RITM - 60

Chapter 60: The Nineteen-sided Mirrors – Origins (2)  

He Yingze glanced at the sack in the corner but made no move to resist, slowly taking the seat she indicated. Satisfied, she smiled faintly. “It’s raining outside. I see neither you nor your companion brought an umbrella. Fortunately, I have two extras. When you leave, each of you can take one. My daughter will share with Mr. He.”

He Yingze remained silent, but Chang Feng suddenly interjected: “It’s not surprising for a mother who carries her daughter in a sack to say something like, ‘My daughter will just squeeze under the umbrella with you.’“ As soon as the words left his mouth, the sack in the corner stopped moving, frozen in eerie stillness. 

Zhou Jinru smiled smoothly. “You shouldn’t put it that way. My daughter and Mr. He are already legally married. A newlywed couple sharing an umbrella isn’t unreasonable, is it?” 

Before Chang Feng could respond, He Yingze raised his hand to stop him and calmly pointed at the sack. “Open it.” 

Zhou Jinru’s smile deepened. If He Yingze had any significant flaw, it was perhaps that, like his father, he was a paper tiger when it came to matters of the heart—fierce on the outside but soft within. Upon hearing that Luo Wei had been kidnapped, he had rushed over immediately, yet still pretended to be indifferent. She signaled to one of her men, who approached and opened the sack, revealing Luo Wei’s head. Her hair was disheveled, her mouth sealed with duct tape. The sudden brightness stung her eyes, bringing tears, and she lowered her head, tightly shutting her eyes until she felt the cold, metallic touch of a gun against her forehead. Startled, she looked up to see someone pointing a gun at her. 

Ever since He Yingze and Chang Feng entered, Ni Lei’s expression had been far from pleasant. Her gaze darted between He Yingze, Luo Wei, and Zhou Jinru, but she failed to detect even a trace of anger or betrayal on He Yingze’s face. On the contrary, he acted as though he didn’t see her at all, addressing Zhou Jinru directly: “Let’s get straight to the point.” 

Zhou Jinru crossed her arms, lightly covering her mouth with one hand. “Since you insist, I won’t beat around the bush. I hope Mr. He will return Xie Real Estate to its rightful owner.” 

“If I comply, will you release her?” 

“You’ll understand once you’ve seen this.” 

She pulled out a stack of contracts from her side and gestured for someone to hand them to Chang Feng. Chang Feng passed them to He Yingze, who skimmed through the documents before handing them to Chang Feng, signaling for him to take a look as well. As Chang Feng read, his face flushed with anger, while He Yingze maintained an easygoing smile. “This is quite the deal, Mrs. Xie. It seems we’ll need to sit down and discuss this thoroughly.” 

As he took a step forward, Zhou Jinru retreated cautiously behind more of her men. “Don’t. Even if I didn’t know you personally, I’ve heard of the extraordinary skills of the He family’s young master.” 

“Mrs. Xie is overly cautious. Didn’t your people already frisk me when we arrived?” 

Yet she didn’t lower her guard, gesturing for him to stop advancing. “No, no. Just stay there.” 

Meanwhile, the black-clad figure in the corner pressed the gun harder against Luo Wei’s temple, forcing her head nearly against the wall. He Yingze raised both hands in mock surrender, smiling innocently as he slowly stepped back. When the gunman eased the pressure slightly and Zhou Jinru relaxed her stance, he spoke gently: “I’ve reviewed the contract. I agree with the general direction, but there are a few minor points that need adjustment.” 

If he had remained icy and distant, she might have had some chance of winning. But now that he was being so agreeable, she knew something was off. In the realm of business negotiations and psychological tactics, she was no match for King. He Yan, who once dominated Gongzhou, lived by the motto “All’s fair in war,” and their evaluation of his son was “The student surpasses the master.” At this thought, Zhou Jinru’s wariness intensified, and she declared firmly: “I said before you arrived—there’s no room for negotiation. You can only say yes or no.” 

