Chapter 380 Clues
Upon hearing this, Ji Xia felt a wave of bitterness wash over her. Her eyes flickered, and the grievances she had felt welled up inside her. She burst into tears, crying out, "Mom..."
Her previous strength crumbled the moment her parents appeared.
Father Ji's face was grim, his lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but what came out of his mouth was a scolding: "What are you crying for? You have the nerve to cry about the path you've walked yourself?"
Ji's mother looked displeased and glared at him.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ji's father lowered his gaze slightly, but Ji Xia didn't care at all. Although Ji's father's tone was harsh, he couldn't hide the worry in his words.
None of them broke the awkward atmosphere until Ji Xia finally let out her emotions and choked out, "How did you know I was here?"
Father Ji's face turned cold, and he replied in a deep voice, "The mistress has already been flaunting herself in public, what else is there that we don't know!"
Ji Xia's face immediately showed a hint of confusion, but Jiang Yuechen instantly understood what he meant. He quickly took out his phone and opened Toutiao (a Chinese news aggregator app), and sure enough, he saw that Cheng Shuyuan's affair with his mistress had been exposed, and that they had been photographed by paparazzi being intimate with each other.
With just one glance, Jiang Yuechen could tell that it was Jiang Ran's doing.
With a slight glint in his eyes, he handed the phone directly to Ji Xia.
Ji Xia quickly scanned the contents of the report and instantly understood.
Once this news breaks, Ji's father will definitely send people to investigate, and with a little effort, they will be able to find out his location.
Thinking of this, Ji Xia lowered her eyes slightly, a hint of guilt flashing across her face.
When Ji's father saw her lower her head, his expression hardened, and he sternly rebuked her, "Why are you looking down! You haven't done anything wrong, raise your head!"
His tone was full of disappointment and frustration.
Ji's father served in the army when he was young, so even though Ji Xia was the only daughter in the family, he never spoiled or pampered her and always strictly demanded that she follow the style of the army.
Seeing his displeasure, Ji's mother quickly reprimanded him, "When you came, you threatened to break Cheng Shuyuan's legs to avenge Nannan. Why are you scolding her now?"
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his words, then he looked at Ji Xia and said softly, "Nannan, don't take his words to heart, that's just his temper."
Seeing that his wife was directly undermining him, Ji's father couldn't help but speak up again, saying, "I'm annoyed that she won't learn her lesson until she hits a brick wall!"
Having said that, she turned to look at Jiang Yuechen, her expression hardening, and asked in a cold voice, "Who are you?"
Jiang Yuechen noticed that Ji Xia's gaze was fixed on him, and her tone was full of interrogation. Just as he was about to speak, Ji Xia answered first: "He saved me."
“I didn’t ask you,” Father Ji replied in a deep voice, his face showing displeasure.
Ji Xia didn't want him to target Jiang Yuechen, and was about to speak up in rebuttal.
Jiang Yuechen reached out and gently patted her shoulder to reassure her.
Then, he raised his eyes and looked at Mr. Ji seriously. He parted his thin lips and slowly said, "Hello, Uncle Ji, I am Jiang Yuechen, Ji Xia's friend." "Jiang Yuechen?" Mr. Ji murmured upon hearing the name, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. His eyes flickered slightly, and he then asked in a deep voice, "The president of the Jiang Group?"
“Exactly.” Jiang Yuechen nodded slightly and replied softly.
The Jiang Group and the Ji Group have no business dealings, but Jiang Yuechen is at least among the most promising young talents in Yancheng's high society.
In addition, he had heard about how Jiang Yuechen had handled the Jiang Group's situation well due to the traitor incident.
Then, his eyes showed more appreciation as he looked at Jiang Yuechen, and his previous hostility lessened slightly.
But she still interrogated him, asking, "How did you happen to know that Nannan was in trouble?"
Seeing that he was meticulous about everything, Jiang Yuechen secretly sighed and called him an old fox.
Then, without changing her expression, she explained in a low voice, "It's a coincidence. My sister and Ji Xia are very close friends. She happened to be busy and asked me to deliver the tonics. I didn't expect to run into this scene."
Jiang Yuechen did not explain the true situation to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
After hearing this, Ji's father asked in confusion, "Who is your sister?"
"Jiang Ran".
As soon as the words were spoken, Ji's father's suspicions vanished. Although he didn't show any overt concern for Ji Xia, he was secretly keeping an eye on her every move.
