Chapter 49: You've Had Quite Enough

The warmth from his fingertips made her entire hand feel warm.

Natalie carefully opened her palm, pushing her luck by placing it against his broad palm to claim his warmth.

The younger brother didn't refuse, instead wrapping his hand around her soft little one.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted.

With him being this gentle, Natalie felt nothing but fear.

The act of giving a slap and then a piece of candy was utterly detestable.

Natalie hurriedly diverted attention by pouring him more wine. "Drink more. You were busy acting as my driver tonight and didn't get to drink any alcohol; it's quite a pity."

She practically laid her hidden motives bare on her face.

He didn't pick up the glass. Instead, he lifted her hand, pressing his lips gently against the back of it. It was stained with the fresh scent of lemon, tasting a bit sour.

After a long moment, he parted his lips. As he spoke, his hot breath fell directly onto the back of her hand.

"Tonight, I will allow you to ask me one question. No falsehoods, I'll answer truthfully."

Only one question?

Then Natalie had to think about it seriously.

She pondered for a very long time, weighing her options.

Finally, she decided: "Why did my family fall to such a state?"

She truly wanted to know.

Since childhood, she hadn't been by her parents' side, and everything around her was always shrouded in countless layers of thick fog.

In the past, the thing she craved most every day was news of them.

When she first arrived in that unfamiliar place abroad, there were many nannies accompanying her, yet she would still secretly cry every night.

Later, she adapted, but she also developed a heart full of resentment.

She hated them for throwing her abroad like a piece of garbage.

They didn't even bother to make a phone call; only her brother would call at a set time every day to coax her to sleep.

Every two weeks, her brother would surely fly over to accompany her. Though it was only for a brief single day, she was entirely satisfied.

His existence let her know that at least she wasn't a completely abandoned child.

Meanwhile, her heartless parents had eyes only for work, but never for her.

Yet they had said that once she graduated from university, the whole family would move over to live with her and watch her get married. They said if a girl gets married, her parents must not live far away, otherwise if she gets bullied by her in-laws, she'd have no choice but to swallow her anger.

Back then, she couldn't care about things so far in the future.

Still, she looked forward to growing up, hoping time would pass faster.

She didn't get what she hoped for. At sixteen, she received the news of their tragic deaths, unable to even see them one last time.

Before that, they hadn't seen each other for nearly a year.

Having survived the disaster, lying weak and dying in the intensive care unit, she didn't miss them terribly; she merely fell into a state of extreme emptiness.

She no longer had a target for her resentment, nor did she have the capital to indulge herself by intentionally causing trouble anymore.

The thought that her brother was still inside forced her to pull herself together and cooperate with the doctors for rehab.

No matter how difficult or painful, she had to work hard to stand up, preparing herself to welcome her brother when he came out.

She had to study hard and work hard to earn money in the future. After all, for the first sixteen years, she had lived a muddled life spending her family's money lavishly.

They hadn't mistreated her.

This was the responsibility she ought to shoulder in the future.

But it was truly difficult.

Fortunately, over the years, there were the letters her brother had someone deliver. If not for his encouragement, she might not have recovered so quickly, let alone settled her mind to go to school.

Only, later...

...

"Why are your eyes wet?"

The younger brother pulled out a tissue and offered it, his lips curling into a wicked smile. "I don't think I bullied you today. Or are you craving that kind of treatment?"

The end of his sentence was dark and husky, carrying a teasing implication.

Pervert!

Natalie cursed him in her heart.

She accepted the tissue, covered her nose, and quickly held back her tears. "The lemon is too sour. My eyes are sensitive; I can't take this kind of irritation."

"Is that so?" He said slowly, "Next time, I'll use the lemon..."

"Stop it! You've had quite enough!"

"What do you mean quite enough?" He picked up the glass of lemon water and took a sip, acting as if she were making a mountain out of a molehill. "If you don't want to eat it, I just won't feed it to you. There's no need to get angry out of embarrassment."

Natalie quickly cut him off: "Don't sidetrack. Answer my question."

"Alright, fine."

He took a sip of alcohol, paused to settle himself, and then spoke.

"Your father, during his tenure, used his position to act as a protective umbrella for the corporate group. The case came to light because he embezzled the funds from the southern district project. The amount involved was too massive, and that money has still not been found to this day.

The female official utilized a special operation code-named 'Nest Sweep' to secretly coordinate with your father and the group, committing all kinds of malicious deeds. Later, however, she was betrayed by her own colleague. In a place like that, having one's identity exposed... you can imagine it's a very terrifying thing. So..."

Hearing this, Natalie's fingertips dug fiercely into his palm.

He glanced up at her and smiled. "Baby, you're hurting me."

"What exactly happened to her? Tell me."

Her brows were knit tightly.

The light in his eyes was no longer as gentle as before. He warned softly, "Speak to me in that loud tone again, and tonight ends right here."

