Chapter 129#
“How lively.”#
Jian Yunchen paused his movements and slowly walked downstairs.
Jiang Yunhan broke free from Qin Zheng’s embrace and stumbled toward Jian Yunchen. Before he could speak, tears began to fall again. He gripped Jian Yunchen’s wrist tightly, his fingertips sinking into the skin; the pain stimulated Jian Yunchen’s gradually numbing senses.
He heard Jiang Yunhan say in a trembling voice, “Xiaochen, Dad, Dad he—”
Jian Yunchen’s brain began to function at this moment. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, his tightly held wrist was forcibly separated. Qin Zheng grabbed Jiang Yunhan’s wrist, dragged him behind himself, and looked at Jian Yunchen with defensive caution.
He looked at Jian Yunchen coldly, his words laden with hidden meaning: “Xiaohan, your uncle’s life is currently hanging in the balance, and with a person like him—”
Slap.
Jiang Yunhan suddenly shook off his hand and looked at him with a face full of hurt, his eyes filled with disbelief. The hand that had been shaken off hung in mid-air, frozen for a moment.
Qin Zheng suddenly realized the impropriety of his words, frowned slightly, and explained, “Xiaohan, I didn’t mean that—”
“Enough.” Yan Yi emerged from the shadows, her face looking terrible. She walked straight past Qin Zheng and sat on the sofa, her expression full of impatience. As the light hit her face, even foundation couldn’t hide the dark circles under her eyes; she radiated a sickly weariness.
“No one has time to watch you stage an eight o’clock soap opera here. The police are already here; can we let them start doing their jobs?”
Qin Zheng’s face tightened. He felt both the displeasure of being humiliated in public and a trace of undetectable panic.
He looked at Jiang Yunhan, reached out to support him, and softened his voice: “Xiaohan, don’t be sad. Sit down for a while first.”
This time, Jiang Yunhan didn’t reject his approach and obediently let himself be led to the sofa.
The police soon began to examine the surroundings.
On the surface, Jiang Sheng appeared to have accidentally fallen down the stairs. The house’s structure was different from ordinary ones; the staircase from the first floor to the second was not only long but also featured a corner. Yet, Jiang Sheng had fallen straight to the first floor.
This indicated that it was highly likely Jiang Sheng had been pushed down the stairs—that someone had pushed him again when he stopped at the corner, waiting until he had completely closed his eyes before feeling relieved enough to leave.
Listening to the police’s description, the tears that Jiang Yunhan had finally managed to stop gushed out again. He pressed his chest tightly, weeping until he was gasping for air, his shoulders heaving violently.
Qin Zheng gently stroked his back, his gaze landing on Jian Yunchen, who was standing to the side as if watching a play.
A sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth: “After the wedding banquet, among those who remained, who had a grudge against Uncle Jiang, and who wished for his death? The pool of suspects is really… quite small, isn’t it?”
Jian Yunchen folded his arms, lips pursed, and said nothing. He listened to Qin Zheng’s obviously insinuating words with complete inner indifference.
He silently glanced up at him and then withdrew his gaze.
Jian Yunchen didn’t speak, but Jiang Yunhan, who was by Qin Zheng’s side, suddenly bristled.
He slapped away Qin Zheng’s hand and stood in front of Jian Yunchen with red-rimmed eyes. His voice trembled, but his eyes were bright: “It couldn’t be Xiaochen.”
Jiang Yunhan reached out and clutched Jian Yunchen’s wrist firmly. His voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear: “It wasn’t Xiaochen. I can testify.”
Jian Yunchen looked down at his wrist being held, a succession of strange thoughts rising in his heart.
He had never understood what was going on in Jiang Yunhan’s mind.
Just as he didn’t understand how, even though he had been the one to set Jiang Yunhan up behind his back, Jiang Yunhan had turned around and thanked him.
Nor did he understand why Jiang Yunhan, after learning the truth about the past, had still gone to that secluded little room to swap identities with him and help him escape.
