Chapter Sixty

  The weather in the city was gloomy, with a strong north wind blowing through every corner. The sky had been overcast for two days, and the meteorological department had issued a low-temperature warning early on. This morning, it was forecast that there would be heavy snow, and by now, past noon, vehicles were hurrying along the roads, no one wanting to be delayed by the wind and snow on their way home.

  Li Jin took a glance at the time, 1:30 in the afternoon. If she quickened her pace and hurried over, she could still make it back before dark.

  The foot came down hard on the accelerator, and the black sedan shot out like an arrow.

  Due to Director Qin Yige's repeated budget overruns, Ji Yan required Xing Sheng to report the progress of the competition to headquarters at any time, including the activities of artists under their banner, in order to avoid another unexpected overrun. For convenient contact and accountability, Lei Jin, who had previously served as Li Yi Heng's special assistant, was specially appointed as the sole liaison person responsible for this matter.

  Recently, Ku Fei and Qi Yi Chen have been frequently appearing together in fashion magazines, which has brought countless endorsement advertisements, and the level of endorsed products has also gradually improved. Li Jin selected a few for them and is currently negotiating. As usual, he should also submit a relevant report to Li Yi Heng's office for filing. However, when he contacted Lin Xin, Lin Xin informed him that Li Yi Heng was on vacation at a hot spring resort in the mountains.

  Li Yiheng's daily life is that of a wealthy young master, going to the seaside in summer and hot springs in the mountains in winter. Li Jin knows about Li Yiheng's mountain villa, where there are warm springs all around, and it's very secluded and leisurely. Every year in winter, Li Yiheng would go there for a while. Back when Li Jin was still Ke Yuan, he had been there before, and indeed it's a great place to relax, but the distance from the city is too far, taking two hours by car one way, and four hours round trip, so Mr. Li would stay there for half a month each time.

  Lin Xing would select important company documents every three or four days and send them to Mr. Li, waiting for him to finish reading and give instructions before bringing them back. So she suggested to Li Jin that it's better to hand over the documents to her, and then she can bring them together to Mr. Li.

  It was a good idea, but Li Jin still refused.

  The agent's negotiation is going on like wildfire, and it can't afford to delay for a day, let alone three or four days. Moreover, the success of this agency also involves the advertising investment of Xing Sheng in the future. General Manager Ji Yan is a meticulous person, and if Li Yiheng hasn't even seen or signed off on the plan, it's impossible to get any investment from him.

  So reluctantly, Li Jin could only take this step by herself.

  Along the highway out of town, turned three bends and onto the mountain road. The sky was getting darker and darker, until in the mountains, the dark green pines blocked out the light, as if it were already night. He turned on the headlights, shining bright yellow beams that finally lit up the road a bit.

  At this time, unless absolutely necessary, no one would be foolish enough to drive up the mountain, so after driving for a while, Li Jin only met two or three drivers who were also forced to do so, and they were all driving small vans. As he mentally calculated the time and arranged his plans for the evening, he suddenly saw someone walking on the road ahead as he turned the steering wheel.

  The man wore a long black coat, his hands in his pockets, and his body wrapped tightly. There were no cars or people on the road, only him, hunching his neck and walking alone up the mountain. It was unclear whether he was tired or if the mountain path was too steep, but he walked very slowly, stopping every few steps to stand for a while.

  Are you a villager in the village in the mountains? Or are you a hiker who got lost while climbing alone?

  They don't look like it at all.

  Li Jin increased her speed and chased after the person.

  No matter who it is, seeing the wind and snow are coming, if you don't go home now, you might get stuck on the road. Since I have a car, sending him on his way isn't a bad idea either.

  The car slid out and stopped just beside the man. Li Jin shifted into neutral, rolled down the window and asked loudly: "Hello, would you like a ride?"

  That person's body shook slightly, then with an unbelievably slow speed, every move of his hands and feet revealed an incredible slowness as he turned his face to quietly stare at Li Jin.

  Li Jin almost bit off his tongue.

  Good heavens, it's actually Li Yiheng!

