AHDIBCB Chapter 26

Before meeting Zhou Tandai, Fang Jing was just a resident singer at a bar near Zhou Tandai’s base. She wasn’t very famous, and her voice could only be considered average. But she had been pretty when she was young and was good at being clingy—just happened to scratch Zhou Tandai’s itch.

At that time, Zhou Tandai already had a fiancée, but Fang Jing coaxed and flirted with him, using impressive tactics. In less than half a year, she got Zhou Tandai to break up with his fiancée.

Later, Fang Jing got pregnant before marriage, and Zhou Tandai quickly married her and brought her home.

It could be said that Fang Jing had put quite a bit of scheming into the matter of getting married. And after marrying Zhou Tandai, she always remembered her background and made plenty of preparations for a rainy day.

She came to the hospital to look for a woman she had known back when she was a singer. A beta woman named Aivena, who used to be a bartender at the bar. After Fang Jing got together with Zhou Tandai, she didn’t forget about her, and even lent her a hand during her most difficult times.

Aivena was very grateful to Fang Jing. She now ran a restaurant in the hospital, and business had always been good. It was just that the two didn’t want others to know they had known each other in the past, so they didn’t meet very often.

“What happened to your face?” As soon as Aivena brought her to the place where she usually rested in the hospital, she noticed that after taking off her hat, there was a very clear slap mark on Fang Jing’s face.

“Zhou Tandai hit me.”

“Because of Ranran getting into a fight with Yuan Yi at school?”

“How do you know?”

“I guessed. That video is already spreading online. Yuan Yi married into the Li family, and your family’s Commander Zhou definitely has to maintain a good relationship with him. Now that Ranran fought him, wouldn’t the first thing be to make Ranran apologize?”

“Ha, you really guessed it right,” Fang Jing said. “Actually, I was mentally prepared. He’d definitely force Ranran to apologize. But I didn’t expect that just because we refused, he’d actually lay hands on us.”

After all, they had been married for over ten years. She thought this kind of thing wouldn’t go that far. She hadn’t expected Zhou Tandai not only to hit the child but to hit her too.

Maybe because in all these years together they had never come to blows—at most they argued—so she had always held onto a bit of wishful thinking, instinctively believing that Zhou Tandai would never hit her. She never imagined he’d actually slap her in the face!

Aivena found some medicine and gently applied it to Fang Jing’s face. “That was way too heavy-handed. I saw the video—clearly it was Ranran who got hit. Even if Ranran started it, the other side didn’t suffer a loss, did they? So why still make Ranran apologize?”

Fang Jing was angry about that too. If her son hadn’t been hit, she could’ve accepted the idea of apologizing. But his face had been beaten up like that, and they were still expected to apologize—that was just too humiliating.

Aivena said, “That Yuan Yi, how come I never noticed he had such guts before? I heard he even wrote a self-reflection letter to the school. Now with what he’s done, online opinion is almost entirely one-sided—saying Ranran deserved the beating.”

These days, any story with a selling point spreads like wildfire once it hits the internet. Now it wasn’t just the fight—people had dug up the story about the customized laundry detergent making Yuan Yi’s pheromones smell awful too. The internet was now full of people cursing Zhou Xingran.

Fang Jing hadn’t even bothered to open the news these past few days, since none of it was anything she wanted to see. Thinking about what Yuan Yi had done lately, she also felt puzzled. “Do you think he was just pretending before? I really didn’t see him as that kind of person.”

“Me neither. But if he really was pretending all this time, then he’s seriously scheming. You’d better come up with a plan. If he decides not to care about family ties and starts using the Li family’s power—won’t dealing with you be as easy as playing a game?”

“I came to see you to talk about just that. Have you been in contact with Qian Bao? I want to ask him for a favor.”

Qian Bao was someone Fang Jing and Aivena had gotten to know back when they were at the bar. This man could get anything done, as long as he was paid—and he absolutely never revealed the identity of his clients. As far as Fang Jing knew, over the years, this person had gradually moved his business underground, and his influence was growing stronger and stronger.

Right now, Fang Jing didn’t ask for much—she just wanted Yuan Yi to get off the Li family’s ship, and to make it so that Yuan Yi could never have children again.

In her view, getting involved with the Li family was a terrible move. Zhou Tandai should quickly change his mind.

