Twelve hours pa.s.sed since the villainess" empty sh.e.l.l was brought to the hospital. The news of her comatose reached her family thirty minutes after she was admitted and in the following hour, the family members arrived in City B. Since then people dropped by the hospital for the villainess. Some were relatives of the Gu family, the others were cla.s.smates, professors, and admirers from the university. The latest visitors were people from the police station.
"Mrs. Gu, please believe us. We have already investigated thrice, and it was truly an accident. No other car pa.s.sed around the time of the collision. In fact, she did not drive her own vehicle. The owner of the car reported that his car was stolen," said an officer in blue to the parents of the villainess.
The hallway was noisy. So the two parties walked near the end of the hallway where few nurses and others walked by.
The angry madam who looked seventy points similar to Gu Mochou didn"t believe what the policeman said. Since the two parties met, there had been an inexplicable tension between them. One of the reasons was that the reports brought back were not at all pleasant.
With a tear-stained face that was warped in anger, worry, and grief, she asked coldly, "Have you really been investigating since you heard about Mochou"s case?"
"Yes. We"ve got the case 2 am this morning. I a.s.sure you, our workforce had been working on it since then."
Mrs. Gu had been in the hospital for hours. This was not the first time she saw these policemen. But as they stood before her, even though they looked stalwart and serious, she felt that their expressions were odd. If her hunch was correct, their faces only became weird the first time they heard from her the name of her daughter.
One thing that irked her the most was the slight grimace that crossed the face of the youngest policeman. Why did he make that expression? Did he know her daughter beforehand? Mrs. Gu was full of doubts, yet had not much time to discuss it at that time since describing Gu Mochou"s case was more important.
Half a day pa.s.sed already. Now it was almost late afternoon.
Even though it had been a long while since then, Mrs. Gu couldn"t forget it. And now that the three people came back only to report to her that Gu Mochou"s case was an accident, Mrs. Gu couldn"t help but recall their att.i.tude earlier and felt that they did not do a good job. She even thought they intentionally slacked off.
The madam"s daughter was also still had not woke up so her temper was not particularly good. A harsh comment escaped from her red lips, "I"m really doubting your team"s professionalism, Officer."
"Madam," the senior officer did not conceal his displeasure.
But would his frown lessen the fury of the woman before him?
It showed in just a moment. The answer. No.
"Don"t give me that look, Mr. Cui. I believe you"ve been given enough time to study everything about the place of the collision and the people involved. But for a half a day, that"s all you uncovered?"
"What are you expecting us to uncover then?" A bit offended, the man wanted to say, if not for fear of sounding impolite.
Mrs. Gu closed her eyes tightly, her lips trembling in extreme agitation. When she opened them again, they were reddish and scream of unwillingness. She authoritatively ordered, "Investigate it again! I want to know why my daughter ended up this way!"
The loud voice startled those nearby, mostly nurses and relatives of other patients also waiting for the doctor to come to them. However, the stares she elicited did not faze the Madam.
But perhaps because she kept staring at him, the younger police officer flinched a bit. He exchanged a look with his colleagues.
One of them frowned and glanced at his wrist.w.a.tch, which was showing it was now 1:34 pm. The others communicated with each other using their eyes.
It took them some time until the oldest nodded with hesitation before saying in a defeated tone. "… Alright. We understand how you feel, Mrs. Gu. I will tell my colleagues who are at the site to double-check if it"s really an accident."
Mrs. Gu had no idea that her daughter was very infamous lately in the police headquarter due to her bizarre cases before. Because of this, the officer"s acquiescing did not comfort the Madam and only made her feel like the other party was truly being half-hearted with his words.
This time, she couldn"t help but said icily. "You guys keep mentioning that this was an accident. Are you kidding me? That is surely no accident. What forced my daughter to ride that c.r.a.ppy car? Who can tell me? What if that car had been tinkered to begin with!?"
Mrs. Gu gritted her teeth and gestured in the air like she was pounding an imaginary table to express her anger. Her red eyes then glared at the policeman.
It was the calmer Mr. Gu, a fairly handsome man in his mid-forties who spoke after. "Look, officer. I"m sorry that my wife yelled at you. But can you listen to us and work on the direction that we advised? Our daughter is in legal age and already has got her driving license. The footage shows the place is well lit. Would you find it believable that she would not turn to avoid that? And actually, our family was not lacking in anything. I believe my wife is merely saying that the matter about her taking someone else"s car can be a lead."
The oldest officer replied, "We have already considered that angle. Mr. Gu, when we checked, prior to the accident, there were no interactions between Ms. Gu and Mr. Huang."
