Chapter 55 - The Hidden Truth

Jing City, Tang Mansion.

Ahn Lu Shan knocked at the door of the study room and waited for a minute.

"Come in," Tang Fei ordered in a powerful voice.

Ahn Lu Shan walked inside and bowed to show his respects. Tang Fei and his sons were waiting for the information brought by secretary Ahn. Even Tang Yin came to the mansion despite his busy schedule.

"Its done, master," Ahn Lu Shan reported. 

"Hmm, so that chapter closes by tomorrow." Tang Fei said with a smug smile.

"What about Wei Sheng?" Tang Yin immediately asked. 

"Yang Xiong reported that young master decided to stay away from Li Juan."

"Huh, really?" Tang Yin was surprised to hear that. "Wei Sheng did that?"

"Yes, master. According to the information received from Xi city, young master and Miss Li avoid each other."

"Are you sure that it is over? Tang Yi who remained silent till now, shared his doubt.

" We used to believe that Tang Wei Sheng who returned from states was a changed man, but in the end, he proved us of all wrong." 

"Yes, master. This time young master himself witnessed Li Juan going with some other man." Ahn Lu Shan reassured them.

"Who is that?"

"Why do we care, brother?" Tang Yin interrupted his brother. "That wretched girl finally left Wei Sheng for good."

"Hmm, what are we going to do next?" Tang Yi asked his father.

"Sit back and enjoy the show for a while. Tang Fei said in a calm voice.

"The rest of the things will be handled by the young miss of Ning family."

"Ning Jing?" Tang Yin was in doubt. " It is true that she belongs to the Ning family, but I don't think she can handle this issue."

"Though she appears like an innocent girl, there is a vicious snake hidden behind her angelic facade." Tang Yi said in disdain.

"Snakes, they don't kill their preys right away. They kill the prey by suffocation, slowly squeezing the life out, one ragged breath at a time. "

"Since Li Juan lost Wei Sheng's trust, she is left with no solid ground." Tang Fei said to them. 

"What if she gets kicked out from the research team too?

What if she cannot find a job in C country?"

An evil smile appeared on Tang Yi's face.

"If a depressed, mentally ill girl with no known family,  founds dead one day? There won't be anyone to pity her death or to light incense on her memorial table."

"Are you planning to finish her?" Tang Yin asked with a doubtful face. "We already tried several times."

"We were wrong in the past; we wasted our time and effort to kill a puny girl like her. Without Ah Sheng, she is nothing but a weakling." Tang Fei stopped for a moment.

"Cut her resources; make her living impossible, she will take her life by her own hands."

"Ahn Lu Shan, you should be prepared," Tang Fei ordered. "Only if she returns to Jing City alive."

"Yes, master, I will take the necessary actions."

"You can leave now," Tang Fei said to him. Ahn Lu Shan bowed and walked outside.

While walking towards the parking area, his mind weighed whatever he heard from the Tang family and Yang Xiong.

So the eight-year-long witch hunt will have a closure by this month. Li Juan, the girl who fooled the death several times,  will finally embrace the death by her own hands.

"Uncle Ahn, do you have a moment?" Tang Wei Lan's melodious voice woke Ahn Lu Shan from his thoughts.

"Yes, young miss." He stopped in tracks and looked at the young woman stood before him. The baby who used to climb on his shoulders whenever he visits Tang mansion, has grown to a pretty woman in a short time. 

"What happened to Li Juan?" Tang Wei Lan asked directly.

"Li Juan, who is that miss?" Ahn Lu Shan faked ignorance.

A mocking smile bloomed on Tang Wei Lan's beautiful face.

"Uncle Ahn, I am not a child. Don't act in front of me; you were the one who took care of the photographs captured on Gege's birthday.

Don't tell me that the great Ahn Lu Shan of Tang corporations failed to notice a random woman who hugged young master Tang in front of everyone." Tang Wei Lan appeared agitated with anger.

"What do you want to know miss?" He asked her calmly. 

"What exactly did you do to Li Juan?" Tang Wei Lan asked to Ahn Lu Shan's face.

She clearly knew that her family isn't filled with saints. To become the top dog in the business world, one must kill in order to stay alive. Though Ahn Lu Shan doesn't show it off, everyone related to Tang corporations knew that, Ahn Lu Shan with his hawk-like eyes protects the business empire of Tang corporations like a loyal commander. He will not sit back and watch, when someone tries to slander the Tang family.

"She has been missing for almost a month, what the hell did you do to her?"

"I indeed took care of the photographs from the birthday party." Ahn Lu Shan replied with a faint smile. 

"But young miss, you are accusing me of a crime which I haven't committed." 

