Chapter Sixty-Seven: Confirmed to Be Followed

The Bai family’s bodyguards swiftly carried the unconscious Bai Yu away. Zhao Fan straightened his clothes and turned to look at the person who had grabbed him. “Fang Tiancheng?”

The one who had suddenly rushed out to stop him was none other than Fang Tiancheng, whom Zhao Fan had met once before.

That brief encounter had been at the police bureau.

Fang Tiancheng’s expression was grave. “Yes, it’s me.”

Yang Yuqing stood to the side, casting a cautious glance at Zhao Fan before moving to his side. “Are you alright?”

The Bai family’s bodyguards had not held back when dealing with Zhao Fan.

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

He answered Yang Yuqing, but his gaze never left Fang Tiancheng. Why would a police officer he’d only met once appear here? Was it coincidence, or was there some deeper reason? Or perhaps Fang Tiancheng was monitoring him?

As the thought crossed his mind, Zhao Fan’s expression darkened instantly.

“Are you spying on me?”

Fang Tiancheng didn’t answer, instead asking, “Do you know how many years one gets for murder?”

“I don’t know,” Zhao Fan replied coldly, his suspicions coloring his tone. “Nor do I care to know.”

“If you’re not a murderer, naturally you wouldn’t want to know. Zhao Fan, you beat Bai Yu badly. If you hadn’t stopped, he’d have died.”

Zhao Fan’s eyes flickered. He admitted he’d lost control of his emotions and had indeed beaten Bai Yu mercilessly, but that had nothing to do with Fang Tiancheng’s sudden appearance.

“You are watching me,” he insisted, focusing only on his suspicion—was Fang Tiancheng monitoring him or not?

Fang Tiancheng smiled and openly admitted, “Yes, I am keeping an eye on you. Don’t you think I should?”

“Why should I think so? I’ve told you—the case has nothing to do with me. You’re inva—”

Before Zhao Fan could finish, he felt his sleeve tugged. He turned and saw Yang Yuqing subtly shake her head at him.

After a brief silence, Zhao Fan cast a cold look at Fang Tiancheng, swallowing the remainder of his words.

Yang Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief at this.

Fang Tiancheng took in their interaction, puzzled. Zhao Fan was no ordinary man, but given Yang Yuqing’s family background, she shouldn’t always be seen with him. After all, any scandal would reflect poorly on the Bai family.

Just look at Bai Yu’s reaction just now—enough to see how things stood.

“You two are so close, aren’t you afraid of Bai family’s retaliation?”

Fang Tiancheng’s abrupt question made Zhao Fan and Yang Yuqing look at him, both faces full of confusion.

Yang Yuqing asked, “What does our closeness have to do with the Bai family?”

Zhao Fan snorted, “In the eyes of certain police officers, even the slightest odd behavior is suspicious. You’ll get used to it.”

Fang Tiancheng paid no mind to Zhao Fan’s barbed remark, calmly saying, “All of Yang City knows the Bai and Yang families are planning a betrothal.”

At this, both Zhao Fan and Yang Yuqing were stunned. The latter frowned tightly, dismissing the idea without a second thought.

“Impossible. If the families were arranging a betrothal, how could I have heard nothing?”

Fang Tiancheng stroked his chin. “Exactly. Why don’t you know? Miss Yang, perhaps you should go back and ask?”

Yang Yuqing’s face paled slightly. She thought for a moment, then looked at Zhao Fan.

Before she could speak, Zhao Fan understood her intention.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Leave this police officer to me.”

Yang Yuqing pressed her lips together and strode away, her face white.

After she left, Zhao Fan faced Fang Tiancheng, clenched his fist.

“Give me an explanation.”

Fang Tiancheng’s expression remained calm. “What explanation do you want?”

“Is stalking and monitoring an ordinary person the way your police bureau handles cases?”

“An ordinary person who auctioned a priceless antique?”

Fang Tiancheng’s emphasis made Zhao Fan’s face darken. “I just have a good eye—and luck.”

“I never said you didn’t. But Zhao Fan, luck like yours—I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. What do you think?”

Zhao Fan said nothing.

He pushed past Fang Tiancheng and left.

Fang Tiancheng put his hands behind his head and followed him leisurely.

“I think you’re interesting. Anyone else with your luck would have made a big noise, stirred up trouble everywhere. But you remain low-key, quietly getting rich—that’s you all over.”

Zhao Fan ignored him, silently quickening his pace.

Fang Tiancheng sped up as well. “Don’t rush off. Tell me—how did you ever think to bid on the Wind Listener Vase, which everyone thought was a forgery...”

Into the taxi, Fang Tiancheng kept nagging. Out of the taxi, he still kept nagging.

At the door to his home, Zhao Fan stopped Fang Tiancheng from entering with an outstretched hand.

“This is where it ends.”

Fang Tiancheng smiled. “What ends?”

“Don’t play dumb. You know what I mean.”

Right in front of Fang Tiancheng, Zhao Fan slammed the door shut with force, then turned away, his face thunderous.

Bai Yu, Fang Tiancheng—one after another, none of them would leave him alone. It was truly infuriating.

Just then, a knock sounded outside, and Fang Tiancheng’s voice drifted in.

“Zhao Fan? Come open the door. When a guest comes to your door, you’re so cold to me—how can I...”

“Swish—”

The door opened. Zhao Fan stared at Fang Tiancheng with icy eyes.

“Don’t force me to get physical. Leave.”

“If you tell me the whole story, I’ll leave naturally.”

“There is no story.”

“You expect me to believe there’s no story behind something worth three million?”

“Whether you believe it or not—what’s that to me?”

“Tsk, Zhao Fan, I’m from the police bureau. If you keep refusing to cooperate, aren’t you afraid I’ll arrest you?”

Staring at Fang Tiancheng, who was now just inches away, Zhao Fan suddenly smiled. “Officer Fang, do you have any official order to monitor and tail me? If I’m not mistaken, what you’re doing now is inva—”

“Zhao Fan!”

A shrill female voice suddenly cut him off, dragging his mood down yet again.

Wang Ying rushed out angrily. “Zhao Fan, are you being fair to me?”

Seeing her hand aiming for his face, Zhao Fan quickly leaned back, dodging her slap.

He dodged, but Fang Tiancheng was caught in the crossfire.

Smack!

Wang Ying’s palm landed hard on Fang Tiancheng’s face, leaving the police officer stunned.

“Get out of the way! What are you doing here?”

Wang Ying was still furious, shoving Fang Tiancheng aside and turning her wrath on Zhao Fan.

“Zhao Fan, what gives you the right to ruin my reputation near my home?”

At first, Zhao Fan had been watching Fang Tiancheng’s predicament, but this unexpected accusation left him momentarily speechless.

“What?”

“You—why did you ruin my reputation near my home?” Wang Ying spat out each word through clenched teeth.

If looks could kill, Zhao Fan would have been dead already.

Facing her fierce questioning, Zhao Fan couldn’t help but laugh. “I am not the sort to cling desperately. If you’ve offended someone and your reputation is ruined, what has that got to do with me?”