Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Huang Yuanrui looked down at Hu Heng without betraying a thing. Hu Heng scrambled up from the floor in a panic.

He didn’t even have time to set the chair upright before he asked, breathless, “Why are you here?!”

Huang Yuanrui sat down gracefully across from him. “Where do you think I should be?”

Hu Heng pinched himself hard. It hurt. This actually wasn’t a nightmare.

He crouched down, pretending to pick up the chair, and secretly glanced at Huang Yuanrui twice. She was wearing a plain-colored dress, no makeup, and a large piece of gauze was taped to her forehead.

Hu Heng was suddenly overwhelmed with excitement. She wasn’t dead. She was only injured! He had no idea what kind of bizarre mistake had happened in between, but thank God this young life had not vanished from the world. That meant Qin Song wasn’t a murderer either, and he wouldn’t have to keep hiding anymore!

But at the same time, a lingering fear crept up on him. Even if Qin Song wasn’t a murderer, he had still attempted murder. Huang Yuanrui had barely managed to survive. Would she let Qin Song off?

Hu Heng abruptly realized that, under these circumstances, Huang Yuanrui being alive was even more terrifying than if she had died.

Even more terrifying was the fact that Qin Song was about to leave Singapore. He was packing his luggage, preparing to return to the country and then head to Hu Heng’s hometown, Mingdu.

Hu Heng was drowning in regret. If he’d known this would happen, he would have let Qin Song stay overseas a while longer!

Pretending to be calm, he sat down and asked, “It’s so late. May I ask what you need from me?”

Huang Yuanrui snapped her fingers. “Stop pretending. I’m asking you, where is Qin Song?”

Hu Heng waved stiffly. “I don’t know. I’ve been working overtime this whole time.”

Huang Yuanrui shook her head. “You can’t lie at all. I can’t be bothered to waste words with you. I’ll ask you one more time. Where is Qin Song?”

Hu Heng asked guiltily, “What do you want with him?”

Huang Yuanrui leaned forward. “If I’m looking for him, naturally it’s to settle the grudges between us.”

Hu Heng looked at her warily. “I really don’t know where he is.”

Huang Yuanrui lazily leaned back in her chair and exhaled. “Hu Heng, I’m giving you a chance. What happened between Qin Song and me has its own cause and effect. Don’t interfere and don’t get in the way. Besides, you can’t stop it anyway.”

Then she added, “What he needs to bear and face will come sooner or later. You can protect him for a while, but you can’t protect him for a lifetime.”

Hu Heng cleared his throat. “Then call him or go to his place and find him. You two are a couple. I’m an outsider. Why come to me?”

Huang Yuanrui slapped the table in irritation. “I need you to do two things for me. First, don’t tell Qin Song I’m still alive. Pretend you know nothing. Second, tell me where he is.”

Hu Heng was getting angry too. He slapped the table as well. “That trick won’t work on me! I don’t even like you. Why should I do what you say?”

In that instant, something suddenly occurred to Hu Heng. The first time he met Huang Yuanrui, he had felt an inexplicable resistance and disgust toward her.

At first, he thought it was because she was a mistress, and that was why she made him feel that way. Now he suddenly understood. It was actually because, in Huang Yuanrui’s eyes, he had seen the same look his mother Hu Yonglan had.

Yes, in Huang Yuanrui’s large eyes, whose outer corners tilted slightly upward, there flickered the same light as in Hu Yonglan’s.

That gaze was mixed with resentment and obsession, stabbing into Hu Heng’s nerves like a poison-coated needle.

Once he realized this, Hu Heng’s imposing manner was instantly cut down by half without him even noticing.

Huang Yuanrui slowly rose from her chair.

She walked toward Hu Heng and said with a smile, “Hu Heng, do you know? Parents can only raise two kinds of children.”

Hu Heng said nothing.

Huang Yuanrui went on by herself, “One kind becomes just like them. The other becomes their complete opposite.”

Hu Heng’s heart tightened. He thought of himself and Qin Song. Qin Song was just like Qin Zhiyuan, while he was the opposite of Qin Zhiyuan.

