Chapter 41
She had no choice but to save herself.
His thin figure blended into the darkness, as if all Josh faced was a bald head.
The person's facial skin was loose, like the bark of an old tree that had been carelessly trampled, and the deep wrinkles between their brows were like insurmountable ravines.
Upon closer inspection, he appears much older than his forties, looking like he's nearing seventy.
Who else could this be but Gu Lian?
As night fell, the temperature in the workshop plummeted. Josh's chest heaved violently, and cold sweat poured down his back, almost soaking through his underwear.
Josh felt a chill on the back of his neck, the coldness seeping into his bones and sending shivers down his spine. His body began to tremble uncontrollably; it was too cold, it hurt too much.
Josh's trembling amused the person in front of him in a strange way, and a bizarre laugh was squeezed out of Gu Lian's throat with difficulty.
He seemed still bothered by what Josh had said after seeing him clearly. Gu Lian stood up and took a wary half-step back, narrowing his cloudy eyes as he looked down at her, asking, "You knew it would be me?"
The windows in the workshop were all installed high up, and the bright moonlight shone in through the high-hanging moon.
The moonlight spread out, shining on Josh's pale face.
Seeing that Josh remained silent for a long time, Gu Lian spoke again, his tone gentle and deliberately slow, showing great patience, "Speak." He just tapped the ground with the iron rod in his hand, "Tell me."
It looks like a protest.
When the buzzing in his ears began to subside, Josh braced himself against the cold ground and forced himself to sit up. His numb legs twitched slightly; it was so cold, he felt like his limbs would freeze if he stayed any longer.
Josh maintained her tilted-back posture, but her pale face remained composed. She didn't answer, but instead asked a question that had been bothering her for a long time: "Can you tell me first, are you related to Chen Zhibin's case?"
Upon hearing this question, Gu Lian, who was in the dark, suddenly chuckled.
He clearly hadn't expected Josh to pinpoint his identity so precisely. His seemingly miserable laughter echoed eerily in the empty workshop. "I've been hiding my identity for the past few years, and I don't think I've ever given myself away. You're quite clever."
Josh was shaken.
This definitive answer was like a steel nail, piercing deeply into Josh's heart. She raised her head, her eyes burning with fury, and her gaze towards Gu Lian suddenly turned bloodshot.
It's this person, it's definitely this person.
Sure enough, he was the culprit.
Her chest felt as if a huge boulder was pressing down on it, a suffocating, choking sensation that made it hard to breathe. If it weren't for him, Chen Zhibin wouldn't have been deceived back then; if it weren't for him, Qiao Mai wouldn't have...
The person in front of her had disrupted her life, causing her closest loved ones to leave her, while this person was still clinging to life.
She was unwilling to let this person continue to live shamelessly in this world. Thinking of this, Josh carefully turned her head, her gaze fixed on the distance, towards the direction of the main entrance.
Wait a little longer, wait a little longer, Josh kept telling himself to calm down.
"How did you recognize me?" Gu Lian's low, hoarse voice came from above again.
"intuition."
"Intuition?" As if he had heard a joke, Gu Lian's voice suddenly rose, and he chuckled. Then he suddenly stopped laughing, kicked Josh's phone away from his feet, and his eyes were vicious, like a poisoned knife.
He began to vent his dissatisfaction, roaring, "Since coming here from Hengcheng, I've changed my identity many times, but I only dare to wander around in urban villages."
Gu Lian's sudden change in mood caught Josh off guard; something was wrong with him. His legs were starting to stiffen, and the pain in his back was intensifying, like it was burning. Josh didn't dare let his guard down, keeping a close eye on Gu Lian's movements, afraid he might suddenly attack.
She needs to find a way to escape.
Just as Josh was pondering, Gu Lian suddenly leaned closer, scanning her up and down with a disgusted look, before slowly uttering a sentence from his mouth, "You've grown up, but you and Qiao Mai really don't look alike at all."
The unexpected remark struck Josh like a hammer blow, instantly shattering her composure.
He had met her before, and he never expected to hear Qiao Mai's name from her.
Josh's pupils contracted sharply, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief as she looked at Gu Lian. Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably from extreme anger and grief, and her ears rang briefly again. She asked in a hoarse voice, "You recognized me all along?"
