The argument in the room escalated. Suddenly, a cat jumped up from the outer wall, its back arched warily as it sized up the two furtive people, as if it were ready to attack them at any moment.
The two people and the cat faced off for several minutes. Then, the large white cat let out a piercing cry, its azure eyes flashing with ferocity.
Meow~
Du Xiaoruo and Qiao An crouched by the wall, barely daring to breathe. It would be bad enough if they were attacked by a stray cat while eavesdropping.
The cat hissed threateningly a few times, but it was really just a paper tiger and didn't dare to approach them at all.
However, the cat's meowing caught Kim Hee-jin's attention. She stopped arguing and went to the back window.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Du Xiaoruo's heart stopped beating in fright. Because she was crouching closer to the window, she could only shrink back as much as possible to avoid being discovered by Jin Xizhen.
Xiao Ruo leaned against Qiao An, and Qiao An could only lean against the wall. In the end, the two of them were stuck to the wall like two meat patties. This position was so ridiculous that even a cat would find it absurd.
Du Xiaoruo suddenly remembered the cell phone recording in the corner of the windowsill, and hurriedly pointed there. Qiao An was afraid that she would make a sound in her panic, so she put one arm around her waist and covered her mouth with the other.
Qiao An smelled wonderfully of woody perfume, and his hands were long, slender, and soft to the touch. Du Xiaoruo didn't know whether to be nervous or shy, and could only stand there motionless like a wooden doll.
Fortunately, the wall they were pressed against was in Kim Hee-jin's blind spot. She glanced around but didn't see anyone outside or notice the phone on the windowsill. However, she felt annoyed by the cat standing on the wall and howling incessantly.
Kim Hee-jin went back inside and called the housekeeper over.
“Go outside and kill that beast on the wall; it’s making a racket and disturbing everyone’s peace.”
Hearing Jin Xizhen's words, Du Xiaoruo's heart, which had just been at ease, jumped again. Oh no, the housekeeper was coming to the backyard, and she was sure to be captured alive.
Because she was too nervous, Du Xiaoruo didn't even notice that Qiao An behind her suddenly relaxed after hearing Jin Xizhen's words.
Five or six minutes later, the butler walked into the backyard carrying a large bamboo pole.
Du Xiaoruo closed her eyes and suddenly understood the despair of being "a fish on a chopping board."
But gradually, Du Xiaoruo felt something was off. It was as if she and Qiao An were sealed by a barrier called "I Can't See Me". After the housekeeper scared away the cat on the wall with a bamboo pole, he left the backyard without changing his expression, as if he hadn't seen them at all.
It was not a good place to stay, so Qiao An carefully pulled the phone out of the windowsill, then led Du Xiaoru back to the car along the same route.
"You drive." Qiao An tossed the keys to Du Xiaoruo and got into the passenger seat.
Du Xiaoruo knew she couldn't linger here, so she swallowed her questions, took the keys, started the car, and sped off.
Joan was thrown off balance by the sudden acceleration of the car. He reached out and grabbed the safety handle above the door, muttering under his breath.
"Are you running for your life?"
Du Xiaoru blinked, looking completely innocent. "Isn't that right?"
Qiao An glanced at her, speechless, and went back to fiddling with the recording she had just made.
When you open an audio file on your phone, the sound comes out through the speaker. It's not particularly clear, but it's still clear enough to hear the recording content.
The audio started off incredibly explosive.
Qiao Qingchuan roared angrily.
“I’m going to find Du Tiancheng. Du Tiancheng just took my 25 million, and he hasn’t given me what he promised. I’ll die without the goods. Damn it, I have to go find him.”
Then came Kim Hee-jin's choked sobs, filled with a mix of anger, despair, sadness, and hopelessness.
"First you cheated on me, then you had Han Nianwei, and now you've even resorted to poison? You wretched creature, you're not leaving your mother any way out, you're here to collect a debt!"
It sounded like something had fallen to the ground with a loud crash, and Qiao Qingchuan roared.
"Locking me here won't do any good. I'll die anyway without the goods. If you don't let me out, you'll just be collecting my corpse. Do you want a son or a corpse? The choice is yours."
"I..." The conversation was interrupted, followed by footsteps and rustling sounds. Then, Kim Hee-jin was heard speaking again.
“Go outside and kill that beast on the wall; it’s making a racket and disturbing everyone’s peace.”
This is when Kim Hee-jin discovers the cat. After that, there isn't much useful information; it's just a few sentences repeated over and over.
Joanne turned off the audio, forwarded the file to Secretary Kim's phone, and added a message.
