Chapter Sixty-Six: Pursuit

Regarding Director Han's true purpose in visiting, Zhang Wenhao understood perfectly well. Even if he had done Han a great favor, it would never be enough for a director to pay such a courteous visit in person. A significant part of the reason lay with Lei Zhanzhun and Su Ruoran's mother.

Knowing that Han's intentions were not entirely pure, Zhang Wenhao did not stand on ceremony. Since Han was the head of the Nanjiang Public Security Bureau, there were many areas where he could help, such as the immediate issue: whether the cancellation of class divisions was truly instigated behind the scenes by Ma Qianyong.

With such a powerful director sitting before him, Zhang Wenhao decided to make use of the opportunity. He spoke, “Director Han, there’s a small matter I’d like your help with. I wonder if you’d be willing to assist?”

“Just say it!” Director Han replied without hesitation. “Tell me what’s troubling you. If it’s within my power, I’ll solve it.”

Zhang Wenhao briefly explained the situation, then added, “If you could help me find out who is behind this, it would be a great favor.”

Director Han smiled lightly, thinking that such a small matter was nothing more than a phone call for him. “Don’t worry. I’ll investigate thoroughly,” he assured. Then he continued, “But I need some clues—for instance, the phone number used to contact the parents privately. Once I have that, it’ll be easy to trace the mastermind.”

“That’s no problem.” Zhang Wenhao immediately called Li Nan, asking him to request the phone number from his parents—the one that had made the inciting call.

Soon, Li Nan sent a string of numbers to Zhang Wenhao, who passed it to Director Han.

Taking out his own phone, Director Han dialed and instructed, “Xiao Tian, get the technical team to check who owns this number. If necessary, work with the telecom company.”

The other party agreed at once; a task directly assigned by the director had to be treated as top priority, even if it meant putting aside more urgent work.

Director Han then sent the number to his contact. He turned to Zhang Wenhao and said, “You should keep my number. If you ever need anything, call me anytime—I’ll help you right away.”

Zhang Wenhao nodded, thanked him, and saved the number. With Director Han’s attitude, at least he wouldn’t end up in the detention center at the hands of people like Chen Ru.

Seeing that it was getting late, Director Han stood and said, “It’s quite late; I won’t intrude any longer. Remember to cash this check soon and deposit the money into your account. If you need anything else, don’t forget to call me.”

Zhang Wenhao and his family escorted Director Han out. After he left, they returned to the living room and stared at the envelope on the table. For a long while, no one spoke—the atmosphere was heavy and silent.

“Xingping,” Song Huafang, still unsettled, asked Zhang Xingping anxiously, “Is it really appropriate for us to accept so much money? Maybe we should return it tomorrow?”

Wenhao spoke up, “There’s nothing inappropriate about it—it’s what we deserve, and it’s not something to fear. With this money, you and Dad will be much more comfortable in the future.”

“Two million!” Song Huafang rubbed her temples. “That’s a lot—anyone would be scared.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Zhang Wenhao laughed. “Tomorrow, let Dad go with you to the bank and deposit it. We’ll need it for many things in the future. You and Dad have worked hard for half your lives; it’s time to relax.”

Zhang Xingping smiled, “Let’s save it. Wenhao will soon be off to university. Beijing is a big city for us, with many expenses. Without money, it will be hard to get by. It would be good to keep it as Wenhao’s future startup fund.”

Zhang Wenhao asked in surprise, “Dad, when did I ever say I was going to university in Beijing?”

Zhang Xingping smiled and countered, “Where else would you go if not Beijing?”

Zhang Wenhao could see the teasing in his father’s eyes. He was right—he was destined to attend university in Beijing. Not only were the country’s top institutions there, but Su Ruoran’s family was as well. Beijing was her inevitable choice, and so it was his.

Zhang Wenhao said earnestly, “Dad, Mom, going to university in Beijing is definitely my first choice. But it won’t cost much—I’ll surely get a full scholarship. Besides, graduation takes four years; you don’t need to plan too far ahead for me. Depositing money in the bank now is negative interest. Five years ago, three hundred thousand could buy a three-bedroom apartment in Jiangcheng—now it takes at least one and a half million. Thirty thousand in the bank for five years barely earns any interest.”

Zhang Xingping frowned and asked, “Son, you’re not thinking of having your mother and me use this money for business, are you? We don’t have any business sense. If we use it for business, it might not just be negative interest—it could become negative assets.”

Zhang Wenhao laughed, “Dad, Mom, I mean you should spend the money. Use it to improve our lives or fulfill your wishes—whatever you want. Just don’t treat it as a reserve. Enjoy life more—isn’t that a good thing?”

“Enjoy life?” Zhang Xingping shook his head with a smile, “Even if you gave me two hundred million, I wouldn’t know how to enjoy life. But since you mention improving our home, I’ve been wanting to renovate and upgrade our appliances. That old fridge is about as old as you are.”

Zhang Wenhao nodded, “Spend it however you like—just don’t leave it sitting in the bank.”

Back in his room, Zhang Wenhao called Li Nan to share his suspicions.

Li Nan had never considered that Ma Qianyong might be behind this. He thought Ma Qianyong would be furious, since the students he’d worked so hard to get rid of were about to return. But after Zhang Wenhao’s analysis, he suddenly realized—he hadn’t thought about Zhang Wenhao, who was no longer the struggling student he once was, but had surpassed Su Ruoran as the top student in the entire grade.

Li Nan immediately confirmed, “I think it must be Ma Qianyong! Damn, that bastard is truly devious!” He added, displeased, “Wenhao, tomorrow we have to return to Class Three—just as Ma Qianyong wanted.”

Zhang Wenhao said calmly, “I’ve already asked someone to investigate. Once we find concrete evidence, Ma Qianyong will become the school’s enemy. He won’t be able to recover.”

“So what about tomorrow?” Li Nan asked. “Are we still going back to Class Three?”

Zhang Wenhao replied, “That’s why I called. You know more classmates—tell more students from Class Twenty-One what I’ve just said. Tell them tomorrow morning we’ll all return to Class Twenty-One. That way, we’ll see Ma Qianyong’s reaction firsthand. If all goes well, we should find out who the mastermind is tomorrow.”

“Got it!” Li Nan agreed immediately. “Leave it to me—I guarantee most of our classmates will return to Class Twenty-One tomorrow!”

That night, the person Director Han assigned to investigate the phone number contacted the telecom company. They discovered it was a prepaid, anonymous SIM card—a type easily bought for fifty yuan at any store, kiosk, or street stall and usable immediately. Tracking its owner would not be easy.

But since Director Han had given the order, the investigators treated it as a major case. The telecom company manager thought it was a serious incident and did his utmost to trace the card’s serial number and shipment record.

The last clear record was that the card had been delivered a month ago in a batch to a business hall in Jiangxin District. Whether it was sold there or distributed to other agents required further investigation at the hall the next day.

With a unique card number, the investigators were confident they could track the user. The telecom company provided the exact activation time: last Saturday at 3:43 p.m. Presumably, the card was purchased shortly before. Tomorrow, at the business hall, they could check which agent received the card, and with a specific purchase timeframe, reviewing surveillance footage would yield the buyer’s image.