Natalie instantly pulled her hand back, swallowing hard. When she spoke again, her voice was much huskier: "Continue."

He grabbed her wrist, his thumb rubbing the prominent bone with moderate force, his tone dropping slightly.

"Your father heard that something went wrong on her end. He rushed to meet her and was mistaken for trying to flee. On the way to the port, during the pursuit, he got into a car accident and died on the spot!"

Even though Natalie already knew, she still couldn't stop shaking.

That was her father!

The younger brother continued: "The group back then was already in complete chaos. Those uncles of yours were each more ruthless than the last, doing everything they could to divide up all the funds on the company's books.

Fortunately, your brother wasn't stupid. He ferreted out the main culprits within the company and cooperated with the police to arrest them in time, thereby escaping the death penalty.

It's just a pity. He probably didn't want to face the fact that his family had fallen to such a state. Before serving even five years of his sentence, he committed suicide in prison."

Natalie practically shouted out: "How is that possible!"

In his letters, her brother had frequently mentioned: "Little girl, brother will come find you as soon as I get out. We'll be able to meet very soon. You must take good care of yourself. Whatever you do, do not expose your identity, do not return to the city on your own, and do not trust anyone. Be good and listen to your brother."

Her lips trembled slightly. "How... how did he die? Was it painful when he died?"

At this thought, her breathing was already becoming shallow.

His tone remained very calm: "I don't know. It must have been very painful. There are no tools inside that make it easy to commit suicide. As for how one has to die under those conditions, you can imagine."

Natalie suddenly clenched her fists. "How could you not know..."

His gaze was chilly.

Natalie took a deep breath and spoke again: "Everything you just said, I already know. But what I am asking is,

why

did my family walk into this trap in the first place?"

Chapter 50: Aren't You Quite Fierce?

Zhaoxiao's deep eyes locked onto her slightly trembling body. He remained completely unmoved, like a cold statue, and his words were just as chilling: "Once greed takes root and people taste the sweetness, their desires become endless. Wasn't a blowup bound to happen sooner or later?"

Nanna understood his meaning, but she simply refused to believe it: "Then why did your family, and the Lu family, manage to come out completely unscathed?"

"The Zhao family," he paused, his tone taking on a hint of playfulness, "was just relatively lucky~"

He didn't seem to deny that this matter had nothing to do with the Zhao family.

"You mean the Jin family was just unlucky?"

Zhaoxiao said flatly, "Yes."

Nanna said, "You stepped over the flesh and blood of the Jin family to live a life free of worries..."

Zhaoxiao interrupted her: "What evidence do you have to prove this has anything to do with the Zhao family? The project belonged to Qianxi, and the money certainly didn't land in the pockets of the Zhao family. Just because the Zhao and Lu families abandoned the Jin family at a critical moment, that means we stepped over the flesh and blood of your Jin family to live a worry-free life?"

His slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the tabletop. "You simply refuse to believe that the parents you idolized, the ones you miss day and night, turned out to be that kind of people in the end."

Nanna placed her hands on her thighs, clutching her fabric tightly, and denied it subconsciously: "I didn't refuse to believe it."

"You just don't want to believe it, Jinhuan."

Zhaoxiao called out her old name, his eyes cold and ruthless.

"There is absolutely no meaning in your return. Your parents are gone, your brother is no longer here, and your uncles are completely missing without a trace.

Everything has already settled. No one will bring it up again, and no one will care. Tell me, what can you possibly achieve by foolishly coming back?"

A thick layer of physiological mist welled up in Nanna's eyes and spilled over. The man's silhouette blurred, yet it remained piercingly cold.

Would no one ever bring it up again?

Could she really do nothing?

Should she not have come back?

But she refused to believe that her brother would be cruel enough to abandon her like that.

She insisted on returning to find an answer.

At this moment, just like half a year ago, she lost her mind, unable to judge anything logically, driven solely by the single-minded desire to return to the country.

Zhaoxiao looked at her, delivering his words one by one: "Do you think that in Hucheng, I am the only one who knows your true identity? Jinhuan, don't be too confident."

Nanna's pupils shrank in shock.

"What did you say? Who else knows?"

Zhaoxiao let out a cold laugh.

"Make yourself clear!" Nanna suddenly reached out across the bar counter, grabbing Zhaoxiao's collar.

"What do you mean by leaving things half-said? You definitely know. Why won't you tell me? Is it because you want to protect the killer who murdered my brother!

Speak!"

She used every ounce of her strength to roar at him.

Yanked by her grip, Zhaoxiao leaned forward, his chest bumping against the edge of the counter. His gaze never changed from beginning to end, resting on her face, completely calm.

The way he looked at her without pleasure or anger made her heart feel even more unsettled.

Nanna's emotions had flared up in the heat of the moment, but she cooled down quickly. Realizing that this was no different from plucking a tiger's whiskers, she retracted her hands instantly as if receiving an electric shock.

