The sky was dark when Shen Peichuan drove to Lin Xinyan’s place.
Sang Yu was playing with the baby in the living room, and the first thing Shen Peichuan did was ask her what happened that day.
“Don’t you already know everything? It’s just like what I said earlier,” replied Sang Yu.
Shen Peichuan reached out to play with the baby too, but Sang Yu slapped his hands away and demanded, “Have you washed your hands?”
Shen Peichuan had no answer to that.
“You must wash your hands before playing with the baby,” insisted Sang Yu.
“Never mind then, I won’t play with the baby.”
Shen Peichuan sat on the sofa, and Sang Yu inched toward him. She said, “I freaked out when I saw that box of money. I thought that I had gotten you in trouble. Fortunately, Xinyan helped me out and came up with a solution. Who knows what would happen if she hadn’t?”
Sang Yu had her eyes on Shen Peichuan as she asked, “Did you piss someone off?”
Why else would someone go through all that to hurt us?
Shen Peichuan answered nonchalantly, “I’ll deal with it.”
Sang Yu replied, “Okay, I’m glad you have a plan. Oh, by the way, remember to thank Xinyan when we have dinner together, okay? I couldn’t reach your phone at the time and was completely out of my wits. If Xinyan hadn’t taught me what to do, things would’ve spiraled out of control.”
Shen Peichuan nodded.
Creak!
The door to the bedroom opened. Zong Yanxi and Zong Yanchen stood on either side of Zong Qifeng to support him in. Zong Qifeng’s health was deteriorating every day, and he had so much trouble walking that he needed others’ help.
Shen Peichuan saw that the kids weren’t able to help Zong Qifeng properly, so he got up to help the elderly man. “Here, let me help you to the sofa,” offered Shen Peichuan.
Zong Qifeng nodded.
Zong Qifeng couldn’t sit for long, either. He became worn out soon, so Shen Peichuan later helped the former back to the bedroom.
When it was time for dinner, Lin Xinyan put the food on the tray and brought it into the room.
Zong Qifeng didn’t have any appetite, and he seemed uncomfortable while lying on the bed. Lin Xinyan quickly placed the tray on the table and suggested, “Let me get the doctor over.”
Zong Qifeng replied weakly, “It’s fine. Y-You can go.”
That was not the first time Lin Xinyan saw Zong Qifeng being tortured by his illness. That pain was not something others could take away, and her heart ached to watch him like that.
Zhuang Zijin and Aunt Yu were there to deal with dinner, so Lin Xinyan wasn’t needed. Lin Xinyan got out of the room and secretly called the doctor over.
She hung up after she heard the doctor say that he would hurry over.
Lin Xinyan was sorrowful and scared when she saw Zong Qifeng’s condition worsening. She tilted her head up and stared at the stars dotting the night sky.
“Why are you sitting here?”
Zong Jinghao had just gotten home at the time. Lin Xinyan turned around and saw him there, so she stood up and walked to him before whispering, “I called Dr. Jiang over because I saw dad in pain.”
Zong Jinghao stroked her arm and replied, “I understand. Let’s head in. It’s cold out here.”
Lin Xinyan nodded and walked into the house with Zong Jinghao. The latter headed to Zong Qifeng’s room immediately after.
Zong Qifeng would never call out to anyone in the house despite being in pain. He didn’t want anyone to see him in a weakened state, including Zong Jinghao.
Lin Xinyan didn’t have any appetite, but she acted like everything was fine. She sat at the dining table and got her kids some vegetables before telling them to eat more.
Shen Peichuan said, “I heard from Sang Yu that you helped us out today. Thank you.”
Lin Xinyan drank some water before waving dismissively and saying, “Nah, I didn’t do much. Besides, you don’t need to be so polite with me.”
Shen Peichuan had a grim expression on. He explained, “Things would not have gone that smoothly if Sang Yu hadn’t shown up in time.”
It would be bad if he had been suspended. The investigation wouldn’t have been a mere procedural one under those circumstances.
“Just be careful, okay? This isn’t a one-off thing, is it?”
Even Sang Yu could tell that something was off, so Lin Xinyan, who was older and had more experience, could see that it was a set-up as well.
Shen Peichuan replied, “Yeah. I’ll deal with it as soon as possible.”
The doctor dropped by soon after and prescribed some painkillers for Zong Qifeng. Zong Jinghao stood guard beside the bed the entire time. Before Shen Peichuan left, he went into the room to exchange some pleasantries with Zong Qifeng and Zong Jinghao.
On the day before the mid-autumn festival, a commotion arose in the police station.
The computer showed that an e-mail was sent by Wang Dui. He had shared a video with all of his colleagues, and the video was the footage that Shen Peichuan secretly took. It showed everyone what Wang Dui and Song Yaxin talked about the other day.
The bribing incident involving Shen Peichuan was a hot topic within the station, but everyone had since turned their focus to Wang Dui.
Wang Dui was stumped as well.
He never sent any e-mails, so how was the video shared from his account?
Wang Dui cussed, “I’m a f*cking idiot! Why did I get myself involved in this shit in the first place?”
Who hacked into my account and shared that video? Was it Song Yaxin? Or maybe Shen Peichuan?
Wang Dui could only come up with two suspects because those two were the only ones who were directly involved in the incident. The footage being leaked would not benefit Song Yaxin at all. It would even drag her father’s good name down with it. The culprit probably isn’t her.
All that was left on the list was Shen Peichuan.
After all, the footage proved that Shen Peichuan was framed.
But… How did he get his hands on this footage? Did someone catch me and Song Yaxin talking and send him the footage to earn a favor from him? Or did he discover it all on his own?
Wang Dui’s mind was in a mess. He couldn’t tell for sure what had happened.
Regardless, the truth being exposed like that was bad for him.
“Wang Dui,” said Chen while walking over. “Chief Shen asked you to go to his office.”
