Chapter 891: Escaping Danger
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

There was a pleasing ringtone.

A policeman’s cell phone rang.

He answered it. “Ok… Yes, we will go over now.” After that, he hung up his phone and said to the other policeman, “Let’s go. There’s a new case in the east of the city that lacks manpower. We are being transferred to that case.”

“But we still haven’t found one person yet.”

“After looking for her for so long to no avail, our hopes of finding her are slim. Let’s go and help with the case in the east of the city.” The policeman patted the shoulder of his companion and the two of them quickly left.

Only then did Xia Ling sigh in relief. She finally realized that the pain on her shoulder stung. As she reached out to touch it, a soft and furry caterpillar fell from her body. She was scared to death and almost screamed. Her hand hurt from touching the caterpillar, her body hurt from the caterpillar, and more terrifyingly… she was afraid of bugs! Caterpillar! In the past, she would have cried for a full night about it!

Aggrieved tears flowed out. Luckily, she was mature now and did not make a sound.

In the night, her phone rang again—it was Li Lei. She picked it up and sobbed. “I’ve been bitten by a bug.”

Li Lei was relieved. Great. Since she was able to cry over a small matter such as being bitten by a bug, it seemed that the crisis was over. He calmly appeased her. “A bug? Don’t worry. When I’m back, I will take you to kill hit. I heard reports that the police on your side is gone now. How is your situation now?”

“The bug bite hurts…” She cried in a weak voice. However, she still remembered what situation she was in. “I’m still on the tree and am not wearing any clothes, so I don’t dare to go down. However, there are scary caterpillars on the tree… You have to come and save me…”

Scary caterpillars…

Li Lei was in a mess. He sighed silently and continued to placate her softly. “I’m still in the headquarters. Even if I set off now, it will be a long time before I can come back. Just wait on the tree and bear with it for some time. I will send Ah Nuo to save you.”

“Ok. Tell him to hurry up.” She sobbed.

Li Lei instructed people to look for Ah Nuo. He did not hang up the phone and continued to whisper to her in a pacifying voice. He wanted to comfort her because she was alone, cold, and scared in the dark.

After a long time, she said, “Ah Nuo is here.”

Under the tree, a tall man holding a flashlight found the tree she was in. He lifted his head and said to her, “Miss Ling, come down and be careful. I’ve brought clothes for you, they’re at the bottom of three. I will keep guard nearby.”

A small bag of clothes was placed near the roots of the tree, and there was also a flashlight. A faint beam of light shone on the mottled tree trunk, illuminating the way for her to get down. As for Ah Nuo, he turned around to avoid looking at her.

The underwear-clad Xia Ling carefully climbed down the tree and flicked two caterpillars off her body. She resisted the pain and wore the clothes that Ah Nuo brought. It was a very fitting long dress that she placed in Li Lei’s house when she stayed there for a while. After she wore it, she called Ah Nuo.

Only then did Ah Nuo turn around, look at her, and smile. “It’s great that you’re ok. Come, I will take you to the young master’s house to rest.” Although Xia Ling did not speak much to Li Lei over the phone, considering the situation at hand, Li Lei guessed that someone wanted to harm her. It was better to be safe than sorry. He instructed Ah Nuo to take her to his house because the security there was better.

Xia Ling nodded and followed Ah Nuo.

Only then did Li Lei hang up the call.

As Xia Ling arrived at his apartment, a sleek leopard greeted her. It stepped forward elegantly and rubbed her legs with its huge head.

“Er Mao.” Looking at it, Xia Ling’s fearful feelings eased. She rubbed its forehead, went into the bathroom, closed the door, and took off her dress.

There were red and large swollen areas on her shoulders, waist, and thights. They were all caused by the caterpillars. She groaned in pain and mumbled to herself, “Once I find out who set me up, I will throw him in a heap of caterpillars!” She turned on the shower tap, hurriedly showered, changed into sleepwear, and applied medicine from the medicine box on herself.

Er Mao quietly stayed by her side as if it were replacing its master’s role to protect her.

Xia Ling was sleepy and tired. After applying the medicine, she laid on the sofa in the living room and fell asleep.

When she woke up, the sun was high in the sky.

The afternoon sun quietly sprinkled in the room through the gauze curtains on the sofa and the man who was hugging her. She realized that she was leaning on Li Lei. The soft light silk of her pajamas was hanging off the edge, touching the furry carpet. The man was half squinting as he gently re-applied medication on her. As the faint aroma of herbs dispersed in the room, a cool feeling spread from the red patches on Xia Ling’s, making her feel very comfortable.

She moved gently and said in a confused voice, “Why are you back? I thought you would only come back three days later?”

“I missed you.” He softly said and continued to apply the light green herbal cream on the red marks on her wrists. After he received her call for help last night, he quickly handled his affairs in the headquarters and returned home in advance. He was very worried. Even though she was safe, her crying voice over the phone hurt his heart.

Xia Ling understood what he meant. She closed her eyes peacefully and slept again.

This time, she only woke up at night.

Li Lei made dinner for her and also told her the results of the report. “We’ve already found out that the person who told you to go to the club was not Luo Luo. Someone used a software to change his number to pretend that he was Luo Luo.”

Xia Ling was a little shocked but was also relieved. It was great that it wasn’t Luo Luo. Otherwise, she would not know how to face her good friend. She did not want to be betrayed or lose a friend again.

Li Lei understood her feelings. His heart hurting, he gently kissed her. “Don’t worry. Even if everyone in the world doesn’t like you, I’m still here. I will always love you and protect you.”

She acknowledged him softly.

“Who is the person who pretended to be Luo Luo?”

Li Lei spat out two words. “Xia Yu.”

“Xia Yu?!” Xia Ling was shocked but soon calmed down. “That’s so strange. Why does she still want to hurt me? In the past, she hurt me because of Pei Ziheng. But I’m about to marry you. Even if she has problems with the Wei Family, the intention of yesterday’s plot was to ruin my reputation and not to drag me down in private…”

Li Lei said, “In the box last night, the people using hallucinogens were very special. They mixed marijuana with some new types of drugs. I’ve sent people to investigate the new drugs—they’re new products made by the Wei Family. Currently, they’re only sold to very few customers such as Xia Yu. Among these people, only Xia Yu has animosity with you.”

Chapter 892: A Small Voice
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Ling was taken aback. “Until now, why does she still want to hurt me?”

Li Lei said, “She might be resentful, unwilling to resign to her fate, jealous… There are many reasons. More importantly, the investigator I sent said that recently, Xia Yu went to stay at Pei Ziheng’s villa for a day and at night, then they saw Pei Ziheng’s car go to a love club. This is very strange.”

Xia Ling also nodded. With her years of understanding of Pei Ziheng, she knew that this man was not sloppy or indulgent. He did not like to find temporary women. Even after her death in her past life, he only took care of a few girls but never went to public places to have a fling. What outrageous thing did he do that night?

Li Lei continued, “The next day, Pei Ziheng announced in Imperial Entertainment that Chu Chen was no longer in charge of Xia Yu and that Xia Yu was no longer allowed to appear in front of him. That’s very fishy. I guess that it’s possible that Xia Yu offended Pei Ziheng that night. For example, she might have tried to drug Pei Ziheng, which was why he was so enraged.”

Xia Ling was a little shocked. Drug? Her sister who looked so weak and deserving of sympathy actually dared to do something so unscrupulous?!

“Even so, how is this related to me?” She asked.

Li Lei looked at her a few more times. “Do you really not get it?”

“Get what?” Xia Ling was a little confused.

Li Lei looked at her again and realized that she was really lost and innocent. Suddenly, he was a little happy. He smiled and said, “Yes, it’s not related to you.”

“What exactly are you saying?” Xia Ling threw a pillow at him. “Tell me.”

After being hit by the pillow a few times, Li Lei continued to smile. “You’re about to marry me but Pei Ziheng is still hung up over you and perhaps, he can’t get over you. Due to this, Xia Yu, who wanted to rape Pei Ziheng, felt unfulfilled and resentful of you, so she…”

Rape Pei Ziheng?!

