Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“What milkman?” Liang Ke snapped in embarrassed rage. “Does Xiao Xiaoxiao know? I’m her friend!”

The security guard froze for a moment. “Girlfriend?”

“Just a very platonic friend!” Zhao Pu clarified at the top of his lungs.

The guard had a sudden “Detective Conan” moment; he stroked his chin solemnly, turned to Zhao Pu, and asked: “And you? Who are you to Miss Xiao?”

Zhao Pu thought for a second and realized he didn’t actually know Xiao Xiaoxiao. He turned to Liang Ke and asked, “Yeah, who am I to her?”

Liang Ke smirked. She pulled Zhao Pu back a step and slapped his broad back with the air of a big boss. “Ever heard of the X Research Institute? He’s an expert there.”

“An expert? In what department?”

“An expert in emotional psychology,” Liang Ke lied through her teeth with absolute conviction. “I specifically invited Professor Zhao on behalf of Boss Xiao to treat psychological trauma, unlock deadlocked emotional knots, and help him face his new life. A high-level expert.”

The guard was a bit dazed by her rhetoric.

Liang Ke continued to polish the details of the scam: “Boss Xiao—you know him—he’s an entrepreneur who has fought blood-soaked battles in the business world. But he’s also an aging single father. Beneath that tough exterior, there’s always an indescribable delicacy and softness. Therefore, he is extremely susceptible to emotional trauma, right?”

“Oh, ohh…” The guard frowned and bit his nail. “Then how can we help him?”

“That’s a matter for the expert.” Liang Ke pushed Zhao Pu toward the guard and said profoundly: “With Expert Zhao here, we can scientifically, systematically, and comprehensively help Boss Xiao in a 3D, no-blind-spot, deep-dive way.”

The guard looked at Zhao Pu with a newfound sense of reverence. Zhao Pu, mimicking Liang Ke, smiled and extended his hand to the guard.

The guard tossed his registration book aside and shook his hand awkwardly. “Then I leave Boss Xiao in Expert Zhao’s hands.”

“Not at all, not at all. We are all here to serve Boss Xiao.”

The guard’s face flushed slightly. Striking while the iron was hot, Liang Ke asked, “So, which way is Building 7? Are there maps or signs along the road?”

She had observed the neighborhood through the wrought-iron gates. The entire complex was lush with vegetation and vast—an excellent location for filming horror movies or conducting wilderness survival training.

“Building 7 is quite a distance, but don’t worry, you two.” The guard puffed out his chest, channeling the spirit of a Good Samaritan. “I’ll have a colleague take you over in a shuttle cart.” With that, he called for backup on his walkie-talkie.

Liang Ke nodded with dignified thanks, pulled Zhao Pu onto the small sightseeing cart, and sped away. They found a pickup truck parked in front of Building 7; two movers were unloading cargo while a tall, thin young man supervised.

“Move the large items in first. Put them in the northwest corner of the living room. Handle with care!”

“Understood, Boss. Don’t you worry,” the movers replied with a smile.

The young man smiled too, skillfully stepping forward to hand them water and lead the way.

Zhao Pu’s brain went a bit numb. He asked Liang Ke in a low voice, “How can such a young and promising talent possess such a feudal and decadent soul? Is this a lapse of morality, or a distortion of humanity?”

Liang Ke was confused. “You know him?”

“No,” Zhao Pu said. “But I was drawn to his watch. As the city’s most successful entrepreneur, it’s rare to see him so simple and low-key. It’s just a shame he’s not a good father.”

Liang Ke wanted to say that the watch looked like a Rolex Submariner from a distance—hardly “simple and low-key.” Wait, what father?

“Hand over your daughter!” Zhao Pu said steadily, meeting the young man’s gaze.

The young man was stunned. He stopped in his tracks and looked at them warily.

Liang Ke made a “stop talking right now” gesture to Zhao Pu, stepped forward to explain their real purpose, and presented ten pounds of cherries.

“Oh, the Boss is waiting for you in the backyard. Miss Xiao is there too.” The young man turned to Zhao Pu with an unfriendly look: “And this is?”

