Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 488: Plotting

Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Plotting

The three of them ate and chatted together. Seeing it was about time, Gu Fan said his goodbye, expressing delight at having bumped into the twosome, and then left.

Zhang Yang watched Gu Fan’s receding figure, his brows furrowing slightly before resuming a calm expression. He continued to flirt with Yang Xinran. After finishing breakfast, the pair kick-started their day of dating.

By evening, Zhang Yang arrived alone at Uncle Zhang’s shop, helping to tidy things up while asking: "Uncle, is this Gu Fan from the Gu family currently living in the old house?"

To this, Uncle Zhang nodded: "Yes, that’s right. Don’t harbor any thoughts about it; we Zhangs have already given up. You should keep out of it."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang felt just a bit unwilling: "That’s what grandpa gave up, not us. We shouldn’t have moved out of the old house so easily, and now, only the Gus occupy such a fine house."

Uncle Zhang gave a faint smile: "Who could’ve known the affairs of the past? Not only did we Zhangs give up, but so did the Luo and Liu families. Who could’ve known back then? Now everything’s done. Even if you wish to go back, the Gus won’t give up the house."

Zhang Yang gazed earnestly at Uncle Zhang, he asked again: "Uncle, do you think Gu Fan knows about the secret?"

Uncle Zhang shook his head: "I guess of your generation, only your father might have told you, the others probably don’t know this secret."

"That’s perfect if they don’t know. Not knowing its value, perhaps they’d consider giving it up." Zhang Yang started to formulate his plan but Uncle Zhang shook his head: "Don’t overthink, if you could succeed, we would have already found a way to move back in."

"I just want to give it a try." Zhang Yang showed youthful vigor, looking determined, making Uncle Zhang feel a bit worried.

Zhang Yang spoke again: "I heard that the Gu family has a daughter who is quite special, with a unique talent. Perhaps this talent has something to do with that secret."

"Really? I used to think the same. But at that time, Gu Fan, Liu Yao were all born in that old house, even earlier than Gu Ling. But why only Gu Ling has this special talent? I really can’t understand this." Having spoken so far, Uncle Zhang sighed.

Zhang Yang postulated: "If Gu Ling is the chosen one, does it mean..."

To this, Uncle Zhang nodded: "It’s likely so. Hence, I advise you to not dwell on it anymore."

Zhang Yang consistently shook his head: "Who knows? If the Zhang family hadn’t moved out of the old house in the first place, I might’ve also received such a gift. Thus, I cannot give up this easily."

Uncle Zhang continued to object: "We, Zhangs, acting alone have meager force. How could we move back into the old house? Furthermore, even if we were successful, when other houses see this, they would certainly covet it. The Zhangs would then stand surrounded by enemies."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang looked a bit disheartened. He understood one principle - if he lacked sufficient strength, without strong aid, he would not be able to take that old house back. Even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to keep it. Therefore, strong aid was crucial.

After thinking over and over, he still couldn’t find a good solution. When the shop closed, Zhang Yang said his goodbyes and left, his steps heavy as if weighed down by worries.

Uncle Zhang was somewhat worried. He knew Zhang Yang too well. This young man would not give up his goals easily, nor was it in his nature to abandon without giving it a try.

Zhang Yang’s determination could be channeled positively or negatively. Uncle Zhang believed that if Zhang Yang continued to obsess over the old house, his stubborn streak might lead him towards negativity, persisting in what he shouldn’t.

Indeed, right now, Zhang Yang was single-mindedly focused on reclaiming the old house. As for how to do it, he was still pondering. His first thought was to gather more information.

Zhang Yang didn’t know Gu Fan quite well. He had no knowledge about his family situation, his character. However, he knew one person who had interacted with Gu Fan - Ning Qi.

So, Zhang Yang directly went to Ning Qi’s residence and found disarray everywhere, the villa resembled a scene of a great battle.

"Oh my gosh, what happened here?" Zhang Yang’s first thought was a break-in, with a bonus robbery upon seeing beautiful Ning Qi.

Zhang Yang hurriedly dialed Ning Qi’s number, only to hear a familiar ring echoing from inside the villa. Then he saw Ning Qi walking down from the second floor, looking surprised: "Zhang Yang, why are you here? You should’ve at least given me a call."

"It’s nothing, I was just passing by." Actually, Zhang Yang wanted to send Ning Qi a message, but all the messages he had sent to Ning Qi recently had sunk without a trace, receiving no response. Hence, this time, Zhang Yang simply showed up in person.

"Your place seems to have been robbed." Zhang Yang said, guessing that something had happened here was related to Ning Qi not responding recently.

Ning Qi started to explain: "That’s because some people came to collect a debt and knocked on the wrong door, causing this mess. I’ve been dealing with this in the recent days, so I’ve been busy and unable to respond to your messages. I’m sorry."

"Oh, so that’s what happened." Although Zhang Yang accepted her explanation on the outside, he felt Ning Qi was hiding something.

Not wanting to complicate things, Ning Qi quickly changed topics: "So why are you here? Were you worried about me?" After speaking, she gave a faint smile, her gaze filled with deep meaning, as if dropping a hint to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang scratched his head: "Yes, you haven’t responded to my messages recently, that’s not like you. So, I was worried and I decided to come over and check."

Upon hearing this, Ning Qi expressed her gratitude and followed it up by saying: "Thank you for your concern. Considering you have a girlfriend now and you’ve been quite busy recently, and me too, hence, I didn’t feel like bothering you with all this."

Zhang Yang smiled: "Even though I have a girlfriend now, we continue to be friends, don’t we? Friends are supposed to keep in contact and look after each other. Moreover, I am dating Yang Xinran to help you find Gu Fan’s whereabouts, she is not my genuine girlfriend in my mind."

Hearing Zhang Yang’s words, the corners of Ning Qi’s mouth rose, pleasure coursing through her heart.

Then, Zhang Yang asked: "How long have you known Gu Fan? How much do you understand him? You came to this city to track him, right? To get some answers, right?. If Gu Fan did anything to wrong you, you tell me about it. I will help take revenge for you."

"This..." Ning Qi looked somewhat embarrassingly, not knowing how to respond.