Ch 60 (Part 1): Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

“Brother Xie, are you really not busy?” Fang Ziyang held his phone and couldn’t help but confirm once again.

In fact, when he made the call earlier, he regretted being too impulsive and hasty. He should have waited until evening to contact him.

After all, Xie Zheng, despite facing the challenges from the second branch of the Xie family, still held apparent power in Xie Corporation. He was busy managing the vast Xie Corporation and rarely had time to rest, even during his lunch break. Would it be inappropriate to disturb him at work?

But unexpectedly, Xie Zheng answered that he wasn’t busy. It sounded like he was genuinely leisurely, which surprised Fang Ziyang.

However, when he asked again, the response was still, “Not busy. What’s the matter? Just tell me…”

Xie Zheng’s voice was gentle, so gentle that it carried a hint of joy.

Fang Ziyang realized that sometimes it was better to be ignorant. He didn’t know how to handle this strange Xie Zheng.

He wasn’t a clueless teenager, and he could clearly sense Xie Zheng’s changing feelings towards him.

But he was well aware that he and Xie Zheng were people from two different worlds. He couldn’t afford to approach someone as pure and clean as Xie Zheng…

Taking a deep breath, Fang Ziyang suppressed the complexities in his heart, put on a smile, and returned to the familiar role of the cheerful and obedient younger brother. He briefly explained the situation with Grandpa Li to Xie Zheng over the phone.

“I have tested Grandpa Li and Ming Bai’s skills in traditional Chinese medicine, and they are very proficient in restoring and repairing ancient formulas. Although we have already incorporated the research team from Dongsheng Pharmaceuticals, I’m still a bit concerned. We need true core forces…”

“…That’s the situation with Grandpa Li. My network is limited, and this person named Cheng Jun went abroad many years ago. I can’t reach Rick or my brother at the moment, so, Brother Xie, I can only trouble you now.”

Fang Ziyang felt helpless.

He had been reborn for such a short time, and no matter how capable he was, his limited network and influence were a hindrance.

On the other end of the phone, Xie Zheng felt a slight disappointment after hearing Fang Ziyang’s intention for calling. So, the young man called not because he wanted to talk to him?

But Xie Zheng quickly replaced that sentiment. He remembered that Fang Ziyang didn’t know that he was the one being silently admired. How could Fang Ziyang think of him? He was being foolish. In Fang Ziyang’s eyes, he was simply Big Brother Xie.

And the fact that Fang Ziyang thought of him first when he had something to deal with indicated that he had a strong reliance on him. The young man was so clingy…

Thinking like this, Xie Zheng’s mood improved. After all, it was just a matter of activating his international network to find a person. It was not a difficult task for him.

“No problem. Send the specific information to my personal email, and I’ll arrange for someone to investigate,” Xie Zheng readily agreed. Then he immediately changed the topic and inquired,

“When will you be back in Jiang City? The summer vacation is almost over, and you haven’t gone out to play yet. Although studies and career are important, you should also relax in life. Your brother and Rick have been busy lately, but I have more free time. If you want to go somewhere, I can accompany you…”

Clearly, the latter part of the sentence was the key point.

The department heads in the office, holding their thick files, had their jaws drop.

When had they ever seen their CEO Xie speak so gently? And he had free time? Recently, Xie Corporation had been so busy that the CEO’s words were unbelievable.

Who on the other end of the phone could make CEO Xie agree to accompany them on a trip? It was like the sky was falling!

Fang Ziyang also felt like the sky was falling and quickly responded, “Um… Brother Xie, it’s not necessary. I don’t like going out to play. I wasted too much time before, and now I want to learn more. I don’t want to embarrass my brother when we go out, so I won’t trouble you, Brother Xie.”

“I don’t know the exact return date yet. Let me check. I’ll send you Cheng Jun’s information later. Sorry for bothering you, Brother Xie. You should take a nap now and take care of yourself. Don’t worry about me, really, I’m not a child anymore.”

Anyone could hear from his words that he was trying to end the call.

However, Xie Zheng had different thoughts.

He chose to ignore Fang Ziyang’s string of excuses and focused on the words “take care of yourself.” He felt happy instantly.

Was the young man concerned about his well-being? He was so obedient and adorable!

So, Xie Zheng’s smile became even more pleasant. “It’s okay if you don’t want to go out. Then, I’ll take you to Yujing Garden for a meal. Once you know your return date, give me a call, and I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

After speaking, he felt it wasn’t appropriate and said again, “Forget it, I’ll just come directly to pick you up. It’s not safe for you to travel alone.”

Fang Ziyang wanted to cry. “Brother Xie, I’m already eighteen. I’m not a celebrity, and I actually have bodyguards…” So, there’s no safety issue, thank you!

Xie Zheng fell silent upon hearing this.

After a while, he calmly said, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Fang Ziyang:…

“Let’s talk about this later. Brother Xie, please help me find that person. We can discuss other matters later!”

Firmly hanging up the phone, he executed the disappearing technique and slipped away.

