The Creator's Grace - Chapter 11

Once they reached the Chinese restaurant upstairs, Chi Yu made a point of ordering several dishes that required a long preparation time. She wanted to have a proper talk with Ran Jin and stretch out the time she could keep her there.

Chi Yu spoke bluntly with Ran Jin about a portion of what she had discovered through her investigations. Of course, she omitted the most crucial evidence from the surveillance video.

If her sister had died so suddenly and she had returned to the country without investigating anything or knowing anything at all, Ran Jin would surely become suspicious. But she couldn’t reveal everything, either; otherwise, she would never be able to draw information out of Ran Jin.

Chi Yu started with the topic of Lu Siqiong. After all, Lu Siqiong was the most important witness who had cleared Ran Jin of suspicion, yet Chi Yu had never really heard Ran Jin mention knowing such a police officer before.

“I’ve known Miss Lu for seven years,” Ran Jin said straightforwardly in the face of Chi Yu’s “curiosity.” “Even though we’ve been in the same city all these years, we weren’t close and didn’t have each other’s contact info, so we weren’t really in touch. Later, we reunited by chance, and that’s when we exchanged WeChats.”

“I see… so you knew her even before you met my sister?”

“Yes. As you know, before I came to the Chi family, I spent a long time wandering on the streets.” Ran Jin took a sip of lemon water. “At that time, I accidentally got into some trouble.”

“And Officer Lu helped you resolve it?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

Chi Yu had expected Ran Jin to avoid the subject of knowing Lu Siqiong, but she was surprisingly candid about it. Yet, on second thought, while she spoke readily, she blurred many of the details.

Chi Yu continued her questioning: “I heard that when Sister’s accident happened, she was the one who drove you to the live broadcast?”

“Yes,” Ran Jin said. “That day, her father had returned from their hometown and brought back some local specialties, so she came by specifically to give me some. When she heard I was going to the broadcast building, she happened to be heading that way to investigate a case, so we went together. Her dashcam footage has already been handed over to the police. The reasons why I was in her car can be heard perfectly clearly.”

By saying this, Ran Jin made it clear she had already picked up on Chi Yu’s probing.

Chi Yu didn’t back down either: “Sister Ran, you know my sister’s personality. How could she possibly commit suicide? Only last month, she was telling me she was undergoing professional training because she planned to conquer Mount Everest before she turned forty. When our parents passed away, she was only as old as I am now, yet she gave up her own future to take care of me and revive the then-failing Chi family. You’ve been in a relationship with her for so many years; you know how much strength she had. She wouldn’t commit suicide. Moreover, she left without leaving a single word for me… I don’t know what you think, Sister Ran, but to me, this is an impossible story.”

Ran Jin nodded, appearing to agree with Chi Yu: “It was hard for me to believe at first, too. When I was listed as a suspect, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But now the police have reached a conclusion; we have no choice but to believe it.”

At her lukewarm and ambiguous attitude, a nameless fire flared up in Chi Yu’s heart.

Chi Yu patiently continued to maneuver with Ran Jin, but no matter how she set the bait, Ran Jin simply circled around the traps without falling for them. Even when she did step into one, she possessed a composure that suggested she was simply resting comfortably inside, unhurt.

Chi Yu was in a passive position and knew that if this continued, she wouldn’t be able to dig out the answers she wanted.

“So, Sister Ran, do you really think Sister committed suicide?” Chi Yu lowered her gaze, her expressive eyes turning red in an instant. “I always thought Sister and I told each other everything, that I was incredibly important to her… I never expected she would leave like this without leaving a single word for me.”

Seeing her eyes redden and hearing her voice tighten, Ran Jin, who had been leaning against the back of her chair, involuntarily leaned forward.

There was no need for acting; most of what Chi Yu was saying was a true reflection of her feelings—a piercing pain. She looked up, and two lines of tears rolled down naturally. Ran Jin immediately took a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her.

After Chi Yu said “thank you” and took the tissue, Ran Jin paused in thought for a moment before speaking: “Even between people who tell each other everything, there are secrets. Her not leaving a message for you doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t want to.”

Chi Yu squeezed the tissue in her hand but didn’t use it. Tears pooled in her eyes. The strong girl now possessed a fragile aura, making her presence feel even more complex to Ran Jin.

Chi Yu asked her: “Sister Ran, did Sister say anything to you before she passed away?”

Ran Jin looked away from Chi Yu’s face and down at her water glass. She let out a somewhat helpless laugh. “She didn’t even leave a word for you, let alone for me. You know, I had already broken up with her before then.”

“Did Sister initiate the breakup?”

“No.” To Chi Yu’s surprise, Ran Jin said, “I did.”

“Sister must have done something to wrong you.” Chi Yu didn’t forget the purpose of this meal and continued to dig for any possible clues.

Unfortunately, the clear-headed Ran Jin still gave her no opening, responding with adult composure and thoroughness: “Matters of the heart can’t be explained in just a few words. Although I initiated the breakup, it was a mutual decision between your sister and me.”

No wonder they couldn’t list her as a suspect.

Chi Yu truly witnessed Ran Jin’s “airtight” defense. In the past, when Ran Jin was her “sister-in-law,” the two of them were on the same side, and Chi Yu could get any truth she wanted from her. But it was different now. Chi Yu knew they were enemies now, even if the knives hadn’t been fully drawn yet.