What…

Xia Ling almost choked. She could barely imagine it. However, she felt sad. She was about to marry someone else but he was still waiting for her bitterly?

She quietened down.

Li Lei touched her forehead. “Everyone has a different fate.”

She looked up at him and knew that he was comforting her, so she nodded. That’s true. Everyone had a different future. No matter how much she sympathized with Pei Ziheng, it was too late. In the future, that man would have to lead his life alone.

“I didn’t expect Xia Yu to be this crazy.” Xia Ling said.

Li Lei asked, “How do you plan on dealing with her?”

“Huh?” Xia Ling was confused.

Li Lei said, “The person she offended was you, so you have the right to decide how we should deal with her. Just tell me. Should we hand over to the police or disfigure her in a car accident?”

“Caterpillar!” Xia Ling suddenly became spirited and was filled with indignation. “I was almost bitten to death by the caterpillars! I want to throw her into a pile of caterpillars and pull her out for questioning after two days!”

Suddenly, Li Lei felt that his triad was about to embark on such an imaginative punishment… that was really strange. However, his wife had the final word, so he really sent people to catch many caterpillars and captured Xia Yu.

After two days, Xia Yu was dragged out. Her entire body was swollen and her face looked like a pig’s head.

Xia Ling looked at her in disdain. “Xia Yu, why are you still trying to harm me now? Why haven’t you changed?”

“I… I harmed you?” Xia Yu suddenly laughed crazily. “Xia Ling, do you know what sabotage means? If I really wanted to sabotage you, you would’ve been dead by now, understand?”

Xia Ling coldly glared at her. “Stop beating around the bush! You’re talking as if you weren’t the one who fooled me and made me go to the drug club! Do you think your sophistry will work?”

Xia Yu looked at her deeply. “If I said I didn’t do it, would you believe me?”

Xia Ling was startled. It wasn’t her? How could this be? “Stop lying.” She said, “You’ve lied to me many times over the years. Do you think I will believe your rubbish? All of the evidence is pointing at you. If it isn’t you, who can it be?!”

Xia Yu laughed. “At that year… when you died… all of the evidence was also…”

She spoke so softly that Xia Ling did not hear her clearly. “What?”

However, Xia Yu stopped talking.

Xia Ling said, “You really can’t turn over a new leaf. You’re still trying to deny what you did at this time.”

Xia Yu lowered her eyes. “How do you plan on punishing me?”

Looking at the caterpillar bites on her body, Xia Ling coldly said, “Of course I’ll punish you severely.” In reality, besides the caterpillars, she did not think of another punishment. She couldn’t really kill Xia Yu, right? No matter what, Xia Yu was not guilty of death. She would slowly think of her punishment in the future.

On the other hand, Xia Yu misunderstood her and thought that she would face a very terrible punishment. She laughed wryly again. “Xia Ling, you’re also looking at a dead end.” She was really not the mastermind of this plan to sabotage Xia Ling.

On that day, Su Tang looked for her and suggested that she join forces with her to get rid of Xia Ling—that is, murder her.

Xia Yu rejected it.

She did not know why she rejected her. Perhaps it was because she had murdered Xia Ling once but realized that it was futile because she achieved Nirvana and reincarnated? Perhaps in these years, after nights of reflections, she found her conscience?

She still remembered that during the year after Xia Ling’s death, she had a fever. It was very severe and she was sent to the best hospital by her servants. She received the best treatment when she was hospitalized. However, in the night, her mind was blurry and she felt lonely and helpless. She really wished that a hand would gently touch her forehead. Even if it were useless, she wished someone would whisper softly in her ear, “Xiao Yu, don’t be afraid. I will always be with you.” However, that person was already gone.

In her life, only that girl called Xia Ling treated her so warmly before.

Even Pei Ziheng never did that.

That night, Xia Yu cried.

Later, she occasionally dreamed of her sister. In her dreams, she secretly wished for her sister to resurrect. However, this thought was immediately annihilated in a moment. She was not in the wrong! Xia Ling was too dreadful! She always stole everything she had! Xia Ling deserved to die!

She was in a dilemma with herself until she witnessed Xia Ling’s reincarnation a few days ago.

However, she was very disappointed.

Her sister was no longer her sister. She never smiled at her anymore. All of the warm greetings turned into icy words. She did not want a sister like that!

It was better to treat her as if she died.

When Su Tang looked for her and suggested to join forces to murder Xia Ling, it was not that she did not consider it, but inside, a voice stopped her and made her tell Su Tang. “I don’t have any interest in killing people. I don’t want to participate in this plan.”

Chapter 893: Wang Jingwan’s Death
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Su Tang mocked Xia Yu for being a coward who did not even dare to kill her love rival.

Xia Yu smiled coldly. Murder? That year when she did something earth-shattering, she wondered what Su Tang was doing. “If you’re looking for death, don’t drag me down with you.” She said to Su Tang. “If you kill her, the Xia Family, Li Family, and even Pei Ziheng will dig the earth to look for the killer. Do you think you can escape the grasp of so many powerful families?”

Su Tang said, “There’s always some risk.”

“Idiot.” Xia Yu concluded.

Su Tang slightly narrowed her eyes. “You seem to know something.”

Xia Yu said faintly, “I know that even people who are smarter and more powerful than you do not dare to hurt Xia Ling.” She was referring to Wei Lingnan. If she did not understand what a taboo Xia Ling was in the past, she found out after being locked in the Wei Family’s secret lab. Even a powerful monster would rather be in a hopeless tangle with her substitutes than touch Xia Ling. She did not believe that Su Tang was more powerful than Wei Lingnan.

Su Tang heard the ominous meaning in her words.

Since she was able to become Li Lei’s special assistant, she was definitely not a crude and impetuous woman. Even if she wanted to get rid of Xia Ling, she had to find a way to make herself seem innocent. What she wanted was to enjoy the benefits after Xia Ling’s death. She asked Xia Yu doubtfully, “I really can’t kill her?”

“You can try it out.” Xia Yu said curtly. She did not intend to spend much effort stopping Su Tang. In reality, if Su Tang was able to kill Xia Ling by herself, it would be a good thing. In that case, Pei Ziheng would completely give up on Xia Ling and look for another woman.

However, Su Tang faltered.

After some time, she said, “Fine. I won’t kill her. However, I want to ruin her so that she would not be qualified to marry Li Lei or Pei Ziheng. In fact, I want both men’s impression of her to be ruined. I’m sure this time, you’re willing to participate.”

Xia Yu smiled. “Ruin her completely? What’s better than being caught doing drugs?”

Su Tang also smiled. The two women quickly reached an agreement and made a plan.

Xia Yu provided the drugs. Su Tang found out the gathering place of artistes who smoked marijuana in the city, tampered with her phone number to act as Luo Luo, and sent a text message to Xia Ling. Finally, she set up a mobile phone signal blocking device near the club and even misled the police to capture Xia Ling’s bodyguards outside so that Xia Ling could not escape.

Everything seemed seamless.

Unexpectedly, Xia Ling was still able to escape.

In the small imprisonment room, Xia Yu’s body was red and swollen because of the caterpillars and many of her wounds had turned into ulcers because she scratched them. She initially wanted to tell Xia Ling that she did this all alone, but as soon as she saw that disdainful and arrogant look on Xia Ling’s face, resentful feelings rushed to her head.

Why did she have to tell Xia Ling the truth?

Xia Yu viciously thought of keeping Xia Ling in the dark forever so that she would not be on guard against the ill-intentioned woman. Even if that woman killed her one day, she deserved it.

Thinking about it, she laughed again.

“Why are you laughing?” Xia Ling frowned.

Xia Yu said, “I’m laughing at your innocence and stupidity.”

Xia Ling was very unhappy. Why did she say she was innocent or stupid? “You’re already a prisoner here, so don’t carry on having this sinister expression on your face, Xia Yu. Await your punishment.”

Xia Ling turned around and left.

The sunlight outside shone brightly.

Xia Ling took a deep breath. The fragrance of the grass was refreshing. She told herself not to think about what Xia Yu did anymore, but she did not know why Xia Yu’s words lingered in her heart.