[De-noise this recording and then anonymously upload it online quickly.]
Secretary Kim immediately replied, "Received, will be done within half an hour."
After finishing her business, Qiao An put her phone back on the magnetic stand, casually turned on a piano piece, and relaxed back in her chair.
Du Xiaoruo had already guessed that the butler who had ignored them earlier was actually Qiao An's man. Once the recording was released, the fact that Qiao Qingchuan was using drugs would be confirmed, which would be the last straw that broke Qiao Qingchuan's back. The shareholders would no longer trust the Qiao family, and Qiao An's acquisition of shares would be much smoother.
These are plots I've only ever seen in TV dramas. I never imagined I could be a part of them. Du Xiaoruo finds it quite exciting just thinking about it.
"Why did neither Han Nianwei's matter nor Qiao Qingchuan's knife-wielding home break-in have any impact on Qiao Qingchuan?"
When the car reached a bustling area of the city, it slowed down. Du Xiaoruo slowed down and asked the question that had been on her mind.
Qiao An stared at the bustling street scene outside, seemingly considering whether or not to answer Du Xiaoruo's question.
When they encountered a red light, Du Xiaoruo stepped on the brakes. "If you don't know, then forget it. Pretend I didn't ask."
"Who says I don't know?"
Joanne responded quickly this time.
"Qiao Qingchuan has a mental evaluation certificate. As long as it can be proven that he was not in a normal mental state when he committed the crime, he will not be held criminally responsible."
The light turned green, and Du Xiaoruo drove her car out.
She thought about it and realized that although Qiao Qingchuan was crazy and wicked, he seemed very clear-headed and his behavior was logical, so he didn't seem like a mentally ill person.
She asked, "Is there any way to expose that he's not mentally ill?" That way, Qiao Qingchuan could receive the legal punishment he deserves.
Joanne shook her head, speaking in a lazy and indifferent tone.
"Why expose him? Let's keep him around and play with him slowly. It's no fun sending him in too early. Look, we kept him around a little longer, and he just gave us a big gift! Twenty-five million? And the stock price can drop again."
After hearing Qiao An's words, Du Xiaoruo thought of the cat she used to have.
Actually, the cat wasn't really hers. Du Xiaoruo lived in a villa in the suburbs at the time, and the tabby cat would come to the yard to beg for food from time to time. Du Xiaoruo fed it a few times, and the cat started to treat the villa as its own home, often bringing back small prey.
Every time this cat brings back a mouse or a bird, it doesn't eat it right away. Instead, it plays with it for a while, watching its prey struggle from its death throes to its near-death state. Sometimes the cat isn't actually hungry, and it doesn't want to eat the dead prey. It seems to just enjoy the process of watching its prey.
Du Xiaoruo felt that Qiao An reminded her of that cat. He was addicted to the pleasure of manipulating his prey. Although he would eventually deliver a fatal blow, he would first make him wish he were dead.
What exactly happened in the Qiao family's splendid manor? What role does Qiao An play in this family? What did Jin Xizhen and Qiao Qingchuan do to Qiao An that made him hate them so much? Du Xiaoruo felt completely confused.
When the car arrived at Chenxiang Apartment, Du Xiaoruo was surprised to find that there were not many reporters waiting at the entrance as she had imagined.
Instead, it was quiet as usual, with a few neighbors coming and going from the apartment building, but everyone seemed normal.
"I think you probably didn't want to deal with the reporters, so you had Secretary Kim handle it."
Du Xiaoruo exclaimed, "Secretary Jin is really amazing. It feels like he can do anything."
Joanne corrected, "I asked him to do it."
"Yes, that's why we paid him to do it, wasn't it?"
Joan, “...Were you a sweet potato in your past life?”
"Um?"
"You're so sarcastic."
The two walked out of the elevator bickering. A middle-aged woman, accompanied by the apartment manager, stood at the door of room 2007. She seemed to have been waiting for a long time. When she saw Du Xiaoruo and the others return, she rushed up anxiously.
"Xiaoruo, Xiaoruo, you're finally back! Did you see what happened to your brother?"
The middle-aged woman was very beautiful. Although she dressed simply, her features were still delicate and beautiful. In addition, she had a slender figure. Although she was getting on in years, she was still a beauty at first glance. Du Xiaoruo's features and temperament were very similar to hers.
The apartment manager explained, "Mrs. Qiao, this is your mother. She insists on waiting for you here. Since you are not home, I have no choice but to wait here with her."
"Thank you," Du Xiaoruo said to the housekeeper. "She's my mother."
"Alright, you all chat then, I'll take my leave now." The butler bowed and left.
