Chapter 97 Then pin that family down and make them suffer for the rest of their lives...
Who doesn't want their work to be adapted into a film? Moreover, copyrights are worth a lot of money. If Guan Xia is willing, she can continue to live her current leisurely but fulfilling life for a long time.
So even though they were still thinking about what happened to Meng Lan, their attention was finally diverted, and the two chatted for a while about this man named Wu Yang.
It was obvious that Meng Lan admired Mr. Wu very much. Not only did she admire his rags-to-riches success, but she also admired the fact that he didn't forget where he came from after achieving success. Not only did he donate a large sum of money to the orphanage, but he also personally attended the training center after its completion. Even when facing an ordinary person like her, he could act very approachable. This man seemed to have magical powers. When facing him, she would always let down her guard unconsciously and say a lot without realizing it.
He really has the kind of open-mindedness that comes from having seen through all sorts of things in the world but still holding on to hope for life. Every word he says seems to touch your heart. In any case, when Meng Lan talked about Wu Yang, her eyes were simply shining.
"Let me tell you about Guan Xia," Meng Lan couldn't stop talking about Wu Yang. "Mr. Wu, don't underestimate your success now. In fact, he suffered more than the rest of us when he was young. He was born in 1969 and ended up in an orphanage because, when he was a teenager, he and his family went to a banquet. Someone set a fire in retaliation. Coincidentally, there was a strong wind that day, which fanned the flames. Half the village was engulfed in flames. Not only his parents, but almost all his family members perished in the fire. Including him, there were six or seven children in total who were sent to the orphanage. Because he was the oldest, he was never adopted, so he grew up in the orphanage."
"The orphanage back then was very different from what it is now," Meng Lan said. "The welfare facilities were not complete, and the rules and regulations were nonexistent. He told me that there were times when he wanted to just die. He thought for a long time that if he hadn't run around and played with his friends, if he had died with his parents and family, maybe it would have been a good thing."
Guan Xia listened carefully, "What happened next? And the arsonist, were they caught?"
Meng Lan said, "He was caught, and executed by firing squad that year. After all, so many people were burned to death. But even though he was executed, it can't erase the hatred in the hearts of those who survived. He really ruined many people's lives."
Guan Xia felt regretful when she heard this. Yes, on the wedding day, half of the village was set on fire. Although Meng Lan did not say the specific number of victims, just a random guess and the number in her mind was enough to make her shudder.
"Mr. Wu said that the reason he persisted was because he wanted revenge." Meng Lan suddenly said this, which scared Guan Xia.
"Revenge?" Guan Xia suddenly looked up at Meng Lan.
Meng Lan was amused by Guan Xia's reaction and said, "Don't get me wrong. The revenge Mr. Wu is talking about isn't about killing people. He's thinking that if a son doesn't teach well, it's the father's fault. He must make a name for himself and then pin that family down so they won't be able to turn over a new leaf for the rest of their lives."
Maybe it’s because he has been involved in so many cases. Although Meng Lan explained it this way, Guan Xia always felt that something was strange.
Before she could think about it, Meng Lan continued, "That's what supported him. So no matter how hard or difficult it was later, he persevered."
Guan Xia felt something was wrong and subconsciously frowned, "Are you familiar with this Mr. Wu? Did he tell you so much?"
While she didn't know any domineering CEOs, according to her superficial and stereotypical impression, shouldn't such people be overwhelmed with affairs of state, and be extremely frugal with words when facing those who couldn't bring them benefits? Why did Meng Lan sound like she was having a heart-to-heart conversation with her on their first meeting? Even though they came from the same orphanage, her enthusiasm was a bit unusual, wasn't it?
Meng Lan explained, "On the day the training center was completed, the director's mother hosted a dinner for those who came to cut the ribbon. Perhaps because they drank some wine, Mr. Wu was a bit talkative. He said these words to me when I toasted him. Actually, I mustered up the courage to ask that question that day because I was so confused."
