My Gorgeous Wife Relies on Her Beauty to Commit Crimes - Chapter 14

In the western suburbs of Zhuoyang City, Xie Jing stopped the taxi. Holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums and carrying offerings, she stepped out of the car.

The weather wasn’t great today, overcast and gloomy. By the time Xie Jing reached the hills in the outskirts, a light drizzle had begun to fall. Without an umbrella, she climbed the stone steps alone.

The hillside was lined with gravestones, the ground beneath them holding countless departed souls.

Xie Jing climbed the steps expressionlessly. When she reached the fifth row of tombstones, she turned left, counted five, and placed the flowers and offerings on the altar.

Kneeling on the ground, she took out incense, candles, joss paper, fruits, and snacks from the bag.

Her father had enjoyed a drink in his lifetime, so she had specially bought his favorite liquor and packed some side dishes.

Her mother had loved beauty and often ate vegetarian meals, so Xie Jing had prepared a separate vegetarian offering.

Softly, she called out, “Dad, Mom, I’ve come to see you.”

Her hands trembled as she tried to light the candles, but the fine rain in the air dampened the wicks. Even when they briefly caught fire, they quickly extinguished.

After several attempts, Xie Jing gave up on burning the joss paper. She stared blankly at the photos on the tombstones of Xie Pan and Xu An. In the pictures, both looked young around thirty, smiling brightly at the camera.

Kneeling on the ground, Xie Jing’s legs were soaked from the knees down. As if numb to the cold, she forced a smile at the photos, tears welling in her eyes.

“I will avenge you, Dad, Mom,” she murmured.

Xie Jing could never forget that day. She had just returned from school to find the house in chaos. Her aunt, crying, had grabbed her and said, “Lele! Your parents are gone! Come with me to the police station!”

By the time Xie Jing arrived, her parents’ bodies had been mangled beyond recognition in the car crash. Her aunt covered Xie Jing’s eyes, sobbing uncontrollably, her entire body shaking as she curled into herself.

Xie Jing stood frozen, peering through the gaps in her aunt’s fingers. She saw the cold pallor of death on Xie Pan’s brow, his forehead charred black. Then, a white sheet was drawn over his body.

“Are these Xie Pan and Xu An?” the officer asked.

Xie Wanting, clutching Xie Jing, nodded through her tears.

“The two victims died in a car crash on Qingshan Mountain’s winding road at 3:50 a.m. yesterday. Forensics is investigating the cause of the accident. If the family has any information about the deceased, please provide it to assist our investigation.”

Xie Wanting spat through gritted teeth, “I do! It was the Shen family! They killed my brother and sister-in-law!”

A bolt of lightning split the sky, snapping Xie Jing out of her memories. The rain had grown heavier, drenching her completely.

Standing up, she bid her parents farewell. “I’ll come see you again when I have time.”

Her eyes dull, she descended the hill. The roar of thunder chased after her. Tilting her head up, Xie Jing let the rain soak her face, strands of hair clinging to her cheeks. Another flash of lightning exploded overhead, and she laughed a hollow, broken sound.

Her smile was uglier than tears. “Wait for me, Dad, Mom,” she whispered into the rain.

Another lightning strike. In the meeting room, the sudden flash startled everyone into silence.

Shen Jin turned to an employee sitting near the lights. “Turn them on.”

Bright light dispelled the gloom in the room. Shen Jin frowned at the financial report in his hands. “What is this? I never authorized them to publish such information!”

Shen Jin tossed the magazine onto the table, her eyes landing on the headline of the Financial Daily’s front page: “Luo Family Heiress to Marry Shen Family Heir! A Powerful Alliance Forms! The Garment Industry Braces for Transformation!”

Shen Jin scoffed coldly, “Has the Financial Daily turned into a gossip rag now?”

The executives in the meeting room exchanged uneasy glances. The marketing manager, seated closest to Shen Jin, quickly responded, “We certainly didn’t authorize this report. According to my investigation, it was likely leaked by Luo Jia. Luo Sen just gave an interview to the Financial Daily yesterday.”

Shen Jin frowned.

