I'm going back to Shanghai
I monitored the situation from a safe house in Nanjing with my cell phone turned off.
The shootout in Shanghai was not reported at all, and Wei Zhengcheng's suicide was not exposed to the media either.
After finishing the call, Director Ma came closer and reported.
"Boss. They say there is no CCTV footage of Wi Jeong-seong entering the hotel."
"As expected. Of course it was destroyed. A force that tries to disguise the death of someone of such high status as suicide would never make such a mistake."
"and······."
Director Ma paused for a moment.
"It's okay. Report it."
"Rumors are circulating in Beijing that President Hu Jintao and President Jiang Zemin met."
"Really? I don't know what was discussed?"
"Yes. I didn't know that far ahead."
Well, even if I were Jiang Zemin, I wouldn't have missed this opportunity.
Many people witnessed my fight with Wi Jeong-seong, and some even grabbed him by the collar and threatened to kill him.
It was natural for them to see me as a strong suspect. No, it was natural for them to drive me.
"It would be reasonable to assume that the mastermind behind this assassination is Jeongseong. Who could have lured him out?"
"The intelligence team's opinion is similar. Someone who knows Wi Jeong-seong's personality well instigated him to prepare for the assassination. If it fails, it seems they plan to kill Wi Jeong-seong and frame the culprit as the boss."
My head hurts. I rubbed my forehead and let out a small sigh.
"For now, we have no choice but to wait for Boshirai to figure something out."
Will the surviving assassins give meaningful testimony?
"Let's wait a little longer."
I have no interest in relying on uncertainty, but for now, there was no other way.
* * *
"Aye (兒葉)! That's my puppy."
Ye Xianping was very happy to see his granddaughter whom he hadn't seen in a long time, even using the term "child" to refer to her.
Ye Xiaotong opened her arms and hugged Ye Xianping.
"How are you, Grandpa? Why have you lost so much weight?"
"That's how it is when you get older. What joy can there be in an old person? All they do is live like this, looking at their granddaughter's face."
Ye Xianping, who had made a pointless joke, took Ye Xiaotong into the living room.
His home seemed unusually modest for a man who once wielded so much influence in Chinese politics.
The two people sitting at the table continued their conversation, talking about recent events.
"How's your business going? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, business is going well."
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"I didn't know that guy Xi Jinping would fall off his horse like that. After all, you, Xiaotong, put in so much effort."
"It's not over yet. It ain't over until it's over."
Ye Xianping nodded with satisfaction at Ye Xiaotong's words.
"Yeah, it's not over until it's over. But if I can't help you, what's the matter? What brought you here?"
"······grandfather."
"Haha. What on earth is my dog trying to say that makes me sound so scary?"
Unlike Ye Xianping, who smiled leisurely, Ye Xiaotong did not smile at all.
"Why did you do that? You shouldn't do that to me. I don't know anything······."
At the words of the young Ye Xiaotong, the smile on Ye Xianping's face disappeared.
"What are you talking about? What did I do to you, Xiaotong?"
"My father. You knew who my father was, and you used that to······."
When the story of his father came out of Ye Xianping's mouth, anger appeared on Ye Xianping's face.
"Who the hell is that! The kid who said that to you!"
"grandfather!"
"Xiaotong! Your father is gone! You are Mr. Ye! You are my granddaughter!"
It was the first time. Since she was born, Ye Xiaotong had never seen her grandfather angry at her.
Ye Xiaotong was quite taken aback by the unfamiliar sight, but Ye Xianping did not stop.
"Xiaotong. You are the only bloodline in our family. So it doesn't matter who your father is or isn't. Do you know what I mean?"
"But Grandpa used me······."
"Who said that! I used you, Xiaotong? Who said that? Tao! Tao!"
Tao, who had been waiting outside, came running at Ye Xianping's call.
"Did you call, sir?"
"What the hell are you doing!"
"······."
"Who did Xiaotong meet? Who did she meet and what did she talk about that made her do this to me?"
Tao did not answer Ye Xianping's question. Ye Xianping's face became even more furious.
