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墨書 Inktalez
In the evening, Shouya accompanied Xinya to explore the bustling night market in Beijing, returning to the Millennium Hotel around nine o'clock.
Shouya entered the bathroom to wash away the fatigue of the day. When he stepped out, he saw Xinya standing by the tall floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the beautiful scenery outside. Her long, shiny black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. He walked over, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and whispered in her ear, "Xinya, can we tonight?"
"No." An Xin Ya knew what he wanted and understood that these days had made him restless. However, there was nothing she could do about it; she felt helpless.
"Why not?" Shouya began to pout. He had calculated that it had been four or five days already.
"Because we haven't left yet; it's temporarily impossible to do that." An Xin Ya turned around and saw him shirtless, revealing his strong upper body and tanned skin, with a white towel wrapped around his lower half. Seeing him like this made Xinya shy, and her face flushed slightly.
Feeling helpless, Shouya experienced a sense of disappointment. He pouted again and asked, "When can we?" The heat building up inside him began to stir.
"It will take another two or three days!" An Xin Ya saw his helplessness and impatience and felt secretly delighted. She decided to let him endure for a few more days. She pecked his lips lightly and looked at him with bright eyes, saying, "Alright, I'm going to take a shower now. If you really can't stand it, then go find a woman outside to take care of it."
"No way! I won't touch any other woman but you." No matter what happened, he would never do anything to betray Xinya. He could hold on for another two or three days; after all, he had already managed four or five days.
Hearing those words from Shouya made An Xin Ya even more bashful, but she felt excited and touched inside. She deeply kissed his lips and then pulled away, looking at him affectionately as she said, "I love you, Brother Shouya," before heading into the bathroom for a hot shower.
That night, Shouya lay in bed holding An Xin Ya as they chatted about various topics before falling asleep in each other's embrace.
"Ring..."
The next morning, Shouya was awakened by an annoying ringtone. He frowned and turned over to press the answer button. It was Rowe's voice on the line, saying that he had found the lawyer who helped Bai Jingsong revise his will years ago.
Upon hearing this good news, Shouya suddenly opened his eyes wide and sat up in bed. He told Rowe on the phone that he would be there soon.
After hanging up, he got out of bed. An Xin Ya, startled awake by him, looked at him with sleepy eyes and asked, "Brother Shouya, where are you going so early?"
"Rowe said he has found the lawyer who helped Bai Jingsong revise his will, so I need to go see him in person." As Shouya got dressed, he spoke. Once dressed, he sat on the edge of the bed and gently kissed An Xin Ya on her smooth forehead before getting up and leaving the room.
He drove to Chaoyangmen and entered the basement.
"Where did you find him?" Shouya directly asked Rowe as they walked into the basement.
"We found him at a law firm; he is the head of that firm," Rowe replied.
The two of them walked into the basement and arrived at a narrow room. Pushing open the iron door, Shouya and Rowe entered together. The lawyer, dressed in a suit and wearing silver-rimmed glasses, sat upright in a chair. Upon seeing them enter, he maintained a calm demeanor and asked, "Who are you? Why have you brought me here? Do you realize that this is kidnapping? I can sue you for this."
Shouya approached, and through the light streaming in from the window, he could clearly see the lawyer's appearance. He appeared to be in his forties or fifties but was well-preserved, with no wrinkles on his face and bright, piercing eyes.
Rowe handed a document to Shouya, who expressionlessly took it and looked it over. The information indicated that he was the head of a law firm in Beijing named Zhang Zhenghao.
"Mr. Zhang, right? Hello! My name is Shouya. I brought you here to ask you something. As long as you answer truthfully, you can leave this basement safely. If you hide anything, your fate will be uncertain," Shouya said as he returned the document to Rowe, briefly introducing himself out of politeness.
"You are threatening me. As long as I get out alive, I will definitely take you to court and have all of you thrown in jail," Zhang Zhenghao glared at these intimidating strangers, suspecting they were involved with the underworld. He couldn't understand why he had been brought into this dark basement when he had never offended anyone from that world.
"Save your breath for when you manage to walk out alive," Rowe interjected, unable to tolerate those who took money from the powerful and did things against their conscience.
"You..." Zhang Zhenghao was so furious that he couldn't find words to respond. He stared at them with wide eyes, trying to appear calm on the surface, but fear began to creep into his heart as he realized he might die in this dark basement. Finally, he managed to ask, "I have no enmity with you; why did you bring me here?"