An interview published as front-page news the very next day she didn’t believe for a second that Luo Jia hadn’t orchestrated this. The article was practically fawning over Luo Jia, stopping just short of outright declaring that without Luo Jia’s raw material supply, Shen Enterprises would be nothing!

The finance manager, however, was delighted as he checked the stock prices. “Since this report came out, there’s been a surge in investors buying our shares. Our stock price is climbing steadily!”

Shen Jin remained impassive. “I see.”

She turned to the marketing team. “Contact the editor-in-chief of the Financial Daily. That article must be retracted today.”

The finance team looked at her in confusion, but Shen Jin offered no explanation. “Meeting adjourned.”

Her secretary followed her out, reviewing the day’s schedule. Shen Jin said calmly, “Cancel the upcoming interviews. No more interview arrangements for now. Also, instruct the team to continue searching for new raw material suppliers.”

The secretary acknowledged the orders. Once in her office, Shen Jin reached for her phone but hesitated. Instead, she looked up regulatory filings online and discovered that a subsidiary of Luo Enterprises specializing in raw materials was about to go public in the coming days.

Shen Jin let out a derisive laugh, tapping her fingers on the desk as she pondered.

Luo Jia was playing a clever game trying to strong-arm Shen Enterprises while leveraging the attention from their association to push for their subsidiary’s IPO. Originally just a raw material supplier, Luo Jia had profited immensely by clinging to Shen Enterprises’ coattails. But now, they clearly wanted to strike out on their own.

Shen Jin narrowed her eyes, irritation simmering.

Her fingers drummed harder on the desk until her secretary’s intercom buzzed. “Ms. Shen, Luo Sen is on the line.”

Shen Jin didn’t think much of Luo Sen, Luo Demin, his father, still held the reins at Luo Jia. But for Luo Sen to call at this juncture.

After a moment’s thought, she had the call transferred.

She picked up the phone to hear Luo Sen’s nervous voice. “Hello, Aunt Shen, it’s Luo Sen.”

His tone didn’t sound like this was a business call.

Shen Jin softened her voice. “Luo Sen? We just met a few days ago. Calling me again so soon? Is this about business or personal matters?”

Hearing her relaxed tone, Luo Sen exhaled in relief. “Aunt Shen, I’m calling to apologize. Have you seen today’s Financial Daily?”

Shen Jin feigned surprise. “Financial Daily? Let me check, my secretary left it on my desk. I’ve been too busy to look at it yet.”

Luo Sen gave an awkward chuckle. “Aunt Shen, that’s exactly why I’m calling. Please don’t take what the article says to heart those weren’t my real words! The reporter took liberties with my interview! I’ve already called to reprimand them. And I definitely didn’t leak anything about our families’ marriage arrangement either.”

For such a significant matter, the two families would surely discuss and release the information jointly. They wouldn’t be in such a hurry to find a topic and leak it through a daily newspaper.

Shen Jin asked, “Then what happened?”

Luo Sen rubbed his head and sighed, “Luo Hong has been looking for Shen Tuo these past few days, but he’s been avoiding her. My sister got angry and said the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. Aunt Shen, please don’t be upset. My father has already scolded her and sent me to apologize to you immediately.”

Shen Jin chuckled lightly, “It’s fine, I won’t take it to heart.”

But after hanging up, she cursed Luo Demin for being an old fox. Without his approval, this newspaper article would never have been published. He was using this opportunity to test the Shen family’s stance.

Shen Jin sneered. If that’s how it was, she wouldn’t hold back either.

She instructed her traders to keep a close watch on the Luo family’s soon-to-be-listed subsidiary, planning to buy up large quantities after its IPO and then sell them off at the right moment.

She wanted to see what kind of game Luo Demin was really playing!

After work, Shen Jin still had a few documents left to sign despite having been busy all day. She decided to finish reviewing them before heading home. Suddenly, her phone rang. She answered casually, “Hello, this is Shen Jin speaking.”

“Hello, your friend has fainted in our bar. Could you come pick her up? She seems to have a fever.”

Shen Jin was momentarily stunned, thinking it might be Lan Yiqing since very few people knew her number. But when she glanced at her phone, she realized it was Xie Jing’s number.

Her heart tightened.

With a grim expression, she said, “Give me the address. I’ll be there right away!”

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