Reborn as Zhao Ruilong of Handong, I will defy fate.

Chapter 196 A Bad Start! Poor Zhong Xiaoai!

"His girlfriend's name is Lu Yike?"

Zhang Xiaoxue frowned and asked.

"Yes, didn't you know?"

Zhong Xiaoai asked back, somewhat puzzled.

"How would I know? My dad brought him home for dinner last night, and that's how I met him."

Zhang Xiaoxue moved forward slightly as she finished speaking.

"Isn't Lu Yike's father a general? Logically, she should have a very strict upbringing, right? Why would she go to a hotel with Zhao Ruilong so soon after they met?"

Faced with Zhang Xiaoxue's three consecutive questions, Zhong Xiaoai deliberately put on airs.

"Don't you dislike him? Why are you still asking about him?"

"I……"

Zhang Xiaoxue, quick-witted, immediately explained:

"I'm just curious; gossiping is human nature!"

Zhong Xiaoai responded with an "oh".

Then she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep.

Zhang Xiaoxue raised her eyebrows and glared.

She was still waiting for Zhong Xiaoai's answer, but...

Zhong Xiaoai simply replied with an "Oh".

This really worried Zhang Xiaoxue.

"Hey, you still haven't answered me!"

Zhong Xiaoai chuckled.

"I can't answer your question!"

"I wasn't familiar with her at all, how would I know why she went to the hotel with President Zhao so quickly?"

Zhang Xiaoxue sighed in disappointment.

But Zhong Xiaoai then added:

"I heard that Liang Qunfeng's youngest son, Liang Wei, the former secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Department of Handong, is particularly fond of Zhong Xiaoai and pursues her relentlessly, but Lu Yike doesn't like him."

"One day, Lu Yike was robbed on a motorcycle. Zhao Ruilong stepped forward and helped her subdue the two robbers. After that, the two fell in love at first sight and quickly got together."

Zhang Xiaoxue raised an eyebrow.

"So Lu Yike quickly fell in love with Zhao Ruilong partly because Zhao Ruilong saved her like a hero, and partly to get rid of Liang Wei's entanglement as soon as possible?"

Zhong Xiaoai gave a thumbs up.

"Amazing! No wonder she's a female PhD!"

Knock knock knock~

There was a knock on the door.

"Hello, room service."

Zhang Xiaoxue quickly got up.

"Excuse me, my friend drank too much and couldn't hold it in, so he threw up in the bathroom. Could you please clean it up?"

After saying that, Zhang Xiaoxue turned to look at Zhong Xiaoai.

"I'm going back to my room, you should go to sleep!"

Zhong Xiaoai said, her eyes blurry with drunkenness:

"Remember what I said, strike when the time is right!"

"You flew all the way to Jingzhou, why are you staying alone in an empty house!"

"Even if you don't plan to spend your whole life with him, you can still hang out with him!"

"We're all adults, and we're all people with feelings, so don't be so shy!"

Zhang Xiaoxue gave an awkward smile.

Although what Zhong Xiaoai said makes a lot of sense.

It's no big deal to just play around with it.

However, her upbringing and personality destined her to not easily indulge herself.

"Okay, I'll think about it. You should go to sleep now!"

"Wait a moment!"

"what happened?"

Zhong Xiaoai pointed casually.

"Could you find my phone and set an alarm for 6 a.m. tomorrow?"

Zhang Xiaoxue frowned and asked, "Six o'clock? That early? Are you going to catch an early flight back to Yanjing?"

"No, I'm going to Huilong Electronics to bring the goods I ordered back to Yanjing."

Zhong Xiaoai let out a long sigh as she finished speaking.

"That's the goods I scraped together and finally managed to save up to order. It's my life savings, and I can't afford to lose anything."

Zhang Xiaoxue asked with great doubt, "Didn't you specify in the delivery agreement that Huilong Electronics should be responsible for transportation, and that you would only pay upon delivery?"

Zhong Xiaoai shook her head.

"It would cost a lot of money to put them in charge of the transportation."

"To ensure the safety of the goods, they not only arrange for dedicated personnel and vehicles for transportation, but also purchase insurance for the goods."