“If I say no, what then? Will you kill your own daughter with your own hands?” 

“When she was just an infant in swaddling clothes, I sent her away without hesitation. Killing her now would be child’s play.” 

“True. After all, you abandoned Luo Wei just to compete for favor with Xie Mao’s mistress. You’ve spent years pretending to be pitiful in front of your daughter. Now, with the entirety of Xie Real Estate and the He Cheng Group hanging in the balance, why would you show mercy?” 

Zhou Jinru narrowed her eyes, her meticulously applied makeup unable to conceal the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “He Yingze, are you trying to stall for time?” 

Before the echo of her words faded, a familiar voice rang out from another corner of the church: “All of this… is true?” 

Zhou Jinru stiffened, turning to see Xie Xinqi already bound and standing by the small door at the end of the corridor. Far from showing fear, Xie Xinqi fixed her with an accusatory glare. Zhou Jinru turned sharply, enraged. “He Yingze, do you still want Luo Wei to leave here alive?!” 

Xie Xinqi shouted, “Mom, Luo Wei is Xin Qiao, isn’t she? She wasn’t scalded to death by boiling water back then—you secretly sent her away, didn’t you? I’ve already found a lot of evidence in Dad’s room. There was a woman named Wu Qiaohan…” Midway through, Luo Wei gasped, her mind racing faster than she could blink. 

Zhou Jinru interrupted anxiously: “That lowly woman seduced your father, always pretending to be pitiful and refined, writing him love letters in an attempt to win his heart. That gave me the perfect opportunity for revenge—I pretended not to know about her, found her favorite lavender stationery, and forged a letter promising the nanny’s son a life of wealth in exchange for her help.” 

“So this ‘little favor’ was to make her admit she conspired with Wu Qiaohan to intentionally kill Xin Qiao?” 

“She didn’t admit anything—she simply died.” Oddly, the more Zhou Jinru spoke, the less anxious she became, even displaying a hint of pride, like a retired strategist reminiscing about a victorious battle from years ago. 

Xie Xinqi felt as though something had struck her hard on the crown of her head. She swayed, taking two steps back. She had always known her mother was ruthless, but never to this extent. 

“Why are you making that face? Back then, I didn’t go all the way—I spared your sister’s life and left her with an ordinary couple, who raised her. If Xie Mao hadn’t discovered her existence, they might still be a happy family of three.” Seeing Luo Wei struggling and making muffled sounds, she gestured for the black-clad man to remove the duct tape from her mouth. 

“So you’re the one who tried to have me killed—and murdered my parents?” Luo Wei said, her voice trembling with pain and anger. “You were the one who planted the bomb under my building, weren’t you? And you had someone track and monitor Su Jiannian, right?”

Zhou Jinru gazed at Luo Wei for a long while, her expression eerily calm, but she didn’t directly answer. “Luo Wei, you must understand my predicament. At that time, Xie Mao had already begun to suspect your identity. If he discovered you were my child, he would have realized you weren’t his daughter. My fate would have been far worse than eternal damnation.” 

“You vile woman! Give me back my parents!” 

“I am your biological mother. I tampered with the paternity test results. The real results are here.” With that, she hurled a stack of documents at Luo Wei’s feet. “No matter how much you hate me, you cannot change this fact.” 

Luo Wei felt as though her body was being consumed by a raging fire, but Xie Xinqi caught the subtle implications in Zhou Jinru’s words, carefully analyzing each phrase. “Xin Qiao… wasn’t Dad’s child? Then what about me? She and I are twins—so I…” 

Zhou Jinru laughed aloud, her face blooming like a slightly withered rose. “At that time, he was too busy being infatuated with Wu Qiaohan. How could he have possibly given me the chance to conceive you two? I simply happened to be pregnant and seized an opportunity to sleep with Xie Mao once. He was so arrogant, he believed the children were his.” 

