Chapter 45: Justice, ten years late, is finally coming...
"Ten years ago, we met at Shen Xingjian's house. Right?"
Shi Yunran's words were like a thunderclap, splitting Gao Xing's disguise apart.
The uncontrollable shock on her face and the suddenly contracted pupils were nowhere to hide under Shi Yunran's dead gaze.
"It seems to be true." Shi Yunran's voice remained calm, but there were waves in his eyes.
"Half a year ago, I had a dream. In it, I met a strange girl at Shen Xingjian's house... Then when I saw you, I felt you looked familiar, but I couldn't remember who you were."
She took a step forward, her eyes sharply analyzing every trace of Gao Xing's expression. "Until Xu Jiakai started asking about you for unknown reasons. He asked me if I thought you were special, if I had ever had any strange dreams..."
My happy heart sank.
Zhang Wei was right. Things that happened across time and space would appear in the mind in the form of dreams. Xu Jiakai did have memories!
Shi Yunran didn't take Xu Jiakai's words to heart at first, thinking he was weird. It was not until she ran into him and Gao Xing in the restaurant that she realized there might be something she didn't know.
Based on her understanding of Xu Jiakai over the years, there is no way he would have the leisure to turn down his work and travel thousands of miles to have dinner with a young nurse.
After that day, Shi Yunran carefully recalled everything that had happened since she met Gao Xing, and gradually connected her with the dream she had once had.
She remembered Gao Xingjian's story when he'd asked her about Shen Xingjian's death. He'd mentioned finding his diary in Villa No. 1 and wanted to use it as material for his writing. But back in high school, Xu Jiakai had mentioned to her more than once that Shen Xingjian was too lazy to even write essays. Besides exams, his homework consisted of copying model essays. How could he possibly have written a diary?
Shi Yunran's eyes became colder and colder. Looking at Gao Xing's slightly pale face, he finally verified the absurd guess: "Every time you approach me, it's because of Shen Xingjian's death. You have seen him...right?"
She asked the last sentence very softly, but it was like a heavy hammer hitting Gao Xing's heart.
A person's dream may just be an illusion, but two people having the same dream is definitely not a coincidence.
For Shi Yunran, her father is her last support. She has no other way to go. Even if the answer is ridiculous, she will give it a try!
"As long as my father can survive, I will give you whatever you want!"
Looking at the mixed despair and the last ray of hope in Shi Yunran's red eyes, Gao Xing seemed to see the Zhang Wei of the past. Zhang Wei's wife and daughter were a trick of fate, but Shi Yunran's father deserved it. Not to mention that she didn't have that much ability, even if she did, she didn't want to save the man who had hurt Shen Xingjian.
But according to what Shi's father said before his death, the evidence of Xu Jiakai's murder was in his hands. She thought of Shen Xingjian's unwillingness, and an idea arose in her mind: Maybe, she could help him clear his name.
Uncharacteristically, Gao Xing did not deny it. Instead, he said, "I can help you, but you have to give me the evidence that Xu Jiakai committed murder."
Shi Yunran hadn't expected Gao Xing to ask for this; she'd assumed he'd ask her for money. But then she thought, if Gao Xing really was after the money, Xu Jiakai would definitely be more willing to give it to her, rather than keeping her in the dark.
Shi Yunran paused, narrowed his eyes, and agreed.
The Shi family's old house was not too far from the nursing home. She didn't even have time to deal with her father's funeral, and immediately drove to the old house that had been uninhabited for a long time.
The furnishings in the house remained the same, though covered with a light layer of dust. She walked straight to her father's study and, following her memory, found a tiny bulge in the hidden compartment of the drawer of the heavy mahogany desk.
She took a deep breath and pressed it down.
After a slight mechanical sound, the bookcases covering an entire wall slowly moved away, revealing a narrow passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
Shi Yunran turned on the flashlight on his cell phone and crouched down to get in.
Inside was the mezzanine level of the room, a small space barely wide enough for one person to stand in. Within the narrow space were some antiques covered with dust sheets and a black safe.
She entered her birthday according to her father's will, and with a click, the safe door opened.
The safe is divided into three layers. The first layer is filled with neatly stacked, glittering gold bars; the second layer is filled with several thick document bags; and the third layer is an inconspicuous black box.
She skipped over the gold bars and picked up the document bag marked "Xu Jiakai." Untying the string, she discovered her father had long since learned about Xu Jiakai. It contained not only evidence of his bribery over the years, but also evidence of his collusion with others to embezzle public funds at Zhongyue.
She searched quickly and finally found the "evidence of murder" her father mentioned among the last few: a printed record of the online purchase of neurotoxin.
The purchase took place just before Shen Xingjian's death, and although the delivery information was blurred, it was still possible to trace a clue related to Xu Jiakai. Also included were Xu Jiakai's itinerary for that day and a copy of Shen Xingjian's autopsy report, which clearly recorded the time and cause of Shen Xingjian's death.
Looking at these hard evidences, Shi Yunran was silent for a moment with a complicated look in her eyes. In the end, she only pulled out the purchase record of the neurotoxin and carefully folded it in half.
Before leaving, her eyes fell on the black box at the bottom. Out of curiosity, she opened the box, but what was inside made her stunned.
That was something she had never expected to be here.
But Shi Yunran's mind was full of how to save his father at this time. He didn't delve into it. He just took a quick look, closed the box, closed the safe, quickly left the secret room, and restored everything to its original state.