Xie Zheng, who only heard the busy tone: “I feel like my mood has worsened?”

The department heads in the office: Helpless and weak once again!

…

With Xie Zheng’s powerful assistance, finding the person mentioned by Grandpa Li became much easier.

In less than three days, Xie Zheng sent over all the detailed information about Cheng Jun after he went abroad.

However, what Fang Ziyang didn’t expect was that the investigation results were not good.

“Ziyang, this Cheng Jun you investigated is quite complicated… All his original identity and background are fake. According to the current information, if nothing unexpected happens, he should be someone from the government. His departure for abroad wasn’t due to family matters but likely because he accepted certain special tasks.”

“After Cheng Jun went abroad, he changed his identity several times, and his final identity was as a computer teacher at a certain school in Country M. However, he didn’t stay in that job for long before he disappeared.”

“Because Cheng Jun is of Chinese descent and his identity indicated he was an orphan, his disappearance at the time didn’t attract much attention. There was limited information left behind, and we were able to investigate him because a few students who went missing together with him.”

“It was because of the missing students that the local authorities in Country M left records of this missing persons case…”

Xie Zheng’s voice sounded serious.

Originally, they thought it was a simple missing person case, but they ended up uncovering shocking information. With Xie Zheng and Rick’s connections and influence in Country M, the fact that they could only find this much information indicated that Cheng Jun’s disappearance likely had a much bigger story behind it.

Especially considering Cheng Jun’s apparent connection to the government and the fact that he went abroad for special tasks, the situation became even more complex.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Fang Ziyang’s mood also grew heavy after listening.

Setting aside the true nature of Cheng Jun’s identity, if Xie Zheng and Rick’s network and resources could only gather this limited information, then how did Yan Tong find out about Cheng Jun’s whereabouts in his previous life and convince Grandpa Li?

Judging from Grandpa Li’s attitude, if it wasn’t for the news about Cheng Jun, he would definitely not have left his hometown. And during Yan Tong’s time, his biggest network was just Xie Wenxu and his two despicable father and brother.

Could it be that Yan Tong had actually met some powerful figure that he didn’t know about? Or did he overlook something in the plot of that golden book?

But that couldn’t be possible. When he read that golden book with Yan Tong as the protagonist, he paid careful attention to it. Afterwards, fearing he might forget the details, he even made a note of it. It was impossible for him to have overlooked anything.

Wait.

It wasn’t an oversight!

It might be…

A sudden realization struck Fang Ziyang, and he immediately asked, “Brother Xie, were the students who went missing with Cheng Jun particularly good at computers? Or were they generally fond of playing computer games? Were these students of Chinese descent?”

“Wait a moment…”

Xie Zheng paused upon hearing Fang Ziyang’s question, then typed and clicked on his computer. He was probably asking the investigator online.

After about ten minutes, Xie Zheng’s voice came through, “You’re right. those students were indeed of Chinese descent and particularly good at computers. How did you guess?”

During Grandpa Li’s time, even in the more developed Country M, computers were not widely used. So, it was relatively easy to investigate if they had any interaction with computers at home.

Fang Ziyang knew what was going on when he heard this.

“It’s just that Grandpa Li mentioned some information. Thanks for your help with this matter, Brother Xie. That’s all for now. I know how to talk to Grandpa Li.”

Fang Ziyang smiled and ended the call, not daring to chat too much with Xie Zheng. He was afraid of letting something slip.

After hanging up, he let out a long breath.

If his logic wasn’t wrong, he might have caused a butterfly effect for Yan Tong this time!

He remembered that in that golden book, not long after his death, Rick emerged with the excuse of avenging him by claiming to have had a one-night stand with him, and he opposed Yan Tong and the others.

During the various conflicts, a significant piece of news broke out about the harem behind that rich heir.

It was said that for the sake of their interests, that family not only shamelessly stole top-secret information from various countries but also kidnapped many relatively unknown but highly talented researchers, keeping them captive to develop technological products for them…

However, this news was later labeled as “defamation” and resolved, not causing much of a stir.

Fang Ziyang hadn’t paid attention before, but now he was sure that this news was definitely true! It’s just that there were probably too many things involved, and the countries whose secrets were stolen couldn’t directly take action, resulting in unforeseen consequences.

And the rich heir was following Yan Tong, benefiting from his protagonist halo, so he was able to easily and perfectly resolve the situation.

In the plot, although the rich heir only appeared later in the story, the book mentioned that the two had already known each other.

So Fang Ziyang boldly speculated.

In his past life, during this period of time, Yan Tong probably didn’t know through what channels he had already met that rich heir. But now, with several instances where he made Yan Tong busy and unable to take care of himself, their acquaintance might have been disrupted like this.

In other words…

There was at least a 90% chance that Cheng Jun was one of the kidnapped researchers.

With the understanding of Cheng Jun’s disappearance, the situation became easier to resolve.

However, Fang Ziyang didn’t voice his speculation but directly showed Grandpa Li and his family the investigation results provided by Xie Zheng.

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