Chapter Fifty-Three

  "You sit down, I'll drive."

  It seems like just a few years ago, Shu Mu's eyes didn't have so much anger in them, and when he was in front of himself, he was calm and composed, with a hint of arrogance. When they went out together, he never let himself drive, and if he saw himself trying to grab the car keys, he would use force to take them back, gruffly telling him to sit in the passenger seat.

  Li Jin, no, at that time it was still Ke Yuan. He muttered to himself and obediently sat in the passenger seat, after a while, he fell asleep.

  Later, he asked Shu Mu if it was because he pitied himself for working hard and wanted to sleep a bit more. Shu Mu raised his eyebrows with an expression of "you really know how to flatter yourself", saying that no one could be more tired than him, this big star, and told him not to drive because when he got out of the car, he didn't look at the road conditions behind him, just pushed open the door and jumped down. If a car came from behind, he would definitely die.

  Ke Yuan's brain circuit is always amazing, after listening to it with a sweet face, he asked him: "Are you afraid that I will die?"

  Shu Mu ignored him.

  "Ah, you can't bear the thought of me dying."

  "Get out." Shu Mu slapped a palm over, "That's because you're dead and no one is left to be my ox and horse!"

  The sensation of stroking his cheek was so clear and vivid, Li Jin made an effort to tilt her head, letting herself get closer and closer. Those days were so beautiful, he seemed to be testing his intentions, half-true and half-false, she replied with a half-sentence of true words.

  Even if I were to be a cow or a horse, it doesn't matter. I am willing to spend the rest of my life by your side. I am willing...

  "Shūmò..."

  Her cheeks had a scorching **descent**, Li Jin's body shook, and she woke up from her confused nightmare.

  A teardrop rolled down the corner of his eye and melted into Li Yiheng's palm. The hand that had been gently stroking his cheek paused for a moment, then slowly moved up to touch his forehead.

  "The fever has gone down." Li Yi Heng sat sideways on the bed, leaning forward with a smile, "You've slept for a whole day and night."

  Li Jing stared blankly at him, and for a long time she couldn't come back to her senses.

  Until Li Yiheng's hand moved away from his forehead, leaned over and picked up a cup of water from the bedside, he was silly holding the quilt corner, softly asking: "You... how did you end up here?"

  Li Yiheng threw a straw into the cup and inserted the other end into Li Jin's mouth, telling him to lie down and drink water. Then he said: "You have a fever of 40 degrees, don't you know?"

  Li Jin was drinking water in big gulps while shaking his head.

  "You came to my place to hand in the report, and as soon as you saw me, you fainted without saying a word. I was startled and quickly sent you to the hospital. The doctor said that your prolonged high fever led to temporary shock," Li Yiheng thought back to the situation and couldn't help but burst out laughing, "But just how sleep-deprived were you usually, to actually sleep for a whole day and night?"

  Li Jing spat out the straw, gave a certain person who was gloating a fierce glare, propped herself up with her arm and sat up: "Right, that report..."

  "I've seen it." Li Yi Heng's gaze was slightly cold, "You handled this well, I agree."

  Li Jinsong let out a sigh of relief.

  Of course, he didn't know that Mr. Li not only agreed but also thought they were too soft-hearted, so he took advantage of his sleep to visit the Art Song Company in person and had a cordial two-hour meeting with Director Qin. When he left, he casually dismissed the marketing manager and told him never to appear before him again.

  Afterwards, Xiao Pu described the scene to Li Jinxing, saying that at the time Mr. Li seemed not to have come for an inspection at all, and his gaze was as if he wanted to swallow people whole.

  Li Yiheng pressed the button on top of the hospital bed, asking the nurse to bring over some congee. This was Li Yiheng's private ward, so all the doctors and nurses were catering to him alone. Lijin had not eaten for a whole day and night, and his stomach was growling with hunger. So when the nurse brought over the congee, he wolfed it down, finishing one bowl and then asking for more, eating three bowls in total. Finally, feeling full, he put down his spoon, thinking that this was the most delicious thing in life.

  Mr. Li sat beside him with great interest, extremely patient and waited for him to finish drinking before slowly opening his mouth: "I heard you got sick, actually thanks to Shu Mu?"

  Mr. Li had many eyes and ears, so it was no wonder that he knew what was going on between her and Shu Mu. Only...

