The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie-Chapter 193 - : 193: Luo Qinghe’s Leverage, The Secret Revealed (Undivided Chapter)

Chapter 193: 193: Luo Qinghe’s Leverage, The Secret Revealed (Undivided Chapter)

The timeline rewound to the evening following the day the murder occurred.

Inside the study, an old-fashioned desk lamp was lit.

The man’s voice on the phone was deep, “Sir, Jiang Zhi went to meet with Peng Xianzhi.”

The cellphone was placed on the desk, and Luo Huaiyu’s hands were resting on his cane while the person standing beside him was holding their breath in rapt attention.

Luo Huaiyu asked, “Was the conversation recorded?”

Meetings in prison usually involved landlines, especially for major felons, and the content of their conversations was often monitored.

However, the person on the other end said nothing had been heard and explained, “The fourth young master of the Qiao Family was there too, I couldn’t intervene.”

Jiang Zhi was seeking Peng Xianzhi for reasons Luo Huaiyu could guess, but what he was unclear about was Peng Xianzhi’s attitude. He ordered the person on the phone, “Keep a close eye on it.”

“Understood.”

After hanging up, Luo Huaiyu smashed the cellphone down with force.

It made two sounds, the first as it hit someone’s head and the second as it fell to the ground, shattering the screen instantly.

Luo Huaiyu was seething with anger, cursing, “Good for nothing, good at messing things up.”

The man beside him staggered from the impact of the cellphone, immediately stood firm again, with his hands clasped in front of him and his head bowed, “I’m sorry, Chairman, it was my mistake.”

The man, named Chen Li, was in his thirties with a criminal record and worked as a security guard at the Luo Family headquarters.

Luo Huaiyu’s anger had not abated as he asked sternly, “I only asked you to retrieve something, who told you to kill someone?” With Peng Zhongming dead, Peng Xianzhi had become an unpredictable ticking time bomb.

Chen Li defended, “I didn’t kill him, I only knocked him out.”

“You didn’t kill him,” Luo Huaiyu shouted, “then who did?”

Chen Li couldn’t answer, his head bowed and his palms sweating profusely.

Luo Huaiyu’s face darkened, and after a moment of silence, he asked, “The item, have you found it?”

“We’ve searched the place where Peng Zhongming lived.” Chen Li shook his head, his expression filled with dread, “Nothing there, it must have been intercepted by someone.”

With the man dead and the item still not in hand, this was the worst possible outcome.

Luo Huaiyu stroked the dragon head on his cane, pondered for a long while, then tossed a file bag from the drawer onto the desk and commanded in a deep voice, “Investigate.”

The file bag lay open, its contents spilled onto the desk—a book titled “Everyone Should Be a Good Person.”

When Jiang Zhi left Western Prison, it was almost dark. As soon as he stepped out the prison gate, he saw someone squatting by the side of the road, very obediently squatting with legs together, beside several car-blocking bollards.

Like a pink mushroom that had sprouted from the ground.

Jiang Zhi walked over and tapped her head with his finger, “What are you doing squatting here?”

She lifted her head, wearing a large mask, “Waiting for you.”

On the ground were many small stones, neatly arranged into two words—Jiang Zhi.

What a cutie.

Jiang Zhi reached out his hand toward her, she took it, and stood up to let him lead her away.

The car was parked on the opposite side of the road.

Very few vehicles and pedestrians passed by the prison gate on that road, with no pedestrian crossings or traffic lights. Jiang Zhi led her across the street, looking both ways for cars. The girl beside him followed obediently and quietly, like a primary school student being led by a parent.

“Did you buy the tape recorder?”

Zhou Xufang said, “I got it.” It was in the bag.

“Have you listened to it?”

“No,” she said, “waiting to listen with you.”

The item in Peng Zhongming’s possession was a cassette tape, which Zhou Xufang had intercepted.

Upon leaving the supermarket yesterday, she received the information sent by Shuangjiang and quickly recognized Peng Zhongming. Focusing on that supermarket, it only took Shuangjiang half an hour to find Peng Zhongming’s address.

Zhou Xufang had swapped the items in the file bag and placed a book inside before Peng Zhongming left his home.

Once in the car, she couldn’t wait any longer and took out the cassette and an old-fashioned tape recorder, which she had found after searching half of Imperial City, loaded it, and pressed play.

“Distance.”

