My Gorgeous Wife Relies on Her Beauty to Commit Crimes - Chapter 10

The howling wind echoed in her ears, and Shen Jin’s heart tightened. Without asking why, she soothed into the phone, “Don’t worry, I’ll come get you right away. Where are you?”

Xie Jing struggled to explain over the call. Having been abroad for years, she was unfamiliar with the country and clumsily described the surrounding buildings.

“There’s a bridge here, with a river below, and a skyscraper in the distance…”

The directions were too vague for Shen Jin to pinpoint. Lan Yiqing, standing beside her, asked, “What’s wrong?”

As if hearing someone with Shen Jin, Xie Jing fell silent. Only the sound of wind came through the phone, she seemed to be standing somewhere high.

“Something came up. Let’s catch up another time.”

“Huh?” Lan Yiqing sounded surprised.

Shen Jin walked as she spoke, “Do you have WeChat? Add me now. There’s a location map, turn on your phone’s GPS and send me your current position.”

She had forgotten there was another way.

“I do.”

“Can you use it?” Shen Jin’s voice was gentle.

“Yeah.” Xie Jing’s voice was muffled. “Shen Tuo taught me.”

Xie Jing had gone abroad at fifteen and wasn’t familiar with domestic apps.

“I got it.”

Xie Jing’s weary voice snapped Shen Jin back to focus.

“Stay where you are.”

Shen Jin messaged the driver. While waiting, she kept the call connected, her eyes darkening as she checked the address Xie Jing sent.

Shen Tuo had actually abandoned Xie Jing on an overpass.

She relayed the address to the driver, who sped through the deepening night. The streets had grown windy, and Shen Jin rolled down the window, letting the night air tangle her hair. Watching the streetlights blur past, her anxiety burned.

Being stranded on an overpass was dangerous.

Xie Jing wasn’t used to digital payments here. Her bag had been left in Shen Tuo’s car, leaving her with no money. Taxis were hard to flag down on the overpass, and passing cars raced by too fast.

The thought of Xie Jing standing alone on that dark bridge made Shen Jin press her lips tight.

The driver showcased his skill, cutting the usual hour-long trip to forty minutes. When Shen Jin arrived, Xie Jing was chilled by the night wind. She wore only a sequined camisole, bare feet on the rough asphalt, her strappy heels set aside. Huddled on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees, she looked up with red-rimmed eyes, tears glistening like shattered glass.

Shen Jin grabbed her arm, startled by how cold she felt.

Pulled to her feet, Xie Jing stumbled, legs numb, and collapsed against Shen Jin. Her face hit Shen Jin’s chest, nose stinging as hot tears fell like fragile snowflakes melting into Shen Jin’s warmth.

Shen Jin’s chest rose and fell as her hand instinctively stroked Xie Jing’s back, soothing her gently.

Xie Jing clutched Shen Jin’s shirt, crying in fear and relief.

Shen Jin quietly patted her back as the wind whipped through their clothes, howling into the distance. The city would find no peace tonight.

Once Xie Jing calmed slightly, Shen Jin took her hand and guided her into the car. Then she walked back, bent down, and picked up Xie Jing’s discarded shoes. Xie Jing turned her face away, as if unwilling to let Shen Jin see her disheveled state.

But Shen Jin understood the stubbornness in that averted gaze.

She knelt on one knee by the car, holding Xie Jing’s foot as she firmly yet gently helped her put on the shoe. When her fingers brushed against Xie Jing’s injured ankle, her movements paused slightly before becoming even more careful.

Xie Jing looked down at her. Shen Jin placed her foot back down, stood up, and said to Xie Jing, “I’ll take you home.” Then she closed the car door and got in from the other side.

The car was silent.

After a long while, Shen Jin felt a hand slowly reaching toward her. She turned to look at Xie Jing, who still avoided her gaze but extended her hand to touch Shen Jin’s fingers first. Seeing no resistance, Xie Jing gradually tightened her grip, interlacing their fingers and holding her palm firmly.

Shen Jin initially wanted to pull away, but then she remembered Xie Jing’s reddened eyes. Silently, she turned her head away.

A distance remained between them as usual, like parallel lines that would never meet in the rearview mirror. Yet on the seat between them, their hands were tightly clasped.

Outside the window, the shadows of trees flickered indistinctly. The sky had changed, tomorrow would likely be overcast.

Shen Jin pressed her lips together, her heart tangled like an unravelable knot of yarn.

…

When they arrived home, Shen Tuo wasn’t there, and his car was gone too. Xie Jing went upstairs to shower, while Shen Jin called the assistant who had been with them earlier to ask what had happened during the day.

The assistant was startled to receive a call from the boss late at night but quickly answered, “Nothing happened at the company. The young master met with the branch office staff and then left.”

“Do you know where he went?” Shen Jin asked slowly.

The assistant’s heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly replied, “I overheard the young master on the phone saying something about friends inviting him to race.”

“I see.”

