Guo Tiandi parked his car at the intersection, opened his backpack, and found several medicine boxes full of English text lying on top. Beneath the boxes were keys, a fruit knife, tissues, a charger, and other miscellaneous items. He rummaged through them and pulled out a syringe.
He scanned the medicine boxes with the translation app on his phone, and a crooked Chinese translation appeared on the screen.
He took out a small vial of medicine and used the syringe to draw the liquid. It was only 5 milliliters, so he worried it wasn’t enough and drew another vial.
Carefully, he pushed the syringe to expel the air bubbles.
This road didn’t usually have much traffic, and with the nearby intersection under repair for the past couple of days, even fewer cars passed through. There were no surveillance cameras either, making it the perfect spot to take action.
He mentally rehearsed the upcoming events several times.
He knew He Saibing would arrive by taxi, as high-end residential areas nearby didn’t allow taxis to enter. She would definitely get off at this intersection.
Liu Tianshi would come by car to pick her up. Before Liu Tianshi arrived, Guo Tiandi would approach He Saibing, pretending to ask for directions. Seizing the right moment, he’d knock her out with an ether-soaked handkerchief and inject the drug into her body.
If Liu Tianshi arrived first and He Saibing later, or if Liu Tianshi reached her before he could, he planned to ram Liu Tianshi with his car. If Liu got knocked unconscious, all the better—Guo could inject the drug while He Saibing checked on Liu’s injuries.
The second plan had too many uncertainties, so the first one was his top choice.
While thinking, a yellow taxi slowly pulled up, and the door opened. He Saibing carefully stepped out.
She had a large, pregnant belly and moved awkwardly, but her makeup was still meticulously applied. Aside from her swollen abdomen, her limbs were still slender.
Guo Tiandi had never thought of this woman as so beautiful before. Through her beauty, he imagined her cradling a child, the baby lying in her arms, smiling sweetly at her while she smiled back, tender and content.
He was about to kill that unborn child with his own hands, utterly destroying her life.
Suddenly, he hesitated.
He changed his mind. Rather than killing the child, it was better to kill the one causing all the trouble—Liu Tianshi.
He Saibing was on the phone, and moments later, a luxury car approached slowly. Guo Tiandi recognized it immediately—it was Liu Tianshi’s Porsche.
The Porsche stopped, and Liu Tianshi got out, waving at He Saibing.
Guo Tiandi slammed on the gas and charged at Liu Tianshi.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang. The car jolted violently, and everything spun around. Guo felt dizzy, the world turning upside down, and he blacked out before he could even register the pain in his head.
When he woke up again, everything around him was pitch dark. All he could see was darkness, and there was no sound at all. He thought he had descended into hell, but the shrill sound of a car horn snapped him back to reality.
His hearing returned, and his mind slowly cleared. He remembered: he had rammed his car into Liu Tianshi, but another car had suddenly appeared and crashed into his, knocking him unconscious.
He crawled up, wiping the blood from his head and body. His car had tipped over into some bushes, flattening a small tree. He turned on the headlights, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.
Liu Tianshi’s luxury car was still parked by the roadside, but no one was in it. He Saibing was also nowhere to be seen.
Feeling guilty, Guo Tiandi didn’t dare call the police. In his mind, he swore he had to find the person who had crashed into him.
At that moment, he had no idea that Liu Tianshi had already been killed.
The next day, overwhelming news reports swept through the media, and he secretly rejoiced that he hadn’t dirtied his hands yet still got rid of the big problem.
Who was the killer? Was it the person who crashed into his car? Who would have such deep hatred for Liu Tianshi? He had never heard of anyone. He went through all the possible suspects but couldn’t find anyone who had a reason to kill Liu.
Now that Liu Tianshi was dead, the child in He Saibing’s belly could live.
Excited, Guo Tiandi dialed a familiar number. “Mom, it’s like heaven helped us. Liu Tianshi is dead, and He Saibing can give birth to the child.”
“Did you kill him?” The voice on the other end was cold and stern.
“It wasn’t me, Mom. Without your orders, how would I dare to kill Dad? We’re so lucky—someone solved the big problem for us. Mom, when He Saibing gives birth to the child, you must make sure he recognizes his ancestry and inherits the Fang Zheng Group. Then my death won’t be in vain.”
Guo Tiandi suddenly understood what children meant to parents. Children are the continuation of their parents’ lives, their hope, their future, and proof that they existed.
“You fool! That child must die. I will never allow anyone who threatens me to exist! If the child doesn’t die, you will. Choose one.” The voice on the other end angrily hung up.
In the following days, Guo Tiandi closely followed the news. There was no report of He Saibing’s disappearance or any news of her being murdered. He went to the hotel to inquire and learned that He Saibing had checked out and left, her whereabouts unknown.
Using various false identities, he contacted He Saibing’s family and friends, but none of them had any news. The “latest” information was that she had returned to the country.
It was as if He Saibing had suddenly vanished.
He thought there was only one possibility: she had been taken by the killer.
Why would the killer take her?
He had thought that once Liu Tianshi died, the old woman would spare the child in He Saibing’s belly, but he hadn’t realized how ruthless the old woman truly was.
