TNSFC – Chapter 101

Que Yining hadn’t planned to go public at this time. She had merely posted a selfie, neither clarifying nor stating anything, allowing the comments below to speculate freely.

The gossip-hungry crowd, catching wind of it, arrived with great enthusiasm.

Que Yining had initially thought Gu Shanxue’s identity wouldn’t be so easily exposed, but she had clearly underestimated the keenness of current netizens and their relentless pursuit of gossip.

Although only Gu Shanxue’s side profile and back were captured in the photo, some people still recognized her, and others used software to filter and identify her, pinpointing Gu Shanxue.

【Childhood Sweethearts Group Will Never Lose】: Ahhh, what divine looks! You two friends, you’ve come to the wrong place; the entertainment industry isn’t here, thank you. Wuwuwu, I’m obsessed! Although the lookalike this Jiejie posted doesn’t quite resemble Hillary, I think her aura is very similar! If she really is the prototype for Hillary, combined with the Easter eggs in my game, I’m shipping it, I’m really shipping it!

【I Think I’m Good Again】: I’m so for this. Even if I imagine them as a real-life CP, there’s no sense of incongruity. Who wouldn’t like such a beautiful and wealthy Jiejie? Never mind the Boss; if it were me, I’d be fine with it too!

【Today’s Temperature is Thirty-Nine Degrees】: Who wouldn’t be okay with it? But compared to me X beauty, I prefer beauty X beauty. My smile is already reaching my eyebrows. Even if they’re not real and just friends, I’ll still ship them!

Zhang Shiyu called to ask if they should delete the posts. Que Yining felt that since it had already spread, deleting the posts now would seem like trying to hide something. She pinched the bridge of her nose and called Gu Shanxue.

“Shanxue, should I find someone to delete the posts? I didn’t expect your identity to be found out so quickly. Will it affect you? If it does, I’ll immediately find someone to delete them.”

Que Yining wasn’t worried about Gu Shanxue getting angry. How could Gu Shanxue get angry? This was being linked with her; if Gu Shanxue dared to get angry, she would get angry too. She was just afraid it would cause some impact, leading to unforeseen complications.

To be honest, the car sex scandal Que Linyang had orchestrated was truly ridiculous. Although it was true, people in their circle didn’t seem to believe it. When people saw her, they would just tease her jokingly. Except for true insiders like Qiao Yuchu and Jiang Xiaowan, who would click their tongues a couple of times, no one else really believed it.

It couldn’t be helped. Miss Gu’s image as an unattainable beauty was too deeply ingrained in people’s minds, so much so that everyone felt no one could win her over yet.

“It’s okay, it won’t have any impact.”

Before Que Yining called her, Gu Shanxue’s assistant had already asked for instructions on whether to suppress it. Gu Shanxue felt it was completely unnecessary; the more people knew, the better. She even secretly bought some promotion for the fanfiction CP stories she thought were well-written. Of course, all of this was very secretive.

“That’s good then. Be careful recently. Que Linyang should be making a move soon. He’s already going through legal procedures to sue Hou Manni for defamation. I plan to use Deng Zhi to lure out her cousin.”

“Okay, you be careful too. Don’t let your bodyguards leave your side.”

“I know, don’t worry.”

Que Yining hung up the phone with a smile. Looking at the files on her computer, the smile on her face deepened.

Deng Zhi’s cousin and Que Linyang were birds of a feather. Deng Zhi and Que Linyang had similar personalities; when doing bad things, they liked to leave themselves some leeway and keep themselves clean. So, some of Que Linyang’s shady dealings were handled by Deng Zhi’s distant cousin.

That distant cousin of Deng Zhi was no good either. He had committed a sexual assault case in his hometown, then fled to the Northeast and committed theft and robbery. He then ran all the way to the South and committed murder. He was an important fugitive at large. Then he came to Lu Su and continued to do evil under Que Linyang’s protection. For such a person, dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough.

He knew quite a lot. After he had someone commit premeditated murder through a drunk driving accident, he fled. Deng Zhi didn’t know where he was, but she could lure him out.

“Can he be made to identify Que Linyang? Some matters were directly handled between him and Que Linyang, even I don’t know about them. He told me he had some evidence as a backup in case Que Linyang turned against him. I can make him appear voluntarily. Don’t make me show up, okay? I’m begging you, don’t make me show up.”

Deng Zhi pleaded like this on the phone. Que Yining twirled the pen in her hand. After a few seconds, she placed the pen on the table.

The pen made a soft sound as it hit the table, making Deng Zhi on the other end of the line tremble.

