She inserted the USB drive into the port and clicked the file open.
On the screen, the video player popped up and a video started playing. It showed a woman with her mouth taped and bounded in ropes on the ground.
She was trying to articulate something but her words came off as unintelligible and muffled.
Zong Yanxi’s pupils dilated as she saw the poor woman.
What on earth is this?
Why am I seeing this?
What is the sender trying to get at?
Her shaking fingers reached for the mouse and zoomed in on the woman’s face.
It was the woman in the rumored nightclub scandal relating to Jiang Mohan.
Why are they doing this to her?
Unanswered questions flooded her thoughts as Zong Yanxi struggled to make head or tail of what she was seeing.
Just as she was trying to comprehend this whole incident, her phone rang in her pocket.
A message notification from an unknown number lighted on her screen: This is what happens to people who get near Mohan. Try me and you’ll end up worse than this woman.
Zong Yanxi’s knees felt weak and she collapsed on the chair next to her.
But she told herself to calm down and sat up straight, trying to connect the dots between everything that happened.
She finally understood what Ling Wei meant when she asked her to join her for a “good show.”
She wanted Zong Yanxi to watch that woman being tortured so she would beat a retreat, but Zong Yanxi did not even go.
Yet Ling Wei was not letting her off the hook this easily. The fact that Ling Wei had the audacity to send Zong Yanxi the clip meant she no longer cared if the latter told Jiang Mohan about what she did.
This also meant Ling Wei was going all out this time around.
A shudder spread down her spine as Zong Yanxi thought about what Ling Wei would do to women who approached Jiang Mohan.
She was clearly out of her mind to be inflicting such atrocious pain on a human being.
Zong Yanxi slammed her laptop screen shut as the screams of the women echoed throughout the room.
Her heart was beating furiously as she thought about how close she and Ling Wei used to be.
Never had it crossed her mind that her close friend was actually this cold-blooded.
She wiped the cold sweat off her forehead and heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God I’m still alive!
But her heart started beating faster as she sensed the looming danger awaiting her.
This video was just Ling Wei’s first move and it would definitely not take long before she dealt her another blow. I have to act first!
I need a plan.
Ling Wei, I’m gonna play you at your own game this time. I’ll show you I’m not a sitting duck anymore!
Determination glimmered in Zong Yanxi’s eyes and she grabbed her phone before walking out of the room confidently.
She went downstairs, hailed a cab, and told the driver Gu Xian’s address.
By the time she went on her way, the setting sun had dyed the horizon red.
Cars were traveling on the road as people sluggishly dragged themselves home after a long day of work. After they arrived, Zong Yanxi paid the driver and hopped off in front of Gu Xian’s neighborhood.
Zong Yanxi knew the security guards would not let her in unless Gu Xian came to pick her up, so she pulled out her phone and called him.
But a ringtone pierced through the quiet neighborhood and she turned to see Gu Xian walking out of the neighborhood.
She waved her hand at him and shouted, “Gu Xian!”
Gu Xian turned around and hasted his pace towards her. “Hey, it’s a surprise to see you here,” he greeted as he rejected her call on his phone.
“How’s the investigation going?” She cut to the chase.
“You mean the man you asked me to find out more about?”
Zong Yanxi nodded as they walked towards his car.
“I have a few clues and I’m just about to go check it out,” he replied.
“I’ll go with you,” Zong Yanxi suggested.
Gu Xian’s hand stopped on his car door handle and he looked at her reluctantly. “You sure? It’s not a pleasant place though.”
“I have to get to the bottom of this urgently. Someone is coming for me,” she replied.
“Who?”
Zong Yanxi scoffed, “Who else can it be? It’s the person who failed to kill me once.”
Gu Xian opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat with a severe face. “What does Ling Wei want? She doesn’t know you’re Zong Yanxi. Why does she want to target you?”
Upon hearing her name, the scenes of those thugs beating the frail woman up played back in Zong Yanxi’s mind. “I think she’s gone crazy. She’s so obsessed with Jiang Mohan she’s willing to kill every single woman around him. Come to think of it, that man is really lucky to have someone who’s so devoted to him.”
A smirk curved upon her lips as Zong Yanxi thought about how ironic things were.
Gu Xian spared her a quick glimpse and teased, “Does that mean you don’t love Jiang Mohan anymore?”
Zong Yanxi glared at him and pursed her lips. “Seriously. You need to at least try being more likable,” she complained as she fastened her seatbelt.
“Come on, are you angry over a joke?” he asked, closing the door and starting the engine.
“Why do you have to talk like this all the time?” she questioned grudgingly.
“I promise this is the last time,” he said cheekily.
“Please focus when you drive,” Zong Yanxi replied, rolling her eyes.
Gu Xian knew she was just faking her anger and he drove off with a laugh.
“But seriously though, what are you gonna do? You know how cruel Ling Wei is,” he asked in a more serious tone.
“It depends,” she said. She already had a plan drafted out.
“I’ll get two bodyguards to follow you in secret,” Gu Xian offered.
“Can do. I’ll let you know when I need it,” she replied. It was always better to err on the safe side when dealing with Ling Wei.
Luck was on her side and someone saved her the first time—else there was no way she could have survived Ling Wei’s scheme.
Gu Xian and Zong Yanxi finally arrived at the destination and he got off the car to open the door for her. “We’re here.”
