Chapter 302
Chapter 302
Dinner was ready.
Lin Yin called us to the table.
Her mood was clearly very different from that afternoon.
She was nervous, conflicted, and distracted.
We had all seen her throw away the bottle on the camera. But even if she had not, and had actually poured its contents into the pot, we would not have been poisoned.
Anning had already replaced the potassium cyanide with sugar.
“Xiao Yin, why are you so distracted?” I put two bites of food into my mouth and asked with a smile.
“What?” She looked at me uneasily and forced a smile. “I’m not. I’m not distracted.”
Seventh Master smiled. “Xiao Yin, you’ve worked hard lately. Not only have we taken up your time, but we’ve troubled you to look after our meals and daily needs. Once our business here is finished, come visit Lanjiang City. We’ll treat you properly in return.”
Lin Yin stared blankly at us, her eyes suddenly turning red. “Seventh Master, actually… actually, I…”
Seventh Master asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something you want to tell us?”
Lin Yin nodded and drew a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you. Actually…”
Before she could finish, Seventh Master suddenly slid from his chair and collapsed unconscious on the floor.
“Se… Seventh Master!”
“What’s wrong?”
We all leaped to our feet.
Then Anning fell.
Meng Yifan followed, and then Song Xiaotian.
Lin Yin stared at the scene with wide, beautiful eyes. “How… how could… How is this possible?”
She probably could not understand why we had been poisoned when she had already thrown the bottle away.
Clutching my stomach, I pointed at her and feigned an expression of agony. “The food… was poisoned!”
Then I collapsed too. The space was narrow, and I accidentally landed on Anning’s chest.
I swear it was not intentional.
Anning was remarkably good at enduring it. She did not make a sound.
Soon, I heard Lin Yin break down in tears.
“How? How could this happen?”
“I didn’t poison you! I didn’t!”
She rushed over and shook me repeatedly. “Chen Mo! Chen Mo, wake up!”
She extended a finger to check my breathing, so I quickly held my breath and played dead.
Her finger soon jerked away, and she cried out again.
“No! I didn’t do it!”
“I didn’t poison you! How could this happen?”
The girl was far too timid.
All she had to do was check my heartbeat to know whether I was dead.
But she had probably been terrified senseless and did nothing but cry.
Soon, I heard her open her handbag, presumably to call Lin Jinhua.
“Dad… Chen Mo and the others are dead…”
“I don’t know…”
“I really don’t know… They’re all dead. What should I do?”
Lin Yin spoke through her sobs, already almost incoherent.
I could not hear what Lin Jinhua said over the phone. But after Lin Yin told him we were all dead, I faintly heard him say he would arrive immediately.
After the call ended, Lin Yin continued sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
The girl was still too kind.
She had been unable to poison us, even though refusing meant defying Lin Jinhua.
When she saw us collapse, she lost all reason. That was enough to prove the kindness deep within her heart made her incapable of such dirty work.
Before long, several sets of footsteps sounded outside.
The door opened moments later, and people entered.
“Dad!” Lin Yin ran toward him, crying.
I soon heard Lin Jinhua comforting her. “It’s all right. You did nothing wrong. We did this for our family, for our closest kin. Your mother died young, and only the three of us remain. If your brother dies too, our family will fall apart.”
“Xiao Yin, you don’t need to blame yourself. The Lin family has performed so many good deeds. The gods will forgive us.”
“If there is sin, let me bear it!”
Still crying, Lin Yin said, “But… but I didn’t poison them. I don’t know who did.”
Her words startled Lin Jinhua. “What did you say? You didn’t poison them? Then how could they…”
“Assistant He, go check!”
The moment Lin Jinhua finished, footsteps approached me.
Before Assistant He could reach me, Song Xiaotian’s eyes flew open, and he sprang from the floor.
Bracing one hand on the table, he launched into the air and kicked Assistant He.
The kick landed squarely. Assistant He screamed and went flying.
“You… you…”
“Lin Jinhua! You’ve got some nerve!”
Song Xiaotian roared and charged forward again.
At the same time, the rest of us rose from the floor and stared coldly at Lin Jinhua.
Lin Jinhua had brought several personal Bodyguards, probably to help dispose of our bodies.
When Song Xiaotian attacked, they immediately moved to stop him.
But who could stop Song Xiaotian? In only a few moves, he knocked one Bodyguard unconscious and kicked the others flying.
Realizing the situation was hopeless, Lin Jinhua turned to flee.
Seventh Master darted forward to block the door, raised his hand, and struck him with a backhanded slap.
Smack!
The blow sent Lin Jinhua staggering backward several steps. Holding his cheek, he stared blankly at Seventh Master.
“Boss Lin, you certainly perform plenty of ‘good deeds.’ Are you disappointed we weren’t poisoned?”
Seventh Master looked at him coldly, utterly disillusioned.
Meng Yifan and Anning drew the living room curtains. Seventh Master shut the front door as well, preventing Lin Jinhua’s escape.
Lin Yin stared at us in shock, apparently unable to understand what had happened.
I pulled her aside and said calmly, “This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it. You’re a good person, but your father isn’t. If he had truly killed us, then added the seven victims of the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange, he would have murdered twelve people.”
“He has no right to take anyone’s life!”
Lin Yin had been terrified senseless. She stood there blankly, then crouched on the floor and trembled.
Lin Jinhua was an intelligent man. One look at the scene told him we had exposed his scheme.
But instead of showing shame, he flew into a rage from humiliation. “Do you think I want this? Do you think I want to do it? My son is dying! Do you understand? He’s dying! Do any of you understand?”
“Like hell I do!” Seventh Master pointed at Lin Jinhua’s nose and cursed. “Your son’s life is a life. What about ours? Do our lives mean nothing?”
“Lin Jinhua, you’ve disappointed me beyond belief! When Chen Mo and the others suspected you, I defended you. I said you would never do anything evil, that you were a great philanthropist. And what did you do? You not only planned to kill people for Life Extension, you targeted us too. You even targeted me!”