Chapter 16
Edward Quan ·
The older officer looked at me.
“Ms. Song, just follow our instructions.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Don’t act on your own.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t provoke the other party.”
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
Then added:
“And try to talk a little less.”
Me: “…”
Why did everyone want me to be quiet?
But I still nodded.
“Yes.”
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
“Enter through the east entrance.”
I looked at the police.
The officer gave me a signal.
I went inside.
The mall was pitch-black.
Only the emergency lights were on.
My shoes echoed against the tile.
Step by step.
Step by step.
At last.
I saw a figure standing in front of the bakery.
The very place where I had once bought Baozi a sausage.
Gu Chengyuan.
He stood with his back to me.
“Song Ruoxi.”
I stopped.
“Yes?”
He turned around.
His eyes looked tired.
He no longer seemed as imposing as before.
“You really came.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
I thought about it.
“Yes.”
He laughed.
“Then why come?”
I answered honestly:
“Because you texted me to come.”
Gu Chengyuan: “…”
He looked at me for a long time.
Then shook his head.
“You really are a strange person.”
I didn’t disagree.
I’d heard that too many times already.
He took an envelope from his pocket.
“Take it.”
I didn’t approach.
“What is it?”
“A will.”
I paused.
He continued:
“Old Master Xia’s real will.”
I held my breath.
“Then the earlier one…”
“Was fake.”
I looked at him.
“Why are you giving it to me?”
He was silent.
Only after a long while did he say:
“Because I have no way out.”
I said nothing.
He continued:
“Twenty-three years ago, I made a mistake.”
“I was greedy.”
“I wanted everything.”
“But the person behind it all took advantage of that greed.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
He looked at me.
“Ye Manqing.”
I was stunned.
My biological mother?
He nodded.
“She isn’t as innocent as you think.”
I stood motionless.
He continued:
“She was the first to discover the will.”
“And she was also the one who proposed changing it.”
A chill ran through my whole body.
“Do you have proof?”
Gu Chengyuan laughed.
“You don’t believe me?”
I shook my head.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
I answered seriously:
“I just don’t want to hear only one side.”
He paused.
I continued:
“You say my biological mother is guilty.”
“But she said you were guilty first.”
“Both of you have a reason to lie.”
“So…”
I looked him in the eye.
“I’ll only believe the evidence.”
Gu Chengyuan was silent for a long time.
Finally, he slowly nodded.
“All right.”
He set the envelope down on a chair.
“Everything is in there.”
I looked at the envelope.
But before I could step toward it, he suddenly said:
“One more thing.”
I looked up.
He looked at me.
His gaze was strange.
“Do you know why I didn’t want to kill you?”
I jumped.
“Pardon?”
He gave a bitter smile.
“Because you remind me of someone.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
He looked out through the window.
Only after a long time did he answer:
“Xia Qinglan.”
I was stunned.
He continued:
“She was like you back then.”
“Unafraid.”
“Never quiet.”
“And always saying things people didn’t want to hear.”
I looked at him.
He spoke hoarsely:
“That’s why…”
“She made all of us pay.”
I fell silent.
After a long while, I asked:
“Do you regret it?”
Gu Chengyuan looked at me.
His smile disappeared.
Much later—
He answered slowly:
“Yes.”
Just then—
Footsteps sounded.
The police appeared.
Gu Chengyuan didn’t run.
He only looked at me.
Then said gently:
“Ms. Song.”
I raised my head.
“Yes?”
He smiled.
“I hope this time…”
“You’ll say everything that needs to be said.”
Chapter 23: There Were No Winners in the Truth
The investigation lasted more than two months.
During that time, I barely had a single peaceful day.
One moment, I was giving a statement.
The next, I was verifying documents.
Then meeting with lawyers.
Then receiving calls from the police again.
I began to wonder if I should switch careers and go into law.
But in the end—
The truth gradually came to light.
Twenty-three years ago, the Xia family’s patriarch had left a will.
It divided the assets among the members of his family.
But a group of people conspired to alter its contents.
Gu Chengyuan was one of those involved.
Ye Manqing was also connected to the concealment of some of the documents.
She did not directly cause Xia Qinglan’s accident.
But she knew someone was planning to threaten her older sister.
And she had not been able to stop it in time.
After the disaster, she entrusted me to be raised by Song Qingmei and her husband.
Partly to protect me.
Partly because she could not face the past.
As for Xia Siyu’s accident three months earlier—
The investigation found signs of deliberate interference.
Lu Wanning had conspired with Chen Kai to carry out the plan.
Their goal was to take control of the assets and eliminate anyone who might stand in their way.
Gu Chengyuan knew about some of what had happened.
But he had not directly ordered the more recent accident.
He had concealed evidence because he feared his past wrongdoing would be exposed.
After all the documents were handed over to the authorities, the people involved were dealt with under the law one by one.
The Xia family’s assets were reviewed.
The forged contracts were examined.
Those whose rights had once been taken away were given the chance to seek restoration of their lawful interests.
And me.
Song Ruoxi.
Twenty-three years old.
A new employee at Tiansheng Group.
I had suddenly discovered that I had a claim to a vast fortune.
But the thing that troubled me most wasn’t money.
It was my meeting with Ye Manqing.
That day—
She came to see me.
She brought no bodyguards.
No lawyers.
Just a small bag.
She sat across from me.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Finally, she asked softly:
“Ruoxi, can you forgive me?”
I looked at her.
After a long while, I answered:
“I don’t know.”
She lowered her head.
I continued:
“I understand that you had your reasons.”
“But I’m allowed to feel hurt, too.”
Tears fell from her eyes.