Throughout the entire building, only the middle-aged woman in front of Zhan Meng had a decent relationship with Xia Yan, so she roughly knew that Xia Yan had a very handsome and wealthy boyfriend, but he rarely came around. Noticing Xia Yan's low spirits, she assumed it was a fight with her boyfriend.
Just as the woman was about to speak, Zhan Meng cut in directly, "Ma'am, isn't there something simmering on your stove?"
Hearing this, the woman paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and hurriedly turned back into her own home without even saying goodbye. Zhan Meng grinned slyly, pushing Xia Yan by the shoulders toward the living room.
"Xia Yan, your neighbor here seems pretty decent, not like the one next to my place—always stirring up trouble, nitpicking over nothing."
Zhan Meng rattled off a long string of words without getting any reaction from Xia Yan. She stopped, let go of Xia Yan's shoulders, and saw Xia Yan sitting on the sofa by herself, her phone beside her.
"Xia Yan?" Zhan Meng waved a hand in front of her face, calling her name.
Seeing no response, Zhan Meng spoke again, "Xia Yan, don't scare me. Are you possessed or something? Or has a ghost got you? Look at me, will you?"
Xia Yan expressionlessly brushed Zhan Meng's hand away, her mouth twitching slightly as she said weakly, "I'm not possessed." Then she added, "And no ghost has got me."
"Then why are you acting like this? Ignoring me when I talk to you."
"It's because..."
"Because what?" The look on Zhan Meng's face betrayed her gossipy curiosity.
Xia Yan glanced at Zhan Meng, promptly shut her mouth, and cut off her next words, abruptly changing the subject, "What did you come here for?"
Disappointed at not getting the gossip from Xia Yan, Zhan Meng felt a bit reluctant. After hearing Xia Yan's question, she remembered she had actual business to attend to and slapped her own forehead.
"Didn't I come to tell you there's a result?"
"What result?" Xia Yan said coldly, but before Zhan Meng could answer, she suddenly asked excitedly, "Is it about the car accident? Is there a result?"
"Yep, is there anything I can't handle?" Zhan Meng raised an eyebrow smugly at Xia Yan, then added, "According to my investigation, someone filmed a video on the day of the accident. It captured everything. Surprised? Shocked?"
"And the video? Where is it now?"
"Right here in my hands." Zhan Meng looked at the anxious Xia Yan, finally seeing some expression on her face. Earlier, she had been like a puppet—no smiles, no tears, no emotional change at all.
Zhan Meng pulled out her portable laptop from her bag, her fingers flying across the keyboard at a speed that left Xia Yan wide-eyed.
"Click." Zhan Meng let out a soft breath, pressing her index finger on the Enter key. Seeing a bunch of garbled code jumping on the screen, she waited a few minutes, then noticed a prompt at the top. She quickly handed the laptop to Xia Yan. "Here it is."
Xia Yan didn't have time to think about what Zhan Meng's rapid series of actions meant; her mind was entirely on the video. The footage was clear, and while the scene wasn't as spectacular as a Hollywood blockbuster, it was full of tension. Watching it from a bystander's perspective felt like reliving the experience. When she saw the car crash, Xia Yan's heart leaped into her throat, and she barely dared to breathe.
"This person looks really familiar, like I've seen him somewhere."
"I think you might actually know him. Look here." Zhan Meng pressed close to Xia Yan, pointing at a spot. "See here? I can make his features clearer. Hang on."
Xia Yan nodded, silently searching her memory for anything related to that man. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck her. "I remember! I remember where I've seen him!"
"You remember?"
"He's one of Yang Jinkuan's men. I remember now."
"Yang Jinkuan?" Zhan Meng hadn't deliberately familiarized herself with the influential figures in Jiangcheng, so when Xia Yan blurted out that name, she was completely clueless.
That name was like a bomb, instantly setting Xia Yan off.
Xia Yan stood up in fury, looking like she was about to charge out and confront this Yang Jinkuan. Just as Zhan Meng reached out to grab her, the words on her lips unspoken, Xia Yan suddenly went quiet.
Pausing, Zhan Meng looked at her in confusion. "Xia Yan, what's wrong now?"
"I... my thoughts are all jumbled. My mind feels like a mess. Why would Yang Jinkuan have someone do this? What's in it for him?"
