Hear this life

The call was from Huang Yuanshan's apprentice Tan Guiwang.

"Thank God, we finally found you. How are you recovering? Everyone is thinking about you. Sister Huang said you are recovering in a private hospital and didn't want us to disturb you."

Wen Tingli said hurriedly: "I'm almost well now."

Tan Guiwang paused suspiciously, "Can you come to the company this afternoon? Boss Liu is anxious to see you. The crew has suffered heavy losses, and the company is in chaos."

Wen Tingli felt something was wrong, so she hung up the phone and immediately called Huang Yuanshan. However, the Huang family's maid said that Huang Yuanshan had not returned home yet. She then made several calls to other places, but still could not find Huang Yuanshan.

Wen Tingli rushed to the company with a nervous mood. As soon as she went upstairs, she felt that the atmosphere was not right. Several veterans looked miserable, and Huang Yuanshan was pacing back and forth anxiously in the corridor.

Turning around and seeing Wen Tingli, Huang Yuanshan hurriedly pulled her aside.

"Why are you here? Have you recovered from your injury?"

Wen Tingli pointed in the direction of the office: "He said that Boss Liu wanted to see me urgently."

Huang Yuanshan's face changed slightly: "Ignore him, I just had a big fight with him, let's go somewhere else and talk for a while."

But then I heard Boss Liu say in his office in an imperative tone: "Is Miss Wen here? Please ask her to come in immediately."

Wen Tingli and Huang Yuanshan exchanged glances, and Huang Yuanshan was about to take Wen Tingli away regardless. Manager Cheng stopped them: "Can you hide from her today or tomorrow? Besides, how long can you protect Miss Wen by yourself? This is a matter of life and death for the company, don't be so willful!"

Wen Tingli had a premonition in her heart, and smiled at Huang Yuanshan and said, "Sister Huang, don't worry, I can handle it."

She walked into the office alone and saw Liu Menglin sitting behind a big table smoking a cigar. She was secretly shocked. After not seeing him for a few days, Boss Liu seemed to have aged five years.

Liu Menglin first glanced at Wen Tingli's face, and when he saw that her appearance was intact, he seemed to be secretly relieved. "Miss Wen, please sit down."

Wen Tingli smiled and nodded, then she heard Boss Liu say, "The police station still hasn't found any clues about this fire. The murderer is very experienced and didn't leave any suspicious clues when he committed the crime. Now everyone thinks that the key to solving the case lies with you. Miss Wen, think carefully, have you offended anyone recently?"

"Has the police never questioned Deng Tianxing?"

In her opinion, Luo Shuhong and Deng Tianxing were clearly major suspects. First, Luo Shuhong had spied on her many times before the incident. Second, she and Deng Tianxing were very familiar with the internal environment of the studio. Third, Deng Tianxing's unemployment was indirectly due to her, so it was not surprising that Deng Tianxing held a grudge against her. As long as Deng Tianxing, the mastermind, was found, Luo Shuhong would not be able to escape.

Boss Liu waved his hand and said, "Deng Tianxing had been gambling at Club 181 the night of the accident. Everyone in the casino that night can testify to this. He was also in the casino almost every day for half a month before the fire. Now the police have ruled out the possibility that he committed the crime. Think about whether there are other suspicious persons."

"Doesn't he have any accomplices?" Wen Tingli was about to blurt out Luo Shuhong's name, but she held her words back. She was still waiting for the results of Li Chengying's investigation. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, it would not be appropriate to point the finger at Luo Shuhong. This incident had caused such a big stir, it would be bad if Qiu Dapeng or Deng Tianxing directly killed him to silence him.

She said in a deep voice, "There is another suspicious person, that is Qiu Dapeng from the White Dragon Gang. He has had a grudge against my family for a long time, and my father was killed by him. Has the police station carefully checked his whereabouts in the past few days?"

"White Dragon Gang?" Liu Menglin showed an incredible expression. "Who dares to provoke this gang of hooligans? Xiao Wen, no matter what, the police have basically confirmed that the fire was aimed at you. I, Liu, just suffered an unexpected disaster. Now the studio has been burned to ashes. The loss of the site and machinery alone is as high as nearly 100,000 yuan. What's more annoying is that all the productions have to be stopped now. The loss in this area is immeasurable. Tell me, Miss Wen, do you have any ideas?"

As he spoke, Liu Menglin's shrewd eyes were fixed on Wen Tingli's face.

Wen Tingli said calmly: "The most urgent task is of course to find the arsonist first. Whether it is paying compensation or going to jail, there will always be a perpetrator for the wrong."

"What if the murderer is never caught?" Liu Menglin sneered. "I'm sure Miss Wen has heard about the efficiency of the police station in handling cases. Not to mention that this case may not be able to find a clue, even if the murderer is caught by chance, can you guarantee that he can pay the compensation? Who will be the victim? Who will be the creditor? In the end, will the company have to bear the loss?"

He changed the subject: "I, Liu Menglin, have never been an unreasonable person, but it is unreasonable for the company to suffer because of the personal grudges between employees and outsiders."

Wen Tingli thought to herself: Now comes the main topic.