The villainess"s father glanced at the room where his daughter was confined, his expression unreadable.
"I hope that will still be your statement later." The middle-aged man"s tone was very soft. But n.o.body knew what was going on in his mind.
"Then please excuse us." The blue-wearing officers bowed lightly before marching away.
Gu Mochou"s parents watched them disappear into the next hallway. Mrs. Gu"s face was grim at first before she turned to her husband who patted her back to console her.
"Let"s go. The doctor should have finished another round of examinations. Perhaps, this time, there would be pleasant news."
Unfortunately, when the Gu couple talked to the physician, the latter said there was still no improvement in the villainess"s condition.
…
A day pa.s.sed.
After the battle, the Red Lady did not show herself anywhere and only took over an abandoned factory. She stayed there even after she recovered, not going to the hospital to visit Gu Mochou even though she had a rough idea where it was located.
Zhan Rong, on the other hand, broke her promise to her pet ghost. After phoning every partic.i.p.ant of the failed mountain hiking seven months ago, she left the townhouse and went back home. For the latter, she meant the mansion of the Zhans where she met his father. The two exchanged a few words after she greeted him. Zhan Rong perfunctorily asked about his health that had been seriously affected by the most recent crises.
Zhan Rong heard about Gu Mochou"s accident and sneered at it. Then learned that the village girl Zhao Ai got kidnapped and might have already been sent somewhere outside the city, in a place like the Zhao Village.
Was it karma, she wondered?
Zhao Ai"s father indirectly partic.i.p.ated in trafficking as was one of the regular clients of the syndicate. He was one of the reasons why the chain of supply and demand for abducted people never broke. Now, it was his daughter"s turn to be abducted and sold to someone else. Would that man feel regret? Well, the prerequisite was first, Fan Zheng would fail to rescue that trouble-magnet girl.
Zhan Rong mused. "Perhaps, that desperate fool would try to use his ability to see and speak with ghosts to get clues to her whereabouts."
"But can Fan Zheng spare that effort when his family"s business is currently struggling so hard and needs more attention from him?"
Zhan Rong indifferently glanced at the headline about the extreme drop of stocks of the Fan family"s food and beverage company. Afterward, she closed the tab and spent the rest of the time reviewing some companies. This time, it was because she had skipped a grade and was already planning to begin her interns.h.i.+p.
The girl was busy reading an article when the air in her room became heavier than usual. Zhan Rong did not lift her head. But she knew a certain somebody had tracked her down through her necklace.
"Zhan Rong." A pleasant and almost ethereal male voice echoed. She still did not raise her head.
"I"m here." The voice announced. Sadly, the person called seemed to not want to see him.
Half a minute pa.s.sed and the silence in the room became so depressing for the newcomer. In the end, a sigh reverberated, resounding with helplessness. The girl maintained her posture. Only her lips curled into a disdainful smile.
"Even if you turn into stone, I will ignore you." Her current behavior screamed of that. The ghost seemed to have perceived her thoughts, so he floated behind her and intentionally crept his face close to her left ear.
"… I"m willing to accept very fitting clothes. For example, leotards," he weakly said, as if he was very embarra.s.sed to say that.
If one would not see the ghost and only based it on the tone of voice, they would think he was pitiful, bullied, and had no choice but compromise.
Anyway, the last word whispered by the ghost successfully distracted her from the balance sheets that she was studying. Her imagination subconsciously conjured an image, a s.e.xy but funny one, and before she knew it, a sweet giggle was escaping out of her lips.
In fact, in no time, the giggle turned into a burst of laughter.
Zhan Rong finally gave up ignoring him. She Jiang Li a look while laughing and shaking her head helplessly.
"My G.o.d. Even if I want to become angry at you and ignore you, I can"t resist the temptation. But who asks me to be like this?"
"Anyway, I feel like laughing at you as revenge will be better for my heart. I will definitely not let you back out from what you promised."
The ghost laughed too. However, he had no plan to go back on his words. One reason was that he felt like he owed the girl. He was also not so irresponsible to not at least explain and ins and outs of the matter, especially since Zhan Rong obviously had an idea that he was the evil ghost from the abandoned temple a few miles from Zhao Village. There was also the fact that the villainess targeted her, primarily for being related to him.
Jiang Li went quiet and floated towards the bed before sitting on its edge. He looked at Zhan Rong and then opened his mouth.
"Miss Zhan. Even though narrating is not my forte, I have a story to tell. Are you willing to listen to me?"