Min Bocai stood by the window, his eyes sinisterly fixed on the scene outside. Sunlight streamed through the glass, illuminating a European fan-tail palm on the windowsill, casting a shadow on Min Bocai’s face, making his expression appear ruthless.
A few knocks sounded on the door before it opened, and Jiang Mo entered to report, “Mr. Min, the police have notified us that we can collect the young master’s body.”
Min Bocai was shaken for a moment, and after a period of silence, he asked, “Jiang Mo, how is the investigation into the Wenren family progressing?”
“There’s no movement from the Wenren family, but… we just received news that Long Xinyu was shot. The one who did it was Xu Ming, the same one who targeted the young master,” Jiang Mo replied respectfully.
Min Bocai turned around, “Xu Ming?”
Jiang Mo said, “Yes, and Xu Ming was shot dead by the officers present at the scene.”
“Shot dead?” Min Bocai was surprised.
Jiang Mo’s face remained expressionless, “It can’t exactly be considered shot dead. Xu Ming was trying to snipe Long Xinyu in the restaurant, but he was saved by that Rao Xian we met at the police station. Xu Ming was wounded by Rao Xian and fell to his death.”
Evidently, the turn of events was beyond Min Bocai’s expectations. He pondered in surprise for a moment, then scoffed, “If that Rao Xian hadn’t been there, and Long Xinyu had died, what would the situation be?”
Jiang Mo hesitated before saying, “Are you saying… you feel that, recently, the only one with no conflict with the Long family is you? If Long Xinyu dies, you’d be the biggest suspect, and the Long family would suspect you of taking your anger out on Long Xinyu because of the young master’s death?”
Min Bocai lightly scoffed. The Long family had considerable influence. If Long Xinyu died, unless the real culprit was caught, he would inevitably suffer as an innocent bystander. Someone knew the Long family was not to be trifled with and was intentionally trying to use the Long family’s power to target him.
Who could it be?
The Wenren family? Some time ago, he cheated the Wenren family in a diamond deal, but the jewelry business was only a “small business” under the Wenren family’s banner. Would they go to such lengths for this?
Min Bocai closed his eyes and thought for a long time. When he opened them again, his eyes were filled with darkness, “Go to the police station and bring Jun… back. Tell Li Xu to prepare the funeral and invite the Wenren family and the Long family to attend.”
Jiang Mo looked worried, “Mr. Min, is that appropriate?”
Min Bocai’s face was filled with ruthlessness, “Someone wants to use a knife to kill, Jun is already dead, what can’t I give up? Tell Li Xu to prepare for the worst. If it really was the Wenren family who did it, then let them be buried with Jun at the funeral. Whatever she needs, give her my full support.”
“Yes, do you have any other instructions?”
“Keep an eye on the police. If we can find out who this Xu Ming is, we’ll know who’s pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
After Jiang Mo responded, he left the room.
Min Bocai walked back to the window, looking out and pondering whether Min Jun’s death was actually orchestrated by the Wenren family.
Slowly, Min Bocai raised his hand—how long had it been since this hand had been stained with blood? He sneered coldly. Whether it was the Wenren family or the Long family, he wouldn’t let anyone who killed his son off easily!
In the suburbs, inside an abandoned shipyard, heart-wrenching screams echoed, followed by incessant pleas, “Stop hitting me, stop hitting me, I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”
It was a middle-aged man in his forties, his face covered in bruises, his arm dislocated and twisted at an odd angle. He mostly did business involving the underground modification of guns, and many were even modified by him personally. At this moment, he desperately shouted a name, saying, “It was him, he bought the gun and silencer! About two months ago, he requested the gun look like a prop from a realistic war game, I’m telling the truth.”
Seeing him confess, Lu Ye slowly walked out of the darkness. He kicked the middle-aged man, “If you had just confessed obediently, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much!”
The man curled up on the ground, shivering, “Brother Lu, I really didn’t know the gun was going to be used against the Second Young Master!”
Lu Ye looked at the man, said nothing, and took out his phone to send a few messages. After receiving a reply, Lu Ye called Long Xiuyu, “Brother, the person who bought the gun is called Pei Lei, and he’s Min Bocai’s man. But the gun ended up in Xu Ming’s hands, and it was Xu Ming who killed Min Jun, this doesn’t make sense.”
It really didn’t make sense. Long Xiuyu, on the other end of the phone, was also pondering: this Xu Ming was definitely not Min Bocai’s man, but the one who bought the gun was Min Bocai’s man. So what was the relationship between Pei Lei and Xu Ming?
Long Xiuyu pondered for a while before saying, “Find this Pei Lei and keep investigating!”
