Chapter 27

A layer of mist had condensed on the window, and the outlines of withered branches were faintly visible. Winter scenery was always white and boundless.

Gu Shuge’s words were very straightforward. They did not seem to be merely comforting Shen Juan, but truly what she believed.

Shen Juan looked at them. Her right hand rested on the edge of the desk, her index finger curling slightly and sliding unconsciously. She was silent for a long time.

Gu Shuge held the quill and looked at her side profile. She took a deep breath, dipped the quill into the ink, and continued writing: “What are you thinking about?”

The way Shen Juan looked when she did not speak made Gu Shuge very worried. She was afraid Shen Juan would bottle things up inside, blame herself, and punish herself.

After writing, she put the pen down. The quill touched the desk with a faint sound, making Shen Juan turn her head and look over. Seeing her question, Shen Juan answered, “I’m thinking about what things would be like now if you hadn’t left four years ago.”

Gu Shuge fell into a daze.

If she had not left four years ago, what would things be like now?

That day, she had overheard Shen Juan and her brother’s conversation, then stood Shen Juan up and failed to attend the dinner with her.

At that time, she had probably been at the tail end of adolescence, and her personality had been a bailiantales.com little sharper than it was now. But no matter how sharp she was, she still knew that if she and her brother had fallen in love with the same person, and that person had chosen her brother, then no matter what, her own feelings could not be spoken aloud.

That night, Shen Juan returned home and found that Gu Shuge was already there, then entered her room. Gu Shuge lay on the bed, covering her face with the quilt, not knowing how to face her.

“You…” Shen Juan’s tone was somewhat hesitant.

But the moment Gu Shuge heard her voice, she could not stop her tears.

“If you have something on your mind, say it. We’ll think of a way together.” Shen Juan tugged lightly at her quilt.

Gu Shuge pressed down on the quilt corners tightly, refusing to let her pull it open. She said, “It’s nothing. Let me stay quiet for a while.”

Shen Juan did not leave, nor did she make a sound. After about half an hour, it was so quiet that Gu Shuge thought Shen Juan had already left without a sound. Being muffled under the quilt made it hard to breathe, and besides, she had cried until her nose was stuffed.

So she lifted the quilt and came out.

The moment she came out, she saw Shen Juan sitting by the bed. She was startled and stared at her blankly, at a loss.

Thinking back on it now, Shen Juan had also been somewhat helpless then. Her eyes were full of nervousness, and her voice was very gentle, as if afraid of frightening Gu Shuge. She asked her, “What’s wrong? Is there something you can’t tell Sister?”

At that time, Gu Shuge looked at her and began shedding tears, unable to say a single word. Shen Juan must have Read on BaiLianTales been frightened, because afterward, she no longer asked what had happened. She only helped wipe Gu Shuge’s tears. Then, after Gu Shuge cried herself tired, Shen Juan sat by the bed and accompanied her until she fell asleep.

Back then, Gu Shuge had thought that this was probably the last time. At the very least, she had to avoid suspicion. Thinking that, tears flooded her eyes again, and she asked, “Why?”

Shen Juan did not answer her. She merely quietly wiped away her tears. That was only natural. Shen Juan had no idea what she was asking, so how could she answer?

Gu Shuge looked at Shen Juan’s face and thought, If I were eighteen now and in that situation, would I handle it more decently? She thought that most likely, she would not.

Because she had so wholeheartedly imagined a future with Shen Juan after they got together. She had firmly believed that their feelings were mutual. Who knew how many plans she had made, how many arrangements she had imagined? Every single one had Shen Juan in it.

In the days afterward, she often thought of those plans she had once made: where they would travel, whether they should adopt a child, where they would spend their old age. Shen Juan liked warm weather. Shen Juan liked quiet environments. Shen Juan liked looking at the sea. Shen Juan liked spring the most. Those plans contained countless versions of Shen Juan, and when Gu Shuge had once imagined them, they had been so sweet.

But strangely, when she thought of them during those days, there was no sweetness anymore. What replaced it was shame and inferiority.

One moment, she felt ashamed of why she had developed those kinds of feelings for the sister who had taken care of her. The next moment, she felt inferior because of her own childishness. If Shen Juan had seen those plans, even if she said nothing aloud, she would probably have laughed in her heart.

Gu Shuge had also been very jealous of her brother. She had thought, Why, when they all grew up together, was the one Shen Juan chose not her?

She avoided Shen Juan for many days in a row, and then she discovered that perhaps leaving was the only road she could take. If she did not leave and continued staying under the same roof as Shen Juan and her brother, she would only become more and more jealous of her brother, more and more twisted.

She did not want to become extreme and obsessive. Even if Shen Juan no [unauthorized copy]longer existed in her future, she still did not want to become someone Shen Juan hated.

So she could only leave.

She applied to a university abroad, completed all the procedures, and only then told Shen Juan and her brother. Her brother was very surprised and asked her why, but Shen Juan only asked her one thing: “When will you come back?”

Even now, Gu Shuge could still recall Shen Juan’s gaze at that time. She had stared fixedly at her, as if she could only contain Gu Shuge alone in her eyes. Her stare made Gu Shuge’s heart tremble, and then she asked her when she would come back.

How had Gu Shuge answered?

She had smiled and said, “I’ll come back after I finish school. Sister, you and my brother have to take good care of yourselves.”

So she really had no second path to take. If she had not left, things would probably be even worse now.

In truth, she had thought about it. She had thought that after she came back, she would first accompany Shen Juan in the identity of a younger sister, wait until Shen Juan accepted her existence again, and then confess to her. Or perhaps she would ask whether Shen Juan could allow her to take her brother’s place and look after her.