Was she stupid?

Was Xia Yu just randomly speaking or was there some truth to it?

When she was having dinner on this day, she told her inner doubts to Li Lei. “Do you think that this was really done by Xia Yu.”

Li Lei placed some chicken breast on her plate and said without a thought, “She already admitted guilt. Why are you still asking this?” Er Mao squatted between their feet.

Xia Ling bit her fork and tilted her head. “I just feel that something is wrong. I told her that all the evidence is pointing to her, but she told me…” After thinking about it for a long time, she still couldn’t understand. “That year… when someone died? All of the evidence was also…”

“What are you talking about?” Li Lei looked at her in confusion.

Xia Ling shook her head and continued to eat. Her mind was still thinking about Xia Yu’s words.

Halfway through her meal, she suddenly put down her knife and fork. “I’ve got it!” Under the warm yellow light in the dining room, her face turned pale and even her fingers shook.

Li Lei was scared to death. “Xiao Ling, what’s wrong?”

“That year… when Wang Jingwan died, all of the evidence pointed at me! Yes, that was what Xia Yu meant!” She looked at Li Lei with a pale expression. “Xia Yu knew that I was framed. She knew that I did not kill Wang Jingwan! That’s why she laughed so provocatively when I used the evidence to incriminate her just now!” She was so emotional that she rambled on incoherently. This case happened so many years ago, and she initially thought that her name would never be cleared, but it turned out that someone knew the truth!

Li Lei also put down his knife and fork. This was not a small matter. “Are you sure that Xia Yu said this?!”

“A hundred percent!” Xia Ling nodded vigorously. Her voice quivered. “She knew that the murderer wasn’t me! In fact, she may even know who the real killer is! That year, she hated me so much. It’s possible that she didn’t say anything even though she knew.”

Li Lei stood up and grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”

Xia Ling was dragged out by him. “Where are we going?”

“To watch the surveillance cameras.” Li Lei said, “The place she is held at is the secret base of the Li Family. There are surveillance cameras inside and I can read lips.”

The two of them went to the security room downstairs. Li Lei keyed in the details of the secret base to access the recorded conversation between Xia Ling and Xia Yu and enlarged it. The angle was very good. Xia Yu’s lip movements were very obvious. Li Lei read them three times and confirmed without a doubt that she said: “that year when Wang Jingwan died, all of the evidence pointed to you”!

All pointed to Xia Ling!

Relating what she said to what happened, it was possible that Xia Yu was hinting that the mastermind of the plot to harm Xia Ling was not her, like how Xia Ling did not kill Wang Jingwan!

“Let’s go!” Li Lei pulled Xia Ling out again. This time, they entered a car and sped to the place that Xia Yu was held captive at.

“Xia Yu, regarding Wang Jingwan’s death, how much do you know?” Li Lei asked.

Xia Yu did not eat anything for a day and was extremely weak. When she heard Li Lei, she smiled but did not say a word.

“Don’t force me to torture you.” Li Lei’s voice was ominous.

Chapter 894: Shrouded in Mystery
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Yu shut her mouth and refused to say anything.

Li Lei signaled for someone to pull Xia Yu up and hang her using handcuffs from the ceiling. He took out a syringe and pointed it at her fingernails. “There’s acid in this.” Li Lei said calmly, his voice low and menacing, like someone speaking from the depths of hell. “We can start at your fingers, and watch how it corrodes your hands. Not to worry… the night is long.” Li Lei was not a soft person given the influence in his family since he was young. He could be extremely cruel when dealing with enemies.

Xia Yu lowered her head and remained quiet.

Li Lei pressed on the syringe to release the acid into her fingernails. Xia Yu screamed out in pain.

The burning smell of acid corroding her body spread in the room, and very soon her finger was completely corroded. Xia Yu screamed out as she squirmed from the pain, sweat trickling down her brows.

Li Lei’s voice was still steady. “Tell me… tell me the truth of Wang Jingwan’s death, then I’ll make sure you suffer less. Perhaps if I’m happy I’ll find a doctor to help treat your injuries and arrange for you to stay in the presidential suite.”

A contorted smile appeared on Xia Yu’s face. Suffer less? Presidential suite?

If he knew the truth on who murdered Wang Jingwan, he would chop her into a thousand pieces!

She wasn’t stupid!

“I… I won’t tell you…” Xia Yu’s voice was weak. “Just kill me…” She was confident that Li Lei wouldn’t kill her as she was the only person with all the clues to the events in the past. As for his methods of torture? Xia Yu believed that she could withstand them all. After all, hadn’t she been through all the horrible secret experiments Wei Lingnan did on her in his lab?

Li Lei’s methods of torture might scare others, but they were nothing compared to what she had seen in Wei Lingnan’s lab. He could forget about trying to get a word from her using torture!

Li Lei’s gaze hardened, and he signaled for his subordinates to continue with the torture.

At the break of dawn, he emerged from the dungeon reeking of blood.

Ah Nuo came forward. “Young Master, Miss Ling is waiting for you outside.”

“Didn’t I tell you to get her to go to bed first?” Li Lei asked. Even though he had rashly pulled Xia Ling to this place where Xia Yu was being imprisoned, he knew that the torture process to try to get Xia Yu to speak would be bloody. He didn’t want Xia Ling to have to witness that. Hence, he had managed to convince her with difficulty to wait outside the dungeon, but she refused to head to bed first.

Ah Nuo gave a bitter smile. “You couldn’t get her to go the bed… how could I possibly be able to do so?”

“Get her to wait a few minutes more.” Li Lei said as he changed his course. “I’ll go take a shower. Bring me a clean set of clothes.” He didn’t want his beloved wife to see him in this bloody state. He had a quick shower to wash away the blood on his body, changed into a clean set of clothes, and sprayed on some cologne before he went out to meet Xia Ling.

Xia Ling was hugging a panda cushion as she slept on the sofa in the waiting room. A blanket that Ah Nuo had found was draped over her body, and she was snuggled under the soft wool, her hair messy.

Li Lei’s expression softened as he walked over and gave her a peck on the forehead. His light kiss made her snap awake immediately. She rubbed her eyes in a daze and called out, “Li Lei?”

Li Lei said, “Mmhmm, it’s me.” He sat down on the sofa and hugged her lightly.

“How did the interrogation go?” She asked while yawning.

Li Lei replied, “We tortured her, but Xia Yu is really keeping mum about things. Why are you sleeping here? You’ll catch a cold… why didn’t you go to the room around the corner to sleep?”

She shook her head sleepily. “Waiting for you.”

She yawned again and asked despondently, “So you didn’t manage to get anything out of her?” Wang Jingwan’s death was a mystery that plagued her. There was no way that she could wash herself clean, and it was this incident that had soured her relationship with Pei Ziheng then. In the past, the line between happiness and hell was this Wang Jingwan incident.

Even though it was a long time ago, and she no longer cared what Pei Ziheng thought of her, this matter still nagged her. If only she could find out who the real culprit was!

Li Lei knew what she was thinking. “Don’t worry… we’ve already sent people to search Xia Yu’s home to see if there are any clues there. If she had a partner-in-crime to be able to frame you as a drug user, there will likely be some clues in her place. We just need to wait patiently.”

This was really the only thing they could do now.

Xia Ling nodded. Her arms encircled Li Lei’s neck as she said, “I’m sleepy. Carry me to bed.”

Li Lei smiled as he carried his beloved to the huge bed in the room next door.

The results of the investigations shocked everyone. They found poison, formaldehyde, murder weapons, as well as some items that seemed to have been left behind by a victim, like blood stains and hair. They also found a threatening letter. “Xia Yu, if you don’t give me the money, I’ll reveal everything that you did in the past.”

Li Lei sent his men off to investigate who had written the letter, as well as who was the victim.

After he got the investigation report, he couldn’t help but shudder at how scary Xia Yu was.

Xia Ling came to look for him. “What did the report show?”

Li Lei didn’t show her the report immediately, asking instead, “Xiao Ling, do you remember who Bao Renjiu is?”

