Since this was a private villa, there was no separation of bathrooms according to gender; male and female guests shared the bathroom, which was totally normally. However, using the bathroom and not locking it was rather abnormal. The issue of privacy aside, the way that the guest was using the bathroom was not correct.
The bathroom should be used to release water, not blood… Err, no wait! At such a serious moment, the thought that I'm having doesn't seem that correct…
Ye Shuang blinked. The man turned his head around and saw her since she had opened the door. She immediately halted her thoughts and started to come up with the correct method of response and formulate the procedure.
First, calmly pull out paper napkin from the dispenser.
Then, calmly wipe away the fingerprint that could have been left on the doorknob.
After removing all evidence that I was here, use the paper napkin to pull the doorknob and close the door.
"Sorry for disturbing you." Ye Shuang smiled gently at the man, slightly raised her head, and then prepared to leave.
What the f*ck!
The man was baffled by this development. He had been quite surprised when someone else barged into the room, but he had soon remembered that he had forgotten to close the door. Then he had come up with the possible actions that the intruder might make. Actions that included screaming would be the worst because they might attract the attention of the other guests at the party. Other than that, she might start to attempt counseling him. This result would not be bad. Even though the man would brush the advice off, even though the suicide would be halted, at least the incident would not be broadcasted. Other than that, she might charge forward to try to stop him from doing the reckless thing. If that was the case, should he retaliate or not?
However, no matter what, the man did not consider this possibility—the girl's first reaction was to remove all the evidence that she had been there in the first place and pretend like she did not see anything and leave.
The man was befuddled.
She is going to leave me to die!
Ye Shuang's expression at the time? The feeling was like… the man was holding a sharp knife, preparing to slit his wrist, but in her eyes, she seemed to see someone holding a paring knife to peel an apple.
The man's reckless attempt to seek death was drenched by this sudden pail of cold water… Even though, most of the time, suicide was due to a sudden urge, it was undeniable that some victims had this dark thought of 'I will make all of you regret this'. Unfortunately, the man did not get the reaction that he wanted from Ye Shuang. One could imagine the disappointment and devastation that he felt.
"Stop right there!" The man exploded when he noticed half of Ye Shuang's body had already retreated from the bathroom. He rushed over combining three steps into two steps. Before Ye Shuang could react, he pulled her in and, in the same motion, slammed the door shut. This time, he made sure to remember to lock the door.
A single man and a single woman staying inside the same bathroom… it was hard to make it romantic when they were just standing next to the toilet. Ye Shuang tried her best to ignore the surroundings. Her lips twitched, and she massaged her forehead. "Is there anything else, sir?"
The man's face was red from anger, and the veins on his neck were pulsing. "What do you mean? You ignored me. Do you look down on me? Even when I seek death, you can ignore it, huh‽ You also think someone like me deserves to die, don't you?"
"As the saying goes, people dying is like light dying. After all, you're going to leave the world already, why are you still obsessed with these mundane things?" Ye Shuang sighed helplessly. "If you really want to stick it to someone, then you have to be alive. If you think nothing really matters anymore, then continue with the suicide… I'm just someone who happened to pass by; I don't know you and am not familiar with you, do you have the need to be so concerned about my thoughts?"
They said that the living could not argue with the dead, but Ye Shuang thought the reserve was even truer. Death was often the perfect lens needed to see the best in someone; however, after death, people would stop influencing the world, their time frozen in the moment when they died. Only living humans had the ability to influence and change the future—only living humans had that possibility.
The dead could never beat the living. No matter how perfect their image was, all they had were words of memories and lamentation. The one who would gain anything worthy was the living.
The man slowly calmed down. He stared at Ye Shuang for a while and let her go with a chuckle. "So, you're here to stop me from committing suicide."
Then, he also nodded in agreement. "Your method sure is unique."
Unfortunately, he was not going to change his mind.
Just as he was about to express his conviction, Ye Shuang finally lost her patience. She grabbed the man's collar, opened the door, pushed the man out and closed the door. The series of actions was smooth.
She had been holding it in for a long time! Did the man not even consider that she was there to use the toilet‽
After the door slammed shut, the man had no idea what had happened, but he was already locked out of the room. He was still holding the knife in his hand. Then, after Ye Shuang was done with her business, she opened the door and smiled at the man, who was still blanking out at the door. She wandered away. After all, she did not leave any fingerprint, so whether the man would continue the suicide or not had nothing to do with her anymore.
…
Returning to the party on the first floor, Ye Shuang found a glass of wine on the table. Before she could take a sip to wet her throat, she was accosted by Su Zheng, who came from behind her.
"Sister Shuang, why did it take you so long?" Su Zheng hung herself on Ye Shuang's arm that was not holding the wine glass. She dragged the girl urgently in a direction. "Just now that Lin Yu also showed up. I didn't have any idea that he was going to attend this party… Oh, Xiao Xia is already here. Even Xia Cheng has showed up. Let's go see what's happening!"
