Chapter 513: Killing with a Borrowed Knife?

Chapter 513: Killing with a Borrowed Knife?

“Perhaps… you should reconsider?” Meng Junhao’s voice trembled. He was genuinely frightened.

Wu Chen had told him earlier there would be interactions with He Shiqin. But Meng had assumed they were only putting on an act, given Li Ruobing’s involvement. He’d expected suggestive gestures at most—a hand at her waist, perhaps, or holding hands.

He had never imagined they would actually kiss.

Now Meng felt that it wasn’t just Ding Ruilong who had been cuckolded. Li Ruobing had been, too.

This had gone much, much too far.

To Meng Junhao, those photographs were a bomb capable of blowing everything apart and bringing ruin upon both Wu Chen and himself.

“Reconsider what?” Wu Chen didn’t even look up. He continued scrolling through the photographs, selecting the ones he wanted.

Some of the pictures sent by Meng’s subordinates he saved locally; others he deleted.

They needed organizing. Not every photograph was meant for Ding Ruilong.

Wu Chen wanted the sequence to feel continuous, as though the photographs hadn’t been selected at all, while using them to create precisely the right atmosphere.

Ding Ruilong had to come away believing that Wu Chen and He Shiqin had been involved for more than a day or two.

And he mustn’t spot anything suspicious.

It sounded like a demanding set of conditions, but the selection wasn’t difficult. He Shiqin had cooperated with Wu Chen throughout their performance. Even setting everything else aside, there were plenty of photographs of them exchanging frequent glances across the dinner table while He Xinxin was present. Those moments had been arranged in advance, and almost all the pictures were usable.

There was another important consideration: the photographs of He Xinxin.

Not one showed her face straight on. They showed only her profile or her back.

She had been sitting at an angle to the window.

There were also plenty of pictures of her chatting happily with Wu Chen, smiling brightly, the three of them looking like a harmonious family. Those images would probably upset Ding Ruilong even more.

“Mr. Wu…” Meng Junhao tried to speak again.

“Ruobing knows everything,” Wu Chen interrupted, offering him some reassurance. “She knows everything that happened today. Stop worrying and do your job.”

Meng Junhao’s mouth hung half-open. He swallowed the words he’d been about to say.

He wasn’t even sure whether he should believe Wu Chen.

Did Li Ruobing really know all of it?

Could she tolerate that much? Or was she simply that formidable—willing to sacrifice even her boyfriend to take revenge on Ding Ruilong? Come to think of it, the latter wasn’t impossible.

Given Li Ruobing’s personality, she might well do exactly that.

A few minutes later, Wu Chen finished sorting the pictures. He had selected 139 in all. He then connected Meng Junhao’s phone to his own via Bluetooth and transferred them.

Meng watched him. Only when the transfer was nearly complete did he ask, “Mr. Wu, when exactly should I send these photographs to Ding Ruilong?”

“Wait for my call,” Wu Chen replied.

The transfer finished.

Wu Chen returned the phone to Meng Junhao, glanced out the car window, and said with a calm smile, “Once you’ve sent the photographs, this is what you tell Ding Ruilong…”

He explained a few more essential points.

In particular, why Meng hadn’t managed to follow He Shiqin to her residence and photograph it.

And why he hadn’t continued following Wu Chen.

The same explanation could cover both.

Not following Wu Chen wasn’t much of a problem. His address was no secret. Saying that he’d gone home after dinner wouldn’t arouse Ding Ruilong’s suspicions.

The real issue was why Meng hadn’t followed He Shiqin.

After explaining everything thoroughly, Wu Chen told Meng Junhao to get out.

Meng had no way to back out now. He had watched Wu Chen transfer the selected photographs to his own phone. He knew perfectly well that even if he refused to deliver them to Ding Ruilong, Wu Chen could simply have someone else do it.

…

Night.

Around 7:45 p.m.

Villa No. 36, Zunrong Donghai Huafu.

In the brightly lit, lavish living room, Li Ruobing stood with her arms folded, pacing before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that rose through the double-height space.

