Chapter 162: The Meeting

The DF document was divided into two parts, which were the respective diaries of Zhou Kuan and Wu Yuru.

In Zhou Kuan's diary, it was an unrequited love for his goddess, a long-lasting, obsessive entanglement born of love at first sight. It was the intertwining of their souls after a bitter pursuit, only to be ruthlessly torn apart by a pretense called "family responsibility." Left holding a child, he could only spend the rest of a long life reminiscing about past romance.

In the other diary, however, the entire story was inverted.

It told of a sudden, high-profile courtship by a wealthy young heir, the inexplicable shadow lingering behind her every day, the terror of being secretly photographed, the fright of being stalked, and the bizarre gifts that arrived through various channels on holidays and birthdays. It continued until her parents discovered the truth, and the wealthy heir used his career and future to threaten them into trading their daughter for the safety of the entire family. She was forced to stay by his side while everything about her was controlled; even saying an extra word to a stranger meant being locked up in chains. Realizing she was pregnant, she begged the elders of the Zhou family on her knees, promising to give birth to the child if only they would help her escape.

[He did not physically harm me in any real sense, but those dark, brooding eyes—just the thought of them makes my skin crawl.]

[My parents raised and nurtured me, and my uncles and aunts have always been gentle with me. How could I stand by and watch them lose everything because of me, leaving them with no means of survival?]

[I am pregnant, and I do not want this child.]

[He had a fever. Among the people who came to see him was a little boy who had just learned to walk. He chased a bouncy ball all the way into my room. I slipped a hospital test report into his pocket. This was my only chance.]

[The parents of the Zhou family were reasonable; they possessed a kindness and warmth beyond my expectations.]

[How wonderful. I am saved.]

[My child, I am sorry. Mother cannot accompany you as you grow up. Mother did not abandon you; no matter what, you will always be Mother's good child. Mother will always pray for you, wishing you peace, happiness, and a smooth journey through life.]

The diary ended with a mother's confession and prayers.

Yet the demon responsible for all of this had lived safely to this day.

Exiting the document and unplugging the hard drive, Jiang Zao sat in silence for a long time.

"Did your brother-in-law say anything before he left? What if you got too emotionally distressed seeing a file like this? How could he be so daring?"

Jiang Zao put the hard drive back into the courier box and said, "Don't make a mess of things. As husband and wife, we naturally have to discuss things together. After what happened in Changzhou, he wouldn't dare keep things from me now. The more important the matter, the less likely he is to hide it."

Li Baixiu closed his mouth.

He had only wanted to change the subject, hoping his sister wouldn't dwell too long in sadness.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Since she wouldn't let him interrupt, running errands was always an option.

Jiang Zao shook her head. "Zhou Lihui... oh, that is my mother's first child, Zhou Kuan's son. He passed away in a car accident on the mountain highway. When Zhou Lichuan left this morning, he said the cause of his death wasn't that simple. But there was no time left, so he didn't elaborate and rushed off to the company for a meeting. Still, I suspect... it might have something to do with Lin Rui."

Li Baixiu took a large gulp of coffee and said in surprise, "Why did the topic shift so abruptly? What does Lin Rui have to do with all of this?"

Jiang Zao's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, making light, soft sounds. "Because... it was too precise. Lin Rui first pretended the stock market was fluctuating to cause losses in my portfolio, and right after that, I received the hard drive. It's almost as if..."

"Zhou Jiayan's mother did it on purpose?"

Jiang Zao thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Rather than it being intentional, I'm more inclined to believe it was orchestrated by Zhou Kuan."

Li Baixiu found that even harder to understand. "Zhou Kuan? What does he stand to gain? What he did to your aunt back then was already illegal enough. What good would it do him to dredge all of this back up?"

Jiang Zao let out a long sigh. "Perhaps he's gone mad. I can't figure it out."

How could a normal person possibly guess what goes on inside the minds of these madmen? Jiang Zao was already exceptionally sharp to have guessed, based on Lin Rui's pretense, that he might stir up waves alongside this matter.

It was easy to be a thief for a thousand days, but impossible to be on guard against one for a thousand days.

This time, she was determined to drive Lin Rui to his death.

...

Two days later, Shen Mushiqiao and Meng Qiaoyuan finally cleared their schedules and arrived at Tingshan Manor as promised.

Li Baixiu was also running back and forth while waiting for the results of his thesis defense, securing two resources for his "little girlfriend" and sending her off to Rinzhou to fulfill promotional schedules. Aside from that, he was busy arranging the establishment of a company with Zhou Jiayan.

Everyone gathered together, but unexpectedly, Zhou Lichuan was the last one to return.

Looking at the group seated around the study's conference table, he felt the distinct sense of helplessness one experiences when coming home from work at the company only to start working at home.

Before he even had time to change his clothes, Jiang Zao pushed him down into a chair.

"We've been waiting just for you. Sit down."

Everyone laid out their known information. Zhou Lichuan oversaw the chips and contingency scopes while Jiang Zao laid out the strategy, forming a targeted counter-kill operation specifically aimed at Lin Rui.

The discussion lasted late into the night. Li Baixiu was once again holding his one-liter water bottle, though the beverage inside had been switched from coffee to Longjing tea.

The domestic staff had already prepared accommodations for everyone. As soon as the work discussion concluded, Li Baixiu eagerly ran outside to smoke a cigarette.

Shen Mushiqi followed closely behind, bummed a cigarette from him, and squatted down beside him, staring blankly at the water feature in the courtyard.

"Why didn't you mention what we were investigating earlier?" Shen Mushiqi asked Li Baixiu, gazing at the flowing water.

Li Baixiu replied, "Laiting Mansion is no small matter. Once it's brought to light, the police and government agencies will have to shed a layer of skin first. Even if we find traces of Lin Rui, we can't pinpoint his exact position within it. For safety's sake, the plan my sister arranged is fine; we don't need to complicate it with this."

Shen Mushiqi cast a strange glance at Li Baixiu, a strange smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You wouldn't happen to have ulterior motives toward Jiang Zao, would you? That 'girlfriend' you keep has a temperament and demeanor strikingly similar to Jiang Zao's. Are you playing substitute literature?"

Li Baixiu's eyes widened. "Are you out of your mind? I'm not you. I have someone I like; Liang Qingxuan is just a shield. Stop comparing her to my sister."

Shen Mushiqi was rebuffed and wanted to swat him on the back of the head, but remembering he couldn't beat him, he helplessly lowered his arm.

"Yeah, who asked me to be so clueless and let my eyes wander everywhere? Getting rejected by the woman I'm chasing is naturally just retribution."

With his unique style and specific tone, most people would offer comforting words like, "No, you're great too." But Li Baixiu refused to play along.

"Indeed."

Those two words struck like twin mountains, crashing down one by one upon the honorable self-esteem of Doctor Shen.

He discovered that ever since returning to the country, his "green tea" instincts had been repeatedly blunted, failing to stir up any ripples in front of anyone.

Perhaps the feng shui here was simply bad.