Chapter 161: External Hard Drive

The argument between Li Shu'an and Lin Rui ended inconclusively, interrupted by a phone call from the Li family.

The scathing reprimand from the other end of the line left her consumed with shame and fury. Under the ultimate ultimatum issued by her family, she finally stormed out of the old district.

After Li Shu'an left, Lin Rui fell into a frenzy of destruction at home, sweeping everything within his line of sight onto the floor.

His roaring voice seeped through the cracks of the door, echoing throughout the entire old stairwell.

He refused to accept this!! How could a game of chess played so well end up in such a state today?

Following the outburst came a prolonged sense of powerlessness. He collapsed onto the sofa, pale and completely lifeless.

After an unknown passage of time, as the sky gradually grew dim, his cell phone rang.

He answered the call to the sound of Zhou Kuan’s voice.

"Done venting?" Zhou Kuan’s voice was cold and low, resembling a venomous python hissing from the depths of a gutter—clammy, cold, and sickening.

A profound silence was the only response he received.

Lin Rui remained silent, the sound of his rhythmic breathing vibrating through the room.

"If you want to make life difficult for Zhou Lichuan, I have one last chance left. It all depends on whether you have the nerve to see it through."

"Name your terms."

Lin Rui’s grim voice reverberated in the room.

He had not turned on the lights. The streetlights outside cast their glow inward, projecting his shadow across his face, while his rimless glasses reflected a gloomy luminescence.

Zhou Kuan let out a chuckle and said, "This time, there are no conditions. Do whatever you want with him, however you please. Just make sure you don't let him off easily."

Lin Rui straightened his posture and asked with a hint of suspicion, "Oh? Aren't you planning to call it quits and accumulate some good karma for your daughter?"

Zhou Kuan spoke in an ethereal, haunting tone, "I've learned of some things—things that have been hidden for a very long time. My son, Zhou Lihui, died as a substitute for Zhou Lichuan. The person who should have died that day was him!"

Lin Rui knitted his brows tightly, meticulously recalling the chain of events leading up to Zhou Lihui’s car accident. At that time, he still enjoyed Zhou Lichuan's deep trust, and virtually all matters concerning the Zhou family passed through his hands, including Zhou Lihui's funeral back then.

The investigation results released by the police indicated that Zhou Lihui had been driving under the influence and speeding on the winding mountain road, resulting in the fatal crash. How was it that Zhou Kuan was now claiming it had a connection to Zhou Lichuan?

What on earth did he find out?

"What do you want me to do?"

Zhou Kuan stated, "Haven't you always been stringing Jiang Zao along under the guise of a stockbroker? She really acts as if she's already the young mistress holding down the fort at the Zhou family. I'd love to see whether this young mistress can turn the tide the day the mansion collapses. Let's meet tomorrow, and I'll tell you what needs to be done."

……

Tingshan Manor, third-floor study.

Jiang Zao sat in the primary seat of the study. After finishing her conversation with her stockbroker, she tossed her tablet aside. She picked up a courier box resting nearby and opened it; a portable hard drive lay quietly inside.

Li Baixiu carried a one-liter large water mug filled to the brim with coffee, and respectfully took a seat at a conference table not far away.

He had finished his thesis defense that morning, and his very first priority had been to come share the good news with Jiang Zao, though drowsiness had overtaken him not long after sitting down. He had wandered into the kitchen himself to brew an oversized mug of extra-strong latte to sip on.

"If you drink a mug of coffee that large, how are you going to sleep tonight?" Jiang Zao cast a sideways glance at him, speaking in a slightly testy tone.

Clutching the straw he had scavenged from the kitchen between his teeth, Li Baixiu replied, "The defense is over. Tonight, I'm going clubbing with my classmates. Young people don't need sleep."

Jiang Zao rested her chin on her hand and looked at him. "It must be nice to be young; I want to go, too. I've never been. Are night clubs fun?"

Li Baixiu thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing particularly fun about them. You just go there to drink and watch a bunch of demons dancing wildly—no real meaning to it."

"Judging by your tone, you must be a regular."

A trace of imperceptible danger laced Jiang Zao's leisurely tone.

Li Baixiu cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sis... I'm already this old..."

Jiang Zao hummed softly and didn't take the bait. She took out the external hard drive and plugged it into the computer's port.

Thinking Jiang Zao was angry, Li Baixiu hugged his coffee mug and scurried behind her, looking to plead for mercy.

Zhou Lichuan had repeatedly admonished him that Jiang Zao's temper had been unstable recently, and absolutely no one was allowed to provoke her.

"Whoa, what a beauty."

There were two folders on the drive: one containing photographs and the other containing several documents.

Jiang Zao clicked on the image files, and a familiar face appeared on the screen.

It was her mother's face.

"Hey, why does this beauty look somewhat like you? Especially the eyes and chin, and the shape of the face is very similar too." Li Baixiu's voice was filled with curiosity.

"This is my mother."

"Is it... from when Auntie was young?"

Jiang Zao nodded. "Yes. The original films were digitized through scanning and then restored."

As she spoke, the images were flipped through one by one, all featuring the same subject.

Sometimes seated by the riverside reading a book with her head bowed, other times standing at a bus stop waiting for a vehicle. Every single photo was captured at a precise moment, with composition and color perfected to textbook standards. It was evident that while the photographer possessed a certain standard of aesthetic requirements, their personal capability fell short of matching it; an excessive pursuit of "correctness" had resulted in numerous self-imposed constraints within rigid rules. The clumsy sensation caused by the abuse of technique permeated the entire frame.

They showed great effort, yet a total lack of talent.

This was the fundamental verdict passed on the photographer by a painter with high aesthetic standards.

However... all of them shared the exact same problem—an extremely severe one.

"Why is Auntie never looking at the camera?" Li Baixiu spotted the issue before Jiang Zao could even voice it. "Look at this one. Although she's facing the direction of the camera, her eyes clearly aren't looking at the lens, but slightly to the right of it. Was it the style back in those days not to look at the camera?"

"Of course not. These were candid shots."

"Candid shots?" Li Baixiu asked in disbelief. "Who? That's so creepy."

"Zhou Kuan."

Li Baixiu froze for a moment. He knew nothing of the past history between Zhou Kuan and Jiang Zao's mother, and felt a sense of alienation toward the sudden connection between the two people.

He picked up the empty courier box nearby and checked the mailing information on it.

"Australia? Was this sent by Zhou Jiayan's mother?"

Jiang Zao nodded. "It was delivered to the manor this morning. Zhou Lichuan looked at it and left it here for me to check when I had time."

Only then did Li Baixiu breathe a sigh of relief. "What did brother-in-law say after looking at it?"

Jiang Zao said, "My mother was Zhou Kuan's first love, but it seems they didn't stay together for very long. I originally thought those past events would be buried by time, but I never expected there would come a day when the truth would finally come to light."

Jiang Zao's voice trembled slightly. Unable to bear pressing her further, Li Baixiu gently patted her shoulder and stood quietly behind her in companionship.

The hundred-plus photographs were quickly reviewed. She closed the image folder and opened the document folder.

Inside were PDF files compiled from scanned notebooks.

Having just completed the arduous journey of his thesis, Li Baixiu felt a profound sense of familiarity with this document format, yet as he looked at the text displayed upon the screen, he found himself entirely unable to smile.