"It wasn't me, please believe me." Jian Tong stared at the person in the car with a sharp gaze. She could barely catch a glimpse of the cold-eyed man through the window under the pouring rain. Jian Tong shivered as she stood outside the car and yelled, "Shen Xiujin! Would you please at least listen to me!"
Just then, the door suddenly opened and Jian Tong was yanked into the car. She stumbled into his arms and wetted his white shirt instantly.
"Shen Xiujin, it wasn’t me who ordered those thugs to harm Weimin..." before Jian Tong could finish her words, the man cupped her chin brutally and asked, "It seems that you really like me a lot, don't you?"
He said in a cold voice with a whiff of tobacco—his unique scent.
"What?" Jian Tong was a little confused. It was known to everyone that she liked him, so why did he pop the question all of a sudden?
The man cupped Jian Tong's chin with one hand and reached out the other hand to caress her cheek. At that instance, Jian Tong was drawn into his gentle eyes and had lost all her senses. She seemed to have heard the man ask next if she was cold.
The man sounded cold and dispassionate as he continued, "Jian Tong, do you like me so much that you could kill Weimin?"
At that moment, a chill ran down her spine and Jian Tong jolted to her senses. "As expected, this man would never show any gentleness to me. He's merely mocking me," she thought with a bitter smile.
"I didn't mean to kill Weimin..." she wanted to explain.
"Yes, you didn't mean to kill Weimin. Instead, you bribed some thugs to rape her," the man had grown infuriated as he spoke. He then ripped Jian Tong's clothes off without giving her any chance to explain.
"No!!"
Jian Tong screamed as she was pushed out of the car and fell onto the ground in the rain. The man's cold voice then reverberated.
"Jian Tong, or Ms. Jian, I'll let you have a taste of what you've done to Weimin. How do you feel about being naked?"
Swish!
Jian Tong raised her eyes and stared at the man in disbelief. He sat in the car and peered down at her while he took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands slowly. He said, "Ms. Jian, I need to take a rest now. Please leave."
"Shen Xiujin! Listen to me! I really......"
"As a matter of fact, I could give you a chance to explain." The man glanced at Jian Tong indifferently and said, "If you are willing to kneel down for a night in front of Shen family's manor, maybe I'll give you ten minutes to talk if I'm in a good mood."
He then closed the door and threw the handkerchief out the window, which landed in front of Jian Tong and was instantly soaked wet by the rain.
Jian Tong lowered her head as she picked up the handkerchief and clenched it tightly in her palm.
The car entered the Shen family's manor, and she watched the iron gate close in front of her.
Jian Tong's face had turned utterly pale in the rain. She stood for a while before she suddenly looked up and walked towards the gate. Then she pursed her lips and got down on her knees.
She was kneeling!
But it was not because of atonement!
It was because Xia Weimin was her friend! She felt that it was the right thing to do to pay respect to her friend, not because she had killed her as assumed by everyone!
She was kneeling!
She begged that the man would give her ten minutes to explain!
Her clothes were in tatters and they could barely cover parts of her. She covered her body with both hands and straightened herself. She had knelt down with pride and dignity! No one could challenge her as she was Jian Tong from the Bund!
She knelt down determinedly just to get a chance to explain clearly. She would never admit to the things she had never done!
But would she get the chance to do so?
Was it even possible to explain it clearly?
But, really? Who would believe her?
The rain became heavier and continued pouring without any hint of stopping.
......
On the next day.
Jian Tong was still kneeling outside the Shen family's manor in the heavy rain.
Her dress was drenched as she had been kneeling all night in the rain.
The manor had become lively at the crack of dawn. Just then, an old butler had walked towards the gate holding a black umbrella.
The iron gate creaked as it opened. Jian Tong then raised her drooping head and smiled faintly at the butler standing in the centre of the gate.
"Ms. Jian, Mr. Shen asked you to leave." The butler was dressed to the nines and not even a single strand of hair had gone messy on a rainy day. He was just as meticulous and rigorous as the plants in the Shen family's manor, which were especially taken care of. He dropped a piece of clothes for Jian Tong.
Jian Tong stretched out her wrinkly hand and put on the clothes as she shivered vigorously. Then she said in a hoarse and firm voice, "I want to see him."
The butler did not bother to look up as he conveyed the message, "Mr. Shen said that Ms. Jian's presence has contaminated the environment of the manor, so please leave."
Jian Tong had not shown any trace of weaknesses ever since the incident happened. However, at that moment, she could no longer hold her strong stance and pretend to be valiant. Her shoulders trembled with fear as she felt she was beginning to crumble deep down.
Jian Tong closed her eyes. Her face was damp from the rain, making it hard to tell whether it was rain water or tears at the corners of her eyes. The butler looked at her with a straight face. Jian Tong then opened her eyes, raised her head and said to the butler, "Mr. Xia, no matter what you think, I didn't bribe those thugs to rape Xia Weimin. In any case, I can't stoically accept your hatred."
Although Jian Tong was exhausted, she had made herself clear word by word. She was an unyielding woman who was willing to give in for the time being.
The butler had finally reacted as he frowned and looked at Jian Tong with disgust. He scorned, "Weimin is my daughter. She is very obedient since young. She has never been to chaotic places like a nightclub before, but she was raped to death by a group of thugs there."
