Chapter 45

Wen Tang checked the video Liu Meifen had recorded on Weibo.

After watching it, her anger felt like a raging fire.

How could Liu Meifen do this?

Her grandmother was Liu Meifen’s biological mother! How could she be so indifferent to her own mother’s death, even hiding evidence of the criminal?

Wen Tang tried calling Liu Meifen, but her phone was off. She also called the company, but Liu Meifen wasn’t there either.

A strong premonition made Wen Tang get up from the sofa and head for the door.

Zhou Jingyu held her hand.

Wen Tang turned, her brows furrowed. Her anger had nowhere to go, making her gaze particularly sharp, as if she were a cannon ready to fire.

Wen Tang was a bundle of contradictions—sweet and endearing at times, capable of making one’s heart melt, and exceptionally affectionate. But when she was stubborn, she could be very temperamental and unreasonable.

Moreover, she also had a tendency to take her frustration out on others.

Zhou Jingyu remembered the first time he met Wen Tang, when he accidentally overheard and saw things he shouldn’t have. It made her hostile toward him for a while.

Zhou Jingyu had already stood up from the sofa; he was a head taller than Wen Tang.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

He had been with her when she saw the video. Even if he hadn’t understood what had happened when Wen Tang answered Ke Xin’s call, he knew after watching the video.

Without hesitation, Wen Tang replied, “I’m going to find Liu Meifen.”

Realizing Zhou Jingyu might not know who Liu Meifen was, she added, “Liu Meifen is my mother.”

Zhou Jingyu responded with a simple “Mm.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Given the late hour, he wasn’t comfortable letting her go alone.

“Change into something else first, don’t rush.”

Wen Tang, in her haste, hadn’t noticed she was still in her loungewear. However, she didn’t bother to change and just put on a coat. Zhou Jingyu drove, and she sat in the passenger seat.

At this hour, it was dark outside, and there was no worry about reporters taking photos. Being next to her boyfriend offered some comfort, helping her avoid spiraling thoughts.

Once in the car, Wen Tang gave Zhou Jingyu an address.

“I lived there for many years with my mom. Now that I’ve moved here, my mom lives there alone.”

That was also where her grandmother had fallen down the stairs and died.

Even though she couldn’t reach Liu Meifen, Wen Tang was almost certain that Liu Meifen was at the villa.

Zhou Jingyu nodded. Since returning to the country, he had mostly been engaged in routine activities. He was unfamiliar with many areas of Lingcheng due to its rapid development. Before starting the car, he first checked the route.

As the car began moving, Zhou Jingyu’s phone beeped with a new message.

The quiet in the car made both Zhou Jingyu and Wen Tang notice the notification.

But Zhou Jingyu didn’t check his phone until they were already on the road.

Wen Tang, wanting to distract herself before meeting Liu Meifen, shifted her focus to Zhou Jingyu’s phone.

“Your phone rang. Aren’t you going to check the message?”

Wen Tang asked casually.

Zhou Jingyu thought she was questioning him, given it was late and anyone texting him now was unusual.

He handed the phone to Wen Tang.

“Help me check it. I’m driving,” he said.

Wen Tang took the phone from him.

“Okay, I’ll really look then?” Holding the phone, Wen Tang became curious. What kind of people would a business mogul like Zhou Jingyu have in his contacts? Would they be well-known business tycoons?

Zhou Jingyu didn’t say anything. He simply reached out to unlock the phone’s fingerprint lock.

Wen Tang first checked the message that had just arrived.

The sender’s name immediately caught her attention.

It was Liu Ying.

The name suggested a young and attractive woman.

A woman texting a man in the dead of night—what could it mean? Why would she choose this time to send a message?

Wen Tang glanced at the message.

【Liu Ying: Jingyu, are you free now?】

“Jingyu?”

The familiarity of the name and the timing of the message suggested a close relationship.

As someone experienced with these situations, Wen Tang could immediately sense something unusual from this message.

“Who is Liu Ying?” Wen Tang asked, handing the phone to Zhou Jingyu.

Zhou Jingyu glanced at it and replied calmly, “She’s the daughter of the president of Linyuan Technology. She’s currently discussing a collaboration proposal with us.”

He described her this way because, in Zhou Jingyu’s view, she was just a business partner, someone he added on WeChat for work purposes. Anything beyond that was irrelevant.

Wen Tang could sense his indifference towards Liu Ying from his tone.

Wen Tang wasn’t overly petty—she wouldn’t make a fuss over a woman’s WeChat contact. However, a message coming in at this hour did make her feel a bit uneasy and slightly jealous.

