Chapter 172: Chapter 39 Jiang Ziyan Disappears_2
No wonder all the previous boxing coaches were fired, leaving only her. With her qualifications, no matter how many managers came and went, none of them could touch her. Besides, she had a very good relationship with the current manager.
"Alright, cut the gossip and get back to training," Wu Yue’s command spurred them back into action.
She really gave off the vibe of a senior martial sister in the boxing world.
The office had undergone a complete style overhaul. Much of the furniture and many of the decorations inside had been changed, better suiting a woman’s aesthetic.
The moment the door closed, Xiang Yiren threw herself at him impatiently. She was stopped by Sun Dasheng, who chuckled, "Are you that thirsty?"
She paid him no mind and began to undress him, saying, "You haven’t been home for days. Who knows which woman you’ve been off benefiting, leaving the two of us to pity ourselves in an empty house."
"Ahem... The way you say that... Even machines need downtime for maintenance. You can’t expect me to work non-stop like a commune’s donkey, can you?" Sun Dasheng said, cooperating as she removed his clothes.
"I don’t care. I want you now." After she finished with his clothes, she started on her own. She then pushed him onto the couch and began to move on top of him.
The time it took to play a few dozen songs passed.
Exhausted, she finally collapsed on top of him, contentedly drawing circles on his chest.
Sun Dasheng patted her bottom. "Get up. Put your clothes on first, I have something to ask you."
But she just twisted her body, refusing to get down as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Whatever it is, just ask me like this."
It seemed she still had designs on him, just waiting for him to recover so they could go another round.
"Has Jiang Ziyan been troubled by something lately?" he asked, not beating around the bush.
Hearing this, she buried her head in his chest. "I thought you didn’t care about us. Turns out I misunderstood. You’ve been concerned about us all along."
Did she get the wrong idea? Still, it seemed like a lucky misunderstanding.
"Yes. So, tell me, has she run into some kind of trouble?" Sun Dasheng asked, holding her close.
"Zi Yan has seemed troubled lately. She even took the whole day off today and didn’t come to the gym at all," Xiang Yiren divulged everything she knew. "I think it has to do with her family problems."
"Oh? Do you know the specifics?"
"I’m not too clear on the details. How about you come over to my place tonight? I’ll find out for you," she proposed, laying out her terms.
"Alright, then. But get off me for now. We’ll save the rest for tonight," Sun Dasheng said, giving her bottom another pat.
This time, she obediently slid off him.
***
「Ten o’clock at night.」
There was still no sign of Jiang Ziyan at their apartment. Xiang Yiren made several calls, but each one went unanswered. Something felt wrong.
"Brother Sun, Zi Yan isn’t answering my calls. Do you think something’s happened to her?"
"Don’t panic. I’ll call a friend in the police," Sun Dasheng reassured her.
This police friend was the very same station chief from the time he’d been brought into the station. The chief had later hosted a dinner specifically to apologize and also to forge this "friendship." Sun Dasheng was naturally happy to foster the connection. Although he knew a few well-placed leaders in the district government, he couldn’t trouble them with every minor issue. One might not think much of a station chief, but in Shanghai City, such a position carried significant weight. He ranked half a level higher than a township head, making him a deputy-division level official.
It wasn’t long before he received an update. Jiang Ziyan had indeed returned to her family’s home at ten o’clock that morning and had not left since.
He thanked his friend profusely over the phone, promised to treat him to a meal next time, and then hung up.
"How is she?" Xiang Yiren asked anxiously. She had been the one to approve the leave of absence and now blamed herself for not having gone with her.
"It’s alright, she’s still at her parents’ house right now," Sun Dasheng said reassuringly.
"Then should we go to her house and find her?" Xiang Yiren asked.
"We can’t just show up there. First, tell me everything you know about her family situation in detail," Sun Dasheng said, pulling her into his arms to soothe her.
