Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Chen Fei knew well what his old friend did; the matters they handled were generally classified at the highest level, and under ordinary circumstances were never disclosed to the outside world.

"All right then, Yang Ce, go with him to the study." Chen Fei hesitated a moment, then nodded.

He did not know why these people had come looking for Yang Ce, but for anyone they fixed their eyes on, it was hard to say whether it meant fortune or disaster. And this time it was he who had asked them for help—only he could not fathom how Yang Ce had gotten mixed up in it.

Seeing Chen Fei nod, Yang Ce went into the study with the man in gold-rimmed glasses, and the door closed behind them.

"Dad, what's going on? Why is your friend so strange? What does he want with Yang Ce?" Chen Shutang asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Chen Fei shook his head with a bitter smile. Some things he could not speak of, not even to his daughter. "It's nothing. He just wants to ask Yang Ce a few things. Let's go get the meal ready."

Only when her father said it was nothing did Chen Shutang set her mind at ease, and she went with her mother to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Yang Ce. Male. Han ethnicity. Born February 28, 1990. Father: Yang Cheyan. Mother: Li Xiaoli. Primary school: the Songjiang Bus Factory workers' school. Middle school: the city's Hongqi Middle School. High school: the city's No. 4 Middle School. Currently a first-year student in the Computer Science department at Songjiang Engineering University.

Has three official girlfriends: Chen Shutang, Lin Yanhe, and Lan Ling."

The moment they were inside, the man in gold-rimmed glasses launched into a torrential recitation of Yang Juehuan's identity. Up to that point Yang Juehuan had held his peace, but when the man came to his three girlfriends, his expression turned ugly. "Who the hell are you? You've been investigating me?"

The man in gold-rimmed glasses only smiled faintly. "Investigating is too strong a word. Besides, all of this is on the public record. I could know it without investigating at all."

"You're Uncle Chen's friend, so I'll give you that much respect." Yang Juehuan's face was black as could be, and his voice was cold. "Anyone else, and I'd have thrown you out."

"Young man, don't be so hot-headed." The man in gold-rimmed glasses turned and sat down behind the writing desk in the study—the very seat Chen Fei usually occupied.

"What exactly is your aim?" Yang Wenru frowned. "If you've got something to say, say it plainly. Don't play riddles with me. How many girlfriends I have is none of your goddamn business. I'm not married—I'll have as many girlfriends as I please."

"That, of course, has nothing to do with me." The man in gold-rimmed glasses shrugged. "All right, calm down. Let me introduce myself. My name is Xia Yan, a special investigator with the Bureau of Mysterious Affairs Investigation."

"Hailstorm?" Yang Xutang nearly burst out laughing at the name. "Rain and snow I could take, but your name—I really can't say much for it."

Yang Ce had already formed a poor impression of the man before him, so his words carried a sting. And as for this so-called Bureau of Mysterious Affairs Investigation—he had never heard of any such agency.

Yang Ce did not pay much attention to officialdom, but he had at least heard of the various functional departments—there was no such thing as the Bureau of Mysterious Affairs Investigation this "Hailstorm" was talking about.

The name alone did not sound the least bit reliable, and there was no telling whether it even existed. Surely this fellow was not some kind of swindler?

"Xia Xue is indeed my younger sister—though I don't have a second sister by the name of Xia Yu." Xia Yan knew his earlier words had angered Yang Ce, so his tone had softened considerably. He knew Yang Ce and his sister Xia Xue were on good terms, and so he did not hide it from him.

"Xia Xue?" Yang Ce was indeed taken aback. "Your name really is Xia Yan? You're Xia Xue's brother?"

"Genuine, no substitute." Xia Yan nodded. "Yang Ce, shall we get down to business now?"

"Business? What business?" Yang Jiyan had no idea what this fellow actually wanted with him. Even if he was Xia Xue's brother, that was no reason to come looking for him.

Could he have gotten it into his head that there was something between Yang Ce and Xia Xue, and so had shown up ready to deliver a lecture, even listing out all his girlfriends one by one?

Xia Yan naturally had no idea what Yang Ce was thinking. He had come out this time carrying two missions. One was to assist the Songjiang police in cracking the case of the haunted traffic—the overt mission, and the reason he had been invited by the Songjiang police in the first place.

The second mission, the covert one, was to make contact with Yang Ce. This, too, was his superior's idea. Yang Cenbin himself had long since come onto their radar; there had simply never been a suitable opportunity to approach him.

To be continued

934. State Your Purpose

934 State Your Purpose "Business—naturally it concerns you." Xia Yan smiled, then shifted into a comfortable posture and crossed his legs. "I've already told you who I am. Is there nothing you'd like to volunteer to us?"

About me? Yang Lanxu was startled. That so-called Bureau of Mysterious Affairs Investigation plainly had nothing to do with him; Yang Shuoxuan did not believe he had gotten tangled up in any mysterious affair.

What startled Yang Lanxu instead was this: given the ambiguous relationship between him and Xia Xue, and given that this fellow was Xia Xue's elder brother—surely he had not come to call him to account? And now he was being told to volunteer a confession?

But Yang Ce would never admit to anything ambiguous between himself and Xia Xue, so he put on an air of bewilderment. "Investigator Xia, I believe this is the first time we've met, isn't it? I don't see that I have anything to say to you. It seems there's no connection between us at all."

"Heh heh, Yang Ce." Xia Yan gave a soft laugh at Yang Juehuan's words. "Let's not talk in riddles, we two. Since I've come to you, naturally I know a thing or two about you. Very well—since you're unwilling to speak, let's look at something first."

With that, Xia Yan took a P4 player from his pocket, switched on the power, selected a video file, pressed play, and set it on the desk, where both of them could see the screen.

On the player appeared the figure of Yang Juehuan, at Donghai International Airport.

In the footage, Yang Ce passed through the security checkpoint, then stood to one side looking this way and that. Before long he strode quickly over to a nearby security officer and said: "Hey, you confiscated my fruit knife, but the guy ahead of me has a knife in his bag way longer than mine—how come you're not confiscating his?"

Then the security officer said to Yang Yanchuan: "How do you know there's a knife in his bag?"

Yang Yanzhou said: "Never mind how I know. What's the matter—feeling guilty? You're all in it together with him, aren't you?"

"Are you certain there's a knife in his bag?" the security officer asked. "You do know that lying at an airport can carry legal consequences?"

"I'm sure of it." On the screen, Yang Ce nodded with absolute certainty.

The security officers then re-examined the luggage of the man in sunglasses whom Yang Ce had pointed out. In the very bottom layer of his travel bag they found a lead umbrella, and wrapped inside the umbrella was a broad-bladed knife. By this point Yang Juehuan's expression had visibly darkened. What Yang Ce had never expected was that a casual, unthinking act of his at the airport that day would end up caught in the eyes of someone with an agenda.

Could it be that his ability had been discovered? A turmoil of emotion surged through Yang Juehuan's heart. This was his greatest secret, and now it had been found out—how could he not be shaken?