“Bao Renjiu?” Xia Ling thought for a long time before she recalled who he was. “Is it an old man? He used to work as the props manager for Jin Yifei’s filming team. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

Li Lei said, “He’s dead.”

Xia Ling was shocked. “What?”

Li Lei continued, “Bao Renjiu tried to get close to you at some point. I realized his intentions and sought him out to give him a warning. He told me something… he said that he was the Head of the Wang Family—Wang Jingwan’s biological father.”

“What?! He’s Wang Jingwan’s biological father?!” Xia Ling was completely taken aback. She recalled that she had seen the Head of the Wang Family in social events before. He was charismatic and confident, a far cry from the dirty and scrawny old man caring for the props in the film site. “How is that possible?!”

“There’s nothing impossible in this world.” Li Lei replied. “After Wang Jingwan died, the Wang Family was convinced that you had killed her. Her brother, in particular, went around telling everyone that he was going to kill you. So when you were murdered at your tenth-anniversary concert, Pei Ziheng was sure that the Wang Family was the culprit behind your death. The police also found evidence and witnesses pointing to Young Master Wang as the prime suspect. Hence, he was sentenced to death.

“Having lost both his son and daughter in a short span of time, and with Pei Ziheng still so furious that he was using all methods possible to drive the Wang Family to bankruptcy, Wang Family Head was forced to live in the streets, with nothing left to his name.

“However, Wang Family Head believed that you weren’t killed by his son, and was determined to clear his son’s name. So, he changed his name to Bao Renjiu, which also means revenge if you put the words together.

“He had been investigating this case since several years ago.

“Then, I was already suspected that there was some special relationship between you and the Diva Xia Ling, so I sponsored his investigations. However, I suddenly lost contact with him completely one day. My subordinates told me that he died in a car accident. At the same time, I found out about your true identity and was too preoccupied to find out what happened to Bao Renjiu. The investigation this time around suggests that he didn’t die in a car accident, but was likely murdered by Xia Yu.”

Chapter 895: Bring the Secret to My Grave
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Ling’s face turned pale. She never thought that Xia Yu was such a psycho.

In her mind, Xia Yu was cruel for having thrown her baby child into the rubbish bin. Who would have thought that Xia Yu would make use of all these murder weapons—poison, daggers, guns… as well as detailed maps on the location of the crime, and disposing of the bodies. She had killed so many people!

These were all human lives!

She held onto the chair for support, hearing herself ask, “You’re sure that Xia Yu was behind this?”

“About eighty percent sure.” Li Lei replied. “I’ve sent someone to do a more detailed investigation, and we are planning to interrogate Xia Yu one more time to try to get her to admit to it herself.”

Xia Ling said, “I want to see her.”

Li Lei anxiously responded, “Xiao Ling… she’s in a horrible state right now.” Her fingers were corroded by acid, and her toenails had been pried off. There were needle piercings in every sensitive area on her body and broken bones in many parts of her legs such that she couldn’t stand by herself. Xia Yu now reeked of decomposing meat, with maggots growing in various parts of her body. How could he allow Xiao Ling to see this horrendous scene?

Xia Ling insisted. “I’m not so weak.”

Li Lei couldn’t stop her, so he accompanied her into the dungeon to see Xia Yu.

In the dungeon, Xia Yu was still being hung by her wrists, and her clothes were in tatters from all the torture that she had been through. Her head hung forward and her eyes were closed, with houseflies and bugs flying around her body like it was a piece of dead meat. All kinds of whips, hooks, needles, and other torture tools hung on the four walls around Xia Yu, most spotted with blood and starting to smell.

Xia Ling covered her nose.

Li Lei said, “If you can’t take the smell, we can go out now. You don’t have to be here.”

Xia Ling shook her head. “I want to ask her something personally.”

Li Lei gave a signal and his subordinate waiting by the side poured a basin of cold water on Xia Yu’s head. Xia Ling groaned in pain as she woke up. It took some time for her eyes to regain focus. Seeing Xia Ling in the room, Xia Yu lips turned up into a jeering smile. “Oh… so the Madam has decided to grace me with her presence now? Are you happy to see me like this?”

Xia Ling said, “We found a lot of murder evidence in your house.”

Xia Yu was taken aback momentarily, before continuing in a nonchalant tone. “And so? Since I’m here right now, I’ve never thought of leaving this place alive… kekeke…” She started to cough intensively, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The flies in the room flew excitedly towards the fresh blood.

Li Lei told Xia Ling, “When we were torturing her, we broke her ribs and it’s hurt her lungs.”

Xia Ling glanced over at Xia Yu. “If you reply to my questions properly, I’ll send you for treatment and to live in a clean place. How about that? You know me… you know I’m a person of my words.”

“Xia Ling… do you know what I hate most about you?” Xia Yu suddenly said as she looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Xia Ling frowned and didn’t respond.

Xia Yu continued, “I hate your arrogant attitude! Like you’re highest than everyone else in the world! Do you know how irritating that is? Do you?! Kekeke…” She started coughing again in her agitation.

Li Lei pulled Xia Ling back so that the blood wouldn’t splatter onto her.

Looking at them, Xia Yu’s expression was relaxed and she smiled. “Oh… how touching… Li Lei… Second Young Master Li… Everyone says that you are such a protective man. I can see that they are right. Unfortunately, why did you choose a broken shoe that has been worn before?!”

“What did you say?!” Xia Ling’s face darkened.

Xia Ling smiled. “Am I wrong? Xia Ling… my wonderful sister… shall I tell your beloved husband everything that happened when you were being imprisoned by Pei Ziheng? How you were naked, having to pander to Pei Ziheng’s will? How you had to kneel like a dog and lick his boots… you….”

Pa!

A loud sound rang out.

Xia Ling slapped her with all her might, her face white, body shivering, and chest heaving with deep breaths. Li Lei rushed forward to hug her, trying to calm her in a gentle voice. “It’s okay, Xiao Ling… It’s okay… Everything has passed. I love you regardless of anything that happened to you before… I love you… always…”

He hugged onto her tightly, his heart clenching at how much she was trembling.

That time of imprisonment was the greatest scar on Xiao Ling’s heart, and she hated for anyone to touch it. Yet, Xia Yu had pulled that wound open in front of everyone in the room. Li Lei knew how much Xia Ling was hurting.

He signaled to the two subordinates, who silently left the room.

Xia Ling was still trembling, and her face was pale.

Xia Yu’s head was turned to one side from the force of Xia Ling’s slap. There was a cut on her lip and the blood trickled to the floor.

It took a while for Xia Yu to regain her senses. “Haha… hahaha…” She coughed and glared at Xia Ling with frenzied eyes. “You can’t take it, right? You don’t want me to continue? You’re afraid of the things that you have done in the past! Xia Ling… you whore! You’re just a f**king whore! Slut! What right do you have to gain all the love from all these men? You don’t deserve it! You should just die in that bungalow! Hahahaha….”

Xia Ling struggled to free herself from Li Lei’s embrace, wanting to slap Xia Yu again.

Xia Yu smiled as she jeered. “Hit me! Just hit me to death! You can’t change anything that happened even if you kill me! Hahahahah… Xia Ling, you dirty b*tch! What right do you have to act all high and might! You have no right! Ah…”

The last word was a scream of pain.

Li Lei was holding the syringe filled with acid. “Have we destroyed all your fingers yet? It’s fine… keep talking… next will be your eyes.”

This time, Xia Yu shut up in fear.

Xia Ling was still pale and could only steady herself with Li Lei’s help. She didn’t want to hear any of the nonsense that Xia Yu was spouting. Hence, she asked directly, “Xia Yu, you know who killed Wang Jingwan. Speak!”

Xia Yu smiled again. “Oh yes… I do know.”

“Who is it?” Li Lei was the one who questioned this time.

Xia Yu stared straight at Xia Ling. “You want to know? I’m not going to tell you… Just kill me… I’ll bring this secret to the grave and let you lose sleep over it for your entire life!”

“Xia Yu, you’re asking for it…” Xia Ling’s expression was ashen.

Xia Yu lowered her head with a snide smile and kept quiet.

