While she was still feeling down because she hadn't received a message from Shen Hui, Zhao Xuning saw a tall girl standing with Shen Hui at the entrance of their residential complex.
The snow fell in a flurry, covering the world with a misty haze, and the snowflakes under the dim streetlights looked especially beautiful.
What should have been a beautiful scene, like something out of a movie, was, in Zhao Xuning's eyes, quite an eyesore.
Shen Huiyan playfully punched the other person, seemingly in reproach, and the two appeared to be very familiar with each other.
The other person stretched out their long arm and put the hat on Shen Hui's head.
Zhao Xuning stood there, his mind blank, and even his breathing stopped for a few seconds.
He looked terrible.
In that instant, she thought of many, many things, all of which were how to punish Shen Hui.
But I never thought about breaking up.
She even thought that as long as Shen Hui didn't mention it, could she pretend not to know?
Zhao Xuning was startled when the thought popped into her head. She lowered her eyes, turned her face away, and decided to turn around and leave to go back to school.
It was Shen Hui who called out to her, "Ningning!"
With a mix of excitement and joy, Zhao Xuning turned around and saw Shen Hui running towards her through the swirling snowflakes.
Zhao Xuning didn't even have time to react; he could only reach out and hug her.
Shen Hui nestled in her arms, reached out to touch her eyelashes, and gently coaxed, "My darling wife, have you eaten?"
Her initial hesitation vanished in an instant, because Shen Hui came to comfort her.
Zhao Xuning glanced coldly at the girl who had already left, only able to vaguely see the shadow of her car.
The silver BMW sped away through the snow.
"You still care about me?" Zhao Xuning released her and said coldly, "I thought you only remembered others."
"There was no one else." Shen Hui reached out to take her hand, but Zhao Xuning put her hands in her pockets and kept a distance from her. "Who was that person just now?"
Zhao Xuning became aggressive because of Shen Hui's gentle coaxing.
Even her jealous expression was adorable in Shen Hui's eyes.
Shen Hui patiently explained to her that Yan Lin was her high school classmate, a top student in the class, and liked by many people. The two of them had a good relationship, but they didn't contact each other often now.
Shen Hui said that she and Yan Lin could never be lovers because...
"I have you now, my darling wife." Shen Hui threw herself into her arms and hugged her tightly. "Don't even think about getting rid of me."
Zhao Xuning was completely charmed by her, but when he got home that night, he was still pretending to be angry.
...
Their argument only lasted for two minutes.
Because Shen Hui had explained many times, Zhao Xuning was still angry, so Shen Hui got angry, broke free from her embrace, and went to sleep in the second bedroom with her pillow.
As soon as she reached the door of the second bedroom, Zhao Xuning ran over, picked her up, and carried her back to the master bedroom.
His indifferent face was expressionless, but as he pressed Shen Hui down on the bed, he muttered, "Wife, don't get too close to them, I'm not happy."
...
Zhao Xuning always did this.
When Shen Hui tried to coax her, she took advantage of the situation.
Whenever Shen Hui got angry, it was Shen Hui who would try to coax her.
They always manage to find the most comfortable balance in their interactions.
...
The past was stirred up again by the name Liang Shi mentioned. Zhao Xuning sat wearily in the chair, which was turned around, and she raised her arm to cover her eyes.
In the end, did she still have to move on?
Zhao Xuning let out a soft breath, her heart clenching with pain.
She thought, then she wished Shen Hui happiness in a world without her.
Shen Hui will be better off without that bastard.
I hope I'll eat properly now.
I won't get thinner anymore.
Shen Hui deserves better.
//
Liang Shi originally did not want to get involved in the matter between Zhao Xuning and Shen Hui, but Zhao Xuning gave too much.
...
After leaving Zhao Xuning's office, Liang Shi went to the place where the Municipal Public Security Bureau had notified her.
Gu Xingyue had just woken up and was naturally unable to accept a long visit.
Before Liang Shi arrived, Gu Xingyue had already been interviewed once. She spoke weakly but logically, and told him everything.
Including how Qi Xiangui was killed by Yang Jiani.
Qi Xiangui had a social engagement that day and returned very late. He asked Gu Xingyue to play the piano for him, but Gu Xingyue made an excuse that she was feeling unwell and had a slight fever, so she tried to refuse.
Unexpectedly, Qi Xiangui casually picked up a vase and threw it at him, yelling, "You piece of trash, go and play it!"
Gu Xingyue didn't want to, but Qi Xiangui grabbed her by the back of the neck and dragged her to the piano, where her head even hit the piano hard. Yang Jianni saw this and stepped forward to stop her.
Having drunk too much, Qi Xiangui slapped Yang Jianni across the face. Due to the force, Yang Jianni was thrown to the ground. Gu Xingyue went to help her up, while Qi Xiangui cursed, "You damned woman, I fed and clothed you so you could stay home and take care of our daughter. Look at the thing you've raised!"
For Qi Xiangui, this was just a tool for showing off.
It wasn't her daughter, or even a person.
Gu Xingyue looked at him angrily upon hearing this, which made Qi Xiangui even angrier, and he slapped her again.
