CM | Chapter 20

“I want to read the third diary entry myself.”

After Gu Yao said that, she looked at Xu Shuo calmly, waiting for him to hand it over himself.

Anyway, she had already taken the bait. He had no reason to keep pretending to be coy.

Who would have thought that Xu Shuo would only smile faintly at her, the smile reaching his eyes, even the little hook at the corner of them showing. He looked strangely pleased.

Gu Yao frowned unconsciously, a bad feeling rising in her chest.

Then she saw him lie sideways across the long sofa with his tall, straight body. He propped his leather-shoed feet on the other armrest, used the notebook as a pillow under the back of his head, and yawned theatrically.

Then he said, “Miss Gu, it’s already eleven o’clock at night. If you’re not sleeping, I still need to sleep.”

Gu Yao looked at him in disbelief and stood up at once, walking around the coffee table a few steps.

“You went to all that trouble to keep me here just to read me two diary entries?”

Xu Shuo did not answer that question. Instead, he answered with a question of his own: “Do you know what happens when a strange man and woman chat all night? Don’t even think about using your beauty on me.”

A rush of heat slowly surged to Gu Yao’s head. She wasn’t embarrassed, she was angry.

She took a breath and tried hard to keep her manners. “Fine. You sleep. Give me the diary, I’ll read it myself.”

As she said that, Gu Yao walked two more steps toward him, stopping beside the sofa armrest where he had propped his feet, looking down at him from above.

Xu Shuo rested both hands behind his head, his gaze lazy, his smile annoyingly smug. “Trust me, it’d be boring if you read it alone, and you’re also taking away my reading enjoyment. I refuse.”

Gu Yao: “…”

“Or do you want to throw yourself at me and snatch the diary away, while taking advantage of me? I’m afraid I don’t have that much self-control.”

Gu Yao: “…”

The room fell silent for a few seconds, the atmosphere dropping to freezing.

Gu Yao told herself in her heart, don’t get angry, don’t get angry, don’t get angry!

Only after she silently repeated it to herself several times and successfully brainwashed herself did she speak again. “I’m very curious. Have you been this obnoxious since you were a kid, or did you only turn into this after puberty?”

For one fleeting moment, Xu Shuo’s expression changed subtly. His jaw tightened slightly, the smile vanished, and a trace of cold mockery appeared in his eyes.

“Puberty didn’t make me any better, so I turned out like this. What, do you hate me a lot?”

Gu Yao closed her eyes. When she spoke again, she had already regained her composure. “There are some people who, even after achieving success and building a happy family, will never be truly happy. And they have a kind of rotten nature that drags everyone around them into loneliness too. Those people are the so-called spiritually homeless.”

Xu Shuo raised a brow. “You’re talking about me?”

Gu Yao said nothing and turned to leave.

But Xu Shuo’s voice slowly followed after her. “May I ask, how long has it been since you and your boyfriend last talked about anything other than eating, drinking, and taking care of basic bodily functions?”

Gu Yao stopped in her tracks, not understanding what he meant.

Xu Shuo added, “Like tonight, between you and me.”

Gu Yao had no intention of paying him any mind, but in her mind, a number instinctively sprang up. It was the time that had passed since she last saw Zhu Shengxi.

She stood there quietly for a few seconds. From Xu Shuo’s angle, he could only see her side profile. Her arms were folded across her chest, her body slim and slight, but with lovely contours, soft features that still carried a sharp edge, and a pair of eyes that were very good at speaking for her.

Xu Shuo admired the scene expressionlessly until Gu Yao turned her head, met his gaze, and said, “Since you want to sleep, I won’t disturb you. I hope you can keep your promise tomorrow morning and let me leave.”

After that, Gu Yao walked toward the small door leading to the lounge.

Xu Shuo gave a soundless laugh until the door shut.

Gu Yao returned to the lounge, did not turn on the light, and simply took off her shoes and climbed into bed.

She curled her knees up and scanned the room in the dark. She did not see any red dot lighting up, so that man probably hadn’t become twisted enough to monitor her sleeping.

Gu Yao did not stand on ceremony with him either. Since there was a bed to sleep in, there was no reason for her to keep forcing herself. She simply pulled back the blanket and slipped in, but the moment she lay down, she caught a whiff of a man’s scent, and her nose wrinkled.

