After returning home, I sent a message to Xu Manli, and she arrived quickly. Only a floor lamp was on in the living room, its dim yellow light outlining Xu Manli's silhouette, which trembled slightly with anger. I pressed the stop button on the voice recorder, but Zhou Yuqing's hysterical shout of "Murderer!" still seemed to echo in the air, carrying a chilling resonance.
"Animal! Lin Xuyan is an animal! He… he's simply not human!" Xu Manli suddenly stood up, her chest heaving violently, her face pale, and her eyes burning with raging fury and profound hatred. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists, her nails nearly digging into her palms. "He cheated Cousin out of her money… used her… and in the end, he even… even plotted to kill her?! All for money?! How could he… how could he be so vicious!" Her voice was choked with sobs, filled with the agony of being torn apart by the truth and the immense grief and indignation over the wrongful death of her loved one.
I watched her quietly, the hatred surging within me like icy magma, yet my expression remained exceptionally calm. Having been reborn, this heart-wrenching truth had already played out in my mind countless times. Now, it was merely confirmed once again by cold, hard evidence, igniting a purer flame of vengeance.
After venting her emotions, Xu Manli suddenly turned to me, the fury in her eyes not yet faded but now overshadowed by deeper worry. She rushed to me in a few steps, grabbing my arm with surprising strength. "Nan Zhi! You can't get any closer to him! It's too dangerous! Lin Xuyan is a devil in human skin! He even harmed his wife, who gave everything for him! Now that he knows you're investigating him, he… he might come after you too…" She couldn't finish, her eyes filled with genuine fear, as though she had already envisioned a terrifying scene.
I placed my hand over hers, cold and trembling, and gave it a gentle pat, trying to convey a sense of calm. Her concern was real, stemming from her care for her friend "Nan Zhi," and it warmed my heart.
"Manli, I know," I said softly, yet with undeniable firmness. "I know he's dangerous. But precisely because of that, I must continue."
"Why?!" Xu Manli exclaimed urgently. "We can hand this evidence to the police! Let the law judge him! There's no need for you to put yourself in danger!"
"Evidence?" I curled my lips slightly, a hint of icy mockery in my tone. "The recording only proves they're threatening each other like dogs fighting. It doesn't prove Lin Xuyan was the mastermind behind the murder. What Zhou Yuqing has is key, but she'll never hand it over easily. Besides, Manli, think about it. Lin Xuyan is connected to the financial fraud at Huaxin United—it's a tangled web. With just this recording and evidence we haven't even obtained yet, it might not be enough to deliver a fatal blow. It could even alert them, giving them time to destroy evidence, coordinate alibis, and escape punishment."
Seeing the struggle and reluctance flickering in Xu Manli's eyes, I continued, "More importantly, Xiao Ran died so tragically and so unjustly. Just letting him go to prison? That's too lenient. I want him to lose his reputation, to taste despair after losing everything, and only then send him to prison, never to rise again! I want him to know clearly that it's Su Xiaoran, the wife he personally pushed into hell, coming back to demand his life!" By the end, my voice carried a chilling coldness that even I hadn't realized came from the depths of my soul.
Xu Manli was stunned by the determination and hatred in my words. Her grip on my hand loosened slightly, and she looked at me with complex emotions. "Nan Zhi… you…"
"Believe me, Manli," I met her gaze, my tone softening with reassurance. "I won't joke about my safety. I value my life more than anyone else."
I changed the subject, trying to ease her tension. "By the way, 'Sweet Journey' will start filming in a couple of days. Zhou Yuqing and I have scenes together too."
Xu Manli's attention was indeed captured, but worry immediately resurfaced. "Start filming? You'll be spending every day with her? Nan Zhi, that woman is insane! If she can threaten Lin Xuyan today, she won't hesitate to come after you tomorrow! She's in the shadows—it's impossible to guard against her!"
Seeing her anxious expression, I smiled instead—a sharp, confident smile. I picked up the script for "Sweet Journey" on the coffee table, flipped to a random page, and pointed to the lines of Zhou Yuqing's character.
"Manli, you're wrong," I said, a hint of amusement and absolute confidence in my voice. "Not only am I not afraid of her making a move, what I fear most right now is her staying quiet and behaving."
Xu Manli looked at me, confused.
"The more impatient she becomes, the more she tries to deal with me, the more flaws she'll reveal," I closed the script, my eyes sharp as a knife. "Don't forget, she and Lin Xuyan are now suspicious and wary of each other. Their alliance is as fragile as a sheet of paper."
I stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the glittering city lights. My back was straight and proud.
"I'm someone who never fears trouble," I said, my voice not loud but clear and resonant in the quiet living room, carrying a declarative certainty. "Su Xiaoran endured for a lifetime, only to end up with nothing but bones. The current Nan Zhi has no word for 'endurance' in her dictionary. If Zhou Yuqing wants to play, I'll play with her to the end. Whatever move she makes, I'll not only counter it but return it to her tenfold, a hundredfold!"
Xu Manli watched my back, standing at the boundary between light and shadow. My imposing and resolute aura gradually replaced her initial worry with a complex emotion—a mix of awe, conviction, and a spark of shared hatred. After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath, walked to my side, and her voice regained its usual calm and strength.
"Alright. Nan Zhi, I believe you. What do you need me to do? Keep a close eye on Lin Xuyan? Or… Zhou Yuqing?"
I turned to her and gave a genuine, warm smile. "Manli, your task is very important. Lin Xuyan will undoubtedly be unusually 'busy' in the next few days, trying to 'appease' Zhou Yuqing while also… I suspect he's already planning how to make Zhou Yuqing 'forever silent.' Keep a close watch on him, especially any suspicious contact he has with Huaxin. As for Zhou Yuqing… I need you to find out who her so-called friend really is. We need to locate where she's keeping the evidence she's collected."
Xu Manli's eyes lit up, and she nodded firmly. "Understood!"