Zhao Pu regained his senses. He realized that while the Rolex might be real, this guy was just an assistant taking orders at the door. So, with Liang Ke’s support and encouragement, he boldly re-enacted the previous “expert” drama.

Liang Ke threw her honest and reliable reputation to the wind as well. The two of them, like partners in crime, sat in Boss Xiao’s magnificent living room to plot their strategy.

As it turned out, decision-making skills aren’t built overnight. Liang Ke racked her brains to deal with Boss Xiao, but her thoughts were disorganized and she grew increasingly irritable, changing her mind eight times a minute. Zhao Pu sat huddled in a corner of the sofa, watching her uneasily, as if staring at a time bomb.

“What drinks would you two like?” The young man had settled the movers’ fees and returned just in time.

Zhao Pu politely asked for plain water. Liang Ke, standing in the northwest corner of the grand living room, shouted over: “Apple-orange mixed juice, light ice, thanks!”

The youth followed her instructions, bringing the juice to Liang Ke and thoughtfully providing a straw.

Liang Ke took it absentmindedly, her eyes drifting to a small plate of hawthorn balls on the youth’s tray. They were a lush, vibrant red—a delight to look at.

“Wait,” Liang Ke said to the youth. “There’s something wrong with this juice.”

Zhao Pu was drinking his water; upon hearing this, he spat it all out, coughing uncontrollably, causing both the youth and Liang Ke to stare at him.

After coughing for a while, he looked up and asked Liang Ke resentfully, “What’s wrong with the juice? Is it poisoned?”

“Apple-orange mixed juice paired with XX brand hawthorn pills—this is my secret recipe.” Liang Ke stared deeply at the young man. “How did you know?”

The youth replied crossly, “The young lady ordered it herself. She heard you were coming and had the kitchen prepare it this morning.” He set down the tray and left.

Zhao Pu sensed something was off. He walked over to a mountain of miscellaneous items and asked with a frown, “What are all these?”

Liang Ke waved her hand. “What else could they be? Mostly plushies Xiaoxiao and I won together, toy sets we collected together, things we did together…”

“Enough.” Zhao Pu interrupted her sternly, interrogating her: “Comrade Liang, what exactly did you do to Boss Xiao’s daughter?”

Liang Ke didn’t understand. “We did a lot! We’ve been close friends for over ten years since high school. One time she failed an exam, and I even stepped up to sign Boss Xiao’s name on her paper!”

As she reminisced with pride, she was interrupted by the thick smell of cigar smoke.

“I knew it!”

Liang and Zhao both spun around in shock. The middle-aged, portly Boss Xiao was standing behind them like a steel tower. His face was turning slightly green, then blue, then gray, then a deep shade of purple.

This time, Zhao Pu was truly terrified. He didn’t dare mention anything about “handing over your daughter” anymore. Instead, he kept glancing at the door, calculating an emergency escape route.

“Liang Ke, oh Liang Ke! My perfectly good daughter was led astray by you!” Boss Xiao took a heavy drag of his cigar, his slicked-back hair gleaming sharply under the lights.

“I agree.” Zhao Pu switched sides instantly, standing beside Boss Xiao to cheer him on.

Liang Ke sent a palm flying to push Zhao Pu away (Zhao Pu “died” by the door), then she gestured toward the sofa, persuading Boss Xiao to sit down and talk.

“What right does a little thief who stole my daughter’s heart have to talk to me?” Boss Xiao snapped, refusing to give her an inch.

Liang Ke walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window, pointing at the vast courtyard. “Boss Xiao, your home is truly impressive.”

“Hmm?”

“It exudes nobility and loneliness everywhere. It must have cost a fortune.”

“What’s your point?”

Liang Ke smiled and said, “As the city’s most successful entrepreneur, you are indeed powerful. You have courage, strategy, wisdom, and poise.”

Boss Xiao smiled with a bit of pride, but immediately darkened his expression: “Little kid, don’t try flattery. Even if you praise me to the heavens, I still won’t agree to you being my son-in-law.”