Chapter 74

Editor: chesnutwhale

It was only after being pinched to the point of breaking out in a cold sweat that Nie Yuantong was able to join in Zhou Xu and Ke Tur’s plan..

After Nie Yuantong joined, Zhou Xu realized that he had missed out on a lot of this world’s knowledge. However, Nie Yuantong was not the same. He specialized in economics and finance, and understood not only its various operations and norms very well, but also its flaws. To state it simply, his participation was very beneficial for Zhou Xu.

Nie Yuantong’s participation also caused Zhou Xu’s actions to become faster. However, there was one difficult aspect of the plan. And that was the need for Zhou Qiang to sign several documents in front of four lawyers.

Zhou Xu did not plan on finding lawyers he knew. That way, even if something went wrong, they would still have witnesses.

Zhou Xu thought for a while, and his furrowed eyebrows smoothened out as he found a solution.

To be honest, Zhou Xu could forge the documents. He was not afraid of Zhou Qiang, however, he afraid of Zhou Qiang’s teacher, Wen Zhuyao, as he might come to look for trouble.

Wen Zhuyao was also Nie Yuantong’s teacher, and he was even more knowledgeable of financial and economic affairs.

However, Zhou Qiang had always had one weakness. It was Ke Tur. Even if he was ready to divorce her, Ke Tur could still be considered his weakness.

The only point Zhou Xu needed to pay attention to and prepare for was that when Zhou Qiang signed the documents, he wasn’t in the mood to look at the documents nor pay attention to his words.

Zhou Xu worked at the head office while Zhou Xueli worked at a small branch of Zhou conglomerate as the manager of a small department. The two actually did not meet that much.

This kind of quiet life gave Zhou Xueli peace of mind, because he found that he did not actually have any high ambitions nor any particular talents. He even felt that he was better suited to have been born into a civilian family.

Besides, in this life, he hadn’t died. Before his rebirth, while in his third year of college, he’d already been sold to a nightclub by Zhou Xu, and later died in the streets.

To be able to live such an ordinary life and not provoke Zhou Xu, Zhou Xueli felt at ease.

However, just after he thought he might live like that for the rest of this life, he met Wen Chan again, or rather, Wen Chan found him.

That day after work, per his routine, Zhou Xueli locked the door of the office before walking out of the company. Not long after, he saw Wen Chan waiting at the door.

After a few years apart, Wen Chen had become even more beautiful, but had become less inclined to smile. However, as soon as the former saw Zhou Xueli, she showed a smile. Her solemn appearance added a mature vibe to her beauty.

Surprised, Zhou Xueli asked, “Xiao Chan? You’re back?”

The corners of Wen Chan’s lips rose, her smile soft and gentle, “En, so I came to see you.”

Wen Chan’s voice was still very sweet, making Zhou Xueli’s calm heart once again beat restlessly.

“Xiao Chan, that year, I. . .It was all because I wasn’t good enough, I couldn’t protect you.”

“It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. Now that I have given birth, I understand.”

Zhou Xueli was surprised. “You’re married?”

Nodding, then shaking her head, Wen Chan said, “Married, then divorced. My dad definitely hasn’t told you, right?”

“No, I didn’t know anything about it.” Zhou Xueli’s face was still full of disbelief. He’d thought the reason for Wen Chan’s reappearance was to rekindle their previous relationship. He did not think that she already had children.

“It’s as I suspected. Xueli, let’s go eat together, I want to chat with you.”

Perhaps it was because the sun was too bright, she wore dark glasses. However, she put on a mask as well.

“Sure.”

Zhou Xueli did not take heed of her action, believing it to be a new habit Wen Chan adopted after they separated.

In the car, Zhou Xueli asked Wen Chan, “Where do you want to go?”

Wen Chan’s head leaned against the window of the car. Upon hearing Zhou Xueli’s question, she thought for a while and replied, “Remember the restaurant we used to go to when we were freshman?”

Zhou Xueli said while driving, “Of course I remember, do you want to go there?”

“En.”

“Alright, I also haven’t been in that neighborhood for quite some time, and it just so happens that they have the red fruit pie you like.”

Wen Chan was quiet for a moment before asking, “You still remember?”

“Of course. At that time it was your favorite, and you loved to eat raspberries a lot, how could I forget?”

Wen Chan didn’t continue to talk, so Zhou Xueli continued to drive. What he didn’t notice was the tear slowly slipping down Wen Chan’s cheek, as if her sorrow had reached an extreme. Her gaze was unfocused and her expression sad, as though the world had abandoned her.

They went into that restaurant. Zhou Xueli asked for the same private room they liked to go to, the two-people one.

Wen Chan sat down, letting Zhou Xueli order the food. He ordered some dishes that she liked. All these years, he never forgot Wen Chan, not even once. He remembered all the good things about Wen Chan.

After the dishes came and the server left, Wen Chan locked the door to the room.

“Why did you lock the door?”

“I wanted to talk about some private matters.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Xueli did not know why, but he suddenly felt a little awkward. He thought about the fact that Wen Chan was already married. It was possible that she did not come to talk about love with him, so he coughed and said, “Cough, Xiao Chan, is your child a boy or a girl?”

“A boy.”

“Oh, what’s his name?”

Wen Chan paused before answering. “&#k2026; Baby.”

Zhou Xueli suddenly did not know what to say. Inside the small single room, it was so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard.

It was only after some time that Wen Chan opened her mouth to say, “Xueli, you used to like me a lot, right?”

Zhou Xueli lifted his head, and looked toward the mature Wen Chan. Just as he was about to say something, Wen Chan continued, “Xueli, if I killed someone, would you still like me?”