Seeing that any more questions were futile, Li Lei helped Xia Ling out of the dungeon and locked the room behind him. He instructed his subordinates outside the door. “Don’t give her any meals and don’t clean her wounds. Torture her three times a day. Keep her just on the brink of death.”

His subordinates nodded. They could tell that the Young Master was furious.

Chapter 896: Reenacting the Tenth Anniversary Concert
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Ling followed Li Lei onto the car, and the driver started up the vehicle.

She was quiet as she thought about the exchange with Xia Yu earlier and the past memories.

Li Lei said, “Don’t worry… even if Xia Yu refuses to say anything, we can still find out the truth. She killed Bao Renjiu, as well as many other people that tried to blackmail her. There has to be some relationship between all these people.”

Xia Ling nodded listlessly.

Li Lei could tell that she was preoccupied, and knew what she was thinking about. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, saying gently, “Xiao Ling… everyone has a past. Those experiences were not your fault. You don’t have to blame yourself for it.”

Xia Ling turned her head away and looked out of the window at the quickly passing buildings. She remembered that in the final year with Pei Ziheng, he would take her outside sometimes. Then, she would sit in the back seat of the car, her body hurting from all the wounds and abrasions, not daring to defy anything that that man wanted. But… she always had the urge to open the car door and jump out. Then, even death was a luxury.

Her greatest wish then was that her compliance to Pei Ziheng’s will would allow her to be kindly treated. She couldn’t fathom meeting another man or being in another blissful relationship so that she could leave the trauma behind her.

What she had today far surpassed her expectations.

Her body started to relax and she leaned against Li Lei’s chest. She said in a soft voice, “I love you.”

Li Lei smiled, his eyes reflecting the afternoon sun like sparkles of gold, making him look even more attractive with the buildings in his backdrop. “I love you, too.” Li Lei responded and kissed her forehead.

The results of the investigations came back very quickly.

Li Lei showed it to Xia Ling. “It’s been confirmed—Bao Renjiu was murdered by Xia Yu. She also killed several other people… those others are the family members of the person responsible for your death.”

“The person responsible for my death?” Xia Ling took a while to understand what he meant. During her concert, she was pushed offstage after being stabbed in the heart from the back. The actual murder was not carried out by Young Master Wang himself, but by a gangster that had been paid off.

“That murderer was sentenced to death together with Young Master Wang.” Xia Ling murmured. “By right, a gangster such as him shouldn’t be associated with Xia Yu at all… but his family sent a blackmail letter to Xia Yu, saying, ‘If you don’t give me the money, I’ll tell everyone about what you did before.’ On the other hand, the Wang family kept going on about how they were framed…”

Her face turned white.

Li Lei completed what she was unwilling to say out loud. “If Bao Renjiu’s assertion that the Wang Family was framed is true, then the true mastermind behind your murder is likely not Young Master Wang, but Xia Yu. So… when Bao Renjiu was investigating the matter, he was killed secretly by Xia Yu.” Everything fell into place with this explanation.

Xia Ling shook her head, unable to speak.

She couldn’t believe that the sister that she doted on so much was the mastermind behind her murder.

“She tried to harm Shaohui… it’s not surprising that she tried to harm you, too.” Li Lei commented. Everything was crystal clear to him since he was an independent party. “She craved Pei Ziheng’s attention, and you were in her way. It’s that simple.”

Xia Ling’s voice was weak. “I need to see the evidence.”

“Okay, then we will look for the evidence.” Li Lei didn’t like harming the innocent but also didn’t like to let enemies off. Anyone that dared touch Xiao Ling was harming his reason to live.

They started to gather the evidence.

Since they were trying to uncover the truth of an old case, then reenacting the crime scene was a good method. Li Lei willingly forked out the money to rent the tenth-anniversary concert venue and hired a private investigation house to reenact the scene from that fated concert.

Xia Ling put on the glimmering dress from the concert and stood on the vast, empty stage.

This was the exact outfit that she wore then, and she looked resplendent.

Looking down at the empty audience stands, she was in a daze. This was such a familiar scene, but everyone and everything was different. The private investigators busied themselves in the venue, trying to uncover any clues to the events in the past.

Li Lei walked onto the stage and asked, “Are you nervous?”

She shook her head.

Li Lei passed her the glass of lemon water that he had brought over. “Drink some water and have a rest. Later, we’ll do a walk-through to reenact what happened then. When the lights dim, the person rushing on stage to attack you from the back will be me. Don’t be afraid. I’ve also arranged for bodyguards and snipers with infrared weapons. If anyone other than me tries to attack you, they will fire immediately and kill the person.”

Xia Ling smiled. “Why does it feel like you are more nervous than I am?”

Li Lei lightly caressed her face. “Yeah… I’m paranoid of losing you at this same venue that you died in your past life. Even if the possibility of that is almost zilch.” As such, he chose to impersonate the murderer and come onstage himself and had arranged for so many layers of protection. He even cushioned the cement floors with safety sponges at the place where she would fall off the stage. If she fell off stage accidentally, she wouldn’t be harmed.

Xia Ling felt a warmth fill her heart. The sadness that she was feeling from Xia Yu being found to be the prime suspect disappeared in an instant. “I’ll be fine.” She told Li Lei. “I still want to grow old with you.”

Her words made Li Lei’s heart melt.

He kissed her and said, “I hope to be able to wrap this matter up before our wedding.”

She responded, “Yes, we will.”

The private investigator told them to get into position.

Li Lei kissed her again before walking off stage, hiding in a position that she couldn’t see.

She stood onstage alone, facing the empty audience stands. Imagining the ten-thousand strong audience from her tenth-anniversary concert, she raised the microphone to her lips and started to sing. “The caged butterfly, with wings but can’t fly…”

Midway through her song, the electricity cut suddenly.

She thought that she would remain calm, but the terror of her murder returned to her. She panicked as she heard the screams from her fans in the crowd, the sound of something being pushed over, and the sound of her own beating heart. She broke out in cold sweat as she tried her best to control her emotions and keep calm while she reenacted her steps from the concert. Suddenly, someone hugged her from behind.

“Don’t be afraid… It’s me, Xiao Ling.” Li Lei voice rang out from behind.

Xia Ling felt herself breathe a huge sigh of relief, as she crumpled into his chest.

After this reenactment, the private investigators replaced them with body doubles and reenacted the scene a few more times. Asking Xia Ling to reenact the scene the first time around was to stimulate her memory to see if there was anything that she missed. The additional reenactments were to ensure that they captured everything. The body double actors went as far as to be “stabbed” by knife props with fake blood and being pushed off the stage onto the sponge protected barriers.

Chapter 897: The Crystal Teddy Bear
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After the simulations, the private investigator reported to them. “Based on our reenactments, it appears that what the gangster said in his statement was accurate. His motion path on stage was the best possible one—hiding behind the curtains backstage, under the drum set, moving rapidly when the lights went out. The person that designed the path of movement must have surveyed the venue many times.”

Xia Ling and Li Lei exchanged a glance.

Li Lei instructed. “Find out who came into the venue before the concert, as well as where Young Master Wang, the murderer, and Xia Yu went in the three months before the incident.”

The private investigator went off to do his bidding.

Xia Ling felt a little dizzy as she looked up at the vast concert venue, a surreal feeling coming over her. In her reverie, she felt the lines between the present and the past blurring, and she felt as if she had returned to the concert in her past life. “Feng Kun was sitting here… and Xu Fosheng from Star Entertainment Weekly was sitting here…”

She pointed toward the first-row VIP seats and recited.

Li Lei looked at her, worried. “Xiao Ling?”

Xia Ling suddenly pulled his hand and dragged him onstage, pointing animatedly at the VIP seats. “Xu Fosheng was beside Feng Kun, and Xia Yu was beside Xu Fosheng! When I was stabbed, Xia Yu wasn’t in her seat!” When she was singing the encore, the lights were too dim offstage, and she was overcome with sadness. Hence, she didn’t realize who was present. Live videos of her concert never filmed the VIP row in the audience as well.