As the effects of the anesthesia gradually wore off, Rao Xian slowly woke up. All he could see was blackness, and his body still felt numb. He smelled a strong fragrance in the air. Rao Xian moved slightly and felt his body stiff. He tried to turn his head and found that the surroundings looked clean and tidy—this was a hospital. Then he saw a vase on the bedside table with a bouquet of lilies in it, which was the source of the fragrance.
Rao Xian calmed down, and his senses gradually returned. He felt pain in his chest and legs. As the pain returned, the thoughts in his mind became clearer. Then the memories of what happened came back to him—he was talking to Long Xinyu, someone attacked, he pounced on Long Xinyu, there was a little girl standing in the hallway, then Long Xinyu rushed out, and he knocked Long Xinyu and the little girl down. He was shot. He used the last of his strength to draw his gun and fight back. He caught a glimpse of Ye Yuning—Xiao Ning!
Rao Xian suddenly remembered seeing bloodstains where Ye Yuning had fallen after he passed out. Was Ye Yuning injured?
“Xiao Ning—” The barely audible words escaped from Rao Xian’s mouth.
“Captain, you’re awake?” Sha Rou, who had been dozing off in a single sofa, quickly got up and went to the bedside upon hearing the movement.
Rao Xian looked at Sha Rou, his voice hoarse, “Xiao Ning—how is Xiao Ning? She seemed to be injured?”
“Captain—” Sha Rou saw that Rao Xian immediately asked about Ye Yuning after waking up, and she didn’t know how to tell him that Ye Yuning was already dead.
Sha Rou’s hesitation made Rao Xian realize something. He struggled to sit up, but the effects of the anesthesia and a large amount of blood loss made his body so weak that he seemed to have aged. His already pale face turned even paler, “What exactly happened to Xiao Ning?”
Sha Rou quickly comforted him, telling him not to move around, and helped him raise the bed while thinking about how to tell him about Ye Yuning’s death tactfully.
“Ye Yuning didn’t make it!” Long Xinyu’s voice rang out.
Rao Xian turned his head upon hearing this and saw Long Xinyu standing at the door leading from the ward to the adjoining room with one hand in his pocket.
“What did you say?” Rao Xian stared at Long Xinyu without blinking.
“The bullet hit Ye Yuning’s chest. She died before even reaching the hospital!” Long Xinyu’s voice was heavy. His words were like barbed knives that stabbed into Rao Xian’s heart, instantly turning it into a bloody mess!
Rao Xian’s vision went black.
Sha Rou didn’t expect Long Xinyu to tell Rao Xian about Ye Yuning’s death so directly and glared at Long Xinyu in shock.
Long Xinyu ignored her gaze and simply looked at Rao Xian quietly.
After a long while, Rao Xian opened his eyes and looked at Long Xinyu, his eyes dull and his voice hoarse, “Was the shooter caught?”
Long Xinyu nodded, “Caught, it’s Xu Ming.”
Rao Xian had no expression on his face and asked with his eyes half-closed, “Xu Ming? Why did he want to kill me?”
Long Xinyu said in a deep voice, “I don’t know.” He looked at Rao Xian, who was pale and weak on the bed, and felt the need to explain something, “You wounded him, and he fell to his death. I can’t ask him why he wanted to kill me! Xu Ming first killed Min Jun, then Luo Pingping, and then came to kill me, but I don’t know this person. There must be a reason for killing someone. I’ve thought about it for a long time but can’t figure out what connection I have with this person. Why would he want to kill me?”
Rao Xian opened his eyes slightly and remained silent for a long time before saying, “His name isn’t Xu Ming.”
Long Xinyu, “It doesn’t matter what his name is anymore, he’s already been silenced.”
Rao Xian opened his eyes, “He was silenced?”
Sha Rou interjected from the side, “He was silenced. Based on the autopsy and the crime scene investigation, we can deduce that your bullet hit him, Captain, but it wasn’t fatal. According to the direction of the force, Xu Ming should have fallen towards the inside of the building, but he fell outwards, someone pushed him from behind and made him fall.”
“How could this be?” Rao Xian felt like his mind was in chaos. The news of Ye Yuning’s death and Xu Ming being silenced, the confusing case made him feel disoriented.
After a long while, he said, “Min Jun, Luo Pingping, Xiao Ning, and Xu Ming, four people have already died.”
Long Xinyu gritted his teeth, “I don’t know what their deaths have to do with you, but I will definitely investigate this shooting and won’t let my fiancée die in vain.”
Sha Rou realized that Long Xinyu’s tone was wrong and said, “Mr. Long, the case investigation is a matter for our police.”
Long Xinyu chuckled softly, “Is this the result of our police investigation? You were shot, Ye Yuning died in vain, and Rao Xian became disabled?”