Meng Lan showed a relieved expression as she spoke. "I'm really grateful to Mr. Wu. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to use your personal experience to comfort an ordinary person like me."
Meng Lan's explanation was very logical, but Guan Xia's brows were still furrowed. She subconsciously thought of her tone and state when she talked to Meng Lan on the phone at the orphanage that day. She didn't sound relieved at all. And according to the timeline, her conversation with Mr. Wu was before her conversation with Guan Xia. If Mr. Wu's words really had a great impact on her, then she wouldn't have seemed so hysterical that day.
Guan Xia observed Meng Lan's expression and didn't realize that she was lying. Such an occasion was not suitable for long-term thinking. Guan Xia could only put aside the doubts in her heart for the time being, briefly agreed with Meng Lan, and changed the subject as naturally as possible.
Guan Xia said, "Boss Wu is truly outstanding. I'll have a good chat with him when I get a chance. By the way, I spoke with Mother Chen when I returned to the orphanage. She mentioned that you had an accident after finding your biological parents, and that you were hospitalized for a while. Are you fully recovered now? Are there any sequelae?"
Meng Lan's smile quickly faded as Guan Xia spoke. After a moment's silence, she spoke in a low voice, "I'm fine. Even if I have some sequelae, they're not serious. At most, my memory is a little worse and I tend to lose focus. But my parents and my brother..."
Meng Lan lowered her head, looking very sad. Guan Xia couldn't see her expression, so she had no way of judging whether her sadness was genuine. She could only reach out and gently pat her back, then continued, "How could the accident happen? Was it because the gas pipeline in our house hadn't been repaired for a long time, or was there some other reason? Did you ask someone to check it out later?"
Meng Lan buried half of her face in Guan Xia's shoulder, as if seeking comfort. She was silent for a while before saying, "I later hired a professional maintenance worker. There was no problem with the pipeline or anything. I also asked the natural gas company to check the time and situation of the last maintenance. It was indeed an accident. In fact, it was also my stupidity. I invited my parents, brother, and sister to come to my rented house for dinner that day. Because I am not a good cook, I specially hired a housekeeper. She prepared a large table of dishes in advance and made a pot of nourishing soup. Before leaving, she reminded me repeatedly and asked me to watch the time and turn off the fire. But I was so happy to have dinner with my parents and brother that I completely forgot about it. We also drank a little wine, and we were all drunk. When I felt something was wrong, it was too late. I tried to find my phone but couldn't find it, so I crawled to the door with all my strength, but my parents and my brother still..."
Meng Lan's voice choked with sobs as she finished, and she waited a few seconds before finishing the last two sentences. "I'm so glad my sister didn't come that day because she had something else to do, otherwise I would have become an orphan again."
Even though Guan Xia had doubts about this accident, she couldn't question Meng Lan directly. She could only accompany her quietly, gently patting her back to comfort her.
The meal lasted for more than two hours before the two paid the bill and left. Just like before, they walked hand in hand slowly on the pedestrian path next to the artificial lake of Guan Xia's alma mater.
But the weather was too hot, and the two of them only walked for about ten minutes before they couldn't bear it anymore and ran to find a chair under the shade of a tree to sit down.
Looking at each other's red and makeup-less faces, they couldn't help laughing. They laughed for a long time before sitting down again, taking out a small mirror to touch up their makeup while continuing to chat.
"Oh, right, you said before that Mr. Wu would suppress the arsonist's family and make them unable to turn over a new leaf for the rest of their lives." Guan Xia suddenly remembered something and asked Meng Lan, "How is that family doing now?"
Meng Lan was applying lipstick in front of the mirror, thinking for a moment, and said, "Boss Wu only mentioned it a couple of times. I remember him saying that the family had a lot of problems, either domestic violence or gambling. He didn't do anything, but the family was living a miserable life."
