He Lanjin's eyes were red and her nose was a little sore.
The old man had one daughter and two sons. The eldest son was able to bring glory to the family, while the youngest son, He Wenqing, was addicted to eating, drinking, prostitution, and gambling.
The old man was so angry that he kicked He Wenqing not just out of the house, but also out of the family. He Wenqing had been made to change his name from He Lan Wenqing to simply He Wenqing. If it weren't for his uncle's love for He Lanjin, He Wenqing would have been dismembered a long time ago.
"Don't be angry, Aunt. I don't like Lu Zifan any more than you do," He Lanjin said.
Shen Biqiong felt relieved to hear He Lanjin's words. Still, the old lady had to make sure that He Lanjin was okay and brought her to a nearby hotel.
Seeing a scar on He Lanjin's arm, Shen Biqiong felt so angry that she jumped up from her seat. "Did He Wenqing beat you up?"
"Aunt, do you think my dad would even try to do that now? " He Lanjin shook her head with a smile.
Shen Biqiong stared at He Lanjin suspiciously. He Lanjin thought of how her grandfather forced her to go to the military academy because of He Wenqing's violence. She grew up with the hope that one day she could beat her father up.
"Come! Your uncle has asked me to give you this self-defense gun. Your big brother had me bring you a bulletproof vest, and there's also an anti-wolf device," said Shen Biqiong as she dragged a big box into a visible area in the hotel room. Stunned, He Lanjin looked at Shen Biqiong, who almost gave her two missiles.
He Lanjin rolled her eyes and leaned on the box. "You are not sending me to war, are you, Aunt?"
He Lanjin had mixed feelings looking at the three big boxes.
When she saw the small box of money, she fell silent.
Shen Biqiong closed the box and said, "You have to take very good care of yourself. The He Lan family cannot afford to lose you!"
"Yes, Aunt. I am taking care of myself. What's this? Am I to start carrying a bankload of money every day?"
"Ahh, don't be stupid," countered Shen Biqiong. "And don't pay any importance to that He Ruoxue. You calling her your sister is a shame. She is not family, and she will never be. Her kind does not belong with us."
Shen Biqiong and He Lanjin had not been talking long before someone knocked on the door. "Madam, it's time to go."
"I need to go," Shen Biqiong said as she gave He Lanjin a tight hug. "Remember to break off the engagement. If and when you think you're ready to marry, ask your uncle to find you a good husband." Shen Biqiong wished to say more, but her assistants so persistently knocked on the door that He Lanjin herself sent her aunt away.
Last night's incident came to He Lanjin's mind, when Tang Zhilin and He Wenqing ignored her "injury." The difference between her parents' reaction and Shen Biqiong's was like heaven and earth.
Shen Biqiong, her uncle's wife, often sneaked to Jiang City to visit her. She would secretly bring many things for He Lanjin, careful not to let He Ruoxue know.
He Lanjin remembered that when she got kidnapped, Shen Biqiong fainted from crying too much.
He Lanjin turned somber thinking of the still vivid past. She sat in the hotel room for a long time, lost in her thoughts.
"Ah Jin," came a voice from outside. He Lanjin opened the door and watched An Nuan walk in. "I did some investigation," An Nuan said. "It's really strange. He Ruoxue used to live in the county. Transportation during that time was not as developed as it is now. Logically speaking, it's impossible for her to be in the city in the middle of the night."
"Plus, the men who kidnapped you stayed in prison for only ten days. After they were released, they all died, one after the other."
"All of them died?" He Lanjin repeated, shocked. It was probably not just a case of simple kidnapping.
An Nuan nodded, handing He Lanjin a file that contained all the available information about the case. "A big chunk of the information had been erased, but I found snippets. Whoever wanted to hide the truth was not very careful; they did not tie up their loose ends."
"Remember when He Ruoxue saved you? Your parents took her in and adopted her as their daughter because their family was poor, right?" An Nuan asked. "What's interesting to note is that He Ruoxue's parents died after she was adopted."
"He Rouxue's parents died in a freak car accident, which was caused by the people who kidnapped me back then," He Lanjin read softly and looked up at An Nuan. "They all died on the spot."
"Yes." An Nuan nodded, taking a bottle of mineral water from the fridge. She opened the bottle and took a sip. "Isn't this too f*cking coincidental?"
He Lanjin fell silent. She was young then and did not understand what exactly happened. She doted on He Ruoxue and treated her like a sister. But then He Lanjin started to go to military academy and was often not home. Only recently did she realize that something was not right.
Even so, He Lanjin did not think much about it because she felt like her suspicions were unfounded. She thought that her heightened awareness was just a product of going to the academy. She did not want to stir trouble in the family, which was why she put all her energy into building and growing her studio.
What was He Ruoxue's story? He Lanjin must find out.
An Nuan noticed how quiet He Lanjin had become. She felt a little anxious and said, "Why don't we drag her out, beat her up and force her to look at the information we have?"
"No need," He Lanjin said. "It looks like it wasn't a coincidence that she appeared to take the knife for me when I was kidnapped." She read the file one last time before she set fire to the document.