"Ms. Jian, we have checked her phone and found that she had called and texted you before the incident. The text message said, 'I have reached Yeshe Club. Where are you, Jian Tong?'"
The butler glared at Jian Tong and continued, "Ms. Jian, you've taken a person's life! There's no use to argue since she's already dead! Everyone knows that you're obsessed with Mr. Shen, but Mr. Shen only has his eyes on my daughter Weimin and he extremely loathed you. You are obviously jealous of Weimin because you can't get Mr. Shen's attention, so you decided to ruin her innocence. You're such a vicious person, Ms. Jian!"
Jian Tong was speechless. Xia Weimin was the daughter of Mr. Xia, the butler. She was Shen Xiujin's true love, while Jian Tong had been carrying a torch for Shen Xiujin. Therefore, Jian Tong had become the vicious prime suspect ever since Xia Weimin had died.
"Ms. Jian, please leave." The butler said, "By the way, Mr. Shen asked me to pass a message to you."
Jian Tong glanced at the butler.
"Mr. Shen asked why it wasn’t you who have died?"
Jian Tong could not help but tremble as she felt severe pain in her chest.
The butler turned away with his lips curled into a cold grin, which made him looked merciless and aloof.
Weimin had died because of Jian Tong. Therefore, he hated Jian Tong to his bones.
Jian Tong struggled to support her wobbly self. Just as she managed to stand up, her legs went numb and she fell and landed smack on the ground. She could not help but snort inwardly, “Why it wasn’t me who have died?”
It was indeed what she expected the man would have said. Jian Tong gave a mirthless grin and muttered, "My dear Weimin, just so you know that I’ve been condemned for your death."
Meanwhile, the man stared coldly at the figure in the rain from the second floor of the Shen family’s manor. He was dressed in a dark nightgown which was loosely fitted across his long and slender body. He stood barefoot as he fixed his gaze outside the window.
"Mr. Shen, I’ve delivered your message to Ms. Jian," the butler had driven Jian Tong away and stood quietly at the door of the master bedroom.
Shen Xiujin swirled the red wine glass in his hand and listened to the butler. Then he finally averted his gaze from Jian Tong and gave a string of orders indifferently, "Inform the Jian family that they have a decision to make. They have only one option, it’s either to keep Jian family or Jian Tong."
"Yes, sir."
"Secondly, inform University S to delete Jian Tong's profile. Inform the high school to change their records that Jian Tong was expelled because she had disciplinary issues. Her highest education level is middle school."
"Yes, sir."
"One last thing," Shen Xiujin said coldly, "Send her to prison."
The butler suddenly looked up in shock, "Mr. Shen?"
"She will be convicted with bribery and conspiracy to commit murder, and will be jailed for three years. What? Don’t you agree with me, Mr. Xia?" There was not enough evidence to convict Jian Tong, but Shen Xiujin was determined that at least three years of imprisonment was what she deserved.
"No, Mr. Shen, you've done the right thing... Thank you, Mr. Shen," the butler burst into tears and sobbed, "If it weren't for you, Mr. Shen, Jian Tong would not have been punished for all the crimes she committed. Without you, there’s nothing that I can do to Jian Tong since she’s a part of the Jian family. Thank you, Mr. Shen, thank you!"
Shen Xiujin turned around and stood before the french window, watching the figure leave and disappear around the corner. His eyes darkened as he clasped his wine glass, lifted his head, and gulped the wine.
"Mr. Xia, I taught Jian Tong a lesson not because Weimin is your daughter, but because she is my woman," Shen Xiujin drawled.
......
Jian Tong returned to the Jian family feeling exhausted.
However, she was not allowed to enter the property and had been politely driven away at the gate. The old butler who had served the Jian family for his entire life had acted according to Shen Xiujin's orders. End up she did not even get to meet her parents personally.
“Why are they so fearful of Shen Xiujin?” Jian Tong smirked and looked away. The iron gate had clearly defined her distance from the Jian family and everything that used to belong to her.
Jian Tong could not describe her feelings at that moment. As soon as she turned around, two policemen came up to her and stopped her. "Ms. Jian, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to rape Ms. Xia Weimin and caused her to die accidentally, now please come with us."
Jian Tong met Shen Xiujin before she was sent to prison. He had stood by the window peering down at her.
Jian Tong shook her head firmly and said, "I have never hurt Weimin."
Shen Xiujin strode towards Jian Tong slowly. Jian Tong silently assured herself to be brave, that she was innocent and she did not commit the crime.
She raised her head fearlessly and tried to remain unruffled, but her trembling shoulders revealed her nervousness. Little did she know that her reactions were completely captured by a pair of sharp eyes.
A trace of surprise flashed across Shen Xiujin's face as he thought, “Was she still trying to maintain her dignity?”
It seemed to make sense as she was Jian Tong, a woman who had always been arrogant and unyielding, and had never even felt disgraceful by his refusal of love.
Shen Xiujin cupped her chin in a flash.
"Ouch... It hurts!" Jian Tong burst into tears of pain as the fingers that held her chin felt like an iron clamp that was crushing her with full force.
However, the man did not show any sympathy as he increased his force and said, "Who would have thought that behind this beautiful face lies a devil?"
"I really didn’t harm Weimin!" Jian Tong bit her lip and her face turned pale with pain. "You can't just send me to jail without any evidence."
"You're wrong, I can do that," Shen Xiujin gave a cold smile and cruelly taunted her.