"There's no need to rush!" Ye Shuang tried her best to steady the wine glass as she was dragged away by Su Zheng. Then, she added, "Perhaps they're just here for socializing? What else could really happen at this kind of public event? Normally, any important information will be shared at private places…"
Even if she said so, Ye Shuang still cooperated with Su Zheng. The latter actually had a motive for going over to the group. Her real purpose was to find her good friend to play with, and that also gave her the chance to enjoy the darkness on Lin Yu's face as she dragged his crush away. Then why did she drag Ye Shuang with her?
The answer to that was really simple; Ye Shuang was the witness.
Luo Mingxin, Xia Cheng, Lin Yu, and Mo Xiao Xia sat around on the sofas. Ye Shuang felt like she was looking at an actual food chain. The three men were arranged in terms of status. Lin Yu was suppressed due to the feelings he had for Mo Xiao Xia while Mo Xiao Xia had admiration for Luo Mingxin, who was her senior. Due to this unique relationship, the four currently had rather equal footing.
Once they saw Mo Xiao Xia, Su Zheng happily dropped Ye Shuang and ran over. "Xiao Xia!"
However, Mo Xiao Xia's eyes lit up and charged over to someone else. "Sister Shuang!"
Ye Shuang held Mo Xiao Xia calmly and glanced at the dissatisfaction on the ignored Su Zheng's face. She led the two girls to take a seat on the empty sofa. "Why is Mr. Lin here today?"
Lin Yu also looked at Ye Shuang back with dissatisfaction, then looked at Mo Xiao Xia patiently. "Xiao Xia just finished her commercial shooting, so…"
So, after Mo Xiao Xia completed her work, she followed Ye Shuang here, and Lin Yu followed her here. Ye Shuang gave an understanding smile. She shared a few words with Lin Yu and then turned around and gave Su Zheng a mission in a whisper, "Lin Yu probably doesn't know that Mr. Qin is also here. You go and inform them, do not let them meet."
"How shall I do that?"
Ye Shuang thought about it and said, "Just tell him directly that Mr. Lin is my potential client."
After all, earlier, when they met, Qin Chu had already pointed that out. He already knew that Ye Shuang was currently approaching Lin Yu. Su Zheng left after she had accepted the mission.
Mo Xiao Xia wanted to follow, but Luo Mingxin was probably afraid that his little junior was going to be polluted from mixing too much with Su Zheng, so he quickly used his acting to lure the girl away. He ignored the daggers that were sent his way by Lin Yu. Xia Cheng wanted to endear himself to his boss, but now, Lin Yu had him on the watchlist, so of course, he had no patience for this man. Therefore, he told him to leave.
In the end, only Lin Yu and Ye Shuang remained. It had been less than ten minutes since Ye Shuang sat down.
"Mr. Ye had me pay attention to Xia Cheng, and I'm conducting the investigation." With no outsider and no shared topic between Lin Yu and Ye Shuang, he decided to talk about business instead. "He has something that is worth suspecting and hides himself very well, but it is not to the stage of turning against us, and it doesn't appear like he has the intention of harming us."
At this point, Lin Yu frowned and looked at Ye Shuang with suspicion. "Is it possible that you and Mr. Ye have a personal grudge with Xia Cheng and wish to borrow our hands to deal with him?"
The guess was so close to the truth, but why should Ye Shuang admit it?
"In terms of official business," Ye Shuang said calmly, "your company is cooperating with Tian Mo, and I have an existing relationship with Tian Mo. If I wanted to cause trouble, I would have gone to Huan Chen or Miao Yi, not you. Privately, Mr. Xia has always stayed in Xiang Jiang, and he has studied at England; this is the first time that he has returned to China. My partner and I have not left the country, so in other words, we have no connection with the man. Why do you think we would want to target him for no reason?"
"I don't know, but it is the truth that Mr. Ye is targeting him." Lin Yu leaned against the sofa, his suspicion toward Ye Shuang still going strong. "Even though I'm not clear about the reason, I know that you wouldn't have done this out of kindness of your heart."
Of course not!
"Is there really a point to go so deep? After all, we're just getting from each other what we need." Ye Shuang smiled. "If your investigation really shows that Xia Cheng is clean, can I force you to work with me? In other words, if Xia Cheng is a potential threat, do you plan to leave him be simply because you cannot find out the personal history that I have with him?"
Lin Yu was made rather confused. He had a feeling the main point was muddled, but when he thought about it, the girl was not lying either. "In any case, my big brother will handle this. If there's really a problem, he will personally contact you."
Instantly, Ye Shuang felt annoyed. She had thought that everything could be handled through Lin Yu, but how come she kept luring out the big boss?
She was thinking about that when the small boss of the local map showed up.
The man who had tried to commit suicide walked down the stairs. He stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at everything. After he found Ye Shuang's location, he walked toward her slowly with gritted teeth.
The conversation between Ye Shuang and Lin Yu was awkward. Due to the angle that she was sitting at, she did not realize that someone was heading toward her. Lin Yu noticed it, but since the expression on the man's face was so dark, he pretended not to notice it. He was just excited to be given a front row seat of such a good show.
The man ignored the guests who tried to either greet him or shy away from him, and when he successfully reached Ye Shuang, she finally noticed the excited expression on Lin Yu's face.
Following Lin Yu's gaze, Ye Shuang turned back, and the first sentence out of her lips darkened the man's face. "Huh, you're still not dead?"