What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Post-Mortem

The Elk Winery spanned a vast area with several distinct functional zones. Based on the blurry environment seen during Qi Yuan’s earlier video call, she was likely in a private booth within the guest reception area.

Shu Qiong hadn’t expected to have to run such a distance after entering the gates. Shu Xuanmin’s physical stamina was clearly inferior to the two military cadets behind her. Unfortunately, she was the only one who knew the way; after a period of rapid sprinting, she began to pant heavily, gritting her teeth as she led the way.

Finally, they spotted several staff members with work IDs hanging around their necks. Recognizing Shu Xuanmin, they stopped in their tracks and stared in surprise.

Shu Xuanmin was too breathless to speak, so Shu Qiong asked directly: “Where is Shu Xuanhe?”

The man who answered was the head of the logistics team. His eyes darted around nervously. “You’re looking for the Eldest Young Master? We haven’t seen him at the winery.”

Shu Qiong’s tone sharpened: “Are you sure?”

Shu Xuanmin stopped gasping for air. When she looked up, her face was fierce. “Before you answer, think about whether you can bear the consequences.”

The man who had spoken earlier gritted his teeth and insisted: “I really don’t know. We just came from the cellar area; we didn’t see anyone.”

“Liar,” Yan Xiangyu scoffed. A cold, glinting folding knife flicked out of her palm. “A quick beating might help your memory.”

“Hey,” Shu Qiong pressed down on Yan Xiangyu’s wrist, putting pressure on the staff instead. “One last chance. Are you going to talk? If you don’t, and a life is lost inside, all of you will have a share in it. Do you want to be accomplices to that turtle’s grandson, Shu Xuanhe? When the time comes, the Shu family won’t even protect him, let alone you lot.”

Silence fell over the group. The staff members looked at each other, keeping their heads down and biting their lips.

Suddenly, a young employee behind the logistics head broke down. Her voice trembled with long-suppressed emotion. “He’s in the third room on the left side of the second-floor booths! I… I don’t want to help a tyrant either!”

She was a new hire from this year. She had thought a job at the winery would be as easy and well-paid as the rumors suggested, only to find the reality was nothing like that. Their logistics head came from a collateral branch of the Shu family; his blood relation to Shu Mufeng’s line was so thin it took generations to find a connection. His family had pulled many strings to shove him into this lucrative position at the winery. He stayed close to Shu Xuanhe and was an expert at flattery, gaining the man’s trust within a few years.

Their logistics team didn’t just handle winery duties; they helped Shu Xuanhe manage a significant portion of his “grey” industries. Of course, Shu Xuanhe wouldn’t give them these tasks explicitly, but they frequently encountered secretive high-profile figures at the winery and heard muffled screams and cries coming from the booths.

Even though Shu Xuanhe cleared the area every time, he could hide it from outsiders, but not from the internal staff. The new employee had been suffering for days, feeling like her actions were the last straw on the camel’s back, but she couldn’t escape. Her employment contract had major issues; once signed, it was nearly impossible to leave. If she crossed a giant like the Shu family, she might end up dead.

The so-called high-paying jobs at Elk Winery were a trap. The older colleagues who had been tricked in long ago had already become numb or assimilated—some even felt smug about getting a share of the profits, their moral compasses steadily eroding. By the time she realized all this, it was too late. This was a playground for the wealthy’s sins, and she had been forced to be an accomplice.

Now, the floodgates of her suppressed emotions finally gave way. She had heard rumors that the Shu family’s power might shift in the coming days; this might be her only chance to save herself.

“I saw the supervisor send Qi Yuan into that booth with my own eyes! Believe me!” Her frantic tone didn’t seem faked.

The logistics head’s expression shifted instantly. Several colleagues nearby moved to cover the bold newcomer’s mouth. The supervisor gave a forced smile: “Miss Shu, please excuse her. This member is new and recently had her pay docked for poor work, so she holds a grudge against her superiors. She talks nonsense all day.”

Yan Xiangyu didn’t stop walking; she headed straight for the employees. Perhaps because her aura was so cold, the ordinary workers stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move.

Yan Xiangyu yanked the new employee—who was already crying physiological tears—toward her and said succinctly: “Lead the way.”

The new employee nodded like a chick pecking at grain: “Okay!”

She immediately broke into a trot, leading Shu Qiong and the others toward the target booth. Before leaving, Shu Xuanmin cast a cold glance at the remaining logistics staff who were hesitating about whether to follow.

Meeting her gaze, the employees felt like they had fallen into an ice cellar. A brave one timidly asked the supervisor: “Should we follow them and check?”

The supervisor was sweating profusely. He was from such a distant branch that he was barely a Shu, and he had done plenty of dirty work for Shu Xuanhe over the years. He wouldn’t survive an investigation. He barked: “They made it this far, which means they took out the security at the gate. You think a few of us following them would do anything? You noisy idiot!”

