石器盒子

Chapter 392 Betrayal to Redeem Myself

His sense of reason told him that he had better get rid of Xu Youning as soon as possible.

Still, something within his heart was keeping him from that thought. It was him that had clung to the last hint of hope, deceiving himself that it would be the last time he gave Xu Youning a chance...

He didn’t know how long Xu Youning was planning to work undercover nor how long he could deceive himself.

...

The next day.

The early morning alarm failed to wake up Xu Youning. When she opened her eyes, the electronic clock beside her bed said it was 10 a.m.

All of a sudden, Xu Youning felt that the calamity was imminent—”How dared I sleep until this hour? Mu Sijue will kill me!”

She freshened up as quickly as she could and rushed out of her room, but ran into Mu Sijue—Obviously, he had just gotten up.

Xu Youning breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Good morning.”

Mu Sijue didn’t even look at Xu Youning and went straight downstairs. He said, “I told you to investigate Ah Guang. What did you find out?”

“I just wanted to tell you about it.” Xu Youning picked up a piece of bread and smeared it with jam, then handed it to Mu Sijue.

Mu Sijue took it, slightly glancing Xu Youning and said, “Go on.”

Xu Youning pursed her lips and said, “I think... you were wrong. Ah Guang isn’t the undercover person.”

That answer was really out of Mu Sijue’s expectation.

The reason he had said he suspected Ah Guang was just to bait Xu Youning—If she seized the opportunity to protect herself and told him that Ah Guang was the undercover person, he would unmask her after he found out the truth about the collapse of Fanting Garden.

He didn’t expect that Xu Youning would give up the opportunity and tell him that Ah Guang was not the undercover person.

Mu Sijue tore the bread and said with a meaningful smile on his face, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Xu Youning nodded and said firmly, “Ah Guang, as well as his parents, his brother, his family, are from City A. Being so, he dares not work undercover. Otherwise, once exposed, his family may not be able to run away even if he could. As far as I know, Ah Guang is very filial and he wouldn’t put his family in danger.”

“...”

“What’s more—” Xu Youning added, “Before he worked for you, Ah Guang had already been working hard in this field. At that time, Kang... Kang Ruicheng was still in the Golden Triangle and had no dealings with Ah Guang. So, you were wrong. Ah Guang isn’t the undercover person.”

Mu Sijue looked at Xu Youning, while his eyes were saying that he thought her words funny.

Ah Guang was innocent so Xu Youning couldn’t have found out a thing. However, as long as she wanted, she could join hands with Kang Ruicheng and create the illusion that Ah Guang had contacted Kang Ruicheng, thus confirming that Ah Guang was the one.

“Why didn’t Xu Youning do that?” Mu Sijue thought.

Seeing Mu Sijue silent, Xu Youning felt a little bit nervous and said, “Hey?”

“If Ah Guang isn’t the undercover person, then who do you think it should be?” Mu Sijue asked.

Xu Youning went blank for a second, then she shook her head and said, “I don’t know. But... I’ll continue with my investigation.”

Mu Sijue seemed to be quite satisfied with Xu Youning’s attitude. He took a sip of coffee, then pushed a portfolio before her and said, “Do you remember that we went to the collapse site of Fanting Garden but found nothing?”

“Yes, I do.”

Mu Sijue motioned for Xu Youning to open it and said, “The police investigation records and witness statements are in it. Read them and go to the collapse site again to see if you can find out anything will you?”

Xu Youning was somewhat surprised and she asked, “It’s been a long time since it happened. Hasn’t the collapse site been dealt with?”

“Just in order not to damage it. However, recently the owners of other buildings have complained a lot, and Lu Enterprises has decided to clean it up. It will be your last time investigating the place, you may find out something.”

Xu Youning nodded and said, “Who will come with me?”

“I’ve got some things to do,” Mu Sijue said, “You should go there alone.”

Looking at his serious face, Xu Youning burst into a laugh and said, “You’ve got nothing to do other than flirt with hot chicks.”

Mu Sijue asked with a faint smile on his face, “Are you jealous?”

Xu Youning leaned forward as if she wanted to vomit and said, “Yeah, I almost lose my appetite!”

After breakfast, Xu Youning returned to her room and took out something from the suitcase. That was found at the collapse site of Fangting Garden when she and Mu Sijue went there for the first time.

With that, although it couldn’t prove whether the collapse was related to Kang Ruicheng, at least it could be proved that the accident had been caused deliberately and Lu Enterprises shouldn’t be blamed for it.

Since she learned that the information she held had nearly led to Su Jianan and Lu Boyan’s divorce, Xu Youning had been thinking about handing it over. Only by proving that Lu Enterprises were innocent, could she redeem herself.

However, when Mu Sijue asked her to ferret out the undercover person, she then realized that he may have smelled something about her.

If she hastily handed it over, she would definitely be suspected. Once she was revealed, Mu Sijue would surely turn her into a five-piece mutilated corpse; he would have hundreds of ways to put her to death.

That Mu Sijue asked her to go to the collapse site of Fanting Garden alone had given her the best chance.

With that, Xu Youning felt her guilt had been eased a bit and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she changed her clothes and went downstairs. She said, “I’m now going to Fanting Garden.”