When she was reenacting the scene, she felt that something was missing.

She finally recalled that Xia Yu wasn’t present then!

“You’re sure that she wasn’t there?” Li Lei asked. The incident was many years ago, and it was dark offstage. Since she hadn’t recalled this detail before, was she absolutely sure that her memory was accurate now?

Xia Ling replied, “I’m sure! Her health was bad, and Pei Ziheng wanted to bring her to the VIP room on the second floor.” She pointed to the middle of the audience stands on the second floor, where there was a private room in a prime location. This was the most expensive and exclusive seats for the concert. “Pei Ziheng didn’t like mixing with the crowds, and would always watch my concert from the private room. In the past, Xia Yu always chose to sit with him in the room. However, during the tenth-anniversary concert, she said that she hadn’t watched my concert in a whole year, and insisted on sitting in the first row. Pei Ziheng merely let her be.”

Li Lei nodded. This did appear suspicious.

Xia Ling had mixed feelings and spoke in a pensive tone. “Then, even though she berated and cursed me, I thought that her conscience got the better of her at my concert, and her sisterly bond with me triumphed her feelings for Pei Ziheng. I thought that that was why she had rejected Pei Ziheng’s suggestion that she sit in the private room with him, and wanted to sit in the front row of the audience stands. I…”

As she spoke, she shook her head and her eyes were filled with sadness.

Li Lei consoled her. “You can never read a book by its cover. Don’t waste your time and emotion on someone like her. Was Xia Yu not at her seat from the beginning of the concert?” Li Lei looked at the empty seat.

Xia Ling shook her head again. “No, if she wasn’t there from the start, I would have noticed it immediately. She was there throughout the concert, from the first song to the encore. She only left her seat when I sang ‘The Caged Butterfly.’ I gave her a crystal teddy bear key chain, and even though she told me that she hated it when I was imprisoned, she would still hang it on her bag to show Pei Ziheng how close we were.

“When I was singing ‘The Caged Butterfly,’ I saw that little bear moving along in the aisle. That’s the bear that I personally bought from one of the luxury shops. It’s one of a kind. I won’t be mistaken.”

Xia Ling asserted. “Believe me!”

“Of course I believe you.” Li Lei’s deep voice had the power of calming her. He took her hand and said, “Let’s go… let’s walk along the aisle and see how long it takes to reach the power supply room.”

In Xia Ling’s murder incident, other than masterminding the murder, the other charge pinned on Young Master Wang was him switching off the main power in the concert venue, creating the perfect cover for the murderer to jump into action. Young Master Wang’s hair was found in the power supply room and was the main evidence that resulted in his conviction.

But… what if Young Master Wang was framed?

Then, Xia Yu would have to be responsible for switching off the power.

She was the real culprit for the blackout!

Li Lei said, “You should run there once, walk there once, and briskly walk there once, to see how long each method would take.”

Xia Ling nodded and did as he said. “How tiring…” She complained after completing the final run.

Li Lei laughed. “You’re a woman… it’s more accurate to take your timings than mine.” He would have done the honors if he could, but as a man who had been through the tough training of a mercenary, he would likely be much faster than Xia Yu, who was known to be sickly. The timings taken would have been a horrible benchmark.

“Xia Yu’s health was weak.” Xia Ling commented. “You should still increase the time needed from my timings.”

Li Lei nodded and adjusted the range accordingly.

“Ok, let’s go.” He said. “We’re done here. Let’s go home for dinner.”

Xia Ling was stunned. “We’re done already? We’re not doing any more investigations?”

“What investigation? I’m hungry!” Li Lei remarked lazily. “We’ve done all we can. I’ll speak to the private investigator on our suspicion for the power supply cut, and then we can wait for their investigation findings. And also…” He smiled menacingly. “… figure out how to make Xia Yu admit to her crime.”

Xia Ling followed him out of the venue.

Their footsteps echoed in the long, empty corridor.

Xia Ling asked after a moment of quiet contemplation, “If Xia Yu was really behind that incident, what should we do with her?” The probability of Xia Yu being the mastermind was high given all that they had found out in recent days. While there hadn’t been any success in the investigation into Wang Jingwan’s case, the investigation had instead revealed new insight into her own murder case.

Li Lei held her hand tightly. “If it was really Xia Yu, I won’t let her off easily. The police or feeding her to the sharks… we’ll do whatever you like.”

Xia Ling lowered her head again as she followed beside him.

When they reached the end of the corridor, she said in a low voice, “Send her to the police.”

“Hmm?” Li Lei was surprised that she would choose the most troublesome method out of all the methods they could use to punish Xia Yu. However, he supported any decision that she made. “Send her to the police, you say? Okay, let me think of how I can make her admit to her crimes and pay for it.” This was an old case and evidence was scant. He might not have enough evidence on hand to get a conviction.

Xia Ling asked, “Will it be too much trouble?”

Li Lei smiled and replied, “It’s more troublesome than feeding her to the sharks, definitely. But don’t worry, there’ll be a way.”

Xia Ling said softly, “I don’t want to punish her through private means. She owes both me and the Wang Family a life. We should help overturn Young Master Wang’s conviction to return him his innocence. Perhaps… we should also find out what happened to Wang Jingwan.”

Li Lei promised. “Wang Jingwan? I will definitely find out the truth on her death as well.”

Chapter 898: Patek Philippe and Rolex
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The investigation into Wang Jingwan’s death had been concluded with Xia Ling’s conviction.

Pei Ziheng had erased all records on this matter using his influence and hence, was harder to investigate than Xia Ling’s murder.

Li Lei ran into a roadblock and decided to simply call Pei Ziheng. “I have an important matter to speak to you about.”

Pei Ziheng was working in his study when he received the call, and his typically emotionless face had a flash of surprise. He looked out of the window at the shadows of the trees, saying in a low voice, “What is there for us to talk about?”

“It has to do with Xiao Ling.” Li Lei responded directly.

Pei Ziheng’s voice became even lower. “You’re getting married… you can’t be inviting me to your wedding, right?”

“I don’t mind inviting you.” Li Lei smiled through gritted teeth. “However, do you even deserve an invitation? A good girl like Xiao Ling was killed after a mere ten years… and you have the cheek to ask me to invite you to her wedding?”

“What are you saying?” Pei Ziheng’s eyes narrowed.

Li Lei said, “I suspect that Xia Yu is behind Wang Jingwan’s death.”

With a loud crack, the pen in Pei Ziheng’s hand was snapped into two. This information was too shocking to him, and he responded instinctively, “No! Xiao Ling admitted to killing Wang Jingwan!”

“Don’t you know her temper? How could you believe the words that she said in anger?” Li Lei huffed coldly. “She was blind to have fallen for you. Pei Ziheng… let me ask you… Do you want to find out who was the real culprit behind the events of the past? Your fiancé was murdered, and your beloved woman was framed for that murder, eventually being killed at her concert as well. If you are a man, you should be doing something to find justice for her! What kind of a man are you to not be able to protect the woman that you love?”

Pei Ziheng threw the phone against the wall with a loud bang.

He leaned against the study table with both hands for support, heaving deep breaths. How was that possible? Xiao Ling… she wasn’t the one behind Wang Jingwan’s death?! Oh my god… what big mistake had he made in the past? What did he do to Xiao Ling?!

He opened his palms and looked down at his shaking hands. It was this right hand that had slapped Xiao Ling hard, such that she fell onto the ground and cut her forehead. Her expression of terror and disbelief came to the forefront of his mind, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

“Xiao Ling…” His voice was trembling as well. He didn’t know how he could face the prospect that Xia Ling wasn’t responsible for Wang Jingwan’s death. So… they could’ve had a happy life together?

Pei Ziheng shut his eyes slowly.

When he reopened them, there was a menacing glint in his eyes.

He walked with long strides to the basement and retrieved all the information and evidence from the past, putting them into a portable safe. He was going to meet Li Lei and find out the truth. While the truth might be cruel, if there truly was another mastermind behind the events in the past… he would make that person’s life a living hell!

In a secret location at Skyart Entertainment.