"Was it a few years ago?" Gu Lian asked casually, tilting his head as if deep in thought, as if recalling past glorious achievements. His smile grew increasingly sinister and terrifying. "It was the year Chen Zhibin and Qiao Mai had their accident, the year it was on the news."
“At the time, I hid and didn’t dare to go out. I could only learn about the situation through online news. That’s when I found out that Chen Zhibin and Qiao Mai were gone.”
Indeed, given the egregious fraud that occurred in Hengcheng back then, the case was being reported extensively online and on television, and there were bound to be unscrupulous media outlets leaking their information.
Even if some people have seen them before, as time goes by and new cases emerge every year, few people will continue to pay attention to them.
But as a criminal suspect, Gu Lian will definitely...
He might even look at it hundreds or thousands of times.
He's like a rat hiding in a dark corner, always on guard, afraid of being retaliated against. So he'll definitely know about the situation of the victims' families.
Therefore, when they first met, he was testing her, trying to see if she knew him.
Seeing Josh's glare at him as if he wanted to devour him alive, Gu Lianhun didn't care and said shamelessly, "I only took some money. Who told them they couldn't afford it? Look at everyone else, they're all doing just fine."
For the past few years, Gu Lian had been on the run, constantly on the run. "That day, Director Zhou mentioned you to me, saying you came from Hengcheng." Hengcheng, a name that had disappeared from his world for many years, suddenly reappeared.
Gu Lian frowned. "You're from Hengcheng, which makes me wary."
It was still quiet outside.
"I thought you'd run far away already, and you certainly wouldn't show up in a place like this." Taking advantage of Gu Lian's inattention, Josh slowly moved backward in the darkness, trying to stall him and find a chance to escape. "Aren't you just exposing yourself by doing this?"
"What exactly do you want to do?" She still couldn't understand why Gu Lian had suddenly started this attack.
The matchmaker from back then had already died before being arrested by the police, so he didn't need to offer himself up unless he received some prior information.
Looking at him now, one can tell that his life isn't going well. Did something happen back then that they don't know about? As he pondered this, Josh quietly hid his right hand behind his back, his eyes filled with even more resolute wariness.
"Why?" Even today, many years later, Gu Lian himself is still puzzled.
Back then, he amassed nearly ten million in assets with forged official certificates. The intermediary was already dead, and as long as he took the money and hid far away, he could rest easy.
But what happens after that?
He did not benefit from it.
Who would have thought that the money, barely in Gu Lian's hands, would be used for investment?
In the end, he was swept away. He ended up with nothing, having lost everything.
An eye for an eye? He didn't believe it. He wanted to find the person who had deceived him, he wanted to kill him, and he planned to make a comeback.
"You deserve it." Josh felt a sudden surge of satisfaction; this was truly reaping what you sow.
"You want to laugh at me?" Gu Lian was not annoyed at all, but laughed heartily. "Anyway, you won't be able to watch for much longer."
Yes, in the end he had nothing left. Gu Lian chuckled, his gaze towards Josh growing colder.
Josh was startled, but continued to coax him, seeking a way out, "You can go to a new place, and I can pretend I've never seen you before."
"Change locations?" Gu Lian's face revealed an even more maniacal laugh, and he once again uttered the words that filled Josh with despair, "I never intended to escape."
He was tired of this life, tired of hiding and running, tired of seeing enemies everywhere.
He had been trying to hold on all these years, until that phone call from home became the fatal blow that defeated him.
Just a month ago, his family, whom he rarely contacted, suddenly called him. Gu Lian had a bad feeling; even when they did contact each other before, they never called directly.
This is the first time I've contacted him so brazenly.
Seeing the caller ID was like being doused with cold water; Gu Lian didn't have time to think, and was completely flustered. She didn't know what she said, or whether anyone else was around.
He can't escape.
That day gave Josh the opportunity to exploit his weakness.
Gu Lian's condition was becoming increasingly erratic. Hearing his words, Josh felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. Clearly, Gu Lian had been driven to the brink of despair, and he was now capable of anything.
Josh forced a calm expression, struggling to drag himself back a step, away from him. "Killing me would be the only way out."
