Zhao Zhichao had no way to refute Zhao Shicheng. She had grown up and matured considerably. She knew that transferring to a key high school would not harm her. As long as she could get into the same university as Lu Fan, that would be enough.
Thus, Zhao Zhichao obediently went to the key high school. While diligently studying, she wrote letters to Lu Fan. In the beginning, Lu Fan replied to every letter, and seeing Lu Fan's neat handwriting always settled Zhao Zhichao's mind, making her eager to study.
As the exams approached, Lu Fan stopped replying to her letters. Zhao Zhichao was very puzzled. She took a day off specifically to secretly follow Lu Fan. She discovered that Lu Fan was actually walking hand in hand with a girl from class three, and they were very intimate, clearly a couple.
Just like that, Zhao Zhichao appeared before Lu Fan, tears in her eyes, gazing at him with a mournful look. The girl from class three looked smug. She was about to speak when Lu Fan suddenly pulled her hand. Lu Fan looked into Zhao Zhichao's eyes and said earnestly, "I don't want to be with the daughter of a traitor."
"Lu Fan, what did you say? Say it again."
Lu Fan sighed, "Everything I wanted to say is in the breakup letter I left for you."
"Where is that letter? I've never seen any letter."
"That letter is in a place only we know."
Zhao Zhichao was furious. She had grown up and learned to be polite; she no longer cursed. But seeing the smug look on the girl from class three's face, she cursed smoothly and then threw her schoolbag at the girl.
However, Lu Fan blocked it. Lu Fan was no longer the weak little boy he used to be. He shielded the schoolbag with his body, then glanced coldly at Zhao Zhichao and walked away, pulling the girl from class three with him.
Zhao Zhichao was utterly defeated by Lu Fan's cold gaze. She knelt on the road and cried uncontrollably.
Lin Han disliked such sad love stories. She asked curiously, "Sister Ye, Lu Fan and Zhao Zhichao were childhood sweethearts, and they just broke up like that."
"Because no one knows what Lu Fan wrote to Zhao Zhichao in his letters now. But judging from their later actions, Lu Fan and Zhao Zhichao's breakup was likely orchestrated by Zhao Shicheng."
"Why would Zhao Shicheng do that?"
"I don't know. From a parental perspective, Zhao Shicheng's actions were not wrong. Zhao Zhichao was just a high school student; there was no need for her to be in a relationship."
"And then?" I asked in surprise. Ye Qingcheng had recounted this story of young love, and it couldn't be that simple.
"Zhao Zhichao was admitted to a university in Yunnan and left Xi'an. Lu Fan went to university in Beijing, and after graduation, he stayed to work in Beijing and has not returned since."
Lin Han shook her head vigorously, "I don't believe this is an ordinary story."
"As for Lu Fan, Sister Xiao has already started investigating. From what we've gathered so far, Lu Fan is just an ordinary person. He still doesn't have a Beijing household registration, nor has he bought a house in Beijing. Furthermore, due to his relationship, Lu Fan doesn't contact his family much; he's quite a rebellious person. Also, he's not married, although being a thirty-five-year-old 'bei piao' (someone from out of town working in Beijing) and not being married isn't particularly unusual."
"What about Zhao Zhichao?"
"Zhao Zhichao is divorced. She was married to someone from an engineering design institute. They lived together for five years and had no children. The reason for the divorce was the husband's infidelity. However, Zhao Zhichao is doing well; she owns a souvenir sales company."
Lin Han stopped speaking and pouted, her mood clearly dampened. I understood Lin Han; sweet and shy love being overshadowed by reality did not align with her values.
I smiled wryly, "Teacher Ye, you wouldn't just tell us a story about high school students having an early romance, would you?"
"Don't provoke women."
"Teacher Ye, why did you suddenly say that?"
"That wasn't said by me; it was said by Teacher Li Jiu. Back then, when Teacher Li Jiu taught us psychology, he once said that in the female crime gene, there's a greater inclination towards extreme revenge. Zhao Shicheng revealing Zhao Zhichao's identity to Lu Fan, leading to their breakup, completely ignited Zhao Zhichao's vengeful spirit. Zhao Zhichao also knew from the case that happened back then that her uncle, Zhao Shicheng, was the reason her father, Zhao Shirui, was sentenced to death. She also understood that her father was only an accomplice, and the person who truly deserved to be shot was her uncle, Zhao Shicheng."
"How did she get revenge on Zhao Shicheng?"
