Yan Zheng’s inner voice caused Si Hanche’s figure to stiffen.
He instinctively glanced at the back waist of Shen Mengyu’s pants and noticed something resembling a plastic bag protruding from it.
As Yan Zheng descended the stairs, preparing to expose the fraud on the spot, she saw Si Hanche pull out a transparent ‘Blood Tank Empty’ bag from Shen Mengyu’s back waist!
She raised an eyebrow in surprise, thinking: Who knew Si Hanche’s eyes were so sharp?
The crowd stared in astonishment, their eyes wide.
So this woman was pretending to be pregnant to frame Miss Jiang?
Such a despicable trick was truly disgusting.
Si Hanche stood up, his face ashen, and coldly threw the blood bag at Shen Mengyu!
“Is this what you called our child? Shen Mengyu, I never want to see your face in Jingbei again!”
“Waa… Hanche, I was wrong…”
As Jiang Mingyan coldly pushed through the crowd on the stairs, Si Hanche kicked Shen Mengyu aside and hurried after her,
“Mingyan, wait, I…”
Jiang Jincheng blocked Si Hanche’s path, grabbing his collar in furious rage,
“My daughter has never asked me for anything. Back then, she came to beg me, saying you were deeply in love during your time abroad, that she would marry no one but you in this lifetime. That’s why I was willing to swallow my pride and go to the Si family to arrange your marriage for my precious daughter! But you went back on your word, fell for this scheming woman, and kept hurting Mingyan over and over!”
Si Hanche looked completely bewildered.
Deeply in love? Going back on his word to love someone else?
During a clinical trial at the hospital, he had tested a new brain device and unexpectedly lost some memories.
Since it didn’t affect his current life, he assumed they were just childhood memories.
Could those memories… be related to Jiang Mingyan?
Every time he saw Jiang Mingyan in pain, he felt an indescribable tightness in his chest.
Had she truly been his beloved in the past?
Jiang Jincheng warned Si Hanche,
“If I ever see you coming near my daughter again, I’ll break your legs!”
Yan Zheng thought to herself with a tsk:
[President Jiang is such a good father, what a pity. Mrs. Jiang always complains he’s too busy with work and doesn’t spend time with her. Her brother fooled her into trying to transfer her husband’s company to him. President Jiang doesn’t know yet that the case containing his contract funds was already swapped with drugs by his wife’s brother!]
[When he meets his business partner at the club later to sign the contract, the police will come arrest him! Mrs. Jiang will be filled with regret when she finds out. Even though President Jiang later proves his innocence, the company will be beyond saving due to the reputational damage. But I suppose Mrs. Jiang got her wish after all – President Jiang will be home with her every day from now on.]
Everyone’s fate is their own choice.
She always respected individual destinies and never interfered.
Yan Zheng’s inner thoughts made Old Mrs. Si’s heart sink.
No matter what, regarding the engagement and subsequent breakup, their Si family owed the Jiang family.
Old Mrs. Si asked Si Yueting and Yan Zheng to leave first, then specially reminded Jiang Jincheng out of kindness,
“I saw on TV that some new type of drug has recently appeared in the city. I heard that while some drug dealers are willing participants, others are passive victims of framing. President Jiang, since you often go out for business meetings, you should be careful! Especially keep an eye on your belongings – make sure nobody tampered with them without your knowledge.”
Faced with Jiang Jincheng’s bewildered expression, Old Mrs. Si left after having “said all she needed to say.”
She felt like an old sage.
This feeling of foreseeing the future and guiding others… was incredibly fulfilling!
After Qin Zhao drove the car over, Yan Zheng helped Old Mrs. Si into the vehicle.
A man in a crisp suit politely approached and tapped on the car window, presenting a large box tied with a ribbon.
“Good day, Mrs. Si. I am Young Master Lu’s driver. This is a gift he asked me to deliver to you.”
Yan Zheng glanced curiously and was surprised to find that it was the bag Lu Xizhou had bid on.
[Lu Xizhou is Gu Yingxin’s future husband. He bid on this bag tonight following his father’s instructions—to first build a connection with Gu Yingxin, then proceed with the marriage alliance between the two families. Why did Lu Xizhou send the bag to me?]
Si Yueting frowned. Was she some kind of fortune teller?
How did she even know who Lu Xizhou would marry?
The Lu family’s driver continued,
“Young Master Lu said that the Nanqi incident earlier caused you, Mrs. Si, to suffer unjustly. This is an apology gift.”
Yan Zheng returned the box to Lu Xizhou’s driver, pulled out her phone, and typed:
[Sorry, I cannot accept this gift, nor do I accept the so-called apology.]
Stealing company secrets is a crime punishable by law—did he think it could be settled with 20 million and a fake apology?
“Young Master Lu has been walking the night path too often. He should watch his step, or he might stumble into a ditch and end up looking like a dog.”
After Si Yueting delivered this cold remark, he raised the car window.
