Chapter 255 - Five years ago

Lei Zhao still could not believe that the mysterious man named Shadow suddenly appeared in their room. He blinked his eyes a few times when he realized that he had been long gone, but how?

With that in mind, Lei Zhao shook his head out of his thoughts. Now that the video showed more clues, he thought that he should to the people who are involved. 

Lei Zhao played the video again. When he saw the woman one more time, he paused it, narrowing his eyes as he started to observe who the woman was. 

"This woman... she's familiar," Lei Zhao mumbled, continuing to play the video again for a clear view of her face. The moment a part of the video clearly showed her face, he immediately hit pause, his eyes widening to realize who it was. 

Lei Zhao knew that he knew who this woman is. He knew that he met this woman once. Even though it was only one time, Lei Zhao's memory did not fail him. 

This woman--this is Leng Shao's mother. 

Lei Zhao heaved a sigh as he rested his back on the couch. He started to connect the pieces, remembering what the conversation was in the video. 

They were talking about a deal--an offer. But what? What could that deal be?

Now Lei Zhao could not help but feel uneasy. He got his phone again and called Ye Xing one more time, even though he had ordered him to come to the island as much as possible. 

"Ye Xing, tell me what you have investigated so far."

In Ye Xing's background, Lei Zhao could hear the engines roaring as if he was in a quick drive. With Ye Xing wearing a high-end Bluetooth earphone in one ear, he can listen to Lei Zhao clearly and could still answer him with what he knows. 

"This may be related to an issue that had happened five years ago," Ye Xing directly said, getting the complete attention of his boss. 

"What else do you know?" Lei Zhao asked, Ye Xing, answering with what he could as he continued driving. 

"This video is somehow connected to Yan Mei's best friend."

"Best friend?"

When Lei Zhao heard this, it immediately piqued his interest. He then stood up, his phone still against his ear as he walked about in the room, conversing with his secretary. 

"Once I arrive on the island, Mr. Lei, I would like you to confirm what I have investigated."

"En," Lei Zhao answered, nodding at the same time. "I have a video here which I would like you to investigate. What you know might be connected to this video."

"Okay. I'll be there as much as possible."

With that, the call between Lei Zhao and his secretary, Ye Xing, ended. He then kept his phone in his pocket when suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him, getting his attention. 

"Lei Zhao?"

There was still sleepiness in her voice. A small smile crept on Lei Zhao's face as he walked into the room where Yan Mei is sleeping. The moment Lei Zhao entered, he saw the grogginess on her face. 

She was embracing the spare pillow, her sleepy eyes looking at Lei Zhao as the strap of her nightgown slithered down her shoulder, enticing Lei Zhao to come to her. 

"Wifey..."

Lei Zhao sat on his bedside, Yan Mei looking up at him, sleepiness still seen in her eyes. 

"What were you doing outside? Aren't you going to sleep with me? Hmm?"

Lei Zhao almost forgot that the reason why there were here in the first place was that they were escaping from the hellhole of City S. However, he also knew at the same time that even though they are away from the city, he could not only sit still and let this pass by. 

He also has to do what he can other than his mother, Lei Xiao Tong, helping them. 

"I'm sorry," Lei Zhao apologized, tucking some tendrils of Yan Mei's hair behind her ear. "I was handling some matters of the company that I have to deal with myself," he reasoned, a white lie to not make his wife worry. 

"Oh..." Yan Mei slightly pouted, looking like a child. "We came here for a honeymoon... why are you suddenly being busy now?"

A light chuckle sounded from Lei Zhao. He planted a kiss on Yan Mei's forehead, tucking her in with their blanket as if she was a child. 

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll deal with this quickly so I could sleep beside you, alright?"

Yan Mei narrowed her eyes at him, "Are you keeping something from me?" she asked Lei Zhao, her husband shaking his head as he tried his best to convince Yan Mei to believe him even though he is lying. 

