You Owe Me, My Love

“Being the cause of Hailan's death has already made it impossible for you to forgive me. You will kill me if you have the chance, so what's the difference if I kill another person?”

Gu Mingchen glared murderously at Xia He. Right then, Xia He took out her gun and pointed it at his head. “Search for that woman. If you can't find her in half an hour, she will die.”

“I will hunt you to the ends of earth if you hurt her.” Gu Mingchen said hatefully.

“Hah, you'll regret it, Gu Mingchen.” Xia He felt sad for one moment, and then she opened the window and jumped out.

Gu Mingchen hurled the phone to the ground angrily. He shouldn't have left Bai Rong alone and put her in danger.

“Bai Rong. Bai Rong!” Gu Mingchen yelled.

Bai Rong looked down and leaned against the wooden pillar as she kicked the table in the cellar. The porcelain cup fell to the ground and broke apart.

Gu Mingchen heard it, so he lied against the ground to hear the sounds from the underground. “Can you hear me, Rong?”

Bai Rong kicked the table again, and Gu Mingchen quickly knocked on the floor. When he noticed the floorboard beneath the bed, he flung it open before jumping down.

After turning on his flashlight, the man saw Bai Rong. A moment later, he quickly untied her and ripped the tape off her lips. “Sorry, Rong. I shouldn't have left you alone.”

“It's fine. I understand. Let's go up now.” Bai Rong said gently. She was extraordinarily calm. The woman didn't even feel afraid when she faced three dastardly villains, so being tied up was nothing for her.

The moment they got out, Bai Rong said, “I know who the killer is, Gu Mingchen.”

"Xia He? Doesn't seem like it.” Gu Mingchen replied.

“No, it's Tang Xiaojiu, the only survivor. They dug out a thousand gold bars. Governor Cheng didn't take all of them. There were other people involved. The villagers didn't die of disease. A genocide happened. Tang Xiaojiu is the village head's son, so he wants revenge. I suspect that he's the one who drank with the fruit stall owner.” Bai Rong guessed.

“Did Xia He tell you this?” Gu Mingchen said nonchalantly.

“She wanted me to tell you that she was framed. Now she’s trying to prove her innocence and wants you to stop hunting for her.” Bai Rong replied.

“Do you believe her? She wouldn't be hiding here if she’s trying to get evidence. I did not accuse her wrongly. Only she, Hailan, and I knew about the plan, but what happened? Our operation was exposed, while Xia He disappeared. Hailan was burned to death in the end. If she wasn't the one who leaked it, who else could it be? Me?” Gu Mingchen said coldly. He then stood up and turned his head aside.

Bai Rong could see that he was trying to calm down.

"Did anyone overhear you when you reported this to your superior?” Bai Rong’s womanly instincts told her that Xia He was telling the truth.

“There was no superior. We were the only ones who knew. I don't want to talk about this. Let's end this here.” Gu Mingchen went out of the room.

Chen Zhi came over to report, “I found a grave at the lake, Chief, exactly like how we have discussed. All the corpses were there. What weird is that someone was paying them tribute. There are apples, bananas, and even pears. They're all fresh, so the one who paid this tribute must have come over this morning.”

“Tang Xiaojiu came to pay tribute to his fellow villagers after killing Mr. Cheng.” Bai Rong said gently.

“Let's go back,” Gu Mingchen said coldly.

Bai Rong felt heavy as she looked at him. A feeling of unease crept up on her. “Are you going to arrest Tang Xiaojiu?” She asked.

“A life for a life. He must be punished for his crime.” Gu Mingchen looked ahead sharply.

"What about the truth? Are you going to announce it or hide it?" Bai Rong asked, but Gu Mingchen said nothing.

He was almost certain that the relevant authorities would hide it. They would be worried that the public might lose confidence in them, and they would be pressurized. Also, the sheer gore in this matter would cause an international uproar, and they wouldn't want to alert the culprit.

Bai Rong was frustrated when Gu Mingchen didn't answer her. “I think Xia He is innocent. If she was the whistleblower, she didn’t have to live her life this way. That woman could have gone overseas to lead a better life. Besides, Tang Xiaojiu is just a son of a villager. He is uncultured and uneducated, nor does he know about explosives and firearms. I believe Xia He taught him that. From the fact that the two didn’t harm any civilians out of the sense of justice she has, I think she wasn't lying.” Bai Rong analyzed.

"Enough. You are not a soldier, nor are you a police. And you can't represent the government. Stop talking about it.” Gu Mingchen raised his voice.

Bai Rong caught the flash of frustration and distaste, and she kept quiet. If he didn't want to listen to what she had to say, he wouldn't believe it no matter how logical it was.

There is no need to say anything further. It serves no purpose. Bai Rong said nothing and carried on hiking.

Gu Mingchen regretted it right after lashing out at her. He shouldn't have snapped at her even if he wasn't in a great mood. She was not his soldier, nor was she someone whom he could vent his frustrations at.

“Sorry.” Gu Mingchen apologized.

Bai Rong smiled, but she didn't reply. The woman quickly hiked the mountain, for she didn’t want to slow down everyone's progress.

It was already 4 p.m. when they returned to the car. None of them had lunch.

Bai Rong looked outside the window, while Gu Mingchen frowned as he looked at her. “I wasn't venting on purpose. Meeting Xia He here was unexpected. My temper went out of control. I'll keep it in check next time.”

Bai Rong said nothing. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. What is love? Is it to care, listen, admire, and care about your other half? Is it staying together forever? Or is it just a way to fill in the gap of a partner and take the responsibility of reproducing?

If it was the former, Gu Mingchen would listen to her no matter what she said. If it was the latter, he would refuse to listen to her, perhaps even feel frustrated and disgusted.

Is it still love if I don't want to continue anymore? Or maybe I just don't love him enough. After all, it had only been a month and might not be enough time for her to love wholeheartedly.

Her heart was sensitive and brittle, and yet it was resilient. She had always been a passive person Bai Rong wasn't a simple woman. Thanks to society's lessons, she learned to be selfish and scheming.

She would repay someone's kindness multiple times through, no matter how much was needed of her. But if they were unkind to her, she would slowly close her heart to them.

Gu Mingchen rested her head on his shoulder. Bai Rong wasn't ready to be intimate with him after they had just fought. She needed time to be alone. The woman opened her eyes and leaned against the chair before her, her head against her arm.

Gu Mingchen felt something tugging at his heart and it was aching.