Fang Jing expressed her request, but Aivena responded, “What are you thinking? Old Master Jian is about to retire, not about to die. If you really have someone hurt Yuan Yi at this time, your whole family won’t be able to handle the consequences. And the child in Yuan Yi’s belly isn’t just valued by the Jian and Li families—the military itself also values it, right? This is something you absolutely mustn’t do.”

“Then what do you suggest? Am I just supposed to swallow this? I really can’t swallow it.”

“I’m not saying you have to, but your method won’t work either. Did you forget—back then, with Zhou Tandai…” Aivena patted the back of her neck, smiling with a teasing undertone.

“You mean, use that drug again? But I don’t have any more.”

“Silly, if you don’t have it, just get more. The point is—you can’t be the one to do it.”

“But besides finding Qian Bao, I really can’t think of anyone suitable to handle this.”

“Why can’t you find someone? Isn’t there a ready-made choice?”

“…” Fang Jing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood. “Right, how could I have forgotten about him.”

“Exactly. You’ve got him right there—why bother with Qian Bao? Do you even know how much Qian Bao charges these days just to do one job? Don’t bring trouble on yourself. I’ll help you take care of this. But for now, you can’t come see me again. If anything comes up, we’ll use the old method to get in touch.”

Back when Fang Jing managed to get together with Zhou Tandai, Aivena had secretly put in a lot of effort. Fang Jing completely trusted this sister of hers, and upon hearing this, she nodded. “Alright, don’t worry. I won’t let your efforts go unpaid.”

Aivena smiled and said, “Talking like that between sisters is too formal. But are you really sure you want to go through with this? If Zhou Tandai finds out about it, your marriage might really be over.”

Fang Jing hardened her heart. “Then let it be over. I’ve gotten plenty out of this over the years. And besides, you know what I absolutely can’t tolerate.”

Her father had been abusive. When she was a child, she had watched helplessly as her mother was beaten, and she herself had also been beaten—so the one thing she couldn’t stand most was this. If anyone dared to lay a hand on her or her child, she absolutely couldn’t forgive it!

Fang Jing gritted her teeth. “That drug—are you sure it’ll make Yuan Yi completely infertile in the future?”

Even if the pregnancy was lost once, the genetic compatibility doesn’t change. Li Heng’s sperm definitely wouldn’t be used just once and then be gone.

Aivena said, “Just look at yourself—you already know the answer, don’t you?”

Fang Jing shot Aivena a glare. But Aivena wasn’t wrong. Back then, she had used a kind of alien drug called Tonghuan Xiangsu (Isocyclic Fragrance) as an aid to seduce Zhou Tandai. She managed to keep the man, but after giving birth to Zhou Xingran, she never got pregnant again. Otherwise, she definitely would’ve had a few more, because she knew Zhou Tandai had always wanted an alpha child.

At this moment, Aivena said, “Ranran just got into a fight with Yuan Yi, so I’ll need a few days before I take care of our business. Don’t be in too much of a hurry during this time—just wait for my message. Also, since you’re going to go through with this, you’d better have Ranran go apologize. I know it feels humiliating, but you can’t let outsiders think you still hold a grudge against Yuan Yi.”

Fang Jing was angry in her heart, but she also knew Aivena was right. She nodded and took out a small square box from her bag, placing it on the table. “I’ll listen to you. This is for you.”

Aivena glanced at the box and smiled as she said, “Alright, now hurry on back.”

Fang Jing put on her hat and left.

After she was gone, the small square box was opened, revealing a ruby bracelet inside. The bracelet’s quality was pretty decent, but Aivena didn’t see any tags, and the clasp on the chain showed signs of wear—it was fairly obvious upon a closer look. She chuckled softly and casually set the item aside.

Military District General Hospital.

Yuan Yi had stayed overnight, and the next morning, just as the sky was starting to lighten, he woke up. The place looked comfortable, and all the facilities were complete, but he hadn’t slept well at all.

Though he didn’t want to admit it, the biggest reason was probably because there was no scent of Li Heng here.

So, though he said nothing, he packed up his things with surprising speed and efficiency. Once Dr. Luo gave the green light, he greeted him quickly and left without even looking back. The first thing he did upon getting home was throw himself face-down on the bed for a bit.

