Chapter 100

Chapter 100

What I saw last night really wasn’t without reason.

When I saw that security guard in the middle of the night, he was already dead.

At the time, he was soaking wet, which corresponded to how he died. He had drowned in the river, which was why he was covered in water stains.

Afterward, he guided me to the edge of the pond and showed me the corpse in the water. He was telling me that his body was still in the river.

He was leaving me clues…

I carefully recalled the state of the corpse when I saw it. At the time, the face had been covered by lotus leaves; it was only after they drifted apart that I saw his face.

That face… it was very red.

A person who dies by drowning should have a very pale face.

Under what circumstances would a face be red?

Alcohol?

Meng Yifan and I often have to accompany clients for drinks because of work, but both of us are the type whose faces flush easily. One drink and our faces turn as red as a monkey’s butt.

Could it be that the security guard had been drinking and then accidentally fell into the river and drowned?

No.

He was definitely murdered.

Drowning might be caused by a drunken slip, but being drunk doesn’t necessarily lead to drowning.

There are no such coincidences in this world. I had just gone looking for him yesterday, and he ended up drunk and drowned that very night.

I suspect that if someone pushed him into the river while he was drunk, he would still appear to have died from drowning. No one would suspect that someone had given him a shove before he fell in.

Besides, he never went home after finishing his shift last night, so no one knows who he was drinking with.

This was a vital lead.

“Dad, did you know this security guard?” I asked.

My dad paused. “Of course I did. His surname was Wang. He’d worked at the factory for four or five years. We saw each other all the time.”

“Then who was he usually close with? Who did he often go drinking with?” I asked again.

My dad shook his head. “How would I know that? Knowing someone is one thing, but we were just on greeting terms. As for who he was close with, I have no idea.”

Meng Yifan suddenly remembered something and asked, “Uncle, isn’t your alcohol tolerance great? You must have drank with them plenty of times. Among all of you, who else has a particularly high tolerance?”

My dad said, “Anyone who can sit at the same table as me and Old Huang doesn’t have a poor tolerance. Even if they started out bad, they’d have to practice until they were good. Everyone’s a heavy hitter.”

I understood what my dad meant. He was the manager of the finance department, after all, and a friend of the factory director. If someone sat at the same table as him and the director and couldn’t drink, wouldn’t they be the odd one out?

“Wait a minute, why are you asking so many questions?”

My dad looked at us suspiciously. “I get the feeling you’re hiding something from me. That phone call first thing this morning was strange, too. What exactly is going on?”

I pulled my dad aside, my expression turning serious. “Things aren’t right at your factory. I can’t explain it clearly to you, but you have to trust your son. I’m telling you not to come to the factory lately for your own good. Hurry up and take some leave so you can come back with me.”

He looked stunned. “Tell me exactly what’s happening. Your Uncle Huang and I are friends. If something really happened at the factory, how could I just walk away? Besides, with my position, do you think I can just take leave whenever I want? How would I explain that to your Uncle Huang?”

To be honest.

If he weren’t my father, I would have been tempted to slap some sense into him.

We’re family, yet there’s no trust. I was worried about his safety, and he was actually worried about the factory.

Meng Yifan and I exchanged a look. We immediately grabbed my dad from both sides, preparing to take him away by force.
“What are you doing! Have you no respect?”

“What is wrong with you two? You’d better explain yourselves right now!”

Once we were in the car, I slammed the door shut and told Meng Yifan to lock them all.

“Uncle, just listen to Chen Mo,” Meng Yifan urged. “Your own son wouldn’t try to hurt you, would he?”

I took a moment to collect my thoughts, then looked my father in the eye. “I’ll give it to you straight. I had a girlfriend named Fang Man. She was a sensible, wonderful girl who treated me well. But a while ago, she was murdered. Someone drove a car right into her while I watched! She died right before my eyes!”

“I’ve been trying to find out who killed her. Yesterday, I discovered that the killer is the same person who stole Wang Hua’s motorcycle. And that security guard-the one named Wang you just mentioned-he knew who stole that bike. Which means he knew exactly who killed my girlfriend!”

“I went to see him yesterday during the day, and then he turns up dead that very night. Do you really think that’s a coincidence?”

“If the killer finds out you’re my father, you’ll be in danger. Staying at that factory puts you at risk every single second. You’ll end up just like that security guard. Do you understand?”

I grew more agitated as I spoke.

I was on the verge of grabbing my father by the collar to make him listen. By the time I finished, I was shaking. My father looked utterly shocked, rendered speechless for a long time.

I knew that dumping all of this on him at once would be difficult to process.

The atmosphere in the car turned heavy and stifling. None of us said a word.

After a long silence, perhaps out of shock, my father suddenly asked a somewhat unexpected question.

“Did you love her very much… that girl, Fang Man?”

“Of course he did, Uncle,”

Meng Yifan couldn’t help but answer for me. “Chen Mo was planning to propose to Fang Man next year. Then this happened. It hit him incredibly hard. He’s just terrified of something happening to you, too.”

“We’ve gone through hell trying to track this person down.”

My father seemed to lose himself for a moment, his expression dazed.

He wiped his face and sighed. “Didn’t your grandfather tell you not to date? Why didn’t you listen to him?”

My eyes welled up instantly, and my voice cracked. “I regret it too. I wish I’d listened to Grandpa. I wouldn’t have ended up ruining the life of a perfectly good girl.”

“But she’s gone now. Regret won’t bring her back. All I can do is find the person who killed her and get her the justice she deserves.”

My father nodded slowly. “I’ll stay home. I’ll ask Old Huang for some time off and stay away from the factory for a while.”

Relief finally washed over me at his words.

On the drive back to his place, he didn’t say another word. He actually fell asleep.

I knew his job was usually exhausting, so I figured this would be a good time for him to get some rest.

When we arrived at his apartment building, I woke him up.

After he got out of the car, I told him to go inside and warned him not to mention any of this to Grandpa, as I didn’t want to worry the old man.

My father suddenly grabbed my arm, looking as if he had something more to say.

“Chen Mo… why don’t we just let it go? We’re just ordinary people. There are some things we just can’t handle.”

“I was thinking just now… I’ve saved up a decent amount of money over the years. It doesn’t matter if I work or not. Let’s move. We can go to another city-anywhere you want.”

“If you want a girlfriend, you can find another one somewhere else. I’ll talk to your grandfather about it. After all, we can’t let the Chen family line end with you.”

“Think about what I’ve said. If you decide where you want to go, we’ll leave this city as soon as possible.”