“You don’t want to return to the country anymore? You don’t even want to see him one last time?”

“I don’t want to go back. When I decided to call you, I already considered myself to have no relationship with him anymore. Thank you for showing me leniency. I will tell you everything I know.”

Deng Zhi’s voice sounded very calm. It was now the last hour of the twenty-four-hour deadline Que Yining had given. Que Yining was sure she would call, and she did not disappoint.

“I don’t know whether to praise you for being smart or for being heartless.”

“I have no choice. I have my son. He’s still young and doesn’t know anything. I can’t let him lose his mother after already not having a father. Que Linyang did so many things; I’m not surprised that this day has come. What surprises me is that I’m the one revealing all this.” Deng Zhi took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily. “You can go to this address I’m telling you. In the safe in the study on the second floor, take out a USB drive. On it is evidence of Que Linyang bribing some people.”

Deng Zhi gave the address and password. Que Yining noted it down and told Zhang Shiyu to go immediately.

“Not only that, Que Linyang has a company that is also suspected of money laundering. The accounts inside are very suspicious. He didn’t tell me about these; I discovered it myself…”

Deng Zhi indeed knew a lot. Que Yining really had to say that Que Linyang was incredibly audacious.

Compared to the other things he did, Que Yining felt that the viciousness of him harming his adoptive parents’ family was relatively minor.

Que Linyang was involved in drugs. Of course, not that he himself used drugs; he had dealings with those people. He had a holding shell company specifically for laundering money for drug cartels. He also did his fair share of murder and robbery.

Que Yining learned too much explosive news from Deng Zhi. Compared to Deng Zhi, Hou Manni, his legal wife, could truly be said to know nothing.

Que Yining felt it was fortunate that Que Linyang’s relationship with his daughter Xiaoxiao wasn’t particularly deep. Xiaoxiao was now healthy, and her personality was becoming more outgoing.

Que Yining hadn’t expected so many things to be involved. She no longer planned to handle it alone; this was already beyond her scope. She immediately contacted the police and reported the case.

No wonder Que Linyang wasn’t as composed as she’d expected after encountering trouble; it turned out he had a guilty conscience. She had originally thought the pressure she put on Que Linyang wouldn’t make him this flustered and desperate. It turned out Que Linyang was afraid that if his magnificent edifice collapsed, its rotten interior would be exposed.

Hou Manni called to ask how to respond. Que Yining told her not to panic. As long as it could be proven that what Hou Manni said about the murder was correct, then Que Linyang’s lawsuit against her for defamation would be nonsense.

Que Yining cooperated closely with the police. Deng Zhi was unwilling to talk directly to the police, so Que Yining could only act as the intermediary to coordinate the arrest of Deng Zhi’s cousin.

During this interval, Que Yining returned to the Que family home.

It was You Lanqing who called and asked her to come back. Since Que Yining had confessed her identity and recovered from her rehabilitation, she basically went back to visit once a week. Sometimes, when she was too busy, she only had time to go back once a month.

“That lawsuit Que Linyang is about to file recently…”

“Don’t worry, Mom. He can’t win. I already have enough evidence on my side. This matter is actually no longer just a conflict between our Que family and him. He broke the law, and not just once. Those things are enough for him to get the death penalty several times over. Next, we just have to wait.”

Que Yining patted You Lanqing’s shoulder, went to the kitchen to wash her hands, her face full of confidence.

“We’ve troubled you. I feel like I didn’t contribute much this time; it was all thanks to you.”

Que Hanyi served Que Yining a bowl of rice, his expression quite heavy.

“Papa, what are you saying? How could it be just me working hard? Before the incident, weren’t you also busy for a long time, looking for connections, looking for former partners? That’s why when the company was targeted, there wasn’t a major crisis; it was under control. A large part of the power to deal with Que Linyang is the Que Corporation, and all of this was earned through your hard work. You’ve already worked very hard, Papa. She will see it.”

Que Yining put down her bowl, her face full of sincerity.

You Lanqing wiped her tears, then sniffled.

“Okay, okay, okay. It’s not easy to have Ningning back for a meal. Let’s not make it so heavy. It should be a joyous occasion for everyone. That ungrateful wretch is about to have bad luck; he’s about to get his retribution! We should be happy! I’ll go call Zixi out for dinner.”

Xiaoxiao was already sitting obediently at the dining table. She wasn’t little anymore; she understood what Grandpa and Grandma were saying, but she didn’t look too sad. Instead, she was biting her chopsticks, waiting for delicious food.