Qiao An opened the door. "Auntie, come in and sit down."
Although Du Xiaoruo and Qiao An were married, this was only the second time Qiao An had met Du Xiaoruo's family, and he didn't change his way of addressing them, directly calling them "Auntie".
Du Xiaoruo's mother is named Zeng Meiru. After marrying into the Du family, she has always been a full-time housewife and has little knowledge. When she was young, she relied on her husband. Later, Du Xiaoruo's father became paralyzed, and her son Du Tiancheng became her everything. She is the kind of person who would never disagree with Du Tiancheng.
At that time, Du Tiancheng said he would marry the original owner of the body to Qiao An, and Zeng Meiru subconsciously agreed. She did not consider her daughter's feelings at all, nor did she know what kind of person Qiao An was.
In Du Xiaoruo's view, Zeng Meiru was absent from the role of mother, except for giving the original owner a life.
After entering the house, Joan's phone kept ringing.
When Qiao Qingchuan's drug use was exposed, Jin Xizhen kept it a secret. The Jin family's official website was attacked by netizens. Jin Jin immediately stepped forward to clarify that the Jin family was completely unaware of the matter and stated that they would not aid and abet wrongdoing. The Jin family would not get involved in Qiao Qingchuan and Jin Xizhen's affairs.
With these two major events happening together, the shareholders who had still held onto hope for Qiao Qingchuan's comeback panicked and frantically searched for Qiao An to take over.
Qiao An was on the phone on the balcony. Du Xiaoruo and Zeng Meiru sat facing each other on the sofa. After a moment of silence, Zeng Meiru spoke, her voice choked with emotion.
“Xiaoruo, you’ve made something of yourself now. You can’t ignore your brother’s situation. You’re married so well now because of your brother. We can’t do something like that—crossing the river and burning the bridge.”
Du Xiaoru stared blankly at Zeng Meiru's face. This face looked exactly like her mother from her previous life. Even though she knew that the souls were two different people, Du Xiaoru still automatically put herself in the role of her mother when she saw this familiar face.
She couldn't tell if she was sad or angry; she just felt very conflicted. She didn't want to see her, didn't want to talk to her, and hoped she would leave quickly.
Seeing that Du Xiaoru was in a daze, Zeng Meiru thought that she hadn't heard her, so she repeated what she had just said.
Qiao An hung up the phone and walked back to the living room. He went to the sideboard to pour Zeng Meiru a glass of water, and then took a can of beer from the refrigerator for Du Xiaoruo. He put the things in front of the two of them and sat down next to Du Xiaoruo.
“Auntie, it’s not that Xiaoruo doesn’t want to get involved, but that she can’t. Do you know that Du Tiancheng’s case isn’t just about drug use? He also traffics drugs, and the amount involved is huge. The amount that has been exposed so far is over 20 million.”
"So what?"
Zeng Meiru clearly didn't understand the seriousness of the matter and naively asked,
"Isn't your family very wealthy? Can't you even handle such a small matter?"
Qiao An chuckled. "Auntie, no matter how rich we are, we are still legitimate business people. If we break the law, we will have to take responsibility. Besides, don't you see the news? My family is going to be finished too."
Zeng Meiru looked skeptical and said, "You look quite happy, not like your family is about to be in trouble."
Qiao An smiled nonchalantly again, leaning lazily against the cushion next to Du Xiaoruo. "Go and take a good look at the news, and you'll know whether I'm lying to you or not."
"I don't care, I don't understand what you're saying. Since Xiaoruo is our family's daughter, she can't ignore what's happening to her family. You have to go bankrupt to save my son."
Before Qiao An could even speak, Du Xiaoruo yelled.
"On what grounds?"
Her sudden shout startled both Qiao An and Zeng Meiru.
Du Xiaoru clenched her fists and angrily questioned,
"Did I cause his drug addiction? Did I instigate his drug trafficking? What gives you the right to come to me? And why are you so self-righteous? What do you mean by 'I'd give up everything to save him'? How dare you say such things?"
After saying this, Du Xiaoruo was trembling all over, whether from nervousness or anger. She clenched her hands tightly and pinched her index finger several times with her thumb nail, using the pain to suppress her inner discomfort.
Qiao An, without changing her expression, took her hand, pried open her fingers one by one, and held her hand in his palm, stopping her from this self-harming behavior.
Zeng Meiru recovered from her shock, her tone even more aggrieved than Du Xiaoruo's.
"Tiancheng is your brother, the pillar of our Du family. Are you going to just stand by and watch him die? The way you are, we won't be able to face our ancestors after we die. You're trying to kill your father and me. We raised you and gave you life for nothing. When you were a kid, you were bullied at school, and it was your brother who fought for you. You still have a scar on your eye. Are you really that heartless?"