The first voice that came out was that of a girl practicing her English pronunciation, recording herself as she practiced.

“Expression.”

“…”

“Flashcard.”

“Vocabulary.”

After reading several names in succession, the girl became impatient. She slammed down the book and began to unleash her emotions. Perhaps she herself had forgotten that the tape recorder was still running when she burst out cursing loudly, “Luo Qinghe, you big idiot!”

Zhou Xufang was sure now that this was the younger Luo Yinghe.

She was arrogant and unbridled, “Your mom is a lunatic!”

“Your dad is a big beast!”

“You’re a psychological freak!”

Even after hurling insults, she was not relieved and kicked over a stool. The recorder made a loud clanging noise.

At that moment, a voice in the distance was calling out, “Yinghe.”

“Yinghe.”

Luo Yinghe spoke with impatience, “What is it?”

It was her mother calling her, “Come here for a moment.”

She got up, cursing and grumbling, and went out without turning off the tape recorder, which was still recording.

After about seven or eight minutes, footsteps could be heard. One after the other, two people came in.

“Miss, you were looking for me.”

Jiang Zhi recognized the voice, “It’s Peng Xianzhi.”

Luo Qinghe, who had only recently come of age, sounded confident and composed in a way that did not match her youth, “Just now outside the door, I ran into some people looking for Master Peng. They seemed to be debt collectors. I’ve had them chased away.”

Peng Xianzhi was a horticulturist and had worked in the Luo Family’s greenhouse for several years.

“I’m sorry, Miss, for causing you trouble,” he said with utmost respect.

“It’s no trouble.” She paused for a moment, “As for you, Master Peng, I’m afraid you might have some trouble.” The young girl spoke leisurely, as if making small talk, “I hear those debt collectors from the casino will do anything. If they can’t get their money, chopping off hands and feet is considered letting you off easy.”

There was a thud.

Peng Xianzhi went down on his knees, “Miss, I’m begging you to help me.”

“Help you? Sure.” The tape whirred, as the girl tapped on the trellis, “Then, would Master Peng also help me with something?”

“Miss, just tell me.”

This tape was old, and despite being carefully preserved, it had some gaps.

Footsteps were sporadic as the girl roamed around the greenhouse. She said, “My mother liked this greenhouse the most before she died. How about burning it for her?”

The mother of Luo Qinghe had died that year from depression, a suicide.

Peng Xianzhi asked, “Just burn the greenhouse?”

The girl laughed, “And take the opportunity to burn some other dirty things as well.”

“What are you referring to?”

She countered, “What else could be unclean in the Luo Family?”

Peng Xianzhi fell silent.

Before she left, the girl left a message, “When you’ve decided, come find me.”

Then, Peng Xianzhi also left the greenhouse.

No other sounds followed, only the tape’s static.

Zhou Xufang turned off the tape recorder.

Jiang Zhi was still holding her hand and did not let go, fiddling with it, “Did you expect this?”

She shook her head, “I thought it was Luo Changde.” She couldn’t understand, “Why does she hate me so much?” She was even willing to commit a crime.

Jiang Zhi pinched her fingers and leaned in for a peck, saying, “She’s got a screw loose.”

Luo Yinghe had insulted her too, calling her psychologically disturbed.

Zhou Xufang laughed, the furrow in her brow smoothing out as she nodded, “I think so too.” Then she asked Jiang Zhi, “With this tape, can she be convicted?”

Jiang Zhi packed away the items and leaned over to fasten her seatbelt, “Her conversation with Peng Xianzhi doesn’t mention you, so this alone isn’t enough. But if Peng Xianzhi is willing to testify against her, she could probably be convicted.”

Now, they just needed Peng Xianzhi to crack.

“Incitement to murder,” said Jiang Zhi, “could land her behind bars for a very long time.”

There was another thing that puzzled Zhou Xufang, who thought for a moment and did not understand, “Why would Luo Huaiyu also want to snatch this tape?” She couldn’t believe the old man had intervened just to protect his family.

Jiang Zhi plugged in the car key and turned the steering wheel, “Perhaps, he’s an accomplice too.”

The car made a U-turn and headed for Cangjiang Road.

It had been drizzly for the past few days, and by evening, it was already dark, with the neon lights along the road turning on, one by one.

Zhou Xufang looked out the car window, “Aren’t we going back to Yuquan Bay?” This wasn’t the way back to her home.