Nestled in his embrace, she instantly felt much calmer, and her racing heart soon steadied. She recounted everything she had learned about Jiang Ziyan’s family from their casual chats, not omitting a single detail.
Jiang Ziyan’s family situation wasn’t complicated. Besides her parents, she had an older brother who was desperate to get married. The problem stemmed from this brother, who had a girlfriend from their hometown and wanted to buy a house in Shanghai City to marry her. Since his family couldn’t afford the down payment, they naturally turned their sights on their only daughter. They planned to use their daughter’s bride price to pay for their son’s down payment.
In most places, this would be an outrageous proposition. Most parents hope for their newlywed children to have a good life together. The bride price is typically treated as start-up capital for the new couple, with the bride’s parents often returning it to them. Well-off families might even add a substantial dowry on top. It was unheard of for the bride’s parents to simply confiscate the money for themselves.
But in a "Bride Price Province," this was standard operating procedure. This was why they had tried to force her to marry that man of ill repute last time—he had been able to offer a large bride price. Now they had tricked her into coming home again, likely to employ the same old forced marriage tactics.
"Brother Sun, I want to tell you what I’m really thinking, but please don’t be angry," Xiang Yiren said.
"Go ahead. When have I ever been angry with you?" Sun Dasheng replied, gently pinching her cheek.
"If her parents want that money, you absolutely must not give it to them," Xiang Yiren said, keeping her eyes fixed on his to gauge his reaction. Seeing he wasn’t angry, she continued, "A family like hers is a bottomless pit. Who knows how much money it would take to placate them? If it were just a one-time payment to buy her freedom and let her cut ties with them for good, I would definitely support you giving them the money. But it’s impossible for it to be that simple. They see you have money. Right now, they claim they’re just short a down payment, but who knows if they’ll ask you for the rest of the mortgage later? After that, will they want a car? A luxury car? Then what about having children, raising them, their education... there’s no telling how much that will all cost. That family is a bottomless pit, you can’t let yourself get sucked in."
Sun Dasheng smiled, gratified. She was a good woman, wholeheartedly looking out for his interests.
She might be a little conniving and a bit of a gold-digger, but so what? In his heart, she was a good woman.
He held her tenderly for a moment. "Don’t worry, I’m no easy mark. No one can get money out of me unless I give it willingly. No one is capable of forcing my hand."
"Brother Sun, I’m really not saying this out of jealousy. You know how close we sisters are. But even the deepest sisterly bond can’t compare to your place in my heart."
"I know," Sun Dasheng said, giving her a reassuring look. "You don’t need to explain."
"So, what do we do now?" Xiang Yiren asked.
The situation was thorny, but not without a solution. The crux of the matter lay with Jiang Ziyan herself. If she still harbored lingering emotional ties to her family, what was the point of rescuing her this time? The same situation would only repeat itself.
"First, we need to find a way to contact her directly. We’ll hear what she plans to do, and then we’ll decide on our next move."
Being a very clever woman, Xiang Yiren immediately understood his line of thought. She nodded obediently, as it mirrored her own thinking. After all, bringing a woman with so much baggage into Brother Sun’s life wouldn’t do her any favors.
"Is there any other way to reach her?" Sun Dasheng asked.
"She almost always has her tablet with her. Her family confiscated her phone, but I don’t know if she still has the tablet."
With that thought, Xiang Yiren picked up her phone, opened WeChat, and sent Jiang Ziyan a message. She had guessed right; a reply came back almost immediately.
*Is it convenient for a voice call?*
*Sister Yiren, I can’t. They’ve locked me in my room and could come check on me at any moment. If they find out, they’ll take my tablet away too.*
*Okay, we’ll just text then. Why didn’t you contact us sooner?*
*Sister, I didn’t bring my charging cable. The tablet only has a few bars of battery left. I kept it off, just waiting for you to get off work and contact me.*
Xiang Yiren showed the phone to Sun Dasheng.
He nodded. "Ask her about the choice we discussed. Let’s see what she decides."