Chapter 99 - Han Ze Min Is Missing

Unedited:

"That Jerk!!!" Wan Yi Jun gritted his teeth as he ended the phone call with Ming Yue and tightened his grip over the phone in absolute anger. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't understand why would Han Ze Min would call...Nah...irritate Ming Yue over phone calls. 

By the way, who the hell calls someone every hour, just to check on them?

Ming Yue even said that she tried to ignore his phone calls, but he spammed her with his messages, all day.

Is he trying to look for new ways to torture his cousin, now that Zhi Lan is out of the picture?

"How dare he?" Wan Yi Jun mumbled in utter dismay as he thought about the possibility of Han Ze Min disturbing Ming Yue just because she is closer to him. He quickly turned around and stomped towards the room where his good for nothing brother stays. 

He can't take any chance when it comes to Ming Yue's life, there is no way he would sit back if Han Ze Min drags her into the mess how he did with Zhi Lan.

However, on the way to the room, Wan Yi Jun ran into Zhu Yahui, the caretaker of the guest house,

"Do you need anything, sir?" He asked the young man who was hurriedly walking around the corridors, like a raging bull.

"No. I don't need anything." Wan Yi Jun replied and give a slight bow, before walking past him,

"Sir, are you going to meet officer Han?" Zhu Yahui suddenly asked when he noticed that Wan Yi Jun was storming towards the room where Han Ze Min stays and stopped the other, 

"He went outside."

"Outside?" Wan Yi Jun stopped in his tracks when he heard those words, "Where did he go?"

"He wanted to get something from the shop...I did tell him that, I will get it for him, but he refused it."

"Hmm..." Wan Yi Jun gave a meaningful hum and dialled Han Ze Min's number to check upon him.

However, he heard that Han Ze Min's cell phone was switched off.

"I know our village doesn't have every facility that is available in the city, If you find something which is not fitting your likes, please do tell me." 

"Yes, thank you"

"Who lives there?"

"Nobody lives there. It's just there for years," 

"It looks so beautiful."

"Yes, But no one goes there. It's notoriously known as devil's den."

"Devil's den?"

"Many people died over there, either falling into the sea or hitting the head on the rock."

"Did someone recently die there?"

"Shu Lili,"

"Last time when she came home, elder Mao saw her going there, she was kind of in a trance."

"Please, don't go over there, officer."

"No, I won't."

"Are you familiar with Shu Lili?"

"Yes, before going to the city, she used to come here. When there are some foreign tourists comes here or someone from the city is here. She used to be the top scorer of the school, so she often talked about going to the city and enjoying the life over there."

"Does she comes here alone?"

"Most of the time she comes here alone and talks to elder Mao,"

"Were there any regular workers in this cottage?"

"No. It's just me. Back when Hu Geng Xin used to come here to help me with chores."

"Do you know where he went?"

"City,"

"There are lots of cities in this country,"

"I really don't know, sir. Maybe he might have gone to dragon city. Lots of Zhi Ruo people live there."

"He just went there alone? With no help?"

"I don't know about it. You should talk to Elder Mao?"

"Yes, sure. Officer Pei said that he will send a word to him."

"He might be preparing to go to the sea, now. Most probably he will come to visit in the morning."

"What do you think, will we be able to find evidence?"

"There is something mysterious going around this place. My gut feels so."

"It's because you just fill your stomach with everything on the table."

"Was that a joke? Should I laugh?"

"Guys, focus."

"I also felt the same, captain. From whatever he heard from the local police, it wouldn't be a wonder if they have their own set of rules and laws which prevents anyone to go out from this place and get their own life."

"That's also a possibility. Especially since she got famous and fell in love with someone like Ken Wong."

"Like Honour killing?"

"Honour killing, in this country? We have never heard about it?"

"Have you heard racism and apartheid in this country in any recent times?"

"We are hearing some nasty things today."

"Don't you feel something left out?"

"It feels awfully quiet."

"Where is Han Ze Min?"

"Money is not a problem for me. You just have to name it, I will pay you," 

"Han Ze Min did say that he keeps his personal life separated from his profession, so we might...." 

But Cai Hong strongly opposed that idea even before Zhi Lan could complete her statement. 

"No. He won't...you don't know him...He really holds grudge against everyone who bullied that wretched b*tch." She snarled like a hurt beast when she remembered the murderous glint she saw on Han Ze Min's eyes when she mentioned his dead girlfriend. 

"Good lord, Cai Hong...try to use names next time." Xie Na tried to remind her friend who tend to address everyone she hates by a curse word,

"Han Ze Min holds grudge against each and every student in Silver Oak who bullied his beloved Tsuki, especially me who started calling her as a monster." 

Cai Hong emphasized each and every word, frustratingly rephrased her statement once again. 

"These men and their first loves." Xie Na's eyebrows knitted together when she recalled that the entire case is based on love and hatred. "You don't have to worry, we can argue that Han Ze Min is trying to accuse you due to his personal agenda as a last resort." 

"I have a slightly better relationship with Han Ze Min than Wan Yi Jun. Should I talk to him on behalf of Cai? Zhi Lan suggested after contemplating for a while, only to get refused by Xie Na. 

"Zhi Lan, it is better that you stay out of this case. You are not only risking your life, but also your father's career." Xie Na adviced when she saw that Zhi Lan was ready to help others without any second thoughts. 

