Chapter 214: Love at the End of Lies Being a boss is really stressful...
Lin Xi, who is obsessed with looks, was also captivated by her beauty and couldn't help blushing.
She suddenly became very curious about Vermouth's true appearance: even wearing Sayuri Mizutani's skin she looked so charming, how beautiful must she be in real life?
The ageless witch...
"Actually, I wanted to..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, but Lin Xi didn't forget why he came here. "I was investigating something. Following the clues, I found Mizutani Sayuri here."
"Beibei, did you know that Sayuri Mizutani was involved in some illegal activities? I heard that she was a broker who introduced potential powerful people to cooperate with her."
Vermouth tilted her head and looked at Lin Xi: "'Illegal and criminal'... Boss, your tone really sounds like an official."
"I see. You're here for the Asayama Group and the Fulu Cult, right?"
"You found out about the collaboration between the Asayama Group and the Fulu Cult, and about Sayuri Mizutani's vague involvement in it, so you found me."
"But... allow me to correct you, dear boss... the broker connecting them right now isn't Sayuri Mizutani, but me." She smiled charmingly. "Rum saw the value in both parties, so he sent me here to 'help' them a little."
"You know, that fellow, Rum, is always like a demon. He's not only keenly aware of others' rising greed, but he also seizes their weaknesses. In the end, no matter what desire it is, he can easily exploit it."
"There were some family conflicts between Asayama Kei and Asayama Atsuto, the kind that happened every day under the sun, nothing new... His absence from home and his philandering had long since resented Asayama Kei. Asayama Kei wasn't one to be manipulated; she was a member of the 'Fulu Cult.' Through my introduction, the president of Taiping Bank, Tomihara Taro, also joined the 'Fulu Cult.'"
"At my suggestion, Asayama Hui began giving Asayama Onto a chronic poison. At the same time, she sent members of the 'Fulu Cult' to contact Asayama Onto. By controlling the dosage and using mental manipulation, they gradually led Asayama Onto to believe that his 'illness' could only be cured by the grace of 'God.'"
"Boss, you're probably familiar with this kind of mind control, right? Everything around Asayama Ontoshi tells him that 'God' exists. Every time he completes a task assigned by 'God,' his health improves, and Asayama Ontoshi becomes a complete believer in 'God's' existence. In reality, it's Asayama Hui who's controlling the dosage of the drug she administers: every time Asayama Ontoshi behaves, she temporarily stops giving him the drug, allowing him to feel his health improve."
"Ah...that woman is really a powerful character."
Vermouth played with the curly hair on the side of her face and sighed.
Lin Xi was not easily convinced by her words, but instead asked, "Beibei, did Mizutani Sayuri really die within this year?"
Vermouth was stunned, her fingers stopped moving, and her brows furrowed slightly: "What do you mean?"
"I just want to confirm," Lin Xi said expressionlessly. "As far as I know, Asayama Onto was drugged by Asayama Hui two years ago. If Mizutani Sayuri was still alive at that time, then how did you 'suggest' Asayama Hui to poison Asayama Onto?"
Vermouth laughed: "So you have investigated this far..."
"More than that." Before she could continue, Lin Xi interrupted her, "I also know that Mizutani Sayuri acted as a middleman between the Mine Tsuna Group and the Asayama Group, using the Mine Tsuna Group's members as 'cleaners' to help them clean up their mess. This indirectly contributed to the death of a couple last year."
"Also, the representative of the Mineta Group's 'cleaners' is the one currently lying on the floor of your room."
From the beginning, Vermouth has been guiding the pace of their conversation.
Lin Xi doesn't like the feeling of having all the initiative in someone else's hands, no matter how beautiful the other person is.
"Beibei, tell me..." She looked at Vermouth, "When did you replace 'Mizutani Sayuri'?"
At this moment, her eyes were cold, and when she took off the faint smile that was always on her lips and made people feel friendly, she actually had a sense of superiority and inhumanity.
Vermouth's eyes were dazed for a moment. "You can't hide anything, Boss. That happened a long time ago. Five years ago, after Sayuri Mizutani's husband died, her only close relative passed away. No one close to her could recognize the real her. That's when I took her place."
Lin Xi: "Why did you lie to me before? Vermouth, I need a reasonable explanation."
“I’m so sorry…” Vermouth lowered her head. “You know, I… haven’t seen you for a long time. You’ve never come to see me in such a long time, so I couldn’t help but want to cause you some trouble.”