With no expression on his face, Shouya's gaze sharpened as he coldly asked, "Twenty-one years ago, did you help Bai Jingsong modify a will?"
Zhang Zhenghao froze for a moment, then a hint of guilt flashed in his eyes as cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His gaze flickered as he replied, "Who remembers something from so many years ago?"
"True enough. I'll give you a minute to think about it; I'm sure you'll remember," Shouya said. From Zhang Zhenghao's expression, he could see panic; this was something he would surely remember well. It was absurd to think he could forget such a morally reprehensible act!
A minute passed, but Zhang Zhenghao still insisted he couldn't recall.
Shouya stepped forward and forcefully grabbed the trembling Zhang Zhenghao, pinning him against the wall while glaring at him furiously. Through gritted teeth, he said, "You can't remember? You dare say you can't remember such a significant matter? It seems like you're asking to have your legs broken and crawl out of this basement..."
Zhang Zhenghao's face turned pale as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His eyes widened in shock and confusion. Before he could speak again, Shouya tightened his fist and struck him hard in the face, knocking him down.
"I really can't remember anything!" Zhang Zhenghao exclaimed from the floor, feeling a burning sensation on his face and tasting blood in his mouth. Wiping his mouth with his hand, he was shocked to see it stained with bright red blood. He raised his eyes indignantly and said, "What you're doing is illegal; I can report you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shouya grabbed his tie tightly and pulled him closer. His sharp gaze burned with anger as he coldly said, "So you're going to take us to court? That's fine; wait until you're alive outside before doing so! If you don't cooperate with us properly, you might not even have the chance to live."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhenghao's previously pale face turned ashen. Panic filled his eyes as his blood-stained lips trembled uncontrollably. He felt weak all over and collapsed onto the ground; all of his earlier bravado vanished completely.
He didn't want to die so soon or die for no reason because of that incident. However, having helped Bai Jingsong modify the will made him one of the behind-the-scenes players who had also taken money from Bai Jingsong. If everything came out during questioning, wouldn't that provide evidence of his bribery? Then he'd end up in prison; all of his so-called bright future would be ruined.
"I really don't know..." Zhang Zhenghao said painfully, "You can beat me to death, but I still wouldn't know. It was over twenty years ago; who remembers that much? I've handled countless cases in these twenty years, how could I possibly remember which one it was?"
Without saying a word, Shouya exchanged a glance with Rowe. Rowe signaled to the imposing bodyguard behind him, who nodded and stepped forward. He effortlessly grabbed Zhang Zhenghao and lifted him off the ground, glaring at him fiercely before slamming him down onto the floor.
"Ah... no, please, no..." Zhang Zhenghao cried out in agony, feeling as if his bones were breaking. The pain took his breath away as he crawled up like a dog, continuously howling in despair.
"I have witnesses who can prove that you accepted bribes from Bai Jingsong back then and brought those two women in," Shouya commanded. A tall and powerful bodyguard then brought in two frail middle-aged women and tossed them in front of Zhang Zhenghao.
The maid and the nursemaid gasped upon seeing Zhang Zhenghao, covering their mouths in shock. They shouted, "Lawyer Zhang, it's him! He's the one who took Bai Jingsong's money to help him alter the will. I saw it with my own eyes; he and Bai Jingsong were in Master Bai's study, taking out the will from the safe to make changes..."
"Who are you? I don't even know you; you're talking nonsense," Zhang Zhenghao panicked inside. He didn't remember the maid or the nursemaid who worked for the Bai family back then; he only vaguely recalled the nursemaid who served Bai Huixin—the plump woman next to the maid. He quickly avoided their gaze and insisted that during the time he helped Bai Jingsong alter the will, besides himself and Bai Jingsong, there was no one else present. How could she possibly know? He stubbornly retorted again.
"Lawyer Zhang, stop lying with your eyes wide open. Even if you turned to ash, I would still recognize you," the maid said through gritted teeth, pointing at him. Back then, he was just a dog following Bai Jingsong around, doing his bidding and engaging in morally questionable actions.
"You’re talking nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense." The woman was quite fierce; she even grabbed his hair and scratched his face like a cat. Seeing this, Rowe hurriedly stepped forward to separate the maid from him.
"You crazy woman!" Zhang Zhenghao covered his scratched face, trembling as he pointed at the maid.
Zhang Zhenghao remained defiant. It seemed he had received quite a bit of money from Bai Jingsong; no wonder he had opened his own law firm and was thriving now.
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