Xiaoxiao wasn’t sad at all. Because Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Third Aunt, and Youngest Aunt all loved her, she was the happiest child in the world. She didn’t need to feel inferior or sad just because she had a villain for a father.

These past few days, she had also seen many people online praising Youngest Aunt and Youngest Aunt Gu. She was incredibly happy.

When Que Yining saw Que Zixi walk out, she was somewhat stunned.

Que Zixi was the same age as this body she was in; she should also be in her twenties. But the current Que Zixi looked slightly haggard and old, very different from what she had seen before.

“This…”

“Doing some mysterious and profound things always comes at a price. It’s okay, let’s eat.”

Que Zixi smiled at her and sat down at the dining table.

She looked as if her vitality had been drained. Her hair was somewhat dry and withered, her skin condition was also very poor, and there were dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept well for a long time.

Que Yining suddenly remembered the cause and effect she had seen long ago. Seeing Que Zixi, who looked as if she had aged twenty years, she silently picked up her bowl and ate.

When it comes to feelings, some people appear unyielding on the surface but are deeply concerned inwardly.

Some people’s feelings are like a vast ocean tsunami, with terrifying waves, while others are like stagnant water, with a volcano dormant within. It’s not that the more sadness one shows, the more one cares, nor that the calmer one appears, the more indifferent one is.

Because she had seen Que Zixi, that evening when Que Yining was at Gu Shanxue’s place, her mood was a bit low.

“What happened?”

Gu Shanxue poured Que Yining a glass of water and brought it to her as she stood on the balcony enjoying the breeze.

Que Yining took a sip of water, looking at the distant night sky, and didn’t speak.

Actually, she wanted to ask, if one day she suddenly disappeared from this body, would Gu Shanxue go crazy for her?

But she didn’t ask. This kind of hypothesis was meaningless. She could sense that this body already belonged to her. Gu Shanxue was very perceptive, and she was afraid Gu Shanxue would develop some strange worries.

She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, and on a whim, asked a question.

“Shanxue, we will eventually leave this world one day. Who do you hope will go first between us?”

It was an extremely sentimental and vague hypothetical question, touching on the sensitive topic of life and death. Que Yining didn’t know why she had asked it, nor why she had suddenly thought of something so far in the future. It was just that the thought had suddenly appeared in her mind at that moment, and she had gone along with it and asked.

“You,” Gu Shanxue didn’t ask Que Yining why she was thinking this. Looking at Que Yining, she answered without hesitation, “Just one day before me would be good.”

Gu Shanxue thought for a moment, then shook her head and changed her answer. She said, “No, twelve hours before me would be good.”

Que Yining asked curiously, “Why twelve hours?”

“Twelve hours is enough for me to handle your funeral arrangements—the memorial service, the tombstone. Then I can also handle my own and be buried with you.”

Gu Shanxue always seemed so rational, but within that rationality, her surging emotions that she couldn’t hide shone through.

Beneath this iceberg was a volcano. No one knew the temperature within better than Que Yining.

She leaped in and was then held aloft by love, as if on clouds.

If Que Yining’s love was a wild rose blooming wantonly, capturing everyone’s attention, then Gu Shanxue’s love was probably the mountain on which that rose grew.

Silent and unspoken, others couldn’t see the full picture, but it would nurture the best soil for those roses, shelter them from wind and rain, and offer them the most beautiful scenery.

Que Yining hugged her. The evening breeze blew in from the window, tangling the lovers’ dark hair.

A kiss full of love was worth more than a thousand words. Superfluous clothes were scattered from the living room to the bedroom.

Regarding the question of life and death, Gu Shanxue didn’t ask Que Yining in return, but she knew Que Yining’s answer.

The moment Que Yining kissed her, she whispered, “Okay.”

She would leave twelve hours before her. This was their promise.

In love, passion was vented to the extreme, letting the surrounding wind and scenery be their accompaniment, transforming into ink dots of varying shades and musical notes of varying pitches.

Melodious or high-pitched, light or heavy, slow or fast. At this moment, neither could claim to have the initiative; they only thought about how to become one in their mutual understanding.

In every whisper, love and desire were fully expressed, letting the nebulae surge and the moon hang on the branches.

On the third day after Deng Zhi called, her cousin took the bait.

He had been arranged to flee abroad, but his education level was not high, and being unfamiliar with life in a foreign country, he wasn’t doing very well. So, after Deng Zhi contacted him, he immediately had her arrange for his return to the country so he could live a carefree life.

Que Yining was not surprised that he walked right into the trap like this. The more ignorant a person is, the fewer things they fear. Because he didn’t understand, he would one-sidedly value certain things and harbor illusions of luck. However, to prevent him from becoming suspicious and fleeing, she had Deng Zhi specifically give him a few more instructions and feed him false information.