And what he understood even less was why, just because of one word from him, Jiang Yunhan had truly believed that Qin Mu was framed and, for the sake of evidence, had agreed to this ridiculous engagement.
Just as it was now, he couldn’t understand what Jiang Yunhan was relying on to stand in front of him and say “It wasn’t Xiaochen.”
Jian Yunchen looked at Jiang Yunhan’s profile. That face, which was identical to his own, was covered in tear tracks. His eyes were so red, yet his grip on his wrist was exceptionally tight.
His throat gave a slight swallow. The complex and strange emotion in his heart swirled, and even he himself couldn’t explain what it was.
Yan Yi yawned nearby, lazily resting her chin on her hand, clearly having no interest in participating in this farce.
Qin Zheng’s face sank abruptly. He stood up, pulled Jiang Yunhan’s wrist, and a glimmer of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes: “Xiaohan, how can you testify? Weren’t you with me?”
“How come I don’t know that Jian Yunchen was in our room?”
“I…” Jiang Yunhan’s eyes flickered, his lips moved, but he didn’t know what to say.
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, someone walked in from outside. The man swung his body lazily; before he even arrived, his voice rang out.
“I know where Jian Yunchen was. I saw him.”
Jian Yunchen’s spine stiffened, and he turned around in disbelief.
He didn’t even need to see the face clearly; Jian Yunchen already knew who it was.
His hands clenched into fists, and he glared at him, gritting his teeth.
Jian Jinbao slowly stepped into the light.
He was a little thinner than before, but his complexion was ruddy. The timidity that used to be in his eyes had been replaced by smugness. A provocative smile hooked the corner of his mouth as he raised an eyebrow and looked at Jian Yunchen. Seeing Jian Yunchen’s gloomy face, his smile grew even wider.
He walked slowly up to the police, extended his index finger, pointed directly at Jian Yunchen, and said in a confident and loud voice: “I saw it with my own eyes—Jian Yunchen and Jiang Sheng had a fight at the scene. The injury on Jiang Sheng’s mouth was caused by him, and Jian Yunchen has injuries on him too!”
“It must be that Jian Yunchen held a grudge and intended to seek revenge, and that’s why he pushed Jiang Sheng downstairs!”
The room fell into a dead silence; one could hear a pin drop.
The police officer looked serious: “Who are you? Can you be held responsible for what you are saying?”
Jian Jinbao retracted his hand and let out a cold laugh through his nose: “Me? I’m that brat’s own uncle. Of course I can take responsibility for my words. I even heard the content of their argument at the time.”
He turned to look at Jian Yunchen, his eyes filled with a sure-to-win smile: “He did it for money, that’s why he pushed Jiang Sheng.”
Jiang Yunhan paused, and the hand gripping Jian Yunchen’s wrist tightened instantly.
A moment later, low murmurs erupted, blending various names and words, drilling into Jian Yunchen’s ears.
He listened coldly to all the evaluations around him as if they had nothing to do with him, his eyes fixed firmly on Jian Jinbao.
Several police officers stood in front of Jian Yunchen. “Please cooperate with the investigation.”
Jiang Yunhan, who was just about to speak, was interrupted by Qin Zheng. Qin Zheng pulled him over, his palm gripping his shoulders tightly, and whispered in his ear: “Xiaohan, committing perjury is a crime. Don’t ruin your entire life for a person like this.”
Before Jiang Yunhan could even frown, he was drawn to a lazy voice.
“How lively. Can I join in too?”
He turned his head abruptly and saw that figure on the stairs again.
Qin Mu stood on the stairs with one hand in his pocket, looking casual. He walked down the steps one by one until he stood beside Jian Yunchen.
Jian Yunchen stared at him, stunned, forgetting how to move.
Jiang Yunhan watched as Qin Mu instinctively hooked his arm around Jian Yunchen’s waist, the two of them leaning against each other with extreme intimacy.
The heavy stone in his heart suddenly dropped, and he let out a long sigh of relief.