Chapter 385 - 384: Waiting
Chapter 385: Chapter 384: Waiting
Zhang Li felt a massive shock hearing Fan Qianshu’s words, but quickly collected herself, snorting coldly, "Stop trying to sow discord here; I won’t believe a word you say."
"Believe it or not, but I can show you something, and then you’ll know whether I’m telling the truth."
Fan Qianshu appeared confident, directly pulling out a jade pendant.
"You should recognize this, right?"
Upon seeing the jade pendant, Zhang Li’s pupils shrank, and she couldn’t help but ask, "Where did you get this jade pendant?"
"I found it, of course."
"Impossible..."
Zhang Li immediately denied, "This jade pendant has been lost for years."
"No, it hasn’t been. It was just too chaotic back then, so no one noticed it, and ultimately, it ended up in my possession." Fan Qianshu fiddled with the jade pendant in his hand, his expression calm.
This mutton fat jade pendant was owned by Zhang Li’s mother. When Mrs. Zhang was killed, the jade pendant went missing, but eventually found its way into his hands. Originally, he didn’t think much of this jade pendant, but unexpectedly, it held hidden secrets, leading him to discover this secret.
Looking at the jade pendant in Fan Qianshu’s hand, Zhang Li’s expression was uncertain.
Though her parents met with an accident when she was very young, leaving her orphaned, she still had some memories of them.
She remembered her father as a very elegant and gentle man, her mother as a graceful beauty, and her mother always wore this jade pendant around her neck, said to be a family heirloom from her maternal grandma. As a child, she always tugged at it playfully, naturally leaving some impression, especially with the pendant’s translucent glow and the striking red in the center, resembling a spot of plum blossom blooming on the snow, easily recognizable.
"It seems you recognize it, after all. Now take a good look at this jade pendant."
Seeing Zhang Li’s expression, Fan Qianshu knew she had remembered, so he handed the jade pendant directly to her.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Li finally took the jade pendant, slowly playing with it in her hands. The warm and smooth texture brought her back to childhood; back then, her small hands would gently stroke the pendant, while her mother softly patted her back, singing lullabies to her.
Thinking about it brought tears to Zhang Li’s eyes.
She thought she had forgotten all her childhood memories, but seeing this jade pendant made her suddenly remember everything.
"You know this jade pendant has hidden secrets, don’t you?"
Fan Qianshu had no patience to see Zhang Li lost in her emotions, so he spoke coldly.
Hearing this, Zhang Li pursed her lips before finally pressing on the red spot. A ’click’ sounded, and the pendant split open, revealing a small button rolling out.
"What... what is this?"
Zhang Li looked confusedly at the button before her, her brows tightly furrowed. This button seemed old, quite worn, but what could a button possibly signify?
"This button belongs to Elder Guan."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Li snorted coldly, and said, "You claim a random button is Elder Guan’s. I might as well say it’s yours. Don’t think you can fool me like this, especially since you might have put it in there yourself." Given that Fan Qianshu knew the pendant’s mechanism, he could have placed it inside.
Fan Qianshu chuckled mockingly at her response, "Don’t you recognize your mother’s own mark?"
"What did you say..."
Zhang Li looked shocked and quickly examined the pendant and button. Only then did she notice the word "Guan" inscribed inside the pendant, "This... this was written by my mother."
Zhang Li used a definitive statement because her mother’s handwriting was distinctive, and she still remembered it. She had only seen her mother use this style of writing.
"Now you should believe that what I said is true. Investigate this button carefully, and you’ll find that it indeed belonged to Elder Guan, and was from the outfit he wore the day your parents had their accident. You likely won’t find that outfit, but you can search for photographs from that time to uncover clues."
As he spoke, he tossed a photograph before Zhang Li, showing Elder Guan wearing a white shirt. "Look closely at the button; isn’t it exactly like the one in your hand?"
Zhang Li carefully compared the buttons, finding them identical, but still wasn’t fully convinced, "You might have intentionally found this photo; who knows when it was taken."
"Believe what you want; take your time to think it over."
Without further words, Fan Qianshu turned and left.
Gu Tingyu saw Fan Qianshu and couldn’t help but ask, "How did it go?"
"No results yet, but I believe we’ll have them soon. So keep an eye on those two. If they make any move, let me know immediately."
Upon hearing this, Gu Tingyu nodded, "Alright, understood."
After Fan Qianshu left, Ji Zhengguo found Gu Tingyu, and upon knowing there were no results yet, let out a sigh.
"No rush. Fan Qianshu mentioned needing three days; it’s only been a few hours."
Ji Zhengguo relaxed upon hearing this.
After finishing conversations with Elder Yue and Zhang Li, Fan Qianshu went to find Fei Erya.
"Qianshu, you’re back."
Seeing Fan Qianshu, Fei Erya quickly stood up.
Yiyi noticed Fan Qianshu’s return and told Fei Erya, "Er Ya, I’ll be going now."
Fan Qianshu bowed deeply to Yiyi and Wei Zhirong, "Miss Ding, Miss Wei, thank you truly for your help this time."
"No need for thanks. I only hope that Er Ya won’t encounter such troubles again in the future."
Yiyi spoke coldly, her expression somewhat indifferent. She couldn’t bear to imagine what might have happened if they had been a step too late. At the moment, her disdain for Fan Qianshu was overwhelming, as Er Ya was in danger every time because of him, making her very upset.
Hearing Yiyi’s words, Fan Qianshu sincerely said, "It won’t happen again."
"Let’s hope so."
Yiyi said no more, and directly left with Wei Zhirong and Yun Chu.
"Er Ya, I’m sorry for the countless times you faced danger because of me."
Right now, Fan Qianshu felt quite guilty; he still remembered the scene of Er Ya being captured, wishing it was him instead.
Hearing this, Fei Erya shook her head, "It’s not your fault, Qianshu. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Zhang Li, with her malicious intentions."
Seeing that Er Ya still stood by him, Fan Qianshu couldn’t help but pull her into a hug.