Captivating Beauty 84p1

Chapter 84 p1

Xu Li’s face turned ashen, her jaw clenched, as she glared at Xu Jinnan, whose expression remained calm and indifferent.

Tears welled up in Xu Li’s eyes, a surge of rage making her want to lunge at Xu Jinnan, to tear her apart. “You set me up!” she shrieked, struggling against the officers restraining her.

Xu Jinnan didn’t flinch, watching as they pinned Xu Li’s arms behind her back.

Li Lan gestured slightly, and one of the officers retrieved a syringe from Xu Li’s pocket.

Xu Li thrashed wildly. “Let go of me! Xu Jinnan, you bitch! You framed me!”

“Shh,” Xu Jinnan said calmly, glancing at Xu Tao, who was stirring, his eyes still clouded with confusion, then turning to Li Lan. “Officer Li, my father needs to rest. Perhaps we can continue this conversation elsewhere.”

Li Lan nodded, and the officers escorted Xu Li out of the room, her screams echoing through the quiet hospital hallway.

Xu Jinnan followed them, leaving the medical staff to attend to Xu Tao.

Xu Li, held by two officers, glared at Xu Jinnan, who stood calmly at the doorway. How had Xu Jinnan suspected her? And how had she orchestrated this so perfectly?

Unless… Zhou Pei had betrayed her!

Zhou Pei and Xu Jinnan had conspired against her!

“Zhou Pei betrayed me…” she muttered, her thoughts a jumbled mess, her mind reeling from the shock, the words escaping before she could stop them.

Xu Jinnan paused, then walked towards her, stopping a few feet away, a cold smile playing on her lips. “What do you think?”

Trust was a fragile thing.

Xu Li’s eyes widened in realization, her struggles intensifying, her screams echoing through the hallway, but it was no use. She had been betrayed by Zhou Pei, captured by the Special Ward, her hopes and dreams shattered.

Her life was over.

Everything was over.

Even her mother’s hopes had been dashed.

Her screams faded as the officers dragged her away.

“Besides this attempted murder charge, Xu Li is also implicated in several other cases. This one alone carries a sentence of three to ten years. You can proceed with your plans now,” Li Lan said, her voice as cold and impassive as ever, like a machine devoid of emotion.

But Xu Jinnan had never found her coldness off-putting.

She looked at Li Lan, her voice sincere. “Thank you,” she said.

—

After giving a brief statement at the Special Ward, and discussing her next steps with Li Lan, Xu Jinnan went to see Xu Tao.

She walked slowly towards his bed. He was still connected to a ventilator, his usually sharp eyes now clouded and dull.

“What happened?” he asked weakly, having just been transferred from the ICU.

Xu Jinnan’s expression remained unchanged. “What do you think, Dad?” she asked, the honorific a stark contrast to the coldness in her voice.

Xu Tao: “Xiaoli, she…”

His usual arrogance had vanished; he looked like a frail old man.

But his age and his current state didn’t erase his past actions.

“She really tried to poison me…?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He couldn’t understand. Why?

“Not poison. She tried to kill you,” Xu Jinnan corrected him, watching as his heart rate spiked on the monitor. “Get some rest. Someone will explain everything later,” she said coldly. “I have to go.” She didn’t look at him again as she left the room.

As she drove to the Special Ward, she sent Shen Shu a message.

[Good morning.]

She hadn’t expected a reply, assuming Shen Shu was still asleep, but a message popped up almost instantly.

Shen Shu: [Good morning.]

The reply meant the plan with Xu Li had succeeded.

Xu Jinnan called Shen Shu.

“I’m so tired,” she said as soon as Shen Shu answered, her voice hoarse.

“Me too,” Shen Shu replied, her own voice slightly husky. “Are you coming home?”

“Going to the Special Ward, to give a statement,” Xu Jinnan said.

“Then I won’t see you. I have to leave in an hour,” Shen Shu said.

“I’ll see you at the office then,” Xu Jinnan replied.

“I’m filming on location today,” Shen Shu said, the sound of rustling sheets in the background. “And…”

“And?”

“A couple of scenes are set abroad, and the director wasn’t satisfied with the CGI or the local sets, so we’re flying out tonight. 6 p.m. flight. Back the day after tomorrow,” Shen Shu explained.

Xu Jinnan: “…”

She unconsciously slowed down. “So, three days.”

She stopped at a red light, her voice low. “That’s… good.”

“Good?” Shen Shu repeated, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“Yes,” Xu Jinnan replied.

By the time Shen Shu returned, she would have resolved the Xu Corporation situation.