  "I overheard his conversation." Li Jin raised her head, her eyes calm and direct, staring into Li Yiheng's eyes. "I heard someone use a recording to threaten him, saying that if Shu Mu didn't pay up, the person would release the recording to the world, even sending it to the He family, letting everyone know that Ke Yuan's death was related to Shu Mu."

  "Ke Yuan's death is related to Shu Mu, it has been an unspoken understanding in the circle for a long time." Li Yi Heng said.

  "But that person said the one who bribed his brother to cause the accident was not Shu Mu." Lijin said, "That person said Shu Mu was being framed."

  Li Yi Heng's fingers tightened instantly.

  "What does it mean?" His gaze turned cold and stern, "Isn't a person's life precious?"

  "I didn't hear anything else, something unexpected happened and I was discovered by Shu Mu," said Li Jin. "So Shu Mu was afraid that I would reveal the secret, that's why he publicly humiliated me, trying to intimidate me into keeping my mouth shut."

  "Who is threatening Shu Mu?" Li Yiheng asked.

  "I don't know, I only heard the voice." Li Jin leaned against the pillow, his head still a bit dizzy from the high fever. He slowed down his speech, recalling what he had heard that day, "That person said, after the job was done, the one who hired his brother would kill him to silence him. But his brother had anticipated this and gave him the recording. He said he made 180 copies of the recording and put them with people he trusted, contacting them every three days to ensure he wouldn't be silenced by Shu Mu, or if he was silenced, the recording would be released immediately."

  "If you hear that person's voice again, can you still recognize it?" Li Yiheng asked.

  "I can recognize him." Lei Jin's eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Are you planning on finding that person?"

  Li Yi Heng nodded: "After Ke Yuan's death, I dug three feet underground and couldn't find the person who caused the car accident. I had already guessed that he might have been silenced. I thought the clue was cut off, didn't expect..."

  He tilted his head and smiled cruelly.

  "Do you think Shu Mu is taking the blame for someone else?" asked Li Jin.

  "Do you believe it?" Li Yiheng threw the question back.

  "I don't know." Li Jin suddenly felt a chill, so she pulled up the quilt and wrapped herself tightly. "Shu Mu is a resolute person who never leaves any handles for others to grasp. Even if someone grabs his Achilles' heel, he will definitely fight with all his might rather than be controlled by others. But at that time, as soon as Shu Mu heard that the other party had an audio recording, his attitude immediately softened."

  He raised his head, and the snow-white ceiling of the hospital was filled with a sickly oppressive feeling, making him breathe uncomfortably, forcing him to take deep breaths.

  "If it wasn't him who killed, why would he take the blame for murder? Even if he wanted to take the blame, why did he have to go to Ke Yuanling's grave and provoke him like that, taking the black pot with such fanfare? Does he really not believe in ghosts and gods, and is certain that Ke Yuanling was a cowardly ghost who wouldn't dare to seek revenge from him?

  Li Jin chuckled a few times, "If it wasn't him, why did that person come to extort him? Why would someone like him soften his attitude and even willingly be threatened? If it's true what that person said, that he was just an accomplice or helper, who is the other person? Who is the other killer who killed Ke Yuanling?"

  Li Jin suddenly lifted his head, and the eyes that were once clear were now brewing with malicious resentment: "If it was him... if he killed Ke Yuan... then who did he trust to such an extent, entrusting him with the important task of murder, and even after that person accidentally revealed their true intentions, still willingly helping him clean up the mess... Who is it? Who is that person?"

  "Li Jin!" Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm tightly and pulled him into their embrace, repeatedly whispering his name in his ear, "Li Jin, wake up, Li Jin, look at me, listen to me, Li Jin..."

  The chill inside her body was slowly warmed up, and the trembling pores also felt the warmth of the air. Li Jin stared blankly with her eyes wide open for a long time before she finally came to herself.

  "I'm sorry..."

  He gently pushed away Li Yiheng's embrace, somewhat annoyed, propping up his forehead, his face pale.

  Li Yiheng pulled down his hand and grasped it tightly in his palm.

  "Listen, I'll go investigate this matter. The recording, the blackmailer Shu Mu, and that mysterious person, I'll all look into it." He said, "But you don't think about it anymore."