Gu Bei shielded Li Yishan in front of him with his own body. When the cleaner saw Gu Bei, he inexplicably shrank back in fear. The dagger he stabbed deviated to one side and slid down along Gu Bei's right arm.
"Um—" Gu Bei hugged Li Yishan tightly. Blood gushed out from his arm, quickly staining a large part of his clothes red.
The cleaner gasped for breath, gripping the dagger tightly. His voice trembled as he said, "Gu, Gu Bei, don't blame, don't blame me, ah—!" He roared loudly and rushed out like a madman.
"Little girl, isn't it a bit inappropriate to be distracted now, huh?"
The danger for Xie Bingxia was not over yet. The staff member was pressing down on her upper body, and the sword was only inches away from her forehead. She gritted her teeth and said, "The outcome is not yet decided."
"Bingxia—" Gu Bei finally noticed the endangered Xie Bingxia after putting Li Yishan down.
This call only further fueled Xie Bingxia's anger. She took a deep breath and forcefully turned the other person's wrist. Swish— the knife fell grazing Xie Bingxia's right cheek and stabbed deeply into the ground. A cut appeared on her fair cheek, and a tuft of her hair by her ear was cut off.
If it had been just a bit closer, Xie Bingxia would surely not have escaped unscathed.
Gu Bei stepped forward and kicked the staff member to the ground. He grabbed the staff member's collar and punched him violently with his right fist. The staff member's face was covered in blood. It was hard to tell whether it was his own or Gu Bei's.
After making sure that the staff member had fainted, Gu Bei got up and went to check on Xie Bingxia, who was lying on the ground gasping for breath. He was extremely worried that something might happen to her. Xie Bingxia sat up on her own and wiped the blood beads off her cheek. When Gu Bei tried to help her up, she slapped his hand away and said, "Don't bother. You should go take care of Li Yishan."
At this moment, Li Yishan seemed to have lost her mind. She was curled up in the corner of the wall, covered in blood.
"Gu, Gu Bei, where are you? Gu Bei..." she murmured. Xie Bingxia gave Gu Bei a look, urging him, "Hurry up and go!"
Gu Bei looked at Xie Bingxia with a very complicated expression. Then he sighed and said, "She should be unharmed. I'll go check on her first. Wait for me..."
"I won't wait for you, and I don't intend to," Xie Bingxia said coldly. "Our relationship is over long ago."
"Bingxia, this is not the time to be willful," Gu Bei said as he slowly approached Li Yishan. At the same time, he didn't want to take his eyes off Xie Bingxia. "I'll go help Yishan up first, and then we'll go to the hospital together. Please wait for me, okay?"
Xie Bingxia stood still with a cold expression. It seemed that she had taken his advice and showed no sign of leaving. Only then did Gu Bei feel relieved. He turned around and was about to help Li Yishan up when suddenly there came a continuous rattling sound of broken glass from behind. Gu Bei thought to himself, Oh no. How could Xie Bingxia be so obedient?
Sure enough, Xie Bingxia left Gu Bei with a determined back and disappeared outside the museum gate.
Gu Bei felt as if his heart was being stabbed by a knife. He blamed himself for not protecting her well. Then he saw a dagger stuck in the place where she had fought with the gangster just now, and there were a few strands of hair scattered under it.
They were Xie Bingxia's.
Gu Bei walked over slowly, picked up a few strands, and put them in his pocket.
Xie Bingxia tried to track down the cleaner. When she reached the museum gate, she saw several police cars speeding towards her. With blood on her body, she quickly wrapped her clothes tightly around herself, lowered her head, and slipped into the bushes beside the road.
Damn it! She had finally found some clues and could even find out the truth of that year, but now it was all gone! Xie Bingxia was extremely annoyed. She thought she should go back to Li Duo's place first and then make further plans. So she called Qin Feng.
When Qin Feng came to pick her up, he looked very unhappy. He knew that Xie Bingxia was a decisive person. When it came to important matters, she would turn to Li Duo instead of him. He was just about to complain when he saw the blood on her body. His legs went weak with fright, and he quickly asked if she was okay.
"I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired," she said as she opened the back door. "I'll lie down in the back. Wake me up when we get there."
Just as she was about to get into the car, she was suddenly pushed hard by someone. Then that person got in after her. Xie Bingxia turned around and saw a dagger pointing at her. The person in front of her was exactly the cleaner she had been searching for in a hurry.