Jiang Zhi said without looking back, “Let’s go to my place.” “But you don’t have a kitchen.”

Zhou Xufang normally lived alone, but since Jiang Zhi often visited, the place already had a fair number of new pieces of furniture and decor, just no kitchenware.

“Do we need to cook?”

Jiang Zhi hummed in response, “Aren’t you tired of takeout?”

She had casually complained yesterday, saying she didn’t want it anymore, that she was fed up with it, but, “I can’t cook.” Her past attempts had resulted in food that was too appalling to stomach, and she hadn’t considered cooking since.

Jiang Zhi said, “I’ll cook.”

“You know how?”

“No,” he glanced over at her, then back to the road, “I’ll have to learn.”

He was driving with one hand and reached for her hand with the other, which she heartlessly shook off, “Focus on driving properly.” After the reminder, she continued the conversation about cooking, “We could eat out instead.”

Jiang Zhi had his compelling reasons, “One of us should learn, otherwise who’ll cook for you when you go to Moon Bay?”

He was still hung up on Moon Bay, worried about being left behind.

So, the conclusion was, “You must take me with you.” The tone was a strong one of seeking affection!

“We,” Zhou Xufang really loved that word, it sounded so pleasant and uplifting, “You make a good point.”

She didn’t disagree, so Jiang Zhi took it as her consent that she would take him with her to Moon Bay in the future, his mouth turning up at the corners, “Of course, Zhou Xufang’s boyfriend is the best.”

Zhou Xufang nodded vigorously, in full agreement, “Mhm~”

Her boyfriend was indeed the best in the world!

After a trip to the supermarket, having purchased all the necessary cooking ingredients, they got home at six thirty, right on time to start cooking. Jiang Zhi’s place had all the kitchenware, all chosen by Xue Baoyi, maybe not the most practical, but definitely the most expensive.

The world’s best boyfriend, Jiang Zhi, handed Zhou Xufang a bunch of sweet potato leaves, “Just sit here and peel the vines.”

He supported her waist, lifted her up, and placed her on a chair next to the dining table.

He didn’t plan to let her into the kitchen, her hands were more precious than his.

Zhou Xufang looked at the vegetables in the basket, “Is this all I’m doing?”

Jiang Zhi bent forward, tapping her forehead with his finger, smiling with soft light filling his eyes, “Once you’re done with that, I’ll give you more tasks.”

Zhou Xufang was all too happy to listen, and since they were at home, enclosed by four walls and a ceiling, she took the initiative to kiss Jiang Zhi on the lips, “Okay.”

Then, Jiang Zhi kissed her thoroughly before he left.

Zhou Xufang, her face flushed and heart racing, picked through the vegetables, feeling as sweet inside as if she’d eaten cotton candy. After a while, she went to get the cassette, to listen to it once more in the player.

Jiang Zhi headed to the kitchen, taking his laptop with him, opening it up, and sending a video call invitation to Shuangxi’s mother, Ms. Song.

Ms. Song accepted.

A chicken’s head popped up on the screen first, “Cluck cluck cluck!”

Jiang Zhi, “…”

That chicken had gained so much weight; he could hardly recognize it as the very one Zhou Xufang had given him—Ms. Song’s beloved pet, Shuangxi.

Jiang Zhi called out, “Auntie.”

Ms. Song answered with a beaming smile, clasping her pet in her arms, “Where’s Shuangxi’s mom?”

Ms. Song had a young girl’s heart, treating Shuangxi like her granddaughter, knitting it countless little sweaters and booties. Right now, Shuangxi was adorned in a checkered sweater dress, complete with a matching wool beret.

Jiang Zhi found it somewhat hard to look at, trying his best not to stare at the chicken, “She’s picking vegetables.”

Ms. Song then asked, “Are you cooking?” sounding a bit skeptical.

“Mhm.”

Shuangxi clucked again.

Ms. Song slapped its rump, “Shuangxi, stop fidgeting, your dad is learning to cook.”

Jiang Zhi, “…”

It almost made it sound like he’d sired it.

Ms. Song asked again, “Did you buy everything?”

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“Everything on the list,” he replied. The list was what Ms. Song had compiled for him the night before.

Ms. Song thought it was Shuangxi’s mother who was going to cook, not the pampered Shuangxi’s father, who’d never laid fingers in spring water.

