Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The meaning of autumn,
is heavy as it leaves my heart.
A glass of wine,
a million emotions.
There have been too many farewells,
during this season of falling leaves.
Zhao Yu searched the lyrics on his computer. The title of the song was Late Autumn, it was from the soundtrack of a Sino-Japanese movie. In addition to the original version, there was a concert cello rendition. Zhao Yu played the concert version and mellow notes filled the room.
This was it!
Zhao Yu realized that the music he had heard during his phone call with Miao Ying was this exact melody! What’s more, it wasn’t a recording. No, it was an actual live performance of the song on a cello! That meant the cellist…
Ho ho. Zhao Yu opened his mouth and tried to take a deep breath but his chest felt tight. He remembered finding a cello CD in Jiang Ke’s blackmail files with the song Late Autumn circled. When he had found it, he even played the song on Jiang Ke’s CD player. He had remembered the melody to that day.
When the police raided Jiang Ke’s hideout, Zhao Yu suspected the CD held some hidden message so he had Li Luoyun send in professionals to analyze it. The analysis returned no results, meaning Late Autumn was merely a song performed on a cello.
But how could there be such a large coincidence? Why would he have heard this song playing through Miao Ying’s phone? Miao Ying was standing outside Cheng Lingfei’s place waiting for the door to open. Did that mean the song was being played by Cheng Lingfei? Was that a problem…?
Zhao Yu’s breathing quickened, his thoughts concentrated on Cheng Lingfei and the cello. At that time, his computer lit up. Wu Xiumin had sent Cheng Lingfei’s details to Zhao Yu. Without hesitating, he opened the files and searched through them.
Not only did the files contain Cheng Lingfei’s data, but they also included photos. Zhao Yu didn’t even bother to look at the words as he was taken aback by the images. Cheng Lingfei had a slim body with pale skin, and although she was pretty, she rarely smiled and instead looked cool and proud. Her icy-cold eyes gave Zhao Yu inexplicable chills.
However, what shocked Zhao Yu wasn’t her appearance or disposition, it was the shots of her playing an instrument. In her hands was indeed a cello! There were photos of her performing on stage, some even with an orchestra. What the h*ll!
Zhao Yu’s heart began to pound quickly. It was obvious now, the sound of the cello in Miao Ying’s background was coming from Cheng Lingfei! Was she practicing just so Miao Ying would hear her?
No… Zhao Yu knew deep down that there was no such thing as a coincidence. Playing the cello was not unusual, but to play Late Autumn of all songs? Now that was suspicious! Could it be? Cheng Lingfei and Jiang Ke?
After Cheng Lingfei and Wu Fangfang fell out, Jiang Ke coincidentally found Wu Fangfang and took her nudes. Could it be that Jiang Ke was lying? Was the reason he knew Wu Fangfang had nudes not because he had been blackmailing her, but because he was hired to take them? Was Cheng Lingfei his employer? No wonder Jiang Ke included himself in the photos! If his intention was purely to blackmail, he wouldn’t have shown himself! In that case…
The more Zhao Yu thought about the situation, the more scared he felt. A pair of good friends, their friendship torn apart by a handsome man. A woman who lost control and was capable of anything.
If this was all true, then if Yu Fusheng had obtained those photos, could he have gotten them through Cheng Lingfei? Did Cheng Lingfei know Yu Fusheng? Uhm… tsk tsk… Zhao Yu thought long and hard but realized this was all just conjecture. Without the music, these were simply baseless accusations.
Also, even if Cheng Lingfei, Jiang Ke, and Yu Fusheng were in contact, if she was unwilling to speak, what could he and Miao Ying do? He couldn’t possibly use Jiang Ke’s CD as evidence, could he? He’d be a laughing stock! Still, Zhao Yu wasn’t going to let an opportunity go to waste. He knew what a rare chance it was and wanted to make use of it. But what could he do?
Zhao Yu anxiously tugged at his hair. After contemplating his options for a few seconds, he finally made a decision. He felt that no matter what he tried to do to make Cheng Lingfei tell the truth, he’d have to personally meet with her. He either had to discuss this with Miao Ying or find a way to contact her and have her interrogate Cheng Lingfei on the spot.
Thus, Zhao Yu hurriedly packed his computer, left the house, and ran to the street to hail a taxi. He had no other choice. There was only one car and Miao Ying had already taken it.
As he ran out, he saw a bespectacled young man waiting for a car as a yellow cab began to pull over. This was a great opportunity. Zhao Yu ran towards the man, getting into the cab and closing the door behind him.
“Hey!” The man shouted, frantically trying to pull open the door as he scolded Zhao Yu. If this had been the old Zhao Yu, he would have settled this with force. But now Zhao Yu was a changed man. He threw a couple of hundred-dollar bills out the window.
“God d*mn…” The man who was about to explode with anger saw the bills and hurriedly picked them up, ignoring Zhao Yu.
Hmph! Zhao Yu scoffed, tugging at his collar. “Sir, drive to… uhm…” He was about to tell the driver where to head, but when he looked up the greedy man had actually opened his door and rushed to pick up the money with the young man.
“To h*ll with you!” At that point, Zhao Yu wanted to take over the wheel and drive away. Too bad he was a righteous man. He took a few more hundred-dollar bills and enticed the driver back into the car.
–
Vroom…
The old taxi engine roared as it sped through the empty streets, speedily making its way towards Cheng Lingfei’s residence. On the road, instead of thinking about what he would do, Zhao Yu looked through Cheng Lingfei’s details one more time.
Cheng Lingfei’s background was strange beyond Zhao Yu’s imagination. Apart from owning the livestock company, she also had investments in construction, logistics, coal, natural gases, insurance, and more. She even held many multinational stocks and a shocking amount of fixed assets like music halls, exhibition halls, luxury hotels, etc. There was a huge variety!
What in the…! The more Zhao Yu looked, the more shocked he became. It was hard to believe that this ice queen was also unbelievably rich. And although he couldn’t understand professional corporate reports, just looking at the graphs was enough for him to know that this woman was a genius at investing. Whatever she invested in did not fail to return profits!
Zhao Yu felt a sudden burst of cold sweat. He already knew that whenever Jiang Ke carried out a robbery, it wasn’t just some random act but instead was a planned attack. Those attacks seemed to be closely related to the industries Cheng Lingfei had control over!
What the actual f*ck! Zhao Yu’s blood pressure shot up. Cheng Lingfei was possibly the big boss behind it all!
Oh no! Zhao Yu suddenly realized. Miao Ying was in danger!