"Tao!"
"I'm sorry, sir. I can't say anything without the boss's permission."
"Tao, how dare you!"
"grandfather!"
At that moment, Ye Xiaotong shouted and interrupted Ye Xiantong.
"Did you send Tao to watch over me, or did you send him to protect me?"
"What is that······."
"I knew from the beginning that he was reporting on where I was and what I was doing through Tao. I thought it was because he was worried about me. But now I don't know. I don't know if he cares about me or if he's doing it for his own sake."
Ye Xianping, whose spirit had been dampened by Ye Xiaotong's words, called out to her in vain.
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"Xiaotong······."
"I thought a lot on the way here. How can I tell Grandpa? Won't he be upset if I say this? But Grandpa got angry. I didn't mean to go to Dad. I just wondered who the person who brought me into this world was."
Ye Xiaotong's emotions were so intense that she shed tears.
"Don't order Tao around. Tao will now live as a shadow that exists for me. I am grateful that you sent Tao to me."
"Xiaotong. Baby."
"Grandpa, I'm thinking of going to Korea. I'll meet that person in person and decide for myself. I think I should do that. Otherwise, I think I'll regret it for a long time."
Ye Xianping was startled and grabbed Ye Xiaotong's hand.
"What do you mean, you're going to Korea? Where is that?"
"Even if you tell me not to go, I'll go. If you're going to tell me not to go, then you might as well kill me here. That's the only way to stop me."
Ye Xianping already knew very well that Ye Xiaotong was stubborn.
But rather than give in to my stubbornness, I would rather die. Ye Xianping couldn't say anything and just smiled.
"I heard that you used me to influence your father. You shouldn't have done that. If you loved me, you shouldn't have done that."
"Baby, I just wanted to give you up. I was afraid you'd regret it······."
"I regret it now. Why didn't I try to find out properly with the power I had? I hate myself for believing what my grandfather said and staying still."
Once again, large tears fell from her eyes.
Ye Xianping became restless at the sight.
"Xiaotong."
"Don't worry. I will never live in Korea. Even if I meet my father, I won't acknowledge him as my father. But I still want to know. Isn't that the law of nature?"
"······."
"grandfather."
They say there are no parents who win over their children.
Even between parents and children, when his precious granddaughter, whom he loved so much, looked at him with tears in her eyes, Ye Xianping, who was as strong as steel, could not bring himself to say anything harsh.
"Huh······. Then let's make a promise. Even if we meet again, we'll come back."
"Yes. I promise. I've never broken a promise to my grandfather."
Ye Xianping nodded, linking her pinky fingers with Ye Xiaotong's as they did when they were young.
"Yes. Xiaotong, you were a good granddaughter."
Ye Xiaotong stood up from her seat, smiling brightly despite holding back tears.
"I'll leave for today. I'll come back and find you. And don't give Tao any more orders. He's mine. If not, Grandpa, take him back."
"No. Tao chose you himself, so now Tao is yours. That's enough for Grandpa. He knows how to make your own. After all, she's my granddaughter."
"Thank you, Grandpa. And I love you."
Ye Xiaotong turned around after giving Ye Xianping her last words.
"Tao. Let's go now."
Tao bowed to Ye Xianping and then followed Ye Xiaotong.
After leaving Ye Xianping's house, Ye Xiaotong got into the car and asked Tao.
"What happened to the Wijeongseong incident?"
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"It's been cleaned up nicely. But the Shanghai area is moving strangely."
Ye Xiaotong's face became cold as if she had never cried before, and her delicate eyebrows narrowed.
"Shanghai Faction? Not the Crown Prince Party?"
"Yes. I heard that President Kim Moo-hyeok has been banned from leaving the country."
"Ha. This crazy old lady."
Ye Xiaotong immediately realized what Jiang Zemin was thinking and sighed in disbelief.
"Things are going well. So, what about that guy, Kim Mu-hyeok? Did he go back to Korea?"
"No. I sent my brother back to Korea and he is still in China. However, I cannot confirm his location."
"You didn't leave China?"