“Then… who is my father?” Xie Xinqi leaned weakly against the wall, as if her body could no longer bear the crushing weight of her emotional burden. 

But Zhou Jinru ignored her, gripping the back of a chair and leaning forward, her demeanor akin to a defiant leopardess as she glared at He Yingze. “Did you hear all that? For someone like me, do you think killing another daughter would make much of a difference? I bore them for a reason back then, and now I can kill them for the same reason.” 

As if her throat had been suddenly constricted, Xie Xinqi’s eyes and mouth widened, but no sound escaped. Meanwhile, Luo Wei’s emotions remained rooted in anger. He Yingze, however, smiled calmly. “Of course I know what kind of person you are, which is why I’m even more certain you won’t kill them.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“If you kill them, do you think you’ll walk out of here alive?” 

Zhou Jinru didn’t need to ask how he planned to deal with so many assassins. Everyone in Gongzhou knew that King only acted when he had complete control of the situation. 

“We’re all businesspeople here. We understand that those who criticize a product are often the ones most interested in buying it. I’ve already felt your sincerity, Mrs. Xie, so naturally, we can negotiate. Let’s sit down and talk this through properly.” He Yingze gestured toward a seat, his tone even friendlier than before. 

Zhou Jinru hesitated, torn between two conflicting voices in her mind. One urged her to remain assertive, knowing that He Yingze’s feelings for Luo Wei were strong enough to secure a favorable deal. The other voice pressured her, warning her of He Yingze’s cunning nature and advising her to keep her distance. 

Just then, another voice echoed through the church: “I warned Jinru years ago not to marry Xie Mao. But she wouldn’t listen—she fell for his sweet talk. In the end, she didn’t learn a thing from him, not even half his eloquence. Now look at her, as dumb as a pig.” 

It was a middle-aged man’s voice, slightly hoarse but exuding an undeniable aura of authority. Everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the voice. Below the altar, a group of people slowly wheeled in a wheelchair. The man seated in it wore sunglasses and a black silk Tang suit embroidered with intricate dragon patterns. His hair was slicked back, and three jagged scars marred his uneven face, pulling the corners of his sharp jaw downward. After taking a leisurely puff of his cigar, everyone around Zhou Jinru bowed deeply to him. 

“Fourth Master…” Tears welled up in Zhou Jinru’s eyes, though they stemmed more from fear than sorrow. 

The title “Fourth Master” left little doubt about his identity—the leader of Gongzhou’s notorious Canglong Group, Huang Xiaonan. 

Without uttering a word, he waved his hand dismissively, as if scolding her for her incompetence, and gestured for her to step aside. Then, he tilted his head, his sunglasses aimed in He Yingze’s direction. “Truly, fate has a way of bringing us together. So, the sixth son of He Yan has grown up quite a bit.” 

He Yingze’s lips curled into a faint smirk, though it was impossible to tell if he was truly smiling. “Such ‘fateful’ encounters shouldn’t allow a father-killer to leave alive.” 

“Don’t act as if your old man was harmless. He crippled my legs and left me with this.” Huang rolled up his sleeve, revealing a prosthetic arm. The scars on his face twisted grotesquely as he grinned. “And besides, is this how you speak to your future father-in-law?” 

His words plunged the church into a brief silence, leaving everyone bewildered. Only Zhou Jinru’s expression betrayed a mix of conflicting emotions. Finally, He Yingze broke the silence with a cold laugh. “I doubt she’d willingly acknowledge you.” 

“She’s young and hot-headed now, but she’ll come around eventually. Blood is thicker than water—a truth you understand better than anyone.” 

Had Huang Xiaonan not turned his sunglasses toward Luo Wei, Xie Xinqi would never have made the connection. But since she and Luo Wei were twins… Xie Xinqi eyed Huang Xiaonan suspiciously. “…Your daughter is Luo Wei?” 

“And you,” he replied simply.