So was she hinting at him and Qin Song? But how did she know he and Qin Song were half brothers with the same father? Even Qin Song himself didn’t know that!

Hu Heng raised his head and looked into Huang Yuanrui’s eyes.

She circled his chair with light, slow steps and said, “I actually admire you very much, because you’re the kind of child who becomes the opposite of his parents.”

Hu Heng said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Huang Yuanrui looked at him gently. “You’re a good person. Truly.”

Then she turned to look at the moon outside the window. “I’m different.”

Hu Heng genuinely could no longer understand what she was saying.

Huang Yuanrui sighed. “I really don’t know how your mother, with such a stubborn and obsessive personality, managed to raise such a good child like you.”

Hu Heng’s mind exploded with a boom.

He asked nervously, “How do you know my mother?”

Huang Yuanrui suddenly said, “I’m thirsty. Order me something to drink, will you?”

Hu Heng found it absurd. In such a tense conversation, in such an eerie atmosphere, she actually wanted a drink?

He continued asking, “Tell me right now. How do you know my mother? What exactly are you trying to do?”

Expressionless, Huang Yuanrui repeated, “I’m thirsty. I want something to drink.”

Hu Heng grabbed a random bottle of Coke from the drawer and placed it on the table. “Here.”

Huang Yuanrui glanced at it, then shook her head. “Order delivery for me. I want coffee or fruit tea.”

Suppressing his anger, Hu Heng opened a delivery app on his phone. “Which place?”

Huang Yuanrui propped her chin on her hand. “Any place is fine. Get something sugar-free.”
Hu Heng ordered her a random cup of coffee, then set down his phone. “Can you talk now?”

Huang Yuanrui looked at him as if he were the strange one. “Talk about what? I haven’t even had my drink yet.”

The anger in Hu Heng’s chest nearly flared up again. He took several deep breaths and forced it back down.

Huang Yuanrui stopped talking. She lowered her head, crossed her legs, and started playing on her phone.

Hu Heng jabbed a ballpoint pen against the desk with a constant click, click, click, waiting in torment for the delivery.

There was a photo of him and Hu Yonglan on his desk. The more he looked at it, the more anxious he became.

More than twenty minutes later, the delivery finally arrived.

Huang Yuanrui slowly unwrapped the packaging, stuck in the straw, and took a sip. Her brows twisted together. “So bitter.”

She shoved the coffee aside without a second thought. “Let’s talk business.”

Great. Now she had instantly switched into meeting mode. Hu Heng truly could not understand how Qin Song had ever gotten involved with someone this bizarre.

Huang Yuanrui said seriously, “I was very busy some time ago. I was busy trying to get Qin Song to divorce.”

Just then, a call came in.

Huang Yuanrui glanced at it and answered. “Hello? I’m perfectly safe right now. Come up and get me in ten minutes.”

Hu Heng frowned. “Who are you telling to come up?”

Huang Yuanrui smiled. “Oh, two bodyguards I hired. I was afraid you’d kill me, so hiring bodyguards is reasonable, right? Don’t interrupt. I’m going to continue.”

Hu Heng was stunned.

Huang Yuanrui laced her fingers together. “In order to make Qin Song divorce, I put a lot of effort into dealing with Zhang Qiong and He Qian. But I realized things weren’t as easy as I’d imagined.”

“Someone like Zhang Qiong would still be drooling even after she was cured. He Qian, on the other hand, is quite an interesting woman, but she no longer matters to me now. We won’t talk about her today.”

“I’m very impulsive. Although I make plenty of plans when I do things, plans can never keep up with the changes in my emotions. Several times, I acted on impulse and went straight to the area near Qin Song’s home, intending to knock on He Qian’s door. Fortunately, every time, I restrained myself and didn’t actually knock.”

At this point, Huang Yuanrui smiled mysteriously. “But because of those impulses, I made an unexpected discovery. Do you know what it was?”

Hu Heng looked at her uneasily. “How would I know?”

Huang Yuanrui snapped her fingers. “I saw your mother spying on and following Qin Song’s parents.”

Under the table, Hu Heng’s fists slowly clenched.

Huang Yuanrui gently touched the photo of Hu Heng and Hu Yonglan on his desk. “You really do love your mother. You even keep a picture of her at your workstation.”

“Your esteemed mother must have been a beauty when she was young. Even now that she’s older, she still has the kind of face no one forgets after seeing once.”

Hu Heng was bewildered. “How have you seen the photo on my desk?”

Huang Yuanrui smiled again. “It’s not like you work twenty-four hours a day. I’ve been to your company plenty of times. But I always came with Qin Song in the dead of night. You know how it is.”

Hu Heng said, “My mother is just an ordinary little old lady. How could she spy on or follow anyone? You must have mistaken her for someone else.”

Huang Yuanrui said, “I’m not interested in gossip about my elders, okay? I went to the area near Qin Song’s home several times, and every time I saw your mother wandering around with a camera hanging from her neck. She was the one who walked right under my nose. Once could be a coincidence, but twice? Three times? Four?”

Hu Heng opened his mouth to defend her again, but Huang Yuanrui swiftly cut him off. “That’s not important. We don’t need to argue.”

She picked up the cup of coffee she had just complained was bitter and took another sip. “Qin Song has always lived with his parents, but some time ago, his parents suddenly moved to his younger brother’s place. Did you know about that?”

Hu Heng nodded.

Huang Yuanrui said, “What a coincidence. The day his parents moved was exactly the same day I went to look for He Qian.”

“I originally thought they would get divorced smoothly, but I never expected them to keep dragging it out.”

“Around then, I discovered some things and wanted to tell him as soon as possible. But that cheap dog had blocked me, and I couldn’t reach him no matter what. I even threw away my dignity and went to the amusement park to find him and chase after him. Can you imagine?”

Hu Heng scratched his head. “You’ve said this and that… but what does any of it have to do with my mother?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Have a little patience.”

“After hitting a wall with Qin Song, I got impulsive again. In a moment of heat, I drove straight to the city where his younger brother lived, planning to speak to his parents in person. A woman in her thirties who can’t get pregnant versus a young, beautiful woman in her twenties – I believed they would persuade Qin Song to marry me.”

Hu Heng found it unbelievable. “Don’t you… think you’re being absurd?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Then tell me, when you’re judging the actions of an impulsive person in the middle of an impulsive moment, does it matter whether they’re absurd or not?”

Hu Heng shut his mouth again.

Huang Yuanrui continued, “At first, I waited near Qin Song’s brother’s place. I only knew the general area of his home, not the exact address. By another coincidence, I hadn’t waited long when I saw Qin Song’s parents ride out on a bike. So I drove slowly behind them, thinking about how I should phrase things.”

Hu Heng could somewhat guess what she was about to say next, and all at once, he really wanted to cover his ears.

Huang Yuanrui said, “That was when I saw your mother. Because I’d seen her many times near Qin Song’s home, I recognized her at a glance. I don’t care what old grudges your mother has with Qin Song’s parents, but she kept riding an electric scooter behind them, and that seriously interfered with me.”
“With her following them the whole time, how was I supposed to talk to Qin Song’s parents? That shared e-scooter of hers kept blocking my line of sight. It was driving me insane!”

Hu Heng said quietly, “And then?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Then I saw something I never expected.”

She fell silent for a moment before slowly continuing. “Qin Song’s parents turned a few corners and ended up on a remote, empty road. There wasn’t even a surveillance camera there. I remember it very clearly. At the time, there was only one dump truck rumbling along.”

She gestured across the table with her hand. “Qin Song’s parents were in front. Your mother was in the middle. I was following behind.”

“My car was running low on gas, and I was debating whether to find a gas station, but I was also afraid of losing them, so I was a little distracted.”

“By the time I snapped out of it, your mother’s e-scooter had already sped up like crazy. She went straight for Qin Song’s parents’ bike and rammed toward them.”

Hu Heng’s breathing suddenly grew rapid. He raised a hand and covered his mouth.

Huang Yuanrui spread her hands helplessly. “Hu Heng, every time I think about this, I feel like your mother really is insane. Even more insane than me. An e-scooter crashing into a bicycle – how did she even come up with that? She wasn’t even wearing a helmet. Even if she hit them, both sides would have gone down. What was she trying to accomplish?”

She sighed. “Thank God your mother doesn’t drive a car. Otherwise Qin Song’s father would’ve died even earlier.”

Hu Heng was completely stunned by what he had just heard. He asked tentatively, “Did she… hit them?”

Huang Yuanrui shook her head. “No. The e-scooter was loud, so Qin Song’s father noticed right away. He looked back at your mother, and he looked shocked. Then he pedaled hard to the side and dodged your mother’s e-scooter.”

“But right after that, your mother charged at them again like some crazed moth. Qin Song’s father’s bike didn’t dare stop. He kept pedaling like mad, swerving all over the road in S-curves.”

“By then, the two of them were already very close to that dump truck. I started laying on the horn, but no one heard me. No one paid any attention. That shabby little bike Qin Song’s parents were riding was forced along by your mother’s e-scooter until it shot straight into the dump truck’s blind spot.”

“That driver was honestly the poor bastard in all this. He couldn’t see them and had no time to react. He hit them just like that. I watched with my own eyes as they went flying, bike and all.”

“Your mother was impressive too. She didn’t even slow down. Without the slightest hesitation, she turned that e-scooter around and left.”

“To be honest, I was scared out of my mind back then.”

…

Hu Heng went completely blank.

Huang Yuanrui cleared her throat. “Hello?”

Hu Heng gave no response at all.

Huang Yuanrui said, “I didn’t come here to gossip with you. None of that has anything to do with me. What I want to tell you is that my dashcam recorded the whole thing.”

Hu Heng abruptly lifted his head and stared at her.

Huang Yuanrui shrugged. “His parents only got into that accident because your mother chased them and forced them into it. Too bad there weren’t any cameras on that road. Everyone, including the dump truck driver, thought it was an accident. I’m the only one who knows it was murder.”

She took out her phone, found a video, and held it up in front of Hu Heng. “See for yourself.”

The video was exactly as Huang Yuanrui had described.

Hu Heng shrank weakly back into his chair. “What do you want?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Help me keep this from Qin Song. Help me find Qin Song.”

Hu Heng closed his eyes in pain.

Huang Yuanrui stood up and patted him on the shoulder. “Give your mother a chance, and make things a little easier for me. Why not?”

Hu Heng grabbed a tissue and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Huang Yuanrui glanced up at the clock on the wall. “I’m leaving.”

Hu Heng said quietly, “Wait. Wait…”

Huang Yuanrui sat back down in the chair.

Hu Heng asked carefully, “What are you going to do to Qin Song?”

Huang Yuanrui burst out laughing. “He tried to kill me. I barely made it out alive. Even if I killed him, that wouldn’t be going too far, would it? What do you think?”

Hu Heng sucked in a cold breath. “Are you really going to kill him?”

Huang Yuanrui raised two fingers toward the ceiling. “I promise I won’t kill him.”

Then she lowered her hand again. “Scaring him a little should be okay, though, right? I think I’m being very kind. Don’t you?”

Hu Heng started sweating again. Huang Yuanrui said impatiently, “I’m discussing this with you because I have manners. In reality, you don’t have a choice at all.”

Hu Heng hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’ll find a way to let you see him, but I’m begging you, don’t kill him, okay? Whatever you want, we can talk it over. If you have any demands, you can tell me.”

Huang Yuanrui pointed at the gauze on her forehead. “What other demands do you think I could possibly have?”

“Debts must be paid, and murder must be repaid with a life. That’s only right and proper. And I haven’t even asked him to pay with his life.”

Huang Yuanrui opened her phone. “Add me on WeChat. I’ll be waiting for you to send me his location at any time.”

With trembling hands, Hu Heng picked up his phone and scanned Huang Yuanrui’s QR code.

Huang Yuanrui put her phone into her pocket and looked at Hu Heng seriously. “Send me his location within twenty-four hours. Also, if you let Qin Song find out I’m still alive, I guarantee that by tomorrow, your mother will have a shiny new pair of silver bracelets on her wrists.”

She pulled open the office door, then looked back and added, “I have plenty of ways to keep an eye on you. You’d better not gamble with your mother’s remaining years.”