Jiang's mother hugged her tightly and kept soothing her.
"Don't be afraid. He doesn't dare. Mom will surely get justice for you! I won't let those who hurt you off easily. Yue'er, don't be afraid..."
The video ended abruptly here. Yan Xia's gaze passed over the tablet on the table and landed on Lu Huairen. He was looking at her too. Their eyes met, and Yan Xia stared back at him without any evasion.
"Since you've shown me this video, it means that in your mind, I'm still the most suspicious one. But I can't be the scapegoat for no reason. Now I'm all alone, with no background or burden, just a worthless life. There's really no need for me to lie. I said I didn't do it, and I really didn't."
Yan Xia pushed the tablet in front of her away with one finger. "There are too many loopholes in this matter. Every clue points to me as the one who harmed Jiang Yue, without a single flaw. But sometimes, when a thing is perfect without any flaws, that's the biggest flaw."
She hit the nail on the head, directly pointing out that someone was framing her.
Even if she couldn't get out of this safely today and had to die here, she wouldn't admit to a crime she never committed.
There was a bunch of bright red roses in the middle of the table. When the flowers were at their best, glistening water droplets were faintly visible on the petals.
Lu Huairen tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically. He didn't say a word for a long time.
Just when Yan Xia was starting to feel nervous, he finally laughed and said, "Miss Cheng is really eloquent. But still, someone has to take responsibility for the consequences of this incident. If you can't produce evidence to prove your innocence, you have to pay the price."
It was like a forced - sale trick in the business world. Yan Xia had been forced onto a dangerous path.
Yan Xia retorted, "What do you want me to do, Mr. Lu? All I can promise you now is that I'll try my best to find the real culprit and clear my name. Other than that, I can't guarantee anything else."
There had been too many unexpected changes. She didn't know whether tomorrow or an accident would come first. Maybe that mysterious person was planning the next frame - up.
Lu Huairen followed her words, "Miss Cheng might as well set a time limit. Find the real culprit within three days. If you can bring the culprit to me, then this matter will have nothing to do with you."
Three days. She didn't even have a shred of information about that mysterious person. The other person was like a virtual account in the online world, with no real - name registration. I'm afraid even if she was given thirty days, she might not be able to find that person.
"Three days is too short. I'm afraid I can't do it," Yan Xia said truthfully.
There was an unfathomable smile on Lu Huairen's gentle face. Suddenly, a lackey beside him took out a gun and slapped it on the table. The gun slowly slid from the other side to Yan Xia and stopped right in front of her.
Some of those lackeys had left semen on Jiang Yue. One of them was caught after a DNA comparison. He confessed to his crime without hesitation. Before being killed, he named Yan Xia as the mastermind behind it.
Several pieces of evidence all pointed to her, but she couldn't produce a single piece of evidence for herself.
Yan Xia didn't even look at the gun in front of her and said, "If you're willing to believe me and give me this chance, I'll definitely do my best to find the real culprit behind the scenes, because I'm also very curious about the truth."
Lu Huairen gave her enough face in his words, "Miss Cheng is so uncooperative. I don't want to make things too difficult for you. Then tell me, what clues do you have? Tell me, and I'll cooperate with you to find the real culprit. I'll deal with him myself."
Yan Xia was momentarily speechless. It was obvious that Lu Huairen had given her enough face. But she really didn't have a single clue. She had already delayed for a long time, but Lu Qianzhou still hadn't come. She felt uneasy, and her palms were unconsciously filled with sweat.
Thinking that she had nothing more to say and no more excuses, Lu Huairen waved his hand, and another lackey put a knife on the table in front of her.
"In that case, let's try a different method. Let fate decide," Lu Huairen changed his tone.
"Miss Cheng has a gun in front of her. There are three bullets in it, which means there's a fifty - fifty chance of life or death. Or, you can use that knife to disfigure your flamboyant face with your own hands and leave the capital, never to return."
Yan Xia's breathing was heavy. These two choices were undoubtedly a kind of torture for her. One was a quick death, and the other was a slow, painful death.
If she could never get rid of Lu Huairen's influence in the future and had to live on others' charity, she'd rather not have this kind of torture. It would be better to die quickly!
Her fingers glided over the cold - shining knife and then landed on the gun.
She picked up the gun expressionlessly, raised her eyes to look at Lu Huairen, and said, "If I shoot myself with this gun, no matter whether I live or die, will you let me go immediately and never pursue this matter again?"
"Naive," Lu Huairen commented on her. "If you make this choice, I can give you half a month more to find the real culprit."
Yan Xia looked down at the gun in her hand and smiled. "It seems I'm still the one who benefits in this deal."
Her hand was a little shaky. Her mind was in a mess, and her heart felt heavy and tired, as if it was filled with too many things. She didn't want to continue living in these entanglements. If she had to choose, she'd rather die.
She didn't know what words could best describe her current state. Life seemed meaningless, and there was no greater sorrow than a dead heart. Anyway, it was a fight for life or death.
After a moment of mental preparation, she suddenly raised the gun to her temple, stared directly at Lu Huairen, and slowly pressed the finger on the trigger. Just as she was about to fire the first shot at her own head, there was a sudden loud noise at the door.
The sounds of lackeys fighting kept coming into her ears.
A lackey crashed into the door, knocking it open, and fell to the ground in a mess, groaning. Lu Qianzhou came in from outside. With a solemn expression, he walked up to Yan Xia. Seeing her holding the gun to her temple, he immediately reached out and snatched the gun away, protecting Yan Xia behind him.
After doing this, he glared at Lu Huairen and said coldly,
"You've overstepped the rules we set."
The smile on Lu Huairen's face was also not very friendly. "Haven't seen you for a long time. You come here for a woman. Is this how you talk to your father?"
Lu Qianzhou didn't have the mood to talk to him. "I was the one who did that to Jiang Yue. Go back and tell the Jiang family that if they want revenge, they can come at me. Don't involve my people."
Yan Xia's fingers were still tense, but being protected behind Lu Qianzhou and looking at his back, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Although she didn't like him and although Lu Qianzhou had done something wrong and didn't deserve to be forgiven, there was no doubt that maybe he really had some genuine feelings for her.
Lu Huairen squinted slightly. "For a woman who suddenly appeared, you don't even care about the friendship you've had with Xiaoyue since childhood. I've said that I'll tolerate your little pranks and turn a blind eye. But Xiaoyue is your future wife. Is this your attitude towards your future wife?"