Mu Sijue replied “Hmm” and tossed Xu Youning a car key. As soon as she walked outside the house, she saw a taxi at the gate and then a lady got out of it.

To be precise, it was the lady that had been enjoying her kisses with Mu Sijue in the car the previous night, which had been disturbed by Xu Youning.

That day she was in a short slim black one-piece dress, a long beige trench coat, with a modern-fashioned bag in hand; her charming curly hair fluttered as she walked, which made her very attractive.

She was about to ring the doorbell when she saw Xu Youning, then she waved to her and said, “Hey, chick. Could you please open the gate? Oh, Mr. Mu asked me here.”

Xu Youning gnashed her teeth and thought, “You are a chick! All your family are chicks!!!”

She just ignored the lady and went to the garage. The gate was opened automatically, and she drove past the lady, giving her a blind eye.

From the rear-view mirror, she saw the lady entering the house.

After she left, there would only be Mu Sijue and that lady in the house. “They dared to kiss and fondle each other in my car yesterday. Will they be bolder in the house today?” Xu Youning thought.

Xu Youning angrily slammed the steering wheel. She just hated why she had been in such a hurry.

“If I had left five minutes later, I would have disturbed them in a hundred ways!” She thought.

“But, so what?”

“It’s impossible for me to stay with him forever. Even if I can make it, Mu Sijue won’t like me.”

A deep sadness drowned Xu Youning without warning.

“Wait, why do I feel this way?”

When she realized it was unlikely that Kang Ruicheng liked her, she was calm. Although a little disappointed, she wasn’t sad because of it. Even when she knew that he had stayed with other women overnight, she just shrugged and forgot about it.

Later on, she used to perform her tasks far away from Kang Ruicheng. When she heard that he had a new girlfriend again, she could just ignore it.

“Why do I feel so upset when it comes to Mu Sijue?” Xu Youning thought.

“I should have ignored it more easily.”

A “squeak—” sound.

As she slammed on the brakes, Xu Youning was heavily pushed forward and then caught by the seat belt, which made her chest ache.

She calmed herself down for a while, then started the car and drove toward Fanting Garden.

The warning banner at the collapse site had been taken away. Perhaps due to the accident, there was nobody around. Xu Youning randomly paced around it, then took out something from her pocket, rolled it in the rubble to smear some dust on and packed it in a transparent zip-lock bag.

“Mu Sijue and I came here before, and we searched twice but found nothing. Today I came here alone, so I’m not supposed to find out the evidence so soon. Besides, it may be inopportune or inappropriate for me to return now.” Xu Youning thought. So she sat down on the rubble and looked up at the rare azure sky above City A.

She knew that Mu Sijue was able to sniff her out one day and she would not be forgiven.

She had made mistakes and caused injuries. What she could do was only to try her best to redeem herself.

After sitting in boredom for about two or three hours, Xu Youning couldn’t bear the sun anymore. She ran back into the car and received an unexpected call from Kang Ruicheng.

He just asked, “Is Mu Sijue in City A?”

“Yes.”

“What is he doing?”

Xu Youning smiled and said, “He’s in the villa with a lady enjoying their time. What do you think he is doing?”

She didn’t tell Kang Ruicheng the truth, which was tantamount to betraying him.

If she did, however, Kang Ruicheng would find a way to prevent her from handing over the evidence to Mu Sijue.

Like the way she had been assigned to work undercover in Mu Sijue’s company, her betrayal was because she had no options.

“Mike is still in City A. Mu Sijue must have come to talk with him face to face.” Kang Ruicheng asked in a cold voice, “A Ning, are you keeping your mission in mind?”

“...” Xu Youning didn’t reply.

Kang Ruicheng laughed on the phone and said, “He’s dating someone else. Aren’t you feeling upset?”

“...”

“A Ning, you won’t stay with him for a long time,” Kang Ruicheng said, “To win his heart will not only satisfy your desire but also conduce to your work. But you must remember that once he knows your real identity, you’ll end in death. If you want to leave him easily, you shouldn’t fall in love with him.”

Xu Youning touched her phone screen at once to hang up, then she started the car and drove toward the villa.

She almost rushed into the house. She didn’t find Mu Sijue there, then she went upstairs and pushed his door open—

Mu Sijue had just come out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, with his hair dripping.

What he had done was self-evident.

Xu Youning suddenly felt that she was crazy. She thought, “Thank God. Mu Sijue has finished his job with the lady and she has left. Otherwise, how embarrassed would I be?”

Mu Sijue was obviously dissatisfied with Xu Youning’s rude intrusion. He frowned and said, “You’d better give me a reasonable explanation, if not...”

Xu Youning took a zip-lock bag out of her pocket and said, “I found it!”

Mu Sijue took the bag, then glanced deeply at Xu Youning and asked, “Where did you find it?”

“Under the rubble in a corner,” Xu Youning said, “it was at night when we went there, so it’s hard to notice that corner, let alone things underneath it.”

“Do you think it can prove that Lu Enterprises is innocent?” Mu Sijue intentionally asked that way.

“I... I’m not sure,” Xu Youning said, “It looks like a piece of bomb debris and we can take it for detection. If it turns out to be part of a bomb, at least we can prove that the Fanting Garden collapse was caused deliberately, so Lu Enterprises will be off the hook.”