Zhaoxiao grabbed her, his lips curving into a smile: "Aren't you quite fierce? Pussying out already?"

Nanna began to cough violently, coughing until her eyes were completely red and pitiful. "That... you said someone else knows about me being Jinhuan. I was just startled by you and thought it was real."

Zhaoxiao squeezed her fingers as if playing with a toy: "It might not be false. Hucheng is crawling with old acquaintances..."

Nanna quickly cut him off: "There are no acquaintances. I was only five years old when I left Hucheng. Over there, let alone my parents bringing friends to see me, they barely visited a few times throughout the whole year."

"What about your brother?"

"My brother?" Nanna froze for a moment. "He did bring friends over before, but very rarely. I barely have any memory of them."

Zhaoxiao's fingertips tapped the tabletop. "By the way, how did you find out that your brother committed suicide in prison?"

Nanna explained, "The letters my brother had someone deliver suddenly stopped, so I hired someone to investigate. I spent quite a bit of money because of it."

"Whom did you ask to investigate?"

"Shi Haoran. He has extensive connections online. It took him a whole month to find out about my brother's suicide."

"Figured it was him," Zhaoxiao said nonchalantly, lowering his eyes slightly in thought. After a long pause, he shifted the topic, "Did your brother leave you any instructions in his letters?"

Nanna pursed her lips. "Yes. He told me to wait for him to come find me, warned me not to return to Hucheng, and told me never to reveal my identity to anyone."

"What else?"

"And..." Nanna thought for a moment, "the fact that he was writing to me could not be known by anyone."

Zhaoxiao raised an eyebrow. "So now, not only do you know, but Shi Haoran knows, and I know too. Jinhuan, if I were your brother, I'd definitely beat you up."

"...What do you mean!"

Zhaoxiao said crossly, "It's late. Go to sleep."

Nanna braced herself: "I'm not sleeping!"

Zhaoxiao's expression chilled. "If you don't sleep, I'll broadcast the fact that you are Jinhuan to the entire world."

He was back to threatening her again.

Nanna's fists clenched and unclenched, unclenched and clenched again. Before he could stand up, she turned and sprinted into the bedroom, locking the door behind her.

As for the part about beating her up, she believed he was absolutely serious.

The next morning, Nanna was awakened by movements outside. Walking out, she realized it was Shi Haoran making breakfast.

Seeing that familiar and reassuring figure, her entire body relaxed significantly. She sat on a high stool, propping up her chin with sleep-deprived eyes: "So sleepy. Didn't get enough sleep."

Shi Haoran was slicing a sandwich into four pieces, taking a moment to look up at her. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer?"

Nanna's eyelids drooped. "I have to visit the southern district today, so I need to head out early."

"What a coincidence." Shi Haoran raised an eyebrow. "I need to go there too."

"Great, let's go together."

Shi Haoran placed the sliced sandwich in front of her. "I have some business regarding Zhaoxiao. Didn't I tell you before about him hiding a man in his golden house?"

Nanna's lips twitched. "There? Isn't that area mostly old residential districts with quite a few abandoned houses? There are hotels, but the environment isn't very good."

"Exactly. That's why I'm curious. Why would he find a place like that to date a man?"

Nanna shrugged, picking up a small piece of sandwich. "How does your wealthy socialite friend know he's going there today?"

"My socialite friend doesn't know, of course." Shi Haoran smiled mischievously. "But I do."

Nanna understood instantly. "You planted a tracker on his car?"

"Bullseye." Shi Haoran swiped open his phone to check. "Yep, he's heading over that way right now."

Nanna sighed softly, "Zhaoxiao must have let his guard down. By the way, why didn't you install a wiretap or something while you were at it?"

"Is there a need?" Shi Haoran looked completely disdainful. "It's easier to just hack directly into his car's system."

"No!" Nanna grew anxious. "Last time we hacked into his computer and got caught red-handed, how could you forget that so easily!"

"I haven't forgotten. Rest assured, I studied this for an entire day. His system won't detect it this time. In short, the moment anything seems off, we will pull out immediately, and they won't track anything on that end."

Bringing up this matter made Shi Haoran feel a bit guilty: "Did he make things difficult for you?"

Choosing to swallow the whole ordeal herself, Nanna shook her head. "Fortunately, Lu Huaijin arrived in time, otherwise I would have had to spend the night inside."

"Him again. I really can't read that guy."

Shi Haoran grumbled and cursed as if encountering a love rival.

He didn't stop the entire way there.

Arriving at the old southern district, the car pulled up by the roadside.

Nanna got out of the car, sending her assistant away first. Looking up to scan this dilapidated hotel, she felt like it reeked inside and unconsciously pinched her nose.

"Zhaoxiao would have an affair here?"

Doesn't he have a germaphobia?

Nanna's jaw practically dropped.

Shi Haoran lifted his chin, pointing toward a car parked not far away.

It was exactly Zhaoxiao's.