Chapter 80 Warehouse Explosion

She leaned forward, her voice extremely low, "Stop investigating your father's affairs. As long as you behave yourself, I'll pretend nothing happened."

Su Xiao stared into her eyes, then suddenly smiled:

Are you scared?

She reached out and gently touched the edge of the land deed with her fingertips.

"You're afraid I'll find out about the forgery of the ancient painting, afraid I'll find out that my father's death was related to you, Zhou Manyun, do you think a land deed can shut me up?"

Zhou Manyun's expression changed, and she abruptly withdrew her hand, clutching the land deed tightly in her grasp:

"Su Xiao, don't push your luck!"

She raised her voice, attracting the attention of the surrounding guests, but then immediately lowered it again, "Your father got into trouble back then because he refused to cooperate with us in forging ancient paintings. If you continue to investigate, you will only end up like him!"

These words were like a knife, piercing deeply into Su Xiao's heart.

Her hand gripping the phone began to tremble, her fingertips icy cold, but she forced herself to calm down:

"What exactly happened to my father?"

She looked at Zhou Manyun, her eyes filled with determination.

"Explain yourself clearly. I don't need the land deed, but you must tell me the truth."

Zhou Manyun refused to say anything more, and simply threw the land deed at her, saying, "Think it through yourself."

She stood up, straightened the hem of her cheongsam, and spoke with a threatening tone.

"Don't do anything unnecessary."

Su Xiao gripped the land deed tightly, watching Zhou Manyun's departing figure, her fingers turning white from the force.

She took out her phone and sent a message to Xu Bozhou. Just as she was about to get up, she saw someone walk into the teahouse.

It is Yan Mingshen.

His face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he had just had an argument with Zhou Manyun.

He walked up to Su Xiao, his voice hoarse: "Don't listen to my mother, she's lying to you."

He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she dodged him.

Su Xiao looked at him, her heart unmoved, only filled with disappointment:

"Yan Mingshen, you knew all along, didn't you?"

She recalled Old Tang's words at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and Zhou Manyun's threat: "You know my father's death is related to your Yan family, you know Xia Zhi faked her injury, you know everything, but you've been keeping it from me all this time. You and your mother are no different at all."

Yan Mingshen clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white: "Xiaoxiao..."

His voice trembled, his eyes filled with pain, "Believe me, everything will be alright..."

He had indeed learned about Zhou Manyun's plans from Xia Zhi long ago, but he couldn't interfere with the Zhou family's affairs.

She was, after all, his mother; he could only guarantee Su Xiao's safety.

"Believe you?" Su Xiao interrupted him, her tone as cold as ice.

"You've kept me in the dark all this time, and you still expect me to believe you? Yan Mingshen, is your head full of water?"

She stood up, clutching the land deed in her hand.

"From the moment you chose to believe Xia Zhi and help your mother hide the truth, it was over between us."

After saying that, she stopped looking at Yan Mingshen's pained expression, turned around and walked out of the teahouse.

The snow was still falling outside, and Xu Bozhou immediately came to greet her, wrapping her in his coat:

"So? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

He looked down and saw the redness in her eyes, and his heart tightened.

"Xiaoxiao?"

Su Xiao leaned against him, her nose brushing against his shirt collar, and finally couldn't hold back her tears.

“Xu Bozhou, my father’s death really is related to Zhou Manyun… but I was the last to know.”

She clutched his clothes, her voice trembling with emotion, "I have to find the warehouse as soon as possible and get what's inside."

Xu Bozhou gently patted her back, his voice steady:

"Don't worry, I've already asked Chen Huai to contact the old housekeeper, and we'll get the keys tomorrow."

He lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. "I'll go to the warehouse with you tomorrow. I won't let anything happen to you."

Su Xiao nodded, snuggled against him, and felt a little more at ease feeling his warmth.

She knew that a tough battle awaited her, but as long as Xu Bozhou was there, she had the courage to keep going.

The next morning, Chen Huai brought the warehouse key and a message from the old steward.

The warehouse is located at the foot of a mountain in Qinghe Town on the outskirts of Beijing. It is in a remote location and has been unattended for many years. In addition to the old objects left by Su's father, there are also many ancient paintings that he collected back then.

"I'll go with you." Gu Ming appeared out of nowhere, carrying a medical kit.

“Since Zhou Manyun dared to make such a tough statement, she will definitely take action. I will follow her so that I can be there to help in case something goes wrong.”

Xu Bozhou didn't refuse, nodded, and drove towards Qinghe Town with Su Xiao and Gu Ming.

The snow on the road was falling heavier and heavier, and the wheels of the car made a "crunching" sound as they rolled over the snow.

Su Xiao leaned against the car window, looking at the white expanse outside, feeling both expectant and nervous.

She had no idea what awaited her in the warehouse.

Three hours later, the car finally stopped at the foot of the mountain.

The warehouse was an old brick building with a thick layer of snow on the roof and a rusty iron door.

Xu Bozhou took the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it a few times. With a "click," the lock opened.

The moment I pushed open the door, a whiff of dust hit me.

Su Xiao covered her nose and peered inside using the light from her phone.

The room was filled with wooden crates covered with thick canvas, and there were several painting tubes in the corner, clearly for storing ancient paintings.

"I'll go turn on the light."

Xu Bozhou walked forward with his phone in his hand. Just as he touched the light switch on the wall, he heard a soft "click".

It wasn't the sound of a switch, it sounded more like... a timer.

Gu Ming's expression changed, and he immediately shouted, "Oh no! There's a bomb!" He pulled Su Xiao back, "Get out of here!"

Xu Bozhou also realized what was happening and pushed Su Xiao towards the door: "You go out first, I'll go get the painting tube!"

Seeing the worry in Su Xiao's eyes, he added, "Don't worry, I'll be out soon."

As soon as Su Xiaogang was pulled outside by Gu Ming, she heard a "beep beep" sound coming from the warehouse—the timer was beeping more and more urgently.

She struggled to go back, but Gu Ming held her tightly: "Don't be impulsive! Xu Bozhou knows the situation inside better than you do, he'll come out!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud bang came from the warehouse.

The bomb exploded.

The immense impact knocked Su Xiao to the ground. She watched as the warehouse roof collapsed, bricks and wood crashing into the snow, raising clouds of dust. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain almost suffocating her.

"Xu Bozhou!" she roared, struggling to get up, but Gu Ming held her down.