"You knew my brother loves her," Tang Wei Lan said with cold eyes. 

"Young master loves miss Ning,"

"Oho! Uncle Ahn, you can fool everyone with that lie, but not me.

Did you forget that I was the one who witnessed everything that happened between Li Juan and Gege? How can you be so cruel?" Tang Wei Lan yelled at Ahn Lu Shan.

" I can be cruel, but not enough to ruin a seventeen-year-old kid's life," Ahn Lu Shan gazed at Tang Wei Lan's eyes which were filled with a murderous glare.

"Shall I remind you something?" 

"You know nothing." Tang Wei Lan tried to refute his question.

"Will you believe me lanlan, if I say that I knew everything from the beginning?" Ahn Lu Shan said with a sneer.

There was a momentary fear on Tang Wei Lan's clear eyes.

"You wasn't a silent spectator of everything that happened between your brother and friend." He stopped for a moment and looked at the woman stood before him. She is no longer the innocent kid he carried around. 

"You were the third person in their relationship. You made sure to ruin your "so-called friend's" life."

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Tang Wei Lan raised her voice in rejection.

"You can hide the truth from everyone but not me," Ahn Lu Shan said with a straight face.

"It is not a sin to love someone Lanlan, but what you've done was-" Ahn Lu Shan didn't complete his words.

"What if your family, who values morals and rules more than anything else, gets to know that their little princess went against their rules?

What if your precious brother knows about the unrequited love of his sister towards-?

"Are you threatening me?" Tang Wei Lan asked with cold eyes.

"Not at all!!! Uncle Ahn uncle always wished good for lanlan." Ahn Lu Shan smiled gently and continued.

"But have you ever thought about Miss Li? How will she react when she gets to know that, the perpetrator behind all the miseries that happened in her life , the one who ruined her life was no one else, but her best friend?

How are going to explain the things that you did on the name of love?"

Ahn Lu Shan looked at Tang Wei Lan who remained petrified.

"Miss Li is in Xi city. She is on an archaeological expedition.

As long as she stays away from Jing city, she will be alive." Ahn Li Shan notified her. 

"What do you mean?"

"A deer should stay away from a pack of wolves."

"Wolves?" Tang Wei Lan looked at him in doubt. 

"I will take my leave," Ahn Lu Shan slightly bowed his head and opened his car door. 

"Young miss, your brother is bounded to chains, but you are not, If there is any compassion left in your heart for your friend, tell her to leave this country and never come back."

Ahn Lu Shan got into the car and drove away from Tang Wei Lan who remained frozen to the ground.

Meanwhile in Xi city, a time bomb started ticking on Ning Jing's mind.

Why Tang Wei Sheng and Li Juan are treating each other like air?

Since both of them came to Xi city together, they should have been familiar with each other by now.

But why they are ignoring each other?

What happened between them? Ning Jing stood up from the bed and decided to check Tang Wei Sheng's room. 

There might be some clues. 

Ning Jing walked into Tang Wei Sheng's room.

Everything in the room was neatly arranged. 

Ning Jing decided to search every nook and corner of the room. The closet, the study table, she opened each one of them and checked for pieces of evidence.

She found nothing suscipious.

Did she overthink the situation?

Ning Jing took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind.

Li Juan and Tang Wei Sheng, how can she even think them as a couple?

A mocking smile appeared on Ning Jing's face. 

If Li Juan wasn't working on this research team, a commoner like her won't be able to meet Tang Wei Sheng in her whole life.

Ning Jing repented for her stupid thoughts and turned to leave.

Suddenly, the side table kept on the balcony caught her attention.

Anyway, I've searched everywhere, let's take a look at the balcony.

Ning Jing walked towards the balcony and opened the drawer in the side table.

To her surprise, she found a black jewellery box inside the drawer.

Ning Jing took it out and examined the box.

It was indeed a jewellery box for rings.

She looked at the name of the jewellery written inside the box. 

"Baiyu" - White Jade?

Ning Jing took her phone and searched the jewellery box with calligraphy of Baiyu in it. 

The results indicated that the box belonged to the top jewellers in C country, who released a special edition of jade ornaments which are decorated with diamonds.

Diamonds and Jade!!! 

Ning Jing couldn't believe her eyes. 

The jade ring she saw on Li Juan's finger also had diamonds and jade- It was the most expensive ring from the jewel edition.

Does that mean her suspicions were on point? 

The Truth between Tang Wei Sheng and Li Juan was well hidden from others. 

"Young madam, you are here! I was looking for you in your room"

the house maid's voice pulled Ning Jing back to reality.

"You got a post,"

"A post for me?" Ning Jing asked in doubt.

"Who sends post for her?"