Old Deng awakens: He starts by eliminating the yoga pants in the county town!

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open to both sides on the fourth floor.

Lin Dawei was helped out of the elevator by Li Luo. They first had an X-ray taken, and then Li Luo took him to the treatment room.

She pulled over a round leather stool, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Take off your shirt."

Li Luo turned around and walked to the disinfection cabinet, taking out iodine, gauze, and scissors.

Lin Dawei remained silent.

He sat on a round stool, unbuttoning his white shirt one button at a time with one hand.

My right arm was swollen badly, and the cuff was stuck at my elbow. Forcibly pulling it out caused a sharp pain in my skin.

Li Luo turned around, holding the tray.

Seeing his strenuous movements, she instinctively stepped forward, carefully avoiding the wound with her fingertips, and helped him pull down half of his sleeve.

As his shirt slipped completely off, his skin was dark, his chest was muscular, and his abdominal muscles were clearly defined.

There's no sense of relaxation typical of middle-aged people.

Li Luo's gaze clearly paused for a moment.

Lin Dawei saw her ears turn red, and he also saw her quickly look away and refocus her attention on his injured arm.

He didn't point it out.

For him, Li Luo's change was just a signal.

In the past, in the eyes of the Li family, he was an incompetent former brother-in-law and a spineless truck driver.

Now, Li Luo began to look at him with a different kind of gaze.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

Dr. Zheng, the orthopedic surgeon on duty, pushed open the door and walked in, holding the newly taken urgent X-ray film.

He plugged the film into the viewing light and gasped.

"Good heavens, were you hit by a car?"

Dr. Zheng pointed to the faint shadow on the film.

"There is a slight dendritic fracture in the anterior segment of the ulna, but fortunately it did not break completely."

"This soft tissue contusion is severe, with extensive tearing of muscle fibers and subcutaneous hemorrhage."

Dr. Zheng turned his head and looked at Lin Dawei.

"A normal person injured like that would faint from the pain, and you, buddy, didn't even break a sweat?"

Lin Dawei pressed his left hand against his knee, speaking calmly.

"I was punched."

Dr. Zheng paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"What kind of punch could land like that? It must be at a professional level."

He didn't ask any more questions and took out a bottle of dark brown medicinal wine.

"Bear with it, we need to massage the bruises away, otherwise you won't be able to lift this arm tomorrow."

The rough massage begins.

The medicinal wine burned as it seeped into the skin, and excruciating pain shot up the nerves.

Dr. Zheng was sweating profusely from exhaustion.

Lin Dawei leaned against the cold tiled wall, veins bulging on his forehead, his jaw clenched, and he remained silent.

Half an hour later, the medicated wine was finished massaging.

"Alright, don't move around too much today. Change the topical ointment once a day, and have a follow-up check-up in three days."

After giving his instructions, Dr. Zheng left the plaster and bandages behind and went to another ward.

The treatment room fell silent.

Lin Dawei leaned back in his chair, picked up his shirt with his left hand, and was about to put it on when Li Luo brought him a bandage.

"Don't move."

Lin Dawei did not refuse.

Li Luo's fingertips were cool, and she tried to avoid the most swollen areas when wrapping the bandage. Occasionally, when she touched a bruise, he could feel her movements pause for a moment.

"Who did you mess with?"

"Something happened when I was doing something for someone else."

"What kind of job requires such a strenuous effort?"

Li Luo's movements were a little too forceful.

"You think you're still young? What will happen to Xiaoyu if she becomes disabled for the rest of her life?"

Lin Dawei did not respond.

Li Luo bit her lip, cut the bandage, and tied a tight knot.

"If you need money, I can lend you some."

Given her aloof personality, it's rare for her to proactively ask to borrow money.

Lin Dawei stood up.

He pulled the white shirt off the back of the chair with one hand and draped it over his shoulder.

"Need not."

"I can handle it."

He didn't explain further, nor did he give Li Luo a chance to continue persuading him. He picked up his coat and walked towards the door.

He paused before pushing the door open.

Thanks for today.

The streets of the county town late at night.

Lin Dawei was driving a light truck, with one hand on the steering wheel.

Although the injured arm was immobilized with bandages, the pain still came in waves.

He didn't go back to his rented room to rest; Zhao Pengfei's stepmother kept nagging at him.

Half an hour later.

The light truck was parked in front of the Caiyun Chess and Card Room.

Push the door open and go inside.