"Turning back?" His sharp eyes were fixed on her. Over the years, Gu Lian had been swindled out of everything by con artists and had been living a life of escapism. In order to save his life, he had made one mistake after another. He had long since lost his way back.
He was fed up with this kind of life, but he was unwilling to be caught like this. "I don't want to escape anymore. Killing one is the same as killing two."
"It's not bad to take you down with me before I leave." He gave Josh a venomous look. "I'll take you to see Joe, what else do you want?"
Josh's eyes widened suddenly. He had gone mad. Gu Lian's face was twisted with excitement as he raised the iron bar high and brought it down heavily.
At the same time, Josh braced himself with his hands on the ground, did a side roll, and quickly got up and ran outside.
With a loud thud, the cold, rusty smell grazed her shoulder and slammed onto the hard floor. The impact, so close to her, made Josh's legs go weak.
"Stop running, I've locked the door from the inside. They can't get in, and you can't escape either." From behind, she heard another despairing warning, "I don't plan to get out alive, so don't even think about it."
Gu Lian has completely gone mad, but Josh doesn't want to give up. She survived the most difficult days and doesn't want to die here.
Run! That was the only thought in Josh's mind.
Gu Lian seemed to enjoy this cat-and-mouse game; the sound of the iron rod dragging on the ground was like a death countdown. He was willing to wait, to wait for Josh to slowly despair, to wait for Josh to kneel down and beg him to let her go.
However, we can't delay too long; it would be disastrous if those people outside found out.
Josh was still running for her life, her mind racing. The door had been locked from the inside by Gu Lian, no wonder she hadn't heard a sound for so long.
Now she has no choice but to save herself.
The sound of dragging iron bars was not far away. Josh held his breath, trying hard to recall where he could escape.
There's an office, and another office. The office windows can be opened.
Before that, she had to find a way to distract Gu Lian so that she would have enough time to escape safely.
[Author's Note]
Thank you for reading. I've been sick lately, my stomach problems haven't been going well, so I haven't been able to come here as often.
Also, this chapter is being posted at 2:03 AM on the Winter Solstice, a day of harmony between heaven and earth and four auspicious days. Wishing everyone health, happiness, and great wealth!! (However, it may be posted a few days late, please forgive me.)
And then!! I'm starting a pre-order, planning to release it after the New Year. If you're interested, please add it to your favorites. Thank you so much! [Please][Please], bowing.
The male lead is a scheming, manipulative woman who occasionally pretends to be weak.
The following text: Gu Zhanheng belatedly realized that Zhuo Yiran, whom he had always treated like a younger sister, actually liked him.
At that time, Zhuo Yiran was facing the crucial college entrance examination, so he could only remain silent and pretend to be unaware of the situation.
Sure enough, Zhuo Yiran had barely stepped onto the university campus when she couldn't wait to confess her feelings to him. Gu Zhanheng, who was troubled by this, remained silent for a long time, then adopted the attitude of an elder and earnestly advised her, "You are still young. You should participate in more university activities and make more friends. Your future has even broader possibilities."
But later, Zhuo Yiran met with misfortune. He felt sorry for her and offered to help her, comforting himself by saying that she was just his sister.
After that, Zhuo was still being harassed by others. He felt jealous and decisively took action. He adjusted his mindset and told himself that she was just his sister.
It wasn't until six months later that he finally realized what was happening, but it was too late.
In the past, she only showed that gentle smile to him, but now Zhuo Yiran gave it to someone else. Gu Zhanheng felt as if the words he had spoken back then had turned into an ice pick, piercing his heart with one regret after another. Seeing that man's face again, he felt a burning hatred.
This person was none other than his college classmate, Bian Xun. And he had actually been defeated by a scheming woman.
...
Bian Xun watched Gu Zhanheng's heartbroken figure leave, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, but she still had to try to look worried. "Yiran, what should we do? Will senior misunderstand us?"
*
After Bian Xun and Zhuo Yiran had been dating for a year, a friend asked them how they met.
Zhuo covered her face, not wanting to bring up the past again.
Bian Xun was extremely proud, saying, "My girlfriend bumped into me on her own."
My friend asked again, "How did you get hit?"
It was hit by a car.
Everyone:......
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