Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 356 - 236: The Killer Will Appear (2 more 1)
That day, after Shi Nian got off work, she walked out with Ye He and Xiao Mai, laughing and joking.
As they reached the company’s entrance, Ye He couldn’t help but complain about her landlord, saying although the landlady had been in M Country for many years, she still lived as she did in China. For example, after doing laundry, she wouldn’t use the dryer, claiming she didn’t want to waste electricity, so the clothes had to dry naturally. But they couldn’t be hung outside, as neighbors had complained about it many times. So, they had to "internally recycle" inside the house. The shared living room and even the dining room, every backrest and armrest of the chairs were covered with clothes, socks, and even bras and panties...
Ye He couldn’t help but lament: "Everything else I could tolerate, but once after dinner, I realized that the chair I was sitting on was being used to dry the underpants of the landlady’s son, who is already in his teens! It drove me crazy!"
Shi Nian and Xiao Mai both sympathized but couldn’t help laughing.
Xiao Mai said, "So why don’t you move out quickly?"
Ye He moved up to Xiao Mai and hugged her arm: "Can I squeeze in with you for a bit? It’s hard to find a suitable place, and my salary as an assistant is low. If I could be as lucky as Little Niu and jump from assistant straight to a full-fledged reporter, then I could rent a place I want."
Ye He spoke without thinking, but Xiao Mai’s expression changed, she quickly glanced at Shi Nian and pinched Ye He’s wrist.
"Little Yezi, what nonsense are you spouting?!"
Because Little Niu’s betrayal was related to the "Black Curtain", and Little Niu betrayed Xiong Jie, Ye He didn’t think much and just blurted it out. She forgot that the story of Little Niu’s betrayal essentially involved an assistant turning against her boss, which was exactly the relationship Ye He had with Shi Nian.
Ye He realized what she had said and quickly grabbed Shi Nian’s hand: "Boss, I didn’t mean it like that!"
Shi Nian pouted deliberately: "Is an apology enough in this world?" Then she flicked Ye He’s hand away and walked out alone on purpose.
Ye He looked at Xiao Mai despairingly, "Help me out!"
Xiao Mai rubbed her forehead: "Girl, with your IQ, how am I supposed to help you?"
Ye He and Xiao Mai whispered a few things to each other, finally forming an alliance, and together they walked out of the entrance, rushing towards Shi Nian.
But they saw Shi Nian standing with someone.
As they ran up, the man in a camel-colored cashmere coat turned suddenly, his dark eyes glancing at the two: "Did you make your boss unhappy?"
The tall gentleman, though he was wearing a knee-length camel cashmere coat with a large suit collar, underneath was still a jet-black turtleneck sweater. Even though the area of that sweater collar was pitifully small compared to the entire coat, it sharply echoed the deepness in his eyes, making both Ye He and Xiao Mai shiver with a chill.
A chill rose from the soles of their feet, quickly spreading through their bodies.
Both respectful and fearful.
They all knew him, the very Huangfu Huazhang who had come out of mystery to testify in court for their boss.
The chairman of the Fude Group, and a director of Kangchuan University’s Board!
.
Shi Nian looked at her two subordinates on the verge of hugging each other in fright, sighed in helplessness, and quickly stepped forward to stop Huangfu Huazhang.
"Sir, you’ve misunderstood. I was upset just now, but I was only teasing them. The anger was feigned."
Shi Nian didn’t expect that as she pretended to be angry and stormed out of the company’s gate, she would run into Huangfu Huazhang standing there.
The slanting rays of the evening sun spilled onto his broad yet thin shoulders, casting a soft golden halo, making the man appear even more—
Tall and elegant, with noble refinement.
People in the media had a keen eye, not just judging appearances but, looking at his impeccably tailored clothes with no brand signature at all, they could guess that this person was of no ordinary status.
What’s more, Huangfu Huazhang was holding a cane that gave off a sense of time travel, reminding people instantly of the 18th-century fog of London, UK, where aristocrats stood elegantly proud, as if silhouettes on the street.
Many recalled that sensational court trial, and the mysterious aristocratic heir who had walked out of the mist for Shi Nian.
As people passed Shi Nian, they glanced at him with respect and awe, but eyed her with envy and curiosity. Shi Nian felt it, lowering her head deeply, with whispers of confirmation filling her ears: "...William Ford", "So this is William Ford, I didn’t expect him to be so handsome."
Yet to the people filing past him, he acted as if he saw nothing, none of their murmurs reaching him.
He only looked at her, saw only her in her disgruntled state.
He didn’t mind her shock at seeing him, only lowering his head quietly asking, "Who made you so unhappy?"
