Su Ding thought for a moment and dialed the phone again, unwilling to give up.
"…I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is busy. Please try again later."
Has work really kept him that busy?
Her expression turned grim. After finishing her scenes for the day, she drove to Jin Ye's company.
Jin Ye's assistant, Luo Zhu, came to greet her. "Miss Su, Mr. Jin is still busy. Would you like to wait in the lounge?"
"Alright, thank you for your trouble," Su Ding replied politely.
Half an hour later, Jin Ye walked in, his face full of exhaustion.
The moment Su Ding looked up and saw him, all her displeasure vanished, replaced only by concern and apology.
"Why are you here?" Jin Ye walked over.
"I missed you," Su Ding whispered, her ears turning red.
Jin Ye curved his lips. "Me too. But I've been too busy with work lately. I'll take you out to play later."
"What time is your flight?" Su Ding hugged Jin Ye proactively.
Jin Ye gently stroked her hair. "Less than an hour."
Su Ding reluctantly released him. "Let's go, I'll take you to the airport. Have you packed everything?"
Jin Ye nodded. "Luo Zhu has already taken care of it for me."
The two walked out of the office side-by-side and got into the car heading to the airport.
"How many days will it take?" Su Ding felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
"Four or five days, it depends on the progress," Jin Ye patted her reassuringly. "You'll have to work hard taking care of the two children these days."
Su Ding felt a little dejected and nodded.
On the way, Jin Ye didn't mention anything related to the scandal, presumably because he hadn't heard about it yet.
Since the company was already investigating the matter, she decided not to bring it up and spoil Jin Ye's mood.
Arriving at the airport, Su Ding escorted Jin Ye to the boarding gate before having the driver take her home.
It was almost a one-hour drive, and by the time she got home, it was already 9:30 PM.
As soon as she opened the door, her peripheral vision caught sight of a strange wooden box placed in the corner.
The lights in the hallway had been faulty lately, and she had almost missed the box entirely.
Su Ding looked at it curiously, confirming it was placed right at her doorstep. However, it didn't look like a delivery, and there were no labels on it.
The housekeeper heard the commotion and came over.
Seeing Su Ding staring at the box at her feet, she smiled. "Miss Su, is this something you ordered? I'll help you bring it in."
Su Ding paused. "Uh, I'll do it."
She squatted down and was about to lift the bottom of the wooden box when she suddenly felt something sticky and foul-smelling on her hands.
It was very close to the scent of blood…
The texture was also like some kind of liquid, viscous and dreadful.
As Su Ding bent down, the strong odor assailed her. It was indeed blood!
She was startled, her heart pounding uncontrollably!
Seeing Su Ding's expression, the housekeeper couldn't help but worry. "What is it?"
"I don't know, it was already here when I got back," Su Ding took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
She looked up at the housekeeper and said, "Turn on the lights at the door."
The housekeeper hurried inside and flipped the switch.
The dim yellow light suddenly came on, and the wooden box on the ground became clearer. Spreading and flowing on the ground was gurgling fresh blood!
Su Ding opened her hand to look; it was covered in bloodstains!
What was inside, and why was it bleeding? Who had put it there?
She dared not think about it, a chill gradually seeping into her bones.
Her voice trembled incessantly. "Don't touch it, hurry… call the police…"
The housekeeper, also never having seen anything so terrifying, quickly ran inside to call the police.
Su Ding walked back into the house with shaky legs, but the front door remained open, so the police could arrive quickly.
She went to the bathroom to wash her hands. Seeing the red liquid being washed away by the water in the basin, she finally couldn't help but vomit.
After coming out, she changed her clothes and sat on the sofa, waiting for the police to arrive.
Half an hour later, the police arrived.
They were examining the wooden box and opened it with tools. Immediately, Su Ding heard the sound of a policeman vomiting from the doorway…
Startled, she was about to go over but was stopped by a shout from a police officer, "Miss Su, don't come over!"
Su Ding obediently stopped in her tracks.
After taking photos and clearing everything away, the police entered.
Su Ding quickly went to meet them. Seeing the pale faces of the officers, she suppressed her fear and asked, "What was it? Officer."
"Inside… was the head of a cat, brutally split in half. It was bleeding profusely, a tragic sight. You really shouldn't look."
Just hearing the description sent a shiver down Su Ding's spine.
What kind of pervert would do something so evil and cruel, and then place it specifically at her doorstep!
This was a blatant threat.
The police said sternly, "Miss Su, have you offended anyone recently? This was clearly placed here intentionally to intimidate you. We have handled similar cases before; it's usually from anti-fans."
Su Ding frowned, anti-fans…
Her scandal with Xue Zhiqiao had just broken today, and indeed, many of Xue Zhiqiao's fans were scolding her.
But it shouldn't be to this extent of hatred, right?
Could Shao Lin still be behind all this? Had the recent period of calm just been her feigning inaction?
"Perhaps it's related to the accomplice from the previous home invasion and kidnapping," Su Ding said grimly.
"Don't worry, we will investigate to the best of our ability," the police officer replied.
The police were also troubled. Why did Miss Su frequently suffer these criminal incidents? Someone must be watching them from behind the scenes.
"I will assign police personnel to keep an eye on your home these days and strive to solve the case as soon as possible."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble."
Su Ding saw the police out, her body covered in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, she hadn't seen the contents of the wooden box with her own eyes, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight.
That night, Su Ding had nightmares all night.
In her dreams, there were always two black, empty eyes staring at her. In those terrifying eyes, like a dark abyss, it seemed to say, you can't escape.
The next morning, she woke up with dark circles under her eyes.
Since her scenes were in the afternoon, she slept in. After getting up to send Xiao Rui to school, she came back for a second sleep.
She didn't wake up feeling refreshed until noon.
Opening her phone, she saw missed calls from Xiao Yuan. She called back. "Hello? What's up?"
"I posted the clarifying statement on your WeChat. The matter has been suppressed."
"Oh, okay, I understand."
After hanging up, Su Ding checked Weibo. She saw her pinned Weibo post stated that she had dinner with close friends privately and would make an official announcement if there were good news, asking for attention to her work.
The comments below had been controlled.
Su Ding's video from the acting variety show had trended again. Simultaneously, Xue Zhiqiao's past scandals with other minor actresses were brought up for discussion.
Even fan-edited videos of Xue Zhiqiao's "CP" pairings, filled with sweet moments, were gaining clicks, gradually diverting public attention.
Furthermore, an insider from the restaurant posted photos of the three of them dining together that day.
After much digging, the fans found nothing else, and the matter eventually died down.
Many keen observers could tell this was the power of capital, but no one could make a splash.
Of course, Su Ding also gained a large number of anti-fans as a result.
Too many people couldn't stand people like her.
However, she had no energy to care about these negative comments. Her greatest concern was who was responsible for what happened last night.
…
That evening, Shao Lin received a call from a mysterious person.
"I am the one who gave you the蛊虫 (gu worm)."
"Tomorrow at 3 PM, Room 2080, Star Phoenix Hotel, I want to see you."