Chapter 172 — The Shocked Zhou Tianxiang

"All right, Mr. Charles, no more of that cloying talk. I was only joking just now; I'll give the matter of cooperation careful thought after I return. Right now my wife is worried about her father's safety, so I won't stay and shoot the breeze with you—I'll be going." Yang Ce stood and said to old Charles with a smile.

"Heh heh, of course, of course—then I won't keep you. Oh, and Old Zhou, I'll have someone settle your wages in a little while. You've been with me all these years; you must at least retire with dignity!" old Charles said with a laugh.

"Then thank you, sir!" Zhou Tianxiang had never imagined the ending could be so satisfactory—nor that Yang Ce would speak to old Charles in such a casual, offhand manner.

Shoot the breeze? Zhou Tianxiang felt a chill run through him. Only Yang Ce could describe a conversation with old Charles as "shooting the breeze"! And by this point Zhou Tianxiang understood Yang Ce less and less. He had thought his daughter's boyfriend was merely a student, but now it seemed that was not the case at all.

It seemed Yang Juehuan's power was already greater than Zhou Tianxiang had imagined. He could not bring himself to believe that Yang Ce was actually more formidable than old Charles—but the facts were the facts, and he had no choice but to believe them.

"What thanks are needed? By my reckoning, you are Mr. Yang's father-in-law, and by that seniority you are my elder, so don't call me 'sir' anymore—just call me old Charles!" Old Charles laughed. "And in the future I'll call you Old Zhou—how's that?"

"Very well, old... Mr. Charles!" Zhou Tianxiang was flattered beyond measure. He had never imagined there would come a day when he could stand on equal footing with old Charles.

Old Charles ordered someone to settle Zhou Tianxiang's wages and additionally presented him with a generous retirement bonus, so that he left Charles Castle with great dignity.

Yang Ce and Zhou Tianxiang departed the castle with old Charles personally seeing them off. What left old Charles deeply vexed was his discovery that only the four men at the first guard post had been knocked unconscious by Yang Ce—everything beyond that had been normal. He simply could not work out how Yang Ce had gotten past layer upon layer of guards to find him.

Had he successfully slipped past one guard post, that would be possible—but how had he gotten through so many checkpoints? Had no one at all noticed him?

Old Chace clearly had more he wanted to say, but with Zhou Tianxiang sitting right there he swallowed his questions and kept his mouth shut. Still, the old man was plainly in for a good long sulk.

Only after Yang Ce and Zhou Tianxiang were settled in the car did old Chace raise a hand in farewell. "Mr. Yang, Mr. Zhou—until we meet again. I do hope you'll come back and visit. You would be most welcome!"

"Certainly. I'll come back here again someday," Yang Ce said with a nod.

It was not until Yang Ce started the car and drove down the winding mountain road that Zhou Tianxiang finally shook himself out of his daze. Looking at Yang Ce—a nineteen-year-old boy, the same age as his own daughter—Zhou Tianxiang simply had no words for what he was feeling.

His daughter had been right. The boy really had come, and he had smoothed things over with an ease that was almost casual. From the way old Chace had treated him, it was plain that Yang Ce had begged the old man for nothing; the two of them had stood on exactly the same footing, speaking as equals.

"Yang Ce, you and Mr. Chace..." Zhou Tianxiang finally could not hold back the question.

Yang Ce had known the question was coming. He smiled and said, "Mr. Chace and I have a bit of business between us—I suppose you could say we're fairly well acquainted. When he heard that Zhou Yanning was my girlfriend, he said at once that the matter was settled. So there's nothing for you to worry about."

"I never would have guessed—heroes really do come from the young!" Zhou Tianxiang sighed. "Knowing that Jiajia is with you puts my mind completely at ease."

"Uncle Zhou, don't talk like that. We're all family now—praise like that makes me embarrassed," Yang Ce said.

"Still, this time we truly have you to thank. Without you, I don't know what I would have done. If you hadn't stepped in, old Chace would never have let me off so easily, and there's no chance he would have spoken to me so pleasantly!" Zhou Tianxiang knew perfectly well where he stood.

"It's all over now—no need to bring it up again." Yang Ce smiled. "By the way, Uncle Zhou, you should call Jiajia and the others right away. I'm afraid she'll be worried."

"You're right, I almost forgot the important thing!" Zhou Tianxiang nodded hurriedly, took out his phone, and dialed Zhou Yanning's number.

Though Zhou Yanning had great faith in Yang Ce, her heart had remained uneasy until she had word that her father was safe. The sudden ringing of the phone jolted her out of her daze, and she picked up.

"Hello?" Seeing the special forwarded number, Zhou Yanning guessed at once that it might be her father calling, though she could not be entirely sure.

"Jiajia, it's me." Zhou Tianxiang was overjoyed to hear his daughter's voice. "Don't worry about me—I'm safe. We'll be together again before long!"

"Ah! Dad, you're all right? That's wonderful!" Zhou Yanning's voice rang with joy from the bottom of her heart. "Dad, have you seen Yang Ce?"

"Yes, he's right here beside me. This time we owe it all to him—otherwise old Chace's attitude toward me never would have changed so completely!" Zhou Tianxiang said with feeling. "Jiajia, you really have found yourself a good man. This time your father has basked in your good fortune."

"Dad! Don't say that..." Zhou Yanning grew flustered at once. "Isn't that just what he ought to do?"

Though Zhou Yanning was deeply grateful to Yang Ce in her heart, before her father she still had to put on a bit of a strong front, so that he would feel Yang Ce doted on her—which, in truth, he did.

After all, when Yang Ce had gone to see old Chace, even he had not been entirely certain he could settle things peacefully; if it came to it, he would have had to resort to force. But now the outcome looked perfectly satisfactory.

"Ha, no matter what, it wasn't easy to get through this crisis safely. This time I'm retiring—once I go back, I won't be leaving again," Zhou Tianxiang said.

"That's wonderful. Oh—Dad, have you called Mom? She's terribly worried too!" Zhou Yanning suddenly remembered that her mother had not yet been told.

"Not yet. Once I finish talking to you, I'll call her right away!" Zhou Tianxiang said.

"All right then. Hurry and give her the good news." Though Zhou Yanning would have liked to talk a while longer, her mother was still waiting anxiously at home, so she had to say her reluctant goodbyes.

"You don't want to say a few words to him?" Though Zhou Tianxiang was anxious too, it was Yang Ce who had resolved everything, so naturally he yielded first place to him.

"Ha, Uncle Zhou, Jiajia and I will have plenty of time to talk once we're home. You should call Auntie Hua first," Yang Ce said.

"All right, Jiajia. Since that's what he says, I'll call your mother first!" Zhou Tianxiang said.

"Yes, hurry and call Mom to let her know you're safe!" Zhou Yanning said happily.

At last Zhou Yanning's heart was set at ease—and so were the hearts of Chen Shutang and Lin Yanhe, who had been worried about Yang Ce all along. Ever since hearing that the Chace family was an assassin clan, Chen Shutang had been in a state of constant anxiety, afraid that Yang Ce might be in danger. But now it seemed the matter was resolved.

"Congratulations, Jiajia!" Chen Shutang said delightedly.

"It's all thanks to Yang Ce being willing to help!" Zhou Yanning smiled. "Being able to know Yang Ce—and the two of you—I'm truly happy..."