This bed somehow gave him a sense of security. He rolled around on it a couple of times, then re-entered exam-prep mode.

At the same time, Zhou Tandai received a report from his subordinate: there had been star pirate activity in the Fourth Defense Zone. A robbery had occurred there, a large area of houses had been burned down, and quite a few residents had been abducted.

The burned houses were a small matter—Zhou Tandai himself often did things like that. Afterward, he would report the damages, and when the government approved repair funds, he could still pocket part of it.

But right now, he was already troubled over his promotion, so there was absolutely no way he would do something like this at such a critical moment. He immediately shouted at his subordinate, “Who told you to do this?!”

The subordinate hurried to explain: “No, Commander, we wouldn’t dare rob people, not in any case!”

It was one thing if the houses were damaged, but if something happened to the people, higher-ups would definitely investigate and hold someone accountable.

Zhou Tandai thought for a moment, then decided to rush back to his garrison overnight to see exactly what was going on.

The Owanda Empire had two types of defense zones: those on the ground, and those off-ground. There were a total of 368 off-ground defense zones. These were usually built around interstellar supply stations, and over time, they developed into fully functional commercial systems.

The well-developed off-ground defense zones—like the Fourth Zone—could lease interstellar ships, provide various supplies, offer foods and fashion from different planets, sell all sorts of strange and rare items, and let visitors experience the charm of alien cultures.

Not everyone had the ability to travel across planets to experience alien life—especially ordinary civilians. So, traveling to an off-ground defense zone became an economical and affordable option. Here, they could also see many things they had never encountered before, and it was a way to broaden their horizons.

And safety being guaranteed was a key factor in attracting tourists, something Zhou Tandai naturally had to take seriously. It was directly tied to his promotion and his wallet.

Before leaving, Zhou Tandai reminded Fang Jing that she must take Zhou Xingran to apologize to Yuan Yi. Recalling what Aivena had said, Fang Jing naturally agreed readily.

But not long after Zhou Tandai left, Fang Jing received an anonymous message.

The message said that Zhou Tandai had rushed off not because of some accident at the garrison, but because he was hurrying back to meet his pregnant mistress.

Fang Jing nearly shattered her silver teeth from clenching so hard. Any thoughts of apologizing or making amends flew out of her head—she immediately booked a spaceship ticket and secretly took Zhou Xingran with her to the Fourth Defense Zone.

Li Heng, upon hearing Winter Wolf’s report, asked, “The people who were taken—have they been settled?”

Winter Wolf replied, “No need to settle them. They’re all people who were already under Scarlet Snake (Fei She).”

Li Heng said, “That’s good. Pity we can’t watch the show—make sure they record it. Zhou Tandai’s been embezzling in the Fourth Defense Zone for years. It’s high time he made room for someone else.”

Winter Wolf hesitated for a moment. “Madam just had a run-in with Zhou Xingran. Now he’s tripping up Zhou Tandai—won’t people outside start suspecting the old master?”

Li Heng said, “It’s not like the old master told him to embezzle public funds and keep a mistress. Even if they suspect him, it’s useless.”

After saying that, he suddenly stretched out his hand.

Winter Wolf didn’t understand and asked in confusion, “Ah?”

Li Heng said, “The photo. Didn’t Yuan Yi go to the hospital again? No photos from the check-up?”

Winter Wolf replied guiltily, “It hasn’t even been half a month since the last one, so I didn’t… But I noticed something else. Madam seems to have been sleeping poorly lately. At least on the day in the hospital, his sleep quality was very bad. I’ll show you the data.”

Winter Wolf quickly pulled up the sleep monitoring report from the night Yuan Yi was admitted to the hospital. “Not enough deep sleep, total sleep duration was also short, and his heart rate fluctuated significantly during sleep. I randomly sampled data from a few other days, and it was about the same. Madam actually mentioned this himself during that visit to the hospital—I saw it recorded in the electronic medical record. I also asked Deputy Li, and he said it’s basically a subconscious sense of unease.”

Li Heng slowly stroked the pendant on his necklace. “Unease… you sure know how to change the subject. But next time, do remember to bring the photo. Go on now—I’ll take care of the sleep issue myself.”

Winter Wolf quickly left. Li Heng looked at the sky outside, pondered for a while, then didn’t stay in the room any longer.

This time, he too disappeared into the bedroom.