When Shi Yunran rushed back to the sanatorium again, Gao Xing was already waiting for her.
Seeing Gao Xing, Shi Yunran did not immediately hand over the evidence in his hand. Instead, he held the paper and stared at her with burning eyes: "I can give you the things, but before that, you have to tell me, what are you going to do?"
Gao Xing knew she was powerless to change the past, let alone save a deceased person, but she desperately needed the evidence, so she said, "You'll know when the time comes."
"If you don't explain clearly, how can I trust you with such an important thing?" Shi Yunran's attitude was extremely firm.
Gao Xing saw that he couldn't fool people, so he made up his mind and decided to take a risky move.
Her face turned cold and she made a move to leave: "Since you don't believe me, forget it."
"Wait!" Shi Yunran was indeed anxious. He stopped her and softened his tone, "...why don't we both take a step back?"
She unfolded a corner of the folded paper so Gao Xing could see the key information. "This matter concerns my father's life. I would never joke about it. Please also understand the heart of a daughter who wants to save her father."
Gao Xing's eyes quickly scanned the neurotoxin purchase record. The toxin shown on it could indeed cause sudden death symptoms. Shi Yunran had said that Shen Xingjian died of cardiac arrest, and it seemed to be true.
She took a deep breath, knowing that the evidence was most likely true, so she backed off a bit and followed Shi Yunran's guess, saying, "Haven't you seen me in your dreams before? I'll be in your dreams again in a few days, and then you'll know whether it's true or not."
Shi Yunran thought about it, hesitated for a moment, and finally put the evidence away again: "Okay, then I will give you the evidence after you verify it."
…
Back at Villa No. 1, the dusk outside the window was slowly spreading over Mingjing Lake. Gao Xing told Shen Xingjian everything that had happened during the day in detail.
There was only a single desk lamp in the room, its light outlining Shen Xingjian's silent silhouette. When he heard the words "neurotoxin," his fingers on the wheelchair armrests tightened slightly, and a mixture of absurdity and cold calmness enveloped him.
"As expected...that's how it is."
His voice was low, devoid of emotion, as if confirming an answer he had already anticipated. "The resort needs me to disappear before construction can begin. Shi Yunran's father needs to clear obstacles for the developer, and Xu Jiakai... needs a token of his loyalty in exchange for a promising future."
He forced out a faint, almost self-deprecating laugh, "So there are so many people who hope I die."
Gao Xing looked at him with eyes full of heartache. She walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, feeling the slight tension in his body.
"Perhaps in the future, these crimes will no longer happen because of our efforts..." Her voice was soft, yet powerful. "But here, in this time and space, as long as we get the evidence, we can reveal the truth and make them pay!"
She leaned over and stroked his cheek with her palm.
Shen Xingjian closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, the waves in his eyes had been suppressed, and he had regained his usual calmness.
"You're right." He held Gao Xing's hand, absorbing the warmth from her palm. "But that purchase record is indirect evidence. It can only prove that he illegally purchased the neurotoxin, but it can't directly prove that he used it on me. Xu Jiakai can completely shirk responsibility. From what I know about Uncle Shi, he couldn't have left behind only this little thing..."
Shen Xingjian wondered if Shi Yunran was holding back and not bringing out all the evidence.
"Are you sure this is all her evidence?" he asked.
When Shi Yunran returned to the sanatorium with the evidence, she only had a piece of paper in her hand, which was the purchase record of the neurotoxin. As for whether there was anything else in the old house that Shi's father mentioned, she had no idea.
Shen Xingjian pondered for a moment, thought about it again and again, and said: "To be on the safe side, we still can't let Xu Jiakai know that you are behind this. It's best for Shi Yunran to do this herself."
"Shi Yunran?" Gao Xing was puzzled. "What do you want her to do?"
Shen Xingjian said in a deep voice: “Let her personally report Xu Jiakai for murder and make the evidence public.”
"Let Shi Yunran?" Gao Xing was shocked.
"That's right. A wife reporting her husband, regardless of the final conviction, public opinion will not let Xu Jiakai off," he analyzed. "Even more, you said they just had a big fight over Shi Yunran's father's transfer to another hospital. Now that he's dead, Shi Yunran has every reason to do this. Xu Jiakai might not necessarily find out about you."
"Besides, you are husband and wife after all. Xu Jiakai may not kill her, but if you step in, the risk will be too great." In the end, he still wanted to protect Gao Xing.
Shen Xingjian proposed this trick of "borrowing a knife to kill someone", Gao Xing did not think he was indifferent, nor did he think Shi Yunran was innocent at all.
Objectively speaking, Shi's father was also one of the murderers of Shen Xingjian. The reason why he left those evidences was not to reveal the truth, but to give Shi Yunran a handle on Xu Jiakai.
Today, after learning the true cause of Shen Xingjian's death, Shi Yunran was able to remain indifferent, not even showing any surprise or regret. It can be seen that she is not a good person.
Whether it was the heinous deeds of Shi's father or the beastly behavior of Xu Jiakai, she was a vested interest. For so many years, she enjoyed the fame and wealth brought to her by these two people stepping on the corpses of others. How could she be considered innocent?
“What are you going to do?” Gao Xing looked at Shen Xingjian, who seemed to have a plan.
Shen Xingjian’s fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest of the wheelchair: “Since she believes in dreams, let’s give her the dream she wants.”
Under the light, their eyes met, and they saw the determination in each other's eyes.
This justice, which has been delayed for ten years, is finally coming.
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