After dinner, Qiao Wanwan went for a walk in the garden. Just as she sat down on the swing, Zhan Jingting came over.
"I went to burn incense today, and somehow I burned my soul away, huh?"
Qiao Wanwan looked up at him, "Did Mom tell you?"
“Mom didn’t look for me. You were distracted while eating, and you looked like you had something on your mind.” Zhan Jingting squatted down in front of her. “Wanwan, what happened? You rarely look so preoccupied.”
"Today..." Qiao Wanwan hesitated, "I think I saw someone."
Zhan Jingting smiled and said, "I thought it was something serious. Who made you so nervous?"
"The key is that this is unlikely..."
Who exactly is it?
Qiao Wanwan looked at him, "Lin Mo."
“How could that be?” Zhan Jingting said without hesitation, “Lin Mo is already dead.”
“I know, that’s why I said it was unlikely, but I really saw it.” Qiao Wanwan said with certainty, “Jingting, you don’t know, it wasn’t just a fleeting glimpse. I saw Lin Mo standing in the crowd with a smile on his face, staring at me, so I don’t think I was seeing things.”
“Wanwan, Lin Mo is dead and cannot be brought back to life.” Zhan Jingting held her cold hand. “If you are really so sure that you did not see wrong, how about this, the temple you often go to has surveillance cameras. I will check the surveillance footage and find out.”
"Alright, it'll put my mind at ease if I check," Qiao Wanwan said. "Hopefully, I'm mistaken."
"Let's not think about these things anymore." Zhan Jingting pulled her up. "I'll walk with you for a bit more."
"Um."
......
Around 10 p.m., Zhan Jingting came out of the bathroom after taking a shower and didn't see Qiao Wanwan.
He guessed that Qiao Wanwan had gone to coax the third son to sleep, so he didn't go to find her. Instead, he went to the study and turned on the computer.
Hacking into the temple's surveillance system was an easy task for him; he could find today's footage in just a few minutes.
But soon, Zhan Jingting frowned.
The video of Qiao Wanwan after she arrived at the temple has mysteriously disappeared!
Zhan Jingting immediately took out his phone and made a call, "What time did you arrive at the temple today, and what time did you leave?"
"Wait a moment, Master Zhan, I'll pull up the work log."
The bodyguard quickly reported the time, and after checking, Zhan Jingting confirmed that the video from that time period had been deleted.
Zhan Jingting tried to retrieve the video, but it had been completely destroyed and he couldn't find it.
However, this also proves that someone deliberately destroyed it.
"Knock knock knock".
There was a knock on the door.
Zhan Jingting closed his laptop and said, "Come in."
It was Qiao Wanwan who came in. She poked her head in and smiled, "I knew you were in the study. Did you come to check the video? How was it?"
"You've misunderstood," Zhan Jingting said, standing up. "I've said it before, Lin Mo is dead and can't possibly appear. Wanwan, have you been too tired lately?"
"I must have seen it wrong..." Qiao Wanwan still couldn't believe it, but the video didn't lie. "Maybe I was just too tired and hallucinating."
"I'll have the kitchen prepare a calming soup for you so you can get a good night's sleep."
"No need, I don't think I'll have insomnia."
"That's good."
......
The next morning, Zhan Jingting summoned Jiang Dong and ordered him to "investigate Lin Mo."
"Lin Mo?" Jiang Dong asked curiously, "Master Zhan, wasn't Lin Mo already dead?"
“Yesterday, Wanwan said she saw him at the temple. To put her mind at ease, I checked the surveillance footage to confirm that she was mistaken, but I found that the footage had been destroyed.” Zhan Jingting’s expression darkened slightly. “There must be something wrong here, so I have reason to suspect that Wanwan was not mistaken.”
“But Lin Mo is definitely dead, isn’t he? Could someone be impersonating him to scare Madam?” Jiang Dong guessed. “It’s very likely that the mastermind knows about the relationship between Lin Mo and Madam, so they hired someone to impersonate him.”
Zhan Jingting tapped his fingertips lightly on the desk. "Go and investigate Lin Mo first. Investigate his ancestors for three generations and his collateral branches. In particular, find out if he has any twin brothers."
"Yes, I'll go check right away."
"Don't tell Wanwan about this, I'm afraid she'll worry."
"yes."
In the afternoon, Cheng Zaozao invited Qiao Wanwan to have afternoon tea in the garden.
"Sis, this is an egg yolk pastry I made. Try it. I didn't put in much sugar, and with this black tea, it shouldn't be too sweet."
"Okay." Qiao Wanwan took a bite. "It tastes good. You can be both elegant in the living room and skilled in the kitchen."
"What? I followed the recipe exactly. I was afraid of messing it up, so I even hired a pastry chef to guide me."
"It's really delicious, you should have some too."
"Hmm." Cheng Zaozao took a couple of bites and asked, "Sis, you seem distracted these past few days. Did something happen?"
"No."
Cheng Zaozao put down the egg yolk pastry and looked at her with concern. "Sister, I know my abilities are limited and I can't help you much. It would be good enough if I didn't cause any trouble. But if I can, I really hope I can help you, even if it's just to listen to you talk about your feelings and help you relieve your emotions. I would be happy to do that."
"Silly sister, I'm really fine." Qiao Wanwan smiled. "It's just that I dreamt about Lin Mo last night."
Cheng Zaozao was taken aback, but quickly composed herself and asked, "Why did you suddenly dream about him?"
"I don't know either, dreams are uncontrollable."
Cheng Zaozao took a sip of black tea and said, "I sometimes think of him. All those years, I was so grateful for her care. But he made so many mistakes, and ended up on a path of no return..."
“I also felt sorry for him at one point, but he chose his own path and didn’t give himself a way out.” Qiao Wanwan sighed. “Now when I recall the moments I spent with him, they have become blurry. Sometimes even his face is not so clear anymore. But for some reason, my dream last night was exceptionally clear.”
"So, there's really nothing to strive for in life. Once you die, you lose everything. Perhaps in the end, everyone will forget him." Cheng Zaozao smiled faintly. "What he risked his life for ultimately belonged to someone else. I wonder if, given another chance, he would still choose the same old path..."
Qiao Wanwan smiled and said, "Zaozao, you rarely say things like that."
“Let’s stick to the facts.” Cheng Zaozao sipped her hot tea. “I’ve been in poor health since I was a child, so I’m very reluctant to talk about the word ‘death.’ But now that I think about it, death isn’t really that scary. What’s scary is dying with regrets, like Lin Mo did.”
"His regrets were not caused by others, but by himself."
"Yes, it's a path one chooses oneself, it has nothing to do with others..."
......
The investigation results from Jiangdong were quickly obtained, and they went to report to Zhan Jingting.
“Master Zhan, I have already investigated. Lin Mo does not have a twin brother. I have investigated the Lin family and its branches, and even the families that are on good terms with the Lin family, but I have not found any problems.”
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