Deliberately Approaching-Chapter 565 - 527: The Gift Arrives, But Not the Person
Half an hour later, Chen Xin returned from running errands.
Before he could put down the car keys, Bai Long followed him inside and shared his doubts, speculations, and the outcomes of today’s investigation.
Living next door did have its advantages.
"You suspect that Lai Jingshan was released only after paying the ransom?" Chen Xin looked at Bai Long with a face full of surprise.
"Unless we find the wooden box he mentioned."
Chen Xin opened the refrigerator, casually took out two bottles of mineral water, and handed one to Bai Long.
Gu Dong Gu Dong, he drank it down, feeling much refreshed.
"Didn’t Li Wanshan explain yesterday that the only target was his wife, and Lai Jingshan was involved by chance? He was just lucky to have escaped with his life. Have you not considered how long Jinyuan River is? Who knows where the current could have taken him?"
"Since their target was his wife, it would be impossible not to know Lai Jingshan’s worth."
Logically speaking, those people could have taken this opportunity to hike up their demands from Li Wanshan on the spot, yet strangely, they chose to deal with it themselves.
"That’s why they silenced him!"
"If they had demanded more, Li Wanshan would surely have paid; and even if he hadn’t, there was still Third Aunt Lai."
"That’s hard to say. After all... their timing and route were planned in advance. Considering another person means adding potential risk. It’s simpler to just deal with him directly, and it’s possible they didn’t recognize Lai Jingshan."
"Maybe I’m overthinking it." Bai Long frowned and twisted open the cap of the mineral water.
After a whole night of activity, he was thirsty too.
"Even if it’s as you said, Lai Jingshan did nothing wrong. Choosing to save his life with money in the face of death is a wise choice. Besides, after getting out, he notified Brother Shen at the first opportunity, right?"
Bai Long nodded in agreement.
Indeed, in the face of life and death, anyone’s choice to spend money to save their own life is quite understandable.
Only by staying alive does anything else matter.
"Maybe Brother Shen guessed it long ago." Chen Xin lay lazily on the sofa, barely able to keep his eyes open, "But don’t bring it up to him face-to-face."
"Alright, get some rest early."
Bai Long closed the door and left for his own room, weighing Chen Xin’s words in his mind.
Over the years, without the open and secret support of Lai Jingshan, perhaps the one forced to leave Jin City wouldn’t have been Li Wanshan.
Lai Jingshan must have tried, but those people did not agree, which is why the lady ended up murdered.
It’s normal to hide something to save face.
The real culprit is Li Wanshan for sure. Damn it, why didn’t you just die in an accident today?
...
The next day, at Nanfeng Mansion.
Tang Xiaowan was woken up by a video call from Leng Lingxiao, despite it being already eight o’clock.
"What’s up so early in the morning?"
"Tangtang, Shen Yiming has arrived, and Li Ruonan said it’s been many days since she last saw you. She wants to have lunch together and maybe take a tour..."
Leng Lingxiao conveyed earnestly through the phone.
It took a full minute before Tang Xiaowan rubbed her eyes and woke up from her daze.
"Don’t they want to rest a bit first?"
"Get up quick and wash up, brush your teeth."
"No, I can’t see them today or tomorrow. Grandma said last night that this is the least I can do. It was supposed to be six days, but I broke the rules starting from the second day, so I can’t see them anymore. Let’s do it the day after tomorrow."
"The day after tomorrow is the wedding!"
"Yes, exactly! I’m so looking forward to it. I wonder if your groomsmen will be amazing or if my bridesmaids will outshine them. Just thinking about it makes me excited."
Leng Lingxiao’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that.
"Come on, I’m your darling husband, you can’t be favoring outsiders over me!"
"Don’t worry, I won’t make it hard for you."
"Oh, then it’s fine. Actually, those guys are pretty outstanding. Each one is skilled in both letters and martial arts. As long as they don’t get in the way of me picking you up."
"There’s a party tonight, you could give them a heads-up, like a vaccine or something."
"No need, they’ll be fine."
Tang Xiaowan couldn’t help but feel worried for the groomsmen.
To know, the six bridesmaids that Tang Mei had prepared for her were each incredibly formidable, slim and seemingly frail but actually proficient in various weapons, more manly than men themselves.
At that moment, the notification sound chimed several times, followed by another two tones signaling incoming transfers.
Tang Xiaowan thought it was from Lin Xiaoxiao and didn’t check.
"Right, plus Li Ruonan, that makes a foursome for playing mahjong. What’s this party or no party about? It’s just an excuse to let loose. Since the day we got our certificate, I’ve already not been single."
He was a certified good husband now!
"No, no, I can’t go, your bachelor party isn’t a place for the bride-to-be to join in on the fun. If someone saw me, they’d laugh their heads off."
Actually, Tang Xiaowan was afraid of Grandma’s nagging.
She longed to be with Leng Lingxiao 24 hours a day, having fun and enjoying each other’s company.
"Just put on some makeup, and that’ll solve it."
Tang Xiaowan pouted: "Wishful thinking!"
"Treat it like a masquerade party, and it’s all good. It doesn’t officially start until eight tonight. I’ll get Old Zhao to send out the notice in a bit."
This genuinely tempted Tang Xiaowan, but after thinking it through, she still felt it wasn’t right.
She had already promised Grandma.
If it really came down to it... could she sneak out for half an hour while Grandma and her mother were doing yoga?
If asked, she could say she was taking a bath.
Or she could just let Meijuan handle it on the fly...
"Don’t worry, Grandma won’t really mind. She’s most at ease when you’re with me," Leng Lingxiao, seeing Tang Xiaowan hesitate, continued to urge her.
"No, you have to be honest!"
"Just this once won’t hurt."
Tang Xiaowan fell into thought again.
Actually, not seeing each other isn’t bad. It’ll make the wedding even more anticipated and deepen your longing for me.
Meijuan’s point wasn’t without reason!
"Listen, from now on, no video calls, no finding excuses to come to Nanfeng Mansion to see me, and definitely no..."
"Hold on, not even video calls?"
"That’s right."
"Isn’t that a bit too cruel?"
"Huahua, your trial has arrived. I believe you can definitely pass it smoothly."
His little wife was even bringing up trials. As a man of honor, what could Leng Lingxiao say? He had to cooperate fully.
"Alright, then let’s do as you say."
After hanging up the phone, Tang Xiaowan quickly glanced over her messages, which turned out to be all from Chen Yu.
"Wishing you a happy union and soon a precious child!"
"I probably won’t make it to the wedding, and Chen Nan can’t either. He has a competition to attend this weekend, and I’ve got a cold. It would be uncomfortable to travel."
"Don’t get me wrong, I really can’t make it."
To say she didn’t care would be a lie; she felt a sense of being abandoned.
But then again, she could understand.
Chen Yu might have feared that by coming, she wouldn’t blend in well with the other guests, feeling out of place and awkward in every way.
"Rest assured, on the day of the wedding..."
As Tang Xiaowan was writing her message halfway, she suddenly remembered there were two payment notifications she hadn’t checked.
"2000, one hundred thousand!"
"Does this mean she’s returning the money?"
In the middle of last month, Tang Xiaowan had transferred one hundred thousand to Chen Yu, worried she might stop her treatment at Boxin Hospital for the birthmark due to lack of funds.
She had never thought of asking Chen Yu to repay this money; they were friends, and she was happy to help.
"2000 is probably the wedding gift."
"But where did this one hundred thousand come from?"
"Didn’t need it? Did her family give it to her?"
Tang Xiaowan suddenly realized that whatever she said was futile now. Chen Yu wouldn’t be coming.