He had once believed that being her biological son granted him special favor. But now, he suddenly woke up to the truth—he was wrong. She only loved herself and no one else, not even her own son.
Hadn’t the person she sent to their death also been her son?
He suddenly remembered the story the old woman had once told him about her childhood.
When she was very young, her biological mother had driven her out of the house, and she spent an entire night in the snowy wilderness.
“The cold was enough to crack bones,” the old woman had described. Her tone was calm, as if reading someone else’s story from a book.
Guo Tiandi had lived a life of luxury since childhood and never experienced bone-cracking cold. He had once traveled to Siberia, enduring the extreme cold with ease, so he couldn’t imagine how cold that night in the old woman’s memory must have been.
At this moment, he suddenly understood—the cold wasn’t from the snow or the night; it was from the heart.
He could almost feel it: a chill rising from his heart, spreading like electricity to his limbs. His blood vessels stiffened, his bones cracked—so this was what it felt like.
He had a premonition: the old woman would get rid of him sooner or later.
So, he carefully planned his escape. On the one hand, he didn’t want to arouse Guo Yingying’s suspicion. He needed to get rid of the burden of Guo Yingying to travel light. On the other hand, he couldn’t attract the police’s attention.
His plan couldn’t succeed without the old woman’s help, but she told him not to contact her again. To pass a message to the old woman, he used a crazed journalist obsessed with breaking explosive news.
The old woman’s lifelong pursuit was safety. She feared madness, uncertainty, and anything unpredictable. Guo Tiandi needed her to feel like he was a ticking time bomb, something she needed to throw as far away as possible.
The old woman arranged everything for him. As for Guo Yingying’s “biological parents,” who knew where she found the actors?
Risking his life, the bitter plan was about to succeed, but unexpectedly, some Cheng Yaojin came out of nowhere! Those three guys from B City saw right through his plot and even shamelessly poisoned him! Weren’t they supposed to be the police?
He sat in the interrogation room, facing Meng Jin and Zhao Yunzhi, both staring him down. On the surface, he appeared calm, but inside, he was in turmoil. How much had the police discovered? If it was just about Liu Tianshi’s case, there wasn’t much to worry about—he hadn’t done anything.
But how could he explain his attempted escape? If he hadn’t done anything, why was he trying to run? The police weren’t fools, and these two were particularly sharp.
The old woman had once said the best lies are the ones mixed with the truth.
He decided to come clean.
“I was the courier who called Liu Tianshi. Yes, I did meet with him that day, but I didn’t kill him because I was in a car accident. You can check the hospital records.”
He gave a detailed account of the time and hospital, and the police could verify it with just one phone call.
“I wanted to meet Liu Tianshi, not to kill him, but to make He Saibing miscarry.” This was the truth, though he left out the part where he changed his mind at the last minute, deciding to kill Liu instead.
As expected, the two officers didn’t notice anything amiss.
Meng Jin asked, “What’s your relationship with He Saibing? Why do you want her to miscarry?”
“I hate her because she used to bully my sister. When I heard she was pregnant with Liu Er’s child, I was furious. Liu Er ruined my sister and destroyed my life. He doesn’t deserve to have descendants. He should be left with no offspring!” Guo Tiandi clenched his fists, his skin stretched tight, turning white, and the veins on his neck bulged as if his eyes were about to pop out.
It was clear he harbored deep hatred for Liu Er.
But Meng Jin immediately spotted a flaw. “How did you know He Saibing was pregnant? And how are you sure the child is Liu Er’s?”
Guo Tiandi was speechless, his face panicked, stumbling over his words. “I’ve been following the Liu family’s situation closely. Liu Er ruined my sister and me. I can’t let them off the hook.”
“Surveillance?” Meng Jin’s expression remained neutral, though inwardly he scoffed. “Where and when did you meet He Saibing?”
“I forgot. Officer, I can’t even remember what I ate yesterday. How am I supposed to recall those details?” Guo Tiandi put on a defiant, ‘like-I-care’ attitude.
“Come back when you remember. Until then, you stay here. Think about it.” Meng Jin leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.
Guo Tiandi leaned back as well, imitating Meng Jin.
Meng Jin couldn’t see it, but Zhao Yunzhi did, and it made him furious. “Bang!” He slammed the table.
Meng Jin almost jumped in shock, looking dumbfounded at Zhao Yunzhi.
“Sit up! Tell the truth!” Zhao Yunzhi barked.
Guo Tiandi played dumb, refusing to confess.
Meng Jin and Zhao Yunzhi continued eating and drinking. They couldn’t physically punish him, but they could mentally and emotionally torment him.
Long De was in the adjacent room, watching the interrogation. Zhao Yunzhi brought him some takeout.
“He’s messing with you,” Long De remarked.
Zhao Yunzhi smiled smugly, “Meng Jin and I noticed that long ago. He’s not telling the truth.”
Long De chuckled slightly, “No, I mean, he’s deliberately letting you see that he’s lying.”
Zhao Yunzhi was baffled. “What do you mean?”
