Chapter 54 Boomerang

Chapter 54

As the evening sun dipped below the horizon, Fang Qi's car reeked of strong men's cologne. The enclosed space created a suffocating, oppressive atmosphere, as if the car was deprived of air.

Wen Yining sat in the passenger seat. Even though she was wearing a bulky down jacket, she still looked thin and frail, as if she were just a tiny little thing with delicate bones, fragile and easily broken.

She lowered her head, her fingers stroking the black screen. The phone was off, but her image was clearly reflected on the clear black screen.

Since tearing off his mask, Fang Qi has stopped pretending. He came from the company, and all his diamond ears and other accessories were gone. He was wearing proper work clothes, his peach blossom eyes were slightly cold, and his eyebrows and tone were no longer as frivolous as before. It was as if someone he knew had suddenly changed souls. His face had become a little unfamiliar, but his soul was completely different.

“You only have me as a contact in your WeChat account. Don’t use this phone to contact anyone else. Take this picture and send it to me via WeChat as soon as possible. I’ll send you the address later. Don’t tell anyone after you’re done. Keep in touch with me. I’ll let you know if there’s any progress. Just go to that address right away. I’ll protect you.”

Fang Qi turned to look at Wen Yining beside him. Her long hair was tied into a bun, and a scarf covered half of her face. Her profile was pale with little color. She had a high nose bridge and a delicate, elegant profile. It was an elegant profile that was not aggressive and made people feel comfortable and beautiful.

"He might keep this kind of thing in a safe or a bookshelf somewhere, it's hard to find, but it's best to find it as soon as possible, but on the premise of not being discovered."

Wen Yining nodded, her clean, fair thumb mechanically rubbing the screen, her light pink nails neatly trimmed.

Fang Qi glanced at her fingers and felt a lump in his throat.

He said so much, and she just kept nodding in response, not saying a word, keeping her head down and not looking at him once.

"Go look elsewhere first. If you don't find it there, see if it's in the safe, or somewhere else—a hidden compartment in the bookcase, in the wall, or through a secret door. Just try to find a way to get the safe's combination."

"I know the password."

Fang Qi paused slightly. "You... have you opened it?"

Wen Yining shook her head.

She has an excellent memory. He once casually said something to her, and she remembered it. He didn't hide it from her, but she never opened it, and she almost never even entered his study.

Fang Qi was referring to a "real" list. According to Fang Qi, the matter he had been investigating was that Li Changjing and a certain bigwig had framed a colleague. After the incident, Li Changjing had kept a copy of the evidence to frame the bigwig, who was now under secret investigation.

Wen Yining gripped her phone tightly, her nails turning white, and whispered, "He must hate me to death."

Fang Qi looked at her and frowned.

She looked up at Fang Qi, her expression quiet yet somewhat pale, as if seeking confirmation from him, "Will he definitely hate me to death then? Hate me to the core, and feel disgusted whenever he sees me?"

Fang Qi frowned deeply as he looked at her, without answering.

Fang Qi couldn't listen anymore. He leaned down and excitedly grabbed Wen Yining's hand. "Ningning, you don't still like him, do you?"

The unfamiliar temperature and touch sent shivers down Wen Yining's spine. She instinctively shook off his hand and turned to look at him in confusion. Fang Qi's expression instantly returned to calm as he touched her. He slowly withdrew his hand and leaned back against her.

Wen Yining didn't think much of it. "Don't worry, I won't betray you. Like you said, if he's innocent, he's not afraid of being investigated."

Her voice trailed off. Was he innocent? Although Li Changjing never talked about work-related matters, she knew him. She wasn't a naive child anymore. In politics, who was completely innocent? And if Li Changjing were innocent, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was now.

Moreover, given his personality, he is unlikely to be completely innocent.

Fang Qi looked at her and suddenly said, "Do you know his cousin? He was also dating a minor celebrity, and they were madly in love. In the end, he was forced to break up with her and marry someone else. Li Changjing handled this personally, from forcing the breakup to forcing the celebrity to leave. He orchestrated everything."

Wen Yining seemed not to hear, remained silent for a moment, nodded, put her phone away without saying a word, opened the door and got out of the car.

She walked blankly towards the gate when she suddenly bumped into someone. With a cry of "Ouch!", the things in the person's hand fell to the ground with a "whoosh." Wen Yining snapped out of her daze, subconsciously apologized, and hurriedly squatted down to pick them up, saying, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Fang Qi immediately opened the car door and got out. He walked quickly across the green belt toward Wen Yining. After a few steps, he stopped and stood there watching her back.