"The cost will ultimately come from the consumer. Not to mention that the insurance premium is not cheap, the toll, fuel, and personnel subsidies for the empty truck returning from Yanjing to Jingzhou will definitely all be borne by me."

"So, in order to save money, I didn't let them take responsibility. I contacted a truck that was going back to Yanjing and escorted the goods back to Yanjing myself, which saved a lot of money."

Zhang Xiaoxue was a little confused.

She simply couldn't believe that these words could come out of Zhong Xiaoai's mouth.

Zhong Zhengguo's daughter!

They used to be so powerful and influential.

Now, in order to save costs, they are actually finding their own trucks and escorting the goods back to Yanjing.

Judging from her tone, it's clear that she's going to go back to Yanjing with the truck so she can save on airfare.

Airfare isn't cheap; saving the price of one ticket means you can order an extra MP3 player...

"Okay, I'll set an alarm for you."

Zhang Xiaoxue opened Zhong Xiaoai's handbag, took out her phone, and set an alarm for her.

"How about I contact the front desk and ask them to remind you to get up when they arrive?"

"Okay, thank you."

"It's ok."

Zhang Xiaoxue quickly used a landline to notify the front desk.

Then they found a trash can for Zhong Xiaoai so she could vomit.

I also placed a bottle of water on the bedside table, just in case.

Before leaving, he reminded the cleaning staff to close the door after they finished cleaning.

I swiped my card to return to my room.

Lock the door and draw the curtains.

Although I didn't sleep all night and was busy all day.

Zhang Xiaoxue still insisted on doing yoga for half an hour.

Moreover, she specifically chose some extremely difficult exercises for tonight.

The purpose was to make the body more tired so as to avoid dreaming about Zhao Ruilong again at night.

however……

The more you try to prevent something from happening, the more likely it is to happen.

We tried out high-tech products together during the day.

A close-up photo together, being fed soup dumplings, and suddenly having his hand held.

He was also provoked by Zhong Xiaoai's aggressive and inappropriate words.

These sensory stimuli to the brain are all too intense.

As a result, once asleep, one's conscious awareness ceases to function.

Under the full influence of the subconscious.

Zhang Xiaoxue dreamed that she and Zhao Ruilong traveled to many places.

Let's go boating together on the vast, misty lake.

Let's ride horses together across the vast grassland.

We drove together through the magnificent mountains and valleys.

As they chatted and laughed, the two were so close.

They are so close that sometimes they are indistinguishable from each other, from the occasion to the location.

With the sky as their blanket and the earth as their bed, they entangled and rolled around...

When this long and sweet dream ends.

Zhang Xiaoxue opened her eyes and found the room pitch black, as if it were still dark.

"Why did I dream about him again?"

"And in my dream, we did that... It's so, so shameful!"

“It’s all Zhong Xiaoai’s fault. She said those things to me before going to bed, and even said that her husband Hou Liangping was no good.”

"After being subjected to various suggestions, my mind kept wandering into fantasies even after I fell asleep!"

Zhang Xiaoxue turned on the bedside lamp and intended to check the time on her phone.

After pressing the button several times, I realized the phone was out of battery and had already shut down automatically.

I pressed and held the button for a while, but it still wouldn't turn on.

Then I remembered that I had made and received many phone calls yesterday and hadn't charged my phone when I got back to the hotel.

Find the charger and plug your phone in.

I thought that, like last night, my dreaming time would be short, and it must still be the first half of the night.

however……

Unbeknownst to her, it was already daylight outside the tightly closed curtains.

After her phone ran out of battery and shut down automatically, Zhao Ruilong tried to wake her up and take her sightseeing, but he couldn't get through to her at all.

Time passes slowly.

Zhang Xiaoxue finally woke up naturally after a good night's sleep.

I stretched comfortably and then turned my phone back on.

Upon seeing the time, she was so startled that she jumped up.

"What? It's 2:30 PM?"

"How long have I been asleep?"

"That can't be right. Is the phone broken?"

Zhang Xiaoxue put down her phone and peeked at the landline.

