The smile on Li Chuntao"s face instantly vanished as soon as she heard what her uncle said. She took the files from his hand without a word and started reading each page with undivided attention. She couldn"t believe what she was seeing. Apparently, Ying was being stalked for two whole weeks before her pa.s.sing. Several screen captures from the CCTV videos gathered around the city showed Ying with two different men suspiciously following behind her.
"Do we know the ident.i.ty of these men?" She asked as she flipped the page to read the official report about the accident, indicating a man in his late forties driving the truck that had caused the collision.
"We"re still verifying their ident.i.ties. It will take some time. We"re not even sure if they are just decoys placed to confuse us," Li Yuen told her before taking out a small box from his drawer and placing it on top of the desk before gently pus.h.i.+ng it towards his niece.
"Take this. You might need this in the future. We cannot allow you to roam around without protection, now that we know that Ying"s death isn"t just a simple accident." His voice so stern, that Li Chuntao realized the gravity of the situation she was in.
Now that she was pretending to be Ying, it was obvious that the danger would now s.h.i.+ft to her. Li Xiuying somewhat survived unscathed from the accident, only losing a part of her memories. The danger that followed Ying for weeks will eventually be diverted to Chuntao soon.
Li Chuntao opened the lid and saw a familiar pistol. It was the one she used to own when she was younger. She raised a brow but wordlessly took it and put it aside. She"ll have to consider wearing a gun holster with her every time she goes out as Ying.
She didn"t think that there would be a person who hated Ying so much to push her to her own death. Li Chuntao was proven wrong today as she read the report with her own eyes. Li Chuntao swore deep in her heart that once she finds the person who dared to kill, she would make sure that they suffer worse than death!
No matter what, she had long decided to get to the bottom of her sister"s death, even if she had to use herself to lure out the person who was responsible for it.
"You wanted to ask me something?" Her uncle"s voice brought her back to reality and she nodded. She was reminded of the reason she came here. When she was informed that her Uncle had secured her sister"s divorce papers, she was eager to know if Ying had set herself free.
"Yes, I just want a confirmation that Ying signed the divorce papers before her death." She needed be sure that Mu Jianyu had no advantage against her and the Li family.
Li Yuren nodded and sighed. Thankfully, his other niece had come to her senses before her death and released herself from her marriage with Mu Jianyu. If she didn"t, this would put the Li family into a disadvantage.
"You have nothing to worry about. Ying signed the papers. I"ll keep it safe for now."
"Then… are they officially divorced?"
This was something she needed to know before she resumed her plans against Mu Jianyu and Lin Meirong.
"I pulled some strings to expedite the filing. It"s final. He wouldn"t get a single cent from our family. On the contrary, he would be the one who will be paying us later."
Li Chuntao was pleased that everything was going smoothly, according to her plan. The only thing she wasn"t sure about was her relations.h.i.+p with Shen Zichen.
Li Yuren watched his niece as she remained silent. He understood that the only thing keeping her alive now was her desire to avenge her sister"s death. He wondered if, in the future, she would be able to find reasons to continue living once her desire for revenge burns out.
While he didn"t mind Chuntao delaying her marriage, he wanted to see her be truly happy. It had been years since he"d seen her smile genuinely and now that Ying wasn"t around anymore, he was worried that his niece would deny herself of any of the happiness she deserved.
The Li family members were very close to each other because it was normal for them to be overprotective, especially towards the Li twins who were orphaned at such a young age.
When Li Xiuying decided to marry Mu Jianyu, of course, they didn"t doubt her. They didn"t make it hard for her under the condition that Mu Jianyu willingly signs a prenuptial agreement to protect Li Xiuying"s future.
Who would have thought their fears would come true? What"s more, they lost Ying in the process. Naturally, they wouldn"t spare Mu Jianyu and his mistress.
"Uncle, why don"t we play our usual game." The viciousness in Li Chuntao"s tone was enough to pique Li Yuren"s interest. "We haven"t hunted together in a long time. The person who gets the culprit wins."
"Alright. Let"s do this together.��� He easily yielded to her request. The eagerness reflected in her eyes told him that Li Chuntao wouldn"t hear no for an answer. "As long as you"ll agree on a bet."
It was Li Chuntao"s turn to be surprised by his demand. A bet? She had a bad feeling about this. Since she was young, she had never won a single bet against her uncle. What could he want from her this time?
"What is it?" She asked curiously.
"If I win, you"ll finish your residency here and won"t be allowed to go overseas for the next five years."
The smile on Li Chuntao"s face fell. There was a long silence between them as she allowed his word to sink into her mind.
She knew her uncle wouldn"t make it easy for her to win. For someone who"d been betting with her uncle for a long time, she knew that his uncle only agreed to or proposed one when he"s at a desperate point.
"And if I win?" She was aware that she was treading on thin ice. The Li family must have wanted her to stay here permanently now that Ying was gone.
"You can continue whatever you want to do in the future. I will give you total freedom from the family"s responsibilities."
Total freedom? For someone like her who was born in a wealthy family, it was hard to get away from the attention they usually got from the public for being a Li. Her twin sister had no qualms intermingling with socialites and being in public, but she wasn"t.
Li Chuntao preferred the peacefulness of her life overseas than being here. In a foreign place, people didn"t care about who she was and from what family she came from. She can walk around downtown without worrying about paparazzi stalking her, or dress in anything she wants without someone criticizing her choices.
Here, everyone had to have a say in whatever she does or whoever she spends time with. It was ridiculous. She and Ying weren"t celebrities in the first place but people always find something about them to talk about.
"Fine. let"s do this. You better keep your part of the deal, Uncle."
Li Yuren smiled for the first time since she arrived.
"Only if you can win this time."