Chapter 130 — Kang Xiaofeng's Family History

Tang Zhi had wanted to nap at noon, but sleep would not come; that hateful, smug grin of Wei Zhao's kept surfacing in her mind. She rubbed her slightly sore temples and the reddened corners of her eyes, then lifted her head, hoping to read for a while, only to hear people not far off discussing something—and Wei Zhao's name seemed to come up.

Tang Zhi's heart tightened instinctively. She did not know why she should care about that name—perhaps she was afraid of people gossiping about Wei Zhao courting her?

"You know what? Just now I went to the toilet and saw that transfer student from Class Five next door—he kicked Zhong Yongliang's chair right out from under him, and Zhong Yongliang went sprawling flat on his back!" The boy was telling his classmates what he had seen, his face alight with relish. "And you know why?"

"Why?" asked several students listening nearby. Senior year was simple and dull, so the occasional bit of exciting news could keep everyone amused for quite a while.

"Because that transfer student said Zhong Yongliang was sitting in the aisle blocking the way! And he'd kick him again next time he blocked it!" The boy spoke as if he himself were Wei Zhao. "Don't you think that's something?"

"That transfer student is named Wei Zhao, right? So handsome!" A somewhat boy-crazy, flirtatious girl cut in when she heard this. "During last week's morning exercises, didn't you all see it? All by himself he beat that gangster with a gun until he was crawling on the ground spitting teeth. A man like that—you'd feel so safe with him!"

"Tch, someone like you? He'd have to be out of his mind to fall for you... such a flirt, who knows how many men have been with you." Another girl gave a cold snort. "Now me, I'd be about right..."

"Get lost!" The flirtatious girl, having been looked down on, was instantly annoyed. "Look at your crooked, misshapen face—you're not even as good as me! If anyone has a chance, I'd say only Tang Zhi is worthy of him..."

Tang Zhi held a book up as cover and pricked up her ears to listen to the conversation nearby. Hearing how arrogantly Wei Zhao had kicked over Zhong Yongliang's chair, she could not help curling her lip. A spoiled rich boy will always be a spoiled rich boy—he had not managed to keep up the act for even two days; today, provoked by her, he had shown his true colors and turned overbearing again.

She was still feeling contemptuous when she heard someone mention her, saying she and Wei Zhao were a good match. She was annoyed, yet could not very well stand up and argue—the more one explained such things, the worse they got—and her irritation with Wei Zhao only deepened.

Wei Zhao had no idea his glorious deeds had already spread. Returning to his seat, he saw Kang Xiaofeng give him a thumbs-up, but paid it no mind. "Read your books properly. If you fail to get into university, we'll see what you do then..."

"Heh heh, I'm reading right now!" Kang Xiaofeng gave a wry smile. "Ah, if only my family were like Second Grandpa's, I wouldn't have to study so bitterly—I could be a spoiled young master too."

"Hm..." It was the first time Wei Zhao had heard Kang Xiaofeng speak of his family. "Your Second Grandpa? Who is he? Very formidable?"

"Formidable?" A trace of faint contempt crossed the corner of Kang Xiaofeng's mouth. "Just a petty man who took someone else's things and got rich off them. Our branch of the family barely has any dealings with him anymore."

"Oh?" Wei Zhao caught the implication—it was more or less a family feud.

"You know Miracle Doctor Kang, right?" Kang Xiaofeng said.

"Miracle Doctor Kang?" Wei Zhao frowned. It sounded somewhat familiar. Then it hit him—the words he had heard from the shop assistant at the pharmacy a few days ago. "The one who sells the golden wound medicine, Miracle Doctor Kang?"

"Yeah, that's him." Kang Xiaofeng nodded. "He's my Second Grandpa."

"Uh—then doesn't that make you a rich second generation, or third generation?" Wei Zhao was rather surprised at Kang Xiaofeng's family background.

"What rich second or third generation?" Kang Xiaofeng smiled bitterly. "My grandpa is my grandpa, and my second grandpa is my second grandpa—they're two separate families now. Our branch is very poor, just the working class, bottom rung."

"A family feud?" Wei Zhao asked.

"More or less. Originally the golden wound medicine formula belonged to both my grandpa and my second grandpa. Later, Second Grandpa wanted to use the formula to build a factory, and my grandpa wouldn't agree, so the conflict arose..." Kang Xiaofeng explained. "After that, Second Grandpa apparently stole the formula and went off to start his own factory, and the two families fell out—and it's been that way ever since..."

"Ha, your grandpa is certainly stubborn. With something that good, not going off to make money—you can hardly blame your Second Grandpa for being greedy." Wei Zhao nodded after hearing this. "If it were me, I might well have chosen to make money too!"

Still, this matter had given Wei Zhao an idea! Formulas were worth money! His own healing medicine and the painkiller he had made for Yang Huaijun could both be manufactured and sold—the profits would surely be considerable!

Yes, this needed looking into. See if he could find someone to cooperate with and earn a little spending money. Otherwise, always using Gu Mengyao's family's money was hardly right either—it made him look like a kept man.

"Actually, I thought the same thing." Kang Xiaofeng stuck out his tongue. "That recipe was stolen by Second Grandfather. I asked Grandpa whether he knew what herbs were in it, but he said he had seen it and couldn't remember... Well, what can you do? So I can only rely on my own efforts."

"You take it pretty well." Wei Zhao now regarded Kang Xiaofeng with a touch more respect.

"What else can I do? Drive myself crazy over it? That's just nuts." Kang Xiaofeng sighed helplessly. "I can only lament now and then. All right, Boss, I'm off to read."

Kang Shenkuang... the prescription...

Wei Zhao frowned. There had to be more hidden behind this affair, but Kang Xiaofeng had said nothing about it, and perhaps he didn't know much himself. Still, this matter was definitely not so simple.

Qiu Lingshan was on the verge of losing her mind. Those robbers had gone deep into hiding, and the surrounding terrain was mountainous, making the search a logistical nightmare! The commercial van bearing license plate 7 Shan Jiu had eventually been found, but its plates had already been pried off. From its features they could confirm that this was the robbers' vehicle, but the discovery was of no practical use.

With every other avenue exhausted, Qiu Lingshan had no choice but to call Yang Huaijun once more.

"Captain Yang... *..." Qiu Lingshan was almost too embarrassed to open her mouth.

"Xiao Song, this is about the robbers, isn't it?" Yang Huaijun guessed the moment he saw her calling at this hour - it could only be about the case.

"Yes... Captain Yang, I don't have any leads..." Qiu Lingshan felt her face flush at having her purpose exposed.

"Xiao Song, the truth is, I'm not some miracle detective - I'm just meticulous. This case is different from an ordinary bank robbery. It involves Gu Pengzhan and the kidnapping of Gu Mengyao, so kidnapping was their primary objective; the robbery was only secondary." Yang Huaijun said, "These people are organized. To catch them, rushing things won't do - especially now, with the pressure mounting. The people above them will surely tip them off and tell them to lie low..."

"What?" Qiu Lingshan hadn't expected that even Yang Huaijun was at a loss.

"I'm just telling it like it is. Do you remember that jewelry store robbery we had here last year?" Yang Huaijun said. "That case went unsolved for months too, until the suspect finally resurfaced, thinking the heat had died down, and we caught him when he came out to fence the goods. At the time, it was you who kicked him to the ground."