Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Song Xiaotian’s ability to think on his feet was nothing short of incredible.
In such a short span of time, he had to reorganize the clues, get inside Pan Xiaorou’s head, manipulate her state of mind, and fabricate a lie that was both reasonable and logical.
From beginning to end, he never once asked who Pan Xiaorou had sent to kill Tao Xiaoyu, nor did he mention what relationship that scapegoat-Meng Yifan-had with us.
He was guiding Pan Xiaorou into saving Meng Yifan.
Pan Xiaorou fell silent for quite a while, then stared straight at Song Xiaotian again. “That scapegoat… is he a friend of yours?”
Song Xiaotian remained perfectly calm and shook his head. “I don’t know him. But I’ve looked into him. Speaking of which, he and you are in the same boat in a way. His girlfriend was Tao Xiaoyu-your husband’s mistress.”
“We don’t care whether this man is innocent or not. What we care about is that if the police use him as a scapegoat, you won’t be able to pressure them anymore, and you won’t be able to put Du Yunting on the back foot.”
“If you want Du Yunting on the back foot, you have to get this scapegoat out first.”
Pan Xiaorou sank into thought. She folded her arms over her chest, leaned back against the sofa, then looked up and said, “How am I supposed to get him out? If he can be used as a scapegoat, that means he’s a major suspect. What can I use to save him?”
“This.” Song Xiaotian took out his phone and played that surveillance video for Pan Xiaorou.
I noticed that when Pan Xiaorou saw Du Yunting enter the villa, her fist clenched involuntarily.
That tiny movement clearly showed her hatred toward Du Yunting for killing Xiang Kai.
But wasn’t the person she sent also there to kill Xiang Kai?
Was her husband someone only she was allowed to kill, and no one else?
After the video finished, Song Xiaotian said, “You can use this surveillance footage to get that scapegoat out. At the same time, tell the police you’ve watched all the surveillance footage, then pressure them into releasing him and arresting the real killer.”
“The day before the bidding, keep applying pressure and force the police to detain Du Yunting for at least twenty-four hours. That way, he won’t be able to attend the bidding the next day.”
Song Xiaotian’s scheme was simply brilliant. Even I couldn’t help wanting to praise him.
After thinking it over for a moment, Pan Xiaorou stood up and gave us a seductive smile. “A pleasure doing business with you.”
“A pleasure!” Song Xiaotian hurriedly got to his feet.
“And how should I address you two?”
“Song Xiaotian.”
“Chen Mo.”
After that, we sent the video to Pan Xiaorou and exchanged contact information.
Before we left, for some reason, Song Xiaotian suddenly went over to Pan Xiaorou again, gently brushed her hair, and grinned. “President Pan, you’re single now too. How about considering me?”
Pan Xiaorou’s face flushed bright red, like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl being teased. She raised her hand and slapped Song Xiaotian across the face. “You hooligan!”
The slap rang out so loudly that I was left dumbstruck.
I thought to myself, I’d never noticed it before, but since when was Song Xiaotian such a flirt?
After taking that slap, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he chuckled. “No rush. You’ll be my woman sooner or later!”
With that, he turned and left.
Only after we came out of the elevator did I finally lose it and scold him. “If you want to flirt, then flirt. Why do you have to act like a pervert? That was way too crude.”
Song Xiaotian glared at me. “Pervert, my ass! With a woman like that, if you don’t control her, she’ll control you. Didn’t you notice she wasn’t sad at all after her husband died?”
I said I had noticed.
“Her husband just died, yet all she cares about is securing her position as chairwoman. That shows this woman is ruthless enough.”
Song Xiaotian said, “At the very least, we’re not at a disadvantage right now. Only once we have the upper hand can we guide her into getting Meng Yifan out.”
“Aren’t you curious why I never asked her who the person she sent was?”
I said, “If you had asked, your motive would’ve been too obvious. She definitely would’ve gotten suspicious and connected your question to saving Meng Yifan. In a negotiation, exposing what you want is the same as exposing your weakness. She’d turn around and use it to control you.”
“Smart!” Song Xiaotian chuckled. “Thank god it was Meng Yifan who got caught. If it had been you, with that pig brain of his, you’d probably never get out in this lifetime.”
I thought to myself, Good thing Meng Yifan isn’t here, or he’d be furious enough to drop dead.
After we got in the car, I told Song Xiaotian about the details I’d noticed earlier. “Since Pan Xiaorou doesn’t have feelings for her husband anymore, why did she seem emotionally affected when she watched the video just now? It looked like she hated Du Yunting.”
Song Xiaotian thought for a moment and said, “I’ve never been married, but from the many criminals I’ve seen, in cases where a wife kills her husband or a husband kills his wife, after the murder, they usually regret it. They regret killing the person who used to sleep beside them.”
“Isn’t there a saying? A lover is someone who wants to kill you one second, but the next second, they’ll still go downstairs to buy you breakfast.”
“Pan Xiaorou met Xiang Kai back in college. Their relationship had a very deep foundation. Even if that relationship changed one day, the habits and the beautiful memories would still be there. The two of them could hurt each other, but they would never allow an outsider to hurt the other person.”
I nodded. It seemed there were some things you had to be married to understand.
“This is also beneficial to us,” Song Xiaotian said. “Since Pan Xiaorou hates Du Yunting, it will make our cooperation more stable. With Pan Xiaorou helping us, our odds are much better than if we tried to rescue Meng Yifan on our own.”
That night, after we returned home, I called Seventh Master and explained the situation.
When Seventh Master heard about it, he was delighted. He also said Song Xiaotian was damn impressive.
I went downstairs and brought back a case of beer.
When men are under pressure, it’s either cigarettes or alcohol. Hookers have nothing to do with us.
But before Song Xiaotian and I could start drinking, his phone rang. It was Pan Xiaorou calling.
“Damn, why is she calling me at this hour?” Song Xiaotian looked at me.
I teased, “Maybe she’s come around and wants to let you have her.”
Song Xiaotian said, “Get lost!”
He hit the answer button, his voice extremely deep. “President Pan, what can I do for you?”
Pan Xiaorou’s trembling voice came through the phone. “Where are you? Can you come to my house?”
Song Xiaotian and I stared at each other.
Holy shit!
Was she that desperate?
Song Xiaotian hurriedly said, “No, President Pan, what’s going on? Did something happen over there?”
Pan Xiaorou seemed to be deliberately lowering her voice, as if it wasn’t convenient for her to speak. “I don’t know how to explain this to you. I… I saw my husband.”
Both of our eyes widened again.
Song Xiaotian’s voice also trembled. “President Pan, don’t joke about that in the middle of the night. Your husband is dead!”
Pan Xiaorou said, “I’m serious. Hurry over. I’m scared…”
After hanging up, Song Xiaotian’s hair looked like it was about to stand on end. “C-c-call Seventh Master, quick. Xiang Kai might have come back as a ghost.”