My Ex-Boyfriend Became the Back of My Car - Chapter 7

Feng Zheng paced back and forth in the living room, his expression grim. “Still no news about Cang’er?”

Zhang Yuan shook his head. “Not a single clue. I’ve already had people check the surveillance footage. The young master couldn’t have just vanished into thin air.”

Feng Zheng sighed, then asked, “Any updates from Tang Tang?”

Zhang Yuan shook his head again. “The people we sent lost track of him.”

Feng Zheng was startled. “How could they lose him? With so many people watching, how could they fail to keep an eye on one person?” Zhang Yuan replied, “The men reported that Mr. Tang was driving insanely fast—so fast they didn’t dare follow. Plus, there were traffic cops chasing him.” This puzzled him too. Logically, none of them knew where Feng Cang was. So why did Tang Zhou seem to know?

“Master, do you think Mr. Tang might be working with those people?” Feng Zheng waved his hand dismissively before sitting down. After a long silence, he said firmly, “No. If he were with them, why would he bother coming here in the first place?”

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan didn’t press further. The living room fell silent. Then, a phone rang. Zhang Yuan thought it was his and quickly pulled it out, but it wasn’t his. He turned his gaze to Feng Zheng. Frowning, Feng Zheng realized that aside from Feng Cang, no one else would call him. Had Cang’er woken up? He hastily answered, only to hear an unfamiliar voice on the other end. Just as he was about to hang up, the words made him shoot to his feet. “To the police station!”

–

Tang Zhou had talked until his mouth was dry and could finally take a breather. Once Feng Zheng arrived, he could go home. This had been way too much trouble. Just then, a shadow fell over him. Tang Zhou looked up—Chen Shen, who had been in front of him earlier, had left at some point, replaced by Wang Long.

Oh right. He’d almost forgotten about this part. Wang Long sat across from him, staring as if trying to bore holes into him. He had reviewed the dashcam footage from Tang Zhou’s car. Aside from Tang Zhou talking to himself, everything appeared normal—no signs of speeding. Yet, how had the car moved so fast? “Confess. Did you illegally modify your vehicle?”

Tang Zhou blinked, looking utterly innocent. “Officer, do I look like someone capable of modifying a car? The car might’ve seemed like it was speeding, but it wasn’t. It’s just a special model—creates an optical illusion. If you don’t believe me, you can test-drive it yourself.”

“I’d never do anything illegal.” Wang Long sighed. Since they couldn’t find any evidence, this was the one thing he couldn’t figure out. In the end, he could only lecture Tang Zhou at length. Listening to his lengthy speech, Tang Zhou was impressed. Who knew someone so young could be so articulate? His professional knowledge was truly solid.

Still, after hearing him out, Tang Zhou thought to himself: Officer, I might disappoint you. We’ll probably be seeing each other again—if not every day, then every few days. Just then, Tang Zhou caught sight of someone entering from the corner of his eye. His heart leaped—finally, he could go home. He stood up and called out, “Grandfather!” If he hadn’t been handcuffed, he would’ve rushed over to Feng Zheng right away. After all, Feng Zheng was his ticket to going home early!

Feng Zheng had already been briefed on the situation. If not for Tang Zhou, who knew where his grandson would’ve ended up? The consequences didn’t bear thinking about. He turned to the officer beside him and said, “Officer Chen, can you release my grandson’s wife now?”

Chen Shen glanced at Wang Long, who nodded in response, before saying, “Alright, we’ve got the general picture. Though there are still some unexplained details.”

Feng Zheng expressed his understanding, as he too had many questions. “I’ll take Tang Zhou back with me first.”

Chen Shen nodded and continued, “Old Master, there’s new progress regarding the theft of Mr. Feng’s body. I’ll keep you updated promptly.”

“Thank you, Officer Chen,” Feng Zheng replied with a nod. After they left, Wang Long scratched his head. “Brother Chen, how on earth did Tang Zhou manage it?” Though Wang Long didn’t specify, Chen Shen knew what he was referring to. He had also inspected Tang Zhou’s vehicle and found nothing unusual, which puzzled him greatly. “I don’t know either. But based on my years of investigative intuition, he’s definitely hiding something.”

He had been handling the corpse theft case for a while now. The moment he got a lead, he rushed over, only to find Tang Zhou had already beaten him to the thieves. Watching Tang Zhou walk away into the distance, Chen Shen murmured vaguely, “Perhaps we might end up working with him in the future.”

Wang Long was even more confused. What did Chen Shen mean by that? But since he couldn’t figure it out, he stopped trying. His thoughts had already drifted to Tang Zhou’s car—this was the first time he’d encountered such a situation.

“Tang Tang, what’s wrong with your foot?” Feng Zheng asked worriedly as soon as they left the police station, noticing Tang Zhou limping. “Grandpa, I’m fine,” Tang Zhou smiled. “Just twisted it a little. It’ll be okay after some rest. No need to worry.”

“How can I not worry? Look at you! Let’s go to the hospital first.” Feng Zheng quickly took out his phone, ready to make a call.

Tang Zhou panicked. They had just gotten out of the police station—he couldn’t let a foot injury send them to the hospital now. He hastily grabbed Feng Zheng’s hand. “Grandpa, really, it’s nothing. I misspoke earlier. I was limping because my legs went numb from sitting too long at the station.”

Then, glancing at Feng Zheng, he added sheepishly, “I have this quirk—my legs go weak around police officers. And since I almost got caught for speeding, I was even more scared. My legs just wouldn’t listen to me, like they were twisted.”

