Chapter 1043: Chapter 1044: Turning Point
"Thatâs strange. Yesterday at the restaurant, when Zhao Hua insulted me, she said she would find you... If sheâs your betrothed, she shouldnât act that way. Could it be she doesnât know about the relationship between you two?"
"And even if she doesnât know, her father definitely would, and he didnât stop it either. Thatâs illogical."
Song Xiaodong gave a bitter smile and said, "You really have a keen eye, but the complexity of the relationship between us isnât something you can imagine. To put it simply, I have a responsibility to take care of her, but her character is so distasteful to me that itâs making my head spin."
Qi Lanqin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So thatâs how it is. No wonder you wanted to make it up to me yesterday. As long as sheâs not your fiancĂ©e, thatâs good."
"Why do you think so?" Song Xiaodong squinted at Qi Lanqin.
Qi Lanqin froze for a moment, a blush spreading across her face, quickly waving her hand and saying, "Big Brother Song, donât misunderstand. I just feel someone as excellent as you deserves a better wife. In my imagination, Big Brother Songâs wife should be both beautiful and knowledgeable, or perhaps a career-oriented powerhouse â essentially, an incredibly outstanding woman."
Song Xiaodong laughed out loud and said, "You got it right. My wives are indeed both very pretty and very talented."
"Wives?" Qi Lanqin looked at Song Xiaodong in confusion.
"Yeah, I have more than one wife."
Qi Lanqinâs eyes widened, staring at Song Xiaodong in shock.
Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and said, "Surprised? But itâs true. Iâm telling you this so you can rest assured I harbor no ulterior motives."
"Oh, oh... Youâre kidding me. You really scared me."
Song Xiaodong laughed heartily, then shook his head and said, "Not teasing, itâs true."
Qi Lanqin gave Song Xiaodong a sidelong glance and said, "Big Brother Song, youâre really good at joking. Thatâs something men think about, especially wealthy ones like you, always wanting more women."
Song Xiaodong chuckled, no longer explaining, and said, "Letâs not talk about this, come on, letâs drink."
It was clear Song Xiaodong intended to drink away his worries today, and before long, he had downed seven or eight bottles of beer. Without deliberately controlling himself, he inevitably became somewhat tipsy.
Still, Song Xiaodong wasnât drinking just to drown his sorrows. Once he felt the buzz, he stopped drinking. Seeing it was about time, he settled the bill and left the restaurant with Qi Lanqin.
By now it was dark, but a crowd was noisily gathered ahead, seemingly because of some commotion.
"Letâs take a look," Song Xiaodong suggested.
"Okay." Qi Lanqin agreed and walked over with Song Xiaodong.
As they got closer, they heard a womanâs continuous shouting and a manâs angry roars, accompanied by the sound of someone being hit.
Song Xiaodong frowned; such violence against women is always disturbing.
"Hey, are you just going to stand there and watch the show?" Song Xiaodong hadnât spoken yet when a girl furiously interjected.
Someone immediately replied, "Theyâre a couple fighting; how can we interfere?"
"Even if theyâre a couple fighting, you canât just let the woman get beaten, can you?"
"Oh, miss, donât meddle. That woman deserves the beating. I know them both; the man is usually honest, just earning money to support the family without a single penny misspent. But his wife is quite... promiscuous, always out partying. This time, her husband caught her meeting someone in a hotel room; what man could tolerate that?"
"Well... well... a few hits and thatâs enough; donât go too far and kill someone."
"They just started; if it gets out of hand, weâll step in. Such women need a lesson to remember."
Listening to these peopleâs conversation, Song Xiaodongâs expression suddenly turned a bit odd.
"Whatâs wrong?" Qi Lanqin turned to see Song Xiaodongâs change in expression and immediately asked.
Song Xiaodong shook his head and said, "I have some things I need to handle right away."
Qi Lanqin said, "Alright, then Big Brother Song, you go ahead, I will head home myself."
Song Xiaodong nodded toward his phone and said, "If thereâs anything, feel free to contact me."
"Okay." Qi Lanqin nodded, watching Song Xiaodong leave, then turned and walked away.
For Qi Lanqin, these two days felt like a dream; she never imagined sheâd have the chance to dine with a billionaire. Itâs something she never thought possible, or it seemed like a plot straight out of a novel, too unreal otherwise.
She also realized that perhaps if she just told Song Xiaodong, he would offer her great help and opportunities. Yet her pride told her not to do so; she had to remain true to herself.
Song Xiaodong hurriedly returned to the hotel and directly found Dragon Nine and Dragon Six, saying, "Dragon Nine, Dragon Six, you need to find a way to collect blood samples from Zhao Huaâs mother now."
Dragon Six paused for a moment, understanding immediately, then said, "Youâre suspecting Zhao Qunâs wife is cheating on him?"
"Isnât there a possibility?" Song Xiaodong asked.
Dragon Six thought for a moment and said, "It might not be implausible. Iâve heard Zhao Qunâs wife is quite flirtatious; she was a great beauty back in the day, and Zhao Qun wooed her persistently. Even after starting her career, her flirty behavior didnât stop. Zhao Qun managed to get to his current position, rumor has it because his wife helped with many of the interpersonal relationships."
"That makes it even more possible." A hint of excitement appeared on Song Xiaodongâs face.
Dragon Six quickly said, "Iâll get to it right away."
Song Xiaodong quickly said, "Go ahead, the sooner the better."
Dragon Six, unlike Song Xiaodong, didnât have a clever way to collect blood samples. He used the direct approach.
That night, Dragon Six masked his face and secretly broke into Zhao Qunâs home, knocked out Zhao Qun, his wife, and Zhao Hua, and collected the blood samples from them.
When Zhao Qunâs wife and Zhao Hua woke up, they felt puzzled; nothing was stolen from the house, and they seemed otherwise unaffected, save for two extra needle marks on their arms.
But Zhao Qun didnât dare report to the police. He wasnât clean himself; if someone broke into his house, an investigation might start dragging on complications.
Even so, it left him anxious and sleepless all night. Meanwhile, upon discovering the needle marks, his wifeâs expression became somewhat peculiar.