"Hey, I bumped into you, why are you apologizing?" the girl said, picking up the trash while looking at it with a slightly amused expression.

Wen Yining then realized that the other person had bumped into her, and she smiled with pursed lips.

But I'm still sorry.

After picking up the items and returning them to the girl, Wen Yining composed herself and stood up. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when a familiar voice called her from behind. It was Xu Yi from the next dormitory and another girl.

"Yining, what are you thinking about? You could bump into someone while walking."

Wen Yining gently shook her head. "It's nothing."

The three walked towards the school together. Xu Yi looked at her strangely and asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? Did he bully you?"

Why don't you say I bullied him?

Another girl laughed and said, "Don't be ridiculous. You're like a clay figure. Others can curse you ten times in one breath, but you probably can't even say three."

A cool evening breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her face. Wen Yining put her hands in the pockets of her down jacket, watching the sky grow darker and the sunset fade into darkness in the distance without saying a word.

She knew she was right, from any angle she looked at it, but for some reason, she felt very painful. She always felt that this matter was wrong, but she didn't know what was wrong. She just felt that it was wrong.

Li Changjing never contacted her again after that night. Yue Feng picked her up on time on the weekend, and Wen Yining took the car back.

The lights were on when she entered, so it seemed that Li Changjing had already returned.

The room was empty. Pushing open the bedroom door, the bathroom door opened from the inside, and Li Changjing came out, smelling of fresh scent from a shower, his hair still damp.

When Li Changjing saw her, his face remained expressionless. The next second, he looked away, closed the door, and prepared to walk over there.

Whether it was guilt, compensation, or something else, Wen Yining took the initiative to forcefully ram herself into his arms for the first time since the breakup. Li Changjing was so badly knocked back that he leaned against the wall and stopped.

Wen Yining raised her hand to hug his neck, stood on tiptoe, closed her eyes, and kissed his neck.

Li Changjing didn't push her away, nor did he respond. He stood there motionless with his hands at his sides, looking down at her, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing?"

Wen Yining paused, opened her eyes, and lifted her head from his skin. She could clearly feel Li Changjing's gaze above her. She looked down at his collarbone, not daring to look into his eyes.

After a few seconds, she closed her eyes tightly and kissed him again, slipping her hand inside his clothes, her muscles instantly tensing.

Li Changjing picked up Wen Yining and placed her on the bed. Wen Yining kept her eyes tightly closed and clenched her fists tightly. When her clothes were undone, her tightly closed eyelashes trembled wildly.

Li Changjing turned off the lights, leaving only a dim, warm light. The glare in front of her instantly softened, and he leaned down to gently kiss her eyelashes, softly comforting her, "Don't be afraid."

He was very gentle and had prepared for a long time, using all his methods on her body. Her discomfort and resistance gradually softened, and her body accepted him before her heart.

Overwhelmed by his teasing, Wen Yining suddenly felt like crying. She closed her eyes, gripped the sheets tightly, her breath ragged, and whispered in a tearful voice, "Li Changjing, hug me."

His voice was particularly hoarse. He understood what she meant, took her hand and intertwined their fingers, and kissed her ear. "Sweetie, wait a little longer. It will hurt if you don't have it for too long."

Wen Yining shook her head vigorously, choking back tears as she insisted, "Hug me, hug me."

No one can resist their lover's sweet talk.

On a night of infatuation and passion, all past loves and hates were cast aside.

She was just Wen Yining, and he was just Li Changjing; they pretended there wasn't that much of a barrier between them.

She clearly hated him, but when she raised her sword to him, love quietly flowed out.

I don't know when it happened, but the curtains were drawn, blocking out the light.

When Wen Yining opened her eyes, she was being held tightly. She moved subconsciously, and her waist suddenly cramped up. She gasped softly.

Li Changjing accurately placed his hand on her waist and gently pressed down. Wen Yining's body stiffened noticeably, but she immediately let down her guard and turned her back to him without struggling.

He gently massaged her like that, and neither of them spoke. Wen Yining stared blankly at a point in the dim light with her back to Li Changjing, unaware of the scrutinizing gaze Li Changjing gave her as he looked at her back.

Having taken the initiative last night, felt guilty and remorseful, and perhaps had to spend her last moments with him, Wen Yining could no longer be cold to Li Changjing. She didn't take the initiative, but she no longer rejected his tenderness.

On the surface, their relationship gradually improved.

Wen Yining arrived home very late on Friday, but Li Changjing was still not home when she got there.

At this moment, she was alone at home, a rare occurrence.

Realizing this, Wen Yining's heart raced instantly. She turned to look at the closed door of his study, her heart pounding like a drum.

