The figure in white turned into the dark, deep alley.
Shen Qing followed behind him the whole way.
A voice in her head was telling her—this isn't Cheng Zhiwen, Cheng Zhiwen is dead, he couldn't possibly be here, this is just someone who looks a bit like him.
But her heart drove her to rush toward that figure.
The alley was long and dark, but she wasn't afraid at all, because Cheng Zhiwen was in front of her, and that white figure was like her light. She ran towards her light.
She followed closely behind, from the dark and deep alley to the brightly lit Huangpu Avenue, and finally into a hotel.
But when she entered the well-lit restaurant, she could no longer see the white figure.
She hurriedly went up to the second floor of the hotel and continued walking down the deserted corridor.
The white figure was nowhere to be seen...
Cheng Zhiwen has disappeared...
Shen Qing was so anxious that she cried, walking forward with tears streaming down her face, forgetting that she had already gone further and further away.
Suddenly, a force pulled her in.
He was suddenly slammed in the back against the wall, followed by the loud slamming of the door.
She was plunged back into darkness, and a pair of warm, dry hands gripped her throat, neither too tightly nor too loosely.
She snapped out of her daze and asked, her voice choked with emotion, "Is it you?"
The other person did not speak, and there was a deathly silence all around.
"Cheng Zhiwen, is that you?" Shen Qing screamed in despair, "Are you Cheng Zhiwen?"
"I am not Cheng Zhiwen."
The man's voice was deep and magnetic, and upon closer listening, one could detect a distinct accent from another region, unlike Cheng Zhiwen's clear and playful accent.
Shen Qing refused to accept this fact and hugged him.
She broke down in tears, crying, "No! You are Cheng Zhiwen! You are him! You must have come back to see me, right? Waaaaah..."
A flash of light, and the room was filled with light.
Shen Qing closed her eyes briefly, finding it hard to adjust. When she opened them again, she saw that the man she was holding was indeed Cheng Zhiwen.
She looked at him with surprise and delight, cupped his face in her hands, felt the warmth of his skin, and murmured softly, "Cheng Zhiwen... you're still alive..."
The man looked at her coldly, without saying a word.
"Who are you? Why are you holding my husband?" a woman's voice shrilly asked.
Shen Qing looked up at the sound and saw a beautiful woman with long hair and an exotic look standing at the door looking at her.
The other person was wearing a red silk nightgown with lace, the neckline so low that it revealed a deep cleavage.
Shen Qing looked at the man in surprise and asked, "Who is she?"
"My wife."
...
When Shen Qing came out of the restaurant, it started to rain heavily.
She hadn't brought any rain gear and arrived at Mr. Zhuang's house soaked to the bone.
The Zhuang family had not yet turned off the lights. The servants were tidying up the house when they saw her standing at the door, soaked to the bone, and hurriedly went to invite Mrs. Zhuang down.
When Mrs. Zhuang saw her like this, she was startled and quickly invited her into the house, asking the servants to bring her a bath towel to dry off.
"Mr. Shen, didn't you just leave? Oh dear, why are you soaked like this!"
Shen Qing asked, "Was there a young man in a white suit among those who came to the birthday party tonight?"
"A white suit?" Mrs. Zhuang thought for a moment but couldn't remember, so she asked her husband.
Mr. Zhuang came down from the second floor and sat down opposite Shen Qing, asking, "Mr. Shen, is there something you need from that man in the white suit?"
“I think he looks a lot like one of my missing fellow villagers.”
Where is your hometown?
"Yongzhou".
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "That's impossible. He Danqing grew up in Southeast Asia, how could he possibly be a fellow townsman from your hometown of Yongzhou?"
Shen Qing didn't believe it.
Cheng Zhiwen and his ilk are masters at crafting their identities.
Didn't they package her as an overseas Chinese who returned from Britain back then?
Zhuang Tai exclaimed in surprise, "So it's painting!"
Shen Qing immediately asked, "Are you aware of He Danqing's deeds?"
"I know!"
When the topic turned to gossip, Zhuang Tai perked up and exclaimed, "He Danqing's father is He Chaonian!"
Who is He Chaonian?
"He Chaonian was a wealthy businessman from Southeast Asia! He was granted the title of 'Kapitan' by the Sultan of Johor!"
Seeing Shen Qing's blank expression, Zhuang Tai explained, "Kapitan means overseas Chinese leader, and it's a title of advisor!"
After saying that, she looked at her husband and asked, "Honey, am I remembering correctly?"
Mr. Zhuang nodded: "That's right."
Zhuang Tai then looked back at Shen Qing: "In general, He Danqing's father has a very high status in Southeast Asia. Even the King of Johor has to give him some face. He's almost on par with the nobles bestowed by the Qing government! That's why the King of Johor betrothed his favorite niece to He Danqing!"
Shen Qing thought of the woman in the red nightgown in his room.
The woman he called his wife.
So, is that girl a member of the Johor royal family?
Shen Qing had a slight headache.
She was completely disoriented, but she mustered her strength to ask Mrs. Zhuang one last question: "He... Danqing, how long will you stay in Shanghai?"
Mrs. Zhuang looked at her husband: "Honey, do you know?"
Mr. Zhuang shook his head.
...
Shen Qing returned home dejectedly.
He Fei had been waiting at the door for a long time. When he saw her return, he went up to her nervously and asked in a low voice, "Where did you go? Old Xu waited for you all night. He came back and saw that you weren't there, so he went out to look for you again."
Shen Qing remained silent and walked forward blankly, not even noticing Qi Zhenheng's mount parked in the garden.
He Fei followed closely behind: "The master is back. He's been waiting for you all night, but he seems a little unhappy."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing stopped and looked towards the study on the second floor.
The light is still on.
She suddenly ran upstairs, pushed open the study door, and went in, excitedly exclaiming, "Cheng Zhiwen is alive! Cheng Zhiwen is alive! I saw him tonight!"
Qi Zhenheng turned around, looked at her coldly, gritted his teeth, and asked, "So you saw someone who looks like him tonight, which is why you came home so late?"
Shen Qing ignored the bitterness in his words and repeated frantically, "Cheng Zhiwen is still alive! I saw him tonight! Since he had a way to switch me out, he must have a way to switch himself out! He must still be alive! There's no mistake!"
She laughed as she spoke, looked down at her body, and muttered to herself, "Am I that different now compared to before? I've had a child, am I completely different now?"
Enraged, Qi Zhenheng strode forward, grabbed her wrist, and roared, "Cheng Zhiwen is dead! I saw with my own eyes his head and body cut in half and thrown onto the mountain of corpses! He's dead! He couldn't possibly be alive!"
Shen Qing covered her ears: "Impossible! Impossible! You must have seen wrong!"
Qi Zhenheng roared, "People can look alike! Take Cheng Zhiwu, for example, he looks seven or eight parts like him! Don't be stupid! Cheng Zhiwen is already dead!"
Shen Qing screamed, "You lied to me! I won't go!"
The man's roars, the woman's screams and cries echoed throughout the house.
Chunju stood outside the study door, tears streaming down her face with worry.
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