After hanging up, Shen Jin opened a map app on her phone, where a red dot blinked, over twenty kilometers away from her.

Their conflict must have happened in the evening. She still didn’t know what exactly had transpired between Shen Tuo and Xie Jing.

On the deserted streets late at night, the roar of speeding sports cars and the deafening rev of engines set the street racers’ blood boiling.

Shen Tuo reached the finish line and sullenly accepted the drink his friend handed him.

The friend glanced at him and chuckled. “Even the great Young Master Shen can’t win over a woman?”

Shen Tuo snorted. “None of your business!” He crushed the can in his hand and angrily kicked it aside, still feeling frustrated.

Because he couldn’t win Xie Jing over, Shen Tuo’s friends had given him a terrible idea bring her along to the races, where the combination of fast cars, beautiful women, and the crowd’s cheers would surely help him get close to her. But the moment Shen Tuo leaned in, Xie Jing slapped him across the face and walked away. They had been on an overpass at the time, and in his anger, Shen Tuo drove off in the opposite direction.

Shen Tuo sighed. With anyone else, he would’ve retaliated instantly, but with Xie Jing, he had somehow grown accustomed to her slaps like he had a masochistic streak. Rubbing his cheek, he heard someone ask, “Another round?”

Before he could answer, his phone rang. Wondering who would call so late, he pulled it out and nearly dropped it when he saw the caller ID. Coughing nervously, he barked at the others, “Shut up, all of you!” before answering, “Mom.”

Silence fell instantly around him.

“Shen Tuo, get your ass home right now, or I’ll send someone to drag you back.”

Shen Tuo sucked in a breath, feeling the sting return to the left side of his face where he’d been slapped earlier. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I’m coming back now.”

“What, the great Young Master Shen calling it quits? The good boy’s going home?” The crowd burst into laughter.

“Go to hell,” Shen Tuo cursed. “Next time you come around, just you wait!” After hurling the threat, he floored the accelerator, taking a shortcut home in a hurry.

Shen Jin called for her bodyguards. Sitting on the living room sofa, she lit a cigarette, took a single drag, then set it on the table, watching it slowly burn out. By the time the fifth cigarette had burned to the filter, the sound of a car echoed from outside, its glaring headlights flooding the room. Shen Tuo stepped inside and was startled by the scene in the living room.

He stood at the doorway, forcing an awkward smile. “Mom, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Come here,” Shen Jin said, lifting her gaze as the last ember of the cigarette faded.

Shen Tuo cautiously eyed the two imposing figures standing behind Shen Jin and refused to take another step forward.

“I’ll just say it from here,” Shen Tuo said stubbornly, tilting his chin up.

Shen Jin sneered and raised a hand toward the bodyguards beside her. Like an eagle snatching a chick, they hauled Shen Tuo back. He tried to escape but knew it was futile, yelping, “Don’t hit my face! I’m a grown man now!”

Shen Jin slapped him, right across the other cheek. Her voice was icy. “Street racing, drinking, clubbing, womanizing.”

“None of the good, but every bit of the bad.”

Shen Tuo looked at her with wounded eyes.

Shen Jin hadn’t disciplined him in a long time, as if she’d given up on him. He had no idea what had set her off today. Menopausal old hag, he grumbled inwardly.

Fear was all he felt for Shen Jin no respect whatsoever. Because he knew she was nothing but a dog of the Shen family!

Shen Jin waved a hand. “The usual.”

The bodyguards dragged Shen Tuo outside, his agonized screams soon filling the air.

The butler promptly handed her a towel, cautiously advising, “The young master is grown now, and we have guests in the house. Is this kind of discipline still appropriate?”

Shen Jin let out a cold laugh, wiping her hands as she replied, “It’s because he’s grown that he needs it more. I’ve been too lenient with him before.”

Under her piercing stare, the butler quickly lowered his head and fell silent.

Shen Jin headed upstairs. Midway, she noticed water pooling at her feet. A sense of foreboding struck her, and she quickened her pace, realizing the water was seeping out from Xie Jing’s room!

She twisted the doorknob, locked from the inside. Frantically, she pounded on the door. “Xie Jing! What are you doing in there?!”

No response came from within.

The butler noticed the situation and immediately ordered someone to shut off the water supply while fetching the spare key.

Shen Jin unlocked the door. The room was freezing, the air conditioner set to an arctic blast. The balcony door was shut, and the water was leaking from the bathroom.

The floor was flooded, soaking Shen Jin’s feet as she waded in. She turned the bathroom doorknob, it twisted easily. Pushing it open, she found Xie Jing lying lifeless on the floor. The showerhead and bathtub faucet were running at full blast, the drain clogged by Xie Jing’s bathrobe. The tub had overflowed, water spilling onto the floor.

Shen Jin splashed through the water to shut off the taps, then helped the butler carry Xie Jing out.

The room was uninhabitable now. Xie Jing remained unconscious. Hands trembling, Shen Jin dialed 120.

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