Chapter 47: Make Him Scram
“No, I can explain,” Ge Kai rushed to speak. “It’s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding… We were just joking with little… with Jiang Si. There was no malice, really no malice at all.”
Jiang Si couldn’t be bothered to give them any face. “I will find out exactly what happened to A-Xi.”
“If she died because of you…” He paused for a few seconds, then said, “You can look forward to what happens next.”
Hai Di said to his assistant, ” regarding the cooperation, go back and re-evaluate it.”
With that, he strode to catch up with Jiang Si, who had already left.
The two walked one after the other. Jiang Si, walking with large strides, found it inconceivable the more he thought about it.
How could it be so sudden?
A-Xi was actually dead.
Hai Di followed quietly behind, not making a sound the whole way. It wasn’t until they exited the restaurant’s main gate and Jiang Si stood under the sunlight, turning back to look at him.
“Hai Di… can I ask you a favor…”
“You can,” Hai Di agreed immediately, walking down the steps one by one to stand before him. “But you have to tell me who she is first.”
Jiang Si’s heart moved slightly. He actively took Hai Di’s hand and explained, “Don’t misunderstand. A-Xi was my friend… she was also like a sister to me.”
Hai Di listened patiently.
“We were college classmates and colleagues on the company project. She and Zhang Shuo were a couple since university. I can’t figure it out. Before I resigned, she told me they were getting married. How could something happen so suddenly?”
“I thought this time… she had just resigned to prepare for the wedding.”
He didn’t expect they were now separated by life and death.
“I will investigate it clearly.” Hai Di rubbed his fingers and led him to the car.
Jiang Si was downcast for a while but soon recovered. He turned to ask Hai Di about what just happened. “You were going to cooperate with Ge Kai and his team?”
Hai Di didn’t know who Ge Kai was, but with a little association, he could guess. He pondered what to say to be safe. “It’s currently in the evaluation stage, not a confirmed cooperation.”
“You want to make movies too?” Jiang Si asked, surprised.
“No, making movies is too troublesome. It’s better to just buy ready-made copyrights.” Hai Di glanced at him. “The new media industry is already saturated. It’s hard for me to get a foot in the door, so I might as well create a new industry.”
“There is huge room for IP merchandise development in the country right now. Instead of investing money in films and dramas that might not succeed, it’s better to develop merchandise industries targeting fan bases.”
Jiang Si understood. “I was wondering why Ge Kai was so generous in saying he wanted to compensate me. Turns out he found a sugar daddy.”
Hai Di felt awkward. “My assistant was in charge of the early stages of this matter. I didn’t know the specific details.”
“I don’t blame you,” Jiang Si said. “I just think all of this is such a coincidence.”
“That saying is truly correct: Karma revolves, and retribution is swift. This company has already had six people die.”
That was counting Qin Zhansheng’s wife and children, who had an indirect relationship with the company.
“Six people?” Hai Di was startled.
Jiang Si tilted his head. “Maybe there will soon be a seventh.”
Interrupted by Zhang Shuo, Jiang Si had lost all sleepiness. He followed Hai Di to his house and stayed for a while. After eating, he proposed going to Baiyun Temple to have a look.
Hai Di frowned at the dark circles under his eyes. He reached out and kneaded Jiang Si’s earlobe down to the back of his neck, speaking gently, “Rest for a while first. It won’t delay anything.”
The afternoon wind drifted in through the window, lifting the white gauze curtains to sway in the air.
Jiang Si wanted to refuse, but Hai Di pulled him strongly into his arms, half-hugging and half-pushing him into the bedroom.
“I can’t sleep…” Unable to break free, Jiang Si could only follow the force and be pressed onto the bed, looking up at him.
“Then just lie down for a while.” Saying this, Hai Di brushed away his stray hair, pressed his fingers against his temples, and gently massaged them. “I’ll accompany you here and wake you when it’s time.”
“You really have so much free time,” Jiang Si teased, but his body honestly shifted into a comfortable position.
In less than five minutes, the person who was just talking tough had fallen fast asleep, eyes closed tight, breathing softly.
Staring at him for a while, Hai Di smiled helplessly, tucked him in, and quietly got up to handle other matters.
In a villa area in Ning City.
The nanny returned with the groceries she had bought. Finding the door half-open, she assumed the owners had returned.
She went in and looked around but didn’t see a soul.
Thinking they were resting upstairs, she went to the kitchen to cook a few dishes. By the time she set the table, it was dinner time, but still, no one came down.
After thinking it over, the nanny decided to go up and say hello.
Whether they ate or not didn’t matter, but she had to show her professional service attitude to the employers.
Walking up the stairs and approaching the master bedroom, the nanny hadn’t even thought of what to say. Her finger just touched the door when, with a creak, the bedroom door swung open.
Her heart tightened, and her eyes widened instantly. Caught off guard by the scene fully revealed inside, she covered her mouth and ran backward in disbelief.
“Someone come quick—someone died—”
“Someone is dead—”
In the room behind the open door, a middle-aged man hung in mid-air, eyes rolled back, face purple and blue. Clearly, he had been dead for some time.
Lying at his feet was a sheet of white paper filled with densely written text.
……
“Apart from the ligature marks, there are no other external injuries on the deceased. The rope used for hanging was the deceased’s fishing line, which only has his fingerprints on it. According to the surveillance, before the nanny returned, only he was in the villa. For now, it can be judged as suicide.”
