My Gorgeous Wife Relies on Her Beauty to Commit Crimes - Chapter 16

“Boss, I’ve got the safe combination.”

Since Xie Jing couldn’t monitor the surveillance footage at all times, she had specifically hired a female assistant to handle tasks for her.

Upon suddenly receiving the message, Xie Jing stared at the string of numbers for a long time. She felt she needed to return to the Shen Manor both to pack her belongings and to figure out how to deal with Shen Tuo.

Based on Xie Jing’s understanding of Shen Tuo, he wouldn’t easily accept Shen Jin’s arrangements, especially when it came to marrying Luo Hong.

Shen Tuo was like a horse, if the reins were too loose, he would run far; if they were too tight, he would retreat. Only when the reins were just right would he settle down.

Xie Jing memorized the numbers and deleted the message. Leaning back against her pillow, she gazed at the moonlight outside her window. Tonight’s moon was unusually bright, casting clarity over her thoughts.

Shen Manor, Shen Jin’s room.

Fresh out of the shower, Shen Jin noticed the pink roses by her bedside had begun to wilt. Her hand, which had been drying her hair, stilled as the towel draped over her shoulder. She walked over and lightly touched the roses, causing a few dried petals to drift down. Shen Jin bent to pick one up and spotted a glint.

Her fingers paused mid-motion. Sharply alert, she stared at the spot where the glint had appeared before lowering her head again as if merely lost in thought over the flowers.

Shen Jin climbed into bed and closed her eyes. That glint reminded her of a dirty tactic a competitor had once used during a bidding war bribing hotel staff to plant a pinhole camera in her room to eavesdrop on their bid price, leading to Shen Corporation’s loss.

But this was Shen Manor. Every staff member had undergone thorough background checks no outsider could have entered her room without permission.

Shen Jin’s eyes snapped open as a thought struck her.

The flowers had been a gift from Xie Jing. Aside from Shen Tuo, Xie Jing was the only one who had entered her room and Shen Tuo certainly wouldn’t have the nerve for something like this.

Shen Jin gave no outward reaction. The next morning, she simply instructed Aunt Ju to dispose of the flowers.

Xie Jing had just been discharged from the hospital when she received another message from her assistant.

[The camera was thrown out by the housekeeper. The target may have noticed something.]

Xie Jing clenched her phone.

She might already be exposed.

But why hadn’t Shen Jin confronted her?

Her steps slowed as she reconsidered returning to Shen Manor. Instead, she took a taxi to the nearest hotel and booked a room, keeping her phone in sight all day.

It never rang.

Neither Shen Jin nor Shen Tuo had called.

The silence was unsettling, unnervingly so.

Xie Jing sat in a chair, her phone resting on the table. She gnawed at her thumbnail, restless with helpless agitation.

Had Shen Jin really discovered the camera? After finally obtaining the safe combination, was she really going to let this opportunity slip away?

She couldn’t just sit and wait. Xie Jing contacted her assistant, requesting the footage from that moment, and scrutinized it carefully.

In the recording, Shen Jin had bent to pick up a petal, seemingly lost in thought over the bouquet before going to bed without further interaction. The next morning, when instructing Aunt Ju, she had acted completely normal. She had even dressed and left as usual, barely sparing the flowers a glance.

Xie Jing bit her finger.

Maybe Shen Jin hadn’t noticed after all? What if she had simply been distracted by something else? If Xie Jing missed this chance, she might never get another shot at opening the safe.

An informant had once mentioned that the contents of this safe were extremely important to Shen Jin. During the years she worked as a servant at the Shen family, the housekeeper never allowed them to enter Shen Jin’s room, nor had they ever seen Shen Jin open the safe. Even on ordinary days, only the long-serving staff were permitted into the main family’s rooms, they were only allowed to clean the corridors at most. But according to the informant, during an argument between Shen Tuo and Shen Jin, Shen Tuo had once threatened, “You’d better not provoke me! Otherwise, I’ll expose what’s in your safe and make you utterly humiliated! The Shen family won’t get off easy either!”

There must be something inside something very important.

Xie Jing was certain that someone as cautious as Shen Jin would only feel safe keeping such items close to herself.

Having made up her mind, Xie Jing took a taxi to Shen Manor before nightfall.

When she got out of the car, the driver gave her a puzzled look, as if wondering why someone who lived in such an upscale place would take a taxi.

Xie Jing had always arrived by car before. The Shen family’s vehicles were automatically recognized by the surveillance system at the gate, which would then open to let them through. This time, however, she came on foot.

Xie Jing pressed the doorbell, and the intercom system outside activated: “Hello, this is Shen Manor. How may I help you?”

Standing under the camera, Xie Jing replied to the intercom, “I’m here to collect my luggage.”

Recognizing her as Miss Xie, who had been staying at the house the past few days, the staff quickly opened the gate and sent a small cart to pick her up.

Shen Manor was vast, it would take over ten minutes to walk from the gate to the main house.

As Xie Jing rode the cart into the courtyard, she heard Shen Tuo howling and paused, asking, “What’s wrong with Shen Tuo?”

A maid whispered, “Miss Xie, it’s best not to ask. This is the family’s business, I shouldn’t say too much. Even Housekeeper Li was dismissed by the boss yesterday.”

Xie Jing raised an eyebrow, nodded at the maid, and entered the house.

Inside, Shen Tuo’s voice was louder and more feeble, amplified by the microphone over the blaring music in his room.

“Let me out! I don’t want to marry Luo Hong!”

He repeated this several times. A faint smile appeared at the corner of Xie Jing’s lips.

Shen Jin certainly had nerve directly confining Shen Tuo like this.

She narrowed her eyes, listening for a moment, then asked the maid who had been following her, “Can I speak with Shen Tuo for a bit?”

The maid hesitated.

Xie Jing lowered her gaze and said, “I’ll be leaving soon. Can’t I even say a few words to him?”

The maid considered it. The boss had only said not to let Shen Tuo out not to forbid visitors from entering. Besides, Xie Jing had stayed at Shen Manor for a long time and seemed to be on good terms with the family. She nodded. “Alright, but please don’t stay too long, Miss Xie. I’m afraid the boss will be upset when she returns.”

“Understood.” Xie Jing walked to Shen Tuo’s door. The maid brought the key and unlocked it. Shen Tuo was in the middle of wailing into a wireless microphone when the door suddenly opened. Stunned, he immediately sprang up and bolted for the exit, only to be grabbed by the bodyguard stationed outside. Meanwhile, Xie Jing had already mustered her emotions, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Shen Tuo with a broken sob.

“Shen Tuo, I’m leaving.”

At the same time, Shen Jin received a message from home:

[Miss Xie has returned and is saying goodbye to the young master.]

Shen Jin stared at her phone in silence for a long moment before instructing: [Continue watching the young master, don’t let him leave. As for Miss Xie, don’t restrict her. Inform the household that I have business tonight and won’t be returning.]

“Yes, boss.”

Shen Jin set down her phone and sat on the thirtieth floor, staring blankly at the night view.

She had thought Xie Jing was harmless, truly as lovestruck as she appeared. But ever since discovering the hidden camera, everything had changed.

Shen Jin let out a mocking laugh.

Time changes everything, nothing stays the same.

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