The time on the small display screen of the landline was 14:30 PM.

This time.

Zhang Xiaoxue had to admit that she had a super long sleep after being overworked.

With two buzzing sounds, the phone screen lit up.

Zhang Xiaoxue immediately unlocked her phone and looked at the text message Zhao Ruilong had sent.

"Are you still sleeping? Do you still want to go sightseeing today?"

I glanced at the time of the text message and it was 8:17 a.m.

"If I suddenly turn off my phone and stop answering calls, will Zhao Ruilong think that I'm angry and avoiding him?"

Zhang Xiaoxue was just about to make a phone call to explain.

My phone vibrated again; I received another text message looking for Zhao Ruilong.

“Zhong Xiaoai has been robbed, so I have to go to Lincheng right away. For the rest of the sightseeing, I'll have my second sister, Zhao Xiaohui, accompany you. Her phone number is…”

Upon seeing this news, Zhang Xiaoxue was completely stunned.

"Zhong Xiaoai was robbed?"

"What...what's going on?"

Zhang Xiaoxue knew that the security situation in remote areas was not good these days.

In some mountainous areas of the Midwest, people often rob truck drivers with knives and steel pipes.

Because large trucks move very slowly when climbing hills.

In addition, it's a remote, desolate place where there's no cell phone signal.

They robbed and ran. By the time the driver called the police and the officers arrived, they were long gone.

This is why some long-haul truck drivers will carry an extra person.

Furthermore, they would keep steel pipes, long knives, and the like in the car beforehand, so that they could fight if provoked.

However, Zhang Xiaoxue never expected this.

Zhong Xiaoai was actually robbed.

That was a batch of goods she ordered, risking her life and fortune!

Moreover, only a portion of the payment has been made; a significant amount remains outstanding…

Zhang Xiaoxue hurriedly made the call, but it took a while for the call to be answered.

"Sorry, Ruilong, I forgot to charge my phone last night, and I only realized it when I woke up..."

"Huh? You just woke up? It's 2:30 in the afternoon! I think it wasn't even 10 o'clock when I took you back to the hotel last night?"

"I...I'm a bit of a light sleeper, so I fall asleep very late."

To cover up her embarrassment, Zhang Xiaoxue had no choice but to tell a lie.

"Okay, I'll be here in Lincheng discussing the case with the task force, trying my best to help Zhong Xiaoai recover the goods as soon as possible, and then we can proceed with the sightseeing and tours..."

"I'm not going sightseeing or sightseeing anymore. I haven't even gotten out of bed yet, and I'm starving. Tell me quickly, how did Zhong Xiaoai get robbed? Is she alright?"

Zhao Ruilong sighed, "She wasn't injured, but her mental state wasn't very good. Most of her capital was borrowed, and she was robbed on her first business venture, which caused her to have a mental breakdown. But she's much better now."

"As for the robbery she was robbed... well, the case is quite strange. She and the driver were robbed on a county road in Dao'an County, Lincheng City. There were only four people on the other side, all masked and armed with a homemade firearm that was quite powerful."

"After the vehicle was stopped, the two men were forced to get out. Without opening the cargo door to check the goods, one of the robbers drove the vehicle away, while the other three robbers took Zhong Xiaoai and the driver hostage to the woods deep by the roadside."

“Zhong Xiaoai thought the other party would kill them to silence them, but instead they gagged them and tied them to a tree. After the robbers left, Zhong Xiaoai, who had hidden a knife in her sleeve, cut the rope and escaped with the driver to the highway to flag down cars and ask people to call the police.”

Zhang Xiaoxue was extremely surprised.

"My God, I never expected Zhong Xiaoai to have a hidden knife in her sleeve!"

Zhao Ruilong chuckled softly.

"Have you forgotten that her father is Zhong Zhengguo? After working in the political and legal system for so many years, how could she not have learned a single self-defense skill?"

"As for the robbery, my opinion and that of the task force are that it was a premeditated act of stalking, and that the perpetrator had been watching the truck since it left the factory."

"What do you mean? I don't quite understand!"

Zhang Xiaoxue got up and pulled the curtains open a little.

Listening to robbery stories in the pitch black can be quite frightening.

Zhao Ruilong explained, "The Little Smart Phone is so popular right now that it's sold out in many places. Whether you steal it or rob it, once you get your hands on it, it's just like a mobile phone—very easy to resell."

"These robbers must have been staking out my company's factory area beforehand. When they saw the Beijing-plated box truck entering and leaving the factory area, they must have mistakenly assumed that the truck was carrying a mobile phone..."

Given Zhang Xiaoxue's intelligence, she naturally understood immediately.

The wildly popular Little Smart phone attracted the wicked intentions of a group of robbers.

But they clearly never imagined that such meticulous planning, surveillance, and armed robbery would lead to this...

After all that, what they ended up grabbing wasn't a truckload of mobile phones.

Instead, it was the MP3 player Xiaolingtong, which had not yet been officially launched but was already much more expensive.

of course.

That was still Zhong Xiaoai's 'life and fortune'.

She went bankrupt and was heavily in debt, taking a huge gamble to place the order.

Before even reaching Yanjing, they've already been robbed.

This undoubtedly adds insult to injury for the family, who were already experiencing bad luck recently.

Fortunately, the robbers only wanted money and didn't want to kill anyone.

Otherwise, Zhong Xiaoai would truly have become a case of 'dying before even starting a mission'!

"Well, Zhong Xiaoai is really unlucky. She encountered this kind of thing on her first business venture."

"Yes, so when I heard the news, I immediately called Li Dakang, the clerk of Lincheng. This is not only a major case that happened in his jurisdiction, but it has also seriously harmed my Huilong Electronics' customers."

"What did Secretary Li say?"

"He is a workaholic with a strong sense of responsibility. When he heard about it, he was naturally furious and quickly ordered all departments in Lincheng to draw on their best personnel to form a special task force, demanding that the case be solved as soon as possible."

Zhang Xiaoxue nodded repeatedly.

“Alright, with Li Shuji’s instructions and your personal assistance, I believe Zhong Xiaoai’s shipment will be recovered soon.”

"I hope so!"

Zhao Ruilong said with some melancholy:

“I’m not a criminal investigation expert, and I can’t offer much assistance.”

"The biggest difficulty now is that the local conditions are very poor. There are no surveillance cameras on that road, and there were no witnesses at the time of the incident."

"The robbers were masked, wore gloves and work clothes throughout the entire crime, and had a clear division of labor. The crime was very quick and left no trace."

"Even though the task force was established and immediately issued a notice to set up checkpoints on major roads throughout the city, they still haven't found that truck."

"I reckon that since the other party is so professional, they have probably already changed their license plate and driven a long way, or transferred the goods to another truck in some secluded place."

Zhang Xiaoxue sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So, this case is indeed very difficult to solve and will probably take a long time. Oh, by the way, what time is my flight back to Jiangcheng?"

"7:50 p.m.

"Okay, I got it. You go ahead and do your thing. After I check out and have dinner, I'll wander around the city by myself, then take a taxi to the airport. You don't need to have your second sister come with me."

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? I..."

"Don't overthink it. I just want to have some free time. Okay, that's all for now. See you in Jiangcheng when we have the chance."

After saying that, Zhang Xiaoxue hung up the phone, feeling guilty.

She simply couldn't bear to hear Zhao Ruilong's voice.

As soon as we finished discussing the important matter, my heart started racing and my breathing became rapid.

Then, the disgusting and shameful scenes from last night's dream involuntarily surfaced in my mind.

So hang up the phone as soon as possible to avoid overthinking.

However, when he thought of how pitiful Zhong Xiaoai was, and how Zhao Ruilong had even made a special trip to Lincheng for her sake, he realized that she was the one who was in trouble.

Zhang Xiaoxue quickly dialed Zhao Ruilong's number again.

"I think this robbery case, with very few clues, probably requires the involvement of expert criminal investigators to solve it as soon as possible."

Do you have any good recommendations?

"Of course there is, and he even shares your last name."

"Who is it?"

"Zhao Donglai!"