Chapter 76 Shen Li stared in astonishment…
Shen Li's wide, astonished eyes amused Jiang Zhirong, who let out a dry, hoarse laugh.
Jiang Zhirong gently stroked the human skin with his fingertips: "It looks very similar. It was worth searching so many people. You know what? This piece is the closest to Guan Qing's, both in terms of the color and smoothness of the skin."
Jiang's father, Jiang Guanqing.
This is a human skin mask that was peeled off a living person's face and then replicated and sculpted on a one-to-one scale. Shen Li can even see the tiny pores on it.
Shen Li felt a chill run down his spine. He pinched the web of his hand, trying to suppress his nausea.
The more Shen Li's emotions fluctuated, the happier Jiang Zhirong became.
Jiang Zhirong sat down leisurely next to Shen Li.
“I am fourteen years older than Guanqing. When I was taken to the Jiang family, Guanqing had just been born and could only crawl on the ground. I was annoyed with him at the time because he always wanted me to hold him and wiped his snot on my face.”
Later, he grew up and went to primary school, while I went to university in another city. We had little contact during those years until I graduated from university and started working for Jiang's company.
At that time, Grandpa Jiang was busy, and Grandma Jiang was in poor health. I was the one who went to Guanqing's school whenever there was something going on. Over time, we became familiar again, and I would accompany him wherever he wanted to do.
At this point, Jiang Zhirong suddenly laughed.
Shen Li glanced sideways.
Jiang Zhirong was telling Shen Li things he had never known before. Shen Li knew that once the story was finished, the truth that had been buried deep underground for so many years would also surface.
"Later, as the Jiang family's business grew larger and larger, people outside said that I, as the eldest brother, was an outsider. They advised Old Master Jiang to be wary of me, saying that I coveted the Jiang family and was ruining his only son. Old Master Jiang believed it, and from that year on, Guanqing and I spent much less time together. Whenever Guanqing and I walked together, his eyes held an anger that I couldn't understand. At the time, I didn't know it until three years later..."
At this point, Jiang Zhirong paused, glancing at the clock on the wall: "It's time for dinner."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door behind Shen Li opened, and the driver who had brought him here earlier walked in.
Shen Li watched silently as he laid a gauze on the small tea table, placed the food from the cart on it, inserted two fresh roses into a vase, and finally placed two flickering candles.
After doing all this, the driver quietly slipped away.
Jiang Zhirong opened the cabinet behind him, took out a photo frame, and carefully placed it on one side of the coffee table before sitting down opposite him.
"We meet again."
"Guanqing, take a look, is today's food to your liking?" Jiang Zhirong picked up a slice of meat and put it in the bowl opposite him.
"It feels a bit old? I'll ask the chef to make a new one."
"If you say it's not troublesome, then it's not troublesome. Let's try this one."
He spoke as if no one else was around, occasionally picking up food with his chopsticks, his face, illuminated by the flickering candlelight, displaying a startlingly indulgent and helpless smile.
Shen Li was shocked. He watched as Jiang Zhirong wiped the air with a handkerchief while making sarcastic remarks. At this point, there was nothing he couldn't understand.
The candlelight dinner lasted for an hour. After an hour, the candles were extinguished, and Jiang Zhirong's smile faded. He sat silently in the shadows.
The driver didn't come in for a long time, and Shen Li stared speechlessly at the almost untouched food.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Zhirong, leaning on his cane, sat down next to Shen Li: "Alright, now that we've seen off a distinguished guest, let's continue our story."
"Where were we? Oh right, three years later, Guanqing went to university. One summer vacation when he came home, he suddenly told me that he had met a girl he liked. As he spoke, my heart sank straight to the bottom."
Jiang Zhirong looked at Shen Li: "It's ridiculous, I don't even know when things started to appear that shouldn't have been. I only treated him as a younger brother at first."
"Later, Guanqing got married and married the girl he loved. They had a son named Huaichuan. For many years, I have carefully kept this secret. I thought that as long as I could see him, that would be enough."
