A Chan – CH 107

Chapter 107: The Evil Man’s Dream (1)

Upon hearing these few words, tears welled up in Li Yunmo’s eyes. He asked, “What happened?”

Zhang Jingchan gripped his phone, frozen in place.

He considered himself a cold-hearted person, and since Fuming’s bankruptcy, this coldness had seeped into his very bones. Even towards his parents, he had become a cold-hearted and indifferent person. Only after meeting Li Weiyi did he, a man who never smiled, begin to laugh frequently; those deeply buried, unspoken negative emotions were almost gradually extracted by her, and she would simply stand by, smiling nonchalantly, as if saying to him, “See, it’s really not a big deal.”

His heart warmed little by little, and he changed little by little. A man who had weathered the storms of the business world for years, already more mature than a man in his twenties, began to joke with her, to be shameless, and to be anxious and insecure. All his senses and emotions seemed to be drawn by her, gradually reviving. He began to forgive his father and be tolerant of his mother over time. Even those who had criticized and pressured him. He rewrote his life time and again, approaching his goals time and again, but also encountering setbacks time and again. His heart remained steadfast, always moving forward, and he even fell in love with the feeling of wandering through time and space with her.

Until she cut him a plate of oranges.

He knew she was that kind of girl—either she wouldn’t give, or she would give wholeheartedly. That’s why he was so devastated in his previous life when he learned she was with Xu Yi. He began to desperately long for a future with her. He imagined that when the cycle ended, everyone would be safe and sound, and he and she could live like ordinary people, existing in the linear flow of time, moving straight forward day by day. Feelings could accumulate, memories would never change, and perhaps one day they would naturally reach their happy ending.

But now, someone told him she was dead, gone from this world.

His girlfriend, whom he hadn’t even fully warmed up to, and their future had only just begun.

Zhang Jingchan lowered his head, his expression still blank.

Li Yunmo shouted urgently, “Brother Chan!”

Zhang Jingchan’s eyes reddened, his deep, dark eyes brimming with tears. He lowered his head, took a deep breath, and each word seemed to be ripped from the depths of his chest: “Did you see the body?”

Li Xiaoyi sobbed, “I’m… with Zhong Yi right now.”

“Where?”

“The police station, the morgue.”

Zhang Jingchan asked hoarsely, “Is Weiyi there too?”

Li Yunmo looked on in horror as tears streamed down Zhang Jingchan’s face.

Li Xiaoyi choked out, “Her body hasn’t been found yet. The police only found her shoes by the river, and they’re still searching…”

The tension that had been gripping Zhang Jingchan’s body suddenly eased, like a dying fish finally able to breathe.

A gasp suddenly erupted from the other end of the phone.

Zhang Jingchan: “What happened? Li Xiaoyi!”

After a while, a series of noises rang out before the phone rang again. Mr. Li cried on the other end, “Xiaoyi fainted! Ah Chan, please come back quickly…”

“Uncle, what happened?”

“Zhong Yi and Weiyi went out to the supermarket near our house and ran into wanted criminals. They said they were thugs Zhong Yi had arrested during a previous mission, and they’d come for revenge! Right there on the street, they killed Zhong Yi, kidnapped Weiyi, and, thinking she was Zhong Yi’s wife, threw her into the river… I don’t even know if my daughter suffered anything before she died, sob sob…”

Zhang Jingchan gripped his phone tightly, his brow furrowing even deeper. Almost immediately, he grasped the key point: “How did you know Weiyi was thrown into the river? Were there any witnesses?”

Mr. Li: “No, no. Those wanted criminals made an anonymous call to the police…”

Zhang Jingchan’s brow suddenly relaxed, his heart pounding instantly, like someone drowning seeing a sliver of light. He immediately asked, “How did Zhong Yi die? How many people were there?”

“I heard there were four. Zhong Yi was shot dead by them.”

Zhang Jingchan leaned back in his chair, slowly repeating, “A gun?”

A gun was used in the city. This was an incredibly unbelievable, major criminal case. The other party had gone to such lengths; clearly, they were forced into it.

Forced by Zhong Yi. Understanding this, Zhang Jingchan felt an even more unbearable, dull pain in his heart.

His overly vigilant attitude also affected Mr. Li, who quickly recounted everything he had heard—what had happened in front of the supermarket—and the police’s findings so far.

“The car was stolen, it had a fake license plate… A lot of police were dispatched. Captain Ding from the criminal investigation team said they have leads and will let us know as soon as they catch the culprit.”

After hanging up, Zhang Jingchan said, “Drive faster!”

Li Yunmo wiped away his tears, stepped on the gas, and sped off towards Xiangcheng.

—

When Li Weiyi woke up, she found herself lying in a completely unfamiliar room.

She was lying on a large rosewood bed, the bedding exquisitely luxurious with subtle embroidery. She was still wearing her sweater and jeans, but her coat had been removed. Her shoes were gone too; only a pair of dark red velvet slippers lay beside the bed.

She put on the slippers, got out of bed, and looked around. Her heart began to pound wildly, her fingertips trembling.

The room was about 40 square meters. The walls were covered with soft, delicate wallpaper, and the ceiling had a Chinese-style wooden design with a crescent-shaped pendant light. Next to it was a large wooden desk, a high-backed wooden chair, and a row of bookshelves, all made of extremely valuable wood, with a deep, rich color and a faint fragrance. There were also two sets of open wardrobes, with a small safe underneath.

This room was completely designed to resemble someone’s taste.

Li Weiyi suddenly remembered Zhong Yi, shot and lying in a pool of blood, and immediately rushed towards the only door in the room. It was a heavy bronze door, unsurprisingly locked, and she couldn’t budge it an inch.

“Open the door! Open the door! Xu Yi!” she shouted with all her might, “Let me out! You bastard!”

The door didn’t move an inch, and there was no response.

Li Weiyi burst into tears, turned around abruptly, and looked around for a window, but after looking around, she realized where Xu Yi had locked her up.

There were no windows. Not only were there no windows, but apart from the door, the walls of this room felt like solid metal, without a single crack.

Li Weiyi slumped back onto the bed. A secret room? Or a basement?

Why would Xu Yi have such a place?

Was he prepared all along… to lock her up here one day? Or was this his most secret private territory? She looked up and glanced at the safe beneath the wardrobe.

The door clicked softly, and Li Weiyi’s back stiffened instantly. She watched Xu Yi walk in, casually closing the door behind him. Another click, and the door automatically locked.

He stood there, looking up at her.

Xu Yi was almost exactly the same as before: a crisp, smooth black suit, a white shirt without a tie, black leather shoes, hands in his pockets, tall and slender, his expression serene. He looked exactly like everyone who had come to see her in this life and also exactly like the person who had been with her for so many years in her previous life.

Li Weiyi’s whole body began to tremble almost imperceptibly.