The scolded subordinate was also dissatisfied. What was the point of taking his anger out on him? But he believed he hadn’t left any evidence behind. After all, he could be considered a victim of the winery’s contract issues—he was forced! If it really came down to an inquiry, he might have a hope of escaping. However, thinking of the money that had flowed into his pocket—just the scraps from the supervisor’s table were enough to improve his life—his eyes flickered with regret and greed.

The logistics group members each had their own schemes, wondering if they should take the chance to run. Suddenly, a team of armed personnel carrying riot shields swarmed in through the main entrance, sealing off the exits.

The leader of the team looked at the row of winery security lying on the ground and said to Su Chen professionally: “Boss, how do we handle these people? Should we take them away?”

“Handcuff them first. We’ll wait for Sister Minmin to return,” Su Chen panted, her face dark. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She walked over and kicked the security guards who looked like a gang of thugs; they reflexively curled up, begging for mercy. Her face darkened even more. She pulled her foot back in disgust and asked her subordinate: “Is there a spare pair of shoes?”

“Huh?”

“Bang!”

The locked booth door was kicked open by Yan Xiangyu. The force was so great that the sturdy door frame wobbled. Shu Qiong’s gun was pointed into the room, her whole body ready to fire at the slightest sign of trouble.

However, it was silent inside. The expected cries of pain and bloody scenes were absent. Shu Xuanmin, shielded by the two, was momentarily unsure of the situation. The new employee who led them there nervously clutched her clothes, thinking they were too late, and whispered: “What’s wrong? Are we late?”

Shu Qiong was the first to react. She put the pocket pistol back into her pocket and walked in. Yan Xiangyu followed close behind. The two in the back then saw the mess on the floor.

The light was dim, with only yellow, tacky mood lighting on. Shu Qiong turned on the brightest ceiling light, revealing more details. A person was lying on the floor in a distorted position, but it wasn’t Qi Yuan—it was Shu Xuanhe. He was face-down, motionless, with blood on the back of his head and glass shards scattered around him. The air smelled strongly of alcohol.

Liquid was everywhere, even flowing toward the door. As Shu Qiong stepped in, she felt a distinct stickiness under her shoes.

Qi Yuan was huddled in the corner of the sofa, her arms tightly hugging her knees. Her long hair was a mess over her shoulders. She looked at the newcomers with bloodshot eyes. She seemed stunned into silence by the force of Yan Xiangyu’s kick.

“Did I kill someone…?” After a long while, she murmured.

As she looked up, Shu Qiong saw a ring of red, swollen finger marks around her neck, multiple scratches on her arms, and blood spatters on her face that hadn’t been wiped away. The people who entered fell into a brief silence.

Yan Xiangyu knelt down and checked Shu Xuanhe’s breath. She said to Shu Qiong: “He’s still breathing. Not dead.”

Shu Qiong nodded and looked at Shu Xuanmin. The latter’s brow hadn’t relaxed since entering the winery. Her overworked, sleep-deprived brain was revolting with waves of throbbing pain. Shu Xuanmin moved her gaze away from Shu Xuanhe with disgust: “Serves him right.”

She avoided the glass shards, reached out to Qi Yuan, and looked at the still-shaking girl. Remembering the girl had only just turned eighteen, her heart felt even more complicated. “Can you tell us what happened before?” she asked, keeping her voice as soft as possible.

Qi Yuan’s eyes were vacant. She stared at Shu Xuanmin for a long time before speaking: “That logistics supervisor… he’s always the one who contacts me and brings me here. This time was the same. After he brought me to the door, he left. I was going to knock, but the door wasn’t closed properly, so I… I listened at the crack for a while…”

Shu Xuanmin sat beside her and said: “What did you hear? Take your time.”

Qi Yuan stammered as she tried to reconstruct the scene. Suddenly, she gripped Shu Xuanmin’s forearm tightly. “I heard him on a call. I couldn’t hear who was on the other end or what they said, only that Shu Xuanhe kept apologizing, hoping the other person would give him another chance… Um, then they seemed to argue. Shu Xuanhe got emotional, threatening them that they were ‘grasshoppers on the same string.’ If they didn’t help him, he would… he would expose…”

She paused longer this time, finally finding the words. “Expose the matter of ‘Base No. 3.’ He said those ‘Alliance Hyenas’ have been investigating the Xin family lately and would be very interested in it. I… I only heard that!”

Qi Yuan instinctively swallowed, her expression full of lingering fear. “He found me. He said I was naughty for eavesdropping. Then he started hitting me with a whip and forcing me to drink… midway through, he went out to take another call… That’s when I took the chance to call you for help.”

Fortunately, Shu Xuanmin had contacted her not long ago, so they had each other’s contact info. At that time, Shu Xuanmin wanted to accelerate her infiltration of the winery and hoped to get intelligence from Qi Yuan, who frequently entered and exited the place. In exchange, Shu Xuanmin would help secretly relocate Qi Yuan’s family—who were controlled by Shu Xuanhe’s men—to a safe place.

