"Take a look at this text message, Mr. Sheng. The content seems to be related to you. You are Li Caiyi's boyfriend, aren't you?"
Sheng Yuchen opened his phone and tapped on the message. He saw a contact labeled 'Sister Su Qi' had sent several messages accusing him of conspiracy and wickedness.
Li Caiyi hadn't replied, but her dozens of calls and her actions had already fully expressed her inner thoughts.
Sheng Yuchen's hand, gripping his phone, tightened abruptly.
Layers of anger surged from his heart to his throat.
A flicker of fire seemed to ignite in his eyes.
Su Qi, how could it be Su Qi?!
In the early hours of the morning, Su Qi tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
After dinner, she had turned on the television and seen a social news report about someone jumping from the Shengshi Group building.
When she called Li Caiyi, her calls went unanswered, and she had a bad feeling in her heart.
But then she thought, Li Caiyi was already twenty years old, an adult. How could she be so distraught and suicidal just because Sheng Yuchen had used her?
If that were truly the case, how deep was her love for Sheng Yuchen to cause such heartache.
Thinking this, Su Qi finally felt a hint of sleepiness.
Just as she was about to drift off, she suddenly heard a car entering the Huo residence, followed by the butler opening the door. She couldn't quite make out the voices of the two people talking. Was it Huo Qingrang? Why would he return so late at night...
Su Qi thought hazily, turned on the bedside lamp, grabbed the sweater jacket beside her, and put it on. Still in her pajamas, she got out of bed and went downstairs.
Standing on the stairs, Su Qi looked down and immediately saw the man who had just entered the main door.
The butler turned on the living room lights and, seeing Su Qi on the stairs, was startled. "Miss Su."
The moment the lights came on, Su Qi also got a clear look at the man downstairs.
At this hour, disheveled and wearing slippers, appearing at the Huo residence, what was the reason?
Su Qi suppressed the unease in her heart and waved at the butler. "You can go back and rest."
The butler hesitated, glanced at Sheng Yuchen beside him, and replied, "Yes, Miss Su."
After the butler left, Su Qi narrowed her eyes and asked, "Are you looking for me?"
The man remained silent, instead walking towards the living room and sitting down on the sofa as if he were at home, completely at ease.
Su Qi raised an eyebrow, held onto the banister, and slowly walked downstairs, stopping behind Sheng Yuchen. "It's two in the morning, Mr. Sheng. What urgent matter brings you here?" "Sit down, and I'll tell you slowly."
The man had his back to her, so Su Qi couldn't see his face clearly, but she could hear the tremor in his voice.
Why?
Su Qi was taken aback and walked towards the sofa next to Sheng Yuchen.
Before Su Qi could sit down, the man suddenly stood up. They were very close, and Su Qi immediately felt his oppressive presence. Then, in the next second, before she could even react, the man's large hand had firmly gripped her neck. He tightened his grip, and Su Qi's throat felt a suffocating tension.
"Sheng Yuchen! Are you crazy! This is the Huo residence, how dare you try to kill me!"
Su Qi instantly reacted, trying to shake off his hand, but he was gripping her so tightly that she couldn't struggle. With her previous experience, Su Qi gave up struggling and looked up at the man in front of her. It was this glance that stunned Su Qi.
The butler hadn't turned on the main living room lights, only the floor lamp. The light wasn't particularly bright, even a bit dim. Su Qi had been too far away to see the man's expression clearly. Now, at close range, she finally saw.
Sheng Yuchen's eyes were bloodshot, even tinged with a scarlet hue, as if he had been crying. There were dried tear tracks at the corners of his eyes, his eyelashes were still damp, and his nose was red. His pupils were constricted, like knife blades, piercing into her.
If looks could kill, she would have died by Sheng Yuchen's hand long ago.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Su Qi panicked, and in an instant, she seemed to understand something.
"You killed Caiyi, it was you!!"
Sheng Yuchen tightened his grip fiercely, his knuckles turning white. Su Qi couldn't feel the pain in her neck, which felt like it was about to snap, and her pupils dilated in shock.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Caiyi is dead? What a joke!"
"A joke? If you hadn't provoked her, how could she have jumped from the top floor?! It was you, Su Qi, it's all your fault!!"
The top floor?
Jumped?
Shengshi Group?
The evening news...
The protagonist was Li Caiyi?!
Su Qi instantly felt like she couldn't breathe. The pain in her neck jolted her back to reality.
"It wasn't me who killed Li Caiyi, it was you, Sheng Yuchen. I only told her the truth, but you didn't answer Li Caiyi's calls. You broke her defenses, you let her know the truth. She was just a pawn being used, wasn't she?
"Sheng Yuchen, even Huo Qingrang was a pawn you used! Huo Qingrang's health had been poor since you came of age. It was you who poisoned Huo Qingrang with a slow-acting poison, causing his poor health. You had your mother take care of Huo Qingrang closely, putting on a show of filial piety.
"You even used me and Caiyi, all to achieve your goals. What right do you have to accuse me? To shift your crimes onto me?!"
As Su Qi finished her last word, she felt the pressure on her neck suddenly loosen. She quickly reached out, pushed the man in front of her away, and gasped for air.
A red mark circled her neck. As she recovered, she stared at the man slumped on the sofa.
"He who wishes to wear the crown must bear its weight! Do you think Huo Tingyun sits in that position by simply enjoying the fruits of his labor? Do you think the vast Shengshi Group industry is so easily obtained? Sheng Yuchen, this is destined to be a lonely path. Whatever you want to gain, you are destined to lose something in return!
Su Qi didn't know when Sheng Yuchen had left. Hearing the car engine start, the sound of the car gradually faded away. Su Qi got up and closed the balcony window, completely shutting out all sounds.
She didn't sleep well, her mind filled with Li Caiyi's death.
She woke up very early the next day, got into the car, and the driver quickly drove her to the funeral home.
Li Caiyi's family were all from the countryside and hadn't yet learned of Li Caiyi's death. So far, besides the police, only she had come.
The staff opened the cold storage door for her. "Madam, as you are pregnant, it's best not to look. She fell from a building over three hundred meters high, and her face was unrecognizable. Our employees didn't know where to start with the stitching, and we were worried it might be too much for your nerves."