Before she could explain, Shen Shu hung up.

Xu Jinnan sent her a kiss emoji and a voice message. “Shu Shu, I have to focus on driving. I’ll talk to you later.” She checked the time, then accelerated, heading towards the Special Ward.

—

Shen Shu had changed into a white turtleneck sweater, black skinny jeans, and a brown overcoat.

She had packed a small suitcase for her two-day trip.

As she stood at the doorway, suitcase in hand, she glanced back at the living room, the quiet emptiness amplifying her sense of loneliness. She had been away from Xu Jinnan for two or three days at a time before, during filming, but this felt different.

She couldn’t explain it.

Then, a thought crossed her mind, and she took a deep breath, composing herself, her expression turning cool and distant.

She pulled her suitcase out the door and had just stepped out of the elevator when she saw a familiar figure standing a few feet away.

Hearing the elevator doors open, the figure turned around.

Xu Jinnan, seeing her, tilted her head and smiled faintly.

In that moment, the cool autumn air seemed to warm slightly, a ray of sunshine breaking through the gray clouds.

Xu Jinnan took her suitcase, then gently grasped her hand. “Just in time. Let’s go. I’ll drive you to the studio.”

The filming location was a tourist spot in the South District, and with the early hour, the roads were relatively empty.

As they drove, Xu Jinnan told Shen Shu about the incident at the hospital.

“Zhou Pei was waiting downstairs when they brought Xu Li out. She looked like she had seen a ghost,” Xu Jinnan said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Trust is a fragile thing.”

“With Li Lan’s interrogation skills, it was only a matter of time before one of them confessed,” Shen Shu commented.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the studio.

Shen Shu grabbed her bag. “I’ll go then,” she said.

As she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle, she heard Xu Jinnan shift in her seat and felt a soft warmth on her ear.

Xu Jinnan had kissed her.

Then, not satisfied with the brief contact, she leaned closer, her lips brushing against Shen Shu’s ear. “I’ll pick you up tonight,” she murmured. “Go straight to the airport. Don’t wander off.”

“Okay.”

“Did you bring your suppressants?”

“Mm…” Shen Shu’s breath hitched, her ear tingling, and she instinctively tilted her head slightly, giving Xu Jinnan even more access.

“Xu Jinnan,” she whispered, her voice slightly unsteady.

“Yes?” Xu Jinnan’s lips brushed against her skin, her voice muffled.

“I want a mark too,” Shen Shu murmured.

—

After dropping Shen Shu off, Xu Jinnan returned to the office and saw a message from Lu Yun.

The shareholders had been appeased, but she needed to accelerate her plans for the Xu Corporation, and Xu Jinnan agreed.

Lu Yun was eager for her to take over.

She wondered what Xu Tao’s reaction would be. Given his attitude towards her, even with Xu Li’s arrest, he might not be willing to let her take control of the company.

Of course, it didn’t really matter to her.

–

At the hospital, Lu Yun entered Xu Tao’s room, carrying a bowl of rice porridge. She adjusted his bed slightly. “Have something to eat,” she said.

While he was still connected to a monitor, he was able to eat soft foods now.

Xu Tao, however, had no appetite, his gaze cold and accusing as he looked at Lu Yun. “You framed her, didn’t you? Lu Yun, was it you? Or did you put Xu Jinnan up to this…?” His voice, though laced with anger, was weak.

Lu Yun almost laughed, a surge of satisfaction coursing through her. She hadn’t forgotten the countless times he had struck her, the sting of his hand on her face and body, the way he had whipped her like an animal.

She stirred the porridge slowly, her gaze fixed on the swirling liquid.

“I know you want to believe that, but unfortunately, your precious daughter…” she paused, looking up at him, her eyes cold. “…tried to kill you. Even I was surprised by the depth of her hatred.” She no longer bothered to soften her tone.

Xu Tao’s breath hitched, his heart rate spiking on the monitor.

“Still don’t believe me?” Lu Yun asked, her voice laced with contempt. “Xu Yincheng, Nannan, and even I have been on the receiving end of your abuse, yet you never touched Xu Li. You might be a monster, but you clearly favored your eldest daughter. Unfortunately for you, no one believes you’re capable of genuine affection. To you, nothing is more important than the Xu family’s reputation, their honor.”

“Don’t forget, you’re also a member of the Xu family!”

She tossed the spoon into the bowl, her gaze fixed on Xu Tao, then walked over to the TV. “No one told you the details yet, did they? I had this camera installed last night,” she said, removing a small, circular device from the top of the TV, the red light blinking out.