  That man wasn't wearing a hat, his hair was blown into a mess, sticking up on his head like a bird's nest. He probably didn't have many clothes on either, so he was frozen to the point where his cheeks and nose were bright red, but his lips were pale white. He turned around, seemingly still trying his best to maintain his dignity, but his dignity was blown away by an even stronger gust of wind, leaving him looking utterly disheveled.

  Li Jin couldn't hold back and laughed.

  "Hurry up and get on," said Lijin, "I've come looking for you."

  Mr. Li opened the car door and brought in a blast of cold air. It was already so cold outside, but Lei Jin didn't know as he had been driving with the heater on. He reached out to touch the corner of Li Yi Heng's clothes, which were frozen stiff like an ice pop. He had no idea how long Li Yi Heng had been walking in the wind, no wonder he had to stop every few steps - his body must have been numb from the cold.

  "What's going on?" He turned up the heater to its maximum setting, "How did it end up like this?"

  Li Yiheng took a deep breath, put his palm to the air vent, and started talking about his own embarrassing story without any hesitation: "I originally wanted to take a walk along the mountain road, but I was thinking about something in my head, and before I knew it, I had walked far away. When I wanted to come back, the weather suddenly turned cold, and since I had planned to exercise by walking, I hadn't worn much, so when it got cold, I couldn't stand it."

  "What about the servants at your villa?" Lei Jin remembered that there were a total of twelve staff members at the hot spring villa, "Why don't you call them to come pick you up in a car?"

  "I didn't bring a phone," Li Yiheng paused for a moment, "and I also fired all those staff members."

  Li Jin raised his eyes and saw in the rearview mirror that Li Yi Heng was tightly pursing his lips, seemingly very reluctant to mention this matter.

  He didn't ask anymore and changed the subject, saying: "I didn't expect you to be so embarrassed too."

  Li Yi Heng was taken aback for a moment, then reacted and self-deprecatingly said: "Who can always live perfectly? I'm also human, I'll make mistakes too. Moreover, I've had even dumber moments, it's just that you haven't seen them."

  Li Jin smiled, stepped on the accelerator, and the car slid out at a faster speed.

  The temperature on the mountain was much lower than in the city, so it seemed like the blink of an eye, and snow began to fall. At first, it was a light dusting, melting as soon as it hit the ground, but within minutes, the flakes suddenly grew larger, hitting the windshield with a loud thud. Li Jin turned on the wipers and slowed down, carefully maintaining the balance of the car to avoid skidding. His palms were sweating nervously, while Mr. Li leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, seemingly dozing off.

  Li Jin glared at him and flipped on the car radio, but the traffic broadcast that usually lifted people's spirits was strangely silent. Li Jin reached out to adjust it, but her hand was caught halfway by someone.

  "The signal is poor on the mountain." Li Yiheng opened his eyes, "Not only can't the radio receive signals, but mobile phones also often drop calls. That's why I didn't bring my phone."

  Li Jin responded with a sound and withdrew his hand.

  In the darkness, Li Yiheng naturally withdrew his hand, as if it had just been an unintentional small movement.

  But for some reason, Li Jin felt he was doing it on purpose.

  Just like that sudden hug on that night, there was a different meaning in it that didn't belong to that moment.

  His fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he said in a low voice: "Thanks for these days."

  Li Yi Heng was taken aback for a moment, then reacted and smiled with raised eyebrows: "Didn't I tell you not to take it to heart?"

  How can I not take it to heart?

  A person dies right in front of him, and to make matters worse, he is even the cause of his own death; how can he not take it to heart?

  During this time, Li Jin had been anxiously waiting for the police's inquiry.

  That night, there were too many flaws: fingerprints, footprints, and even a check of the surveillance cameras in the area could see his own shadow getting out of the car, but strangely, not a single police officer came to find him.

  It wasn't until later that Li Jin found out that Li Yiheng had suppressed the whole thing.

  Originally, Huang Erzi was alone, and when he died, no one would have made a fuss to investigate the murderer for him. Moreover, Li Yiheng intentionally suppressed the case, and the relevant personnel were happy to use the case to frame him personally, so it naturally came to nothing.

  This is a mere trifle for Li Yiheng, but it holds extraordinary significance for Lijin.

  So even if Li Yi Heng didn't take it to heart at all, he still had to thank him in person.