He quickly looped his arm through Feng Zheng’s and spoke rapidly, “Grandpa, let’s hurry back! The priority now is to check if Mr. Feng’s body was harmed. After such an ordeal, I’m afraid his condition might have worsened.”

Seeing Tang Zhou’s earnest expression and hearing him mention Feng Cang, Feng Zheng could only nod, though still concerned. “If anything’s wrong, tell me right away. You’re my chosen grandson-in-law, after all.”

Tang Zhou smiled. “I know, Grandpa.” Once in the car, as he relaxed, a sharp pain shot through his foot. Tang Zhou rolled up his pant leg and saw it was swollen. Leaning sideways, he stretched his arm to open the glove compartment, but his uncooperative legs made the simple task feel like reaching across a chasm. What was usually effortless now seemed impossible.

Feng Cang watched Tang Zhou’s struggle without a word. The next moment, the glove compartment opened on its own, revealing a bottle of medicine. “Catch, Zhou Zhou.”

“What?” Tang Zhou blinked as the medicine leaped toward him. He swiftly caught it and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you had this trick up your sleeve.”

Feng Cang felt a bit guilty as he looked at the red swelling on Tang Zhou’s foot, stark against his fair skin. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this.” Tang Zhou applied ointment casually and replied, “Don’t worry about it. Injuries are normal in this line of work, and this is just a minor one. If you’re going to feel guilty every time someone gets hurt on a mission—especially when worse injuries happen—you’ll be drowning in regret. Just treat it as an occupational hazard. Instead of wasting words, you’d be better off compensating me with more money.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Zhou felt the temperature in the car plummet. He quickly added, “A grown man like you should know better. Even I, the injured one, don’t care—why are you being so sentimental? Cut out the cold air, unless you’re trying to freeze me to death!”

He even faked a sneeze for effect. Feng Cang reined in his emotions, returning to his usual demeanor, and said quietly, “It won’t happen again.”

Tang Zhou put away the ointment, placed his hands on the steering wheel, and flashed a bright smile, his tone light. “That’s more like it. A real man sheds blood, not tears—though I don’t know what a car crying would look like, but your cold air is pretty close.”

“Alright, no more delays. Grandpa and the others left ages ago. If we don’t hurry, we’ll lose them.”

“Mm.” Feng Cang responded, “I’ll drive now.”

“Go ahead!” Tang Zhou settled into position, but after a moment, the car still hadn’t moved. “Feng Cang, what’s wrong?” Feng Cang shifted uncomfortably before admitting under Tang Zhou’s puzzled gaze, “We’re out of gas.”

“What?” Tang Zhou checked the fuel gauge—it was nearly empty. Wait, how? He always made a habit of checking the fuel level before getting in the car. It had shown two bars just moments ago—how could it be empty now?

“Feng Cang, what the hell happened? What did you do?”

“My apologies,” Feng Cang admitted readily. “I used too much cold air just now. It consumes extra fuel. It won’t happen again.” Tang Zhou was thunderstruck. What did Feng Cang’s cold air have to do with the fuel level? He stared at the empty gauge just as a gust of hot wind blew in. Then, as if realizing something crucial, Tang Zhou sighed. What else could he say? Feng Cang was already like this. “Control yourself next time. The fuel cost is on you.”

“Mm,” Feng Cang agreed, watching Tang Zhou’s pained expression. You could ask for more, you know. But he didn’t say it out loud. Though Tang Zhou often joked about squeezing money out of him, Feng Cang knew he wouldn’t—otherwise, he wouldn’t work so hard. The money Feng Cang made could support not just one Tang Zhou, but ten, even a hundred of him.

Tang Zhou, meanwhile, ignored Feng Cang and pulled out his phone, hesitating over whether to call Feng Zheng. Before he could decide, Feng Zheng’s voice came through first. “Tang Tang, what’s wrong?” Embarrassed, Tang Zhou replied, “Grandpa, we’re out of gas. I forgot to refuel.” A few minutes later, Tang Zhou was seated in Feng Zheng’s car, his own left behind—no need to worry about it.

“Grandpa, why haven’t you left yet?”

“I was worried, so I waited a little longer. When you didn’t move, I came to check—only to find your car out of gas. Your silly boy, still treating me like an outsider? I’ve told you, if anything happens, just ask.”

Though Feng Zheng’s face was stern, Tang Zhou could see the genuine concern in his eyes. A warmth spread through his heart, his eyes grew dry, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I was just about to call you and tell you,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to come. Having such an amazing grandfather like you would make me wake up laughing in my dreams. How could I ever feel like an outsider?”

Feng Zheng’s stern facade instantly crumbled. “You little smooth-talker,” he chuckled. “Only you could say such things. I still don’t know what got into Feng Cang to want to separate from you. But after all these twists and turns, you two are still getting married after all.”

Tang Zhou noticed the faint traces of worry and sorrow on Feng Zheng’s face—perhaps suppressed because of his presence. He quickly reassured him, “Grandfather, don’t be sad. Everything will get better.” Only after seeing Feng Zheng’s expression ease did Tang Zhou turn his thoughts to the strange messages on WeChat. He had been too exhausted yesterday and too busy today to dwell on it earlier.

What kind of method could silently send messages without either of them noticing? And how had neither of them detected it? The more Tang Zhou pondered, the more uneasy he felt. Whoever was behind this must have an intimate understanding of their personalities and daily lives.

If Feng Cang hadn’t been in that car accident—if not for that stroke of fate—they might never have uncovered the truth. And Feng Cang’s accident—could it have been orchestrated by the same person? He would have to ask Feng Cang properly when he got back.