When she saw the photo her subordinate gave her, she wished she could burn two holes through it with her eyes.
She never expected that the person who had been targeting her all along was Duan Muxing’s fiancée, Xu Qingdai.
Helian Diejin thought carefully. She had no past grievances with Xu Qingdai. In fact, she found Xu Qingdai’s inexplicable targeting of her extremely puzzling.
However, regardless of any past grudges, if this woman, Xu Qingdai, was going to trouble her instead of living her own good life, Helian Diejin would absolutely not let her off.
Especially when she thought about how much money she had lost and how many meticulously trained subordinates she had lost because of Xu Qingdai, Helian Diejin wished she could tear Xu Qingdai to pieces immediately.
Helian Diejin tore up the photo in her hand, her eyes filled with boundless rage!
Soon, Xu Qingdai would definitely pay the price.
Meanwhile, Lin Xingwan, who was staying at Duan Muxing’s villa, couldn’t help but sneeze.
*Achoo!*
Lin Xingwan rubbed her nose. Ever since she returned, Duan Muxing hadn’t let her go out. The villa was heavily guarded because Duan Muxing said Helian Diejin would definitely seek revenge after learning the truth.
Helian Diejin had been too arrogant all these years. If she set her mind on dealing with Lin Xingwan, she would stop at nothing.
If Lin Xingwan fell into Helian Diejin’s hands, especially given Lin Xingwan’s identity, she would have no chance of escaping.
“The weather is getting cold, and you’re still wearing so little. Do you want to get sick?” Duan Muxing appeared behind Lin Xingwan at some point. Seeing her standing by the window, gazing out at the scenery, he felt her silhouette looked so lonely.
“It snows every winter in Yanjing, right?”
Lin Xingwan asked.
“Yes, and Yanjing is most beautiful in winter,” Duan Muxing replied truthfully, though he didn’t understand why Lin Xingwan was suddenly asking about this topic.
“When this winter ends, our matters should be over, right?” Lin Xingwan asked again.
“To be precise, our matters might be over before winter even arrives.”
Duan Muxing also shifted his gaze from Lin Xingwan to the window.
The sky was overcast, looking particularly oppressive.
A flock of birds flew in the sky, but they seemed to be crashing around within a confined area no matter how they flew.
“Yes, it will be over soon. If I can survive, I want to go skiing. If I don’t survive, I hope someone will sweep my mother’s grave for me every year after I die.”
Lin Xingwan turned around, her eyes red.
Seeing her like this, Duan Muxing felt as if something was blocking his throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.
At this moment, if he could stand, he would embrace Lin Xingwan and tell her that he wouldn’t let her die alone, even if it meant dying himself.
But Duan Muxing could only smile at Lin Xingwan and say, “If you can survive, you can get back together with Zhou Jinbai. I will give him the antidote, and he will no longer be in pain. He will be like a healthy person and live a long life.”
Lin Xingwan looked at Duan Muxing with a surprised gaze. She couldn’t believe he would say such a thing.
“You… are you telling the truth?” Lin Xingwan had never dared to hope Duan Muxing would say this. Although she didn’t know why he wanted her to leave Zhou Jinbai, she also knew that after the events of the past were revealed, she would have to leave him to avoid implicating him.
“Of course.” Duan Muxing felt unaccustomed to this feeling of going back on his word. He hadn’t intended to let Lin Xingwan rekindle her relationship with Zhou Jinbai, but now he felt he was acting strangely.
“Thank you. I suddenly feel full of fighting spirit,” Lin Xingwan said gratefully. “For your promise, I will crawl back even if I have to.”
“Alright, don’t get happy too soon. Tonight, we still have to go to the Dongfang family.”
Duan Muxing had always been very good at changing the subject.
Lin Xingwan’s grateful smile hadn’t faded before she heard Duan Muxing say this, and she was stunned.
“Why are we going to the Dongfang family?”
She had been feeling restless these past few days. Although the internet was reporting on the human trafficking incident, and the group of people who were caught following Shi Zhesheng’s downfall, even the villa with masks where Lin Xingwan and others were captured, everyone had taken off their masks.
The sensation caused by these events had made everyone tremble.
However, matching the heat of these reports was the news about Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan.
The two of them had traveled to many places in the past few days, and many paparazzi had even captured their sweet moments together. Rumors were circulating that the heirs of the two major families, Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan, would be getting married soon.
Even Cen Zhiyuan’s wedding dress, designed at a sky-high price abroad years ago, had been photographed. The diamonds inlaid on it alone were so dazzling that they were hard to look at.
Although Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan were not involved in the entertainment industry, their popularity was even higher than that of the stars in the entertainment industry.
“The Dongfang family is hosting a banquet tonight, seemingly for Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan’s matter. It’s quite ironic. When Zhou Jinbai was with you, he promised he didn’t like other women. Now that you’ve only been gone for a while, I didn’t expect him to get together with Cen Zhiyuan.”
Duan Muxing’s intuition told him that Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan getting together meant these two cunning foxes, with a combined intelligence of a thousand, were plotting something. He was just very curious about Lin Xingwan’s reaction upon hearing this.
As expected, Lin Xingwan’s expression stiffened, but she quickly put on a forced smile. “It’s good that they are together. You go tonight, I don’t want to.”
Lin Xingwan didn’t want to attend such a thankless task.
“No, you must go. I’m worried about you staying alone in this villa. Besides, the Dongfang family’s castle is safer.”
After speaking, Duan Muxing left in his wheelchair without giving Lin Xingwan a chance to refuse again.
In the afternoon, Duan Muxing indeed took Lin Xingwan to the Dongfang family.
