coobybook Chapter 115 Where Did My Brother Go?
Chapter 115 Where Did My Brother Go?
As everyone knows, Guan Juer is very tight-lipped; she only told Fan Shengmei and Andy about Zhang Liangjun's identity! Yes, she's very tight-lipped.
Fan Shengmei wore a smug expression, as if to say, "See, I was right!" She then asked Guan Juer how she knew, and Guan Juer hesitantly described their blind date.
Andy's expression at that moment was equally priceless! "That hand ran away, and I just asked it to come back briefly, and now it's denying it?"
That evening, Andy hesitated for a long time, dialing the number and then hanging up. The last time he hung up slowly, Zhang Liangjun's phone lit up briefly and then quickly went out, but Zhang Liangjun had already noticed it.
Zhang Liangjun called back, "Andy, you were looking for me?"
"Zhang Liangjun! You... shut down... never mind, let's talk in person!" Andy realized for the first time that he could hesitate when doing things! He could stammer when speaking!
Zhang Liangjun thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon and come to my house for dinner! You've never been to my house before, so come and familiarize yourself with the way!"
Andy readily agreed, "Okay!"
The following afternoon.
Zhang Liangjun picked up Andy at the entrance of Andy's company.
As soon as they got in the car, Zhang Liangjun grasped Andy's hand. "Andy, you look a little tired today!"
Andy looked at his hand, which had become lost again. Oh, this time it was his other hand!
But none of that matters!
After driving for more than twenty minutes, and with Danfeng Road just around the corner, Andy, looking at Zhang Liangjun who was focused on driving, finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Zhang Liangjun, Xiao Guan told me that you went on a blind date with Xiao Guan?"
"Xiao Guan told you? Hehe, that's right, I went on a blind date with her." Zhang Liangjun admitted frankly.
Andy pressed further, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Andy's phone rang. The caller ID showed Tan Zongming.
Andy glanced at Zhang Liangjun again, then answered the phone, "Hey, Lao Tan!"
Tan Zongming's voice came through the phone, quite magnetic, "Andy, come to my house! Old Yan is back."
"I understand, I'll be right there!" Andy hung up the phone and turned to Zhang Liangjun, saying, "Liangjun, take me to Old Tan's house first. I have something urgent to attend to."
Zhang Liangjun didn't hesitate, "Okay, tell me the address."
Tan Zongming's courtyard truly deserves to be called a mansion—it's both large and luxurious! He truly lives up to his reputation as a recognized financial tycoon!
Andy and Zhang Liangjun arrived at the parking lot, where Andy saw a black Harley parked nearby. Andy had a good memory and clearly remembered a photo hanging on the wall of Tan Zongming's house, in which Lao Yan was riding that same motorcycle.
As soon as the two got out of the car, Tan Zongming came to greet them. "Andy, Liangjun! Where did you start from? You're much later than I expected."
Zhang Liangjun shook hands with Tan Zongming. "I invited Andy to my house for dinner. I was going to be home in five or six minutes when I got your call!"
Tan Zongming put his arm around Zhang Liangjun's shoulder and walked towards the rattan sofa by the pool. "Come on, Lao Yan is already waiting for us."
When Lao Yan saw the guests arrive, he stood up to greet them. After Tan Zongming gave a brief introduction to both sides, everyone sat down on the sofa.
Tan Zongming frowned and spoke first, "Old Yan just told me in detail about what he's been investigating over the past month, and the situation is more complicated than we imagined! I was quite surprised too. Why don't you tell me?"
Old Yan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Miss Andy, it's like this, things in China are different from those abroad. In China, adoptive parents don't want others to know they've adopted a child; it's like announcing to the world that they are infertile. They also don't want the child to have any connection with their original family. Usually, after completing the adoption procedures, they move away quickly, making them very difficult to find. Plus, this happened over twenty years ago, and it took me a lot of effort and searching through many people to finally find the adoptive parents' information. But before they left Yishan County, they sent your brother back to Daishan!"
This didn't match what Zhang Liangjun knew! Zhang Liangjun was also thoughtful. Could it be that the person who sent Xiaoming to the nursing home wasn't the first adopter? After all, twenty years ago, some household registration systems weren't very perfect, and some people might have two completely unrelated household registrations at the same time, so it was possible for them to be abandoned again.
Andy was also puzzled, "Why was it sent back to Daishan?"
Old Yan was even more reluctant to speak. He rubbed his hands together and hesitated before saying, "Some people at the orphanage said that shortly after your brother was adopted, he showed signs of intellectual disability and slow reaction time. So they suspect that your brother might be... mentally challenged! So the adoptive parents might be doing this because of that..."
"My brother is mentally disabled? How is that possible?" Andy couldn't believe it, and didn't want to believe it.
“In China, adopting a boy is already quite difficult. Unless there are some problems, they probably wouldn’t give up so easily!” Old Yan reiterated his previous statement.
Seeing that Andy looked nervous, Tan Zongming got up, picked up a bottle of water, and handed it to Andy.
Zhang Liangjun also held Andy's hand tightly. This was a hurdle that Andy needed to overcome on her own! All Zhang Liangjun could offer was a warm hug.
Andy took the water, but didn't drink it. Instead, she held Zhang Liangjun's hand. At that moment, Zhang Liangjun was more reassuring to Andy than a bottle of water.
"Where is my brother now?"
Old Yan glanced at Tan Zongming and said, "So I'm going to go to Daishan again. You know, the orphanage is gone, so I can only try to find some of the staff who worked there back then to investigate. But the search will definitely be very difficult."
Andy seemed to have calmed down. "So, my brother is still missing? We don't even know if he's dead or alive!" At this moment, Andy finally opened the bottle of mineral water and began to drink it in large gulps.
"Old Yan, could you please help me again? Could you go to the nearby mental hospital and see if there's anyone born in 90..."
Tan Zongming interrupted Andy's speculation, "Andy, don't go to extremes!"
“Old Tan, I have to be realistic. The adoptive parents wouldn’t abandon my brother for no reason. If he really has those symptoms, and assuming he’s still alive, statistically speaking, it’s very likely that he has a mental problem!” Andy said somewhat impatiently.
Old Yan quickly reassured him, "I'll look into it; that's one possible approach!"
Andy stood up. "I'm going to the restroom first!"
After Andy had walked away, Zhang Liangjun looked at Tan Zongming. "Really, you didn't find anything?"
"No!" Tan Zongming was puzzled as to why Zhang Liangjun asked this. "What do you know?"
Zhang Liangjun told the truth, "Andy's younger brother is named Xiaoming, and he's currently in the nursing home my mother manages!" Initially, Zhang Liangjun hesitated about telling Andy about Xiaoming. He had the ability to hide Xiaoming, but after seeing the panicked look in Andy's eyes at the science museum, Zhang Liangjun realized that Andy and Xiaoming really did look alike. Perhaps forcibly separating them wasn't a good choice. Although it protected Xiaoming, it was too cruel to Andy.
"Are you sure?" Tan Zongming asked, somewhat incredulous.
"I've already secretly done DNA testing on them, and it's basically confirmed!"
Tan Zongming was even more puzzled, "Then why didn't you tell Andy?"