Hanyan went directly home, filled the bathroom with hot water and submerged herself. Actually, she had already showered at the villa earlier, but she still felt unclean, vigorously scrubbing herself with a towel, almost peeling off a layer of skin, feeling a strong revulsion inside.
She also brushed her teeth countless times, carefully cleaning every reachable part. Finally, she accidentally cut herself somewhere, and the water she gurgled out during rinsing was tinged with red.
Just a little more, just a little bit and she could have killed him.
Killing him, and then being killed by his men, letting it all be finished. Or if lucky, she'd have the chance to face the police, tell them the whole truth. If she were luckier, the police would uncover Fu Shenxing's background, clearing her of blame. If not, they'd treat her as a delusional person. After all, Fu Shenxing looked so much like Shenzhijie, the shock to her mind causing her to make a mistake.
Unfortunately, she was just a little bit short.
She looked at herself in the mirror, her complexion ghostly, her eyes sunken making them appear larger, the pupils emitting a crazy, hateful light. This wasn't a good sign; she closed her eyes slowly, silently telling herself she couldn't go mad, not right now at least. She needed to remain calm and rational.
She resolutely put down the toothbrush, left the bathroom quickly, and went to organize her belongings in the bedroom. Liang Yuanze would be back today after being apart for over twenty days, and she had no reason to reject his affection when they met, but she couldn't face her husband with a body imprinted by another man. She needed to leave for a few days, wait for these marks to disappear.
She could come up with a good reason, a last-minute business trip for the school, or perhaps a student had an emergency in another city and she needed to go deal with it. Liang Yuanze trusted her, and any excuse she made would suffice, he wouldn't suspect anything.
She packed the items she would bring—the two sets of change, her wallet and identity documents, and the smart phone she had just bought online, identical to her current one, along with a SIM card for a different area. The online purchase process had been complicated, she had lied to her colleagues, using a coworker's computer and account, even using the coworker's name as the recipient, leaving no trace of herself.
She was cautious, not wanting to leave the slightest clue for Fu Shenxing.
Hanyan soon finished preparing to leave. Before walking out the door, she looked back at her home. Liang Yuanze would return in four or five hours, and if she chose to stay, she could throw herself into his arms and cry, seeking his help, asking him to share her pain and despair.
He would, he would be her strongest support and the safest refuge, she was certain. But he would also be drawn into this disaster, facing endless danger.
What was love in the end? Was it unconditional giving, or wholehearted trust? Was it shouldering everything alone for his happiness and well-being, or facing all difficulties and hardships with him? Hanyan had never been so unsure how to choose; she stood silently at the doorway, holding the small bag, and after a long time, she gritted her teeth and walked away from her home.
The car was still parked at the school, and she took a taxi to the other side of the city, where she checked into an inconspicuous budget hotel. She first sent a message to Liang Yuanze to explain the situation, then called the school to request a three-day leave. After completing these two tasks, she stuffed her old phone under the pillow and took out the newly purchased one.
He Yan was never a woman to sit and wait for things to happen.
Nowadays, smartphones function almost the same as computers, and the development of the internet has brought people even more unimaginable convenience. She began to investigate everything about Fu Shenxing – his identity, his background, all his companies, and any possible connections with the executed prisoner Shen Zhijie.
At noon, Liang Yuanze replied to her message. He had just landed and expressed some lovesick feelings to her, but also reminded her to take care of herself while she was outside. She wanted to call him back, but was afraid that hearing his voice would make it difficult to control her emotions, so she only exchanged a few words through messages, and finally said she would find time to call him at night.
All these exchanges were intercepted by Fu Shenxing.
The surveillance software was installed on a laptop, and since Fu Shenxing naturally didn't have time to monitor it continuously, he entrusted this task to Ajian. Ajian was both Fu Shenxing's bodyguard and an assistant, filtering through the hidden information every day and reporting anything useful to Fu Shenxing.
Looking at the content of the message, Ajian couldn't help but sigh, "Mr. Fu, how can this woman spin lies so smoothly? It's like she's telling the truth!"
That woman was the best at lying, and she could do so without changing her expression. Fu Shenxing sneered and ignored Ajian's feelings, calmly asking him, "Has she not left the hotel the whole time?"
Ajian checked the computer records and replied, "No, the phone has been consistently located at that hotel, she didn't come out for lunch either, she can really keep herself hidden."
Fu Shenxing nodded slowly, guessing that she was probably afraid of being seen by someone she knew, which was why she had been hiding in the hotel. However, that woman was also very cunning, and he couldn't afford to let his guard down. But what else could she do in her desperate struggle? Fu Shenxing momentarily couldn't figure it out. He habitually opened a drawer, took out a cigarette, but didn't smoke, just played with it between his fingers.
Ajian knew that he had a strong addiction to smoking but never indulged. He looked at him and couldn't help but say, "Mr. Fu, it's not like it's a drug. Smoking a few puffs wouldn't hurt. You never used to because of your health, but you're fine now."
Fu Shenxing was taken aback for a moment, then smiled faintly and casually threw the cigarette into the drawer, saying, "Things that shouldn't be done must never be done."
Ajian sneakily glanced at the very obvious bite marks on his lips, unable to help but scoff internally, thinking how he had said before that he shouldn't touch that woman, but he still did.
But he didn’t dare to say this, even if he were given the courage.
He Yan spent the whole day in the hotel, but didn't find much in her search. She even found less than the information Officer Chen had given her. She only knew that Fu Shenxing was a real person, and his company was called Fu's Enterprise, involved in various industries, but it was very low-key and rarely appeared in the news online.