"There are plenty of things in this world we can't figure out, so I think you should stop dwelling on it." Zhan Meng said calmly. She had already looked up information about Yang Jinkuan online and only then realized he was an adversary of Lu Zhengting.
Xia Yan narrowed her eyes, sinking into her own thoughts.
She's gone into auto-shutdown mode again, Zhan Meng muttered to herself. Suddenly, she felt something poking her from behind, uncomfortable. She reached back and pulled out Xia Yan's phone, accidentally pressing the power button.
As soon as the phone turned on, countless messages popped up. Without reading them all, Zhan Meng could guess what they were—missed call notifications. She glanced at them; good grief, the alerts kept coming. How many calls were there?
Zhan Meng had completely underestimated her own contribution—she made up a big chunk of them.
Seeing this, Xia Yan suddenly moved quickly, grabbing the phone. Her expression shifted. After a moment, just as she was about to press the power button to turn it off, a message from Lu Zhengting appeared in her view.
She felt uneasy, but somehow she opened it. He was on a business trip? No set return date.
Xia Yan let out a cold laugh, then, under Zhan Meng's unblinking gaze, pressed the power button again. She stood up from the sofa. Though she had been living in isolation these past few days, she still ate and slept as usual.
She turned and went back to her room, changing out of her pajamas. The weather wasn't particularly hot or cold—just right, really. Two layers wouldn't feel too warm, and one wouldn't feel too cold.
There was no sun outside, but a faint warmth from it could still be felt. Clusters of white clouds were scattered everywhere, each looking different from a distance, but up close, they seemed almost within reach, as if you could touch them.
Zhan Meng didn't know where Xia Yan was rushing off to in such a hurry, but since she had nothing else to do, she followed along.
Xia Yan didn't own a car. Earlier, Lu Zhengting had told her to pick one from the garage, but after considering her driving skills, she dropped the idea. Besides, Lu Zhengting usually acted as her personal driver for work.
Getting a taxi at this hour wasn't easy.
Zhan Meng pulled Xia Yan toward her car. "Where are you going? I'll drive you."
"You'd better not come."
"Why?"
"I'm going to see Yang Jinkuan."
"Just to see Yang Jinkuan? Why can't I go? Is he some man-eating tiger?"
Xia Yan said nothing and didn't react. Zhan Meng chuckled. "I wouldn't feel safe letting you go alone. I've got nothing to do anyway, so I'll tag along. Having an extra person with you will boost your confidence, right?"
Hearing this and seeing Zhan Meng's firm attitude, Xia Yan thought her words made some sense, so she agreed. Once in the car, she gave the address.
"Alright, Xia Yan, hold on tight."
Zhan Meng's driving skills were on par with Xia Yan's. If there was a difference, it was that Zhan Meng didn't drive recklessly, while Xia Yan did—and when she did, she often aimed for expensive cars. Lu Zhengting once said she had a good eye for that.
Xia Yan silently took that as a compliment.
The car was quiet. After a moment, Zhan Meng spoke up. "Are you sure it's Yang Jinkuan behind this just from the guy in the video? Isn't that a bit hasty?"
When Xia Yan didn't respond, Zhan Meng continued, "Honestly, I'd suggest you wait until Lu Zhengting gets back to handle this."
"He's not coming back, and I don't need to wait for him."
"What's going on? Did you two fight? No way—in my book, Lu Zhengting might fall out with anyone, but with you, I really doubt it."
"Hah, really?" Xia Yan let out a light laugh, offering no explanation.
"That 'hah' sounds pretty loaded."
"We're here." Xia Yan looked at the familiar house ahead and said flatly.
She had been here once before, and while that experience wasn't a pleasant memory, in her view, anything involving Yang Jinkuan couldn't be a good memory.
After Zhan Meng parked the car under a tree outside the house, Xia Yan got out and walked expressionlessly toward the building. Frowning, Zhan Meng called out, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
No one answered. Zhan Meng pursed her lips and quickly followed.
Perhaps because Yang Jinkuan knew he had many enemies, he had bodyguards at his doorstep and a series of surveillance systems—something Xia Yan had noticed before.
The guards at the door blocked her. Xia Yan frowned and said coldly, "Move aside. I'm here to see Yang Jinkuan."
Hearing a strange woman call out their boss's full name with such a chilly tone, the guards exchanged glances, and one of them went to inform Yang Jinkuan.
Only after receiving instructions did Xia Yan and Zhan Meng get through the gate.