Chapter 29
Zhan Mingyuan listened closely as Gu Xi recounted the events from the day before. The more he heard, the darker his expression grew.
"You're saying… this time, the conspiracy is aimed at both Uncle and my father?" he asked slowly, his tone grim.
"It appears that way," Gu Xi replied cautiously. "For now, my dad is safe. But my uncle's case is still pending, and my brother's in Beijing. I'm worried the people behind this might target him next in desperation."
"They have that kind of reach?" Zhan Mingyuan frowned, skeptical.
"You don't know them," Gu Xi said, anxiety creeping into her voice. "Let's call my brother. At the very least, we have to warn him."
"Alright." Zhan Mingyuan pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Wei Jinsong's number.
The call rang endlessly, but no one picked up.
"What could he be doing?" Zhan Mingyuan muttered. "They don't ban phones during his research work."
"Try the dorm phone?"
They tried the dormitory number too. Still no answer.
Both of their faces grew tense. Could something have already happened to Wei Jinsong? He was just a student—what kind of method could the enemy use to threaten someone like him?
Gu Xi scratched her head, troubled. In her previous life, her eldest brother had dropped out of school after her uncle fell from power—he never even finished his master's degree. This life had shifted course thanks to her rebirth, but clearly, he wasn't out of danger yet. She feared their enemies had other tricks up their sleeve.
Zhan Mingyuan tried again, switching to speakerphone. He and Gu Xi waited together, hearts pounding.
One call. No answer.
Two calls. No answer.
Three. Four. Five…
On the seventh attempt, just as they were about to give up hope, the line finally connected.
"Hello?" A hoarse male voice snapped, full of irritation. "Who the hell keeps calling?"
"I'm looking for Wei Jinsong," Zhan Mingyuan said carefully. "Is this his number?"
"You're looking for Wei Jinsong?" The voice paused, then gave a chilling, mocking laugh. "Don't bother. Just wait to collect his corpse."
"Hello?!" Zhan Mingyuan shouted, panic rising in his throat.
But the line went dead. A sharp click, followed by the cold, mechanical busy tone.
"What the hell is going on!" he cursed, quickly redialing. This time, the phone was switched off.
When he turned back toward Gu Xi to ask what they should do next, he was stunned by what he saw.
Gu Xi sat frozen, as if her soul had left her body. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, lips parted, her face bloodless.
"Xixi? What's wrong?" he called, stepping forward quickly.
She didn't respond. Her wide, misty eyes couldn't even focus. Her body trembled slightly as if gripped by an invisible force.
No... it can't be…
That voice.
She would never forget it. Even if that man turned to dust, she would still recognize him.
It was him.
The monster who had destroyed so many lives in her past life.
The one whose cruelty no punishment could erase.
Ji Feiyang.
Why was he answering her brother's phone?
She wasn't supposed to cross paths with him for another two years!
How had he already entered their lives?
How had her brother provoked him?
Her rebirth had changed fate… but this change was too abrupt. Too terrifying.
What had happened to Wei Jinsong in Beijing?