In the evening, she called Liang Yuanze as planned, then went out to buy some food. There was a fast-food restaurant downstairs, and she chose to get takeout. As she waited for her order, she heard someone call "Teacher He." She turned around and saw the boy she had rescued from Fu Shenxing, his name was Xu Chengbo.
Xu Chengbo had just returned with a delivery, wearing a thick coat and holding a large food delivery box. He seemed pleasantly surprised to see her and asked enthusiastically, "Teacher He, what are you doing here?"
He Yan was also a little surprised. She had chosen to stay in this area to avoid running into familiar faces from home and school, but unexpectedly, she met her student here, Xu Chengbo. Suddenly bumping into an acquaintance made her a little nervous for a moment, but she quickly calmed down, gestured towards the food pick-up counter to indicate that she was waiting for her order, and then asked him in surprise, "Are you working here?"
His previous part-time fast-food restaurant was supposed to be in the area near Fu Shenxing's company, not here.
"I just got transferred, I used to work at the main branch there, and this is a sub-branch here," Xu Chengbo explained, then grinned foolishly, "Teacher He, you don't have to pick up your order in the future, just call me, and I will deliver it to you."
He Yan smiled silently and absentmindedly reached into the pocket of her coat, holding her phone tightly. She was a little afraid of this phone, afraid that it might still be bugged, but she didn't dare to throw it away for fear of being noticed by Fu Shenxing. It was her turn to pick up her order, and she went to get the food box ready to leave. Seeing Xu Chengbo wanting to see her out, she said, "You go on with your work, don't mind me."
Xu Chengbo nodded, but still enthusiastically escorted her to the door.
Seeing him standing there as if he was going to watch her leave, He Yan couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. She didn't want him to know that she lived upstairs, so reluctantly, she continued walking forward under his gaze, carrying the food box as she walked around the block, before finally returning to the hotel.
On Ajian's monitor, the small green dot representing He Yan's location had made a rather square loop. Confused, he picked up his laptop to find Fu Shenxing. "Mr. Fu, take a look at this. I'm confused by what this woman is doing. Is she really out for a walk right now?"
Fu Shenxing had just finished a meeting, and due to some arguments over profit distribution with some of the senior shareholders who had followed his father, he felt a headache raging in his brain. It caught him off guard when he heard what Ajian said and asked, "What?"
Ajing placed the notebook in front of him and opened it to show a record. "This walk of hers is leisurely, isn't it?"
Fu Shenxing looked at it for a while, lightly pinching his temples with his hand, and said casually, "Find someone to go to where she lives and see what she's really up to."
Ajing said he would go. But Fu Shenxing stopped him and after a moment of silence, said, "Forget it, I will go see her."
Ajing hesitated, carefully observing him, and then advised, "Mr. Fu, why bother wasting energy on this woman? Just kill her directly. If you're still unsatisfied, then deal with her family as well."
Fu Shenxing looked at him with a detached expression and asked, "Ajing, what do you want to say?"
Ajing was somewhat afraid of him, but as a brother, he felt he couldn't just stand by and watch his elder brother head down the wrong path. He nervously scratched his head and said cautiously, "Mr. Fu, you said that woman is inauspicious and shouldn't be touched..."
Fu Shenxing remained silent for a while, making Ajing anxious. Then he said calmly, "Ajing, I am fated to be alone, and my fate is strong. Besides," he paused and gave a cold smile, "just killing her directly, where is the fun in tormenting her like this?"
After saying this, he stood up and walked out. Ajing was taken aback for a moment, then quickly followed behind, driving him to the hotel. He parked the car downstairs and asked Fu Shenxing, "Mr. Fu, should I accompany you?"
Fu Shenxing replied calmly, "No need."
Ajing stole a glance at him, hesitated for a moment, and tentatively asked, "Then should I wait here?"
Fu Shenxing was about to get out of the car, but upon hearing this, hesitated for a moment, turned to look at Ajing, and said coldly, "Wait!"
He went upstairs and knocked on He Yan's door. He heard the sound of the TV from inside, and she responded, but after a while, the footsteps gradually approached the door, yet she didn't open it immediately. Instead, she asked, "Who's there?"
"It's me, Fu Shenxing," he replied calmly.
There was a sudden silence behind the door. He unconsciously raised the corner of his lips and stood outside the door quietly waiting for it to open. But after a while, the footsteps behind the door retreated step by step, and it seemed she had gone back into the room. He couldn't help but sneer, took out his phone and dialed her number. The phone rang inside the room, and she didn't dare to reject the call, so she answered it.
He sneered and said to her, "He Yan, do you think that just because I've been with you, I will go easy on you?"
She replied calmly, "Mr. Fu, you've misunderstood. I just thought that even if you've been with me, we aren't close enough for you to see me wearing pajamas. Please be patient and wait for a moment while I change clothes."
He didn't expect her to respond like this and was momentarily speechless. He hung up the phone and waited outside the door silently.
In the room, He Yan wasn't actually changing clothes; she was hiding the new phone she had bought. Although she answered calmly, she was nervous inside. At first, she stuffed the phone under the pillow, but then felt it wasn't safe, so she took it out and hid it under the mattress. As she got ready to open the door, she suddenly felt uneasy and kicked the phone under the bed.
After this commotion, some time was wasted. After she calmed down a bit, she opened the door for Fu Shenxing. There was an obvious impatience in his eyes, but he still gently raised the corners of his lips and sarcastically said, "Is Professor He making up with a light makeup in these few minutes?"