Chapter 58
“Your place is quite big. I didn’t even know where your bedroom was.” The power was back on in the house. Han Zhiyu stood up, walked over to Qi Baizi, and sat down with her legs together. “So you’ll have to make do with the storage room.”
Qi Baizi breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head back against the wall. “Who are you trying to scare to death?”
“You, of course,” Han Zhiyu said. “I had just covered your mouth when you suddenly fainted. I almost called for an ambulance.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I felt you still had a heartbeat, so I didn’t want to cause trouble for myself.”
Qi Baizi shot her a sideways glance and clutched her heart to calm herself down.
“How did you know I lived here?”
Han Zhiyu blinked, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “By following you, of course.”
Qi Baizi paused and asked tentatively, “Did you go to the fried chicken shop?”
“What fried chicken?”
“Nothing.”
Qi Baizi frowned slightly. It seemed Han Zhiyu didn’t know her complete whereabouts. Her work schedule was regular, and after work, she would at most go to the convenience store. The only difference these days was that she had gone to see Gu Yuetong in the afternoon.
In other words, Han Zhiyu was tailing Gu Yuetong and had stumbled upon her location as a result.
Seeing Han Zhiyu in a baggy gray sweatsuit, her hair disheveled and her face bare, Qi Baizi couldn’t help but wonder where she had been all these days.
Han Zhiyu was silent for a moment, the mocking expression gone from her face.
“I’m here to ask for your help.”
“Help with what?” Qi Baizi’s expression changed. Perhaps suddenly remembering that she had been beaten and hospitalized by her, she became a bit more guarded. “I’m not Gu Yuetong’s assistant anymore. I’m staying out of trouble, so I can’t help with anything.”
“I know you’ll refuse me, and I know you’re still angry with me…” Han Zhiyu’s eyes drooped. Her oily, blotchy skin and the dirt under her fingernails revealed that she had probably been living on the streets for a long time, in a state no better than when she was in the detention center.
Qi Baizi observed silently. As Han Zhiyu spoke, she suddenly burst into tears, burying her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling.
After crying her fill, she wiped away her tears and looked up into Qi Baizi’s eyes. “I know I hurt you before, but I’m really in a tough spot right now. Can you take me in for a while?”
Hearing this request, Qi Baizi frowned. “Perhaps you should go find Gu Hezhu.”
“She’s already given up on me.” Han Zhiyu sobbed, closing her eyes. “After the press conference, she took back the two apartments and kicked me out.”
“I went to look for her again later, but she warned me not to appear in her sight… I did so much of her dirty work, and this is what I get in return.”
Han Zhiyu’s tone was filled with despair, but Qi Baizi knew this was just her way of playing the victim.
“Even so, I don’t believe you have no way out.” She pushed herself up from the floor, walked out of the storage room, and poured herself a glass of water.
Han Zhiyu stumbled out after her, looking anxious. “You’re right, but I’m not willing to give up.”
“I’ve worked so hard in Jingzhou for so many years. My connections, resources, and youth are all here. I’m not willing to leave this place.”
Qi Baizi put a salted lemon in her water and turned to stare at her.
As she spoke, her expression suddenly changed, and she sneered, “That’s right, I still have Gu Yuetong.”
Hearing this, Qi Baizi’s hand paused, and she said coldly, “What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll go find Gu Yuetong. I know everything about her past with Wang Lin. I can blackmail her into helping me make a comeback! I’ll threaten her, I, I can find reporters to expose her, say she used my feelings and then abandoned me. Even if it doesn’t affect Gu Corporation, her reputation will be ruined…”
Han Zhiyu seemed to have regained her spirits, deliberately exaggerating and trying to paint herself as vicious.
But her true colors were only so deep. Qi Baizi could hear the strain in her voice. She sighed helplessly, took out a paper cup, filled it with water, and handed it to her. “Give it a rest. I agree to let you stay for now, but if you dare to hurt Gu Yuetong, I guarantee I’ll throw you out on the street.”
“Also, I will inform President Gu about this.”
“…” Han Zhiyu, who was about to show a grateful expression, froze for a second, then pursed her lips and nodded reluctantly.
Qi Baizi washed her face and came out, looking more refreshed. She sat down opposite Han Zhiyu. “I’ve already agreed to take you in. Can you tell me who you’re hiding from now?”
Han Zhiyu raised her eyelids, hesitated to speak, and finally said timidly, “…It’s, it’s Huo Bu.”
“Huo Bu?” Qi Baizi was ordering breakfast on her phone and paused upon hearing the name. “How did you get involved with him?”
“…My actions at the press conference were exposed, and Gu Hezhu abandoned me. I had nowhere to go for a while, so I thought about fleeing back to my hometown to hide.”
“But when Gu Hezhu got me out of the detention center, it wasn’t exactly by the book. Do you remember that female police officer? She came back from her business trip and found me again, wanting to take me back to the detention center.”
“But then Huo Bu heard about me and got me out again… The medical records he created were very convincing, saying I had a mental illness, so I got out again.”
“But his motive… he forced me to go to Gu Yuetong, to lure her to a hotel, and then… I refused, so he threatened me with my father.”
“Unfortunately for him, he miscalculated.” Han Zhiyu clenched the paper cup and paused. “I’d rather let that old bastard die at his hands.”
