Thirty. Visiting Guests

  When I left Ye Qing's house, I always felt like there was a pair of eyes behind my back. When I turned around, nothing was found. Was I being paranoid? Touching my forehead, maybe it was because I was too tense? Looking at the darkening sky, I hastened my pace.

  Back in the brightly lit house, I only then realized that there was an extra guest at home. My face full of curiosity, my hand had just put down from knocking on the door when Shao Yin pushed it open, clearly still fuming. Before I could even speak, she glared at me with puffed up anger and said: "You... are you all in cahoots or something? Deceiving only me? You have a noble guest at home. Why didn't you say anything beforehand?"

  "What's wrong?" I curiously looked inside through the gap between the door and the frame, only to see Li Bin sitting comfortably on the sofa. When he saw me coming over, he naturally waved at me with a hint of smugness on his face.

  Shao Yun glared at me and said repeatedly, "Don't stop me, I'm going to buy a block of tofu, even if it kills me! Look at you, this is basically not putting me in your eyes at all, right? Why didn't you tell me in advance that he would come?"

  The words still carried a hint of coquetry. Only someone as familiar as I could hear that Shaoyin's tone was somewhat guilty and embarrassed. No wonder, after all these years, they were meeting again because of this matter, probably no one would face it calmly. I helplessly pulled her in and closed the door, smiling at her: "I should have told you beforehand, but I didn't expect... things to turn out like this. However, since we're both here for the same purpose, why don't we sit down and talk? Don't you want to know how he's doing now? And why is he involved in this case? Besides, it's been a long time since we've had a good chat together. A rare opportunity..."

  "Alright, alright. I'm doing this for your sake, not because of him." Shao Yin's attitude softened slightly, although she still looked a bit awkward, and eventually sat down obediently. She glared at Li Bin and snorted coldly: "What a coincidence, huh?"

  "What a small world!" Li Bin said with embarrassment, glancing at Shao Yin and then at me. "I didn't do it on purpose, I didn't think you'd be... Later I found out. But..."

  "When it's you, yet you find out that Guan Xinyue is the one you've loved all your life, so you'll completely disregard my feelings and stubbornly want to be with her? Don't you think this is really too much? Even if you want revenge, do you have to do it in such a way? What does this mean? Do I need to lose face several times before you're satisfied?" Shao Yin said indignantly. However, at this moment, her attitude had completely softened, and although the words were still heavy, I could hear the remorse in them.

  What was Li Bin's reaction? I was a bit anxious, afraid that he might say something and provoke Shao Yin again. But unexpectedly, Li Bin nodded seriously and shook his head: "Actually, I also discovered it unintentionally...I didn't know before. But at that time, I thought that if I could really be with Xinyue, wouldn't it be a good thing for you too? At least your days would be much better, and you could be with that rich man."

  "Now you still dare to speak sarcastically? Are you saying that I should be grateful? When it comes down to it, I should thank you for your good intentions? You said she has a great charm, in such a big city, she can actually connect two people related to me together, and you both are infatuated with her......" Shao Yin was still indignant, but she seemed to have realized something and shifted her gaze to me.

  "Is it the same doubt as mine? I didn't give her any response, and shifted my gaze to Li Bin's face, trying to make my voice gentle: "Actually, I'm a bit curious, how did you find out that Shao Yin and Li Cheng are together? Logically speaking, your two lives are not on the same track at all, except for Guan Xinyue, the possibility of intersection is not great..."

  Li Bin furrowed his brow, hesitating for a long time before saying: "En, you're right. At the time it was because of Xinyue... She invited me to dinner at a restaurant and said she had something important to tell me. So..."

  "Was it you who booked the restaurant? Or did she book it in advance?" I asked hastily. Given Li Bin's income, plus his age and experience, he could only be considered a white-collar worker, and it was absolutely impossible for him to go to a very luxurious place.

  Li Bin was taken aback, he seemed to have realized something and subconsciously replied: "The place is Guan Xinyue, she told me on the phone. It's my first time going... it's a western restaurant at home. Not the kind of western food like McDonald's or KFC. It wasn't until after we went there that I happened to see Shao Yin and... Li Cheng together."

  "Is it a coincidence? How can there be such a coincidence under the sky? Why didn't I notice? When did this happen?" Shao Yin's face was full of question marks, and she seemed to have some difficulty accepting this conclusion. Her facial expression also looked somewhat strange.

  "Think carefully about the situation at that time, I want to know all the details." I asked hastily. Before Li Bin could speak, I nodded solemnly and said: "Many things may be more complicated than we think. If you want to find out the truth about Guan Xinyue's death, don't hide anything from me."

  Li Bin and Shao Yin looked at me with astonished eyes. Before I could explain anything, Shao Yin's face fell as he said, "I remember you once said that when judging something, you mustn't jump to conclusions. You wouldn't have... gotten a special impression of her, would you?"

  "I just don't want to miss any details." I calmly took over Shao Yin's words and looked at Li Bin with expectant eyes, hoping he would continue speaking. To be subjective, initially, I had a pretty good impression of Guan Xinyue because I never thought that such flattering words about a woman would come from the mouth of my love rival. Guan Xinyue is a clever person who knows how to win people's hearts and seize opportunities. It's precisely because of this that I'm even more curious about the relationship between Li Cheng and her, and how they got entangled in so many complicated situations. In any case, Shao Yin was Li Bin's first love, which absolutely cannot be a coincidence. I still remember the file Qin Ming obtained from ten years ago, that so-called accident. Shao Yin and Guan Xinyue's lives had intersected very early on. As for how Guan Xinyue knew Li Bin, it's probably not that simple either? These words can only be hidden in my heart and absolutely cannot be spoken out loud. Otherwise, given Shao Yin's personality, wouldn't she just blow us all up?