A kiss on the cheek, yet to be delivered, was abruptly interrupted. Lin Mei and Xu Ying both turned their gaze towards the car. The familiar license plate was instantly recognized by Lin Mei as Xing Zheng’s car. She had heard he was at the bank today.
At that moment, the car was positioned directly between them, as if it were about to crash into them. Given Xing Zheng’s insane behavior, such an act was not impossible.
Xu Ying, having seen Xing Zheng in the driver’s seat through the windshield, pulled Lin Mei closer and shifted aside. “Shall we have Japanese for dinner? I know a great place!”
“Sure, I haven’t had it in a while,” Lin Mei replied. Both she and Xu Ying got into the car, neither of them mentioning Xing Zheng, a silent understanding between them.
Xing Zheng’s car remained stationary. Only after the white car had driven away did he react.
Just then, his phone rang. It was Li Xun. “I’ve found the surveillance footage and sent it to your email.”
Xing Zheng grunted. After finishing the call with Li Xun, he drove back to Zhuhua Villa. He picked up Lan Lan and sat on the sofa, ready to watch the video Li Xun had sent.
The video was the crucial content extracted from a vast amount of surveillance data, featuring all of Liu Qinye’s appearances. Trivial daily routines were omitted, leaving only his interactions with others.
Xing Zheng stroked Lan Lan, his gaze fixed on the screen. Before long, he saw Xing Sha’s figure. The surveillance was blurry, his expression indiscernible, but the tense atmosphere of their confrontation was palpable. Liu Qinye likely feared Xing Sha. They entered a building, and the content became invisible. Afterward, Xing Sha emerged alone, holding a document bag, its contents unknown.
Xing Zheng had assumed he wouldn’t see any more familiar faces, but a few minutes later, another familiar face appeared: Zhao Rong, Zhao Jianghe’s nominal uncle.
Shortly after Zhao Jianghe’s parents passed away, he began living with Zhao Rong. Later, Zhao Rong helped Zhao Jianghe ascend to the position of head of the Zhao Corporation and then retired to Australia to live out his days, not returning for many years. Xing Zheng’s expression grew more somber. Zhao Rong, too, was somehow connected to Liu Qinye?
In the surveillance footage, as soon as Liu Qinye saw Zhao Rong, he began to hide, but he couldn’t escape. Zhao Rong, accompanied by many people, forced Liu Qinye into a car, which then drove away. The surveillance ended there. What Chen Hua had said earlier, that Liu Qinye was killed by creditors, should have been this incident. But how could Zhao Rong be Liu Qinye’s “creditor”?
The Zhao family had never been involved in gambling businesses. How had Liu Qinye become entangled with the Zhao family? And how was Zhao Jianghe brought back to the Zhao family? These remained a complete mystery…
As Xing Zheng pondered, the doorbell rang. It was Jiang Chubbi. Xing Zheng happened to have a question for her. “Does Zhao Jianghe usually contact Zhao Rong often?”
“Didn’t Uncle Zhao go abroad to retire? I’ve never heard him mention it,” Jiang Chubbi, being close to Zhao Jianghe, paid attention to many things but not Zhao Rong, so she had never noticed. “What’s wrong?”
Xing Zheng told Jiang Chubbi, “Keep an eye on whether they contact each other regularly.”
Jiang Chubbi looked at Xing Zheng’s computer and saw the video playback interface. She asked, “What is this?”
“See for yourself.” Xing Zheng handed the computer to Jiang Chubbi.
Jiang Chubbi watched the ten-minute video intently. Her usually calm and composed demeanor gave way to an expression of utter astonishment. Xing Zheng had not told Jiang Chubbi anything related to Liu Qinye before. The case was not yet solved, and Jiang Chubbi couldn’t make any progress without information. However, the situation was different now.
Before Xing Zheng could speak, Jiang Chubbi asked, “This man… is he the one in that photo with Aunt Xie?”
She was exceptionally intelligent, and though she asked, she already had an answer in her heart. Earlier, Zhao Jianghe had visited the sanatorium in Runcheng, and Xing Zheng had mentioned he was visiting someone. Seeing the surveillance footage of a residential area in Runcheng, Jiang Chubbi naturally made the connection. “Is he the person living in the sanatorium? Then, he and Zhao Jianghe…”
“Zhao Jianghe is not a member of the Zhao family,” Xing Zheng told Jiang Chubbi. “We discussed Zhao Jianghe’s motive for the crime a few years ago, remember?”
Jiang Chubbi nodded. She certainly remembered. At that time, Xing Zheng had approached her for cooperation. Initially, she hadn’t believed him. Back then, like Xie Qinjia, she believed Xing Zheng was the one with the strongest motive. Later, she learned that the car Xing Zheng was driving when he had his accident was a birthday gift from Zhao Jianghe.
At that time, Xing Zheng hadn’t made his utmost effort to gain her trust. It was precisely because of his lukewarm attitude that Jiang Chubbi chose to cooperate with him. After the agreement was reached, they began discussing the reasons, and the final conclusion settled on the word “jealousy.”
Jiang Chubbi had asked Xing Zheng then, “And you, have you ever been jealous of him since childhood?”
He remained silent for a long time before replying, “Jealous.”
Later, Jiang Chubbi learned that his jealousy was primarily because the girl Xing Yan liked, she also liked.
Before Xing Zheng was sent to the United States, Jiang Chubbi went to see him. On that day, Jiang Chubbi saw Lin Mei’s photograph among Xing Yan’s belongings and Lin Mei’s student ID by Xing Zheng’s hand. Afterward, she understood everything.
Jiang Chubbi thought of the past and smiled, unsure of her feelings. “We all agreed it was jealousy. Have you changed your mind now?” If there were no new discoveries, Xing Zheng would not have asked her this.
Xing Zheng’s next words confirmed this. “The man from the sanatorium, the man in the photo you saw in Zhao Jianghe’s study, and the man in the surveillance footage are the same person. He is Zhao Jianghe’s biological father.”
“Then, Aunt Xie…?” An answer was already dawning, but Jiang Chubbi dared not speak it. Although she had weathered storms, she had never imagined that so many people were involved behind this matter, and even the entanglements of the elders.
“It’s what you’re thinking,” Xing Zheng told Jiang Chubbi. “Now, his motive for the crime is clearer, isn’t it?”
Indeed, but Jiang Chubbi still had many questions, such as: “Didn’t Aunt Xie recognize Zhao Jianghe? Did Uncle Xing know she was married and had a child? How was Zhao Jianghe sent to the Zhao family?”
“I’d like to know that too.” Xing Zheng idly stroked Lan Lan’s fur, his movements gentle, but his gaze was incredibly strange.
Jiang Chubbi sat on a single sofa nearby, her expression no better than Xing Zheng’s. After a moment, she said to Xing Zheng, “Give me some time. I will definitely get to the bottom of this.”
Xing Zheng lit a cigarette. “The laboratory project can be concluded.”
Jiang Chubbi was surprised. “Now? The initiative had always been in his hands, but if they were to close in now, the Zhao family would completely collapse. How would the matter be investigated clearly?”
Jiang Chubbi was about to remind Xing Zheng, but she knew that whatever she wanted to say, Xing Zheng would have already considered. In the end, Jiang Chubbi said nothing more. “What do you need me to do?”
Xing Zheng tapped the ash from his cigarette and spoke through the smoke, “Unwavering loyalty.”