Click, click, click went her high heels.

She and Su Qingying had finished dinner shortly after six and arrived by seven. Yet Li Ruobing hadn’t changed her clothes or sat down to rest. She’d been pacing the entire time, visibly restless.

“Ruobing, what’s wrong with you? Has something happened to Wu Chen?” Su Qingying approached from behind. She had just come downstairs after showering and changing into pajamas, the scent of body wash still lingering around her.

Li Ruobing turned and looked at her, but said nothing.

The matter involved He Shiqin, Ding Ruilong’s illegitimate daughter, and even the Li, Ding, and Dong families. It wasn’t that explaining it would be especially difficult. Li Ruobing simply didn’t know whether Su Qingying should be told.

Su Qingying would find out sooner or later, once the matter concerning Su Ruiwen was resolved.

But until Wu Chen gave his permission, Li Ruobing wouldn’t say anything.

She also didn’t want to burden Su Qingying with her own worries.

Ding!

The elevator.

Wu Chen was back.

Li Ruobing and Su Qingying turned at the same time. When Wu Chen stepped out, Su Qingying smiled sweetly and hurried toward him in her slippers, taking quick little steps.

By the time Wu Chen reached the sofa, Su Qingying was beside him.

“Hubby, you’re back.” She immediately wrapped her arms around him and sat down with him. Then she sniffed and said, “Hubby, you’ve been drinking.”

She was being rather clingy.

Over the past two days, Su Qingying had been making every effort to see Wu Chen. She wanted a child, and she’d calculated that these were days when she had a particularly good chance of conceiving.

With her thoughts fixed on that, it was only natural that she was acting this way.

“You smell wonderful!” Wu Chen sniffed her in return and playfully brushed a finger over her nose.

“Hubby, do you have anything else to do tonight? Are you going out?” Su Qingying asked with a sweet smile.

When a fairy smiled, she truly was breathtaking.

“No. I’ll take a shower, we’ll chat for a while, and then I’ll get some rest,” Wu Chen replied with a smile.

Click, click, click.

Li Ruobing approached.

“Are you showering now? We might as well shower together,” she said, casting a glance at Su Qingying.

Su Qingying’s expression turned a little strange, though it passed almost instantly.

She assumed Li Ruobing had said it deliberately, right in front of her.

She even wondered whether her own affectionate greeting had irritated Li Ruobing, who was already in a bad mood, and whether Li Ruobing was now making a small show of asserting her position.

Women could be sensitive to such little things.

But Su Qingying had misunderstood.

Li Ruobing had indeed spoken deliberately, but only because she needed a chance to be alone with Wu Chen. If she’d openly asked him for a private conversation, Su Qingying might have said she understood, but she could still feel hurt, as though the two of them were hiding something important from her.

Li Ruobing did consider other people’s feelings.

“A shower, then. Let’s go.” Wu Chen smiled, kissed Su Qingying on the cheek, and stood to go upstairs.

Li Ruobing followed him.

They entered the second-floor bedroom.

They really were going to shower. That wouldn’t stop them from talking.

“You had all the photographs taken?” Li Ruobing asked.

“All done. Want to see them?” Wu Chen smiled.

They talked as they undressed.

Li Ruobing wasn’t interested in looking at the pictures. She understood Ding Ruilong better than most people. When the Li family had once considered him as a prospective son-in-law, they’d investigated him thoroughly, and she’d read all the reports.

So she could imagine his reaction.

Photographs like those would drive Ding Ruilong mad, no matter what.

“Why are you so sure Ding Ruilong won’t figure it out? With the Dong family involved, even if he were only trying to guard against the possibility…” Li Ruobing asked.

She was remarkably calm. She’d become anxious during their earlier phone call, but that feeling had passed. Now she simply wanted to understand Wu Chen’s reasoning and how he intended to avoid the risks.

“You’re thinking of so many possibilities because you know what I’ve done. You’re looking at everything from my perspective.

“But what does Ding Ruilong know?

