"Your father has been reported for corruption and bribery and has been taken away by the judicial department."
Xi Ruxue was clearly terrified, her voice trembling with sobs.
Shen Liubai’s brows furrowed tightly. "Mom, don't worry, I'll go over there now."
After hanging up the phone, Shen Liubai tiptoed to the bedside. Seeing that Lin Zhuyin hadn't woken up, he gently kissed her forehead and wrote a note, sticking it on the nightstand.
After Shen Liubai left and the room returned to silence, Lin Zhuyin slowly opened her eyes.
She got up and tore off the note from the nightstand.
"Yinyin, I'm going home for a bit. Remember to eat breakfast when you wake up."
Shen Liubai's handwriting was beautiful, contrasting with his refined and aloof personality. His script was strong and powerful, even dominant.
Lin Zhuyin's expression turned extremely grim. She took out her phone and saw that, as expected, those people had already made their move.
News of Shen Zhengcheng being investigated was all over the internet. Even in such a critical moment, he still remembered to remind her to eat breakfast.
With the Shen family's influence, they should be able to find her quickly, but that no longer mattered.
…
As soon as the news of Shen Zhengcheng's arrest broke, coupled with the guidance of some interested parties, the internet exploded.
The old lady's health was deteriorating day by day. Shen Chi Yan, fearing she would be too upset by Shen Zhengcheng's situation, had Zhang Ma take her to a hotel near Misty Mountain to stay for a few days to relax.
He would bring her back after this matter was resolved.
Shen Keqin had been eagerly anticipating her birthday for days. Little did she know that something terrible happened at home before her birthday.
Upon hearing the news of Shen Zhengcheng's arrest, she immediately rushed home.
Xi Ruxue was flustered and pale as paper. Shen Liubai was the first to comfort her.
"Mom, don't overthink it. We know Dad's character well. He would never engage in corruption or bribery."
Xi Ruxue's eyes reddened with anxiety. "My right eyelid has been twitching for days, and I always felt like something bad was about to happen. And now..."
"Alright, alright, don't worry. I'll go understand the situation right now."
Saying that, Shen Liubai patted Shen Keqin's head. "Qinqin, stay with Mom. I'll be back soon."
Shen Keqin nodded obediently.
As Shen Liubai was about to leave, Xi Ruxue grabbed his arm.
"Liubai, for the past six months, your father has been a bit strange. He had quit smoking, but for a while, he was smoking heavily. When I asked him what was wrong, he just said it was nothing."
Xi Ruxue wiped away her tears, her voice filled with worry. "I don't know if his current trouble is related to him smoking six months ago."
Shen Liubai nodded, comforted her for a while longer, and then said, "I understand. Don't worry, Dad will be alright."
After Shen Liubai left, Shen Keqin hugged Xi Ruxue, blaming herself. "I didn't even notice Dad was smoking. If only I had known sooner..."
"Even if you had known he was smoking, if he said it was work stress, you wouldn't have thought much of it."
Shen Keqin was incredibly anxious, especially feeling useless when her father was in trouble and she couldn't help at all.
Suddenly, Shen Keqin thought of someone.
At noon, Shen Keqin persuaded Xi Ruxue to eat something. After coaxing her to sleep, she left the house.
She drove her car to find Jian Mubai.
Jian Mubai was currently working at a law firm, so he surely knew something about her father.
Arriving downstairs at Jian Mubai's law firm, she took out her phone and called Jian Mubai several times, but he didn't answer.
Just as she was about to rush upstairs to find him, she suddenly saw Jian Mubai walking out of the building.
He seemed to be in a hurry, and his expression was not good.
"Jian..."
She was about to call out to him when, before her words could escape her lips, Jian Mubai got into a car.
Without time to think, she immediately started her car and chased after him.
As the car drove on, Shen Keqin felt that the road ahead was becoming increasingly familiar.
It wasn't until she followed Jian Mubai's car into a villa area that she realized this was the villa where her elder brother and sister-in-law lived.
Shen Keqin's brows furrowed tightly. Why would Jian Mubai come here?
The car stopped in front of that familiar villa. Seeing Jian Mubai enter the villa, Shen Keqin's doubts grew even stronger.
She parked her car by the roadside and quietly followed him in.
Inside the villa, Lin Zhuyin was still in the kitchen preparing something. Jian Mubai rushed over and grabbed Lin Zhuyin's hand. "Let's go."
"Wait a moment... there's one more thing, let me finish!"
Jian Mubai looked down. Lin Zhuyin had made a large batch of fruit preserves in various flavors, all of which Shen Liubai loved.
Jian Mubai frowned and sighed. "Shen Chi Yan and Shen Liubai will find us soon. We have to leave as soon as possible."
As soon as Lin Zhuyin heard the word "leave," tears began to stream down her face. Looking at the bottles and jars before her, her heart ached with reluctance and pain.
Especially thinking that she would never see Shen Liubai again in this lifetime, her heart felt like it was about to break.
Jian Mubai deeply empathized with Lin Zhuyin's pain. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. "It's okay, it will be over soon."
He said this as if to Lin Zhuyin, but also as if to himself.
"I know, but it hurts so much. Why does it hurt so much?"
Lin Zhuyin collapsed into Jian Mubai's arms.
"What are you two doing?"
Suddenly, a voice filled with disbelief and anger rang out.
Recognizing the voice, Jian Mubai and Lin Zhuyin immediately let go of each other and simultaneously looked towards the entrance.
Indeed, they saw Shen Keqin, her face ashen.
Jian Mubai and Lin Zhuyin's expressions grew more distressed by the second. They never expected to encounter Shen Keqin at a time like this.
Shen Keqin, too, could never have imagined that one day she would see her bodyguard embracing her sister-in-law.
In Shen Keqin's memory, her sister-in-law was always cold and distant to everyone, not very talkative and not fond of crowds.
And Jian Mubai was as dense as a block of wood.
They had only exchanged polite nods during their previous encounters. When did they become so intimate?
Shen Keqin walked in, looking coldly at the two of them. "I asked what you are doing? And what did you mean by what you just said? What do you mean my brother will find you soon? Where are you going?"
"Qinqin..."
Lin Zhuyin called out to Shen Keqin cautiously.
"Don't call me that! You two... what have you done?"
Suddenly, Shen Keqin seemed to recall something, her beautiful eyes filled with furious questioning. "Could it be my father? My father being investigated by the judicial bureau, was it your doing?"
Seeing their silence, Shen Keqin's suspicion was further confirmed.
Her mind was in a mess. She couldn't believe that the two people she trusted and liked would conspire to harm her father.
Why did this happen?
Her eyes already filled with tears, she stared fiercely at them. Wiping her tears haphazardly, she spoke in anger, "You want to leave? Dream on! I'm calling my brother right now! I'll expose your conspiracy!"
Shen Keqin began to make a call, crying as she walked out. However, before she could take two steps, her neck suddenly ached, her vision went black, and she collapsed.
Jian Mubai's reflexes were quick; he caught her, frowned, and tenderly wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Qinqin..."
"She's fine, but we have to leave now. We can't let her make that call."
"Then what about her?"
Jian Mubai looked deeply at Shen Keqin, remaining silent.