Deng Zhi’s cousin indeed had no suspicions, boarded the plane back to the country, and was apprehended by the police as soon as he got off.

Que Yining didn’t show up; she didn’t need to. Interrogations were best left to professionals. Deng Zhi’s cousin was resistant at first, but as soon as he heard that Que Linyang was like a clay Bodhisattva crossing a river—unable to save himself—he immediately panicked and said he wanted to redeem himself by meritorious service.

He still thought he was only implicated in hiring someone for murder, little did he know his entire background had already been dug up and his false identity seen through. But the police didn’t mention it. After all, they still needed him to testify against Que Linyang in court, so they let him think he could redeem himself by meritorious service. If he knew he would face the death penalty, he might try to protect Que Linyang. Of course, there was also the possibility that he would bite down harder on Que Linyang, but the police didn’t want to create unnecessary complications.

The serious crime unit detectives immediately applied for an arrest warrant and brought Que Linyang back to the police station overnight.

Que Linyang refused to admit he had done these things, but he didn’t expect Deng Zhi’s cousin to have saved audio recordings as evidence and also to have revealed some of his other affairs.

The properties under Que Linyang’s name were seized, and he couldn’t escape the charge of money laundering either. The police interrogated him overnight about the drug cartel. Of course, this matter was no longer within Que Yining’s scope of concern.

Que Linyang was completely defeated. Needless to say, his lawsuit with Hou Manni naturally wouldn’t proceed. Overnight, Que Linyang lost everything.

Iron bars separated the prison from the outside world. Que Linyang wore a prison uniform. In these few short days of torment and blows, he had long lost his former spirited appearance. His temples were graying, he looked like an old man over sixty, his cheeks were gaunt, and his eye sockets were sunken, making his eyes appear even more prominent, like a hunched wolf.

No, that’s not right. It should be said, a defeated dog.

“I’ve come to see you. Have you been sleeping well these past few days?”

Que Yining stood outside. She was dressed exceptionally glamorously. The sound of her high heels seemed to beat on one’s heart, making Que Linyang find it somewhat difficult to breathe.

“Thanks to you.”

Que Linyang gave a sinister smile, his eyes filled with unconcealed malice.

Gone! Everything he had was gone! The Que family he had painstakingly schemed for was gone, and everything of his own was gone too!

But it was okay, he still had a glimmer of hope.

“What are you thinking? Let me guess.” Que Yining nodded her head, pretending to have a sudden realization as Que Linyang’s expression grew uglier. “Are you thinking about the money you sent to Deng Zhi, the money you thought would allow you to make a comeback?”

“What did you do?”

Que Linyang gripped the bars. The chain of his handcuffs collided with the bars, making a clanging sound.

“That was dirty money. Of course, it was handed over to the state.”

Que Yining admired Que Linyang’s ashen face and clicked her tongue.

“Que Linyang, you’re a smart person. You wouldn’t be unaware of why we could find Deng Zhi’s cousin so quickly, nor would you be unaware of how we could know your secrets in such detail, right?”

“Deng Zhi! She betrayed me! How could she!”

Que Linyang’s eyes were wide with fury, as if they would split. His eyes were full of bloodshot veins; he looked as if he wanted to tear apart the Que Yining before him and the Deng Zhi who wasn’t there.

“Why couldn’t she? You were ungrateful and treacherous. Didn’t you ever think a day would come when everyone would desert you? This appearance of yours is truly more pleasing to the eye than any of your past appearances.”

Que Yining’s voice was light and cheerful. She even clapped her hands.

“Someone like you doesn’t deserve to have anything—love, family affection, friendship, power, wealth, status. They will all disappear before your eyes, one by one. And all of this is far from over, oh.”

Que Yining smiled sweetly, the malice on her face clear.

“What do you mean! What are you trying to do! What are you trying to do! Que Yining! Que Yining, come back! Que Yining!”

Que Linyang shouted shrilly and hysterically, watching the receding figure, his face filled with terror.

Que Yining never looked back. After the door behind her closed, she let out a soft laugh.

She would hire the best lawyer for Que Linyang to argue his death sentence down to life imprisonment. If Que Linyang diligently repented, even if it wasn’t life imprisonment, he would face a fixed-term imprisonment of twenty to twenty-two years.

She would live longer than Que Linyang and would continuously have people ‘take good care’ of him in prison.

She didn’t need Que Linyang’s repentance. She just wanted him to suffer while alive. She wanted him to live in torment every single day.