The hall was filled with smoke, and four or five tables were filled with the intense activity of mahjong.

Cai Rong sat behind the bar to check the bill.

She was wearing leopard-print yoga pants and a black tight-fitting sweater tonight. Her figure was voluptuous, and she exuded a mature charm as she sat there.

As soon as Lin Dawei entered the room, she looked up.

She first noticed Lin Dawei's injured arm in a sling, then his half-open white shirt and exposed chest, and her eyes lit up.

"Hey, it's Old Lin."

Cai Rong closed the ledger.

"Haven't seen you for days, where have you been making your fortune? And why are your hands bruised?"

She leaned against the edge of the bar, subtly thrusting her impressive assets towards Lin Dawei.

Lin Dawei didn't waste any words and went straight to the bar.

"I need to ask you for some information."

Lin Dawei leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"News about Zhao Shao's stepmother."

Upon hearing the name Zhao Shao...

Cai Rong's smile froze for a moment.

Cai Rong was stunned.

She looked Lin Dawei up and down suspiciously, trying to glean some clue from his face.

"Old Lin, you're getting bolder and bolder."

She beckoned to Lin Dawei with her finger.

"They say there are too many people outside."

Lin Dawei followed her around the mahjong table and into the small storage room behind the bar.

The room was filled with drinks and playing cards. It was a very cramped space, and after Cai Rong closed and locked the door, there was almost no space between the two of them.

Cai Rong leaned against several cases of beer, took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and then slowly spoke.

"Wen Lan isn't as glamorous in the Zhao family as you think."

She exhaled smoke and lowered her voice.

"Boss Zhao's first wife died early, and he married Wen Lan six years ago. Wen Lan was only in her twenties at the time. She was beautiful and had a good figure. Many people in the county said she was lucky to marry into the Zhao family."

Cai Rong, with a cigarette between her fingers, spoke with a practiced gossip tone.

"Zhao Qinglan's eldest daughter is proud and looks down on her stepmother. She made it clear on her first day that she would not allow her to touch the Zhao family's business, accounts, or connections."

Lin Dawei asked, "Where is Zhao Pengfei?"

Cai Rong sneered.

"That little bastard Zhao Pengfei is even worse. He's never treated Wen Lan like an elder. He always speaks rudely at home, and when he's drunk, he likes to hang around her."

Lin Dawei's eyes darkened.

"Is Boss Zhao not going to intervene?"

"What does he care?"

Cai Rong flicked the cigarette ash into the empty paper cup next to her.

"Boss Zhao is always traveling between the city and the province, and he has quite a few women outside. Wen Lan is just a decoration in the villa. She dresses well and lives well, but no one in the family really takes her seriously."

Lin Dawei's mind was once again filled with the image of Wen Lan leaning against the wall.

That look in her eyes wasn't something she developed from just one or two times of suppressed grievances.

Cai Rong leaned closer and lowered her voice even further.

"There's something else. It's not widely known outside, but I've heard it from a few people who work as cleaners at Waterfront Dragon Court. Zhao Pengfei knocked on Wen Lan's door in the middle of the night more than once. One time it got really bad, and Wen Lan locked herself in her room and almost called the police."

"And then?"

"What else could happen? The Zhao family covered it up."

Cai Rong pursed her lips.

"Wen Lan has no family to rely on. If this gets out, the Zhao family will only say that she is immature, and Zhao Qinglan will not stand on her side."

"If she gets kicked out, she won't even have this much dignity left."

Lin Dawei remained silent.

That's enough information.

Wen Lan had no power in the Zhao family, no one to back her up, and was also being targeted by Zhao Pengfei.

If the method is right, she will actively reach out and grab the person who can save her.

Lin Dawei turned around to leave.

Thanks.

Cai Rong suddenly reached out and grabbed his half-open shirt collar.

Lin Dawei stopped.

The storage room was too cramped, and as soon as Cai Rong approached, the scent of perfume, cigarette smoke, and heat emanating from the mature woman pressed down on her.

Her red-nailed fingers traced across Lin Dawei's chest, stopping at his muscular pectoral muscles, her gaze becoming more suggestive.

"Old Lin."

Cai Rong lowered her voice.

You are truly different now.

Lin Dawei looked down at her.

Cai Rong's smile softened even more, and her legs, encased in leopard-print yoga pants, pressed forward slightly.

"Coming to my place late at night with all these injuries, asking about women, and then just leaving? What do you take me for?"