Today was absolutely the worst day Liu Kai had ever experienced.
One moment, he’d been sipping red wine, singing along to music, and just enjoying himself.
The next, out of the blue, the police had summoned him, claiming they had evidence that he’d hired someone to commit murder. And that was bad enough.
But just as that situation was finally settled, another group showed up, identifying themselves as the National Security Department, and told him he was involved in a terrorism case!
Liu Kai grabbed the leg of the interrogator’s pants like it was his last lifeline, pleading desperately:
“Officer, I’m innocent! I didn’t do it, I swear!”
“Yes, I did hire someone to hurt another person—I admit that! But I am not a terrorist!”
But it was all for nothing.
The interrogator didn’t even glance at him. After confirming the National Security officers’ identities, he simply gave them a salute, then turned and walked out without looking back, the recorder following close behind.
Liu Kai’s face went pale on the spot.
The National Security officer, meanwhile, gave him a contemptuous look, then without another word, ordered his men to haul Liu Kai back up and shove him into his chair.
Then, reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a few photos and slapped them onto the table, fixing Liu Kai with a stare:
“Mr. Liu Kai, do you recognize these people?”
Liu Kai instinctively looked down—and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Because the photos weren’t of just anyone. They were of the sunglasses-wearing men that Jiang Nian had slaughtered up on that mountain!
Severed heads. Chests split wide open.
Staring at their grotesque, miserable deaths—each one more horrific than the last—Liu Kai, who had never seen anything like this in his cushy, privileged life, felt his stomach do a violent lurch.
He instinctively opened his mouth, ready to vomit.
But before he could,
the National Security officer said coolly, “Are you trying to destroy evidence?”
At those words, Liu Kai’s pupils shrank, and his whole body froze. Now he couldn’t throw up, but he couldn’t swallow it back down either—he was caught in a miserable limbo.
The officer, however, didn’t care.
After all, Bai Yongxu had specifically told him, when assigning this investigation on Liu Kai, to make things difficult for him.
He didn’t know why his captain wanted that, but orders were orders, and he didn’t mind giving this big celebrity a hard time.
After an agonizing pause, Liu Kai finally managed to compose himself and looked at the officer:
“I don’t know them! I don’t recognize a single person in those photos!”
“Are you sure?” the officer pressed.
Liu Kai nodded firmly: “I’m positive, Officer. This has nothing to do with me—it’s Jiang Nian framing me! He’s the one who should be investigated—he’s probably their accomplice!”
After the initial shock wore off, Liu Kai had realized this was Jiang Nian setting him up.
And so, with a vicious streak of “if you’re going to ruin me, I’ll ruin you too,” he decided to drag Jiang Nian down with him.
He wanted to get Jiang Nian investigated too.
Liu Kai thought for sure that once he said that, the National Security officer would shift his attention elsewhere.
But instead, the man just looked at him, let out a scoff, and tapped the photos on the desk. “Do you know how they died?”
“Huh?”
The question caught Liu Kai off guard.
How did they die?
“Did the police shoot them?” Liu Kai ventured.
That was the only possibility his brain could come up with.
Otherwise, who else could have taken down a bunch of ruthless criminals?
But the National Security officer shook his head.
“Then… did they die in some kind of accident?” Liu Kai tried again.
The officer shook his head once more.
Then, looking at Liu Kai’s utterly bewildered face, he stopped beating around the bush and said directly: “The person who killed them is the very same Jiang Nian you just mentioned. Now, do you have any more questions?”
The words hit Liu Kai like a thunderbolt.
He forgot all about his nausea and stared in disbelief at the photos of the sunglasses-wearing men and their grisly fates.
“Jiang Nian did this?”
“How could Jiang Nian have done this?”
He muttered to himself in utter shock.
An icy chill shot up his spine, straight to the crown of his head.
He couldn’t even stay seated—he collapsed onto the floor with a thud, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Because in that instant, Liu Kai realized something absolutely terrifying.
If Jiang Nian had the skill and the ruthlessness to wipe out a group of violent criminals like this…
didn’t that mean he could just as easily have killed the men he sent?
“Holy sh*t!”
Thinking back on everything he’d done recently,
Liu Kai suddenly understood what it meant to dance on a razor’s edge!
If Jiang Nian hadn’t been called away by Xu Ke for that nationwide tour,
if Jiang Nian weren’t currently out of town,
given everything Liu Kai had done, the dead people in those photos wouldn’t have been those sunglasses-wearing thugs—they would have been him!
Realizing this, Liu Kai’s legs shook uncontrollably.
The National Security officers gave him a look of pure disgust,
then pinched their noses and continued the interrogation.
But as they say, times have changed.
Earlier, when Jiang Nian had been in danger, Liu Kai had been living it up.
Now, while things were tense and miserable for Liu Kai, Jiang Nian was the one relaxing.
Because Jiang Nian was a hero.
Neither Ni Jingliang nor Bai Yongxu gave him a hard time.
After finishing the questioning and recording his statement, they let him go.
Walking out of the interrogation room,
Yang Mi, Xu Ke, and Gao Yuan’er were all waiting for him.
The moment they saw him, they rushed over.
“Mr. Jiang, are you okay?”
Gao Yuan’er asked, her face full of concern.
After all, Jiang Nian had taken her with him while they were fleeing, and if it hadn’t been for protecting her, he probably wouldn’t have ended up trapped on that mountain in the first place.
So she was genuinely worried about his condition.
Jiang Nian gave a faint smile and reached out to ruffle her hair. “Don’t worry. You know what I’m capable of. Those guys were barely a warm-up for me.”
“Really?” Yang Mi cut in, clearly skeptical.
She’d noticed his right hand, which he’d been keeping behind his back the whole time. “Then what’s up with your right hand?”
“Just a scratch,” Jiang Nian lied without batting an eye.
But that excuse obviously wasn’t going to fly with Yang Mi. She marched over, grabbed his hand without waiting for permission,
and there it was—on the webbing between his thumb and index finger, a wound so deep the bone was visible. It had stopped bleeding, but it was still stark and alarming.
“Oh my god!”
Everyone’s hearts clenched at the sight of that gruesome injury.
Yang Mi’s eyes instantly turned red. She stared at him. “You said you were fine? This is what you call fine?”
“Hey, come on, I’m still standing here, aren’t I? I’m not dead. It’s just a scratch, a little scratch.”
Jiang Nian laughed awkwardly and pulled his hand back.
Just then, the police brought over some bandages and helped dress his wound.
Jiang Nian glanced around and noticed they were drawing quite a bit of attention from the other officers in the station. He said, “Well, this isn’t really the best place to talk. How about we find somewhere to eat first? We can chat over a meal. Sound good?”
“Sure, I’ll take care of it.”
Xu Ke took charge, pulling out his phone to make arrangements.
