Ni Na was thoroughly suspicious of Ye Zhi, regarding her as an enemy.
His plan had gone too smoothly. Now, he had gained Ni Na's trust. The next step was to make her completely trust him and join him in dealing with Ye Zhi, their 'enemy,' and his plan would be complete!
"No, I'm calling the police! I want the police to investigate her! I want her to go to jail... no, I want her to pay with her life!" Ni Na said frantically.
"But Auntie, we have no evidence. So, we absolutely cannot call the police right now," Ou Minghan immediately dissuaded her. "Otherwise, this will be falling into Ye Zhi's trap, and she'll just turn it back on us!"
"Are you telling me to endure it?" Ni Na was enraged. "Why?! She tried to harm my daughter last time, and this time she harmed my son. Why should I pretend nothing happened and let her do whatever she pleases?"
"Auntie, we're not saying to pretend nothing happened," Ou Minghan immediately advised. "It's just that the Cen family is no match for Ye Zhi right now, and we can't lose our composure. We must unite now, gather all our strength, and protect the Cen family. Only then can we find an opportunity to fight back..."
Ni Na felt incredibly stifled. She roared in anger, "But my son is dead! Why should I endure? Why shouldn't I avenge my son?!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Ni Na froze.
No matter how stubborn she was, no matter how much she insisted on finding Cen Xiucheng, after so many days, even she subconsciously felt that Cen Xiucheng was likely dead.
Thinking of this, Ni Na couldn't help but burst into tears.
Ou Minghan did not try to console her. He let her cry to her heart's content.
When Ni Na had vented enough, Ou Minghan said, "Auntie, I deeply understand your desire to avenge Cen Xiucheng. However, only by planning carefully can we gather enough evidence to make Ye Zhi pay and avenge Cen Xiucheng..."
Ou Minghan paused, then, suppressing his greed, he said, "Although you've lost Cen Xiucheng, you still have me. I am your son-in-law, and also like a son. In the future, I will be as filial to you as Xiucheng was!"
Ni Na was stunned for a while, and finally, she sighed, "Minghan, you are a good child. Xiao Ya's choice was not wrong. Since you two truly love each other, I will no longer object to you. You should call me 'Mom' like Xiao Ya does."
Ou Minghan was ecstatic; his plan had progressed another step!
He immediately gathered his emotions and, with deep affection, called out, "Mom—"
However, Ni Na sighed again, saying bitterly, "But you are not my son, after all..."
Ou Minghan's expression immediately fell. He nearly ground his molars to dust! Was Ni Na toying with him?
However, at this moment, Ou Minghan had no intention of falling out with her.
"Mom, does my father know about what's happening here? What's his reaction?" Ou Minghan asked urgently. He was still quite wary of the Duke.
Ni Na choked out, "I've already told him. He said to find Xiucheng and bring him back with me..."
Ou Minghan immediately pressed, "Isn't he coming over?"
"He can't come..." Ni Na choked again, unable to speak.
Ou Minghan became suspicious. Cen Xiucheng's disappearance after a car accident was such a major event. As a father, why wouldn't he even come? Wait, Ni Na just said he couldn't come. Did that mean...
Did the Duke fall ill, perhaps have a stroke or become paralyzed, after hearing about Cen Xiucheng, and therefore couldn't come?
Ou Minghan was even happier. Heaven was helping him!
Cen Xiucheng was dead, and the Duke he feared was also bedridden. Now, only Ni Na remained, and she trusted him implicitly.
If Ni Na was willing to obediently hand over her assets, he didn't mind letting her continue to live as a noble lady. If she still cared about her son, then let mother and son be reunited!
"Mom, I think you should return to the capital sooner rather than later. You are needed here," Ou Minghan said, his tone becoming a bit more assertive.
"No! I'm not going back! I want to keep looking!" Ni Na insisted.
"Alright, I hope you find him soon," Ou Minghan replied perfunctorily. Shortly after, he hung up the phone.
But the more Ni Na thought about it, the angrier she became. Although Ou Minghan had advised her to plan carefully, the thought of the missing Cen Xiucheng filled her heart with hatred and sorrow.
Especially when she remembered Ou Minghan mentioning the movie's box office, she couldn't help but take out her phone and look at the Taoxun Film and Television poster celebrating breaking 200 million yuan. She was truly going insane with anger!
Why?!
Why did her family fall into ruin while Ye Zhi, the culprit, reaped fame and fortune? She couldn't and wouldn't endure it any longer!
Ni Na furiously took out her phone and dialed the emergency number directly!
*
In the evening, Ye Zhi was at the Ye family home when she received a call from the N City police.
After identifying themselves, the caller directly asked, "Ms. Ye Zhi, do you know about Cen Xiucheng's car accident?"
Ye Zhi was a little confused. "I heard about it. What's wrong?"
"Someone has reported that you are the mastermind behind this incident. Could you please come to N City to cooperate with the police investigation?" the police asked.
Ye Zhi: ...
What did this have to do with her? Why was it being dragged onto her?
"Okay." Ye Zhi agreed.
After hanging up, Ye Zhi explained the situation to her family.
The Ye family was in an uproar. Their reactions were similar to Ye Zhi's.
"What does this have to do with Xiao Zhi?" Ye Yongxian was very angry. "Why should Xiao Zhi cooperate with the investigation?"
"Dad, it's because someone reported that I did it," Ye Zhi shrugged helplessly. "Besides, this is just an investigation, they'll ask a few questions and I'll be back. You don't need to worry."
"This is clearly a false accusation!" Ye Yuzhe was furious. "It must be Cen Xiucheng's mother, that Duchess! Her son had an accident, so her mind is dark, and she can't stand to see others happy!"
Ye Zhi did not disagree. Ye Yuzhe's guess was likely correct. Someone must have been shifting the blame onto her, and Ni Na believed it all.
"How can she be so unreasonable? I shouldn't have pitied her last night!" Liu Lingyu's eyes were red with anger.
Ye Zhi quickly comforted Liu Lingyu, repeatedly assuring her that it was not a big deal, and only then did Liu Lingyu relax.
However, they decided to accompany her to N City. No matter how much Ye Zhi tried to dissuade them, they wouldn't be swayed.
The news soon reached the Qi family. The Qi family members directly came to their home. After both families condemned Ni Na's foolishness, they discussed it and finally decided that Qi Xuan would accompany Ye Zhi to N City.
The next day, Ye Zhi and Qi Xuan flew to N City together. Upon arriving in N City, the police arranged for a police car to pick them up.