Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai waited another day, but still failed to meet Tian Jiakai downstairs.
So the two decided to go up to Tian Jiakai's home on the fifteenth floor to look for him.
But after they knocked for ages, no one answered.
"Where on earth did Old Tian and his family go?"
"How would I know? Forget it. He'll come looking for us when he needs us. We can do it ourselves without him."
"Then I'll go see Weiwei."
"All right, I'm going back to keep your sister-in-law company."
Zhang Shuai went straight to Li Weiwei's home in apartment 1103.
The brothers left as soon as they said they would, neither noticing someone hiding at the turn of the stairs on the sixteenth floor.
Li Weiwei hadn't expected Zhang Shuai to come looking for her at home. Although her parents knew she was dating someone, neither knew who her boyfriend was.
Her home was a mess, too, and smelled of medicine. She felt rather embarrassed and didn't want her boyfriend, Zhang Shuai, to see this shabby side of her life.
So she didn't let Zhang Shuai inside, but pulled him downstairs instead.
Zhang Shuai hadn't wanted to go inside anyway. He could smell the Chinese herbal medicine in Li Weiwei's home from far away, and it was even more pungent up close.
He had absolutely no interest in visiting her home.
The faint herbal fragrance on Li Weiwei herself, however, smelled quite nice.
The two went to their secret base as usual, the white van in the underground parking garage on level B1.
Zhang Shuai had a task today and had come to see Li Weiwei with a purpose.
So today, Zhang Shuai was especially patient in coaxing Li Weiwei and making her happy.
He was particularly attentive and considerate at the start, and worked hard at plowing afterward.
Li Weiwei experienced the utmost pleasure, looking as lovely and endearing as a delicate flower in full bloom.
It excited Zhang Shuai so much that he switched between several different positions, and this time they went on for quite a while.
After a bout of passionate lovemaking.
Zhang Shuai finally remembered his actual business.
"Weiwei, that woman in a mask we ran into on our way to collect water last time-is she your neighbor?"
The flush on Li Weiwei's face had yet to fade. She lay there, so exhausted she didn't want to move, her mind still slow to respond.
Only after thinking for a while did she realize Zhang Shuai was asking about Jiang Ci.
Alarm bells immediately rang in her mind.
Had she known, she wouldn't have gotten carried away and greeted Jiang Ci that day.
What did Zhang Shuai mean by asking about Jiang Ci now?
Could he have taken a fancy to Jiang Ci?
After all, Jiang Ci really did have delicate, beautiful features. Who knew how many times prettier she was than Li Weiwei?
It was precisely because Jiang Ci was so beautiful, had such a distinctive air about her, and looked like a rich girl at a glance that she had first caught Li Weiwei's particular attention.
But Jiang Ci had been wearing a mask that day, so Zhang Shuai shouldn't have seen how beautiful she was. Had the two run into each other without Li Weiwei knowing?
"Why are you asking about her?"
"I saw her walking with a man a couple of days ago. They were carrying bags of all sizes and looked like they had plenty of supplies, so I was curious. Just asking."
Hearing that Zhang Shuai was merely curious, Li Weiwei relaxed a little.
But she wasn't completely reassured. After all, it hadn't been easy to land a boyfriend like him, and Zhang Shuai really did treat her quite well. She couldn't let Jiang Ci lure him away.
Her eyes shifted, and she said, "I don't know her well either. That man you mentioned is probably her lover. She used to live alone, but one night after the extreme heat started, she suddenly brought a man home."
Afraid Zhang Shuai might develop any inappropriate ideas about Jiang Ci, she did her utmost to choose words that would smear her.
"Those bags you said they were carrying were probably things that man gave her. After all, staying alive isn't easy now. She's just a girl without any real abilities, so of course she had to find herself a meal ticket."
Zhang Shuai recalled Si Beichen, whom he had encountered twice. He really was a tall, imposing man with a powerful presence, clearly no ordinary person.
What Li Weiwei said did make sense. A girl with no one to rely on would naturally think of using underhanded means to trick capable, powerful men into supporting her so she could survive.
Just like him and Li Weiwei. Wasn't she so willing to stay with him because he was handsome, capable, and skilled enough to support her and her family?
But that man merely had a bit of filthy money. Hadn't he bought all those supplies at the government supermarket? Once his money ran out, he would be nothing.
Zhang Shuai was different. He had earned his supplies through hard work with his own two hands. That was what true ability meant.
He needed to hurry back and discuss it with his brother, Zhang Qiang. That man was big and tall, so now wasn't a good time to make a move. They weren't short of food or drink anyway, so they might as well wait and watch a little longer.
At that thought, Zhang Shuai couldn't stay any longer. He was eager to go back and find his brother.
"Weiwei, head back on your own after you've rested a bit, okay? Something urgent's come up. I'm going back to see my brother."
Li Weiwei was reluctant to let him go, but she knew men liked obedient, sensible women, so she didn't try to keep him.
"Go ahead. I'll head back after resting a while, too," she said understandingly.
Zhang Shuai kissed Li Weiwei, pulled on his trousers, and ran off.
When he got back, his brother, Zhang Qiang, was actually being intimate with his sister-in-law too.
Ah, if he'd known, he wouldn't have rushed back.
Still, he could understand it. With nothing to do day after day, of course they had to find something to occupy themselves. It was only right to arrange a little entertainment to unwind.
It really was nice to have a caring woman by your side.
He started missing Li Weiwei again.
He waited quite a while before his brother finally came out of the room.
Zhang Qiang hadn't expected Zhang Shuai to return so soon this time either. Whenever he went out to see Li Weiwei before, he never came back without spending half the day out.
That was why he could enjoy himself with his wife without any restraint.
"Why are you back so soon?"
"I got the details from Weiwei, so I wanted to hurry back and discuss it with you."
"What's the situation?"
"That man's probably rich. He's a lover that woman found so she could survive. He's no pushover. I think we should keep watching for a while and not make a move yet."
Zhang Qiang thought it over. They had no shortage of food or drink right now, so there was no need to act inside their own building.
If those men in the same building who kept watching Old Tian noticed, the brothers' relationship with Old Tian would be exposed.
Then they would be in danger too. Those men had only dared to rob Old Tian's home so brazenly because they outnumbered them.
Ultimately, they wanted to teach Old Tian a lesson and make him tell them how he obtained supplies.
Old Tian had arranged to meet the brothers a couple of days ago to get more supplies too. After all, his home had been robbed, leaving him short of food and drink, so he certainly needed to find a way to get more.
The brothers weren't short of food or drink. Terrified that those men would discover their partnership with Old Tian, they had dawdled and gone downstairs late.
Now they didn't know where Old Tian had gone, so they needed to be even more cautious.
Zhang Qiang slapped the coffee table and looked at Zhang Shuai. "Then we'll keep watching. We should both go out less for the time being, too."
The two had worked out a fine plan.
Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that the person hiding at the sixteenth-floor stairwell turn, whom they had failed to notice, had already set his sights on them.