Deliberately Approaching
Chapter 54 Carry the Contract with You

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Carry the Contract with You

Despite the speculation of a second attack having run through Li Zishen’s mind countless times, he still did not want Tang Xiaowan to worry about it, nor did he want to affect her good mood.

But he had just lost his composure!

"I’m sorry, Xiao Wan, don’t be afraid, trust me, nothing will happen."

Li Zishen had red bloodshot eyes as he spoke these words, and Tang Xiaowan couldn’t help but recall the morning when she had woken up from her injuries.

The man was just as anxious and unsettled.

"All right, all right, it’s my fault for saying the wrong thing, look how nervous you are, haha."

To lighten the mood, Tang Xiaowan laughed, but her laughter stung Li Zishen’s heart like needles.

It was clearly me who should apologize!

I promised to protect you for a lifetime, yet when you were tragically attacked at night, I was hundreds of kilometers away in Jin City.

Even here in Li Garden, there is no peace!

Your second uncle and Lin Ping, one creates scandals and slanders you, the other secretly changes the medicine formula to agitate you.

Thinking of this, Li Zishen’s eyes brimmed with tears.

To avoid being noticed by Tang Xiaowan, he went straight to the window, "You’re not wrong, it’s my fault, I promise, such a thing will never happen again."

"Wow, I’m so hungry, when are we eating?"

Li Zishen’s lips curved into a slight smile.

He knew the girl was changing the subject.

"Should be soon, I’ll give them a call."

"Yeah, please do, hurry!"

...

South of Mei Garden, bamboo forest.

Bai Long turned the key, surveying his surroundings, the rustling sounds breaking the silence.

Mei Garden was built against the mountain, with large areas of bamboo planted to its south, north, and rear, leaving only the western side open with a small path, leading directly to the expressway entrance on the hillside.

Compared to the disordered north side, the south not only had stone tables and benches, but even a wooden-framed swing.

The hemp ropes were thick, and the wooden seat was sturdy.

Bai Long pocketed the key and stood with his hands behind his back, thoughtfully looking at the words on the wooden seat.

"Tangtang is the best, number one in the world."

The knife work was impressive—who could have carved this?

Bai Long had been here the last time he investigated the night attack at Mei Garden.

With his years of martial arts training, he could assert that those words definitely could not have been carved by a young girl.

"Brother Long, are we really not going in?"

Bai Long turned around and spoke indifferently, "Brother Shen has his reasons for how he arranges things. Just stay at your posts and do your duty, no need to say more."

The talking man nodded and quickly left.

He was the team leader, named Wang Bing.

Including him, there were a total of 15 black-clad bodyguards, all of whom had arrived the previous morning.

Two off-road vehicles and one commercial van.

Under Bai Long’s command, they had not only thoroughly searched Mei Garden but also reinstalled cameras and night-activated sound-control lights in various areas.

Every time they were on a mission, the black-clad bodyguards would wear black camouflage, hand in personal phones, and carry communication devices exclusive to Li Garden.

Bai Long had gotten up early yesterday to take Tang Xiaowan to school before heading straight to Mei Garden; since then, he hadn’t closed his eyes.

The level of exertion was, understandably, immense!

Although such missions occurred from time to time, it was still quite shocking to him that both recent instances were for Tang Xiaowan’s sake.

"Who’s there?"

Bai Long’s gaze fixed steadily on the area behind the stone table.

Just now, it seemed a dark shadow flickered past, causing a few slender bamboos to sway slightly.

"Brother Long, a small truck has gone up the mountain."

Wang Bing suddenly interrupted, breaking Bai Long’s train of thought.

Previously, his men had staked out this place for so many days, not to mention vehicles going up the mountain – there hadn’t been a single passerby at the highway entrance.

Weekend self-drive, hiking, and sightseeing?

Truck, impossible!

"You stay, I’ll go take a look."

Bai Long glanced at the stone table area before hurrying towards the main gate of Mei Garden.

The two locations were not far apart, and it took only two minutes to get there.

Soon, a white truck slowly drove up, its body bearing the advertisement "For renovations, look no further." complete with a contact number and the company’s detailed address.

After parking, two lean men got out.

About 30 years old, with slightly darker skin.

Bai Long stared fixedly at the driver, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Oh, you’re finally back. I need to tell our boss pronto; it’s September now, the renovation can’t be delayed any longer."

Not waiting for Bai Long to inquire again, the truck driver had already pulled out his phone and started making a call.

He rattled off a long spiel.

All in dialect, Bai Long found some of it hard to understand.

However, the gist seemed to be that the gates were open, someone was outside, wondering whether to unload a portion of the new delivery now for backup, or to come back in the afternoon.

The other man was silent throughout, with a simple, honest-looking face and rough, scratched hands.

He looked like a carpenter.

Bai Long had already reported the situation to Li Zishen.

Grandma Tang’s intention to repair Mei Garden was known since last month, but the timing of these men’s arrival was a bit too coincidental.

Better safe than sorry!

At the moment, Lady Tang’s safety was paramount, no room for negligence.

In less than a minute, Bai Long received a reply.

[If their documentation is in order, they may enter the courtyard, but the main building is off-limits.]

[Yes, Brother Shen, understood.]

By that time, the truck driver had finished his call and was walking straight towards Bai Long.

His Mandarin changed as well, no longer in dialect.

"Is Lady Tang here?"

Bai Long waved his hand, declining the cigarette offered by the truck driver, and said indifferently, "You can talk to me about anything you need; Lady Tang is unavailable."

"Oh, that’s fine. It’s like this: Ms. Tang Mei commissioned our company to renovate Mei Garden, and the contract states it must be completed by the end of September. But as you see, Ms. Tang Mei had an incident a while ago, which led to your doors being closed for some time. Our boss wonders if the deadline could be extended to October 8th?"

"Do you have the contract?"

"Yes, yes, I always carry it with me, just a moment."

The driver hurried back to the cab and brought over a folder, which he handed to Bai Long with utmost respect.

Flipping to the last page, indeed there was Ms. Tang Mei’s signature and the exclusive seal of Mei Garden, with the work period from September 1st to October 1st.

During this time, Tang Xiaowan had been in Jin City, evidently causing a delay.

There was just one strange point; he was just a driver, not a manager, so why was he carrying the contract around with him?

Could it be that he came by every few days to check?

Why didn’t we see him when we were installing surveillance cameras yesterday?

Various questions raced through his mind, and Bai Long handed back the contract to the driver, "The work period can be extended a few days, but the main building is to remain untouched for now. Start with the courtyard."

"May I ask if you... have the authority for this?"

"I do."

His gaze was firm, his words sparing.

After a moment of hesitation, the driver replied, "Then it’s settled. We’ll unload this truckload of timber; it’s all reserved for Mei Garden anyway, to save making another trip."

"Mm, that’s fine."

Bai Long waved his right hand, and the two black-suited bodyguards behind him fully opened the gates of Mei Garden.

Wide enough for the truck to enter.

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