Despite Zeng Meiru's lack of education and worldly experience, her words were so eloquent that even PUA masters would acknowledge her expertise.
Perhaps it was Zeng Meiru's words that reminded Du Xiaoru of her past life. She was so angry that she trembled. But she was too introverted. When she got really angry and started arguing, she couldn't say a word. She was both angry and anxious. Her nose tingled and hot tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Qiao An had initially been quite polite to Zeng Meiru because she was Du Xiaoruo's mother, but now that he saw Du Xiaoruo crying, he lost all his patience.
“I advise you to find a lawyer to inquire about Du Tiancheng’s situation. Trafficking more than 50 grams of drugs can result in the death penalty. Your husband is currently paralyzed on one side, and you yourself haven’t worked a single day in over 30 years. You will have to rely on Xiaoruo for your old age and funeral arrangements. By trampling on her like this, you are actually blocking your own path to survival.”
"The death penalty?" Zeng Meiru murmured to herself, as if she was still processing Qiao An's words.
Du Xiaoruo's eyes were red from crying. She pouted and said something defiant.
"Why should I take care of them in their old age and see them off in their final days? Have they ever been kind to me for even three days?"
Qiao An leaned over, pulled out a tissue, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and gently coaxed her, "Okay, okay, if you say you won't raise her, then you won't."
Zeng Meiru is now completely disregarding matters of caring for her parents in their old age and seeing them off in their final days. All she can think about is that her son is going to be sentenced to death, and it feels like the sky is falling.
She suddenly stood up from the sofa, grabbed her bag that was tossed aside, and muttered to herself.
"I'm going to find a lawyer, I'm going to find a lawyer right now. I'm going to save my son, I'll risk my life to save him."
After Zeng Meiru left, Xiaoru sat listlessly on the carpet. Qiao An gave her potato chips and beer, found a comedy for her to watch, and then went to deal with the insane phone calls.
Joan made a phone call for a while, and when she came back, the beer and potato chips were untouched. She was like a wooden statue, looking dazed and confused.
"Get up." Qiao An pulled her up from the ground. What a spineless thing, is it worth being so distraught over such a small matter?
After putting Du Xiaoruo into the car, Qiao An drove around the city for more than half an hour until they arrived at an old street in Wencheng. He parked the car, took Du Xiaoruo out, and walked to the end of the old street before starting to climb the stairs.
The stairs were so long that you couldn't see the end of them. Du Xiaoruo didn't want to climb any further after climbing half of them.
She sat down on the stairs and looked back, only to realize that she was really high up. Looking out, she saw layers upon layers of rooftops. The sun was about to set, and the sky was shrouded in mist. Car lights illuminated the haphazard streets.
The scene was so lifelike that Du Xiaoruo's mood gradually improved as she looked at it.
Joanne stood leaning against the rusty railing for a while, then, ignoring her expensive casual trousers, sat down next to her.
Neither of them spoke, and they just watched the sunset slowly disappear into the horizon.
As darkness fell, Du Xiaoruo realized how beautiful the scenery was. Thousands of lights slowly unfolded beneath her feet, forming a breathtaking tapestry of twinkling lights.
Joanne raised her hand and pointed vaguely to a spot in the cluster of lights.
"That place is Chenxiang Apartment, our current home."
He then pointed to another place.
"That's Yingge, in the suburbs. The environment is very nice, with a natural lake and swans. Although it's a bit far from the city, it's very quiet. I bought a villa there, and I'll move there once it's renovated."
Du Xiaoruo didn't understand why Qiao An was telling her this, as if he was the only one who could afford a villa. She thought to herself, what's so great about him? It's like everyone has lived in a villa before.
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
Today has been a hectic day, and I haven't had a chance to eat. Now that I've relaxed a bit, I'm starting to feel hungry, and Du Xiaoruo's stomach is rumbling.
She buried her head between her knees, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but her stomach seemed oblivious to her distress, instead growing increasingly aroused.
This is just too ridiculous.
Du Xiaoruo turned her head and looked at Qiao An's trembling shoulders as she laughed, and a sudden urge to silence her arose within her.
Qiao An stood up and held out her hand, "Come on, let me take you to get something to eat."
Just then, a pigeon flew over their heads, and Joan felt a chill in her outstretched hand; there was a pile of bird droppings lying there.
Du Xiaoruo tried hard to suppress her laughter and replied seriously, "Thank you, but I won't eat bird poop even if I'm starving."
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