But now, who could she look after?

She was even a ghost in such a muddled way, not knowing who had harmed her, unable to help with anything. She was probably the most useless ghost there was.

Now, she could only continue dragging Shen Juan down.

Shen Juan waited for a while, but no new words appeared on the white paper. Gu Shuge had not answered her question. Shen Juan was silent for a moment, then changed the subject and brought up the case. “I keep feeling that this case carries very strong personal emotions. Have you ever offended anyone?”

Gu Shuge came back from her memories. Without needing to think much, she lowered the pen and wrote, “No.”

She had gone abroad to relax and study. Also… to forget her feelings for Shen Juan. Where would she have found the energy to make enemies with anyone? The people around her all knew her background and would not make trouble for her either. So these four years had been very peaceful. She had not even argued with anyone, let alone offended someone.

Seeing how certain she was as she wrote, Shen Juan naturally did not doubt her. She spoke about her own situation. “I’ve definitely offended quite a few people, but they’re all matters in the business world.”

Gu Shuge understood what she meant. Businesspeople did not act without profit. Her death would cause turmoil inside Gu Group, but if a rival had done it, then the later theft of her remains did not make sense.

This case hid confusing, complicated truths everywhere.

There was no way the two of them could figure it out just by deducing at home. Shen Juan had Gu Shuge describe the location where she had nearly been hit by the flowerpot, as well as the appearance of that girl. Then she contacted the president of the subsidiary stationed in Britain, found an excuse, and had him find a reliable private detective to investigate that location and that girl. She also reminded him not to alert the target.

The person in charge of the subsidiary was British, so it would be much more convenient for him to handle this.

Then she brought Gu Shuge out, found Liu Guohua, and relayed to him the things she had learned from Gu Shuge.

After Liu Guohua heard everything, he looked somewhat uncertain and alarmed.

Shen Juan did not disturb his thinking. Holding her tea, she thought about other matters.

Gu Shuge sat beside Shen Juan, watching Liu Guohua’s expression change several times before he finally said, “This matter isn’t right.”

“How so?” Shen Juan asked.

Liu Guohua looked somewhat doubtful and puzzled. He said, “Look, although the flowerpot incident and the car accident have a common feature—they could both be disguised as accidents—by comparison, the earlier incident was much cruder. The flaws that girl exposed were also very casual. There was completely no sense that it had been carefully calculated. But the car accident was meticulous from the very beginning, without a single flaw. As for the theft of the remains, there’s no need to even mention it. I’m afraid I’ll remember the three words ‘Whale-Fall Orchid’ for the rest of my life.”

Once he said this, Gu Shuge also felt that the gap between the two incidents was too great. The earlier one was like something done casually: if it succeeded, it succeeded; if it failed, then so be it. The later one, however, had been calculated step by step and linked together with painstaking care. It did not only seek the dead person’s life; it also sought to torment the living. It revealed shifting, sinister currents, and one could even feel the culprit’s hatred.

“They simply don’t look like they were done by the same person!” Liu Guohua concluded.

This case had become even more complicated.

“Could there be two groups of people who want Miss Gu’s life?” His voice lowered, sounding like he was talking to himself, his face full of thought.

Gu Shuge truly felt that she might be a fake Gu Shuge. She had dug through her memories and failed to find even one enemy, yet this private detective suspected there were two groups of people who wanted her life.

Shen Juan said, “Based on my understanding of Xiao Ge, she ​stolen content​has never offended anyone in ordinary life.”

Liu Guohua sighed. It would be better if she had offended someone. At least then there would be a direction for the investigation.

“Maybe she blocked someone’s path. Maybe she accidentally got hold of someone’s weakness. Or maybe it was simply because Miss Gu was superior in every way and displeased someone’s eyes… There are too many possibilities. Since the motive for murder can’t be determined, this case still has to return to the car accident.”

Like a puzzle, the car accident was the largest piece. Starting from it would provide more lines of thought.

Shen Juan had told him about the previous incident to provide him with a clue and broaden the case. But clearly, this clue had made the case even more complicated.

There had to be a connection between the two, because only one week had passed between them. It could not possibly be such a coincidence.

“If we find the connection between the two, the case will be solved,” Liu Guohua murmured to himself.

But how were they supposed to find it? He was at a loss.

Liu Guohua very wisely did not ask where his employer’s clue had come from. He did not imagine that Shen Juan had directly kept the victim’s soul by her side. He only assumed that wealthy families like theirs had some winding, hidden channels.

After Shen Juan finished meeting with him, she prepared to go to the company. Only after getting into the car did she realize that Gu Shuge was especially quiet, without any movement.

“Xiao Ge,” she called.

Gu Shuge stretched out a finger and tapped the back of her hand.

Seeing that she was there, Shen Juan felt reassured.

Because of that sentence, “If you hadn’t left four years ago, what would things be like now?” Gu Shuge felt rather uncomfortable and did not quite know how to get along with Shen Juan.

Shen Juan sensed her silence. After reaching the parking lot, she did not get out of the car right away. But she seemed to have fallen into some kind of restraint as well and grew silent with her.

The silent human and silent ghost created a silent parking lot.

Gu Shuge thought this could not continue. She shifted her attention to the case and then remembered that she was not thinking alone. There was an evil thought in her mind. Perhaps she herself had not noticed whom she had offended, but the evil thought had.

Gu Shuge felt she was rather clever and told Shen Juan this idea, while also explaining to her who the evil thought was.

After Shen Juan understood, she revealed an expression beyond words.