Yeshaotong asked back with a surprised face.
"Yes, I am still in China."
"How big is his liver? He's not a thoughtless man, so he must be making some plans."
"What should we do?"
Ye Xiaotong pondered Tao's question for a moment.
"I received a gift, so I should help. How is President Hu Jintao doing?"
"I heard that an emergency meeting was called after meeting with Chairman Zhang. I don't know what was discussed."
Ye Xiaotong, who had been looking out the window for a while and gazing at the tall buildings of Beijing, slowly opened her mouth.
"No one knows I'm involved?"
"Yes. Team A doesn't even know the boss exists."
Ye Xiaotong nodded and said.
"We should burn that team. Throw them as a sacrifice."
When there was no immediate answer, Ye Xiaotong slowly turned her head and looked at Tao.
A beautiful smile appeared on her face, but her eyes were not smiling at all.
"Why? Do you think I'm going too far?"
"······no."
"CEO Kim Moo-hyeok survived. Then we should treat him accordingly. He would survive on his own even if I didn't help him, but it would be easier if I did. He could also make a living in Korea."
"All right."
"Connect the team's traces to the Shanghai faction and hand them over to President Hu Jintao."
"Okay, I will do that."
Yeshaotong looked out the window again and muttered to herself.
"It's Korea······. I'm looking forward to it."
The existence of Team A had already disappeared from her mind.
Instead, the only thoughts that filled the space were about Korea, where I would soon be going.
* * *
It has been three days since Wi Jeong-seong died.
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I had turned off all my mobile devices so that they could not track my location.
I contacted Boshirai on an untraceable satellite phone.
- hello.
"Look, this is Kim Moo-hyuk."
- Oh, sir. Where on earth are you?
Boshirai, who heard my voice, greeted me happily.
'Why is this person like this?'
From what I've heard about the atmosphere in Beijing, they probably won't be welcoming me.
I answered the question, leaving the question aside.
"I can't tell you that. I can tell you that he's hiding somewhere safe."
- ah······.
"Can you hear how it flows?"
- First of all, it seems like the internal situation will be sorted out soon. It seems like it will end in suicide.
"Really? That's surprising. I heard that the Shanghai faction was plotting to implicate me. But you're saying they're going to end it with suicide?"
According to information I received yesterday, I was informed that the Shanghai gang is risking their lives to frame me as a suspect.
Of course, I only got limited information without being able to hear the inside information, but that doesn't mean it was false information.
- It was revealed that Wi Jeong-seong was behind the attempt to assassinate the president.
"How do you know that?"
I also suspected that Wi Jeong-seong was behind the order to assassinate me.
But I didn't expect the truth to come out so quickly.
― Evidence poured out during the investigation into Wi Jeong-seong's death. A suicide note was also discovered. It seems that he committed suicide after failing to assassinate the president and fearing revenge from the president. Oh, and the president's ban on leaving the country has also been lifted.
Good news kept pouring in, but things felt like they were being resolved too easily.
At times like these, I had to be more suspicious and more doubtful.
"······They found a will?"
- Yes, that's right.
"What's the content?"
― I don't know about that. But I heard that the will said that he ordered the assassination of the president. And President Hu Jintao personally ordered that the president's travel ban be lifted.
The knot came undone so easily, as if someone had intended it to be so.
"Okay, I understand. Let's talk about the details when we meet. I'll go back to Shanghai right away."
- Yes. Then let's talk about the details then.
I put down the satellite phone and fell into thought.
'It's rare to find someone who can help me and solve my problems so easily.'
First of all, he was not my enemy. If he were my enemy, he would have used this opportunity to plot my downfall.
I organized my thoughts by erasing each character that came to mind.
After some time had passed, I took a deep breath and called Director Ma.
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"Sir, please check if my travel ban has been lifted and prepare to return to Shanghai."
"All right."
I had a feeling, but I wasn't sure yet. It was too early to make a judgment based on the information I had.
Now it was time to get moving and return to Shanghai.
< I'm going back to Shanghai > End
< Then I will go to Korea too >