“He doesn’t know I’ve spoken to your father, and he doesn’t know what I’ve been doing lately. He knows He Shiqin is aware of the murder he committed years ago, but why would he think I knew about it?

“He won’t think I know. That’s the starting point.

“And based on what he knows of He Shiqin, he’ll be absolutely convinced that she’d never dare tell me about it herself. In fact, she really doesn’t have that kind of courage.

“Even in the unlikely event that he thinks I’ve found out, he’d never imagine I could have any connection with the Dong family. It’s too far-fetched. And I genuinely don’t have any connection with them—at least, not yet.

“He won’t believe I’m capable of reaching the Dong family.”

Splash, splash.

As they talked, Wu Chen and Li Ruobing entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. The water ran at a moderate flow. Despite the echoes, they could hear each other clearly.

“Wouldn’t that still be strange?” Li Ruobing frowned slightly as she lathered Wu Chen with soap. “You suddenly bring He Shiqin to Donghai. There has to be a reason. He’ll try to guess what it is.”

“Revenge is reason enough.” Wu Chen smiled and reminded her, “Do you remember what happened to me before I went to Modu?”

Li Ruobing paused and met his eyes. She thought back over the dates and understood at once.

Before that trip, Wu Chen had been attacked by professional killers led by Old Dao.

“So he’ll think you’re taking revenge on him? Just like that?” she asked.

“Male psychology,” Wu Chen said with a smile. “Compared with women, men tend to be more sensitive about being cuckolded. It matters more to them. He’ll think I deliberately pursued He Shiqin and brought her back to Donghai to get revenge on him. He’ll also think I’m keeping his daughter close in case I need her as leverage against him. Those will be his instinctive conclusions—the first things that come to mind.”

“Mm…” Li Ruobing considered his explanation and seemed to agree. She was trying to see things from Ding Ruilong’s perspective.

She realized that she’d been looking at the situation the wrong way.

The mistake came from knowing just how capable Wu Chen was. She understood what a devastating weapon He Shiqin could be in his hands.

Ding Ruilong didn’t understand Wu Chen nearly as well.

He might only think Wu Chen was exceptionally skilled at winning women over—and extremely good at fighting.

Ding Ruilong probably had no deeper impression of him in other respects.

“But what if?” Li Ruobing asked after a moment’s silence.

“That’s where you come in. What you say when Ding Ruilong calls you will determine whether that ‘what if’ ever becomes a problem,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

“Me?” Li Ruobing paused in what she was doing. “Then what should I say?”

Wu Chen explained it to her. It wasn’t particularly complicated. The main purpose of Li Ruobing’s response would be to stoke Ding Ruilong’s anger further, making him even angrier, stripping away his reason, and driving him completely mad.

A few minutes later.

“Hubby, can you tell me the truth? What’s your real purpose in doing this? Is it just to make Ding Ruilong angry?” Li Ruobing asked, tilting her face up toward him.

“Take a guess.” Wu Chen smiled.

“Tell me, hubby. Hubby…” Perhaps she was more relaxed now, or perhaps she’d begun experimenting with a different way of treating Wu Chen.

She was actually imitating the coaxing tone Su Qingying had used earlier.

It didn’t seem out of place, either.

After all, Li Ruobing was a woman—and an exceptionally beautiful one.

“Ding Ruilong,” Wu Chen began, deciding he could tell her, “has a particular behavior he invariably falls into when he’s pushed to extremes. He was like that in high school, and there have been examples over the years…”

“What behavior?” Li Ruobing asked, blinking.

“He tries to kill his enemies with his own hands,” Wu Chen said.

Li Ruobing froze, then collected herself and thought about it.

That did seem to be true. From what she knew, Ding Ruilong had personally killed the member of the Dong family, and he’d personally broken the legs of the young man from the Wei family. The reasons the latter hadn’t been killed were more complicated. In short, elders from the Ding family had arrived in time and stopped Ding Ruilong from torturing him to death.

“So…” Li Ruobing prompted.

“So wherever I am, Ding Ruilong will come. I can lure him to Donghai,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

“…And then?” she asked.