“It streams directly to my phone. I made a copy before handing it over to the Special Ward. Want to see it?” she asked, tossing the camera onto his bed, then, without waiting for a response, or even looking at him, opened the video on her phone and held it up for him to see.

As the video played, she narrated, her voice a cold counterpoint to the scene unfolding on the screen.

“Look how much she hates you. The officers said that dosage would have stopped your heart within minutes.”

“You should prepare yourself. She’s not coming back.”

“And the Xu Corporation… looks like it’s up to Nannan and me to protect your legacy now.”

–

Xu Jinnan received news of Xu Tao’s relapse while talking to Li Lan.

She wasn’t surprised, nor was she particularly concerned.

He was no longer a threat.

The hospital had made it clear; the damage to his heart was severe, and a full recovery was unlikely.

But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to his sudden illness. However, her focus was elsewhere for now.

Li Lan had told her that Xu Li had initially denied everything, only confessing after being shown the surveillance footage. Even then, she hadn’t revealed anything else, simply attributing her actions to Zhou Pei’s influence.

As for the other incidents, the ones in Rongcheng, the Han family banquet… she had initially denied any involvement, then, after hearing the recording of her conversation with Zhou Pei, had blamed everything on her, claiming she had been manipulated.

Zhou Pei, however, had taken full responsibility.

Then, after hearing Xu Li’s accusations, Zhou Pei had fallen silent, her silence lasting for ten hours.

But even then, she hadn’t changed her story.

Li Lan had placed them in separate cells, then arranged for them to “accidentally” encounter each other in the hallway, Xu Li in shackles, Zhou Pei not.

Xu Li, already on the verge of a mental breakdown, convinced that Zhou Pei and Xu Jinnan had conspired against her, had lashed out, her voice shrill with rage and despair.

“Zhou Pei, you bitch! You were like a dog, following me around, and now you’ve betrayed me, just like all the others!”

According to Li Lan, Zhou Pei, her face pale and her body stiff, had simply stared at Xu Li and asked, “In your eyes, I’m just a dog?”

Xu Jinnan could imagine Zhou Pei’s expression. She rarely smiled, her demeanor usually cold and professional, like a machine.

And she could also imagine Xu Li’s reaction.

“What else would you be? If you weren’t useful, do you think I would even look at you?! I still lost, though. I was blind to trust someone like you!”

Zhou Pei hadn’t said another word, her silence lasting for ten hours, until she finally confessed, retracting her earlier statement and detailing Xu Li’s crimes, her manipulation, her schemes – from Yin Xue’s unauthorized hospital visit, to the incidents in Rongcheng, to informing Yin Xue about Xu Jinnan’s whereabouts, to the Han family banquet, to the attack on Shen Shu in the parking garage.

And even more damning, she had provided audio evidence, a recording of a private conversation between her and Xu Li, where Xu Li instructed her to plant the listening device and deliver the drug to Yin Xue.

Li Lan played a part of the recording for Xu Jinnan.

Xu Li’s voice, breathless and aroused, said, “Give this to Yin Xue personally. Tell her it won’t kill her, just make her… lose her mind.”

“What is it?” Zhou Pei had asked.

“Just a… mind-altering drug.”

“Where did you get it? These things are dangerous. Be careful,” Zhou Pei had said, her voice trembling.

“I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone. I got it from the old house, when we were celebrating Grandmother’s birthday. Here, I’ll leave the rest with you. It’s dangerous, so don’t touch it.”

“Are you sure about the dosage…? We don’t want any… accidents.”

The recording ended there.

Xu Jinnan sat in her office, replaying the conversation in her mind.

Xu Li hadn’t just wanted to make Xu Tao mentally incompetent; she had wanted him dead.

Besides her ruthlessness and her all-consuming hatred, the conversation also revealed something else – the drug had come from the Xu family’s ancestral home. Meaning the powder the original Xu Jinnan had hidden had likely come from the same place – the source of all this darkness was Qucheng.

As she was thinking, she remembered something else Li Lan had mentioned – they hadn’t been able to find any information about Xu Li’s biological mother.

It was as if she had vanished after the divorce.

Xu Jinnan sighed, relieved that things were progressing smoothly.

As for Qucheng…

She narrowed her eyes, just as Viola knocked and entered, handing her a file containing information about the Xu Corporation’s shareholders.

“It’s Monday tomorrow,” Viola said.

“Yes, the shareholders’ meeting is tomorrow,” Xu Jinnan replied, her gaze fixed on the documents.

—