Then she closed her eyes and quietly recalled the contents of those two diary entries.

She realized that she actually knew almost nothing about Zhu Shengxi. At the very least, in this past year Zhu Shengxi had never mentioned anything about the orphanage to her. She just didn’t know whether, before she lost her memory, she had known all of this.

That bastard Xu Shuo had been annoying, but there was one thing he said that was right. In this past year, Gu Chengwen and Zhu Shengxi had really protected her too well, as if they were treating her like porcelain that would shatter the moment it hit the ground. Even when something happened, they would tacitly hide it from her.

Gu Yao let her thoughts wander like that until her consciousness slowly grew heavy, and she turned over and fell asleep without realizing it.

…

In her dream, Gu Yao unknowingly arrived in a shabby room.

The room was not only dilapidated but also cramped and small, with almost nowhere to put a foot down. The door opened straight onto a desk, beside the desk was a bed, and the door faced the window.

The sky outside was dim, but there was no light on in the room.

Gu Yao stood at the doorway. She saw a thin, gaunt少年 standing in front of the desk.

The boy stood sideways, his hip resting diagonally on the desk, one foot on the floor. One hand lay on his thigh, thumb and forefinger pinching half a cigarette, the tip glowing as it burned.

At that moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew in from outside. It sent the curtains fluttering and made the leaves outside the window rustle. The boy’s short hair was also blown乱. He wore clothes in pale colors, yet he seemed about to blend into the dim surroundings, like an oil painting rendered with perfect light and shadow, the tangled colors hiding most of his features.

Suddenly, the boy moved. He turned around, and as his gaze shifted, he also lifted the hand holding the cigarette and brought it to his slightly dry lips for a drag.

Smoke exhaled, and the eyes that should have bared his soul were also coated in ash-gray by the smoke.

Then he smiled at her.

…

Gu Yao woke up all at once.

She slowly opened her eyes, frowned, then closed them again, quietly maintaining the position she had been in as she recalled the dream that had flashed by.

She had just dreamed of Zhu Shengxi in his teenage years…

Yes, it was Zhu Shengxi. Whether it was his features or his expression, he was exactly the same as the old photos Zhu Shengxi had shown her after she woke up from the car accident.

She still remembered Zhu Shengxi once telling her that they had known each other since high school and attended the same school. He was in the science track, she was in the liberal arts track.

Back then, Zhu Shengxi was not as stern as he was now. He smiled more often than he did now. His personality had many sharp edges, his gaze was defiant, and his whole body was covered in thorns.

But why had she suddenly dreamed of him as a teenager? She had already lost those memories.

Could it be because she had listened to two diary entries before sleeping?

According to Freud’s theory, the human subconscious is extremely powerful. The truest memories are buried there, and sometimes they surface through dreams, sometimes through slips of the tongue, or appear during hypnosis.

Maybe those two diary entries, combined with what she had been thinking about before falling asleep, had given her subconscious a suggestion, which in turn brought out some images?

Actually, Gu Yao had thought about hypnosis before, but each time the idea came up, she had forced it back down.

Just how powerful and mysterious the subconscious was, she knew very well as a psychological expert. Because she knew, she didn’t dare touch it casually. She hadn’t expected that now, just two diary entries, would already have such an effect on her…

Thinking of this, Gu Yao opened her eyes again and sat up from the bed.

The room was dim, with a sliver of light seeping in through the crack under the door. She didn’t know what time it was, but judging by her mental state, she had slept for at least seven hours.

Gu Yao got out of bed, went to the bathroom to take care of private matters, then washed her face and tidied herself up before opening the lounge door.

The office outside was bright, but Xu Shuo was nowhere to be seen.

The office door was open, as if freedom were waving at her.

Xu Shuo had kept his word.

A breakfast set, a cup of coffee, and a note were placed on the coffee table where they had eaten yesterday, with the cup sitting on top of the note.

Gu Yao sat down directly, picked up the coffee, and took a sip. After all, familiarity bred comfort, and she was no longer repelled by the environment.

The sandwich on the plate was still warm. She picked it up and ate while looking at the note. The handwriting was still wildly flamboyant.