He only wanted to protect her and not worry her since she is also facing her internal struggles. 

"I'm not," Lei Zhao flatly said, giving Yan Mei another kiss, this time on the lips. "Now rest. I would take a shower and make final calls so my attention would be yours only."

"Oh..." Yan Mei yawned, no longer masking how tired she was from the trip that they had. "Alright, then. If you need help or whatever, don't hesitate to," another yawn came from her once more, "wake me up..."

In an instant, Yan Mei fell into slumber. Lei Zhao smiled as he kissed her on the top of her head, then he proceeded to shower as he waited for his secretary Ye Xing to arrive. 

***

Ye Xing used Lei Zhao's private helicopter after driving to the helipad. In just one and a half hours, he arrived on the island, already informing Lei Zhao that he is already on his way to meet him. 

"Mr. Lei," Ye Xing said, checking his watch to look at the time. It was already 10 in the evening. "Shall I come to the island villa, or should I wait for you outside?"

Upon hearing that Lei Zhao expected him in the villa, Ye Xing unconsciously nodded.

"I'll be right there, Mr. Lei."

Ye Xing ended the call and had quickly made his way to the island's villa. The moment he knocked on the door, Lei Zhao immediately opened the door, inviting his secretary inside. 

"Thank you for coming as soon as you can," Lei Zhao said, his secretary giving him a small bow as a greeting. 

The two men made way to the villa's veranda, with the pen drive and the laptop on hand. Ye Xing then put the folder on the table. It contained the little information he found out during his investigation. 

"I want you to watch this video," Lei Zhao said, opening his laptop and immediately playing the video in the pen drive. 

The two focused on the video once more. The moment the video showed the two women, Ye Xing's eyes widened in shock when he saw the younger woman. 

"M-Mr. Lei Zhao," he called out his attention, his shock making his boss pause the video. 

"What's wrong?" Lei Zhao asked, Ye Xing already opening the folder to reveal a picture of the young woman in the video. 

"This woman--she is the same as the one in the video," he said, Lei Zhao, comparing the two. His eyes also widened when he saw the resemblance, the two looking at each other in consternation and, at the same time, amazement. 

"So this was what you investigated so far?" Lei Zhao asked, Ye Xing, nodding to answer his question. 

"I found out that this woman in the picture is Mrs. Lei's best friend. Now that I saw this video, I could say that the woman in this picture is the same and that she is involved in this."

Lei Zhao was silent for a while. He leaned on the table, his hand on his chin as he started to ponder what he will do next. 

"To get to the bottom of this, we should talk to the people involved," he mumbled, but it was enough for Ye Xing to understand.

"What should we do next, Mr. Lei?" he asked, feeling motivated to connect the pieces now that they have more clues. 

Lei Zhao was silent for a while. He heaved a small smile as he looked at the night sky above them, thinking of what to do next. 

If Shadow did not give him the pen drive, they might not get enough evidence for the issue at hand. Now that they have--even though this is the slightest clue, it was enough for them to continue the investigation. 

It was also that at this moment, that Lei Zhao realized that they should talk to the people involved to get the information that they needed. 

"I want you to arrange an appointment with Wang Lu. Make him come to this island in secret, and make sure to do something about my wife so she would not know about this."

Even Ye Xing was surprised to hear this. He somehow knew that Wang Lu was Yan Mei's ex-husband--why would he want to invite him here in a honeymoon?

But he is but a secretary--and he would have to follow the orders of his boss. 

"Understood," Ye Xing said, standing up at the same time. "I will arrange a spa day for Mrs. Lei tomorrow and would have to arrange a location where you could freely talk with Mr. Wang Lu."

Satisfied with what he heard, Lei Zhao nodded, signaling Ye Xing for him to carry on with what they have talked about.

'Now we're getting closer to understand the bottom of this,' Lei Zhao thought, light passing through his eyes as he looked at the sky. 'I'll finally end this and protect my wife.'