The windows of the room were tightly shut, and Li Lei was sitting alone behind a thick, large wooden desk, holding a stalk of Biluochun tea leaf. The sprig was being twisted in his hands, and he looked at his Rolex from time to time, anxiously tapping on the table with the tea set.

The phone rang. “Young Master, Mr. Pei Ziheng is here. He’s brought with him a portable safe and refuses to allow us to check it.”

Li Lei said, “Let him come through.”

“But you’re alone in the room, Young Master…” Ah Nuo said worriedly as he looked up at Pei Ziheng. This man carrying the portable safe exuded a coldness that was menacing, like he was about to blow up a building.

“Let him come through.” Li Lei commanded in a louder tone.

Erm… okay…. His boss appeared to be getting irritated. He rarely spoke in such an impolite tone.

Ah Nuo beckoned for Pei Ziheng to go ahead.

He was finally here.

Li Lei put down the tea set with renewed spirits, staring at the door as he awaited Pei Ziheng’s arrival. When Pei Ziheng came through the door, Li Lei’s gaze moved immediately to the safe in his hand, before quickly shifting away. “You’re half an hour early.” His anxiety had disappeared as he greeted Pei Ziheng with his usual lazy tone. “Sit.”

Pei Ziheng sat across from him. “You’re here waiting for me early as well.”

The undertone of his statement was that it was clear that they both were anxious, so Li Lei should stop trying to ridicule him.

Li Lei asked, “Tea, or coffee? This tea is brewed by Xiao Ling, so the fire control isn’t great. However, it’s full of her love. I specially brought the thermos over with me… do you want to have a taste?”

This was a clear challenge.

Pei Ziheng’s gaze darkened. “You don’t want what I have any more?”

Li Lei laughed arrogantly. “I want it! Why wouldn’t I want it? However, I think someone here is more anxious than I am. The items won’t run away, will they?” He had invited Pei Ziheng over to get information about Wang Jingwan’s murder. It seemed that Pei Ziheng had indeed kept the records.

Since he had brought the information over, then there was no hurry to see them.

Li Lei couldn’t resist jeering at Pei Ziheng a little more. After all, if Pei Ziheng hadn’t been so horrible to Xiao Ling in the past, she wouldn’t have suffered so much. His anger threatened to boil over just thinking about this, and it was a miracle that he didn’t hit Pei Ziheng already.

Pei Ziheng’s expression was ashen, his gaze falling on Li Lei’s wrist.

Li Lei was wearing a tacky Rolex, which had been reported on by a small tabloid reporter. This was a present that Li Lei had received from Xia Ling when she had just debuted.

Pei Ziheng said coldly, “She gave you a Rolex? I received a Patek Philippe couple watch from her.” As he spoke, he revealed the watch on his right wrist. It was a custom-made Patek Philippe, exquisite and stylish in every way. No normal watch could match up.

Li Lei seemed unfazed on the surface but was crying out inside.

Patek Philippe! Couple watch! Custom made!

It would take a hundred Rolexes to match up to that Patek Philippe!

Li Lei thought to himself, Xiao Ling, how did your taste deteriorate so much from before? In the past, you gave him a custom-made watch, and in this life, you merely grabbed a random watch from the shelves?! Your husband-to-be is losing out to your ex! What should I do?

Thankfully, he saw a way out.

Li Lei smiled lazily again. “Patek Philippe? It seems that the repair costs are over the top… Chairman Pei doesn’t seem willing to fork out the money to buy a new one despite the face of this one being shattered already. If my Rolex is broken, Xiao Ling can just buy a new one immediately. Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin… whatever I wish.”

Li Lei could tell that there was some imperfection in the Patek Philippe that Pei Ziheng was wearing. It had been repaired before.

Actually, if Pei Ziheng had allowed the Patek Philippe official workshop to do as they pleased, the repairs wouldn’t have been visible. However, this watch was given to him by Xia Ling, and Pei Ziheng viewed it as important as his life. He had thrown aside “Ye Xingling’s” hand when she was begging for him to save her to save this watch instead. Hence, when he sent the watch for repairs, he had asked for them to retain as much of the original material as possible, resulting in some visible repair lines.

Now, it was Pei Ziheng’s turn to be irritated.

He suddenly thought… what’s the use of competing with Li Lei over this?

Xiao Ling was Li Lei’s now… how could he ever win?

Chapter 899: Hit Me If You’re Capable
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Sunlight spilled into the house abundantly.

Pei Ziheng did not bother with the small talk and shifted the safe towards him. “This is what you asked for, but some crucial components are missing. It’s not sufficient to turn the case around.” Back then, he had gotten rid of a lot of evidence in order to protect Xiao Ling, retaining only some mementos, such as a personal diary.

Li Lei glanced at him before opening the safe.

He took the diary out and began reading:

[September 3rd, Rainy. Xiao Ling doesn’t admit that she killed her, and scolded me for being an idiotic, violent madman. I locked her in the basement and starved her. She’s been so pampered by me all these years, she even dares to lie over such a serious matter. Does she not realize that I’m the only one who can save her now? The police are investigating, I will not let her get arrested or charged by them.]

[September 14th, Sunny. A seller in the black market has given his statement, saying that a lady dressed in black had purchased drugs from him. She had used a black veil to mask her face, but her physique and voice resembled Xiao Ling’s. The seller said he smelled a fragrance on her, and after the police handed him a variety of fragrances to pick from, he confirmed the one that Xiao Ling often used.]

[September 15th, Stormy. The Wang family wants Xiao Ling to compensate them with her life, but Xiao Ling still refuses to admit it. I hit her, tore her clothes off, pinned her onto the couch and told her I wanted her, badly. She screamed and called me a perverted beast, telling me I deserve to die. She kicked me, bit me… but I didn’t let her off. I exhausted her of all her energy till she passed out. Maybe we’ve both gone mad.]

[September 26th, Cloudy. Xiao Ling admitted it. She asked me weakly, ‘Is this the outcome you wanted?’ My heart ached and I wanted to hug her, to tell her there was no need to be scared, for I will find a way with the police. But, she evaded my arms.]

[September 27th, I asked her how the crime took place. I need to know the details in order to help her, but she refused to say anything. With no other choice, she scoffed at me, ‘Believe what you would, aren’t you convinced that I’m the murderer, anyways? Aren’t you very smart?’ I wanted to hit her again, to punish her severely, to rip her skin apart and see if a heart actually lay beneath. It takes me a lot each day just to refrain from hurting her.]

Li Lei’s hand was trembling. Just what kind of torture was Xiao Ling put through all those years?

He forced himself to read on:

[October 1st, Sunny. The police came to interrogate Xiao Ling again. She was emotionally unstable and almost admitted to the murder in front of them. I was furious and hit her after the police left. This time, I hit her harder and warned her that if this happened again, I would skin her and burn her to ashes. She curled up at the foot of the bed, bleeding and shivering as she looked up at me.]

Li Lei slammed the diary shut.

He clenched his fist and glared at Pei Ziheng. “This was how you treated her?”

Pei Ziheng quietly said, “You can’t only be finding out today.”

Li Lei flipped the table and sent a punch to his face. “You love hitting people? Why hit a woman?!” He shouted and sent another punch. “Hit me if you’re capable!”

Pei Ziheng intuitively evaded the punch and returned it. “I’ve been wanting to hit you a long time ago!”

The two men began fighting. Both of them had been trained in martial arts since they were young and were physically strong. It did not take long for both to be covered in bruises. The furniture and ornaments were all over the place, some damaged, others shattered.

Eventually, Li Lei, who’d killed many on the battlefield, emerged victorious. He was a notch above Pei Ziheng and managed to keep him in control. Locking Pei Ziheng’s arms in place, Li Lei punched him a few more times until he bled from his nose. “You beast!”

Pei Ziheng lay in the debris panting, unable to get up.

His exquisite suit was torn in a few places and stained with blood. Li Lei did not look much better—his face was bruised and his t-shirt, now torn, was dotted with blood as well.

Pei Ziheng smiled. “You’re not better.”