The two chatted intermittently throughout the afternoon until the sun set and Meng Lan went to security to board the plane. The two hugged each other tightly and said goodbye at the airport.
As soon as she got home, Guan Xia called Ji An first. When he didn't answer, she thought for a while, put her keys in her pocket and knocked on the door.
Xu Nian was indeed at home. When he opened the door, he was holding a Rubik's Cube in his hand. He looked at Guan Xia with some surprise and asked, "What's wrong?"
Guan Xia waited a few seconds nervously, and when she saw no movement from the system, she replied, "I can't contact Sister Ji. There's something that seems a little strange, and I'd like you to help me check it out."
Xu Nian let Guan Xia in, poured her a glass of warm water, and sat her down on the sofa. "What do you want to find me about? Have you spotted anyone suspicious?"
Guan Xia hesitated for a few seconds, but didn't nod. She just said, "It's hard to say right now, but I just intuitively feel that something is wrong."
Even though Guan Xia's words were vague, Xu Nian's expression became serious. He sat up straight and looked at Guan Xia with an expression as if he was listening attentively.
Guan Xia organized his words in his mind and explained the whole process of Meng Lan's incident as concisely as possible.
She emphasized the abnormalities in Meng Lan's words and actions.
Xu Nian pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "From your description, there are indeed some contradictions between her words and actions. Your suspicions are not unreasonable. Let me investigate the accident first, and then we can analyze it in detail."
Xu Nian has always been a man of action, and within just two days, the investigation had produced results.
When Guan Xia received the call, she was playing in Pang Le's gym, so the two of them went to Xu Nian's house to meet.
As soon as he entered the door, Xu Nian handed Guan Xia a stack of information.
Guan Xia flipped through it roughly. It was the investigation report of the police and the gas company on Meng Lan's accident. Of course, it was not the original, but a copy.
The last page of the investigation report clearly stated that after repeated and rigorous investigations, the incident was indeed an accident and not caused by human error.
Pang Le seemed to be lost in thought, but Guan Xia's expression remained unchanged. After all, if things were really that easy to investigate, Meng Lan wouldn't have been unaffected until now.
After a brief read, Guan Xia flipped through it again and began to focus on the police's statement about the housekeeper Meng Lan hired that day. The statement in the statement was exactly the same as what Meng Lan told Guan Xia.
Guan Xia looked at the identity information of the housekeeper investigated by the police again, and there was nothing unusual. In fact, if it weren't for Guan Xia's previous intuition, the whole thing would have appeared completely logical, without any loopholes. But Guan Xia's intuition was always right, so she had to get to the bottom of it.
After looking for a long time without making any sense, Guan Xia raised her head and was about to speak when Xu Nian, as if knowing what she was going to ask, spoke first, "I asked Director Ren to transfer the surveillance video of this accident. Do you want to see it?"
Pang Le raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Didn't the accident happen at Meng Lan's house? Is there any surveillance video?"
Xu Nian nodded. "Meng Lan has lived alone. In 2021, there was a burglary-turned-robbery in the neighborhood where she rented. The perpetrators had planned the robbery while the owner was out, but the owner ended his business trip early and came back at night and ran into them. Since then, many people in that neighborhood have installed surveillance cameras in their homes, except for bedrooms and bathrooms."
This reason was quite reasonable. Guan Xia nodded and followed Xu Nian, who had already stood up, to the study.
Before sitting down on the chair Xu Nian had moved over, Guan Xia couldn't help but ask, "Is it appropriate for me to watch the surveillance video you borrowed directly at your home?"
Xu Nian smiled and said, "It was just an accident, and the case has been closed. As long as it's not circulated in public or on the Internet, and it's only watched privately for the purpose of investigating the case, it doesn't violate discipline. Moreover, I've already reported it to Director Ren, so it's fine."
Guan Xia finally let it go, and the three of them squeezed in front of Xu Nian's computer desk and watched the surveillance video carefully.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