When his subordinates came to report, they repeatedly mentioned Jiang Ran's name. She often stood up for Ji Xia in public, and the two became friends over time.
She couldn't help but feel a bit of goodwill towards Jiang Yuechen as a result.
Just then, Jiang Yuechen's phone suddenly rang. Jiang Yuechen looked down and saw that the caller ID showed that it was the person he had sent to investigate Si Zuochen. His eyes flickered slightly, and he looked at Ji's father with an apologetic expression.
Father Ji immediately understood, waved his hand slightly, and said, "You go ahead and get busy."
"I'm sorry," Jiang Yuechen apologized softly, then turned and walked out.
When Ji's father saw that Jiang Yuechen was neither arrogant nor humble, and was polite, a deep meaning immediately appeared in his eyes.
Jiang Yuechen walked to the corner, swiped to answer the call, and asked in a deep voice, "Any leads?"
"Yes," the person on the other end replied respectfully, then slowly began to recount what he had found out.
"The surveillance cameras in the backyard of the Taoist temple all short-circuited, which is too much of a coincidence. I checked all the surveillance cameras in the vicinity but couldn't find any suspicious figures. Obviously, that person had planned it in advance and deliberately avoided it."
"Get to the point," Jiang Yuechen urged anxiously.
"So I checked all the private cars that came to the Taoist temple that day and retrieved the dashcam footage, and finally I found the problem."
He paused slightly, then said in a deep voice, "A few days before the incident, Bai Zhuwei was also there!"
As Jiang Yuechen's confidant, he was basically entrusted with handling Jiang Ran's affairs, so he was also quite familiar with Bai Zhuwei.
Upon seeing her there, he instantly felt he had made a major discovery and quickly explained the clue to Jiang Yuechen in detail.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuechen's face suddenly turned cold, his brows furrowed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "It's actually her?!"
After saying that, his eyes sharpened, and he directly instructed, "Send me a copy of the video."
"Yes." As soon as the person on the other end responded, Jiang Yuechen hung up the phone.
He quickly dialed Jiang Ran's number, and it was answered after only a few seconds of ringing.
Jiang Yuechen then recounted the clues he had found. Compared to his shock, Jiang Ran was clearly not surprised upon hearing this news. Her gaze darkened slightly, and she replied in a low voice, "So it really is related to her..."
"You already knew all along?" Jiang Yuechen asked in surprise.
"It's just a guess..." Jiang Ran replied slowly, a cold glint flashing across her face.
His gaze darkened slightly, and he said in a low voice, "But right now we only have the video, and there is no conclusive evidence to prove that she has had any contact with the fake Taoist priest or Ah Chen. If she denies it outright, there is nothing we can do about it."
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Jiang Yuechen chimed in, “That woman is meticulous. If she refuses to admit it, the evidence we’ve gathered will be useless.”
"Then let's not alert them yet," Jiang Ran said in a low voice after a moment's thought.
"Then we'll catch her off guard!"
As he spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, his brows furrowed, and his face turned cold.
"Okay." Jiang Yuechen responded in a low voice. After exchanging some recent clues from their investigation, the two ended the call.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ran looked down out the window, her eyes filled with coldness. The clues were becoming clearer, and it was obvious that Bai Zhuwei was also one of the masterminds behind the scenes.
As for the clues she mentioned, they were probably a mix of truth and falsehood, all in an attempt to gain Si Yanxiao's trust.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ran's expression suddenly darkened, her brows furrowed tightly, and she began to think about her future plans.
Si Yanxiao's attitude also changed, and he no longer blindly trusted Bai Zhuwei as before.
The key now is how to get Bai Zhuwei to admit it voluntarily. Otherwise, things will remain complicated.
A jumble of thoughts gradually formed in his mind. On one hand, he wanted to find out Si Zuochen's location as soon as possible, and on the other hand, he wanted to bring the mastermind to justice.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ran changed her expression and walked straight towards the study.
Si Yanxiao was reviewing the data related to the research institute sent back by his subordinates, as well as the suspicious individuals he had identified, when suddenly there was a loud knock on the door.
Si Yanxiao paused in his movements and said in a low voice, "Come in."
Jiang Ran pushed open the door and strode in.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Si Yanxiao's face flashed with surprise. Before he could speak, Jiang Ran said, "We have a clue!"
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