This time, they took a plane, and in just over ten minutes, Lin Xingwan and the others arrived at the Dongfang family’s castle.
The entire island was bustling tonight. Looking down from the helicopter, one could see a dense crowd of people. After disembarking from the helicopter, the lively atmosphere was even more pronounced.
If it weren’t for the magnificent and grand building in front of them, Lin Xingwan would have thought they were at a tourist resort.
“Let’s go in.”
Duan Muxing said, and Qingluan pushed him inside.
Lin Xingwan followed beside them and couldn’t help but say, “There seem to be several times more people tonight than the last time we were here.”
“Naturally. Last time it was just the birthday banquet for an unremarkable elder of the Dongfang family. But this time it’s different. The news that has been released is that Cen Zhiyuan and Zhou Jinbai are preparing to form an alliance. Not only those who want to curry favor with them, but even influential figures in the underworld want to come here to make their presence felt.”
Duan Muxing explained calmly, then reminded Lin Xingwan, “Your old friends have also arrived.”
With that, Lin Xingwan couldn’t help but look straight ahead and saw Liu Mengqin and Yun Qingqing.
Liu Mengqin affectionately held Bai Xiao’s arm, and her complexion looked very rosy.
Yun Qingqing also held Lu Shiyan’s arm, appearing like a charming little princess. However, Yun Qingqing’s arrogant expression made her seem unapproachable.
If it weren’t for the familiar face, Lin Xingwan would hardly have recognized the woman holding Lu Shiyan’s arm as the Yun Qingqing who had cried in fear before.
“Your friend is likely pregnant,” Duan Muxing replied.
“Pregnant?” Lin Xingwan couldn’t help but touch her own stomach. Although she was only a little over a month pregnant and it wasn’t visible, due to the recent events, Lin Xingwan hadn’t thought much about her pregnancy.
She had no morning sickness or any unusual feelings. But now, seeing how Bai Xiao treated Liu Mengqin with such care and gentleness, Lin Xingwan felt a pang of sourness.
Of course, she wasn’t jealous of Liu Mengqin, but she felt that if these things hadn’t happened, Zhou Jinbai would have taken care of her as gently as Bai Xiao.
“See how she keeps putting her hand on her stomach, as if protecting something. So I’m sure she’s pregnant.”
Duan Muxing’s statement didn’t require any experience; it only needed careful observation.
“That’s good. After suffering so much, Sister Qin has finally seen the end of her hardships,” Lin Xingwan said with a very indifferent expression.
Just then, she felt a chill down her spine.
Lin Xingwan instinctively looked in a certain direction.
It was better not to look, but as soon as she did, Lin Xingwan almost suffocated.
About fifteen meters away, Helian Diejin and a foreign man were staring at her menacingly.
They were talking about something, and soon Helian Diejin and the foreign man walked towards Lin Xingwan and the others.
“It used to be harder than climbing to heaven to get a glimpse of you. I never expected we’d be seeing each other so often now. Muxing, it seems you’ve found a good wife. She can convince you to go out more.”
Helian Diejin approached Duan Muxing and the others with a fake smile.
However, her eyes were like those of a cold-blooded animal, showing no kindness, and were fixed on Lin Xingwan.
Especially the foreign man standing beside Helian Diejin, his eyes were full of scrutiny and disdain for Lin Xingwan.
Lin Xingwan could even sense the man’s inner thoughts; he must have been thinking about how to kill her.
“Qingdai is indeed a good wife. Because of her appearance, my life is full of color, so Qingdai holds a very important position in my heart. Anyone who dares to bully her, even if it means sacrificing our entire Duan family, I will not let them go.”
Duan Muxing’s words were actually meant for Helian Diejin, but Helian Diejin didn’t take Duan Muxing’s threat seriously.
She spoke again, “If a person minds their own business and doesn’t meddle, others won’t target them. But if they meddle and disrupt others’ interests, don’t blame others for being impolite.”
After speaking, Helian Diejin finally showed a smile in her eyes. “Am I right, Ms. Xu?”
Helian Diejin was so arrogant that she was practically on the verge of revealing the last layer of secrecy.
However, Helian Diejin also knew that even if she revealed it now, it would be meaningless.
Because Duan Muxing and Xu Qingdai both knew her true identity, and she knew that these two were behind the scheme. The only thing she needed to do now was to punish that bitch Xu Qingdai.
“Whether I’m meddling depends on whether others are committing evil deeds. For someone who has done countless bad things, I will naturally intervene. Although I know such people will eventually be struck down by divine retribution, I feel that as a righteous person, I should eliminate evil for the people, right?”
Lin Xingwan retorted to Helian Diejin. Looking at the face that was almost identical to her mother’s, Lin Xingwan felt extremely disgusted.
No matter how much this woman adjusted herself, even if she looked exactly like her mother, she still gave off a disgusting and vicious impression.
“Appearance reflects the heart” perfectly described the scene before her.
As expected, after hearing Lin Xingwan’s words, Helian Diejin’s arrogant expression turned into anger.
However, her control over her emotions had reached a masterful level.
This time, Helian Diejin did not answer Lin Xingwan. Instead, the man standing beside her spoke, “Eliminating evil for the people also depends on whether you have the ability. If you don’t have the ability, you will only end up harming yourself and others. Ms. Xu, have you seen how bad people treat those who eliminate evil for the people? I’ve witnessed it many times before. Shall I tell you a few stories?”
The man smiled at Lin Xingwan, but his eyes were like he was appraising prey.
Lin Xingwan didn’t even have time to refuse before the man began to speak.