“What are you saying?” Every piece of information Long Xinyu said made Rao Xian’s breathing difficult.
“What are you doing!” Sha Rou couldn’t bear it anymore and pushed Long Xinyu, Ye Yuning’s death was already a huge blow to Rao Xian, and now Long Xinyu was directly telling him that his leg might be disabled, what exactly did he want to do? Rao Xian had saved his life, how could he be so “ungrateful”?
Long Xinyu thought very simply, instead of hiding it and letting Rao Xian gradually discover these bad news, it was better to say it all directly—knowing the worst outcome, you would become better if you could withstand it.
Therefore, when Sha Rou pushed him, he didn’t dodge and was pushed back two steps.
Rao Xian pressed, “Long Xinyu, what did you just say?”
Long Xinyu pinched the space between his eyebrows and said, “The bullet not only injured my leg bone, but also injured the nerves, which may affect my future mobility!” He said it bluntly, but was paying attention to Rao Xian’s reaction.
Rao Xian was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at his leg. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, “Sha Rou, you and Long Xinyu go out first, I want to be alone.”
“Captain,” Sha Rou looked at Rao Xian worriedly.
“Go… out!” Rao Xian’s voice was full of exhaustion.
Long Xinyu grabbed Sha Rou and dragged her out of the ward. After closing the door, he said, “Let him calm down.”
Sha Rou shook off Long Xinyu’s hand forcefully, “Our captain saved your life, how could you… stimulate him like that!”
Long Xinyu choked for a moment before saying stiffly, “I don’t need to explain what I do.”
Rao Xian wanted to be alone. Long Xinyu arranged for a nurse to take care of Rao Xian and returned to his apartment in the city. As he entered, he saw Long Xiuyu sitting in the living room on the first floor.
In the past, when Long Xiuyu came, he would either scold him or drag him home. Long Xinyu couldn’t even avoid him in time. This time, Long Xinyu really wanted to know how the investigation into the shooting was progressing. So he rubbed his nose, greeted him, changed his shoes, entered the house, and sat on the sofa next to Long Xiuyu.
Long Xiuyu looked at his rarely humble younger brother and turned the ring on his tail finger, “The gun that attacked you was modified. Two months ago, it was bought by someone named Pei Lei. This Pei Lei is in charge of Wanxing Entertainment’s business.”
“Wanxing? The Min family?” Long Xinyu was slightly surprised, “Did Old Man Min want to kill you?”
Long Xiuyu shook his head, “Not necessarily. The person who bought the gun was from the Min family, but the gun was in Xu Ming’s hands, and Xu Ming even killed Min Jun, so this may be using a knife to kill.”
“Using a knife to kill?” Long Xinyu pondered for a moment and understood, “Our family is the knife. If you live, and Xu Ming escapes, as long as the gun is traced, the Min family can be found. You and Dad will definitely not let Min Bocai off. But, you didn’t live, but Xu Ming was injured, so he had to die.”
Long Xiuyu looked at Long Xinyu with some surprise, “It’s rare to see you thinking so clearly!”
Long Xinyu sighed, “Brother, you’re just too lazy to use your brain, or pretending to be stupid.” Then he grabbed a pillow from the sofa and rubbed it hard, “You’ve thought about it again and again but still can’t figure out what this shooting was for. A few days ago, when you saw Min Jun’s body, you thought it was the retribution for his bad deeds, but when it came to you being shot, you couldn’t understand it. You were wondering if you had offended someone or done something heinous that someone wanted your life, but even if you racked your brains, you couldn’t figure out why.”
Long Xinyu rubbed the pillow harder, “But, someone wanted to kill me. To save me, Officer Rao was injured and may even be disabled, and his fiancée also died. If we can’t find the real culprit and find out why they wanted to kill me, I’ll be sorry for Officer Rao.”
Long Xiuyu saw that he looked worried and wanted to persuade him a few words, but Long Xinyu’s phone rang. Long Xinyu took out his phone, glanced at it, and it was Li Guang. He signaled Long Xiuyu to wait a moment, then answered the phone.
He didn’t know what was said on the other end, but Long Xinyu’s face looked terrible. He replied with a few “uh-huhs,” “I understand,” “I’ll take care of it,” and hung up the phone.
Long Xiuyu saw that his face looked even worse and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Long Xinyu flipped through his phone and then searched for a report titled “Death in a Rich Family—The Slaughter of a Rich Second Generation” and handed it to Long Xiuyu, “Someone is stirring up trouble with the case of Luo Pingping and Min Jun. It’s being hyped up in the media. Someone has edited the video of me hitting Min Jun in the hotel and standing up for Luo Pingping and posted it online, implying that I am the murderer.”