You Owe Me, My Love

Chapter 437 Take It Slow

“I'll go back after I have my breakfast. It'll probably take two hours,” she said softly.

Gu Mingchen hung up without saying another word. The Shadow Samurais probably told him what happened, so he should be angry since I kidnapped Xin and lied to him.

She munched on her garlic bread but realized that her appetite was ruined. She was in a small café, and there were two men sitting at the table in front of her.

"So do you know what happened?” A skinny middle-aged man asked the elderly man beside him. “No. I thought someone was playing with firecrackers, and I yelled at them. At first, I thought it's just some sickos pulling stupid sh*t in the middle of the night, but I realized something was off. Did you saw the policemen just now? Even the Armed Police came.”

“Yeah. I heard that the woman's a mistress, and the wife found out, so she was almost murdered,” the thin man replied.

"Oh, I see. No wonder she can hire a family physician, housemaid, and sends her kid to the best school despite not having a job. I heard her sugar daddy is the boss of Gu Group,” a woman interjected.

“You're kidding. The boss of Gu Group doesn't have a wife.”

“But my son works at Gu Group, and he told me that. He said his boss is the father of the woman's son and they look alike,” the woman added.

“That makes sense. She's just an unemployed woman. There's no way she would have offended anyone. There's no need for a gunfight when a bullet through her head would have done the job. It's probably Mr. Gu's enemy trying to assassinate him,” the elderly man said.

Bai Rong's appetite was completely ruined the more she listened to their conversation. That's one heck of a preposterous rumor, but well, that's just how rumors are. There are no rhymes nor reasons. It spreads according to the people's interests; thus, it's normal for a rumor to be exaggerated.

She stood up.

"You're all wrong.” A shorty came over and looked around mischievously. “I live on the first floor, and I went out to see what was going on. Then, I heard a guy making a phone call.”

Bai Rong pulled some tissue papers and sat back down, pretending to eat her breakfast.”

“What's the call about?” the gaunt man urged.

“I think the man said something along the lines of something was not for him to decide, and something about she must pay the price. I think he also mentioned something about his boss making the kill order. Sounds like the girl's hunted down because of something she said.”

Bai Rong froze. That's what Su Xuyan told me.

"What next?” the people beside him urged.

“Then, he asked the whereabouts of a woman, I think. He said he'd let the woman go, but he wants the person who called him to hold up the end of the bargain. He even said he'd kill both the woman and the caller otherwise,” the shorty added.

“That's a lot to process. I have no idea what they're talking about,” the gaunt man answered

“The man made another call after hanging up. He told his men to stop shooting, and that he'd explain everything to Mr. Sheng. I guess the mastermind behind this is that Mr. Sheng guy,” the shorty said.

Bai Rong was reminded of Sheng Dongcheng. When she was sharing a meal with Leng Xiao before that, he told her the five possible candidates for the position of commander-in-chief were Shen Yiyan, Su Zheng, Lin Shutong, Zuo Qunyi, and Sheng Dongcheng. Since Cai Qingyun was already a general, only someone of a higher rank could command him. Su Xuyan was about the same rank, and he didn't even think of Gu Mingchen as his match. This mastermind is powerful.

The civilians were still gossiping, while she had gone back to her car and called Leng Xiao. “I think I know who the mastermind is, but I'm not a hundred percent sure.”

"Who is it?” Leng Xiao asked.

“Sheng Dongcheng. Someone heard Su Xuyan call a guy called Mr. Sheng. I want to know everything about Sheng Dongcheng,” Bai Rong requested.

"Hm, that's possible. His grandpa, Sheng Li, was a firearms dealer overseas and was good friends with Shen Yiyan's grandpa. After Shen Yiyan's grandpa became the commander-in-chief, he asked Sheng Li to come back, so Sheng Li invested in a few projects here and had his son enter politics.” He took a deep breath. “But Shen Yiyan's grandpa only became commander-in-chief for four years before Zuo Qunyi's father took over, and Sheng Li died the same year. His son, Sheng Dongcheng’s father progressed normally since he had his family’s help, but then, the Gu family showed a meteoric rise.”

He paused for a moment. When Shen Yiyan's father was elected, he helped Sheng Dongcheng's father a lot, and that's how he got Sheng Dongcheng into politics. The Sheng family’s business in A City boomed, while Gu Group expanded overseas. This might be a coincidence, but everyone covets the position of commander-in-chief, but Shen Yiyan's father took the position. And three years ago, Sheng Dongcheng’s father died of a sudden illness.”

Leng Xiao heaved a sigh. “Sheng Dongcheng took over his father's spot as the finance minister, and he was a favorite to be commander-in-chief two years ago,” Leng Xiao said

“That's probably why Su Xuyan listens to the former commander-in-chief before this. Since Sheng Dongcheng's father worked with Shen Yiyan's when the latter's dad was alive, it's normal for Su Xuyan to work for the commander-in-chief, but they did their own stuff too. The moment Sheng Dongcheng’s father died, the relationship changed for the worse,” Bai Rong analyzed.

“Nice. We don't have to worry about any traps or conspiracies then. No wonder the chief likes you,” Leng Xiao thanked her genuinely.

“But the thing is, we don't know if Sheng Dongcheng is really behind this, since it's just a guess. They have an organization that eliminates any opposition for them. The mission back then started out because Silver found out about the list of names, and everyone who knew about that died. It's not enough to prove they're involved in Yanny's murder.”

Bai Rong paused for a moment. “Shen Yanyi, Su Zheng, Lin Shutong, and Zuo Qunyi could be the murderer too, but Sheng Dongcheng is more likely to be the one,” she reminded him.

“I'll keep an eye on everyone who heard the call.” Leng Xiao noticed the danger.

"Don’t bother. We have no evidence, since he didn't record it. Only Su Xuyan's testimony can work right now, and we still need evidence for it. No wonder Shen Yiyan doesn't want to get into this. He's only commander-in-chief for two years now, and he hasn't consolidated his power yet. He'd stand to lose a lot if Sheng Dongcheng were to fall.”

Bai Rong mused over it. “He's frenemies with Sheng Dongcheng, so at this rate, he wouldn't do anything against Sheng Dongcheng before he could stabilize his hold on the position.

"We can't do anything to him, and Su Xuyan wouldnt help us. That means we know who's behind it, but we can't make any move.” Leng Xiao sounded disappointed.

"What will you do if a staff is wrapped in poison ivy?” Bai Rong asked.

"You're saying..."

Bai Rong’s eyes gleamed sharply, coldly. “You pluck them off one by one, and then you hand that staff of power safely to Gu Mingchen’s hands.”

Leng Xiao gave her a salute, though she couldn't see it. “I am yours to command.”