FI CH44: Louder

The commission report was placed on the office desk.

Lu Yanzhou’s brow was heavy as he read through it word by word, his frown gradually deepening. After a moment, he put down the report and looked up:

“Is it about Mr. Lin?”

The subordinate nodded and took out his phone. “President, it should be about this. I just saw it online; I didn’t expect it to be about Mr. Lin.”

He said as he passed the phone over.

Lu Yanzhou scrolled through the exposé and the public opinion online, his handsome face gradually turning cold. Just as his lips moved to speak, a soft “hua” sound came from the side.

Chen Qiu had picked up the report and said happily, “Ah, our benefactor’s case has fallen into our hands!” O▽O

Lu Yanzhou: “…”

Chen Qiu continued cheerfully on his own, “Let’s set off quickly~”

Lu Yanzhou paused, his gloominess dissipated, and he lowered his eyes with a smile. “Mhm, you’re right, Ah Qiu.”

…

In the detached villa.

Zhu Jianfei was half-lying on the sofa, a blanket covering his bloated body. Because he was afraid of the heat, the air conditioning was on in the villa, making the already yin-heavy house feel even colder and more menacing.

Lu Yanzhou, Chen Qiu, and the accompanying disciple stood in the living room, all unable to stop themselves from frowning slightly.

Zhu Jianfei looked them up and down. “Three people came?”

He clicked his tongue again, muttering with dissatisfaction, “…Why are they still so young.”

Hearing this, the disciple spoke up, “This is our president.”

President? Zhu Jianfei was a bit surprised, and his expression improved slightly. “Oh, that’s more like it.”

After he finished speaking, he felt secretly pleased: money really can make the world go round. He had offered a high commission fee for this job, and what do you know? Even the president came personally.

He lifted his chin. “Alright, you guys take a look first.”

Lu Yanzhou gave him an unreadable glance, then took out his luopan compass. Led by Chen Qiu and the disciple, he began to survey the villa. The needle on the compass trembled violently the entire time.

After completing one round, he opened his Yin-Yang Eyes.

When his gaze fell upon the living room, a deep sense of disgust suddenly arose. He then put away his spiritual tool and walked over.

Zhu Jianfei was still lying on the sofa. “Finished looking?”

Lu Yanzhou nodded.

Zhu Jianfei said, “After looking, you should be very clear now. The Xuncheng Association definitely messed up my feng shui.” He gritted his teeth. “They might have even placed a vicious curse!”

The person before him didn’t speak.

Zhu Jianfei arrogantly instructed, “I’ll state my demands: first, change all the feng shui back for me. Second, do as I say and testify to the Xuncheng Association’s evil deeds.”

The matter of the yin plaque was not exactly orthodox, so he wasn’t planning on having them resolve it.

“Change it back?”

Lu Yanzhou finally spoke. His voice was very soft, and his lips curved. “Hasn’t it all been changed back already?”

“Huh? What?”

“Nothing.”

After speaking, he took out a handful of soil and a red string. He held it in his hand for a moment, then placed it under the coffee table.

Seeing this, Zhu Jianfei just assumed he was fulfilling the first condition. After Lu Yanzhou placed the grave soil, he reminded him again:

“And the second thing I said…”

“Don’t worry.” This time, it was the young man pushing the wheelchair from behind who spoke. Chen Qiu said with a wide smile, “We will testify. We’ll release a statement as soon as we get back.”

His smile was bright, and he had an innocent-looking face.

Zhu Jianfei was instantly relieved. “Alright.”

The group quickly left the villa.

Chen Qiu pushed Lu Yanzhou and looked up at the bright sunlight. “Do we need to let our benefactor know?”

Lu Yanzhou’s hands rested on his knees, his long, ink-jade-colored robe making him look elegant and graceful. He said lightly, fanning his tail feathers with great style:

“No need. This matter isn’t worth bothering Mr. Lin over. It’s fine as long as we solve it.”