Shen Li remained silent, for he knew that the tragedy was far from over; it was the beginning of a whole new tragedy, and Jiang Zhirong had not yet spoken of it.
And this part is the key.
Jiang Zhirong didn't continue speaking; he poured himself a glass of wine.
"He must have come looking for the flaw I deliberately created."
What?
Shen Li suddenly looked up.
What does it mean to intentionally fall behind?
Shen Li's thoughts shifted, her heart tightened instantly, and she said coldly and firmly, "Your real target is Huai Chuan."
From the moment he took him out of the film crew, Jiang Zhirong's goal was to get Jiang Huaichuan to come to him.
Jiang Zhirong nodded: "Smart, no wonder Huai Chuan likes you so much."
Was that meal just a way to stall for time?
"No, I can't let Guanqing go back hungry."
Jiang Zhirong kept mentioning Guan Qing.
Shen Li didn't understand. He looked directly at Jiang Zhirong and asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time in a cold voice: "Since you like Uncle Jiang so much, why did you tamper with the plane?"
Jiang Zhirong's smile froze instantly. He hadn't expected Shen Li to ask this question at this moment. He said quietly, "The story isn't over yet, and you're in a hurry."
A story? Can what follows still be called a story?
Shen Li immediately retorted, "No, you're wrong. If the plane hadn't crashed, Uncle Jiang and the others wouldn't have died, and the so-called dinner wouldn't have been your fabrication!"
"You brought this upon yourself. It's your own fault that you can't see Uncle Jiang, it's your own fault that Huai Chuan doesn't like you, and it's your own fault that you've ended up in this state, forced to live in this dark and gloomy little room!"
"Shut up!"
Jiang Zhirong was furious. His face contorted, he suddenly raised his cane and swung it fiercely at Shen Li.
"I didn't want him dead! I didn't know he would be on the plane with me!"
"It's all Grandpa Jiang's fault! He's the one who wanted to transfer me abroad, he's the one who warned me to never appear by Guanqing's side again, it's all his fault!"
Grandpa Jiang?
Shen Li's fingertips suddenly paused. He had just said those words to provoke Jiang Zhirong. He originally thought that Jiang Zhirong had acted out of unrequited love and was deliberately seeking revenge, but he didn't expect that wasn't the case.
Shen Li hesitated before speaking, "Does Grandpa Jiang know about this?"
“I know, how could I not know?” Jiang Zhirong said with a self-deprecating smile. “He has a very sharp eye. I originally thought that he didn’t want me to be with Guanqing because he listened to what others said and thought that I would harm Guanqing. But thinking about it later, I realized that he had already noticed something was wrong before I even realized it myself, which is why he stopped Guanqing from talking to me.”
Since Mr. Jiang knew all along and things had been peaceful for so many years, why did he suddenly want to transfer people abroad?
It seemed that the doubt in Shen Li's eyes was too obvious.
Jiang Zhirong gave the answer: "Hehe, because he saw it, he saw me kiss Guanqing."
Shen Li's pupils suddenly dilated.
Jiang Zhirong gave a bitter smile: "I know what you're thinking. Guanqing isn't the kind of person you think he is. They have a very good relationship."
“That day, Guanqing and I attended a banquet. Guanqing got drunk, and I took him home. My sister-in-law wasn’t there at the time. Perhaps I had also been drinking that night. It was a restrained kiss that was quick to leave. I never expected that Grandpa Jiang would see it.”
"He called me to the study." Jiang Zhirong shook the cane in his hand. "It was a solid wood cane like this, which struck me hard on the back. It hurt, but I was more afraid because I knew it was over."
"Less than a month later, he issued a notice transferring me abroad and told me that I could not appear by Guanqing's side, otherwise he would ruthlessly expose this matter to Guanqing."
Shen Li asked incredulously, "So you killed Grandpa Jiang?"
“That’s right. I can’t stay away from Guan Qing forever. How could I accept such an arrangement? So only by killing him can this secret be kept hidden forever.”