“Alright, let’s make two simple dishes today,” said Ms. Song, “Your wife likes sweets, doesn’t she?” She knew quite a bit about Shuangxi’s mother, aware that both Shuangxi’s mom and dad liked milk and cotton candy.

Over there, Jiang Zhi was delighted by the term ‘wife,’ his lips curling into a smile, “Hmm, my family does like sweets,” his voice laced with a hint of boasting.

Ms. Song said, “Then let’s make sweet and sour pork ribs.”

Jiang Zhi replied, “Okay.”

He adjusted the angle of his laptop.

Ms. Song looked around the kitchen and began to give remote instructions, “First, blanch the ribs.”

Blanch?

Jiang Zhi looked puzzled.

It was obvious that it was his first time in the kitchen.

The Jiang Family was a prominent clan, and Old Lady Jiang was born into a scholarly family. The household still maintained old customs and traditions, where boys were not allowed in the kitchen.

Gentlemen should focus on their inner development and cherish their well-being.

Moreover, Jiang Zhi, who had been frail and frequently ill since childhood, was someone who had people to dress and serve him drinks.

Such a pampered young master was now about to taste the toils of worldly life for his beloved girl.

Ms. Song felt quite emotional—there was a sense of relief akin to marrying off a daughter, you know? There’s the fear that one’s daughter, once married off, won’t know how to do anything and will be scorned by her in-laws. A mother wants to impart all she knows to her daughter before she gets married. That’s exactly how Ms. Song felt now.

With such feelings, Ms. Song started giving instructions, “Use the pot on your left, fill it halfway with water, and heat it up.”

Jiang Zhi took a pot, filled it halfway with water, placed it on the stove, then turned on the burner. After trying the switch three times, there was no flame. He turned back to the computer, “The fire won’t start.”

Ms. Song, examining the screen, asked, “Did you turn on the gas?”

Ripples of confusion appeared in Jiang Zhi’s peach blossom eyes, “Do I have to?”

Ms. Song replied, “Of course.”

Jiang Zhi inquired, “Where do I turn it on?”

Ms. Song was at a loss for words…

She felt that making these sweet and sour pork ribs was going to be a grueling process.

Twenty minutes later.

Zhou Xufang called out from the living room, “Jiang Zhi.” She was holding two sweet potato leaves, shaking them as she said, “I’ve picked them all.”

Jiang Zhi emerged from the kitchen, wearing a pink apron with the sleeves of his home outfit rolled up, his arms wet, “Do you know how to peel potatoes?”

Zhou Xufang was full of enthusiasm, “I do.”

Given how cleanly she had peeled the sweet potato vines, not a trace of skin was left.

Jiang Zhi went to the kitchen, got two potatoes and a peeler, and handed them to Zhou Xufang, “Be gentle and don’t hurt your hands.” He had to find something for her to do, or else she would definitely want to help in the kitchen.

He didn’t want her in there, just didn’t want her there—he wanted to pamper her.

Zhou Xufang replied, “Hmm.”

As soon as she took the potatoes, there was a sudden loud bang!

Jiang Zhi asked, “What was that sound?”

Zhou Xufang reacted, pointing at the tape recorder, “The cassette.” She explained, “I forgot to turn it off, it kept playing.”

After Luo Qinghe and Peng Xianzhi left the greenhouse, there were no other sounds on tape, and she thought there was nothing else recorded.

Jiang Zhi walked over and turned the volume up to maximum.

The noise they heard was the sound of a flowerpot hitting the ground, followed by footsteps and the clattering of someone bumping into a flower rack.

“Are you so afraid of me?”

It was a man’s voice.

There was also the sound of panicked, frightened gasping, coming from someone else.

“What are you hiding from?”

“It was you outside the door that day, wasn’t it?”

“Did you see it? Did you see everything?”

The man’s voice trailed off, followed by a thud, and then silence.

A few minutes later, the tape ran to its end and stopped.

Jiang Zhi rewound the tape and listened again, confirming, “It’s Luo Changde.”

Zhou Xufang also recognized the voice. Only Luo Changde’s voice could be heard; the other person had not spoken throughout the entire recording. She said, “The other person is me.”

Jiang Zhi shared her suspicion, “You might have seen something you weren’t supposed to see.”

No wonder Luo Changde went to such lengths to obtain this tape.

The waters of the Luo Family ran deep indeed.