Chapter 106

Chapter 106

“What are you saying!”

Meng Yifan’s eyes widened. “Your father killed Fang Man? Do you even know what you’re saying!”

I was beyond words. I felt as if the entire sky had collapsed on me.

More than Meng Yifan, I was the one who desperately wanted this to be a lie.

But of the many clues I had gathered, every single one pointed toward one person: my father, Chen Guowen.

“What he’s saying is true.”

Song Xiaotian spoke without expression. “The one who hired the killer to take Xiaoman’s life was Chen Guowen.”

Meng Yifan grew agitated. “On what grounds? Why would you say it’s Uncle Chen? What evidence do you have?”

Song Xiaotian pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to us. “Yesterday, when you gave me that list of names, I asked Chen Mo if he was sure all the suspects were on it. At that moment, I already knew it was Chen Guowen.”

“But I didn’t have concrete proof. So, when I went to investigate, I didn’t check the people on the list at all. I went straight for Chen Guowen’s accounts. I found that on the day Wang Shujun died, he went to an ATM and withdrew ten thousand yuan. Exactly ten thousand.”

This paper clearly recorded the withdrawal of that ten thousand yuan. The account belonged to my father; the name on it was my father’s.

Meng Yifan gripped the paper, stunned. Like me, he couldn’t believe it. He simply couldn’t.

“How could it be him? He’s clearly such a good man… how could it be him!”

“Why would he want to kill Fang Man? Even if those things in the past were his doing, even if he was the one who hired Lv Zhengxian, why would he kill Fang Man?”

“And why did he do those things in the past?”

“He’s such a decent man-even my dad said he was a good person. He’s killed so many people… what on earth is he trying to do!”

As Meng Yifan spoke, his eyes began to redden.

Song Xiaotian took a deep breath and said, “When Xiaoman died, I initially suspected Du Ruhai. But he acted so innocent that I started to wonder if I had wronged him.”

“Later, I got a lead that the prime suspect had been hired to kill her. But think about it-why would the prime suspect want Xiaoman dead? What grudge could he possibly have against her? Xiaoman was innocent. He could only have been targeting Chen Mo. But if he was targeting Chen Mo, why did he come to pick Chen Mo up when you guys went to Du Ruhai’s villa?”

“The fact is, he had no reason to kill Xiaoman. He would never have killed her for no reason unless someone told him to do it.”

Meng Yifan clutched his hair, a sudden realization hitting him. “It was Du Ruhai. Du Ruhai made Uncle Chen kill Xiaoman. He knew Chen Mo was Uncle Chen’s son, so he intentionally made Uncle Chen do it.”

“But why would Uncle Chen listen to that animal! Didn’t he know Fang Man was Chen Mo’s girlfriend? Even if he didn’t, it’s a human life! How could he do such a thing!”

“Blackmail,” Song Xiaotian said. “Du Ruhai must have threatened Chen Guowen. If Chen Guowen didn’t do it, he would tell Chen Mo everything Chen Guowen had done back then.”

“That lunatic! That beast!” Meng Yifan slammed a fist against a tree. “Fuck him!”

Just then, a black BMW drove up.

Several people got out of the car and walked straight toward us.

They were all dressed in black suits. We had seen two of them before; they were Du Ruhai’s Bodyguards.

Song Xiaotian looked at them coldly and barked, “Stop right there. Take another step and I’ll cripple you.”

“Don’t be so excited.” One of the Bodyguards smiled slightly and pulled a USB from his pocket. “President Du asked me to give this to you. He told me to pass a message to Mr. Chen and Mr. Meng. He said that although you rejected his deal, he is still willing to offer a great gift. Inside this USB is something you’ll be very interested in.”
Song Xiaotian took the USB drive and said coldly, “Get lost. I don’t want to see your faces.”

“Okay, we’re going. Heh!”

The bodyguards turned and got into their car, making no further attempt to provoke us.

“What’s on the USB?” Meng Yifan asked.

“We’ll know once we look at it.”

Song Xiaotian pulled me up directly, dragging me into the car like a puppet.

The car headed toward the office. I didn’t say a single word the entire way.

My mind was filled with images of my father: the image of him cutting out Li Xiumei’s tongue, the image of him pushing Wang Shujun into the river, and the image of him plastering Li Xiumei into the wall.

I had never imagined that the father I had always respected so deeply could be such a person.

I knew my father was finished.

The car soon arrived at the office. Only Xie Peng was inside.

“Xiao Xie, go grab some food before you come back.”

Meng Yifan sent Xie Peng away and plugged the USB drive directly into the computer tower.

There was a single video on the drive. When it opened, my father appeared on the screen.

The entire frame showed only my father. He was talking to someone else, but that person didn’t appear on camera; the video had clearly been edited.

“It’s been fifteen years. Didn’t we agree never to see each other again?”

In the video, my father’s eyes were fixed on the other person, his expression extremely complex.

The other person spoke quickly, and we recognized the voice immediately-it was Du Ruhai.

“Brother Wen, it’s been fifteen years. Of course I missed you. Look at me now, look at how successful I am. It’s all thanks to you, hahaha!”

My father replied, “There’s no need for us to meet.”

Du Ruhai countered, “No, no, no, it’s very necessary. Your son is investigating us right now. He’s truly Chen Guowen’s son-just as smart as you. Guess what? He actually managed to track me down, hahaha!”

My father asked, “What do you want?”

Du Ruhai said, “Brother Wen, without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m a man who pays back his debts of gratitude. You gave me a brand-new future, so I have to return the favor.

“Kill someone for me, and I’ll give you money. A lot of money. Houses, cars-whatever you want. As your younger brother, I’ll never treat you unfairly.”

My father snapped, “Impossible! I’ve never killed anyone, and I won’t kill for you! Don’t look for me. Don’t ever look for me again!”

Then came the sound of Du Ruhai’s raucous laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest thing in the world.

“You’ve never killed anyone? You weren’t so virtuous back when you were trying to save your son. You might not have killed anyone with your own hands, but you paid to hire… what was that Lü guy’s name again? And that Li Yujiao. You had them kill for you. Seven people, Chen Guowen. What, are you going to deny it now?”

My father grew furious, his eyes turning bloodshot. “What exactly do you want!”

Du Ruhai said, “Once certain things are done, they can’t be erased. I hope you understand that.”

My father grit his teeth. “You’re the murderer. You dare use this to threaten me? At worst, we’ll go down together. Everything you have now will turn to nothing!”

Du Ruhai laughed wildly. “Your son wanted to use this to threaten me too, but I suggest you both go flip through the criminal code. See which article can convict me. See who can actually judge me.

“You, on the other hand, are different. If I told your son that his father ruined seven lives just to save him back then… how touched do you think your son would be?”