Volume 1, Chapter 134: Parting Ways

Chu Fangfei pressed her hand against the door. "Ms. Hu, has it only been six years, and you have already forgotten Xuezhi?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. Stop bothering me, or I will call security to throw you out." Mrs. Dong’s eyes were filled with panic. She pushed hard, but she still couldn't shake Chu Fangfei’s hold.

A chair toppled over inside the room, followed by the crying of a young child. Mrs. Dong immediately ran back to pick up the child from the floor.

"Did you hurt yourself? Don't cry, darling, Mommy will blow on it for you." Mrs. Dong soothed the child in her arms with tenderness.

Watching this scene, Chu Fangfei felt a bitter knot in her throat. "Ms. Hu, in your heart, has someone already replaced Xuezhi?"

"What do you know?" Mrs. Dong said in a low voice.

She signaled for the nanny to take the child into another room. Only after the door closed did she speak again: "You know nothing. You have no idea how deep the shadows cast by that incident are for us."

She clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly as if she were desperately trying to control her emotions.

Chi Xingwan asked, "Ms. Hu, the shadows you speak of—are they about Dong Xuezhi’s death, or the cause of her death?"

Mrs. Dong froze. "Is there a difference? She is already dead."

"There is a difference. A huge one," Chi Xingwan said. "Are you willing to face your own conscience now?"

Mrs. Dong bit her lip, eventually lashing out viciously: "She did that kind of thing and shamed her father and me completely. Are we not allowed to complain? Are we supposed to stay frozen six years ago and never move on?"

Chu Fangfei was incredulous. "In your hearts, was Dong Xuezhi’s life not as important as your reputation? Why didn’t you choose to call the police back then? Perhaps..."

"Enough!" Mrs. Dong interrupted. "And then what? Let the whole world know why she died?"

Chu Fangfei was left speechless, finally saying only, "What you are doing is unfair to her."

Mrs. Dong laughed at herself. "Then tell me, what should we do? She is dead, but we are still alive. Are we supposed to live under the judgment of others for the rest of our lives? The first thing everyone says when they see us is that they raised a daughter like that."

Chu Fangfei wanted to argue further, but Chi Xingwan raised a hand to stop her.

"Since Ms. Hu has already decided that Dong Xuezhi was at fault, there is no need to continue. We did not come here today to clear Dong Xuezhi’s name."

Chu Fangfei fell silent. Mrs. Dong asked, "Then why did you come?"

Chi Xingwan replied, "Ms. Hu, I wonder if you have heard of the ghost legends at Yanda High School?"

"I know them, but those are just things the students make up. You can't take them seriously. How could there possibly be ghosts in this world?"

Chi Xingwan continued, "Then are you aware that there have been some unusual occurrences at Yanda High School recently? Dong Xuezhi has been appearing in her former teacher’s dreams, crying out for justice."

Mrs. Dong gasped, instinctively covering her mouth with her hand. Her body trembled like a leaf in the wind; she could no longer stand and hurriedly sat down on the sofa.

"It seems she has visited you as well?" Chi Xingwan probed.

Tears streamed down Mrs. Dong’s face. "It’s been so many years. Why won’t she find peace? Why does she have to come back? Why won’t she just let us be?"

"When did this happen?"

Mrs. Dong choked out, "About half a month ago."

Chu Fangfei was on the verge of tears herself. She said in a muffled voice, "She wanted to seek your help, but you didn’t believe her, so she had no choice but to ask her former teacher for help."

"I..." Mrs. Dong sat there blankly, at a loss.

"And then? Has she come back again?"

Mrs. Dong shook her head stiffly. "Nothing other than the dreams."

Chi Xingwan patted Chu Fangfei on the shoulder. "Let’s go. There are no more clues here."

After walking out of the residential complex, Chu Fangfei still wore a worried expression. Chi Xingwan said, "Next, let’s find her boyfriend."

Tim said impatiently, "Chasing one lead after another—is there no end to this? At this rate, when will we ever solve the problem?"

Chi Xingwan said coldly, "If you don’t agree with our methods, then perhaps we should split up."

Tim thought for a moment. Mr. Smith had sent them to work with Chi Xingwan to undermine the Chinese spiritualists. If they were the ones to find the female ghost named Dong Xuezhi first and eliminate her, wouldn't that mean they had outperformed the Chinese spiritualists?

"Fine. I’ll let you see our strength. Don’t go crying when you lose," Tim said confidently.

Chi Xingwan sighed. She wanted to say that there was no point in comparing, but looking at Tim, she felt it was a waste of breath to argue with him.

Just as the two sides were about to part ways, Michelle suddenly said, "Tim, Maria, I’m sorry, but I want to work with Consultant Chi."

Tim’s expression turned darker than the bottom of a pot. "Michelle, do you even remember that you are a spiritualist from the Secret State?"

Michelle said nervously, "Of course I do, but I still want to follow Consultant Chi."

Tim was about to explode, but Maria quickly held him back. "Tim, let Michelle go with them. After all, this is an exchange mission. Let Michelle keep a close eye on the Chinese spiritualists' next moves for us."

Tim finally agreed, though he still didn't give Michelle a pleasant look. He gave a heavy huff and pulled Maria away.

Watching their retreating figures, Michelle realized she hadn't asked for Chi Xingwan and Chu Fangfei’s opinion. "The two of you, I wonder if I might join you?"

Chi Xingwan glanced at Chu Fangfei, and seeing that she had no objections, said, "You may."

Michelle let out a sigh of relief, a sight that made even Chu Fangfei feel a pang of sympathy.

She stepped forward and hooked her arm through Michelle’s. "I heard you and Tim are engaged. Are you comfortable with him going off alone with Maria?"

She gave the warning in a subtle way, but Michelle understood immediately.

Her eyes dimmed, and she said in a low voice, "They were childhood sweethearts; I am the one who came later. If it weren't for my Grade A status, a commoner like me would never have had the chance to meet them, let alone become Tim's fiancée."

"But do you like him?" Chu Fangfei asked.

Michelle blinked a few times before finally saying, "I only know that marrying into nobility is the best choice. If I want to make a name for myself in the spiritual world of the Secret State, I need the support of the nobility."

Chu Fangfei stopped asking, only lamenting, "It’s a good thing we don’t have nobility in China."

Michelle replied softly, "Yes, that is quite nice."

Chi Xingwan interrupted their conversation. "I’ve obtained the information on Dong Xuezhi’s boyfriend. Let’s go."

The three of them got into the car. Chi Xingwan prepared them, saying, "Don’t get your hopes up too high. It is very likely that there will be no clues there either."

"Why?" Chu Fangfei asked.

Chi Xingwan sent the information to Chu Fangfei, who immediately opened it to take a look.

After a long while, she said, "So, he is already married."