Zhou Xueli’s back was instantly drenched in cold sweat because at the moment, Wen Chan was very calm, and there was no trace of a smile on her face. The peacefulness from the beginning had disappeared without a trace. At this moment, Zhou Xueli only felt that the beautiful Wen Chan was similar to a demon in human skin.

“Xiao…Xiao Chan, what are you talking about…Xiao Chan?”

Wen Chan smiled slightly, but no matter how one looked at it, the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Xueli, I killed people, two of them. My husband was chosen by my father. So, I got married. While I was pregnant, he kicked me while in a mood. I lost the child. Some time ago, I felt that my body was a lot better, and I gave him several sleeping pills before killing him.” Her tone was calm and even, as if she was only talking about how nice the weather was today.

The longer Zhou Xueli listened, the more afraid he was. He secretly muted his phone in his pocket and set the volume of the phone to zero. However the person who answered the phone could still hear the content of their conversation, while they couldn’t hear the other side.

Zhou Xueli’s phone call was made to the police. They answered rapidly and did not suspend the call. They were listening closely and did not ask any questions.

A little comforted, Zhou Xueli asked, “And the other one is?”

“The other one is my father. I killed him last night, because he told me that I’d chosen my own life. Whatever kind of crime I committed has nothing to do with him. He was wrong. My life wasn’t my own, he chose it for me. But I’ve decided to walk my own path from now on, so I killed him too. Xueli, you’re the only warm person I’ve met in my life, and I also like you a lot, I continuously liked you.”

Zhou Xueli thought about a way for the police to find this place. As he racked his brain, his forehead began to sweat and his hands and feet started to shake. To calm himself down a little, Zhou Xueli said, “Xiao Chan, I… I don’t know what to say. But right now, we’re in this little room on the third floor of the xx restaurant on xx road. This is a place we used to come to while in school, and it reminds me of the past. At that time, Xiao Chan, seeing me was enough to make you smile.”

“It’s still the same now.” Wen Chan said, revealing a slight smile.

Zhou Xueli finished giving the address to the police, and feeling a little reassured, he said, “Xiao Chan, may I ask how you handled your husband’s body? Didn’t you say that it’s been a while?”

“Oh, I cut it up anId put it in the freezer.”

“What about your father?”

“It’s still at home, I didn’t want to deal with it.”

Zhou Xueli’s hands were full of sweat. He was letting the police confirm that Wen Chan was indeed a killer and that he was in a dangerous situation. If there was no accident, the police would be here really fast.

“Xiao Chan, let’s not talk about this, let’s finish the meal first. Also, let me think about it, I haven’t seen you for so long, I’m different from the me of the past, okay?”

“Sure.”

The two ate quietly. It was the first time that Zhou Xueli truly experienced what one referred to as a minute feeling like an hour. Passing time with a murderer was simply too unbearable, because he didn’t know when this murderer would go mad again and target him.

A few minutes later, the sound of the police siren rang out and they could both hear the clamor below.

His heart jumping to his throat, Zhou Xueli asked, “What happened below?”

Wen Chan smiled softly and said, “It should be that after you reported me, they’re coming to arrest me.”

Zhou Xueli’s heart thumped once, his complexion instantly blanching. A moment later, Wen Chan’s tears fell down.

“Xueli, you thought I was going to kill you, right?”

“Xiao Chan…”

“I will turn myself in, but before that, I wanted to have a quiet meal with you. I also didn’t want to hide it from you, so I thought you would at least…”

Wen Chan could no longer continue, so she simply looked at Zhou Xueli with a face stained with tears. A slight smile on her face, Wen Chan said, “I originally didn’t want to kill you, because I thought you at least felt something for me. But now I realize that I was wrong. In this world, there is no man who has feelings for me. In that case, Xueli, let’s die together. It’s okay if you don’t like me, at least I like you.”

Slowly taking out a gun from her coat, Wen Chan pointed the muzzle at Zhou Xueli.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

When the expected pain did not come, Zhou Xueli slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was the scene of Wen Chan lying on the ground.

Dark red blood flowed from the back of Wen Chan’s head. She took one last profound look at Zhou Xueli before finally closing her eyes.

In the end, she did not kill Zhou Xueli. She had instead pointed the gun towards her own forehead.

Zhou Xueli was stupefied. The last glance that Wen Chan gave him had taken root in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to drive it away, he couldn’t.

Zhou Xueli did not talk to anyone about this matter. Zhou Qiang did not care about him at all, and Zhou Xu would also not pay him any attention. As a result, he could only bury this matter deep in his heart.

Only, every night, in his dreams, he would remember the look Wen Chan gave him before her death. Her eyes held reluctance, grief, and love.

Eventually, the grief turned to anger, the anger to hatred, and hatred to murderous intent. Zhou Xueli lived in the nightmare called “Wen Chan” every day.

A month after Wen Chan’s death, Zhou Xueli moved out of Zhou’s home. He sought a place to hide, where no one could find him.

Two months after her death, Zhou Xueli resigned from the company. No one knew the reason, only that suddenly, he never came to work again.

Slowya: *humming a tone* I’ve built a harem! THREE editors (yeah, I know it’s a lot) joined our lazy empire: chestnutwhale, Aaghna and Nadralexe. Please give them a standing ovation! ヾ(^^ゞ)

Let me officially introduce you the members of our lazy kingdom (≧▽≦)

_Slowya, the temporary empress (translator)

_flōzen is the high princess, also known as the shadow empress (co-translator)

_ghost, the empress dowager (editor)

_chesnutwhale is the royal child (main editor)

_Aaghna and Nadralexe are the concubines (support editors)