She was surprised he cared so much, and quickly shook her head in slight astonishment.
He squinted at the company’s building behind her, "You just got off work, so whoever offended you must be in this building, meaning a colleague of yours."
.
"You were just playing with them?"
Huangfu Huazhang repeated Shi Nian’s words, his face still tense, his dark eyes scanning over Ye He and Xiao Mai again before withdrawing his gaze, turning back to Shi Nian.
"There’s always a reason even when joking around. Although you’re not truly angry, there’s something worth pretending to have a tantrum about—that gives you a reason to be unhappy."
Ye He and Xiao Mai exchanged a glance, both a bit embarrassed.
Ye He was the one who confessed.
Huangfu Huazhang raised an eyebrow at Ye He: "Do you want to be compared to Little Niu? What’s good about her? Even if she’s promoted from an assistant to a full-fledged reporter early, even if she can earn a little more salary, do you think she’s living happily?"
Ye He shook his head quickly: "Not happy."
"Little Niu isn’t happy, Xiong Jie actually isn’t happy either, they really are a pair of the unhappy ones."
"True." Huangfu Huazhang then turned his eyes to Ye He: "That’s why Xiong Jie died."
Ye He promptly thickened his skin to hug Shi Nian’s arm: "But my relationship with our boss is different. We are a pair of happy ones."
Huangfu Huazhang raised his eyebrows: "Happy enough to investigate Yanwu Square together and later take care of Xiong Jie together."
Shi Nian couldn’t quite explain why he felt a bit tense inside, so he also hugged Ye He, smiling at Huangfu Huazhang: "Yes. If it weren’t for her, I might have been outsmarted at Yanwu Square; and as for Xiong Jie, I couldn’t have taken care of myself."
Hearing this from Shi Nian, Huangfu Huazhang’s long brows raised slightly, his demeanor finally relaxed.
Shi Nian also silently sighed in relief inside.
Huangfu Huazhang tilted his head leisurely, giving Ye He a glance: "I have some matters to discuss with your boss, so I won’t delay the two of you any longer."
Ye He felt as if she was granted amnesty and quickly grabbed Xiao Mai’s hand: "Then... Good-bye Mr. Ford."
The two young girls made a swift escape, disappearing with barely a blink of an eye.
Shi Nian sighed slightly, yet couldn’t help but smile.
Her expression was entirely seen by Huangfu Huazhang. Finally, he drew his gaze back from where the girls’ figures vanished.
It seems they are indeed doing well, and before she really was just joking around.
.
He turned around, his gaze sweeping back.
The posture was a bit arrogant, yet carried a hint of—an unspeakable expectation.
Seemingly rejected by her, yet seemingly brimming with confidence, but ultimately not daring to claim complete assurance.
"There’s been some progress in Xiong Jie’s death. Want to check it out?"
Shi Nian was immediately delighted: "Of course, go!"
Then she rushed over to him, following behind him, her eyes lighting up with gleaming brilliance.
Only then did he put his mind at ease, feeling quietly happy inside.
.
The winter night fell earlier and earlier, and just now the sunset glow was golden, but when the black Rolls-Royce drove off, with the streetlights lighting up, the night sky descended overwhelmingly.
From a car by the roadside, Tang Yanqing squinted her eyes, witnessing the entanglement between Huangfu Huazhang and Shi Nian in front of the office building, then watched as she joyfully chased after him, boarding his car together...
The streetlights lit up, illuminating the people and cars passing by on the street. Yet it made this winter night seem colder, as though the city itself felt empty.
.
Shi Nian didn’t expect Huangfu Huazhang’s Rolls-Royce to drive straight out of the city and head to the empty mountain villa where Xiong Jie was initially kidnapped.
When they got out and entered the house, the mountain moon had just risen over the treetops, casting its clear light over the forest.
The winter kept deepening, yet the branches still held on to persistent leaves refusing to follow the wind away. They shattered the moonlight into fragments, mottling it upon the ground.
Even with clear light in heaven and earth, there’s always shadow in the clear light, thus in the world, light and darkness always coexist, shadowing each other seamlessly.
As the car drove into the forest, Xia Zuo had already made contact. So when the car stopped, someone silently opened the door.
The silhouette was delicate; Shi Nian found it familiar, as if she was the sole woman among the few people he vaguely saw last time.
The woman bowed respectfully at a 90° angle to Huangfu Huazhang, but Huangfu Huazhang didn’t look at her; he simply removed the lambskin gloves from his hands and handed them to her, speaking indifferently: "Thank you for your hard work."
