The air went still. Jun had his doubts about Ai's death, but his spidey senses that tingled said otherwise. Now her confirmation was all that he needed.
"As I thought...It wasn't an accident! You were fucking killed! There is no way that specific part of the railing would just tip over like that."
When Jun said it that way, Ai's own mind churned with suspicions and disbelief.
Murder?
Until now, she believed that it was an unfortunate accident and even if she wanted to, she couldn't hate Guiying because she knew that she didn't do it on purpose.
"That's not possible...Guiying wouldn't go so far..." she trembled.
"She can!" Jun's gaze turned dark and lethal. "She was jealous of you and jealousy...Jealousy is a dangerous emotion. It can take you to any lengths."
Thinking about the past life, he wondered about himself.
Wasn't I the same? I got so jealous of Jin that I thought of killing him.
"Jealousy and desperation is deadly," his fingers curled, and his fist reddened from the anger coursing in his veins. He angrily laughed. "I know what must have happened. Cai Guiying wanted to make it look like an accident. She must have already made preparations in place to loosen the railing sometime before and at the right time, she pushed you!"
Preparations...
A sharp shudder passed through her mind.
Jun narrowed his eyes at her reaction. "What? Did you remember something else?"
Her voice stammered. "I-I remembered that during the time I was there, some workers were doing some repairs and maintenance in Dream High building," she bit her lip, tears blurring her vision, "I had caught a glimpse of them working on the terrace too before I went up..."
Her heart drummed faster in her chest. The repairs getting done on the same day matched with the suspicions Jun was having.
Jun gnashed his jaw. "I knew it. The railing was tampered with! It won't just fall off on its own. Cai Guiying went too far!"
Is that really...
Ai stared ahead blankly.
Did she really hate me so much that she would want to kill me?
"She did it exactly like I thought. You would die, and then she would blame the accident on the company from where the workers came to do the maintenance. She wanted to pin the hazard on them and run free. And that Gu Yating...Of course, he supported his so-called girlfriend," his gaze darkened. "It's not difficult for him. After all, he is Gu Rong's son. He is the Gu family buisness's heir. He is rich and influential too to handle the mess and escape."
Ai snapped out of her daze and looked at Jun, bewildered. "What? Rich? Influential? He is a young master?"
Jun gave her a confused look in turn. "Why are you asking me that? Don't you know? You two were..." a vein popped on his forehead, "dating after all."
"We were. But he never told me that he came from a wealthy family," she was stunned. "I...never knew. I only saw him working as the Chief Editor."
"He is rich. His father is Gu Rong and the CEO of Gu Corps right now. His son is Gu Yating, which makes him the heir. That's how he was able to come to Mom and Dad's anniversary banquet. Mostly, all wealthy families were invited, Gu Rong being one of them. He is not some average man."
It was hard processing all this information at once for Ai.
Jun frowned. "Gu Yating never told you about his family?"
"He-he did but not much. He just mentioned once about his father. He didn't speak about his mother."
Which made her wonder just how much she was kept in the dark about the people closest to her in the past life? Guiying was her best friend and Yating was her boyfriend. Yet, both of them kept so many things hidden from her. Right now, she felt as if she knew nothing about them.
"As expected from him," Jun cursed Gu Yating, "Both are a bunch of liars! Cai Guiying felt jealous of you, and she roped in her boyfriend to end your life. And I know why. You had published your last book a month before that night happened. It was successful. It was after five years that you came back to the writing world, and she must have felt threatened by your return. That's why..."
His eyes glinted with fury as he thought about the Summit, "That's why I am sure now that Cai Guiying had something to do with bribing the judges against you. Didn't Xing Bi say that they would vote for her despite you being the winner? It must be her!"
Ai felt her throat go dry. "But why would she defend me? She did put up a post as CherryBlossom and stood up for me when everybody was blaming me. Even during the book signing event, she had disagreed with Zhan Yahui to make me apologize to her fans. This was the case in the past too."
Jun chuckled. "Do you think a woman who could snatch your boyfriend, push you off the terrace so cruelly and plan your murder will be a simple woman? Of course, she did it to be in everybody's good books. She wanted to show how big of a heart she has who stands up for her best friend. She was always two-faced! It was all an act. Secretly, she was celebrating to see you in misery!"
He held her face and brought her closer to him. "But I won't stand for it. Somebody fucking plotted against your life. It's unforgivable. Liu Jun won't let it go," his laughter was enveloped with eeriness and danger, "Ai, no matter what happens, this time...I won't let the past life repeat. I won't let her or Gu Yating or anybody else even touch a strand of your hair. I will make those bastard judges spill out the truth at any cost. Once...Just once I know that Cai Guiying is behind all this, I will make her regret messing with you!"