"It's not clear yet, but before Zhao Zhichao went to university, Zhao Shicheng's career was stable, and he even had a chance to become a leader again. Since Zhao Zhichao graduated, Zhao Shicheng's career path has been fraught with thorns, leading to a decline. Before he retired, Zhao Shicheng had become a night watchman. In fact, Zhao Shicheng's eventual mental breakdown is also largely due to Zhao Zhichao."
"Have you contacted Zhao Shicheng's other two children?"
"One lives in Hanzhong, and the other lives in Datong. They are ordinary people, nothing special. The three siblings are very harmonious. Although Zhao Zhichao dealt a heavy blow to Zhao Shicheng, she has deep affection for her siblings and has even provided them with financial assistance at crucial times."
From the current situation, our direction is wrong. No matter how hysterical Zhao Zhichao's revenge was, it has nothing to do with us.
"It seems we've been following the wrong lead."
"I thought so too, but after I saw the business scope, my perspective changed."
"Teacher Ye, could you explain that more clearly?"
Ye Qingcheng smiled, took out a commemorative banknote, and handed it to Lin Han. Lin Han took it, looked at it, and then touched it, "It's real."
I thought Lin Han would put it down, but after saying it was real, she examined it more closely. Immediately, she frowned, "A re-denominated note?"
All of this left me confused. I took out the commemorative banknote Ye Qingcheng mentioned and looked at it. The front pattern was a dragon, and the back was the Temple of Heaven. According to Ye Qingcheng, this was a commemorative banknote issued in 2000, also known as the Dragon Banknote. Its current value has increased more than ten times its face value.
Due to the serial number or consecutive numbers, re-denominated notes can appear on the market.
Simply put, this kind of re-denominated note is a scam.
"You mean Zhao Zhichao is a scammer."
"It's more than just a scammer. The Dragon Banknote I bought is highly collectible, rare, and has significant future appreciation potential. Moreover, I inquired, and only Zhao Zhichao's souvenir company in Xi'an sells Dragon Banknotes."
Lin Han nodded in confirmation of Ye Qingcheng's words, "Sister Ye is right. I've also heard it in the circles, that it's available, but only a few notes a year, so I never considered it."
Ye Qingcheng smiled and said, "I've looked into Zhao Zhichao's company. It's a company that exists for the purpose of money laundering. For such a company, there's no need to deal in Dragon Banknotes. Yes, Dragon Banknotes are valuable, but compared to the company's turnover, they are insignificant. As Sister Lin Han said, only a few notes a year, there's no need to bother. So, I felt something was wrong, and I investigated those who bought Dragon Banknotes, and then I found this one, which I bought for 5,000 yuan."
"5,000?"
"Yes, that's not the point. People who buy commemorative banknotes have a habit of looking at the serial number first. The serial number of Dragon Banknotes is 'i' for replacement notes. Because only 100,000 replacement notes were issued, replacement notes are more collectible. This commemorative Dragon Banknote is a replacement note, but someone changed the '4' to a '6'!"
"What's the difference?"
"In commemorative banknotes, '4' and '7' are not liked by anyone. If you ask me why, I can only tell you it's a quirk of the collectors' circle."
Hearing Ye Qingcheng say this, Lin Han expressed doubt, "Why go to all this trouble? Does it make a difference of 1,000 yuan? If they fake it after working so hard, their reputation will be ruined if discovered."
At this point, I finally understood. Although I didn't understand Dragon Banknotes, I grasped the scheme. Zhao Zhichao's company was making money without doing anything, but she was trading in Dragon Banknotes. These were hard to come by, so everyone in the circle knew about Zhao Zhichao's company. With such notoriety, if her company was found to be involved in counterfeiting, it would be pushed to the forefront.
This was using public opinion. Someone deliberately faked it to involve this souvenir company in controversy, thereby achieving the purpose of speculation. When the attention reached a certain level, if negative internal information was leaked, the company would be in serious trouble.
"Does Zhao Zhichao have enemies?"
"I learned from the buyer that he bought it directly from Zhao Zhichao?"
"When did he buy it?"
"A few hours after the national treasure theft case occurred."
Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh, "Teacher Ye, I understand now. We're already in Zhao Zhichao's scheme. Zhao Zhichao is a schemer."
Ye Qingcheng nodded, "That's exactly what I mean. Zhao Zhichao is a schemer, and Zhao Shicheng's dementia is a situation she meticulously arranged."
Just as I was piecing things together, Lin Han suddenly slapped her forehead, "I almost forgot something important." I looked at her in confusion, "What is it?"
"Teacher Wang Ren called me and, after understanding what happened to us in Ruili, she told me to be careful of Lu Yao."
Why should I be careful of Lu Yao? Could it be related to Zhao Zhichao? Among us, only Lu Yao had contact with Zhao Zhichao. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated.