The deceased was a prostitute...
She had drowned in the swimming pool of a five-star luxury hotel. At the time, the pool was empty. This woman, named Xing Meng, had a confrontation with Gao Ziyan, after which both entered the pool area. The surveillance cameras only captured Gao Ziyan leaving. When the staff were preparing for business, they discovered the drowned female body in the pool and subsequently reported it to the police.
"Has the lawyer met with Gao Ziyan?" I asked, after understanding the general situation.
"Yes, they have!"
"What did she say?"
"It is indeed related to President Gao."
"What happened?"
"The reason for the dispute was that this woman was looking for Chen Jiwen's room, claiming Chen Jiwen had called her. President Gao was a bit angry and scolded the woman, telling her to leave. The daughter refused and argued with President Gao in the lobby."
"And then?"
"President Gao did not want to get involved with such a woman, so she decided to give the prostitute some money to make her leave. As it involved cash and Chen Jiwen's reputation, President Gao specifically chose an area without cameras and one that had not yet opened for business. As a result, the prostitute, believing President Gao to be Chen Jiwen's wife, attempted to extort her. President Gao was very angry and threw a wad of cash, about ten thousand yuan, into the water before leaving."
"The woman went to pick up the money and drowned in the water?"
"That's likely what happened."
"One last question?"
"Please ask."
"Who is Chen Jiwen?"
"He's a member of our team, primarily responsible for financial matters."
"Did he summon a woman while he was staying at the hotel?"
Qin Sisi looked helpless. "That's the problem, Chen Jiwen has no idea about this matter."
"You mean, this was a setup, where the woman was deliberately made to argue with Gao Ziyan, and then, when Gao Ziyan left, she was killed in the pool to frame Gao Ziyan."
"Yes!"
"Thank you, Sister Sisi."
"You're welcome. Do you have any thoughts?"
I didn't immediately answer Qin Sisi's question, but pondered for a while before continuing, "How much do you know about Gao Ziyan?"
"She is decisive, efficient, courageous, responsible, and possesses unique leadership wisdom. She is a rare management talent."
"Anything else?"
"She likes you very much."
"What?"
"To be blunt, Gao Ziyan is still a young girl. It's a miracle that she can withstand unimaginable mental pressure. Her strength lies in this; like a girl next door, she has someone she secretly admires. When she feels stressed, she looks at your photos."
"My photos?"
"Yes. Among the whole team, I'm the only one who knows about this."
That wasn't what I wanted to say. Based on my understanding of Gao Ziyan, she was a woman with absolute leadership. She would definitely know whether her subordinate, this Chen Jiwen, had indeed summoned a woman. If it were her, she would have been able to confirm that this woman was not sent by Chen Jiwen.
Even so, Gao Ziyan still interacted with this prostitute and led her to a place without cameras. From a conventional perspective, Gao Ziyan did nothing wrong. Having grown up in Hong Kong, there were countless paparazzi eager to capture the private lives of wealthy heirs. Maintaining privacy was an essential part of life for those from prominent families.
However, the location was Beijing, and it was a five-star hotel. It was highly unusual for a prostitute to be able to enter a five-star hotel so casually.
Therefore, Gao Ziyan must have realized that this was a trap set for her.
The problem was that she could have easily avoided it, yet she willingly fell into someone's scheme.
Now, Qin Sisi revealed the secret of Gao Ziyan's affection for me, and my mind suddenly cleared. Since I left Hong Kong, I had no contact with Gao Ziyan.
If Gao Ziyan encountered difficulties in Hong Kong, she would have had many resources. If she was in trouble in Beijing, she would have been all alone, and worse, many people would have wanted to keep her in Beijing. However, Gao Ziyan had one more support, and that support was me.
If this had been a few days ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to help Gao Ziyan. But fate is strange. Gao Ziyan did not know that I had suffered a severe mental blow. And she had only done what she wanted to do. Now, one could only say that fate was very kind to Gao Ziyan; I had recovered just these past few days.
...
Seeing my silence, Qin Sisi sighed, "Tang Nan, please don't feel burdened by this. It's normal for others to like you; even if you're married, it doesn't stop them from having feelings, does it? Moreover, I believe President Gao has her own sense of proportion. She's just under too much psychological pressure now, seeking a mental refuge. Once she gets through this period and firmly establishes herself as the head of the Gao family, she will gradually forget about you."
"Will she?"
"Of course."
Listening to Qin Sisi talk about Gao Ziyan, I felt a sense of an older sister speaking about a younger one. It was evident that over the past year, as the closest person to Gao Ziyan, Qin Sisi had been impressed by Gao Ziyan's character. This admiration wasn't submission; it was like meeting someone you truly connected with, someone you'd treat as family, regardless of any deeper relationship.
This was the charm of Gao Ziyan.
...
"After arriving in Beijing, I will not see Gao Ziyan."
"Why?"
"Your team will continue to handle Gao Ziyan's affairs, while I will deal with the person who truly wants to keep Gao Ziyan here."
"Who is that?"
"Wang Ren."
Qin Sisi pursed her lips. It was because of Wang Ren's name that she had traveled all the way to the Northeast to find me. Upon hearing my plan, she nodded in agreement.
"Then let's split up. I'll wait for you to employ the strategy of 'Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'."
...
Although we traveled by private jet, by the time we returned and arrived in Beijing, it was already dinnertime. I took a taxi to Wang Ren's house, having bought a few boxes of high-end tea as a New Year's gift on the way.
Knock, knock...
The door was opened by Jiang Kexin. She was unaware of the conflict between me and her mother. Upon seeing me, her face lit up with joy.
"Tang Nan, you're here!"
"Is Uncle-Master home?"
"Yes!"
After Jiang Kexin finished speaking, she turned and called into the house, "Mom, Tang Nan is here."
...
Wang Ren emerged from the house. Her eyes showed a flicker of surprise, which quickly vanished. As usual, she said gently, "You've arrived!"
"I wasn't feeling well during the New Year, so I didn't call to wish you a happy new year. Now that I'm in Beijing, I've come immediately to ask for your forgiveness."
"Don't be silly. Let me see what gifts you've brought?"
I handed her the tea. Wang Ren looked at the description and smiled, "Not bad. Be careful, go and brew a cup of tea, use the new tea that your Brother Tang Nan bought."
"Right away!"
...
Once Jiang Kexin left, Wang Ren got straight to the point, "How did you remove what was inside your heart?"
"I spent months intensely studying psychology."
"With just a few months of knowledge?"
"The new wave replaces the old, each wave stronger than the last. When Li Jiu insisted that I become the successor to the Fifty-Sixth generation of The Schemer, wasn't it because of my extraordinary innate talent?"
Wang Ren scoffed. "That was because Old Jiu felt that The Schemer was becoming out of touch with reality, deviating from society. Remember what I told you when we first met?"
"Uncle-Master said that criminals with high intelligence often lack real-life experience."
"Exactly. Old Jiu also realized this, which is why he wholeheartedly devised the scheme for you to become the Fifty-Sixth generation of The Schemer."
"Doesn't that further prove that ordinary people like me are qualified to be the most perfect Schemer?"
Hearing me say this, Master Wang Ren gave a bitter smile. "I thought so at first, but I don't think so anymore. You are too indecisive, too brainwashed by the 'truth, goodness, and beauty' of society. The best way to deal with real criminals is not to guide them gently, but to eliminate them directly."
"That's too cruel."
"Cruelty is human nature; it's part of the law of the jungle."
Seeing Wang Ren's determined expression, I smiled helplessly. "Uncle-Master, have you ever considered that everything you're doing is wrong?"
"No."
"Then why did Wang Zeyì sacrifice his life to draw the 'Southern Faction' out of the darkness?"
"After Cui Fang died, Wang Zeyì's heart changed. He began to doubt his own beliefs, and his punishment for bad people became less clear-cut. To put it bluntly, he was acting on emotion."
"He acted on emotion, but he was doing it for your own good, to prevent your reputation from being tarnished in your later years."
"Reputation is merely fleeting."
"Uncle-Master, you don't care about reputation and are firm in your beliefs. But have you considered that society is changing, and your methods are outdated?"
"Nonsense, evil people must be punished. This is a truth verified over thousands of years."
"I know I can't convince you. How about this, let's make a bet?"
"A bet? On what?"