“Ten hours are up, you can go. If you’re interested in what comes next, meet me at 1 p.m. today in the parking lot of Jiangcheng First Detention Center. I’ll print out the information I gathered on your boyfriend, along with the third diary entry, and give them to you then.”

Gu Yao read it silently twice, digesting the information inside.

He was going to give her a printed copy of the third diary entry, which meant she would have a chance to see the girl’s handwriting.

And as for Zhu Shengxi’s information, aside from the photo of him and the lawyer’s assistant named Tian Fang going to Jeane Bar together, Xu Shuo must have uncovered plenty of other things too.

As for “Jiangcheng First Detention Center,” that was absolutely not a good place for a reading session. Why did Xu Shuo want to meet there?

There was only one answer, he was going to visit someone, and that someone was Tian Fang.

She still remembered Xu Shuo saying yesterday that this drug-related death of a senior executive from Jiangcheng Genomics would be the first case he had taken since coming to Jiangcheng, and Zhu Shengxi had also said that the police had already submitted the evidence to the procuratorate, and that Tian Fang would soon be criminally prosecuted for intentional homicide. Tian Fang had already accepted the defense team arranged by Zhu Shengxi and the law firm, hoping the charge could be changed to negligent manslaughter.

But what identity would Xu Shuo use to see Tian Fang? And on what grounds?

As she thought about it, Gu Yao unconsciously finished her breakfast. When she had also finished her coffee, she quickly stood up and walked out of the office.

Only Xiao Chuan was outside. He was gaming just like yesterday. When he saw Gu Yao come out, he lifted his chin and motioned for her to look at the desk near the door. On it sat a women’s bag, a car key, and a phone.

Xiao Chuan said, “Your stuff is there.”

Gu Yao took back her things and looked at Xiao Chuan. “Your brother went out to do business again?”

Xiao Chuan didn’t even lift his eyelids as he gave a hum.

Gu Yao examined his half-dead look, then put her things down again and walked toward Xiao Chuan step by step.

Xiao Chuan was in the middle of a critical moment, about to break his own high score record, when out of the corner of his eye he suddenly caught sight of a shadow in front of him, and that shadow abruptly pressed down.

Instinctively, Xiao Chuan leaned back, wishing he could merge with the chair back.

So shocked that he even forgot about the game, he could only stare wide-eyed into Gu Yao’s face at close range.

Gu Yao had both hands braced on either side of the chair back, physically walling a bear-like youth in.

Then she smiled and asked, “Before I leave, answer me honestly. Did you install surveillance cameras in my house?”

Her voice was light and soft, yet somehow it made people afraid.

Xiao Chuan swallowed and hurriedly shook his head. “No!”

Gu Yao narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure?”

Xiao Chuan nodded again. “Sure. If I had, then I, I would…”

He couldn’t think of a proper punishment for a moment.

Until Gu Yao helped him out. “If you lie, you’ll get testicular cancer, then be dragged off for surgery to remove them. How about that?”

With a boom, a mushroom cloud exploded in Xiao Chuan’s head.

That was way too vicious, wasn’t it?!

His face flushed red at once. “I’ve never been inside your house. My brother said not to touch anything, so… so even if you find something in the future, it has nothing to do with me. Don’t curse me!”

Only then was Gu Yao finally satisfied.

…

When Gu Yao got home, as usual, she first turned on the TV to catch up on the news from that half day, while also opening the fridge to take out a bottle of juice.

But after only two sips, her movements stopped, her gaze fixed on the television screen.

The news was saying that in the case of a senior executive from Jiangcheng Genomics who was suspected of dying from mistakenly taking the wrong medication, the police had already collected evidence to rule out an accident, concluding instead that it was man-made. After review by the procuratorate, the only lawyer’s assistant present at the time, from Zhaoyang Law Firm, had been taken to court.

At that moment, a WeChat message came in on Gu Yao’s phone. It was from Qin Song: “You went to bed early yesterday, so I didn’t want to disturb you. How did you rest? You still haven’t told me who you went to see yesterday, what you talked about, or why you told me to be ready to call the police?”

Gu Yao lowered the TV volume and replied, “It’s fine. I was just too nervous yesterday. It was a false alarm.”

Qin Song: “Phew, that’s good. You really startled me yesterday!”