"I won't do that again, I promise."
Lin Xi narrowed his eyes.
This reason was completely unconvincing to her.
If you want to cause trouble for her, you can use other ways. Why use lies that can be easily exposed with careful investigation?
It was so obvious, as if he was deliberately testing her.
Why test her?
Beauty, if you want to confirm anything, just ask me directly, I will tell you everything.
She didn't say yes or no, but instead asked about something else: "You were the one who went to the 'X' art exhibition that Sayuri Mizutani visited a year ago. Have you had any mental problems since then?"
This time Vermouth did not answer immediately.
She looked at Lin Xi intently for a while, then asked with a smile, "Are you concerned about me? I'm so happy."
"Don't worry, I don't have any mental problems."
"As soon as I discovered something was wrong with Zhan, I contacted a psychologist and started receiving treatment. Now I have almost forgotten those images. As long as I don't try to recall them, I won't get sick."
After hearing what Vermouth said, Lin Xi swallowed the question about the "X" art exhibition.
"Sometimes, I find it amazing that a small art exhibition, where I only glanced at it for a dozen minutes, could leave such a profound psychological impact. It's like planting a seed in my soul, letting it take root and sprout through countless memories."
"However, as long as you don't remember, the seed will always be a seed, and will never break through the soil."
"Sometimes, remembering isn't a good thing. There are some memories that we hope will never be touched, never dug up; every recollection has the potential to make us even less like ourselves."
Seeing Lin Xi's calm eyes, Vermouth chuckled softly with her hands covering her mouth: "Ah, I accidentally became sentimental. It's not easy to meet you, and there are still many things I haven't had time to say to you..."
"You can come see me anytime." Lin Xi said, "Whether we meet or not depends on you, not me."
If Vermouth had appeared in front of her earlier, she could have started her storyline earlier, instead of meeting this woman with a special status in the original work until now.
Vermouth looked a little surprised, but also a little delighted: "Really? If I'm here, won't your identity be exposed..."
"Disguise yourself," Lin Xi said. "Disguise yourself as someone I don't know to approach me. Don't try to impersonate the people around me. I can tell at a glance no matter what disguise you adopt."
The system can recognize it in one second and mark your location on the map.
"Yes, my boss." Vermouth smiled.
"Also," Lin Xi, not forgetting the purpose of his visit, pointed at the person on the ground. "Leave this man to me, and hand over Sayuri Mizutani's body to me as well. Also, have any remaining members of the organization withdraw from Taiping Bank, Asayama Group, and that 'Fulu Cult,' and transfer the funds involved. It doesn't matter if we alert the enemy, but remember to erase all traces of our existence. Send the transaction records and other evidence you have to my email."
Since the organization is involved, they must have evidence that can strangle them. Cooperating with the organization is like trying to get the skin of a tiger, and now is the time for them to be bitten by the tiger.
"As you command. However, what happened that aroused your interest and made you personally deal with the matter?"
Why? Lin Xi wasn't quite sure. In fact, she could have broken the contract, or simply watched from the sidelines, waiting for the Qianshan Group to discover his revenge plan and capture and silence him.
Maybe she does these things simply because she enjoys the satisfaction of rewriting the story to her liking.
“I like interesting things.”
She said vaguely.
Vermouth curled her lips. "You're such a contradiction. On the one hand, you always say you like a peaceful life and don't want us to disturb you, but on the other hand, you always appear in various dangerous situations and participate in various events that make your heart beat faster."
"They created the most evil kingdom in the world, yet they stand alongside those who appear to be bright and righteous. I really envy them, Boss... They know nothing, yet they can stay with you and enjoy your favor openly."
Lin Xi was a little speechless.
This was an accusation she had not expected.
Vermouth's style of painting is different from others.
Rum would only look at her with motherly eyes, work for her silently, and pay himself, which made her feel guilty involuntarily; Gin would glare at her with murderous eyes and try every means to make her work; and Vermouth was particularly close to her, even a little attached to her, like a baby bird attached to its mother, which made Lin Xi enjoy it but also a little uneasy.
"I told you that you can come anytime you want to see me."
Finally, she sighed and said that she inexplicably felt that she had taken on a heavy debt for her future self - she had just met this woman today, but she had to repay a strange debt of favor.
Being a BOSS is really stressful. She was not joking, even though if she said this to others, Gin would laugh at her harshly.
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