Qi Yuan hadn’t accepted the offer then. She was afraid Shu Xuanmin was just another Shu Xuanhe and that she would fall from one hell into another. After refusing, she cautiously didn’t save the number, fearing Shu Xuanhe would find out. It wasn’t until the moment of crisis that she scrambled through her call logs to find the number, placing a final bet on that sliver of hope.

When Shu Xuanhe came back in, he found her secret call for help, but because Qi Yuan hadn’t saved the name, he didn’t realize it was Shu Xuanmin—otherwise, he might have been more cautious. Then they fought. Qi Yuan tried to fight back to buy time; while being forced to drink, she grabbed a large bottle—longer than her forearm—and smashed it against the back of Shu Xuanhe’s head.

Qi Yuan poured out everything she had seen, heard, and experienced, pausing often due to fear and breathlessness. Afraid Shu Xuanmin wouldn’t believe her, she went over the details repeatedly, trying to reconstruct everything.

Shu Xuanmin patted her shoulder, comforting her: “You did well. It’s over now.”

Qi Yuan asked nervously: “My sister…”

Shu Xuanmin forced a smile: “I’ve had people watching that side. They should have taken her out by now. Don’t worry. If you want to see her, I’ll have someone bring her here.”

Seeing the gentle attitude and the quiet listening of Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu, Qi Yuan finally relaxed.

Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu, who had listened to the whole story without interrupting, exchanged a look and walked out of the booth. Passing the unconscious Shu Xuanhe, both bypassed him with disgust.

The cleanup here would be handled by Shu Xuanmin; they didn’t need to worry too much.

Shu Qiong stood in a quiet corner of the hallway and said thoughtfully: “The ‘Alliance Hyenas’ Shu Xuanhe mentioned… he must mean the Procuratorate. But what is ‘Base No. 3’?”

Yan Xiangyu narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of the Procuratorate, I’m thinking of a person.”

Shu Qiong locked eyes with her for a few seconds. Both spoke at the same time: “Lin Yuan.”

As the name left her lips, Shu Qiong’s fingers twitched as if struck by lightning. She suddenly pulled the pocket pistol from her pocket, her expression grave. “We seem to have overlooked one thing.”

Yan Xiangyu’s eyelashes lowered. She silently mouthed the names: Lin Mi, Lin Yuan. Both were surnamed Lin.

Regarding Lin Mi’s surname, they had peeled back a layer of disguise before. Lin Mi was originally the only daughter of Mrs. Lin (the wife of the Xin family head) and had changed her surname from Xin to Lin. This background had made them instinctively ignore the fact that both Lin Mi and Lin Yuan shared the same surname, assuming it was a coincidence.

Shu Qiong suddenly remembered that night on the Base Star when Lin Mi came to give her the gun—she had shared some stories of the past. What did she say back then?

—”The Lin family’s commercial value was sucked dry by the Xin family, but in the last two years, they’ve managed to come back to life a bit in the political circle.”

That was the primary reason Mrs. Lin was finally able to successfully divorce and escape with her daughter.

Shu Qiong cursed under her breath, annoyed that she had missed this detail.

Base No. 3 certainly had countless ties to the Base Star. Lin Yuan’s work was related to the Procuratorate, yet she was the one who bypassed all the military commanders to provide support during the Base Star incident. And as Xin Xiuyun admitted, the Base Star incident had a major connection to the Xin family and the forces behind them.

The Procuratorate, Lin Yuan, and Lin Mi were all focused on the Xin family—and all these elements had briefly converged on the Base Star. This was likely no coincidence.

With the clues connected, Shu Qiong finally knew why Lin Mi had given her the pocket pistol along with the chip evidence inside. Why did she believe Shu Qiong would be on the same side? Why did she believe Shu Qiong had the ability to help her?

…And, since the gun could be modified with a hidden compartment for a chip, was it possible it hid something else? Like… a bug?

Thinking of this, Shu Qiong actually laughed out loud. Her laughter was light, like a ghost of a breeze, devoid of warmth or emotion. Yan Xiangyu watched quietly; this time, she didn’t need to say anything further to fuel the fire.

Shu Qiong truly felt it now: Lin Mi was a person full of schemes. Fang Yingying had said Xin Xiuyun was difficult and deep, but in Shu Qiong’s eyes, this Lin Mi was the true “smiling tiger.”

Shu Qiong laughed enough, looking at the pocket pistol in her hand. She said in a deep voice: “Is this the result you wanted?”

“Thanks to me, you could easily enter the interior of the Elk Winery, contact Shu Xuanhe without raising suspicion, and learn the key information about Base No. 3 without lifting a finger.”

“Talk to me.”

Almost as the words left her mouth, Shu Qiong’s wristband vibrated, showing a new message notification. It was indeed from Lin Mi, a short sentence:

“Talk about what?”