Chapter 46 The real murderer is someone else!
A few days later, Shi Yunran arrived as promised in the slightly deserted yard of Villa No. 1.
She still looked like a young lady, wearing the new style of the season and carrying an expensive handbag. She looked out of place among the flowers and plants around her that had grown wildly because no one had taken care of them for years.
Shen Xingjian was sitting in a wheelchair, his back to her, slowly and methodically pruning the branches.
She was sure that Shen Xingjian heard the sound of her high heels. She stood there deliberately and waited for a few minutes, but he still didn't take the initiative to speak. Finally, she couldn't help but said, "You took the initiative to ask me out, so you don't want to discuss gardening with me here, right?"
Shi Yunran's tone was filled with his usual arrogance.
Shen Xingjian then stopped, picked up a towel beside him and wiped his hands, put his elbows on the armrest of the wheelchair, straightened his waist slightly, but did not look at her, but looked at the osmanthus tree that had grown quite tall in the corner.
"Do you still remember this osmanthus tree?"
Shi Yunran followed his gaze, frowned slightly, and then revealed a look of contempt.
This osmanthus tree was given to everyone by the school during the Hundred Days Pledge ceremony during their senior year of high school. It symbolizes winning the first prize at the imperial examination. Shen Xingjian's pot was planted in the courtyard of the Shen residence, while Shi Yunran's pot was casually tossed to Xu Jiakai.
In Shi Yunran's mind, only poor people like Xu Jiakai needed to take the college entrance exam to change their fate. She was born into privilege, her family planning everything for her from birth. Education and ability were merely window dressing. What if she had it, what if she didn't?
She can spend money as she wants and join any company she wants; don’t those educated and capable people have to bow down to her?
Shi Yunran couldn't understand why Shen Xingjian suddenly brought this up, and some impatience appeared on her delicate face.
Shen Xingjian's gaze was far-reaching, as if he saw through the osmanthus tree the man himself who was holding a sapling and taking a photo with his grandfather in the yard many years ago. That photo was the last time he took a photo with his grandfather in his life.
Not long after, a car accident occurred. Shi Yunran's father threatened his own safety by forcing his grandfather to sign the accident report. Lying in his hospital bed, looking at his grandfather's hunched back, he felt for the first time a profound sense of despair and powerlessness. It was then that he gradually understood that one's debts must be repaid. If the first half of one's life was too smooth, the second half would be doomed to misfortune.
"Shi Yunran, do you believe in fate?" he suddenly asked.
Shi Yunran wondered if Shen Xingjian was crazy, and that he would say such a ridiculous thing?
She sneered with disdain, "Shen Xingjian, have you lost your mind after spending so much time with those poor people? Life? That's just a way for those idiots who can't control their lives to comfort themselves!" She had thought Shen Xingjian had taken the initiative to ask her out today to apologize for his past arrogance, and then to cry bitterly in an attempt to redeem himself and prove that his previous choices were all wrong. She hadn't expected it to be all this nonsense!
Shi Yunran suddenly felt bored, breathed out through his nostrils, and turned to leave.
As he was about to leave, he seemed to remember something and turned back to say, "I heard... you're the only one who hasn't signed the demolition agreement for Mingjing Lake?"
Shi Yunran actually took the initiative to bring up the demolition issue, which was something Shen Xingjian had not expected. He did not rush to respond, but turned his wheelchair and waited quietly for her next words.
"I know the Shen family mansion is very important to you, but the resort project is imperative. Even if you insist on carrying it, it will be useless. I advise you not to waste your energy!"
She seemed kind-hearted, but Shen Xingjian remained calm, his lips curled slightly as he looked at her: "So, who are you lobbying me for now? Shang Cheng? Guan Ya? Or your dad?" He pointed his finger at the armrest of the wheelchair, "If I insist on not moving, who will be the first one to be unable to sit still?"
Shi Yunran's expression changed instantly after his secret was exposed, but he still pretended to be calm and said, "Humph, I'm just reminding you out of kindness! Don't be so ungrateful!"
Shen Xingjian suddenly smiled, that smile seemed to be understanding, but his voice was cold and icy: "Then listen carefully, if you want your father to be safe and sound and continue to sit firmly in your high position, you must disclose the evidence in the safe yourself."
"What evidence in the safe? What are you talking about?" Shi Yunran was confused.
Shen Xingjian didn't give a direct answer, but only said: "You may not understand it now, but you will definitely understand it ten years later."
Shi Yunran found him completely incomprehensible and left angrily.
After Shi Yunran left, Gao Xing came out of the room a while later. She closed the door and said with some worry, "Is this... really okay?"
This time, Shen Xingjian insisted on not letting Gao Xing come forward, not only to avoid her involvement but also to conceal the overlap in time and space. They didn't have any superpowers, only some information gaps. If Shi Yunran delved into the nature of the "dream," it would be easy to expose their conspiracy. Therefore, they needed a plausible explanation.
"We want her to believe that you can communicate with spirits. Coincidentally, you've used similar statements with Xu Jiakai. This consistency of approach will help us conceal the folding of space-time to the greatest extent possible. Therefore, it's most appropriate for a 'dead man' like me to say these words."
