I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 59: Chapter 57: A Strange Man

December arrived, and the weather grew even colder.

Su Miaoyi still went to the club every day to practice.

She was also preparing to start a new book.

Her life was quite fulfilling.

Cheng Jue had his unified exams in mid-to-late December, followed by individual school entrance exams.

He was at an intensive training camp and only called them occasionally.

Su Miaoyi had prepared well in advance, confirming which schools Cheng Jue was applying to and booking hotels near each campus.

She hadn’t seen anything recently.

She only had the occasional nightmare, which she would forget upon waking.

Zhuang Yanzheng didn’t have any difficult cases on his plate, either.

She’d only heard about a very serious fraud case, for which they had even gone out of town to make arrests.

Everything was so ordinary and peaceful.

One afternoon, Su Miaoyi was at the club taking a short break when she received a call from an unknown number.

When she answered, she heard Cai Qinglian’s voice.

Perhaps afraid she would hang up, Cai Qinglian spoke quickly the moment the call connected: ”Your aunt and uncle are here. You should come over.”

Su Miaoyi shot to her feet, asking coldly, ”Where?”

”Why the rush? It’s not like we’re going to do anything to them. We’re all family, what’s wrong with a little get-together?” Cai Qinglian said. ”I’m treating them to the finest food and drinks, yet you make it sound like I’ve committed a crime. They raised you, and for that, I’m grateful—”

”Where?” Su Miaoyi cut her off, pulling on her down jacket.

”Jinghai International Club,” Cai Qinglian said.

Su Miaoyi hung up immediately. Without even taking the time to change, she threw her down jacket on and rushed out.

As she walked, she tried calling Ge Yu and Cheng Yong, but couldn’t get through to either of them.

She took a taxi to the Jinghai International Club.

Su Miaoyi was stopped at the entrance. She couldn’t get in.

Her only option was to call Cai Qinglian.

Just as she took out her phone, a voice sounded from behind her.

”Su Miaoyi?”

Su Miaoyi turned and saw Shen Yanzhou. ”Mr. Shen?”

”What are you doing here?” Shen Yanzhou asked, his eyes landing on her hair.

On a day this cold, the hair at her forehead was surprisingly damp, as if from sweat.

”I...” Su Miaoyi started, then asked, ”Can you get me inside?”

Shen Yanzhou nodded, leading her into the club. ”Is something wrong? Do you need help?”

Su Miaoyi sighed softly and glanced at him. ”As the saying goes, you shouldn’t air your dirty laundry in public.”

”So?” Shen Yanzhou watched her.

”But some people insist on airing it,” Su Miaoyi said, fuming. ”Is the Ji Family about to go under?”

Shen Yanzhou nodded. ”Things aren’t looking good.”

After a moment, he added, ”Ji Sheng isn’t planning on marrying off his daughter, is he?”

Su Miaoyi gave a dry laugh. ”You’re too kind, putting it so delicately. This isn’t marrying off a daughter—it’s selling her.”

Shen Yanzhou lowered his gaze and said nothing.

’What terrible luck, being born into the Ji Family.’

’She never received a single benefit from the Ji Family growing up, and now she’s expected to pave their way for them.’

”So, are you here to beat them up?” Shen Yanzhou asked. ”By yourself? You should call for backup for something like this.”

Su Miaoyi shot him another look. ”I didn’t realize Mr. Shen was the type to solve problems with his fists.”

Shen Yanzhou chuckled.

Su Miaoyi followed him, striding deeper into the club.

This club was enormous.

It took quite a while just to walk from the entrance.

”My aunt and uncle were tricked into coming here.” Su Miaoyi didn’t have to guess; she knew they must have been deceived. ”The Ji Family’s shamelessness is far greater than I ever imagined. I came to see what’s going on.”

”Do you know where they are?” Shen Yanzhou asked.

Su Miaoyi stopped in her tracks and looked at him.

Shen Yanzhou stopped as well.

Su Miaoyi sighed. ’It looks like I’ll have to call Cai Qinglian after all.’

”I’ll ask for you,” Shen Yanzhou said.

”You can do that?” Su Miaoyi asked. ”Isn’t that private guest information? Would the club really disclose it?”

”Normally, no,” Shen Yanzhou said, taking out his phone and scrolling through his contacts. ”But since I’m the owner, they’ll tell me if I ask.”

Su Miaoyi’s expression froze.

She looked up at the opulent, glittering club.

’The club that was so huge you were out of breath just walking in from the entrance.’

’His surname is Shen.’

The corner of Su Miaoyi’s mouth twitched.

’She’d completely forgotten.’

’This was the son of the richest man in Jinghai City.’

Shen Yanzhou quickly finished his call. ”You don’t look very happy.”

Su Miaoyi gave a wry smile. ”Just a bit of class envy.”

Shen Yanzhou nodded. ”Come on, I’ll walk you over.”

”Thank you,” Su Miaoyi said.

...

When they reached the door of the private room, Shen Yanzhou said, ”Call me if anything happens. I’ll be nearby.”

”Okay.”

Shen Yanzhou left.

Su Miaoyi knocked, then pushed the door open and went inside.

She scanned the private room, and a wave of relief washed over her when she saw Cheng Yong and Ge Yu.

However, Cheng Yong and Ge Yu’s expressions were grim.

Especially when their eyes met Su Miaoyi’s.

They both looked guilt-ridden.

Su Miaoyi gave them a look to let them know it was okay.

Then her gaze landed on an unfamiliar man.

Cai Qinglian immediately stood and walked over to her. ”Miaomiao, come here.”

That single ”Miaomiao” almost made Su Miaoyi’s composure crumble.

Goosebumps erupted all over her skin.

’What the hell?’

She dodged Cai Qinglian’s hand as it reached for hers and turned to Ji Sheng. ”President Ji, what did you call me here for? Is it to pay the child support for all those years? You did say double last time, didn’t you?”

Ji Sheng hadn’t expected her to say something like that in front of a guest.

His expression instantly darkened.

”And as for this lady,” Su Miaoyi said, turning to Cai Qinglian, ”don’t try to get chummy. We’re not close. It’s disgusting.”

Cai Qinglian’s face turned livid. If Ji Sheng hadn’t given a light cough, she looked ready to fly into a rage again.

”Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Jiang from Jiangcheng,” Ji Sheng said to Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi turned her attention to the unfamiliar man, Mr. Jiang.

For some reason, he looked vaguely familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

The man stood up and took a few steps toward her. ”Hello, Miss Su. I’m Jiang Junrui.”

He stepped closer.

Su Miaoyi got a clearer look at him.

For some reason, this man... he felt familiar, but in a deeply unsettling way.

Su Miaoyi said nothing.

Ji Sheng also rose to smooth things over. ”My apologies, my daughter is a bit shy.”

”Oh, my,” Su Miaoyi said, looking at Ji Sheng. ”Since when does President Ji have a daughter? I was under the impression the Ji Family only had a son.”

”There you go again, always joking,” Ji Sheng said with an awkward laugh.

Su Miaoyi smiled back, her expression quite cheerful. ”And look at you, unable to tell the difference between a joke and the truth.”

Ji Sheng was utterly humiliated.

No matter how he tried to maintain a shred of dignity, he couldn’t; he was rendered speechless.

Su Miaoyi snorted.

’If they were going to trick them into coming, then she’d make sure no one had a good time.’

She turned to Jiang Junrui. ”Were you the one looking for me?”

”Indeed,” said Jiang Junrui. ”It seems Miss Su has forgotten me.”

...