instead turned around and returned to Ri Zao Xiang. First, he closed the old medical clinic's door that had been opened by that person, and carefully used a small knife to push the door bolt back into its original position. In his heart, he thought, today can finally return to Qing Cheng Medical Clinic for a good night's sleep, although it was less than three hours before dawn, after all, he hadn't slept well for four consecutive days.

  "Thicket leaves."

  The leaves rustled as he pushed open the door, and just as he was straightening up, a soft cry came from behind him.

  Cong Ye instinctively turned around quickly and leaned back against the door of the old medical building, only letting out a breath when he saw that it was Yan Qingcheng who had called him.

  "Sister-in-law? How did you get up?"

  Yan Qingcheng took a step forward towards Cong Ye, leaving only less than half a step of distance between them.

  "Have you been keeping watch here every night these past few days?"

  "How did you know?"

  Cong Ye subconsciously asked a question, only to realize that he had just admitted it. He raised his hand to touch his short hair and awkwardly smiled at Yan Qingcheng.

  At this moment, Yan Qingcheng was completely moved by Cong Ye's actions of secretly protecting her. If the last time Yan Qingcheng was kidnapped and Cong Ye risked his life to rescue her had opened a small gap in her tightly closed heart, then this time it was wide open. The softest part of a woman's heart was unintentionally touched by Cong Ye, leaving a deep impression that would stay with Yan Qingcheng for the rest of her life. As tears rolled down her eyes, she looked at Cong Ye who couldn't speak for a long time, and his body shivered visibly in the cold wind before dawn.

  Cong Ye only then noticed that Yan Qing Cheng was just wearing an outer garment over her sleepwear, and hastily reached out to grab Yan Qing Cheng's hand, intending to pull her into the old medical building. However, Yan Qing Cheng instead leaned into Cong Ye's embrace, stretching out both arms to hug him. Unprepared for Yan Qing Cheng's sudden display of affection, Cong Ye's hands hovered behind Yan Qing Cheng's back, frozen in surprise for a moment before slowly wrapping around her slender waist. Suddenly, his arms were filled with the warmth and softness of Yan Qing Cheng, causing Cong Ye's body to stiffen for an instant. Lowering his head to see the tear stains at the corners of Yan Qing Cheng's eyes, Cong Ye very much wanted to wipe them away, but no matter what, he couldn't muster up the courage to do so.

  Yan Qingcheng, who was being held in a tight embrace by Cong Ye, looked much more at ease, despite the tears that kept rolling down from the corners of her eyes, and gently lifted her face to say softly:

  "Every time I go to the infirmary, I find that the bedding on the bed is always the same as when I first helped you tidy up. This has been going on for several days, so I suspected that you might not be sleeping every day, but I didn't expect you to come here secretly to guard me."

  Cong Ye looked down, gazing at the face of Yan Qing Cheng in his arms, which was wet with tears. There was a sense of relief, a flush, and an expression that Cong Ye couldn't quite understand. Cong Ye didn't speak, he just listened quietly.

  "Just now I got up at night, first saw a figure sneaking on the glass window to peep, then entered the room, took away a piece of clothing that was hanging on the chair. So I quietly approached the back window and observed, seeing that person standing at the door for a moment before turning around and leaving. After that, I saw your shadow chasing after him. Only then did I understand what had happened."

  Yan Qingcheng's tears, which had never stopped, flowed even more fiercely. But under the dim light of the street lamps, Cong Ye saw only happiness on her face.

  "Is it the one you said you couldn't bear to throw away?"

  "Yes."

  "Was it your intention to attract that person by leaving that piece of clothing behind at that time?"

  Cong Ye nodded.

  "Why is he so particular about that piece of clothing?"

  "There is a bank card with hundreds of thousands of dollars in it."

  Yan Qingcheng was stunned by Cong Ye's words. The tears that had been flowing freely for a long time also stopped abruptly. After a long pause, she asked again:

  "You must have returned the card to him, otherwise he wouldn't have left with just his clothes."

  "The card was returned to him, but the money was transferred away by me."

  "You..."

  Yan Qingcheng was once again shocked and speechless.

  It's like this...

  Cong Ye told Yan Qing Cheng about what happened that day in detail.

  "When he finds out there's no money on the card, will he come looking for you again?"

  "It should be okay. He did get the card, but he didn't get the password. For a while, he won't notice that the money in the card is gone, so there's no need to worry about him coming back for now."

  "Since it's his card, what password is needed?"

  "Last time I transferred the money, I noticed that the owner of the card was one of the two people who had kidnapped you, named Ren Yusi. This person is obviously not Ren Yusi, if it's not Di Rong, then it must be someone very close to Ren Yusi, otherwise they wouldn't have come forward on his behalf."

  "Then he returned to Sifang City and found Ren Yusi, didn't he know the password?"

  Yan Qingcheng's meaning, Cong Ye understood. Knowing the password also immediately knew that there was no more money in the card.

  "I guess that since Ren Yusi handed the card to this person along with a piece of paper containing the password, it's likely that the card was only issued in Ren Yushi's name for this person's use. In that case, Ren Yushi probably wouldn't have kept the password either."

  "Even without a password, Ren Yusi can take her ID card to the bank counter to inquire or modify the password."

  "Let him be, maybe after he sees the money is gone, he'll do something. However, last time he kidnapped Xiao Hui, he's already got a kidnapping suspect title, it's absolutely impossible for him to come find me openly and honestly."

  Cong Ye looked at Yan Qingcheng in his arms and said very seriously:

  "Sister-in-law, shouldn't we consider moving house?"

  "Where are we moving?"

  New house.

  "A new house? That's your new house, not mine."

  Cong Ye had never seen Yan Qingcheng look so young and delicate, and was suddenly surrounded by a boundless happiness. Impulsively, he wrapped his arms tightly around Yan Qingcheng's soft body, which was only wearing a sleeping gown and an outer garment, holding her even closer to his chest.