Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Chapter 1126 Zhang Li Meets Li Jianjun

He picked up the phone, found a number, and dialed it. It rang for a while before being answered. "Hey, Lao Zhou, do me a favor. I need to go to the detention center to see someone... Yes, it's Li Jianjun... Okay, I'll wait for your news." After hanging up, he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and tapped his knuckles on his knees—he had to see Li Jianjun; just how much trouble had that kid gotten into?

Half an hour later, through connections and favors, Zhang Li finally met Li Jianjun in the detention center's visiting room. Through the thick glass, Li Jianjun's face was gaunt and emaciated; his hair was like a tangled mess of straw, his eyes were sunken, and a stubble of green on his chin. Upon seeing Zhang Li, the pitiful light in his eyes instantly shone. He pounded on the glass, his voice trembling and choked with sobs, coming through the microphone: "Dad! Dad, you've finally come! Please save me! This time I'm really finished!"

Seeing his pathetic state, Zhang Li's temper flared up. He really wanted to smash the thermos he was holding, but he held back and just growled into the microphone, "What are you crying for! Are you acting like a man? Tell me what happened!"

"It's Chang Li! It must be her!" Li Jianjun's voice suddenly rose, his eyes bloodshot. "She and Gu Nan had conspired together long ago! We were supposed to ambush Gu Nan that day, but she suddenly turned against us and even called the police... She definitely didn't tell the truth in her statement; she's trying to trap me! Dad, you have to investigate her; she's definitely up to something!"

Zhang Li's brows furrowed deeply. Chang Li? The woman who was so close to Li Jianjun? He had previously felt that the woman's eyes were shifty and warned Li Jianjun to stay away from her, but he never expected things to actually go wrong. He stared at Li Jianjun, his tone as cold as ice: "Do you think I'm a fool? Why would she want to harm you for no reason? What shameful things have you two done?"

Li Jianjun was caught off guard by the question, his eyes darting away, avoiding his gaze, muttering, "N-nothing...it's just...it's just a misunderstanding..."

"A misunderstanding?" Zhang Li slammed his hand on the table, making the microphone vibrate. "A misunderstanding can land you in a detention center? Li Jianjun, let me tell you, now is not the time to hide anything! If you don't tell the truth, not even a god can save you!"

These words were like a needle, piercing Li Jianjun's last shred of hope. His face fell, and his voice trembled with tears: "Dad, I was wrong... I was really wrong... That day... that day we found Gu Nan's place, intending to teach him a lesson, but we got into an argument with Chang Li, and then we started fighting... I don't know why she called the police..." He didn't dare say that he and Chang Li had argued because of a disagreement over the division of the loot, nor did he mention that the two of them were prying open Gu Nan's drawers at the time.

Zhang Li was seething with anger. This idiot! He's more trouble than he's worth! He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his surging anger, and said in a deep voice into the microphone, "Alright, I understand. You behave yourself in there and don't cause any more trouble."

"Dad, you have to save me!" Li Jianjun grasped at the last straw, his face streaked with tears and snot. "If I go in there, what will happen to your daughter? Our whole family will be finished! Dad!"

Seeing his miserable state, Zhang Li's heart softened slightly. After all, Li Jianjun was his son-in-law; if he were sentenced, he wouldn't be able to explain it to his daughter. He nodded into the microphone, his voice calm yet carrying undeniable weight: "I know what to do. You wait."

After saying that, he got up and left without looking at Li Jianjun again. There was a rapid knocking sound coming from the glass behind him, but he didn't stop—now was not the time to be soft-hearted; he had to go and meet Tong Ren.

Tong Ren's office was on the third floor. When I pushed open the door, Tong Ren was looking down at some documents. The main lights in the office weren't on; only the desk lamp was lit, casting a warm yellow light on his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Director Tong," Zhang Li sat down in the chair opposite him and got straight to the point, "What exactly is going on with Li Jianjun's case? The person I asked this morning told me there were no problems, so why is there still no progress?"

Tong Ren put down the documents in his hand, looked up at him, his gaze calm and unwavering. He took a transcript from the drawer and pushed it in front of Zhang Li: "Mr. Zhang, don't rush. Take a look at this yourself, and you'll understand why."

Zhang Li picked up the pen, his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. The handwriting on the paper was neat, but the contents were like tiny knives, cutting into his eyelids and making him twitch—Chang Li's confession clearly described how she and Li Jianjun conspired to extort Gu Nan, how they broke into Gu's house to steal, how they fought over the division of the loot, and how Gu Nan finally caught them and called the police. She even revealed where they hid the stolen money.

The further Zhang Li read, the darker his face became, eventually turning almost ashen. He slammed the transcript on the table, his knuckles trembling slightly with anger—that idiot Li Jianjun actually dared to tell him it was just a "misunderstanding"!

Ah Hu sat restlessly in Zhang Li's living room, his fingers unconsciously picking at the cracks in the sofa armrest. The ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke, but he was oblivious, his mind filled with the image of Lili locked inside. He clutched the crumpled photograph in his pocket, his knuckles white from the pressure—his last bargaining chip, the trump card to force Zhang Li to act.

Just as he was pondering how to phrase things to get Zhang Li to finally give in, a light footstep sounded outside the courtyard gate. Then, a young woman in a floral dress lifted the curtain and walked in; it was Zhang Xue.

Ah Hu's words caught in his throat, as if a wad of cotton had been stuffed inside. He recognized the girl; she was Zhang Li's daughter, usually pampered like a little princess. This was clearly not the time to talk about such sordid matters, so he could only awkwardly shut his mouth, shrinking into the corner of the sofa to minimize his presence.

When Zhang Li saw Zhang Xue, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his tone carried a hint of surprise: "What brings you here?"

Zhang Xue plopped down on the sofa, tossed her canvas bag aside, and said with obvious resentment, "Dad, where's Li Jianjun? He's been gone for days, and he's not answering his phone. What has he been up to?"

Zhang Li glanced at Ah Hu, his eyes conveying a warning: "Shut up." Ah Hu snorted inwardly, but knew this wasn't the time for a direct confrontation. He simply turned his head away, pretending to look at the calendar on the wall. His mind was completely occupied with Lili; Zhang Xue's matter had nothing to do with him. As long as he could rescue Lili, he'd be willing to pretend to be mute, or even temporarily act like a subservient grandson.

Zhang Li patiently reassured Zhang Xue, "He might have gone out in a hurry, or his phone might be dead. Don't worry, I'll ask him for you later."