“Then someone who isn’t one of our people—someone who could even be called an enemy—who also has a grudge against Ding Ruilong, will make a move against him,” Wu Chen said, his smile turning knowing.

“Hmm?” Li Ruobing was genuinely stunned. Her eyes widened.

So that was where this plan was leading…

“Killing with a borrowed knife?” she exclaimed, hardly able to believe it.

What made it so unbelievable was the question of who would dare attack Ding Ruilong.

“I can’t be sure Ding Ruilong will die. The other man’s abilities are limited, though he does have the nerve. But whether it succeeds or fails, whether Ding Ruilong is injured or killed, it’ll be two dogs tearing at each other. Either way, it benefits us,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

“Who is he?” Li Ruobing asked.

“Lei Cheng’s older brother. Lei You,” Wu Chen replied.

Li Ruobing was briefly stunned again.

Lei You?

What now? Just how complicated was this plan? How could Wu Chen possibly induce Lei You to attack Ding Ruilong?

“It’s complicated,” Wu Chen said before she could ask.

So Li Ruobing didn’t pursue it. As long as Wu Chen was safe, the rest didn’t matter much. There was no hurry to learn everything. Many things hadn’t happened yet; she could ask when they did.

Around 8:30 p.m., Wu Chen and Li Ruobing finished showering and came out.

Li Ruobing did eventually look through Wu Chen’s phone at the hundred-plus photographs. She was relaxed now and only browsing out of casual interest. Afterward, she showed no particular reaction. She even smiled and remarked, “Ding Ruilong’s going to be furious.”

“Ha.” Wu Chen laughed softly.

Li Ruobing returned his phone and left the bedroom first, going downstairs to talk with Su Qingying.

Wu Chen sat and rested for a moment, then browsed his phone, tapped a few times, and called Meng Junhao.

The call was answered almost instantly.

“Hello, Mr. Wu.” Meng Junhao instinctively lowered his voice.

“Send them,” Wu Chen said.

“Mm… all right,” Meng Junhao replied.

…

At the same time.

Far to the south, beneath the same night sky, in the western suburbs of Nanguang City.

Hushu Manor.

This was Ding Ruilong’s estate in Nanguang, where he was currently recuperating. He’d originally returned to his hometown to recover near his grandfather, but after only a few days at home, he couldn’t stand it anymore and returned to Nanguang.

Although Ding Ruilong wielded the greatest power among the Ding family’s third generation, he wasn’t universally liked within the family. Some envied him; others had been offended by the way he threw his weight around at home, relying on the old master’s favor.

Since returning home injured, he’d endured no shortage of barbed remarks.

Some people gloated over his misfortune; others mocked him with cutting sarcasm.

Not everyone dared say such things to his face, but he knew about them anyway.

Ding Ruilong had no desire to stay home and suffer their insults.

Inside the manor’s villa.

In the main hall.

Ding Ruilong’s right hand was still bandaged. He held a bottle of red wine in his left hand, staggering about. One moment he sat on the sofa; the next he lit a cigarette, occasionally taking a swig of wine.

He wandered aimlessly, as though determined to drink himself into oblivion.

The hundred-inch television opposite the sofa had already been smashed. The beautifully wallpapered walls bore marks where wine bottles had struck them, leaving large stains.

Much of the living room had been wrecked.

Ding Ruilong had smashed everything that afternoon, and no one had cleaned up.

It wasn’t that there were no servants. Ding Ruilong hadn’t ordered anyone to clean, and no one dared do so.

Servants and bodyguards stood around the hall, hardly daring to breathe. They were terrified—not so much that Ding Ruilong would take out his anger on them for no reason, but that he might drink himself to death. If that happened, they’d be held responsible.

Yet no one dared advise him to stop.

Crash!

A sharp sound suddenly rang out.

Ding Ruilong had casually hurled his half-finished wine bottle onto the floor, startling everyone.

He staggered up from the sofa and wandered toward the liquor cabinet to fetch another bottle.

Just then—

Ring, ring…

His phone, lying on the coffee table, began to ring.