“Oh,” Wen Tang said before asking, “How are you going to reply to her?”

She had already brought up the keyboard, ready to type a response for Zhou Jingyu.

Zhou Jingyu turned to look at her and said nonchalantly, “It’s past working hours. No need to reply.”

Wen Tang was finally satisfied.

Yet, she pretended to be magnanimous and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to reply? It might be impolite not to respond.”

Zhou Jingyu replied, “It’s fine.”

Normally, that would be the end of it, and Wen Tang would give the phone back to Zhou Jingyu.

But Liu Ying had piqued Wen Tang’s curiosity, and she wasn’t about to return the phone right away.

Wen Tang held onto the phone, hesitating to give it back.

Zhou Jingyu, noticing her hesitation, guessed what she was up to and said, “If you want to look, just do it. What are you hesitating about?”

Wen Tang replied, “…I’m just wondering how to get your approval.”

She still had a sense of basic decency.

Zhou Jingyu chuckled softly.

“As your boyfriend, you can come and go freely in my home, and you can use anything here. You also have the freedom to check my phone whenever you want.”

In other words, she had full access to manage and view his communications.

As the car started moving again, he added, “If you need anything in the future, just tell me directly. I’ll do my best to fulfill it within my ability.”

Wen Tang was taken aback.

Her heart fluttered unexpectedly.

She hadn’t anticipated that Zhou Jingyu would make her feel this way at such a moment.

Could he really have never been in a relationship before? He was so considerate!

Since Zhou Jingyu had said as much, Wen Tang felt comfortable checking the chat history between him and Liu Ying. The messages revealed that their WeChat connection was recent, with only a few exchanges—mostly business-related, with Zhou Jingyu’s replies being formal and not at all warm.

It was the same detached manner he had when she first messaged him after adding him on WeChat.

The messages were brief, rarely exceeding ten words.

Wen Tang lost interest quickly.

She moved on to other things.

Zhou Jingyu’s WeChat and contact list were rather unremarkable.

As Wen Tang had expected, there were many contacts of high-profile business figures—people who, even though Wen Tang was now a big name in the entertainment industry, were still out of reach for her. The rest were mostly Zhou Jingyu’s family members or household staff, like caretakers and housekeepers.

His contact list had a distinctive feature: all entries were labeled with full names or job titles, making it easy to identify who was who. Even Kexin was marked as “Wen Tang’s assistant.”

The only exception was Wen Tang herself.

Zhou Jingyu had yet to change her name in his contacts, still referring to her as “Candy.”

Wen Tang decided to change it to something more appropriate.

She then looked at his Moments.

Wen Tang occupied herself with Zhou Jingyu’s phone throughout the drive. Thanks to him, by the time they reached the villa, she had managed to calm her anger and regain her composure.

As the car stopped at the villa, Wen Tang didn’t want Zhou Jingyu to accompany her inside.

“Wait here for me. I’ll be out soon.”

She didn’t want Zhou Jingyu involved in her family matters. Despite her current calm demeanor, she wasn’t sure she could control her temper once she faced Liu Meifen.

She didn’t want Zhou Jingyu to see her lose her composure.

Losing her temper, being unreasonable—she found it unattractive.

Wen Tang entered the villa alone. It was her first time back since moving out.

At night, the villa was brightly lit, as if welcoming her return.

As she walked through, she didn’t see anyone. When she reached the living room, she found Liu Meifen sitting on the sofa.

“Ms. Liu, where are the others?”

Wen Tang looked around and asked.

There were several servants in the villa, but she hadn’t seen any of them. They couldn’t all be asleep.

Liu Meifen: “I knew you would come, so I gave everyone the night off.”

Wen Tang nodded and walked toward her.

Knowing that her grandmother’s death had deeper implications, Wen Tang should have been even more furious. Indeed, she had been livid when she first saw the video, but now, seeing Liu Meifen’s calm demeanor, her anger seemed to dissipate.

“Why did you do that?” she asked directly.

Her grandmother was also Liu Meifen’s mother.

In terms of blood relation, they were even closer than Wen Tang, and there should have been a deeper bond between them. So why? Knowing who the true culprit was, why did Liu Meifen, her own daughter, conceal crucial evidence?

Why did she do it?

Liu Meifen had maintained a serene expression since Wen Tang entered. It seemed as if she had anticipated this question. She looked at Wen Tang and replied, “Besides being your grandmother’s daughter, I am also your mother.”

The tone was light and casual, as if making a simple statement.

Yet Wen Tang sensed something unusual in those words.

She furrowed her brow and asked, “Are you saying that you did all this because of me?”