“I did the same, but I didn’t expect that Guanqing, who was supposed to go to see his son separately, would also get on the plane.”
Jiang Zhirong gripped his crutch tightly. The moment he realized that Jiang Guanqing had also boarded the plane, he felt dizzy.
Sure enough, less than an hour later, news of the plane crash came that there were no survivors.
Upon hearing the news, Jiang Zhirong collapsed in his office and was rushed to the hospital by his assistant. After waking up, he developed mental problems. In his delirium, he always felt that Jiang Guanqing was still by his side. He knew it was fake, but he was happy to accept it.
After listening to Jiang Zhirong's explanation, Shen Li felt that something was not quite right. He frowned slightly, feeling that Jiang Zhirong was still setting up a scheme, and this scheme was the key to his success over the years.
Just as I was pondering this, the door was pushed open from the outside.
The driver held a gun in his hand, and had taken off the hat he always wore, revealing his thin, sparse head. He said earnestly, "Boss, the person is here."
Yes! Jiang Huaichuan!
Shen Li suddenly looked up.
His target was Jiang Huaichuan, but Jiang Huaichuan was almost never mentioned in the previous narrative.
As Shen Li looked on in surprise, Jiang Zhirong stood up, his voice tinged with a hint of pleasure and anticipation.
"He was alone?"
"Yes, he was the only one who got off the car. I checked and there was no one in the car."
"Great, it's good that you're here."
As soon as Jiang Zhirong finished speaking, the driver swiftly grabbed Shen Li's Adam's apple and pinched it in his palm, pressing the gun against his back.
Jiang Zhirong picked up the box containing the human skin mask: "Let's go."
Whispers drifted in the air.
"Guanqing... I'm about to see you."
Stepping out of the dimly lit room and slowly climbing the winding stairs, Shen Li finally saw the light of day. It turned out to be the house that Jiang Zhirong had already seized.
Jiang Huaichuan stood alone at the door, the cool moonlight behind him.
Just as Shen Li was about to speak, the force in her throat suddenly increased.
Jiang Zhirong glanced at him unhappily: "Behave yourself, or I'll kill you if you dare disturb Guanqing's return."
Shen Li finally realized what Jiang Zhirong was up to.
He wanted to transform Jiang Huaichuan into Jiang Zhirong, as evidenced by the wheelchair placed in the small room, the lifelike human skin mask, and the clothes that flashed by in the closet, completely different from Jiang Huaichuan's style.
Jiang Zhirong sat down on the sofa, patted it twice, and said to Jiang Huaichuan, "Come in and sit down. Didn't you love coming over when you were little?"
Jiang Huaichuan ignored him.
Jiang Zhirong's gaze darkened, and he beckoned like an elder, but his words carried a threat: "Come here, Shen Li's life is still in my hands."
Seeing Jiang Huaichuan walking towards him, Jiang Zhirong's face was a mixture of satisfaction, anger, and jealousy. He raised the syringe in his hand, indicating, "Inject it yourself."
"What's this?"
"Anesthesia will make your suffering less later."
"Oh?" Jiang Huaichuan was intrigued. He played with the vial of medicine between his fingers and glanced at the contents of the small box on the table in front of him. "Although my father and I look alike, we are different heights. Are you trying to break my legs?"
"Good, if you cooperate obediently, I will release Shen Li, otherwise..."
Jiang Huaichuan asked curiously, "Otherwise what?"
"Otherwise I will..."
Jiang Zhirong's voice suddenly stopped. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his old, loose skin trembling violently, and he let out a hoarse gasp.
The driver was startled. He subconsciously turned his right hand, which was holding the gun, away to look at Jiang Huaichuan, but then suddenly realized what was happening.
"Bang!"
The bullet whistled through the air, blood splattered near Shen Li's ear, the restraint in his throat disappeared, and Shen Li quickly turned around and kicked hard from behind.
Jiang Huaichuan pulled out the syringe and uttered cold words: "Jiang Zhirong, you've really gotten old, daring to hand this over to me."
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