“You’ve seen so many criminals, and you’re still scared enough by something like that to jump?” Gu Yao paused for a second, then changed the subject and asked, “By the way, did you see today’s news? The procuratorate has already charged that female assistant.”

Qin Song: “I saw it. Damn, what a reversal. At first they suspected there was something wrong with the medication and did so many investigations, and now they’ve changed it to man-made! But I think things are even less optimistic now than before.”

Gu Yao: “You mean, once it’s confirmed that the female assistant intentionally killed someone, that would directly prove the medicine she used at the time really had a problem. Otherwise, how could it kill someone?”

“Yeah, that’s the logic. Unless your boyfriend’s company can produce evidence proving that the medicine found at the scene has nothing to do with Jiangcheng Genomics.”

Gu Yao did not reply.

Even if they produced proof showing it had nothing to do with Jiangcheng Genomics, so what? Media outlets had already sensationalized the matter several times in the past few days. The public had already formed an impression, and everyone would instinctively become suspicious. If it had nothing to do with them, why involve Jiangcheng Genomics at all? They must be trying to whitewash it!

That was the price of debunking rumors. It was not facing the rumor itself, but the public’s first impression, prejudice, and false understanding. Debunking rumors was often several times harder than spreading them.

At that moment, Qin Song sent another WeChat message: “Tell me, what kind of leverage did the police catch that female assistant on? How did it suddenly become an intentional homicide charge? Also, do you remember what I told you last time, that the female assistant hired a lawyer from Likun Law Firm to handle the issue at the scene immediately, instead of going to her own firm, Zhaoyang Law Firm? Could this be because Likun and Zhaoyang are sworn enemies, so they deliberately set her up and used it to smear Zhaoyang’s reputation? Hey, you have no idea, I even heard from a friend last night that Zhaoyang is in big trouble this time. They have not only lost a huge number of clients, but there are also disagreements among several partners. If they don’t handle this well, it’s very possible the whole thing will blow apart.”

Gu Yao frowned, feeling that this was against common sense.

Likun and Zhaoyang were two of the most famous law firms in Jiangcheng. They often competed for clients or went head-to-head in court on the same case, and the two firms also tried to poach each other’s star lawyers in private, because if they poached one, that was equivalent to poaching a whole string of that lawyer’s clients and business secrets.

Of course, all of that was normal competition. Nothing was wrong with it.

But that female assistant, Tian Fang, had always worked at Zhaoyang Law Firm. Logically, if something happened to her, she should have asked someone from her own firm to help handle it, especially since a senior executive from Jiangcheng Genomics had died in this case. Jiangcheng Genomics had always been one of Zhaoyang’s major clients, so it would also make sense to hand the matter to Zhaoyang…

And yet the first people Tian Fang contacted were from Zhaoyang’s sworn enemy, Likun Law Firm.

Why?

Could Tian Fang have been used and bought off by someone? Or was there some other hidden trick, some way to work with the mastermind behind the scenes and use the opportunity to bring down Jiangcheng Genomics?

Gu Yao didn’t respond for a long time, and Qin Song sent another WeChat message: “Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

Gu Yao glanced at it and replied, “I’m fine.”

Qin Song: “Oh, then do you want to come out for coffee this afternoon? I figure you’ve already had enough headaches these past two days because of your boyfriend’s company. Come out and relax a bit.”

Gu Yao checked the time and said without hesitation, “No need. I already have an appointment this afternoon.”

After that, she put down her phone and walked into the bedroom to get washed up.

There were still three hours until one o’clock.

She had to meet Tian Fang herself.

Author’s Note:

Last night before bed, I took a look at everyone’s comments, and I was stunned…

I didn’t expect that Xu Jianjian had only told a different version of the story, and you all could brain-squeeze out versions three, four, five, six, and seven! Haha, your imaginations are really huge, I admire you, but I also breathed a sigh of relief.

Alright then, keep imagining, and I’ll keep updating. I’ll definitely give you the answer!

…

Also, tomorrow morning’s update will be at 8 a.m., and the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, will be a day off. The day after that, Wednesday, I’ll make it up with a fat chapter~ The red packets will continue too~

…

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or gave me nutrient solution~ Thank you so much for your support, I’ll keep working hard!

(What a great harvest, love you all~!)