Her throat bobbed, and she stared intently at the dark bronze handle. Stiffly, she took one step at a time, as if leaping off a cliff. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening behind her. It was a normal volume, but Wen Yining was startled. Blood rushed to her brain and then "whooshed" away. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. She clutched her chest and immediately turned around in horror.

Before closing the door, Li Changjing glanced at her and smiled, "Why are you so scared?"

Wen Yining shook her head, unable to speak; her heart was pounding so hard it almost hurt.

Li Changjing's eyes showed a barely perceptible weariness, carrying a cold distance, and he didn't hug her and smile at her as gently as before.

Wen Yining felt guilty and nervous. "Has something happened?"

Li Changjing took off his glasses, lowered his eyes, and said, "I'm a bit busy."

A thought struck her: "Will it take a long time?"

"Hmm, probably a week."

Wen Yining nodded nonchalantly and walked towards the bedroom.

Li Changjing was behind her, loosening his tie with one hand, staring blankly at her back, his eyes cold and scrutinizing her, conveying a range of emotions.

Wen Yining had vaguely sensed before that Li Changjing seemed to really like her body, even a little obsessed with it, and enjoyed torturing her repeatedly, which she silently and obediently endured.

*

Wen Yining didn't plan to search the bookshelves or other places; she went straight to the safe.

The weekend is too short, so this can only be done during the day when he's not home.

On Wednesday, she took a taxi home from school. Her heart was pounding so hard that even the driver noticed something was wrong with her.

She was terrified, not just of what was to come, but of other things as well. She didn't know what she was afraid of, but she was just afraid.

She sneaked back in. The house was extremely quiet. Unsure if anyone was there, she checked every room, but no one was there.

Open the study door and locate the safe precisely.

This safe used to be over there. It was moved here along with other things after we moved in. It has several layers of passwords and is said to be bulletproof and explosion-proof, and it even has an alarm inside.

Wen Yining let out a breath. She was so nervous that every tiny sound made her heart pound. She froze and waited for a long time, wondering if someone had come in.

She tried it from memory, and the door opened; it was indeed the password.

At that moment, I didn't know whether I felt more joy or sorrow at the success.

Without thinking too much, she hurriedly opened the door to take a look. There were several floors inside, but not many things. She looked at each floor one by one. On top were several stacks of US dollars and pounds, and some other things. At the very back there were... two guns...

It exudes a hard and cold texture.

She shifted her gaze away. The first layer was clearly empty. She looked at the second layer, where there was a box at the very edge. She wasn't sure how the list was preserved. Although it was most likely a stamped paper document, it wasn't certain. She opened the box, her breath quickening as she glanced back before looking inside. To her surprise, it contained loose change, both small and large, as well as coins, totaling no more than ten yuan.

Wen Yining was taken aback. Could it be some kind of mysterious spare change? But the fact that he was saving it meant it must be important to him.

But it still has nothing to do with what she's looking for.

Without time to speculate, her palms were sweaty, and she hurriedly put down the box and continued searching.

Wen Yining closed the door. People outside couldn't hear what was happening inside, and vice versa. She had to strain her ears to listen for any sounds outside. Several times she thought someone had come in, and even considered that they might just find her out of there.

Finally, she found something in a file folder at the bottom. Her heart pounded even harder. She quickly glanced at it and looked up. Her heart sank. She actually wanted to cry. This was what she was looking for.

Taking a difficult breath, Wen Yining mechanically spread the papers on the ground, her hands trembling as she opened WeChat, took pictures of each paper, and sent them over.

After taking the picture and seeing that the message had been successfully sent, Fang Qi replied with a message to her to be careful. She was even a little distracted. She hurriedly packed up, closed the cabinet, and walked quickly outside. When she was almost at the door, Wen Yining stopped in her tracks. Her mind went blank, and she froze on the spot with a pale face.

Turning her head to look at the hidden safe behind her, she walked back step by step, almost trembling all over, re-entered the password, opened the safe, and took out the box.

She remembered what it was.

So many years have passed, she had long forgotten that little incident, and she thought that Li Changjing had thrown it in the trash long ago.

He actually left it there for so long.

The boomerang she threw years ago, which he carefully kept, has now pierced her today.

Wen Yining held the box and burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

It's so painful.

How can life be so painful?

She stopped, wiped away her tears, put the box away, slowly closed the cabinet door, and walked out again.

When she opened the door, Li Changjing was standing outside. She didn't know how long he had been standing there. He looked at her with red eyes and a cold expression, a look she had never seen before.