Chapter 260 - Chapter 260: 098 hacks for Yan Lu, ‘Business Trip’ Zhang Dad returns! _2

Chapter 260: 098 hacks for Yan Lu, ‘Business Trip’ Zhang Dad returns! _2

Pu Xiaohan promised to record his puppet show.

And to upload it online for more people to see, the old man promptly stood up from his shoulder pole.

He took out his signature skill from behind and performed a puppet calligraphy for Pu Xiaohan, where the strings he lifted were soft, yet he managed to make the puppet write with the force that seemed to penetrate the wood.

This was true skill.

Pu Xiaohan had a real talent for video shooting, she chose various angles, filmed the puppet writing, the Great Sage, and eventually followed the old gentleman to his home.

The old gentleman’s house was not far from there.

As they walked and chatted along the way, Pu Xiaohan learned that the old man’s last name was Tao.

It was just one room, neatly arranged with all kinds of puppets.

“Do you live alone?” Pu Xiaohan looked around and didn’t see any signs of other people’s lives.

The old man twisted a cigarette, nodded his head, “My grandson is afraid of these, my son told me to throw them away but I couldn’t bear to, so I moved here to live alone.”

Pu Xiaohan held up her phone, gave a brief shot of the scene, “Grandpa Tao, I will come to see you again next week to film some additional scenes.”

Grandpa Tao was all smiles, “Okay.”

He went back to the side of his bed and took out a box of milk that had been stored for a long time for Pu Xiaohan.

Pu Xiaohan took the milk and left.

She opened her video account; she hadn’t updated in a few days, but thanks to the last edit, the number of followers kept growing, reaching 5.6 million.

Her edited videos were of high quality, but lacked some sci-fi technology.

She would habitually open Jian Zhongyou’s chat box—

[Today?]

One Bowl One Meal: [No.]

Pu Xiaohan looked at their increasingly concise conversation and felt that one day she would inevitably become like Bai Lian—

Evening.

Bai Lian took Jiang He on the bus to the Zhang Family.

In the Zhang Family’s backyard, Yan Lu was still holding a long spear.

This was what Bai Lian told her, even if it was just for show, she had to learn to hold and steady the spear.

“She practices until twelve o’clock every night,” Zhang Mam said as she watched Yan Lu’s figure, talking to Bai Lian, “Gets up before six in the morning to make breakfast, then stands here with the spear.”

Yan Lu was practicing with the spear while her sister, Xin, was out looking for opportunities and auditions for her.

Bai Lian observed Yan Lu’s erect posture, the way she held the spear was no longer as gentle as before, and nodded in approval.

In less than a week, Yan Lu already looked somewhat like someone who knew how to handle a spear.

Yan Lu was preparing for a performance; she didn’t need to learn to the extent of a grandmaster, but even as a stage prop, a certain level of proficiency was required.

“Take a rest,” Bai Lian handed a towel to Yan Lu.

Yan Lu’s lazy long hair was tied at the back of her head with a rubber band, and now she lived her life with earnest, “Thanks.”

Jiang He sat on the steps, holding washed grapes given to him by Zhang Ma.

He ate while looking up at the two.

“This,” Bai Lian handed a piece of paper to Yan Lu, “take a look.”

Yan Lu wiped off the sweat, put away the towel, and looked down at the paper Bai Lian had given her.

Upon receiving the paper, Yan Lu was stunned.

“This is…”

It was information about the customs and etiquette of the Great Yong Dynasty, all recorded in history books, but not much covered in commercially available books. During her breaks from spear practice, Yan Lu would read up on the subject.

After all, to act, one must understand the life of the character, especially since she was auditioning for a historical drama.

But none were as comprehensive as the material Bai Lian had given her.

Densely written with details of daily life, social etiquette…

Even character analysis and brief biographies of the Bai Family people, she had written it all so thoroughly—how much reading and research had she done to write with such detail?

Yan Lu pursed her lips, she didn’t know how to thank Bai Lian.

As she asked Bai Lian, Bai Lian was sneakily stealing grapes from Jiang He, “…”

How much research?

It was just something done in passing.

“Ah,” said Bai Lian nonchalantly, after finishing a grape, she turned back calmly, her stature tall, “I used to study literature and took an interest in this historical period, so I did some extra research…”

She went on and on.