Chen Qiu: “Oh.” O▽O So handsome…

For the past few days, Lin Su hadn’t received any contact.

The previous storm-raising had made him a bit sleepy again. Every day for him was just closing and opening his eyes, recuperating.

Today happened to be the Thursday school board meeting, so he simply sent a Weixin message to call He Zhenling over.

[Su-So-Sleepy-Can’t-Wake-Up]: Little get-together on the rooftop at noon. [heart]

The midday sun was lazy.

A blanket was spread on the rooftop, with four dishes and a soup pot on it. Lin Su and He Zhenling sat opposite each other, while the butler stood to the side holding a tray with tea and paper towels.

“Did you call me for something?”

He Zhenling sat upright, holding his lunch box.

Lin Su sighed, “Can’t I call you even if there’s nothing? Don’t say such distant things just because the butler is here.”

Butler: “?”

He Zhenling: “…”

He scoffed, “How could that be. It’s just that you’ve been quiet for so many days after the storm; it really makes me a bit unaccustomed.”

Xuenima popped its head out: [Unaccustomed to not being zapped?]

Lin Su tapped it with his chopstick: Shh.

As he was eating and engaging in a battle of wits with He Zhenling, his phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out and saw a message from Lu Yanzhou: +(▼ヘ▼#)

Lin Su: ?

Hacked? A butt dial?

He stopped and stared for a few seconds. A voice came from across from him: “What’s wrong?”

Lin Su looked up. “Xiao Lu sent me an emoji.”

He Zhenling glanced at him, then picked at his rice nonchalantly. “Is that so? You two seem to contact each other a lot privately.”

“This is the first time I’ve received a message.”

Lin Su said, paused, then added softly, “Xiao Lu already has Ah Qiu, don’t be jealous for no reason.”

He Zhenling sneered, “…You’re overthinking it.”

Lin Su looked at him indulgently without speaking.

In the span of a few sentences, there was no follow-up to the message, so he put his phone away without replying. “He probably sent it by mistake.”

Just as he put his phone away, it vibrated again.

Lin Su: “…”

He Zhenling looked over at him.

Lin Su picked it up. This time it wasn’t Lu Yanzhou, but Chen You. Chen You had sent him a big “Holy Crap!” and then asked: Where are you?

He looked up to explain, “It’s not Xiao Lu, it’s someone else.”

The butler glanced at He Zhenling in horror: He can really tolerate a lot.

“…”

He Zhenling put his chopsticks down and looked over silently. “Don’t say things that cause misunderstandings.”

“Your minds are so complicated.”

Lin Su sighed lightly and replied to the message: What’s wrong?

The next moment, Chen You’s message popped up with a screenshot.

[Chen You]: Didn’t I follow the Xuncheng branch’s official account before? I hadn’t looked at it for a long time, but I just got a push notification. [Screenshot]

『Official Rumor Debunking: There are no illegal activities or acts of cursing to harm people within the association.』

[Chen You]: I took a quick look, some entrepreneur said the Xuncheng branch cursed him to harm him! They even hired another Tianshi to testify, everyone’s waiting for the follow-up! [eating claws]

[Chen You]: I don’t believe it. With the Masked Big Shot still around, how could such improper conduct be allowed! Aigh… but with this kind of exposé, the Masked Big Shot must be swamped with work. [heartbroken kitten]

“…”

Lin Su himself, who had just heard about this: ?

[Chen You]: Why aren’t you saying anything? [peeking]

Lin Su’s fingertip moved, and he replied: I’m processing it, wow…

After sending that, he exited the chat and quickly tapped over to Ge Lili’s: What is this? [Screenshot]

[Ge Lili]: Eh, Sir, you saw it?

[Ge Lili]: Didn’t you say not to bother before? We didn’t want to disturb you with such a small matter. [clever wink]

Lin Su: “…”

Perhaps seeing him furiously typing for a long time, He Zhenling finally spoke up. “What waves have you stirred up now?”