Since she couldn’t break through Ran Jin’s solid defense while she was sober, Chi Yu decided to get her to drink. She knew Ran Jin had a very low tolerance for alcohol; just two shallow pours in a Burgundy glass were enough to make her dazed. If she drank spirits or Chinese liquor, she would likely black out immediately.

Four years ago, when Chi Yu received her offer from her dream university, her sister was overjoyed and hosted a party at home for many friends and relatives. Chi Yu had just turned of age, and it was the first time her sister allowed her to touch alcohol. In truth, she had already tried it secretly with a group of friends before, always terrified that her sister would smell the alcohol on her when she got home. Now that she could drink openly, the feeling was completely different.

Inevitably, drinking too much led to some loss of inhibition. Coupled with the fact that her classmates were all about to go their separate ways, the sorrow of parting drove these soon-to-be adults to want to experience the feeling of drinking until they were drunk.

Halfway through the party that night, Chi Li’s secretary rushed in to tell her there was an emergency board meeting. She had no choice but to go. After apologizing to her sister, she asked Ran Jin to stay behind and clean up the mess in her stead.

Once Chi Li left, the business partners she had invited also departed one by one. Only Chi Yu’s classmates and her ever-compliant sister-in-law remained. Chi Yu became even more reckless, bringing out a vast array of different liquors to play Truth or Dare with Qi Tong and the others. Their rule was that if a dare was too risky, one could decline by drinking instead. However, the amount to be drunk was determined by everyone taking turns pouring before the round started. Some poured only a tiny bit, fearing they would be the one caught, while others poured massive amounts, confident they wouldn’t be the unlucky ones.

Ran Jin was originally watching from the side, reminding Chi Yu not to drink too much. Then, for some reason, someone insisted on dragging Ran Jin into the game. Ran Jin was several years older than them and had been sitting there in the role of a guardian. Surprised by the invitation, she shook her head and declined.

The classmates began to jeer. Chi Yu, already walking as if she were on a fault line during an earthquake, stepped up with her glass to rescue Ran Jin: “Don’t bother my sister-in-law, she really doesn’t like your children’s games.”

“Children’s games? You’re the one who started it!”

“Exactly! Come on, hurry up and drink the wine in your hand.”

“Can’t you see? Chi Yu is trying to fake being drunk. She’ll ‘accidentally’ spill the wine the moment she loses her balance so she can escape.”

Chi Yu shamelessly tried to wriggle out: “I’ve really had too much, I can’t drink anymore. Can I just drink half of this glass?”

Qi Tong led the jeering: “You think that’s okay?! Look how much you made me drink in the last round! Drink up, or your sisters will look down on you!”

Chi Yu knew she couldn’t get out of it; she was just acting coy. If she couldn’t push it away, she would just do it; she wasn’t that drunk yet. To her surprise, Ran Jin took the glass from her hand and drained it in one gulp.

Everyone present, including Chi Yu, stared at Ran Jin. The drunken revelry fell silent instantly. Ran Jin frowned as she forced the alcohol down. After a moment, she spoke in her usual strict guardian tone: “Xiao Yu can’t drink anymore, or her sister will be angry. You guys keep playing; I’ll drink for her.”

Everyone there was seventeen or eighteen, and half of them had never even had a serious relationship. They were so stunned by Ran Jin’s “sister-in-law power” that they half-sobered up.

“Your sister is way too lucky! Where do you find a girlfriend that considerate!”

“I want a sister-in-law like that too!”

“Fine, no need to put lemon in my Margarita anymore.”

That night, Chi Yu drank quite a bit. She was dizzy, but thanks to the tolerance she had built up from years of secret drinking, her consciousness remained clear. Ran Jin, however, who had drunk that glass for her, soon turned bright red, and her responses when spoken to were several beats slower than usual. That was when Chi Yu realized that the sister-in-law who had just acted so bold couldn’t drink at all. Fearing she would continue to shield her from drinks—which would make it impossible for Chi Yu to explain things to her sister—Chi Yu withdrew from the game for the rest of the night. Ran Jin’s act of drinking for her was a crucial step in the process of Chi Yu fully accepting this outsider as “family.”

After all, it’s not that hard to be good to someone, but to sincerely care for that person’s relatives is not something that can be faked.

The warmth of that time had now become a weapon for Chi Yu to break through Ran Jin’s solid fortifications—an irony of the highest order.

Chi Yu was indeed very sad, and the moisture in her eyes showed no sign of receding. Her actions of saying how much she missed her sister and ordering two bottles of wine to ask Ran Jin to have a drink with her seemed perfectly natural.

Chi Yu wanted to get Ran Jin drunk to pry her tightly sealed mouth open. This was perhaps the most direct and efficient plan available at this stage.

The wine arrived. Ran Jin maintained a neutral expression throughout, neither refusing nor agreeing. Chi Yu had the waiter open the wine and drained two glasses herself. The alcohol burned down her throat and rushed to her head, but it actually made her more clear-headed, and she thought of more excuses to persuade Ran Jin to drink.

To her surprise, before Chi Yu even really started persuading, she simply looked at Ran Jin with her reddened eyes and said she missed her sister and wanted Ran Jin to keep her company. That was all it took; as if she were unable to resist, Ran Jin hesitated for only a very short moment before draining the wine beside her in one gulp.