Suspicion like this often inflicts the greatest damage on the friendship between two people. One wrong move might well arouse the other's resentment.
But her eagerness to know the truth was so overwhelming that she blurted out the question.
"Xiaoyue, do you really think I'm that heartless? If Peng Shiyi isn't capable of harming a child, do you think I'd have someone bully an eight - year - old just to please you for a moment?" Yuan Qiuping asked in a deliberately hurt tone.
"I didn't mean that. I'm just too shocked and want to know the truth. Besides, I'm worried that if something goes wrong, it might implicate you."
Most importantly, she was worried that because of Yuan Qiuping, someone might suspect her.
Yuan Qiuping curved her lips. These rich young ladies, having never experienced the harshness of society, were so easy to deceive.
"Fine. I'll let you in on a little secret. I did have someone go after Peng Shiyi on purpose. But what she did was her own business, nothing to do with you or me. I knew nothing about that child's situation."
Hearing her serious tone, Jiang Yue thought for a moment. Maybe she had been too harsh with her words just now, which had made Yuan Qiuping so angry.
She paused before saying, "I'm sorry, Sister Ping. I shouldn't have said those things. Don't be upset."
"It's okay." Yuan Qiuping showed great magnanimity. "I understand you. If you have doubts, it's better to clear things up."
After hanging up the phone, Yuan Qiuping held it in her hand thoughtfully. As if suddenly struck by an idea, she took a deep, suppressed breath.
"Sister Ping, should we still tip off Lu Qianzhou?" the assistant beside her asked softly.
Yuan Qiuping had long planned this.
She had scouted the locations in advance and met Jiang Yue in several shopping malls and hotels where Peng Shiyi had been. Jiang Yue had attended all the meetings. The business partners she introduced to Jiang Yue and the bodyguards who often followed her were all part of her plan.
Yuan Qiuping curved her lips again. "Lu Qianzhou should have started investigating this for his precious one by now. Spread the news."
From the very beginning, she had never been sincere in befriending Jiang Yue. She had approached her only because of Fang Jiangyi.
She had received favors from Fang Jiangyi's father and had always been on his side. Even though Fang Jiangyi disliked her, she still whole - heartedly thought about him. And Jiang Yue, being Lu Qianzhou's associate with a wealthy family background, was a useful pawn.
...
On the other side, Lu Qianzhou was sitting in his office chair at the company, his head bowed, eyes closed as he listened to the assistant's report on the investigation results.
"The police have caught the suspect who abducted Lan Mengfan from school. He's a tramp near the school, forty - five years old, unemployed, with no family. His interpersonal relationships are very complicated, and it's currently impossible to trace them."
The assistant looked at his expression and continued, "The suspect claims he was drunk that day and has no memory of what he did or what happened later."
Here, as if feeling that the following words shouldn't be spoken casually, he hesitated.
Lu Qianzhou remained in the same position, showing no expression.
"Also, we've got a piece of news of uncertain authenticity. It's said that this incident is related to Miss Jiang."
Only then did Lu Qianzhou lower his hand. Frowning, he asked, "Jiang Yue?"
The assistant nodded.
Then, the informants' calls came in one after another. All of them reported that Peng Shiyi had had multiple contacts with Jiang Yue before the incident. The two had entered and exited the same shopping mall dozens of times, and surveillance cameras had captured them meeting the same gangster.
"The abandoned floor where Lan Mengfan was taken is too remote with few people around, and the surrounding surveillance coverage is incomplete, so we can't identify the suspect through the surveillance. But we've found that after the incident, Miss Jiang transferred a sum of money to an underground casino managed by Miss Cheng, into a gangster's account. This is the same gangster who confessed that he took Peng Shiyi's money and tried to harm Miss Cheng."
In other words, it was very likely that Jiang Yue was involved in the whole thing. She had participated in this pre - meditated plan.
Lu Qianzhou frowned. His dark and unfathomable gaze fell on the photos in the assistant's hand. He reached out and took the stack of photos. They were all photos of Jiang Yue and Peng Shiyi entering and exiting the same shopping mall, as well as bank statements.
He was investigating this matter for two reasons. One was for Cheng Yanxia, because he had promised to find out the truth and give her an explanation. The other was for the way Lan Mengfan called him "Dad Lu". Someone had to pay the price for this.
He threw all the photos on the table and lowered his head.
"Send these photos to Jiang Yue. When will Peng Shiyi be transferred to the detention center?"
The assistant said, "In the next few days."
Lu Qianzhou said, "Act during the transfer."
He really hadn't expected that Jiang Yue would be involved. But he had already warned her. She had seemed to be well - behaved and had not overstepped the mark.
Almost as if it had been pre - arranged, on the way Peng Shiyi was being transferred to the detention center in a police car, there was a terrible car accident with several cars colliding.
The police officer driving the car died on the spot. The other two police officers were seriously injured. Peng Shiyi's condition was unknown, and she was quickly taken to the hospital for treatment by the police.
When Shangguan Yao heard the news that Lu Qianzhou had acted, he was still at work. Hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh.
He never thought that the extremely intelligent Lu Qianzhou would be so impulsive one day. He should have guessed that Yanxia and he had a plan and had secretly reached some agreement. He could more or less guess what the agreement was, but he wasn't sure yet.
Last time he heard Lu Qianzhou tell Cheng Yanxia that he would settle Peng Shiyi for her. He didn't expect Lu Qianzhou to be so impatient and choose to act during the transfer.
He quickly asked, "How is Peng Shiyi? Is she saved?"
Jiang Nian said, "There's no news from the hospital yet. She's probably still being rescued. But judging from the severity of the car accident at the scene, even if she's saved, she'll probably be either dead or disabled."
This actually played into their hands. With the recording in the earpiece, Lu Qianzhou would naturally become a suspect. With a little pressure and some work on the driver, they could find evidence to prove that Lu Qianzhou had instigated him and thus convict Lu Qianzhou.
He thought for a moment and said, "Have someone keep a close eye on the driver's and his relatives' and friends' accounts to see if there are any strange deposits recently. Block the news about Peng Shiyi's rescue. Whether she's saved or not, announce tomorrow that she's died."
Jiang Nian agreed and did as he was told.
But Peng Shiyi was really lucky. Despite such a serious car accident, she managed to survive, but she remained in a coma.
No matter what method they would use to convict Lu Qianzhou in the future, her existence was a backup for the conviction. Before that, the police would guard her safety around the clock.
Naturally, the news spread quickly. The news that Peng Shiyi had died in a car accident during the transfer reached both Yanxia's and Fang Jiangyi's ears almost simultaneously.