Sure enough, that night, Gao Xing received a call from Shi Yunran.
The voice on the other end of the phone still seemed to be filled with panic as if it had just woken up from sleep: "I dreamed about... him..."
Gao Xing took a deep breath, pretending to be calm, and said as they had agreed: "I said I would enter your dream, but I didn't say whose body I would use. I've already given you the verification you wanted. You know what to do with the rest."
Shi Yunran was silent for a long time, and finally asked the question in her heart: "Why are you so obsessed with Shen Xingjian's death?"
Gao Xing sighed in mock annoyance, "He was framed and killed, and his resentment lingers, haunting him day and night. Only the truth can bring him peace. I just want some peace and quiet. Do you think I want to get involved in this mess?"
There was another long silence on the other end of the phone, as if he was trying to determine the truth of her words or to weigh the pros and cons. Finally, Shi Yunran's voice came through the receiver: "I understand. Please don't forget what you promised me."
After Shi's father's death, his body was temporarily stored in the morgue of the nursing home, but that wasn't a long-term solution. The hospital had been urging Shi Yunran to cremate the body as soon as possible so that the deceased could rest in peace. So Gao Xing didn't need to rush her; Shi Yunran would make the most of her time.
Two days later, a public opinion storm swept in.
Xu Jiakai, President of Guanya China, was reported by his wife, who accused him of purchasing a neurotoxin to murder his friend and business partner, Shen Xingjian, ten years prior. Following this news, a delivery driver named Zhang Wei also came forward, claiming to have seen Xu Jiakai outside the crime scene ten years prior. To silence him, Xu Jiakai offered him 800,000 yuan, including bank statements from that year.
Zhang Wei admitted that he chose to conceal the truth for money, but he never expected that his family would be broken up. Now he regrets it and hopes to atone for his sins.
When a wall falls, everyone pushes it.
Soon, another woman surnamed Liu came forward to testify, alleging that Xu Jiakai and the partner he poisoned had embezzled public funds and fabricated accounts during their business venture. After the incident was exposed, they pinned all the blame on her, forcing her to serve five years in prison! She also alleged that Xu Jiakai had powerful backers who interfered with the judiciary and held sway over everything.
Accountant Liu's exaggeration further inflamed public opinion. Xu Jiakai had recently been caught up in a public outcry over the Li Siping case. Now that Li Siping had been investigated and brought down, while Xu Jiakai remained unharmed, further infuriating public opinion. This also brought up Minghong Group's scandal over the Green Home scandal last year, sending its stock price plummeting.
Xu Jiakai, who was far away in Africa, was struck by lightning when he received the news. He never expected Shi Yunran to be so decisive, actually choosing to perish with him for that old man.
"Shi Yunran...are you crazy?!" He squeezed out these words from between his teeth, his voice trembling with extreme anger and disbelief.
He immediately picked up his phone and dialed Shi Yunran's number, but all he heard from the receiver was a cold and regular busy tone - he was blocked.
"Good, very good!" Xu Jiakai laughed in anger, veins bulging on his forehead, and he almost crushed the phone.
He forced himself to calm down and quickly dialed Gu Jibai's private number, which was his only lifeline at the moment.
Once, twice...couldn't get through.
Listening to the lengthy prompt tone, Xu Jiakai's heart sank little by little. He knew that he had been completely abandoned.
Just then, his assistant, Vincent, called and advised him not to return to China for the time being, lest he be investigated. But Xu Jiakai knew he couldn't bear the blame for the murder! Furthermore, everything he had painstakingly built was in China, and he wasn't willing to give up!
He stood up suddenly, walked to the window, and looked at the strange and barren foreign scenery outside, with hostility surging in his eyes.
"Since she's so unkind, don't blame me for being unjust! She wants to kill me this way? She's still a little naive!"
After hanging up Vincent's phone, Xu Jiakai immediately checked his computer for the fastest flight back to China, his fingers tapping away rapidly on the keyboard. After confirming his reservation, he logged into his social media accounts for the first time in years.
"I had no intention of occupying public resources. The murder is completely fabricated. The innocent will be cleared. I am willing to accept all investigations."
"Although my wife Shi Yunran and I have been in a relationship for a long time, we wanted to separate amicably after ten years of marriage. I never expected her to go to such extremes to divide our property. It's truly chilling."
"I, Xu Jiakai, solemnly respond to the recent online accusations against me by some so-called relevant individuals: they are all false. I am rushing back to China. I believe the law will not wrongly accuse a good person, nor will it let a bad person off!"
He deftly deconstructed Shi Yunran's accusations into a frame-up during a divorce and property dispute, while simultaneously blurring the focus and brushing aside the other accusations. He was appropriately forceful while presenting a positive clarification, even playing up a bit of sympathy. It's safe to say that if he weren't in business, he'd be a shrewd public relations pro.
Xu Jiakai's response, while seemingly impassioned, is actually half-truth and half-false. He dared to make such a statement because he knew he could handle the falsehood, and he had a clear conscience regarding the truth.
After all, the real murderer is someone else!
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