Returning - Chapter 88
Chapter 88: Embrace
Liu Ling, forty-six years old, married at nineteen, gave birth to Xue Zi'ang at twenty. When Xue Zi'ang's father passed away sixteen years ago, Liu Ling was thirty, and Xue Zhan had just turned eighteen.
Staring at the data on her computer, reading it over and over countless times, Zhao Yu's doubts only grew, not diminished.
She found several very old news articles confirming Xue Zi'ang's father had indeed died of illness. Moreover, a full year had passed from the liver cancer diagnosis to his death, and it had all happened right under Old Master Xue's watchful eyes. Such a thing probably couldn't be faked.
But that statement Liu Ling made clearly implied her husband's death was connected to her, and even to Xue Zhan. What hidden circumstances lay within this?
Could it be that Xue Zi'ang's father was murdered? Because Liu Ling was having an affair with her brother-in-law?
Carefully reviewing every word and sentence Liu Ling had spoken during the day, meticulously recalling her tone at the time, Zhao Yu shook her head, provisionally ruling out that possibility based on intuition.
Naturally, she wanted to dig deeper into this secret to see if it held any exploitable value. Yet, a secret so well-hidden that even Xue Zi'ang and Old Master Xue appeared ignorant of it would certainly be extremely difficult to investigate. Besides, now that she had already aroused Xue Zhan's suspicions, she couldn't afford any rash moves.
So, exactly when did Xue Zhan start suspecting her? And how much did he already know about her affairs?
If everything he told Liu Ling during the day was the truth, then did the word "perhaps" indicate he actually held no concrete evidence?
Maybe his suspicion was also purely based on intuition—a feeling that Zhao Yu wasn't as simple as she appeared on the surface? After all, the Xue Zhan she had come to know was indeed always a deeply thoughtful and cautious man.
Rubbing her temples, Zhao Yu let out a long sigh, slowly drawing conclusions in her mind.
If Xue Zhan hadn't been putting on any act in front of Liu Ling this afternoon, then at the very least, two things could be discerned from his words and attitude:
First, he was unwilling to discuss his older brother's death. Perhaps this event had caused some trauma or left a shadow in his heart.
Second, he cared deeply for Xue Zi'ang, even willing to hand over control of the company to him.
Considering these two points together, was it possible that Xue Zhan, like Ji Sui, had always carried guilt and self-reproach towards the deceased?
If that were truly the case, Zhao Yu might be able to find a breakthrough. After all, this was also her own experience; there would be no need for deliberate acting, and hence no potential for her performance to crack.
Lost in contemplation, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Startled, Zhao Yu quickly closed her laptop, verified there were no suspicious traces left on the desk, then stood up and walked to the door.
Seeing Ji Sui's figure through the peephole, she was stunned again. He wasn't the type to show up so abruptly. At the very least, he would have let her know before coming.
The moment she opened the door, a strong wave of alcohol fumes hit her. Ji Sui's body stood ramrod straight, but his gaze was unfocused, his eyes vacant—clearly he had drunk quite a lot.
Zhao Yu looked astonished: "What's wrong with you? How did you drink so much?"
Ji Sui cracked a grin: "Can I come to you?"
Zhao Yu smiled too: "Aren't you already here?"
So saying, she quickly reached out to support him inside: "I've crashed at your place so many times, of course you're always welcome here too."
Helping him sit down on the sofa, she went to get a cup and pour him some warm water. But when she handed it to him, he didn't take it, just stared blankly at her.
Zhao Yu put down the water glass and sat beside him, gently asking: "What happened? Is there anything I can help with?"
Ji Sui smiled, shook his head: "Nothing, just suddenly… felt like coming to find you."
If those words came from any other man's mouth, they would surely carry a flirtatious undertone. But spoken by Ji Sui, Zhao Yu understood he was simply stating a fact.
She didn't press further, reaching up to touch his forehead. It was a bit warm, likely a normal reaction after drinking.
"Do you feel awful? How about I go make you some hangover soup?"
Watching her face filled with concern, Ji Sui paused for a moment, shook his head, leaned weakly against the sofa, and slowly spoke: "Today... I went to see a comrade-in-arms."
Zhao Yu assumed he meant Qu Sixiao's father, thinking he was reminiscing about the past again and needed someone to confide in. So she listened attentively. But then he continued: "He's... in prison now."
Zhao Yu was slightly surprised but remained silent, just listening quietly.
Ji Sui continued: "Because his cover was blown during an undercover mission, his entire family… was killed by the enemy. When we finally captured the enemy alive, he broke protocol and executed the man himself. The person he killed deserved to die. None of us thought he did wrong, but none of us thought him going to prison was wrong either, because he had no right to decide anyone's life or death."
Hearing this, Zhao Yu already had a vague understanding of why he was drunk today.
Ji Sui gave a self-deprecating laugh: "But it turns out... some people truly can decide the life and death of others at will. The law is just a decoration to them, and life is worthless in their eyes."
Zhao Yu smiled along but still said nothing.
Ji Sui's gaze refocused on her face: "You said before that I belonged to their world. The truth is, I've never fit in with them. I just always thought it was simply differences in lifestyle and values, never imagined... "
"Tell me, why? Why did that little girl, who fought against injustice for me when she saw me being bullied, who took a beating and got covered in wounds, turn into someone who treats human life as nothing? How can she… be so cold-blooded, so utterly unrecognizable?"
Zhao Yu remained silent for a long time before speaking softly: "Perhaps... it was always her true nature. Or perhaps, money really can corrupt humanity."
"Is that so?" Ji Sui smirked, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Then I must have been corrupted long ago too. I'm family with them, inseparable. I'm nothing more than a bystander watching coldly from the sidelines. No... I'm filthier than they are. At least they are openly corrupt, while I... I'm still here pretending to be compassionate, pretending to be noble. I'm more disgusting than all of them."
"Ji Sui..."
He reached out, gently stroking her face, interrupting the words she hadn't yet spoken. He murmured softly: "Will you despise me? Will you think I'm filthy?"
Zhao Yu pressed her lips together, looking at him. She slowly raised her hand to cover the cold back of his hand and shook her head.
Ji Sui smiled. His fingertips traced slowly down her cheek to her shoulder. With a strong pull of his arm, he drew her into his embrace.
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