Chapter 106: Li Baixiu Brings Back the Truth

After Li Baixiu got off the plane, he headed straight to the address given by Jiang Zao.

Lin Rui’s family had been shattered by a gas explosion years ago, leaving everyone dead. Lin Rui was only seven or eight at the time and barely remembered the event.

Though he couldn’t recall, the people who had lived under that same sky for most of their lives had not forgotten.

“That family wasn’t anything special. If anything, their child was exceptionally smart—always scoring a hundred. The neighbors always said that kid was bound for great things. Nobody expected something like that to happen.”

When Li Baixiu’s sharp, wolf-like gaze softened, his innocent-looking face allowed him to dominate conversations effortlessly. The elderly women sitting at the entrance of the old neighborhood had no resistance to such a youthful, tender-skinned boy and readily shared what they knew.

“I heard the child was adopted by a wealthy family later on. Did he ever come back?” one woman asked, tapping Li Baixiu’s arm, speaking in hushed tones.

“Adopted? No, his uncle’s family didn’t want to keep a burden, so they sent him away. The government found some institution to take him in and provided subsidies. Now that you mention it... I think I heard someone say the child came back twice in recent years, supposedly to visit colleagues of his parents from back then.”

“Did the family have any old friends or colleagues? Were they close?” another woman hissed, thinking carefully.

“Yes. When the couple worked at the factory, there was another couple they were quite close with. The four of them worked at the same place and were good friends. Both families had boys who played together from childhood.”

Li Baixiu blinked his big, watery eyes and asked, “Is that family still around? What’s their address? A friend asked me to find those people from back then. Now that Lin Rui has succeeded, he wants to repay those who once helped him.”

The women perked up at this. “Their surname’s Liu—they live in the neighborhood across the street. But their son isn’t as promising as Lin’s boy. He’s working in Jingzhou too, but when Lin’s kid came back, he was all dressed up in a suit, looking very proper.”

Hearing this, Li Baixiu suddenly took out a photo and showed it to the women. “Aunties, could you see if this is Liu’s child?”

They passed the photo among themselves and within minutes confirmed Li Baixiu’s suspicion.

The young man named Liu Wenguang was the one involved in the disturbance that day, and the middle-aged couple were his aunt and uncle.

With everything connected, Li Baixiu took Lin Rui’s photo and identity information and scoured local hotels, restaurants, and parking lots for any sign of him.

Within a day, he had pieced everything together.

...

“So Lin Rui found that Liu Wenguang and proposed causing a scene at the hospital to extort a large sum of money from the Meng family. That’s why Liu Wenguang went to his aunt’s family,” Li Baixiu explained.

He nodded. “Yes. At first, they just planned to create a big fuss at the hospital to get compensation. Lin Rui warned them that the hospital might hire security to throw them out. The security guards were trained and could easily injure them, but if they got hurt by the guards, the hospital wouldn’t pay. So Lin Rui told them to bring some self-defense tools.”

Zhou Jiayan felt a chill; she had grown up with someone like that.

Jiang Zao nodded silently. “No wonder the family confessed without hesitation at the police station. They might still not realize that Lin Rui was the one instigating them behind the scenes, not that they were acting out of their own anger seeking revenge.”

Li Baixiu said with concern, “Lin Rui is ruthless. He exploited their greed while concealing his identity. The family used as pawns are still lost in a dream, unaware they’ve fallen into a trap.”

Jiang Zao suddenly asked, “What about Liu Wenguang? Does he have other criminal behaviors? Or is there something unsavory about his family?”

Li Baixiu nodded. “Liu Wenguang gambled away almost everything. After stealing some money from home, he came to Jingzhou. Before long, he lost all his money and had to borrow from his cousin after drinking. That’s how everything unfolded.”

As if struck by a sudden realization, Jiang Zao began trembling.

“Call Shen Mushi. Get him here immediately. Right now!”

Seeing Jiang Zao so agitated, Zhou Jiayan was startled and hurriedly dialed Shen Mushi’s number.

Half an hour later, Shen Mushi, dust-covered and weary, sat before Jiang Zao.

“What’s going on?”

Jiang Zao had already pieced together much of the truth during that half hour; now she just needed to verify.

“Shen Mushi, I need you to use your connections with the Shen family to investigate something.”

Shen Mushi’s face grew serious. “Go ahead.”

“The gas explosion at Lin Rui’s home years ago—was it an accident or deliberate? And Liu Wenguang’s gambling addiction—how did it start? What led him down that path?”

Shen Mushi pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll make some calls. I think I know where you’re going with this.”

Jiang Zao frowned. If her suspicions were true, Lin Rui was truly terrifying.

Years of lying low, striking dead on impact.

Returning home in glory to avenge old grievances.

...

That evening, Zhou Lichuan returned to find Jiang Zao looking worn out, his eyes full of concern.

He sat beside the bed and gently massaged her calves.

As the baby bump grew day by day, Jiang Zao’s legs and feet began to swell.

Her shoes had noticeably tightened over the past couple of days, causing Zhou Jiayan to panic and bring home numerous pairs of soft, loose shoes after researching.

“Be gentle, it hurts,” Jiang Zao whimpered, still as delicate as ever. Too light or too hard, she complained with a nasal whine that was both endearing and exasperating.

Zhou Lichuan gritted his teeth, irritated but caring. “I heard about what happened this afternoon. I think your idea makes sense.”

Jiang Zao paused her drawing on the tablet and looked at him. “Lin Rui has followed you for nearly twenty years. Has he ever mentioned his family?”

Zhou Lichuan shook his head. “No, he never talks about it. Whenever the topic comes up, he avoids it or says he doesn’t remember. If there’s anything I could guess… before his college entrance exams, his uncle’s family came looking for him. He was gone for three days, came back pale, but nothing else happened.”

Jiang Zao sat up suddenly, recalling a detail from the files Li Baixiu had brought back.

“Lin Rui’s uncle died of kidney failure, just the year Lin Rui went abroad to study.”

Zhou Lichuan immediately understood. “You mean they wanted Lin Rui’s kidney, but since he was overseas, there was no donor, and he was left to die slowly.”

Jiang Zao nodded. “Very likely.”