Lin Su sighed, “I’m looking at it right now, too.”

He Zhenling: “?”

Lin Su scooted over next to him with his phone, searched for the exposés, and turned the screen for him to see. “You didn’t see this as part of your inspection work?”

He Zhenling glanced at it. “I saw it.” Then his gaze fell. “…You didn’t know yourself?”

“…”

Xuenima peeked secretly: [You were clearly awake, but it’s like you were dead asleep.]

Lin Su pinched its little mouth and tapped into the comment section.

It was already a chaotic scene below:

—The Xuncheng branch posted a denial, why hasn’t my big shot wife come out to say anything ahhh!

—What’s the point of a denial you post yourself…

—A philanthropist was cursed!? Was it a business rival? Who could be so vicious? Good people will be rewarded. May all those who play with dark magic be sanctioned! [folded hands][folded hands][folded hands]

—Support exposing these small groups that pretend to be mysterious! [justice]

—It’s been a whole day, are there no results yet?

…

Lin Su leisurely scrolled through a few pages and let out a pained sigh. “Look, look what they’re saying about me. How are you not worried about me at all?”

He Zhenling scoffed but didn’t speak.

Lin Su turned his head. “Hmm?”

He Zhenling glanced at him, then said, “There’s nothing to worry about.”

He paused. “Cases without a specific commission are assigned by the Inspection Association.”

…What does that mean?

Lin Su blinked, not having reacted yet.

Suddenly, a push notification popped up on his phone. It was from the official account of the Huicheng branch, which he had followed while watching a livestream—

『Official Statement: Regarding the investigation of the Xuncheng branch, commissioned by Mr. Zhu, a result has been reached. After a personal investigation by our association’s president, the Xuncheng branch acted in strict accordance with the employer’s commission and did not engage in any acts of cursing, malicious harm, or the like.』

As soon as the statement was released, netizens who had been waiting for a long time swarmed in, flooding the comment section:

—It’s been clarified! The Xuncheng branch did not break any rules!

—It was actually investigated by the Huicheng branch. Remember how these two branches had a feud before? Now that even their rival says there’s no problem, there’s definitely no problem.

—Ahhhh I knew the Xuncheng branch was innocent!

—They have a big shot overseeing them! [scattering flowers]

—Since there’s no problem, what kind of bad karma did the client rack up to deserve this retribution?

—Didn’t they say he was a philanthropist? Who is he really? [confused]

—The client “Mr. Zhu,” from Xuncheng, could it be…

Lin Su: “…”

He scrolled back to the message Lu Yanzhou had sent: +(▼ヘ▼#)

…So it meant a flash of brilliance!

He turned his head to show He Zhenling. “Xiao Lu’s emojis are so abstract.”

He Zhenling looked at him deeply. “Compared to you, perhaps.”

Lin Su put away his phone as if nothing happened and sent a message back to Lu Yanzhou: Xiao He and I will treat you guys to a meal. =u=

A gaze fell from his side: “…Where did the ‘and Xiao He’ come from?”

Lin Su typed, “It would be very awkward to sit alone with a couple.”

He Zhenling said no more.

On the quiet rooftop, the butler held a tray of tea with a deathly still gaze: …

In the villa.

A laptop was slammed shut with a thud!

Zhu Jianfei held his phone, cursing loudly, “What kind of bullshit is that cripple from the Huicheng Association spouting!? These ‘orthodox Tianshis,’ every single one of them, are going against me!”

The secretary on the other end listened silently to the tirade, then said weakly, “Boss, the most urgent task is to turn public opinion around. Netizens are already starting to dig up identities.”

And their company could not withstand a deep dive.

Zhu Jianfei was furious. “Right, right… the Philanthropist of the Year is about to be decided, this matter absolutely cannot affect my reputation.”

