"Then I won't be polite. Having two beauties take me out to eat in turns is something I'd jump at," Gui Nan chuckled.
Susu put on her bossy demeanor and laughed, "Dream on."
"Let's not stand here, shall we? Let's go," Zhan Zhipeng said, then went to get the car.
The group arrived at a private room in a restaurant. After they sat down, Zhan Zhipeng poured tea for everyone.
While waiting for the food, Zhan Jiayi opened her phone, which she had gotten back after submitting it and not using.
Zhan Zhipeng looked anxiously at Gu Susu, afraid his sister might see the news online.
Sitting next to Zhan Jiayi, Gu Susu snatched her phone and said, "Don't just stare at your phone. Let's chat."
Although Zhan Jiayi really wanted to go back and see if Xie Zhendong was any better recently, if he had recovered more, she felt she had to accompany everyone for a good meal since Gu Susu and Lawyer Gui had helped her so much and had come to pick her up specifically.
"Thank you all so much. If it weren't for you this time..."
Susu cut her off, saying, "Don't mention it. Did you know Zhao Jianhua has permanent brain damage? He's like a three-year-old now, unable to even take care of himself. His group is being managed by his wife."
"He got what he deserved!" Zhan Jiayi gritted her teeth and said hatefully. "If he hadn't colluded with Bai Chengyi, I wouldn't have been inexplicably locked up for so long."
"Sometimes fortune and misfortune are intertwined. It's hard to say whether some things are blessings or curses," Susu said, while thinking about how to tell her about the Xie family tragedy.
If she hadn't been locked up, she might have perished in the tragedy as well, but perhaps her presence could have saved those who died in the Xie family. Who could say for sure?
Zhan Jiayi didn't understand the deeper meaning of Susu's words and asked with a smile, "Does that mean I was fortunate to be arrested?"
Susu didn't know how to answer, and Zhan Zhipeng lowered his head, not daring to look at Zhan Jiayi.
Gui Nan was also looking at his phone and didn't interject. No one could bring themselves to tell her directly about what had happened to the Xie family.
Fortunately, the waiter brought the dishes at that moment. Susu asked for a bottle of wine to be opened and invited everyone to eat and drink well.
During the meal, Gui Nan brought up some cases he had handled. The others listened with great interest, marveling at the vastness and strangeness of the world. When they were almost done eating, Zhan Jiayi said somewhat apologetically, "Susu, thank you for treating me today. I need to go back. I'll treat you all next time we gather..."
"Zhan Jiayi, don't go back to the Xie family yet. Go back to your own home with your brother," Susu said, feeling she had no choice. If she returned to the Xie family mansion and saw the burnt house unprepared, she might not be able to accept it.
"What do you mean?" Zhan Jiayi asked Zhan Zhipeng, looking confused. "What happened?"
Susu took a deep breath and said, "This isn't your brother's fault. He's been helping diligently at the Xie family's. It was Feng Rou. While you were away, under the guise of mourning the old lady, she set fire to the Xie family mansion, and... and Xie Zhendong, along with the medical staff taking care of him, were all burned to death."
After she finished, everyone looked nervously at Zhan Jiayi's reaction.
Zhan Jiayi was bewildered and murmured, "You're joking, right? It's not true, is it?"
Susu advised, "Jiayi, I know it's hard for you to accept right now. Go back with your brother and calm down. What's done is done, so don't dwell on it..."
Before Susu could finish, Zhan Jiayi suddenly stood up, slapped Zhan Zhipeng across the face, and yelled, "Didn't I ask you to take good care of the Xie family and Zhendong for me? How could you let Feng Rou into the Xie family mansion? You! You're so foolish!"
Zhan Zhipeng was stunned on the spot and looked at Zhan Jiayi, trying to explain, "Sister, it wasn't me..."
Zhan Jiayi refused to listen to his explanation. She grabbed him and hysterically said, "Take me to the Xie family mansion, right now! Zhendong will be fine, he'll be fine!"
Zhan Zhipeng was pulled by her, stumbling towards the exit.
Susu stood up to stop her but was held back by Gui Nan.
"Why are you stopping me? I'm afraid Zhan Jiayi might do something foolish."
Gui Nan held her back and said, "Let her go back to the Xie family mansion and see. She won't give up until she sees it for herself. We can follow them from a distance. She needs time to process this. Don't say anything more to her."
"Okay," Susu calmed down, also shocked by Zhan Jiayi's actions.
She thought Gui Nan's consideration was right. Anyone in her situation might react the same way.
Gui Nan went to get the car. Susu found a waiter to pay the bill, then met up with Gui Nan, and they headed to the Xie family mansion.
They arrived at the entrance of the Xie family mansion, and Gui Nan parked the car to the side.
They waited in the car, not getting out, nor entering the dilapidated Xie family mansion.
After a short while, Zhan Jiayi's heart-wrenching cries could be heard from the Xie family mansion, which made Susu's heart ache.
They waited in the car until dusk before seeing Zhan Zhipeng supporting Zhan Jiayi as they came out of the mansion and drove away.
Gui Nan followed them in his car and found that they were returning to their parents' home.
He and Susu then returned to their respective homes with peace of mind.
...
Zhang Yuyun returned home from work at the group and saw two men standing at her doorstep.
As she approached, they revealed their identities, saying they were police officers and wanted to question Zhao Jianhua.
Zhang Yuyun politely invited them in and had the household servant push Zhao Jianhua out. She told the two officers, "He doesn't remember anything now, so he might not be able to answer your questions."
One officer asked, "What happened to Mr. Zhao?"
Zhang Yuyun said, "He has a head injury and it's not going to heal." As she spoke, she had someone bring out Zhao Jianhua's medical records.
The two officers looked at them with some helplessness.
Zhang Yuyun asked, "May I ask what you want to know from him?"
"It's about Bai Chengyi's case," one officer explained. "According to Bai Chengyi's confession, it was Zhao Jianhua who instructed him to frame Zhan Jiayi."
Zhang Yuyun said, "Oh."
The officers keenly sensed that she might know something and asked, "Mrs. Zhao, do you know Bai Chengyi and Zhan Jiayi, and are you aware of their affairs?"
Zhang Yuyun thought for a moment and said, "Bai Chengyi? He doesn't sound familiar. But I do know that Zhan Jiayi. She used to have an improper relationship with Old Zhao, but later she climbed the social ladder and looked down on Old Zhao."
Another officer asked, "Do you know if they had any financial disputes?"
"There definitely were," Zhang Yuyun said disdainfully. "Wasn't this woman supported by Old Zhao before? Later, when she became successful, I didn't see her repay Old Zhao a single cent. I guess many of their accounts are unsettled."
"And you have no impression of Bai Chengyi at all?" the officer asked.
Zhang Yuyun affirmed, "No, I've never heard of this person."
"Alright, thank you."
After the two officers left, Zhang Yuyun thought that Zhan Jiayi was quite unlucky.