Yan Lu was spun around until she was dizzy, and in the end, she could only focus on Bai Lian’s face, “Mhm, right.”

Bai Lian raised an eyebrow, the lazy and beautiful girl was quite enchanting, “Go and hold the gun.”

Yan Lu picked up the long gun, and as she held it again, more and more things seemed off.

Someone knocked on the back door.

While opening the Jiangjing University’s app, Bai Lian went to answer the door.

Outside stood a tall and imposing middle-aged man.

His eyebrows were thick and neat, his eyes bright and piercing.

Seeing Bai Lian, he grinned broadly, radiating friendliness, “Bai Lian, are you here to play with our Xiaoze?”

This was Zhang Dad.

Because Bai Lian, Pu Xiaohan, Weng Qi, and Zhang Shize often hung out together, Zhang Mom and Zhang Dad were very familiar with Zhang Shize’s classmates.

As he spoke, he walked inside.

“Hey, Xiaolu!” Zhang Dad exclaimed with surprise when he saw Yan Lu, “When did you get back to Xiangcheng!”

Upon seeing Zhang Dad, Yan Lu put down the gun, her voice somewhat choked up, “Uncle!”

“Xiaolu, what’s the matter, child,” both Zhang Dad and Zhang Mom couldn’t bear to see children cry, especially this one whom they had watched grow up from a small age, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

He walked over and patted Yan Lu’s shoulder.

Inside the house, Zhang Mom heard voices and came in with a dishcloth.

After Zhang Shize’s verdict had come out, Zhang Mom had been very proactive, and now that she saw Zhang Dad had returned, she couldn’t help herself, “Weren’t you supposed to come back tomorrow?”

Every time Zhang Dad went out, he would give her a return date.

He would usually come back on time, occasionally a few days late, but he would let Zhang Mom know in advance.

Zhang Mom wouldn’t disturb him while he was on business trips.

“I completed the task early,” seeing the condition of the two, Zhang Dad’s heart sank, and his expression turned serious, “What happened? Where’s Xiaoze?”

He realized something was amiss.

Seeing Zhang Dad return, Bai Lian didn’t interrupt the family’s conversation and motioned for Jiang He to come over.

They said goodbye to the Zhang family.

Jiang He got up from the ground, walked over to Bai Lian, and held on to the corner of her white dress.

Zhang Mom wanted to keep Bai Lian over for dinner, but Bai Lian tilted her head slightly, politely declining.

Zhang Dad and Zhang Mom watched Bai Lian and Jiang He’s retreating figures.

Zhang Dad took another look at Jiang He, feeling a hint of familiarity, but it was his first time meeting Jiang He, though now was not the time to discuss this.

He closed the back door and said gravely, “What on earth happened?”

“Thank goodness for attorney Chi Lu, Alian, and Mr. Jiang,” Zhang Mom dried the corners of her eyes, “Now it’s all been taken care of…”

Half an hour later.

Zhang Dad had finally heard the whole story from Zhang Mom and Yan Lu.

“Uncle, I…”

“It’s my fault,” Zhang Dad pulled out a cigarette, his face grave, “I promised your father I would look after you, but I failed to do so. That scoundrel did it for me. Xiaolu, you must forgive your uncle.”

Yan Lu’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she just shook her head without speaking.

Zhang Dad smoked his cigarette and stood up, “You two stay home. I’m going to check on that kid.”

He left quickly.

Yan Lu and Zhang Mom were too slow to react.

“Xiaolu,” Zhang Mom glanced at Yan Lu, “Don’t we need to make an appointment first?”

“Uncle must be going to have a look outside.” Yan Lu handed Zhang Mom a piece of paper, her gaze also drifting towards the door.

Xiangcheng Prison.

In the west of the city.

A concrete road leads straight to the prison entrance, desolate and uninhabited.

Zhang Dad drove the car to the gate and parked before getting out.

The towering iron gate opened from the inside, and two people came out, with the leading man hurrying towards Zhang Dad, “Mr. Zhang, we’ve arranged everything.”

“Mhm.” Zhang Dad’s face lacked his usual warm smile, stern as he entered.

The two men ushered him into a small room.

Once the door closed,

A prison guard turned to the man beside him, wiping sweat from his brow, “Boss, what’s going on? Who have we actually locked up?”