Chapter 24: Come with Me

After reaching an agreement with Leng Ningxue, Lin Li immediately hung up the phone.

At this time, Qin Guosheng was still doing everything in his power to track down any clues related to Ye Aotian. Over the years, this old fox had indeed laid down numerous schemes; dealing with Ye Aotian alone should have been no challenge at all. Of course, that was only because they were completely unaware of Ye Aotian’s true strength. If they had known even a fraction of it, they would certainly not have been so at ease.

For Lin Li, however, everything was still well within his control. There was no need to worry about any unexpected consequences for the time being.

When Lin Li arrived at the villa, Qin Guosheng was downstairs on the phone. Upon seeing Lin Li, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“You rascal, what have you been up to lately? Haven’t seen you around at all.”

Now, with his mind fraught with worries, Qin Guosheng couldn’t help but say a few extra words upon seeing Lin Li. He was sparing no expense to avenge his son. Unfortunately, even that was far from enough to solve the problem. Ye Aotian’s power was formidable, and perhaps none of them were truly a match for him.

While Qin Guosheng was racking his brains about how to deal with Ye Aotian, Lin Li dropped his bombshell.

“Boss, I just got word—Zhang Fengwei is dead.”

“When they found him, he was covered in wounds. It looks like he got into a fight before he died.”

With his mind entirely focused on Ye Aotian, Qin Guosheng didn’t doubt Lin Li’s words in the slightest. The first person who came to mind was, naturally, Ye Aotian.

“Damn that Ye Aotian! I knew he wouldn’t let this go.”

“It’s just as I thought—he’s still trying to make trouble for us.”

A cold gleam flashed in Qin Guosheng’s eyes. He had never expected things to come to this.

“Boss, it seems Ye Aotian is determined to oppose us. We need to come up with a flawless plan to deal with him,” Lin Li said earnestly, subtly fueling Qin Guosheng’s anger.

“Originally, I wanted to wait and see if the Leng family could put an end to this,” Qin Guosheng said, managing to keep his anger in check. He knew from the start that Ye Aotian was his only real target, not the entire Leng family. He was still hoping to settle matters with them first before dealing with Ye Aotian.

But to his surprise, before he could even take this first step, one of his own men had already died at Ye Aotian’s hands.

If he were to remain indifferent now, wouldn’t that make his men’s deaths meaningless? Thus, Qin Guosheng made up his mind. Since Ye Aotian refused to give him a chance, he would have no choice but to destroy these arrogant fools.

Seeing Qin Guosheng’s indignant expression, Lin Li finally felt relieved. If the old man had shown the slightest hesitation, his own plans would have become much more difficult to carry out.

“Take this to Su Lan,” Qin Guosheng said, handing Lin Li an envelope before returning to his call.

Lin Li headed upstairs. He knew perfectly well what the letter meant. Over the years, Qin Guosheng would periodically send a letter to Su Lan, so she would believe her younger brother was still alive. Only by this means could he continue to control her.

In truth, Lin Li felt deeply conflicted. Should he tell Su Lan the truth?

Su Zeming was dead—a fact many had worked hard to conceal. Qin Guosheng kept Su Lan in the dark simply because he knew that only this way could he keep her under his thumb. At first, it was because he still had some affection for her. Now, it was more because Su Lan knew too many of his secrets, and her relationship with Qin Lang was good. He couldn’t afford to let her become hostile, so he had to keep her in the dark and gradually find other ways to keep her in check.

But now, all the key evidence was in Lin Li’s hands. If he told her the truth, she would believe him.

What should he do? Even Lin Li was at a loss.

Heavy-hearted, Lin Li made his way upstairs.

As soon as he entered, he saw Su Lan sitting by the window, gazing outside, a glass of red wine in her hand, her eyes red from crying.

He hurried over and embraced her from behind. “Lanlan, what happened?”

Su Lan smiled weakly. “It’s nothing, just had another argument with that old man.”

Flustered, she pulled away. “Be careful. Don’t let him see you.”

Lin Li snorted. “Zhang Fengwei is dead. He’s busy dealing with that right now—he has no time to bother about us.”

As he spoke, he handed her the letter.

“Lan, there’s something I need to tell you.”

When Su Lan heard that Zhang Fengwei was dead, she became thoughtful. Seeing Lin Li’s serious expression, she grew solemn. “You found Su Zeming?”

Through all these years together, Lin Li had always treated her with respect, but she was well aware of the little calculations in his heart. That was why he had agreed to help her look for clues about Su Zeming. But after so many years, nothing had come of it. In her heart, she was close to giving up.

Her expression grew grave. “Go on, is it good news or bad?”

Lin Li’s expression was complicated.

Su Lan forced a bitter smile. “All these years, I’ve just been lying to myself. I know all too well what sort of person that old man is.”

“But... sometimes people need to deceive themselves to keep believing in something.”

She let out a long sigh.

“My brother, he...”

Lin Li interrupted softly, “He died years ago. It was Zhang Fengwei’s negligence. I only found out today, which is why I killed him.”

“Lan, let me take you away.”

He gazed at her with deep affection.

He didn’t know why he suddenly blurted those words. Maybe it was just that, after learning the truth, his heart ached for her. Her life should never have turned out this way. It was Qin Guosheng who had ruined her.

Now, with a glimmer of hope, Lin Li still wished she could find happiness—ideally, move on from the past altogether.

But he knew all too well how difficult that would be.

At that moment, Su Lan’s face grew even more ashen.