Chapter 177: Don’t Be Hypocritical
Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Don’t Be Hypocritical
Before long, Fu Yunfeng hung up the phone. A heavy, unshakable solemnity was etched onto his features.
Qing Qing and Fu Chao soon learned from him—
All traces of the person who had helped Lin Xiang, the one they were trying to investigate, had mysteriously vanished.
From surveillance footage to call logs, not a single clue could be found.
It was as if an invisible hand was silently manipulating everything from the shadows.
There were two possibilities:
Either this person didn’t exist at all, and they had misunderstood something;
Or this person’s power was so great that it could completely obscure their senses.
If it was the latter, the number of people who could contend with the combined power of the husband-and-wife team of Fu Yunfeng and Qing Qing could be counted on one hand.
No matter who it was, they were destined to stir up a massive storm.
No wonder Fu Yunfeng looked so grim.
After hearing this, Qing Qing and Fu Chao’s expressions darkened as well.
A heavy silence hung in the room like a dark cloud.
Even the air grew thick and oppressive.
However, the family of three could never have imagined...
The truth was already far beyond their comprehension!
Seeing that it was about time,
Qing Qing stood up and said:
"It’s time to go see her."
Back then, to avoid suspicion, Lin Xiang had barely exchanged two words with Fu Yunfeng. Instead, she had interacted much more with Qing Qing.
Therefore, it was naturally more appropriate for Qing Qing to confront her personally.
The father and son, Fu Yunfeng and Fu Chao, were in the second-floor study, their eyes glued to the surveillance monitors.
On the computer screen, they saw Qing Qing walk out of the study and quickly appear within the camera’s view.
Lin Xiang saw her too and instantly looked as if she’d seen a ghost. Ignoring her trembling, weak legs, she was ready to scramble and crawl away if it meant she could escape!
Without even a signal from Qing Qing, the bodyguards flanking Lin Xiang reached out and forcefully pressed down on her shoulders, holding her in place.
Lin Xiang shrieked in terror:
"I’m calling the police! What you’re doing is illegal! Let me go!"
All the while, she kept glancing at Qing Qing, her eyes filled with fear.
Qing Qing replied, her face devoid of expression:
"Perfect. We can settle all your crimes at once."
Lin Xiang’s struggles seemed to hit a pause button.
Her expression gradually froze.
Slowly, her shoulders slumped. Her entire posture became stooped and weathered.
"So... you know everything."
In the second-floor study, Fu Chao was slightly confused by her words.
Fu Yunfeng explained nonchalantly:
"Oh, I forgot to reveal our identities."
’What do you mean, "forgot"? He clearly did it on purpose.’
It was easy to imagine. Lin Xiang had been completely focused on getting smuggled out of the country to disappear for good. Then, she was suddenly abducted by unidentified people, brought to a strange villa, and watched over by ten bodyguards. Her heart must have been filled with terror of the unknown!
No wonder she looked like she’d seen a ghost the moment she saw Qing Qing!
Just the thought of it...
...made Fu Chao practically burst with satisfaction!
He even felt it was a shame that Lin Xiang had given in so quickly!
’She should have held out longer, been tormented a little more!’
Down on the first floor, in the living room, Qing Qing was also displeased by the way Lin Xiang hung her head and admitted her guilt.
’What a joke!’
’Does the perpetrator’s confession mean the victim should just accept it?’
’Where, then, was the outlet for all the resentment and regret they had accumulated over the years?’
Therefore, Lin Xiang had to bear the brunt of her fury!
Qing Qing had someone bring a chair over and sat down, her posture deceptively casual.
She didn’t spare Lin Xiang a single glance, only saying coolly:
"Life hasn’t been easy these past few years, has it."
The dejected Lin Xiang was already prepared to be questioned about Qing Zhi’s whereabouts.
She even had a script prepared in her head.
It was the script *that person* had made her practice countless times, until it had practically become muscle memory.
But to her surprise, President Qing wasn’t playing by the book at all.
Lin Xiang froze for two seconds.
"I... I..."
Qing Qing still didn’t look at her, continuing to speak as if to herself:
"A shame about your mother. She worked so hard to get you away from your abusive father, hoping you could leave your mountain village and put down roots in the big city. But in the end, you abandoned her for a man."
Lin Xiang’s eyes widened, bit by bit.
It wasn’t just fear, but also a thick sense of despair.
For all these years, her entire being had been consumed by the kidnapping case.
So much so that her mother’s death had been pushed to a corner of her memory, as if forgotten.
Perhaps it wasn’t forgotten.
It was just too painful, so she had forced herself to forget.
Until now, when Qing Qing had personally ripped open this bloody scar.
Her face deathly pale, Lin Xiang shook her head repeatedly.
"No, that’s not it, I didn’t..."
A mocking expression flickered in Qing Qing’s eyes.
She lowered her voice, speaking slowly, patiently, and cruelly:
"Oh, but you did. Have you forgotten? If you had taken the money you earned and gone back to your hometown, your mother wouldn’t have died helpless and alone because she had no money for treatment. While you were immersed in your so-called love, dreaming of a life together with Xu Dong, your mother was struggling on the verge of death. She waited for you until the very end."
Every single word, like a demon’s whisper, burrowed into Lin Xiang’s mind.
Lin Xiang’s already fragile psychological defenses completely collapsed.
She covered her face and sobbed.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."
Qing Qing slowly sat up straight, her gaze disdainful and contemptuous.
"If you want to live, tell me everything you know."
Lin Xiang’s movements faltered for a moment.
Then, her sobs gradually subsided.
She lifted her face, which was numb with misery.
"Okay, I’ll tell you everything..."
Lin Xiang said a lot—
How she first met Xu Dong;
How she was initially unwilling, but was then deceived and moved by him;
The entire process of abandoning Qing Zhi—the location, and all the details;
...
As she spoke, she paused blankly and suddenly mentioned something else:
"I really liked Zizhi. Even when Xu Dong hit and yelled at her, she was very obedient. She never cried or made a fuss. She even whispered to me that she would help me escape with her. She thought I was a victim, too."
Qing Qing’s hands slowly clenched into fists.
She could barely restrain the impulse to rush forward and strangle Lin Xiang to death!
But Lin Xiang was still talking:
"...Later, Xu Dong told me to give her sleeping pills, dump her in the snow, and let her freeze to death. Because that’s how his mother died. He said he wanted revenge."
After his father went bankrupt and committed suicide, Xu Dong’s mother couldn’t handle the blow and had a mental breakdown.
Later, during a very cold winter, his mother wandered off and got lost.
When she was found, her body was already stiff.
The cause of death was freezing from hypothermia.
Qing Qing remembered this and was suddenly jolted.
"So? Did you do it?"
She, as well as the father and son on the second floor, all held their breath, their hearts in their throats!
Under their tense gazes, Lin Xiang shook her head.
"No, I lied to Xu Dong. I only gave her a tiny bit of the sleeping pills he gave me. After we left, she should have woken up before long. I... I really didn’t want to hurt Zizhi..."
Qing Qing shot to her feet.
She strode over to Lin Xiang in a few long steps, raised her arm high, and swung it down hard!
SLAP!
Lin Xiang’s cheek instantly turned red and swelled up!
Qing Qing’s face was as cold as ice as she looked down at Lin Xiang.
"Don’t you dare stand here and pretend to be some kind-hearted soul!"