He paused for two seconds, then suddenly had an idea. “In Xuncheng, I’m not the only entrepreneur with the surname Zhu. Isn’t there still my older brother?”

Speaking of which, he had gotten his start in business because of his brother, Zhu Jiancheng. Back then, he hadn’t gone to university and couldn’t find a good job, so Zhu Jiancheng let him work at his company.

Later, when he became successful, he directly took the core team and left, establishing the current “Jianda Group.”

Zhu Jianfei immediately ordered, “Go arrange it now, shift this matter onto my brother!”

Secretary: “…Yes.”

He lay in the living room, giving orders word by word.

Outside the living room, a trace of disgust flashed in Fang Shuyu’s eyes. She then took out her phone and found [Sister-in-law] in her contacts.

Quickly, she sent a message.

Just as the message was sent, she suddenly heard another “bang” from the living room!

Zhu Jianfei, probably getting angrier as he spoke, slammed the coffee table. With this slam, the square box that had been placed under the coffee table fell out. The lid was thrown open with a clatter.

A pellet drum rolled out.

The pellet hit the drum’s surface with a soft “dong.”

As if teasing a child.

Zhu Jianfei’s voice was abruptly cut off: the thing he had been knocking on, placed on top of the yin plaque… was a child’s pellet drum?

He turned pale with fright. In his terror, his bloated stomach suddenly began to throb again.

He immediately cried out in pain, “Aiyo, ah… ah!”

“…Boss, what’s wrong?”

Zhu Jianfei yelled into the phone, “Go quickly, go find the master who made the yin plaque before and bring him over again!”

Behind the living room, Fang Shuyu’s palm suddenly clenched—

In his pained shock, Zhu Jianfei didn’t notice. He instructed his secretary again, “Remember not to make a big deal of it! We’re in the spotlight right now, what if reporters are staking out the place… pick him up and come secretly.”

Fang Shuyu took a breath and turned to walk into the side hall.

Hatred rushed to her heart like a surging tide.

She was cold all over. Maintaining the calmest state she could muster, she sent a help message to Lin Su.

…

On the school rooftop.

After lunch was finished, Lin Su and He Zhenling got up, ready to leave.

The butler was behind them, packing up the lunch boxes, wrapping them in a small floral blanket, and folding it into a neat, exquisite little square.

Lin Su straightened his shirt and turned his head. “Should we leave in batches?”

He Zhenling’s hand was already on the doorknob. “What, afraid something will be rumored?”

Lin Su said warmly, “I’m not afraid, you are.”

“…”

“If we run into someone, you can’t just say you were passing by again and saw the security guard snatch my lunch box to wash it.”

The butler behind them: ?

The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

He Zhenling scoffed. Just as he was about to say something, Lin Su’s phone vibrated. He paused and reminded him instead:

“Someone else is messaging you.”

“…”

Lin Su took out his phone. “You’re overthinking it.”

As soon as he took out the phone, he saw the contact. “It’s Fang Shuyu.”

He Zhenling’s expression turned slightly serious. “What is it.”

After quickly reading the message, Lin Su said, “Zhu Jianren wants to mess with the yin plaque again. She’s asking me what to do.”

He finished speaking and replied to her: Leave it to me.

He Zhenling asked, “What’s your plan?”

His gaze fell on the man’s earlobe, and he reminded him carefully, “Think about your new Weixin name.”

“Don’t worry. While stirring up storms is wonderful, occasional rest is also necessary.”

As Lin Su spoke, he dialed 120.

After two beeps, the call connected. He gave an address: “…Someone here is having a sudden, severe illness and needs a stretcher. Yes, it’s very urgent. The siren needs to be loud.”

“It’s best if it goes ‘wee-woo, wee-woo’ the whole way…”

Author’s Note:

Su: Louder, is it something to be proud of?

Su: Everyone’s busy except me. =u=

He Zhenling: …I’m actually relieved.

Su: Don’t spoil me.

He Zhenling: Heh.

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