“He thought I was useless and was afraid I’d spill his secrets, so he sent me to a club owned by one of his relatives.”
“In there…” Han Zhiyu choked up for a moment, then composed herself. “I wasn’t willing, so I jumped out of a window, sprained my ankle, and was locked up again.”
“After a few times, I found a chance to report the club and escaped in the chaos… It’s been almost a week.”
“I know the police are looking for me, and Huo Bu has people looking for me too. I don’t want to go back to the detention center, and I don’t want to go to Gu Yuetong either.” Han Zhiyu let out a breath, seemingly unwilling to recall those events. “I’ve been trying to get news about you, but I followed Gu Yuetong after work several times and never saw you… Luckily, yesterday, I saw you two leaving that restaurant together.”
Qi Baizi pondered for a moment, unable to tell if it was sympathy or something else. She gave Han Zhiyu a deep look. “How were you so sure I would help you?”
“I… don’t know.” Han Zhiyu gave a silly smile, as if a little embarrassed. “Maybe it’s a woman’s sixth sense.”
“Well, your sixth sense is pretty accurate,” Qi Baizi said. “Do you know why the police are looking for you?”
Han Zhiyu froze and shook her head.
Qi Baizi smiled. “Whatever the reason, I have a way to completely turn your situation around.”
Han Zhiyu was startled and said tentatively, “You’re not going to ask me to…”
“That’s right, surrender.” Qi Baizi’s tone was serious and did not allow for argument. “I can give you time to think it over, but I won’t wait too long.”
“If you still haven’t figured out whether to turn yourself in after a week, then I’ll help you.”
***
Qi Baizi didn’t contact Gu Yuetong directly, to prevent anyone from discovering they were in touch. Instead, she found Li Yi.
Li Yi was slacking off. Gu Yuetong was indeed in a meeting. She was standing at the back of the conference room, typing on her computer. Gu Yuetong had asked her to find workers for those construction sites that had been forced to halt work. She had contacted several foremen, but they all refused upon hearing the construction addresses.
They wouldn’t even do it for money. Li Yi couldn’t figure out why and just felt overwhelmed by the task she couldn’t complete.
Seeing the caller ID on her phone, Li Yi decided to go out for some fresh air. She gestured to Gu Yuetong, and after getting her approval, slipped out the back door of the conference room.
Finding a deserted spot, Li Yi yawned as she answered the phone. “What’s up, Little Bai?”
“Where’s President Gu?”
“In a meeting.”
Qi Baizi understood. “When you have a moment, tell her that Han Zhiyu came to see me.”
Li Yi was surprised and asked what had happened.
Qi Baizi gave a rough summary, her eyes occasionally glancing at Pei Ran, who was smoking not far away. Li Yi let out a sigh of dismay.
“Just relay it as it is. If there are any other problems, contact me again.” Qi Baizi still had half a cigarette left. She thought for a moment, then pressed it out on the trash can.
“Don’t hang up yet,” Li Yi said, sensing her intention. “I don’t want to go back to that prison. Chat with me for a bit.”
“Okay.” Qi Baizi had been through it before and knew how grueling it was to sit through Gu Yuetong’s meetings. Anyway, the lunch break wasn’t over yet, and the two new employees at the store were practicing. She was happy to have some free time, so she asked, “There’s not much to say on my end. How have you been lately?”
“Not so great.” Li Yi vented her frustration about not being able to find a construction crew, feeling exhausted. “President Gu said it’s just for show for now, so it’s fine even if we don’t start work. We’ll pay them by the day, but those people just refuse to do it.”
“I’ve contacted almost every available construction crew in Jingzhou. It’s driving me crazy.”
As Li Yi spoke, she couldn’t help but pull at her hair.
Qi Baizi could guess her expression even over the phone. After comforting her, she fell silent for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. “Aren’t those factory workers who came to Jingzhou with Zheng Xiaoxiao’s mother still idle?”
Li Yi paused. “I think so. The news was reporting on it a few days ago, saying the group had rented them housing out of some humanitarian concern. They’re just waiting for the court date.”
“Since they’re idle anyway, you could ask them if they’re willing to earn some living expenses.”
Li Yi hesitated for a moment, thinking this was indeed a viable solution.
“Then, should I ask President Gu?”
“You don’t have to say it was my idea.”
Qi Baizi hung up the phone. In the distance, Pei Ran pointed to her earpiece. They exchanged a smile and returned to the store together.
That evening, Qi Baizi brought Han Zhiyu two changes of clothes and some failed fried chicken pieces from the new employees’ practice.
Han Zhiyu didn’t have a phone, so Qi Baizi gave her an old, button-operated phone that she had retired and kept as a backup.
“I’ve taken out some cash and left it here. You can use it if you need to go out.” Qi Baizi took out five red bills and placed them in the fruit basket on the dining table.
After begging for food for several days, Han Zhiyu was finally eating hot fried chicken. Although it was burnt, Qi Baizi could see the light in her eyes as she looked at her, and couldn’t help but shiver.
“What do you want?”
Han Zhiyu’s mouth was full of grease. “Nothing, I’m just grateful to you.”
Qi Baizi rolled her eyes, washed up, and came out to see Han Zhiyu leaning on the sofa, dozing off.
“That bedroom over there is yours.” Qi Baizi sent her into the room. Having an extra person around inexplicably made her feel uncomfortable.