When Qin Feng saw the blood on the blade, he knew that this person was no good. He turned the car around and was about to go find the police, but Xie Bingxia stopped him. "Don't be in a hurry. Listen to what he has to say."
The cleaner looked dirty and disheveled, but he didn't look like someone who was going to kill. He pleaded with Xie Bingxia, "Please, help me! I know you have a connection with Gu Bei! You must be able to help me!"
"Speak slowly. I'll listen," Xie Bingxia said as she held the cleaner's hand that was holding the knife and slowly pushed it aside bit by bit.
The cleaner gradually calmed down. He threw away the dagger and said, "I didn't mean to hurt you. But my accomplice was there. If I didn't act, he would have attacked me."
"I understand," Xie Bingxia said, showing her understanding. She thought that she had to calm him down first so that she could get more information. She continued, "This is not a good place to talk. Come with me first."
The cleaner hesitated for a moment, swallowed hard, and then said, "Okay."
Qin Feng drove the two of them back to Li Duo's place. Xie Bingxia first changed out of her blood - stained clothes. Then she found an old T - shirt of Li Duo's and threw it to the cleaner.
When Li Duo saw this situation, he guessed that they were working on a major case. He even rubbed his hands in excitement and said to Xie Bingxia, "The surveillance video will be repaired soon."
"Good. I'd like to talk to this person alone. Can I borrow another room?"
"Sure, no problem." Li Duo offered his game room to them. When he left, he wisely closed the door tightly.
"What's your name?" Xie Bingxia asked. The cleaner stammered, "We don't have names. We only have code names."
"Humph. We're all in the same boat now, and you still won't even tell me your name? Or should I call you Secretary Zhao?" Xie Bingxia stared at the man. Sure enough, he widened his eyes in surprise and said, "You know who I..."
Xie Bingxia's eyes were sharp. Finally, the cleaner removed his disguise and said, "My name is Zhao Qi. I did work as Gu Bei's secretary four years ago. Later..." He paused for a moment and skipped the reason for his resignation. "Later, I quit my job and started working for this group of people."
"What do this group of people do?"
"I don't know the specific details because I'm just a small fry. I get a large sum of money every month for helping them transport a batch of artworks to the museum. However, there was a problem with this month's goods. I was suddenly called to make a replacement. That's when we sneaked in to make the switch today and were caught by you."
"How do you want me to help you?"
At this point, Zhao Qi became nervous, and his voice became much softer. "I'm sure their business is not clean! I want to quit and go to Thailand to help my cousin manage his business, but they won't let me go. They even threatened to kill me if I try to leave!"
Xie Bingxia said with a sneer, "You carry guns and controlled knives with you. Of course, you're not doing anything good!"
Zhao Qi lowered his head and couldn't refute. "I know, so I want to leave. I know Gu Bei is very capable. You're on his side. Can you help me get to Thailand?"
"I'm not on his side!" Xie Bingxia coldly denied. "I can help you with this, but..."
Seeing hope, Zhao Qi quickly said, "As long as you're willing to help me, I can tell you all their information! You're investigating them, right?"
"I only want you to tell me one thing," Xie Bingxia stared at Zhao Qi with burning eyes. "Tell me everything about Xia Jingwei's car accident two years ago."
Zhao Qi suddenly panicked. "What are you talking about? I don't know... That case has been closed as an accident..."
Xie Bingxia grabbed Zhao Qi's collar forcefully and pulled him in front of her. She said fiercely, "Do you believe that I'll throw you back right now and let your partners teach you a good lesson?"
Zhao Qi swallowed hard. Xie Bingxia's expression was so serious that he had to believe in the ability of this woman in front of him. After thinking for a long time, he finally gave in and said, "Okay, I can tell you, but only after I've safely reached Thailand."
Xie Bingxia let go of his collar and said, "Pay the deposit first. You should at least say something so that I can continue to handle this matter."
Zhao Qi sat down and recalled every detail of that day in his mind. He said, "I remember that it was Xia Jingwei's birthday party that day. After Gu Bei arrived at the venue, he arranged for me to wait in the parking lot. He said that he would bring Xia Jingwei there later."
Xie Bingxia's heart rate accelerated, and her breathing became rapid. That's right. Before the birthday party, after Gu Bei gave her the ruby necklace, he clinked glasses with her and made her drink the champagne with sleeping pills in it.
"And then?"
"I waited for about twenty minutes. Then Gu Bei came. He was carrying the unconscious Xia Jingwei..."