Her face turned bright red, and there was a clear fingerprint on the right side.
Yang Jianni went to protect her, which further angered Qi Xiangui, who then punched and kicked the two of them.
The strength of an adult male Alpha is something that two Omega females cannot withstand, especially since Qi Xiangui had been drinking. When his fists landed on the two of them, it felt like huge stones were smashing down on them, causing a dense, stinging pain.
His kick was powerful enough to break Gu Xingyue's ribs.
Unable to bear the pain any longer, Gu Xingyue said, "I'll play it."
With her hair disheveled, she sat at the piano, her fingers trembling as they landed on the keys, but she couldn't even play a complete piece.
Qi Xiangui kicked her in the back.
Gu Xingyue got angry and roared, "Anyway, playing the piano and fluffing cotton are no different for you! You can't tell the difference at all!"
Her face was still covered in blood, making her look ferocious.
These words directly angered Qi Xiangui, and as if stepping on his tail, she kicked him again.
Gu Xingyue cried and yelled, "I just can't play! You don't need to hit Mom anymore, just kill me!"
Qi Xiangui's absolute position as the head of the family was challenged. Facing Gu Xingyue's unruly gaze, Qi Xiangui first pinned her to the ground and beat her. As a result, Yang Jianni was afraid that she would be beaten to death, so she immediately ran over to protect her.
Gu Xingyue kept screaming, "Mom, don't worry about it, let him kill me! Let me die! Let him go to jail! That way you won't have to suffer for the rest of your life!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Xiangui suddenly said coldly, "Did Yang Jianni teach you this? So you want to kill us all so you can continue being the eldest daughter of the Yang family?! You wish!"
Qi Xiangui then beat Yang Jiani severely.
Gu Xingyue then went to protect Yang Jiani, constantly provoking Qi Xiangui: "If you have the guts, then kill me! Anyway, I'm not even a person to you! I'm just a tool you use to show off! Kill me then!"
She looked like she had gone mad, unafraid of pain or death, a stark contrast to her usual delicate and frail demeanor.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Qi Xiangui, who was drunk, angrily searched for tools and threw two or three vases at Gu Xingyue, but Gu Xingyue was not injured.
He looked around for tools and pulled out a knife from somewhere. "Here, let's give it a try."
"You little wench, you dare to provoke me?" Qi Xiangui said in a roguish tone. "When I was playing with knives, you were probably nowhere to be found. I fed you, fed you, and let you play the zither, so what? You think you can threaten me with death? After you die, I'll have another one, more obedient, more well-behaved, and smarter than you. She'll be sickly and stupid from a young age, not like my daughter at all! Who knows where your philandering mother got this child from!"
These words enraged Yang Jianni, who roared in anger, but unexpectedly Qi Xiangui kicked her away and pointed the knife directly at Gu Xingyue's face.
Just as the knife was about to fall on Gu Xingyue's face, Yang Jianni found a wrench from somewhere and smashed it directly on his head, killing Qi Xiangui instantly.
After his death, Yang Jianni stabbed him repeatedly in front of Gu Xingyue.
According to Gu Xingyue, Qi Xiangui had not yet closed his eyes at that time and was in a state of "dying with his eyes open."
Gu Xingyue, who was frightened by the incident, developed a fever that night and did not know how Yang Jianni disposed of the body. However, the two had a quarrel the following night.
Yang Jianni threatened to kill her, just like that day. Gu Xingyue was stabbed several times. In an emergency, she dialed "1", which was her friend Liang Shi's number, and asked her to call the police. She then dealt with Yang Jianni herself.
Fortunately, they were saved because of this.
After giving these testimonies, Gu Xingyue's face turned ashen, and she looked as if she could faint at any moment.
The police collected all these testimonies and questioned Liang Shi about whether he knew about the relationships within their family.
Liang Shi shook his head.
Police also learned from Gu Xingyue's testimony that Yang Jianni had a history of abusive tendencies, including her own daughter Qi Jiao, who was tortured to death in the same way.
Liang Shi was also among those who suffered such harm, so the police questioned him about his childhood.
Liang Shi answered them one by one.
Although the statute of limitations has expired and there is no direct evidence to prove that Yang Jiani did these things.
However, submitting these as supporting evidence would increase the severity of Yang Jiani's sentence.
After giving his explanation, Liang Shi asked hesitantly, "Officer, if it is found that Yang Jianni has a mental illness, will she be given a lighter sentence?"
The police officer in charge of taking the statement was taken aback, then said, "Logically speaking, that would be the case, but her situation is too special. Our country is paying special attention to domestic violence cases right now, and it's a sensitive time. Her sentence should be very severe."
After hearing this, Liang Shi breathed a slight sigh of relief. "That's good."
After giving her statement, Liang Shi wanted to go into the ward to see Gu Xingyue, but Gu was resting, so she could only wait.
When Liang Shi returned home that evening, he told Xu Qingzhu about everything that had happened during the day. Xu Qingzhu said, "Gu Xingyue probably doesn't want to see you lately."
"Why?" Liang Shi asked.