Since she was so eager to help Fang Jiangyi, completely disregarding the interests of the family and willing to accompany him to hell, then he would grant her wish.
The police had checked all the gifts presented in the hall during Wang Keding's birthday party. Among them were many rare and novel items. Originally, Lu Qianzhou's plan was to replace Fang Jiangyi's gift with a box of gold to aggravate the charge of bribery against him.
However, Fang Jiangyi had been on guard. At the last moment, he had someone switch the gift to a box of ordinary tea sets and tea leaves.
The evidence of Fang Jiangyi's crimes, such as bribery, was related to the Xinghaiwan project. One billion yuan of investment funds had been transferred to a private account, which was confirmed to belong to Wang Keding himself. So this sum of money was naturally defined as a bribe.
Yan Xia and Assistant Sun were regarded as those who had known about the situation but failed to report it. Moreover, since she was Fang Jiangyi's girlfriend, there was a greater possibility of her covering up for him. Since the procuratorate was still in the investigation stage and had not filed a public prosecution, all of them were detained in the detention center.
Yan Xia had thought that there would be no progress until after the New Year. Unexpectedly, they were arrested and sent to the detention center just two days before the New Year.
On New Year's Eve, Lu Qianzhou came to visit her.
There was a thick glass partition between them. Yan Xia's face was pale and a bit thinner. She had actually had a chance to get out of this unscathed, but Lu Qianzhou had said that he would arrange an escape route for her and make her the real Yan Xia again, so she had trusted him.
Lu Qianzhou was wearing a neat black trench coat. His bangs were soft. When he saw her, his first words were,
"You've had a hard time."
Yan Xia shook her head gently. "Now the evidence of Fang Jiangyi's crimes is clear, and the evidence of his collusion with Wang Keding has also been found. There should be a public prosecution soon after the New Year, right?"
She and Fang Jiangyi were in the same detention center, but they couldn't see each other at all.
Every day of waiting was so torturous. She knew she didn't have to be like this, but she had done all this for Lu Qianzhou.
"Everything is going according to plan." He placed his hand on the glass, and Yan Xia did the same. Their hands touched through the glass, as if they could really touch each other like this.
Yan Xia curved her lips and said, "It seems I can't celebrate the New Year with you."
Lu Qianzhou kept looking at her. His sleepy - looking expression made it hard to tell what he was thinking. "Your situation isn't serious. I'll apply for your bail. If it goes fast, you should be able to celebrate the New Year with me."
He promised her, "Wait for me. You won't stay in there forever."
True to his word, he quickly applied for Yan Xia's bail and became her guarantor.
However, Fang Jiangyi refused to admit his crimes. He had hired a lawyer and was constantly haggling. He claimed that all the crimes pinned on him were fabrications and presented a series of evidence to prove that he had never been involved in several related projects, trying his best to prove his innocence.
The day Yan Xia was bailed out happened to be Chinese New Year's Eve. She and Lu Qianzhou finally saw each other after many days apart. Although it was a reunion after a short separation, lovers in the heat of passion always wished they could be together all the time.
Lu Qianzhou took her to the pavilion on the top of the tea mountain to enjoy the scenery. In the distance, the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers kept coming into their ears. The sky was dyed colorful by the gorgeous lights, and it was extremely lively.
Yan Xia and Lu Qianzhou released a sky lantern together and made a wish as it slowly flew into the distance.
"Does making a wish on a sky lantern really work?" Lu Qianzhou asked absent - mindedly as he watched the flying sky lantern.
Yan Xia said, "As long as you're sincere, it might work. In fact, most of the time, making a wish isn't necessarily about making the wish come true. It's just for the sake of having a thought."
Lu Qianzhou smiled with the corners of his lips. "I've never believed in these things. If one could gain without effort just by praying to the gods, then what would all the sufferings of people be?"
They stayed on the mountain top for a while, and the cold gradually seeped into their bodies. Lu Qianzhou opened his coat and wrapped her in it. She instantly sank into his warm embrace.
When they were driving down the mountain, Lu Qianzhou received a phone call. Yan Xia didn't know who it was or what the other person said. After listening to the call, Lu Qianzhou's face darkened completely.
Yan Xia felt a bit uneasy and asked him, "What's wrong?"
Lu Qianzhou said in a deep voice, "It's okay."
But Yan Xia could clearly feel that his mood was off. The substantial anger lingered around him, clearly visible. It was like the calm before a storm, ready to break out at any time.
After they returned to the tea - mountain villa, Lu Qianzhou said, "Go back and rest early. I still have some things to deal with."
Then he locked himself in the study. Yan Xia didn't dare to go to sleep. She was afraid that something bad would happen, so she waited outside the door.
She only heard Lu Qianzhou make a few phone calls. Suppressing his anger, he ordered, "Stop. There's no need to keep Fang Jiangyi in the detention center anymore. Let him show his ability to distort the truth. You don't need to interfere anymore."
After giving the order, he hung up the phone and paced back and forth in the study anxiously. Perhaps because he was too restless, he took out a cigarette he hadn't touched for a long time, lit it, and quickly finished it.
It seemed that wasn't enough. The hand that had just crushed the cigarette butt into the ashtray suddenly grabbed the ashtray and threw it at the glass window.
With a bang, the ashtray hit the window and bounced back a short distance before rolling on the ground. The entire glass window cracked like a spider web, which was enough to show how much force he had used and how angry he was.
Perhaps because the villa was equipped with an alarm system, this action set off all the alarms in the villa.
The buzzing sound was continuous.
This was the first time Yan Xia had seen Lu Qianzhou get so angry. When the loud noise came from the study, Yan Xia crouched in the corner and couldn't help but tremble all over.
She saw his restlessness and anxiety clearly. She really wanted to go in and ask him what was going on, but she didn't dare. She was afraid that if she said too much, it would only make him more restless.
She squatted outside the study and waited until a pair of men's slippers appeared in her sight.
She looked up along the shoes and saw Mu Rui's gentle, scholarly face. The lenses of his glasses were reflecting light, and his expression was still relaxed, as if he wasn't overly worried.
He greeted Yan Xia, "Miss Cheng, why are you squatting here?"
Yan Xia glanced at the study out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know what happened to Brother San. He's very angry. I heard from the maid that he has mild bipolar disorder. If it flares up, he might hurt himself, so I've been guarding here."
Mu Rui looked at the study understandingly and reached out his hand to her.
Yan Xia put her hand in his, and he easily pulled her up from the ground.
Mu Rui said, "You don't need to worry too much. His condition has been well - controlled. I'll go in and persuade him."
Yan Xia asked hesitantly, "Brother San... Why does he have bipolar disorder? Is it related to the Lu family's family background?"
Mu Rui thought for a while and then said, "Partly, I guess. But you'd better not mention his condition in front of him. He'll be impatient. I'll go in first."
He nodded slightly and then turned to enter the study.