Li Lei grabbed him by the collar. “How could you do that to Xiao Ling?!” The girl who he’d always treated like a gem and protected so well all this time was once so badly tormented without his knowledge, just the thought of this hurt him. He had heard of things going on between Pei Ziheng and Xiao Ling before and knew that Pei Ziheng had held her hostage and tortured her. But knowing it was one matter, reading about it from the perpetrator himself was another.

Pei Ziheng glared at him before wrenching Li Lei’s hand from his collar.

He could tell that Li Lei was genuinely furious and agitated; only a man who loved a woman deeply would react this way. He was envious. He had always thought, if Li Lei wasn’t outstanding enough, or didn’t love her enough, maybe Xiao Ling would return to him one day.

But now?

The chances were slim.

“This letter,” Pei Ziheng started. “is a record of how everything took place. But all the evidence that I mentioned inside—the fingerprints, the witness’ statement, the surveillance camera recording… have all been destroyed. You can try to deduce the truth from this information, but if it’s really Xia Yu who did it, it’ll be hard to charge her.”

“I’ll do it, however hard it is.” Li Lei sat on the ground beside him.

Pei Ziheng sat up|. “Tell me, why do you suspect Xia Yu?”

Li Lei looked at him. “You’re not fit to find out.” After reading the diary, there was no way Li Lei wouldn’t hold a grudge against him.

Pei Ziheng narrowed his eyes and said with a threatening voice, “Not telling me? Are you sure you don’t need my cooperation for the rest of the investigation?” If not for the sake of finding the truth, why should he help Li Lei?

Li Lei’s fingers fiddled. “I feel like punching you again.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Pei Ziheng mumbled.

Unwilling as he was, Li Lei told Pei Ziheng about his suspicions regarding Xia Yu, hoping that this would help with the investigation. After hearing him out, Pei Ziheng kept quiet for a long while.

“Now you know how absurd it was for you to accuse Xiao Ling back then.”

Pei Ziheng shook his head, still silent. It did seem like he might have wrongly accused Xiao Ling back then. All the beatings and insults that she had endured were so unnecessary…

Li Lei said, “If you still love her just a little bit, then work with me to get the truth out. If it really is Xia Yu, let her serve her sentence, only then can you serve Xiao Ling and the Wang family their justice.”

Pei Ziheng looked solemn. “We’ll set something up. With insufficient evidence, the only way is for Xia Yu to confess to the crime.”

Chapter 900: Miss Ling Wants Me to Protect You
Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Li Lei and Pei Ziheng discussed for a little longer.

Both of them were leaders who wielded much power. Together, they came up with a plan pretty quickly.

Pei Ziheng smoothed out his outfit—despite the fact that it was now torn and tattered—and rose to leave.

Li Lei did not walk him out.

Once the door closed behind him, Li Lei felt his aches and pains act up. The area around his eye was pounding as if someone had hit him in that spot with a hammer. He touched it and winced. “That beast wasn’t kind at all.” Li Lei picked up a glass fragment on the floor and looked at his reflection in it. In the blurriness, he could see the bruise around his eye, a deep shade of green-purple.

He called for Ah Nuo to bring some ointment over.

Ah Nuo came with the ointment in no time, and his first words upon seeing him were: “Young Master, you’re still alive!”

He looked delighted.

Li Lei stared at him. “Are you wishing I was dead?”

“No.” Ah Nuo shook his head hard. “I saw Mr. Pei covered in blood when he left and was worried something happened to you.”

Li Lei wanted to knock him on the head. “Do you think I can’t beat Pei Ziheng? Why would I be dead if he isn’t?”

Ah Nuo eyed him cautiously. “Miss Ling wanted me to protect you. She told me that when you taught her defense techniques, she could put a few moves to good use while sparring against you after picking them up in just a couple of hours. But she never could do well against Mr. Pei.” What Ah Nuo was trying to say was that Young Master wasn’t even as good as Mr. Pei.

Li Lei was speechless.

He swore never to pretend to lose to her ever again when they sparred in the future.

“Bring it here.” He said unpleasantly to Ah Nuo.

Ah Nuo politely handed it to him and asked, “Do you need me to apply it for you?”

“No need.” Li Lei took a lump of the medicated lotion and tried to locate his bruises. “Don’t let Xiao Ling know I met Pei Ziheng today, just tell her that my bruises were inflicted by a robber in the alley.”

Ah Nuo said matter-of-factly, “Which robber would dare rob you?”

Li Lei retorted. “… Whose bodyguard are you?!” Why was he always exposing him?!

Ah Nuo quietly hung his head low.

Li Lei applied the medication and changed into fresh clothing before returning to the apartment.

He opened the door and felt the cool air-conditioning in the living room. It was all quiet as Xiao Ling lay curled up on the couch. She had fallen asleep with the wedding gown catalog in her hand, beautiful variations of it printed all over the pages.

A few other catalogs were sprawled on the carpet beside the couch.

A leopard was laying beside, asleep as well. Its paw was resting on a catalog.

Li Lei couldn’t help but smile at this scene. However much obstacles they had to face, his beloved woman was now safe and blissful, and nothing more could hurt her in this lifetime.

He walked towards her and kissed her on the forehead.

She was awoken by even that tender gesture. “Li Lei?” She rubbed her eyes.

“It’s me.” He said gently and took a seat at the edge of the couch. “Why are you sleeping here, what if you catch a cold?”

“What happened to your eye?” She was in a daze while she looked at the bruise around his eye.

Although he had applied some medication, the bruise had not discolored yet. He said, “I bumped into a gangster on the way.”

Xia Ling was awake now. She sat up and asked, “Gangster? Are you alright?” She reached out and touched his wound, causing him to wince.

“Are you trying to kill your husband?” He grabbed her smooth, fair hand.

She blinked her eyes. “Just a little jab.” She jabbed it some more.

Li Lei was in agony; this was his dear wife, indeed. To think he had bothered to keep the truth from her, afraid that she’d get too worried. But look at her, not even hesitating to hurt him!

“Don’t cry.” She looked at his pitiful expression, sat up, held his head in her hands, and gently kissed his bruise. “No more pain.”

Li Lei blinked at her and stopped pouting.

Dear wife! Her kiss was so effective!

He wrapped her in an embrace and kissed her repeatedly. “I knew you’re the best!” He was smiling so blissfully he’d completely forgotten about how she had jabbed him.

Lying in his embrace, Xia Ling felt like going back to sleep again. She thought, This is really effective. I’m going to coax Little Shaohui this way if he gets injured next time. She then got into a comfortable position, wrapped an arm around his waist, and was all ready to go back to sleep.

Li Lei gave an “ouch” as Xia Ling accidentally touched another wound of his.

Xia Ling was startled awake this time.

“You said you were injured?” She asked.

Li Lei nodded. Didn’t she already see it a while ago? Was all that kissing and hugging just in her sleep?

He guessed right…

She wasn’t even awake this whole time.

She began to work around his clothes. “How badly injured are you? Take it off and let me see. And…” Something seemed to have hit her. She asked firmly, “Was it really a gangster? Isn’t this city your territory, which silly gangster would choose to attack you?”

Li Lei blinked his eyes in silence. Wasn’t she always so easy to appease? Why was it that she suddenly seemed to have achieved enlightenment, and at such a wrong time? He did not resist as she lifted his clothes here and there. “Well, these young boys are new to this and don’t know who’s the boss. Don’t worry, I’ve scared them away.”

“Where’s Ah Nuo?” Xia Ling was angry. She jabbed him on the wound again. “He’s your bodyguard, wasn’t he with you? I don’t believe that the both of you, so skilled in combat, can’t chase away ten-odd gangsters!”

“He was looking for a carpark lot, so I got off first.” Li Lei continued lying. “Don’t jab anymore, it hurts.”

Xia Ling looked at him skeptically. “Really?”

“It really hurts… Ouch!”

“I’m not asking if it hurts! I’m asking if what you said is true!” Xia Ling was upset.

“It’s all true! I swear!” Li Lei said.

Xia Ling eyed him for a while more before letting him off. He was bruised, but they were evidently minor injuries. If he was more severely injured, there was no way she would let him off this easily.