Xia Changwei continued, “Paying for murder with one’s life is natural. Yet you still don’t understand your guilt. I have the ability to get you out, but why should I?”
Zhu Linya anxiously said, “I did everything for you. I’ve devoted years to you…”
Xia Changwei gestured to stop her, saying with a half-smile, “Enough. I, Xia Changwei, enjoy women, am not a good person, but that doesn’t mean you can use this to make me feel guilty. When you were with me, were you really interested in me?”
Zhu Linya said, “I…”
They both knew her true motivations, and Xia Changwei’s question left her unable to respond.
Xia Changwei said with a cold laugh, “So, you played me, I played you. We were just entertaining ourselves. In the end, you even got a sum of money. However you look at it, you came out ahead. Now with this ‘ruined’ expression, are you trying to extort something from me?”
He pushed Zhu Linya away. “My visit was a courtesy. You have no right to demand more. Ultimately, you were the one who kidnapped and killed. Was someone holding a knife to your neck?”
Zhu Linya was left speechless, but facing life and death, she was not giving up. She pleaded, “I was wrong…”
Xia Changwei shook his head, “You don’t truly know you were wrong.”
If you did, you’d understand that the death penalty is what you deserve, and you should face it calmly.”
Zhu Linya: “…”
These words completely shattered her hope. Xia Changwei stood up to leave, and Zhu Linya wailed behind him.
She cried and cursed, “You’re inhuman!”
Xia Changwei paused at the door.
But in life, who isn’t just getting by? How many refuse to compromise? And how many can truly achieve their wishes?
Xia Changwei shrugged like a child and walked away.
The prison guard outside looked at Xia Yanin and asked, “Director Xia, what should we do?”
Xia Yanin had no intention of consoling Zhu Linya. He said, “Take her back and handle it according to the rules.”
After a busy period, the Special Investigation Unit finally enjoyed a brief calm. During Luo Mingbai’s recovery, Xia Yanin, worried about him, would clock in and visit after work.
This time, he came directly from the prison to find that Luo Mingbai was actually lifting dumbbells in his room.
Seeing Xia Yanin enter, Luo Mingbai threw the dumbbells towards the door and laughed, “You’re early. Seems like you’re quite free lately.”
Xia Yanin caught the dumbbells, weighed them, and put them aside.
Walking over, he said, “Why are you suddenly exercising?”
Luo Mingbai said, “I’m healed. I’ve been stuck inside for days, going crazy. Yanin, want to practice together later?”
Xia Yanin pulled out some tissues to wipe the sweat from Luo Mingbai’s forehead, smiling slightly, “Looks like you’re truly recovered. Your complexion is good today.”
Luo Mingbai laughed, “I’m completely healthy. Also, Grandpa Xia has been acting strange, sending tons of supplements every day. My home is almost full.”
Xia Yanin absentmindedly curved his lips, thinking about whether to tell Luo Mingbai that Grandpa Xia already knew about their relationship. Before he could decide, Luo Mingbai’s thoughts had already jumped elsewhere: “By the way, how are things with Xia Zheng?”
Xia Yanin said, “Zhu Linya was sentenced to death. Third Uncle visited her once. Xia Zheng and Cheng Guangchen have already divorced…”
Luo Yingbai said: “Third Uncle still has his old temper, but with Zhu Linya’s personality, their last meeting might not be pleasant. As for Xia Zheng and Cheng Guangchen, their separation was quite smooth.”
Xia Xianning briefly said: “Divorce is inevitable. Third Uncle means to send Cheng Guangchen abroad to study.”
He handled the entire matter. Xia Zheng was reluctant to divorce because after divorce, she would truly have nothing. Cheng Guangchen’s personality changed dramatically after this incident and was unwilling to live with Xia Zheng. Xia Changwei respected her wishes.
By blood, Cheng Guangchen is Xia Xianning’s sister. In the entire matter, she didn’t commit any major mistakes, but this girl, raised by Zhu Linya since childhood, was vastly different from the Xia family.
Moreover, her mother Zhu Linya had kidnapped her older sister’s two children, which made it difficult for Cheng Guangchen to find her footing.
Lo Yingbai said: “Indeed, studying abroad is the best choice for her. But Xia Zheng probably won’t be content to leave the Xia family so easily…”
Xia Xianning shook his head: “Don’t forget, Xia Zheng is not innocent in this. He accidentally encountered Zhu Linya, who noticed he looked somewhat similar to the Xia family and was an orphan. She then discussed the impersonation plan with him. They collaborated in lying. Third Uncle usually shows some leniency to women, but not to Xia Zheng.”
Overnight, transforming from a poor boy to a high-status young master, with previously unreachable people now bowing before him, this sudden expansion not only made Xia Zheng insatiable but also gave him the illusion that he could achieve more with just a bit of effort.
Thus, Xia Zheng began awkwardly trying to “compete” with Xia Xianning, not realizing that emptiness awaited him. As Xia Xianning said, Xia Changwei not pursuing Xia Zheng’s deception was already showing great face. Xia Zheng’s pleas were futile, and after several attempts to pester, he was eventually driven out.
Seeing no hope, he tried to be self-reliant, but with low education and no work experience, he could only start from the most basic manual labor. The psychological gap was too large. Unwilling to work hard and resentful, he was arrested for theft within a year, but that’s another story.
Xia Xianning took out his phone to check the time, discovering it had run out of battery. He asked Lo Yingbai: “What time is it? If the teacher and his wife aren’t coming back, shall we go out to eat?”
Lo Yingbai blinked: “They said they’re eating out tonight… Going out too often gets boring.”
Xia Xianning understood: “What do you want to eat?”
Lo Yingbai pushed him to the kitchen, sending everyone else away, letting Xia Xianning do as he pleased.
Xia Xianning spent his last university year in the army, first mixing in the cooking squad for three months, thus unlocking his chef skills. He looked through the refrigerator, planning to bake a cake.
Lo Yingbai treated it as a game, excitedly hovering nearby, hindering and helping, asking: “What did you want to discuss?”
Xia Xianning, with a hand full of flour, turned to look at Lo Yingbai: “Senior, do you know about Senior Brother Lu taking over as sect leader recently?”
“Lu Heng…”
Lo Yingbai pondered: “I remember. Uncle Xie passed the sect leader position to him. I seem to have received and signed the official document from Senior Brother Lu a few days ago and sent it back.”
Lo Yingbai was one of the earliest disciples after Zhu Caiwei. However, since the Lo family had entered the secular world, they were no longer suitable to manage sect affairs.
Out of respect, Lu Heng specially sent the registration document for Lo Kai and Lo Yingbai to sign. Lo Yingbai signed without hesitation and immediately sent it back.
Xia Xianning nodded: “After Senior Brother Lu became sect leader, Uncle Xie took him to the mountains, saying he wanted to pass on one last magical technique.
Now the Changliu Sect is probably temporarily managed by Senior Brother Lin Xing. This matches Peng Xuan’s statement about an alien invasion of the Changliu Sect in half a month. The new sect leader being absent from the sect matches everything.
Their eyes met, and Lo Yingbai said: “Even if we could contact Senior Brother Lu now, he wouldn’t make it back in time.”
Xia Xianning said: “Exactly. We can’t ignore changes in the sect, so I want to go back to the mountain to take a look. What do you think?”
Lo Yingbai said: “Of course I’ll go with you.”
