"Third Master..." Zhou Qi quickly told him everything that had happened here.
Master Lu was silent for a moment. "It seems that the time has come."
...
As the date of the deal with Long Tao approached, Yan Xia waited for news from the hospital every day. However, perhaps to protect Fang Jiangyi's safety, Fang Xiangyuan had blocked all external news, making it impossible for anyone to find out anything.
She didn't know how Fang Jiangyi was doing. But since there was no public announcement of his death, it meant that he should still be alive. However, whether he was recuperating after regaining consciousness or still in a coma and hadn't woken up yet remained unknown.
The car accident had been so serious that the consequences must have been severe. It was impossible for him to recover easily.
Although Yan Xia always believed that once Fang Jiangyi regained consciousness, he would find a way to contact her immediately and tell her his condition.
But now, she didn't know whether he simply hadn't woken up or if Fang Xiangyuan had blocked all possibilities of his contacting her.
As long as she didn't get news from him, Yan Xia would be in a state of unease. These days, her nerves had been on edge, and she had no other thoughts to deal with other things.
Perhaps because of the decline in the casino's performance and the emergence of many small problems, combined with some previous disturbances, Master Lu felt it was time to talk to her. So he summoned her for a conversation.
Yan Xia knew that the next deal with Long Tao would be fraught with danger. If Lu Qianzhou didn't go, she might very well lose her life. Naturally, she would no longer have the opportunity to manage the underground casino's business.
She arrived as promised. Master Lu still looked gentle and elegant, without any sign of old age. He exuded the charm of a mature man.
"Third Master," Yan Xia greeted him.
Although it had only been a few months since they last met, Yan Xia suddenly felt as if a long time had passed.
"Come and sit down," Master Lu said casually and relaxed. "You've been managing several venues for a few months now. How do you feel?"
Perhaps because businessmen valued time and efficiency, he didn't even exchange a few words of greeting before getting straight to the point.
Yan Xia said, "There were indeed some mistakes when I first took over. I believe Third Master has heard about these things. But now I've found a new supplier, so the problem isn't serious. It's just that I've been really busy recently, so I may have neglected the casino's business a bit."
"Still not willing to give up?" Master Lu held a cup of tea, gently skimmed the foam with the tea lid, and took a sip of the fragrant tea.
Yan Xia was slightly taken aback and didn't quite understand what he meant.
He put down the teacup and said to himself.
"Before, when you asked me about the matter between Qianzhou and your father, I didn't tell you because I wanted you to back off. After all, the more you know about some things, the more dangerous it may be. It will only bring you unnecessary trouble."
So that's what he was talking about. Yan Xia suddenly realized that this meant that Master Lu actually knew everything. He had just never told her and had hidden the truth from her along with everyone else.
She didn't understand why everyone knew about this but had all worked together to keep it from her.
Everyone said that the matter was related to her father. Jiang Yue had once said that Cheng Hua and a group of people had ruined Lu Qianzhou's life.
What kind of despicable actions could have made everyone work so hard to hide it from her and be afraid of her finding out?
"Third Master, didn't you say before... that you didn't know what had actually happened?"
"Not telling you naturally has its reasons. But now, seeing your personality, if I don't tell you, I'm afraid you won't stop until you get the answer."
Yan Xia's breathing became a bit rapid. She had a premonition that the truth would be one step closer to her today.
"Third Master... please tell me the truth. So far, the entanglements between me and Lu Qianzhou, Lu Qianzhou and Fang Jiangyi, and everyone else are probably all related to that matter, right?" Yan Xia voiced her speculation.
Master Lu nodded approvingly. "You're always so smart."
"Smart?" Yan Xia smiled bitterly. "If I were really smart, how could I have been kept in the dark for so long and not even know what kind of person my own father was? I've always been a substitute and been used by others. Even now, I still can't see the pros and cons clearly."
She was the biggest fool in the world.
Master Lu sighed. As if thinking of some things from the past, a hint of regret gradually appeared in his eyes.
"That matter is no longer mentioned by the Lu family. It's a taboo in the Lu family. I don't want to say much about it either. But I have a video here. Maybe after you watch it, you'll make your own judgment."
Master Lu turned the computer in front of him towards Yan Xia.
There was a video interface on the computer. Before Yan Xia could study it carefully, Master Lu stood up.
"Watch it after I leave," he said.
Then he left the office, leaving Yan Xia alone.
He had watched some things thousands of times. Every time he watched, it felt like a needle was stabbing his heart. He hated his own powerlessness and the evil nature that every man in the world had.
He was also afraid that he would go crazy if he watched it one more time. He had always kept these videos well and didn't let them spread. It was a very contradictory psychology. He both wanted the things from that year to be exposed again and for people to discuss them, to seek justice through public opinion, and was afraid of the slander of that person from the outside world.
They were all dirty. No one was worthy of her.
Yan Xia was left alone in the office. The whole office was very quiet, without a single extra sound. It was so quiet that she could hear her own faint breathing.
She reached out and clicked on the video. The somewhat blurry camera first turned around. She saw that the environment in the video was a room. Judging from the layout, it seemed to be a hotel room.
The camera was placed on the bed. Then, the person shooting the video walked towards the door of the room, opened it, and two men outside carried a woman in. The woman was limp and let the men carry her into the room as if she had been drugged.
Her long hair covered her face, making it impossible for Yan Xia to see her appearance clearly. But just from the small part of her face that was exposed and her graceful figure, she could tell that this was a good-looking woman.
The woman was pushed onto the bed by them. Yan Xia carefully counted the men in the room. There were four in total, but the video never showed their faces from beginning to end.
Filthy language, unbearable to hear, laughter and scolding. In an environment where no one could see and no one would stop them, the true nature of the men gradually emerged. They wantonly humiliated the woman under the camera.
The extremely explicit abuse made Yan Xia's throat tighten, and she retched several times.
She didn't know how she managed to finish watching the video. It was just because she vaguely saw one or two men's faces. Her heart tightened more and more. She probably already had an answer in her heart, but she didn't dare to think about it or guess whether her thoughts were correct.
Until finally, the person holding the camera changed from one man to another. In a moment of trance, she saw the man's face clearly. It was Cheng Hua... the young Cheng Hua!