Chapter 16: Persuading Her to Withdraw the Case

Liu Qing had stayed in the cemetery all morning before reluctantly leaving. I wanted to follow her, even if it meant existing only as a spirit, but I had no control over it. My soul simply couldn’t keep up with her, and I could only watch helplessly as her lonely figure gradually disappeared into the distance...

In the blink of an eye, I found myself in Jiang Yue’s office again. Coincidentally, Wu Shanshan was there too, chatting with her. Wu Shanshan said to Jiang Yue, “Yueyue, I just heard about Chu Jianghe. My condolences.”

Jiang Yue responded absentmindedly, “What’s there to mourn? He’s dead, so what? It doesn’t matter.”

Wu Shanshan smiled and said, “I think he treated you pretty well. He must have cared about you.”

“Then my servant treats me well too. Should I be sad about that?” Jiang Yue retorted.

Wu Shanshan paused, then laughed, “Well, that’s true. Come on, Yueyue, it’s already noon. Let’s go out for lunch.”

Jiang Yue nodded, and the two left the office together. I continued to follow them, drifting along to the restaurant.

Wu Shanshan tentatively asked, “Yueyue, do you really think Chu Jianghe’s death was an accident?”

Jiang Yue replied flatly, “If it wasn’t an accident, what else could it be? It’s just bad luck.”

Wu Shanshan pressed on, “But the police say it doesn’t seem accidental.”

“Then they can investigate. It’s none of my business,” Jiang Yue said coldly.

Wu Shanshan hesitated, then smiled, “It does affect you. If the police don’t close the case, they’ll keep coming to question you. Won’t that be annoying?”

“What does it have to do with me?” Jiang Yue shrugged.

Hearing Jiang Yue’s icy words, I felt as if I’d plunged into an ice cellar. Though I’d grown numb to her, it still hurt to realize she truly had no feelings for me at all.

Wu Shanshan shrugged and said, “But I heard you need a death certificate of your ex-husband to remarry. If the case isn’t closed, you can’t get that certificate, and then you won’t be able to be with Cheng Jun.”

Jiang Yue fell silent, seemingly convinced by Wu’s logic. She furrowed her brows. “You’re right. I’ll go to the police station right after this.”

Damn her!

The police had been saying all along that my death wasn’t an accident, yet she didn’t care one bit. But as soon as Wu mentioned it might affect her remarriage, she suddenly became anxious.

Sure enough, after lunch, she drove to the police station. She found the officer in charge of my case and bluntly demanded the case be closed, insisting my death was an accident.

The officer told her, “Miss Jiang, this isn’t up to you. Someone has already filed a case.”

“A case? Who?”

“Liu Qing.”

Jiang Yue’s expression darkened instantly. She cursed silently, “That damn Liu Qing again!”

The officer continued, “Miss Jiang, if you want to withdraw the case, the person who filed it has to do it.”

“Fine. I’ll go find her right away.”

“Miss Jiang, I feel like you don’t care about your husband’s death at all. I can assure you, it’s very likely that his death was caused by someone.”

Jiang Yue paused, then said, “He’s already dead. Why should I be sad? And why should I care?”

“But he didn’t have a single friend. There’s no way he offended anyone. How could it be murder?”

Jiang Yue’s words left the officer speechless. He shook his head and stopped arguing. Jiang Yue turned and left the station.

Back in her car, she made a call to find out where Liu Qing lived. After about twenty minutes, she received the address.

Jiang Yue immediately drove to Liu Qing’s place.

Honestly, I didn’t even know where Liu Qing was living now. Over the years, my thoughts had been consumed by Jiang Yue, and I had completely neglected Liu Qing.

Following Jiang Yue, I finally realized how poor Liu Qing’s living conditions were.

It was a three-story old brick-and-wood house with a small courtyard. The building seemed quite aged, constructed mostly from blue bricks and wood.

I never expected Liu Qing to live in such a place—remote and dilapidated as it was, the environment was harsh.

Yet, she was still a young woman, radiant and graceful.

Her work wasn’t bad either—so why live in such a rundown place?

Jiang Yue stopped her car at the gate, covering her nose and mouth, frowning with disdain as she looked around.

She entered the house and walked to the room at the far end of the second-floor corridor.

After confirming the room number, she raised her hand and knocked.

Liu Qing’s voice came from inside, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Jiang Yue.”

A few seconds later, Liu Qing opened the door.

She was still wearing the black clothes from the cemetery that morning, looking completely drained. Her gaze toward Jiang Yue was icy and sharp.

“What do you want?” Liu Qing said coldly.

“Two things. I’ll say them and then leave.”

Jiang Yue got straight to the point. “Have you taken care of Chu Jianghe’s funeral arrangements? Where is his grave? No matter what, I should go light incense for him.”

Liu Qing scoffed, “No need, Miss Jiang. You were born noble—you don’t have to.”

Jiang Yue didn’t argue, moving on to the next matter.

“Also, the police said you filed a case. You need to withdraw it.”

“Why should I withdraw it?”

“I’ve told you, you have no say in Chu Jianghe’s affairs. Why won’t you listen?”

Liu Qing sneered, “Miss Jiang, you don’t care about him, so you don’t get to interfere.”

“He’s still my husband. Who do you think you are?” Jiang Yue retorted with contempt.

Though Liu Qing’s presence wasn’t as imposing as Jiang Yue’s, she was not intimidated one bit.

“What am I? You treated your childhood friend so well; I can treat mine the same. Is there a problem with that, Miss Jiang?”

“You—!” Jiang Yue was usually fierce, but when facing Liu Qing, she was at a loss.

Liu Qing had always been like this. I remembered back in elementary school, when classmates teased me about being from an orphanage, Liu Qing always stood up for me, even once fighting several classmates to defend me.

I remembered all that well, and how happy she was just walking with me—even for days after.

Liu Qing looked at Jiang Yue with hatred and said deliberately, “Are you done? Miss Jiang.”

Jiang Yue closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath as if to suppress her anger.

After a moment, she said, “I’m serious. You have to withdraw the case, or else I can’t get his death certificate, and I won’t be able to remarry. Understand?”

“That’s none of my business.”

Jiang Yue’s fury flared. She had never been treated like this before, but since she needed Liu Qing, she forced herself to hold back.

“So what do you want? Name your terms.”

“I want you to leave! Get out of here.”

Jiang Yue had reached her limit. Her face flushed with anger as she snapped, “Liu, don’t be ungrateful!”

“I am who I am. Are you leaving or not? If not, I’ll call the police and report you for trespassing.”

Jiang Yue glared fiercely, sneered, nodded, and turned to leave.

Liu Qing shouted after her, “Jiang, we’re both women, but you shame me! If you never loved him, couldn’t you have just given him back to me? Now that it’s come this far, I’m not afraid of your noble status. I won’t let this go!”