"I know that you are helping out a friend. It's a good thing, but in this case, it will be a loss for both of you. Sometimes it's better to keep your personal life away from other things and you, Cai Hong," Xie shifted her gaze to Cai Hong who silently listened to her friend with a guilt ridden face. "Please stay away from trouble,  from now onwards, you can't afford to make any mistakes." 

"Hmmm...I will do that."

"For now, let's keep this deal hidden and let's see if Han Ze Min makes his first move. By the time I will ask someone to look for the real culprit." Just as Xie Na concluded, the heard some faint footsteps from the bedroom, which is followed by a melodious female voice, 

"Xie Na, where are you?" 

The moment Cai Hong and Zhi Lan shifted their attention in the direction of the voice, their eyes met with a familiar beautiful blonde woman infront of Xie Na's bedroom door. 

Even though she was in her early forties it was evident that age was a number for her. 

"Oh, hi...I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She apologized beforehand and looked at Xie Na as if she was silently seeking permission from her to carry on. 

"No, you are not. Are you leaving, Rose? Stay for breakfast." Xie Na smilingly added and stood up from the seat. 

"No, no. It's okay...you are having guests." The blonde woman tried to be as polite as possible as she urged to leave the house before it's too late. 

"They are about to leave. Aren't you guys?" Xie Na asked to her friends, signalling them to leave as soon as possible. 

Cai Hong who understood the message, sprang up from the couch and even pulled a baffled Zhi Lan with her, 

"Yes, please stay for the breakfast. We are leaving, then. Bye...See you soon." She somehow stormed out of the penthouse without even waiting for Xie Na's reply. 

"Damn!!! I thought she is banging some random woman ...but my goodness that's Rosalie Jung for god's sake!!!!" Cai Hong almost screamed when she finally realised the person whom their friend slept with was the former supermodel whom everyone treated as an fashion icon. 

"Don't you think Xie Na's taste is a bit weird." Zhi Lan's doubtful words destroyed Cai Hong's fan girl moment with no delay. 

"Don't you dare to judge her for sexual orientation." Cai Hong harshly warned as soon as her brain picked up the word "weird" 

Even though same sex relationships were allowed in the country, it was still considered as a taboo topic among a wide majority of the citizens.

"Hey no...I'm not...I'm totally fine with my best friend prefers women...I was talking about Rosalie, doesn't she have a husband?" Zhi Lan asked in confusion. 

"Yes, also a million-dollar worth company shares which she was supposed to receive as alimony." Cai Hong reminded her with a smirk, as they walked towards the elevator. 

"She is getting divorce?" Zhi Lan stopped in her tracks when she heard something unexpected, 

"Which world are you living, Zhi Lan? It's all over in the internet, a couple of weeks ago. Or you only care about things revolve around Wan Yi Jun?" Watching her puzzled state, Cai Hong couldn't help but half jokingly pointed out. 

"I'm sorry. I wasn't really catching up with the celebrity gossips." Zhi Lan honestly admitted. While following Wan Yi Jun all around the country, she did miss a huge portion of things which normally people enjoy. 

"Rosalie found her husband cheating with his private secretary, and Xie Na's firm is handling the divorce settlement." Cai Hong gave a brief outline of what exactly happened to the woman who they just met. 

"But that doesn't make any sense with whatever we saw there?" Zhi Lan who still had a difficult time adjusting with the sudden shock, asked again. 

"It's just a one night thing. Trust me, 

they are going to act like nothing happened between them. No matter how beautiful and successful her partner is, there is no way Xie Na is going to take it serious and start dating." Cai Hong argued back when she listened to Zhi Lan's doubts.

"No...I mean Rosalie is straight and she..."

"It's people, Zhi Lan. They have different tastes and preferences. It can change anytime. How can we be so sure that Rosalie was into men from the very beginning? Maybe she just pretended for the sake of her career or she was looking for a change...or preferably, Xie Na must have seduced her." Cai Hong gave a full fledged lecture while they waited for the elevator to come to the top floor. 

"It's crazy whenever I think about it. Every men in her life, whether it's her colleagues or clients, everyone fancies her and even planning to court her into marriage. And she is on the other hand, just having fun with her ladies." Zhi Lan sounded bemused as she spoke about the head-strong girl in their gang. If Cai Hong was the momma bear, then Xie Na would be the grumpy but self efficient elder daughter of their gang. 

"Actually, she wasn't like this before..."  Cai Hong pointed out as she stepped inside the empty elevator. 

"You mean she was into men?" 

"Not really. Back then when she moved to imperial from Itaria, she didn't hate men as much as she does today." 

"What happened?" Zhi Lan curiously asked,

"She lost a deal to a man and after that, her entire personality drastically changed."

"It's just a business deal..." Zhi Lan rolled her eyes as if she heard something totally unreasonable. She knew that Xie Na hated losing, whether it is in the court or real life. 

"Nope...It wasn't just a business deal...It was a girl..."

"A girl?" Zhi Lan almost shrieked out in horror when she realised that the business deal they spoke was human trafficking. She heard about Xie corporation having some dealings with the underworld back when Xie Na's father was alive, but this information just blew her mind away. 

"Hmm....Xie Na fell for a courtesan girl and tried every way to bring her home, but unfortunately that girl ran away with a school boy, just adding another reason for Xie Na to hate men."