The forensic doctor spoke, handing the white paper in the evidence bag over. “Look at this.”
The officer who took the paper read it quickly, his expression turning solemn. He called to the others, “Everyone follow me back to the station. Looks like this is a big case!”
On the elevated highway of Ning City, seven or eight police cars flashed their lights, roaring toward an arrest scene.
After a busy night, the Ning City police busted four gambling dens. The largest one was actually in a suburban villa area. The ringleader was none other than the deceased who had committed suicide. Relying on his public office power, he provided a tight protective umbrella for gambling and recklessly amassed wealth.
In his work, he engaged in nepotism, neglected his duties, and was corrupt by nature.
His private life was chaotic, with lovers lined up all the way to foreign countries. The youngest girl he had defiled was only sixteen. The phrase “bullying men and dominating women, preying on the people” couldn’t be more appropriate.
Yet such a person had strangely committed suicide at home, and before dying, managed to confess all his crimes, including his accomplices.
The police found it incredible, but after repeated verification, they found no discrepancies with the note.
In the end, they could only conclude that his conscience had not completely vanished.
Unaware that a huge turmoil had secretly occurred in Ning City, Jiang Si woke up, dazed to see the sky turning dark outside.
The room temperature was comfortable—neither cold nor hot, nor dry. The mattress was soft, the duvet fluffy. Lying in it felt like sinking into cotton; his limbs were so comfortable he had no strength at all.
Jiang Si felt relaxed all over. He squinted, rolled over, and picked up his phone to check the time.
The moment he turned on his phone, a message from Ge Kai popped up first.
After scanning it, Jiang Si understood. It seemed that seeing his unusual relationship with the potential “sugar daddy,” Ge Kai finally backed down from his persistent attitude.
He got up, put on his shoes, and went to find Hai Di.
The lights in the living room weren’t on, and the lighting was dim. He could only see a vague figure sitting on the sofa. Getting closer, he saw it was Hai Di reading documents. The brightness of the computer screen was naturally lowered, appearing somewhat dim.
“Why didn’t you turn on the lights?” Jiang Si stood behind the sofa looking at him. Suddenly moving from darkness to focus, his eyes hadn’t adjusted yet.
“I was too absorbed, didn’t notice it got dark.” Hearing him, Hai Di realized the sky around them had dimmed. Putting down the computer, he said helplessly, “I contacted the Abbot. Tomorrow is the fifteenth, and the temple will hold rituals as usual. You can go with me tomorrow.”
Jiang Si said, “Okay.” With that, he turned and switched on the light. “If you’re busy, just keep working. I can go by myself tomorrow.”
Looking at Hai Di again, he was suddenly stunned. Hai Di was wearing a black shirt, a pair of thin gold-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. The light reflected off the lenses, obscuring his gaze. His whole body exuded a cold, ‘strangers keep away’ temperament.
“Come here.” Hai Di simply beckoned to him.
Jiang Si walked over, confused. “What is it?”
As soon as he sat down, Hai Di turned the computer toward him and clicked open a document.
“Read this.”
Jiang Si quickly scanned through it. The good mood from his rest vanished without a trace. “How could this be…”
Hai Di’s investigation was fast. Only a few hours had passed, and he had obtained the cause and effect of A-Xi’s accident.
It was actually very simple, without any conspiracies or schemes.
It was merely because she died from overwork.
Unlike Lou Qilei, she died on her way home from work. She collapsed on the stairs of the subway station, her heart ruptured, and was declared dead before rescue could arrive.
“Notice this.” Hai Di clicked the mouse, highlighting a line of text in red.
“The date of death was the 3rd, and she was buried on the 5th. Don’t you think the timeline is too rushed?”
Normally, regarding sudden death from overwork, the family would definitely negotiate employee compensation with the company. The time frame could range from a week to several months. Crucially, the deceased’s body plays a key role in confirming if it was a work-related death, so cremation wouldn’t happen so easily.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Si said, “A-Xi was an orphan. Her family… was only her then-fiancé, Zhang Shuo.”
Speaking of this, he finally understood. “No wonder he took my position. Whether in terms of ability or seniority, he shouldn’t have been the project leader.”
“He used A-Xi’s death to make a deal with Qin Zhansheng.”
“Good. Very good.” Jiang Si took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. He took out his phone and called Ge Kai.
Ge Kai was a bit confused when he received the call. He didn’t expect Jiang Si to take the initiative to call; he had prepared himself to be given the cold shoulder.
Jiang Si simply said, “Forget everything else. I only demand one thing.”
“What?” Ge Kai didn’t understand.
“Make Zhang Shuo scram.”
“Then shall I transfer him to another project team?”
“Fire him.” Jiang Si looked at the screen. “I want to make sure he can’t survive in this industry.”
“…This isn’t good, is it? After all, he didn’t do anything wrong…”
Jiang Si: “How much do you know about him and Qin Zhansheng?”
Ge Kai instantly went mute, daring not to speak further.
“Three days. Find a reason to make him scram.”
…
Hai Di showed him another file after he finished the call.
“Although Qin Zhansheng is dead, I still investigated him in passing. As of now, everything he did has been thoroughly dug up by the police.”
“How much of the inside story do you know?” His gaze toward Jiang Si was dark and unreadable.
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thank you for the chapter 🙂