At 3:53 a.m., the mountain roads in the villa area were shrouded in thick fog.
A convoy of cars drove in silently and stopped in front of the main villa building.
The moment Jingmin got out of the car, a cold wind carrying the scent of the sea rushed towards his face.
He stood in the night, as if he could smell the lingering fragrance in the air, both familiar and strange.
Like the scent of Chu Wuyang brushing past me.
"The lights are off, but the main power is still on."
Li Yan reported in a low voice
"The surveillance cameras were completely dismantled, and the remaining data in the system was also completely erased... They left in a hurry, but not in a panic."
Jingmin didn't say anything, and took a long stride up the steps.
The door was not locked from the inside.
He pushed open the door, and the creaking sound exploded in the empty villa.
The furniture in the hall was spotless, so clean that it didn't look like anyone had been there.
However, that doesn't mean no one ever lived there.
He walked into the living room step by step, then suddenly stopped in front of the sofa.
A light-colored wool blanket was pressed against the armrest of the sofa, its edges twisted and wrinkled, as if someone had been curled up there.
A strand of black hair lay pressed against the blanket—fine, long, and gleaming faintly with a brownish light under the lamp.
Jing Min's eyelashes fluttered, and he gently lifted a strand of hair with his fingertips, pausing for a long time before withdrawing his hand.
"Only one bedroom has been used, and the bedside table still retains some warmth."
Li Yan came downstairs, his voice low and slow.
"The traces were left intentionally..."
He paused, his voice even softer.
"...It's like you saw it on purpose."
Jingmin went up to the second floor and pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
The air inside the room was stuffy, and the curtains were drawn tightly shut.
There was no dust on the floor, and the water glass still contained about a third of the water.
The bed had been turned over, and an empty scented candle jar sat on the bedside table.
It appears that someone has lived there for an extended period of time.
He lowered his eyes.
Beside the pillow was a woman's hair clip—long and thin in gold, with a small pearl embedded at the end.
He personally selected it for her at an old shop in Kyoto, saying it suited her stubborn yet elegant temperament.
His gaze froze.
He stood there for a long time.
Suddenly, a slight panting breath swept over my chest.
His right ear nerve throbbed suddenly, his expression changed, he pressed his temple, and his body swayed.
"President Jing?"
Li Yan reacted quickly and caught him.
Are you alright?
"fine."
Jingmin spoke in a low voice, as if he were forcing himself to stay calm.
He could faintly hear the sound of wind swirling in his ears, but it wasn't wind; it was tinnitus.
His symptoms had become noticeable, appearing whenever his emotions fluctuated too much.
Initially, there was tinnitus and slight visual disturbances, followed by a brief loss of control.
He tried to catch his breath, but his hands were ice cold.
Seeing this, Li Yan gritted his teeth and handed over an envelope.
"This was found on the bedside table in the master bedroom."
"I don't have the authority to open it without permission, please see—"
Jingmin accepted it.
The envelope wasn't sealed tightly; it was so thick it looked like it had been prepared for him long ago.
He pulled out the first card, his finger pausing.
It's a photograph.
Chu Wuyang sat by the window, head down, drying her hair. Her back was wet. Zhou Heng's figure was blurry in the room, facing directly at her.
The image was just the right amount of blur, making it impossible to see the expressions. The lighting was deliberately chosen—ambiguous and distant, yet too close.
Jing Min's face suddenly darkened.
Li Yan glanced at it, his expression changed, and he quickly said...
"This is not right. It looks like... it was filmed deliberately. The light is reversed, and you can't even make out the faces."
The second one.
A composition using a mirror image.
Chu Wuyang and Zhou Heng appeared to be sitting side by side on the sofa, looking at documents.
In reality, one was on the sofa and the other in front of the coffee table, but the angle reflected in the mirror made them look like a couple sitting side by side.
Jingmin remained silent.
He lowered his head and continued flipping through the pages—
One photo after another fell between his fingers.
She leaned against the dressing table, while Zhou Heng stood behind her, blowing his hair.
She lowered her head, her face pale, looking extremely unwilling.
However, the still frame gives people the illusion of "intimate interaction".
Next is the most fatal one.
Early in the morning, Chu Wuyang sat on the edge of the bed putting on her shoes, while Zhou Heng handed her clothes.
The angle is set outside the door, and the half-closed door and the drawn bed curtains create the illusion of "sleeping in the same bed".
At that moment, Jingmin's hand suddenly trembled.
The photos are all genuine!
There are no traces of splicing.
But each one seems like a carefully crafted "misunderstanding" tailor-made for him.
"I...I think this might also be a setup by Old Master Jin's faction, to provoke you in conjunction with Zhou Heng..."
Li Yan advised in a low voice, his tone hesitant.
But Jingmin didn't move.
He stood in the complete silence, his fingers slowly tightening.
A vein bulged on the back of his hand, and his expression was like a crack etched into stone.
The more suppressed it is, the more thrilling it becomes.
The air seemed to freeze.
Li Yan looked at his eyes, which turned cold in an instant.
All the words I wanted to say were stuck in my throat.
He knew that those photos didn't reflect suspicion on Jing Min.
It was death by a thousand cuts.
Jing Min spoke coldly.
Where are they?
"...Those who were supposed to leave have all left."
"Chase!"
"yes."
———
A dim yellow light was on in the room.
Chu Wuyang lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did.
His mind was still racing with escape plans.
Although Ruan Xi is stupid, she is useful; her "stupidity" should be used in just the right way.
Even with her eyes closed, she was analyzing the layout of the villa and the location of the surveillance cameras.
There's also Ruan Xi's bottom line—to get a woman to betray the man she loves, persuasion alone isn't enough.
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