In the room upstairs, a man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window watched the Lu family driver holding the gift box and downed the red wine in his glass.
“Sir, it seems Si Yueting has also caught wind of the mummies buried beneath the land in the southern suburbs. I’ll go inform Mr. Lu right away. Since you’ve helped the Lu family avoid such a huge loss, Mr. Lu will surely remember this favor.”
“No, I’ve changed my mind.”
The reflection in the glass showed a man in a white suit, tall and handsome.
“Let this be a lesson for Lu Xizhou—to stop provoking people he shouldn’t.”
The subordinate inwardly clicked his tongue.
The boss, in a rare move to gain Mr. Lu’s trust, had been willing to help that good-for-nothing Young Master Lu. But of all the women he could have taken a liking to, he had to go after the one the boss cherished most.
If he’s digging his own grave, no one can save him.
Si Yueting had someone secretly investigate the land.
After discovering that there was indeed something hidden beneath it, he didn’t withdraw from the bidding. Instead, he had Qin Zhao deliberately leak their company’s bid.
During the one-bid live auction the next day, Lu Xizhou proactively doubled the price and successfully secured the land.
But before he could even revel in his victory, he learned that Si Yueting’s bid had been a mere 100 yuan—he had been played!
When his father found out, he was so furious he ended up in the hospital and placed Lu Xizhou under house arrest for a month.
As for Yan Zheng’s knowledge of the land’s issues, Si Yueting found it even more suspicious. He was convinced she was no ordinary person and must have someone powerful guiding her from behind the scenes!
So, he installed a micro-tracker in that red jade necklace. He was determined to find out who this woman was communicating with in private.
Yan Zheng, who was removing acupuncture needles in front of the bathroom mirror, suddenly sneezed!
[Which bastard is talking behind my back?]
She had been undergoing acupuncture for half a month, and her face was nearly as prickly as a hedgehog’s. Now, all she needed was one dose of potent medicine.
If it worked, she would be able to speak normally again!
Unfortunately, she had never found the right opportunity.
Yan Zheng flipped through the Fate Ledger.
She discovered that after Si Hanche severed the black-red Karmic Misfortune Thread with Shen Mengyu, a new pale red thread had extended between him and Jiang Mingyan.
The Fate Ledger indicated that tonight they would face another trial.
This trial would serve as a catalyst for their relationship and represent a crucial turning point for Si Hanche.
However, Jiang Mingyan would end up with a scar on her chin from the incident—a mark that would haunt her with insecurity for life.
Yan Zheng frowned. Jiang Mingyan was her close friend.
She certainly couldn’t stand by and let that scar mar Jiang Mingyan’s face.
…
Knowing he had wrongly accused Jiang Mingyan at the auction, Si Hanche waited outside her company building to apologize in person after work.
Sitting in his car, he watched as Jiang Mingyan emerged from the building, laughing and chatting with a man.
For some reason, Si Hanche felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.
That man, strutting like a preening peacock, didn’t seem trustworthy at all!
Just as he opened the car door to step out, a van suddenly swerved recklessly toward them!
Several masked kidnappers in black jumped out, roughly dragging Jiang Mingyan toward the vehicle.
The man with her attempted to intervene, but one of the kidnappers brandished a dagger at him.
“Get lost!”
The man immediately scurried away without hesitation.
Who would have thought someone would attempt kidnapping in broad daylight!
With a grim expression, Si Hanche charged forward and kicked one of the kidnappers to the ground.
As Jiang Mingyan gasped softly, Si Hanche looked up to see a gleaming dagger pressed against her throat.
“Stay put if you want her to live!”
Though trembling with fear, Jiang Mingyan deliberately shouted in defiance,
“Si Hanche, leave! Go tend to your Shen Mengyu! I don’t need your help!”
A kidnapper ripped off a piece of black tape and sealed her mouth shut.
“Leave? We’re here to capture both of you lovebirds! Since you delivered yourself to us, you’ve saved us the trouble of hunting you down separately!”
Hearing that they intended to capture him too, Si Hanche felt a secret sense of relief and called out to Jiang Mingyan,
“Jiang Mingyan, don’t be afraid. I’m here with you.”
As Jiang Mingyan stared wide-eyed, muffled protests escaping her lips, one of the men chopped Si Hanche in the neck, knocking him unconscious, and dragged him into the van as well.
Watching the van speed away, Yan Zheng—who had just exited the supermarket across the street—pulled out her phone and quickly typed a message:
[Si Yueting, I just saw that pig-brained Si Hanche and Ming Yan get kidnapped in a van! License plate: XXXX]
After sending it, she calculated mentally:
Si Yueting should arrive with his team to rescue Si Hanche and the others just in time.
Carrying a bag of fruit, Yan Zheng headed toward the supermarket’s front entrance to find her waiting driver when suddenly, a chloroform-soaked cloth was pressed over her mouth from behind!
Yan Zheng initially prepared to fight back but, as if remembering something, voluntarily relinquished all resistance—