Chapter 99: The Letters Chen Lie Received

""!!!""

Er Dan suddenly whipped his head around to look out the car window.

He stared blankly at the solemn words outside for a long moment before his eyes reddened, as if he’d just been betrayed. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

""Just because I started a gang and wanted to lead my brothers to get rich together, you sent me to the police station?"" Er Dan sobbed. ""I didn’t do anything bad! I didn’t collect protection money! I wanted to do good things! Grown-ups are so annoying. Just because we’re kids, if you think something’s wrong, you assume we’re in the wrong and punish us!""

""It’s so hard for me... I just wanted to put what I learned to use, to help my brothers live a good life. What’s wrong with that...""

Er Dan wailed so loudly that even the driver started hiccuping with laughter. He wanted to comfort him, but every time he opened his mouth, he just burst out laughing, so he simply shut up.

Su Qinghu glanced at Er Dan, raised an eyebrow, then paid the driver and half-dragged, half-carried the inconsolable boy out of the car, letting the driver leave.

""Sis-in-law!""

Cai Huayang saw a car pull up at the entrance and guessed it might be Su Qinghu, so he came out to check. Sure enough, it was her.

Su Qinghu smiled and nodded. ""Sorry to trouble you today.""

""It’s no trouble at all, really,"" Cai Huayang replied, glancing at the two kids behind her—one with a cold face, the other with tear-streaked cheeks. Both looked sharp and clever. Suddenly, he understood Su Qinghu’s request over the phone.

Cai Huayang had the day off, and as a bachelor, he didn’t have much to do. He’d planned to look over some case files and see if he might need to go out on a call. When Su Qinghu called, he’d just arrived at the station. If she’d called a bit earlier, she might’ve been told he wasn’t there.

""Could you show these two kids around and teach them a bit about the law?"" Su Qinghu said directly. ""They’re both smart, they’ll understand what you say. Just speak plainly to them.""

Cai Huayang nodded. ""No problem.""

Only then did Su Qinghu turn to Da Dan and Er Dan, who had been staring at her the whole time. ""This is where you two are going to broaden your horizons this weekend. Uncle Cai is your father’s friend. Listen carefully to what he says. Maybe later he’ll even tell you stories about your dad...""

After that, Su Qinghu told Cai Huayang, ""Could you watch them for a bit? I have something to take care of. I’ll be back in forty minutes.""

Cai Huayang agreed without hesitation, but the two kids panicked, especially Er Dan. ""Where are you going? You’re handing us over to the police—what are you going to do? Are you abandoning us?""

Seeing their anxious faces, Su Qinghu hesitated for a moment, but steeled herself and decided not to back down from what she was about to do.

""What are you thinking? I feed you, give you drinks, buy you new clothes, open bank accounts for you, save money for you..."" Su Qinghu gave them a look that said, ""What nonsense are you imagining?"" ""And then I’d just abandon you? Don’t even think about it! I’m telling you, don’t even dream about something that good happening, because even I wouldn’t dare dream it!""

With that, Su Qinghu turned and left, leaving the three of them standing there in a daze.

It took Da Dan and Er Dan a while to look away, then they turned to Cai Huayang.

Cai Huayang took a deep breath and looked back at the two kids.

""Sorry you had to see that—my mom’s just that lively and cute,"" Er Dan said, wiping away his tears, sounding like a little adult. ""Uncle, what are we going to do next?""

Cai Huayang felt like he’d really learned something new today. Shaking his head in amazement, he led the two kids inside with a smile.

====

So, what did Su Qinghu go off to do?

She went to the post office.

And why did she go there?

Naturally, it was to give Er Dan a taste of his own medicine—she was going to mail off the things Er Dan had hidden, and send them to Chen Lie!

That’s right. Su Qinghu had no experience disciplining kids and didn’t know how to scold or punish them, so she decided to copy Er Dan’s trick exactly—let him experience firsthand the frustration and anger of having his own treasures sent away by someone else...

The colored clay figurines of the Calabash Brothers, stickers of classic foreign movie characters, a small pouch of rare marbles—all of it, sent off!

Not a single thing left behind!

Su Qinghu grinned, packed everything up neatly, weighed the parcel as required, bought stamps, and stuck them on. Only then, feeling quite pleased, did she head back.

That evening, after the kids had received their ""beloved"" legal education, Su Qinghu took them and Cai Huayang out for a meal before everyone headed home.

At the same time, Chen Lie finally finished his mission and returned to his office, picking up the letters that had just arrived from all over.

After reading the letters from comrades who’d retired and were writing to say they were safe, Chen Lie picked up the two letters from the capital.

The first was from Zhao Yanliang, the handwriting wild and bold, but you could sense a bit of urgency.

The second was from Er Dan, the handwriting neat but so childish you couldn’t tell if he was happy or not.

Standing at his desk, Chen Lie tapped his fingers on the tabletop. His hair, less than two centimeters long and still damp from a recent wash, stuck up in tufts, making his sharp features stand out even more.

The loose tank top he wore couldn’t hide his impressive physique. Even his shadow on the wall seemed to hint at the explosive power of his muscles.

His long, well-defined fingers hovered over Er Dan’s letter, but in the end, slid over to Zhao Yanliang’s.

Chen Lie opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

Three or four pages?

Feeling the weight, Chen Lie counted—sure enough.

He unfolded the letter, which had been folded twice, and paused when he saw the first line.

The content got straight to the point: ""Chen Lie, someone’s got their eye on your wife and wants to steal her from you!""

The characters were huge and bold, impossible to miss.

He paused for just a few seconds before frowning and reading on.

After quickly scanning the letter for the main points, Chen Lie raised an eyebrow, not commenting on Zhao Yanliang’s opening statement.

Then he picked up Er Dan’s letter, smiled, and opened it, pulling out one sheet folded in half and another folded four times.

The first was the post office’s special stationery. The second... copier paper?

Er Dan’s letter was simple. First, he rambled on about how great his life had been lately—what he’d eaten, seen, and played with. Then he talked about how close he, his brother, and Su Qinghu were.

The last part read: ""Dad, I discovered a big secret. It’s hidden in that copier paper. When you read it, make sure everyone else leaves the room and look at it alone.""

Chen Lie chuckled, picked up the copier paper, and quickly unfolded it.

In the adult world, kids’ so-called ""secrets"" are usually childish or trivial, not worth much attention.

But this time, Chen Lie was wrong!

The moment he opened the copier paper, he slammed it face-down on the desk with a loud ""smack.""

He moved so fast it was shocking.

After calming himself, he looked at the copier paper pinned under his hand—his face had turned bright red..."