As expected, Boss Liu said, "It stands to reason that a boss shouldn't make things difficult for a young girl, but I'm sure you've heard that the company has not been doing well in recent years. We were hoping that "Beauty of the South" would be a great turnaround, but this happened. If we don't find someone to remedy the situation, the company will soon close down. Miss Wen, can you bear to let so many old employees lose their jobs because of your personal grudge?"

At this point, Boss Liu estimated that the atmosphere had almost brewed, and he sighed hypocritically: "Forget it, don't be too anxious. Come, take a look at this first."

Wen Tingli calmed down and saw that it was a contract.

"Fortunately, the filming of 'Southern Beauty' has been completed. The editing department is busy working overtime and the film will be finished within half a month at the earliest. I am trying to contact various theaters to release the film. If the film is a hit, the company will be saved. If it loses money again, it will be completely hopeless. In any case, once the film is released, Miss Wen will officially debut in our company (note). Regarding the losses caused by the fire, I will not make it difficult for you. You can sign a five-year contract with the company first. In the future, whether you are filming a movie or taking an advertisement, your salary will be distributed by the company. In a few years, this loss will be made up."

Wen Tingli knew clearly in her mind that the last sentence was the real reason why Boss Liu called her here today.

When she had dealt with lawyer Bao Yaming earlier, she had learned how to read the clauses. This time she saw something shocking. According to the contract, her film remuneration would be taken almost entirely by the company, and she would only have a fixed monthly salary. Even for commercials in the future, she would only get 10% of the remuneration, and the remaining 90% would have to be paid to the company.

If she really signed this contract, she would be completely sold to Golden Pictures as a slave!

The key is to sell it for five years.

Liu Menglin brushed off the cigarette ash on his fingertips and said slowly, "It's really inhumane to ask a little girl to pay so much compensation. The company has suffered a little loss, so we will find a way to borrow money from here and there to help you. From now on, just focus on filming, and leave the task of finding the murderer to the police station."

Wen Tingli smiled and said, "May I ask Boss Liu, what if I don't sign this contract?"

Boss Liu remained calm: "Then, the losses from the fire on the set, the costs of stopping production on Sands of Time and other films...all have to be borne by Miss Wen. This morning I asked the accounting department to calculate it, and the conservative estimate is 200,000 yuan. If Miss Wen can come up with such a huge sum of money within half a month, then naturally there is no need to sign this contract. But if not, then you can't do whatever you want. This is my lawyer's business card, you can go to the law firm in person and ask to see if I, Liu Menglin, am bluffing you."

When Wen Tingli came out of the company, she felt both funny and angry.

Liu Menglin really treated her as a child. Only a fool would believe his words. After all, she was also a victim in the whole thing. As long as the murderer was caught, even if Boss Liu hired all the lawyers in Shanghai, he would not be able to blame the loss on her.

Yes, the top priority is to find the murderer as soon as possible.

She immediately rushed to the French Concession Police Station.

The policemen's explanations were exactly the same as Boss Liu's, except that when mentioning Deng Tianxing, one policeman said, "This guy owed a lot of gambling debts a while ago, and recently I don't know where he got the money from, but he's back to gambling again."

Wen Tingli hurriedly asked the man, "Have you checked where Deng Tianxing got this capital? Who has he been in contact with recently?"

The policeman immediately got angry and said, "Go away. We are police officers discussing the case, how can you, a little girl, interrupt us?"

Just like that, Wen Tingli was kicked out of the police station, but she was not discouraged. She found a telephone office on the roadside and called Huang Yuanshan.

Huang Yuanshan was looking for her everywhere in a hurry: "Where have you been? You must not sign that contract, it is a contract to sell your body - what? Luo Shuhong was instigated by Deng Tianxing to set the fire? What? She might have poisoned you?"

Wen Tingli calmly stated her inference. Deep down in her heart, she did not believe that Luo Shuhong was the murderer. First, Luo Shuhong was not a bad person by nature, and he would not set fire to harm people just because of such a thing. Second, Luo Shuhong left too many flaws during that period of time. Even when he occasionally made a phone call on the set, he often showed some panic. The arsonist was obviously a very experienced person.

Could it be that Deng Tianxing has some evidence against Luo Shuhong?
After hearing Wen Tingli's conclusion, Huang Yuanshan was stunned: "Impossible, Luo Shuhong left with me that day in my car, and she and I were in the restaurant ordering food when your place was on fire."

Wen Tingli was stunned. This was too much of a coincidence. Deng Tianxing and Luo Shuhong both had evidence of their alibis on the day of the accident. She had seen Deng Tianxing's methods before. They were so despicable that they were not worth mentioning. This time, there must be a master behind the scenes directing them.

While thinking, Wen Tingli looked up at the Dayuan Teahouse across the street. This was a teahouse affiliated with the White Dragon Gang. On weekdays, people from the White Dragon Gang could often be seen here drinking tea and discussing matters. It was exactly ten o'clock in the morning, and several men in silver-white coats could be vaguely seen in the window on the second floor.

He had a grudge against her, was experienced, and could offer a large sum of money to bribe Deng Tianxing - originally she had only five points of suspicion, but now she could almost conclude that Qiu Dapeng was the mastermind behind it.

She hurried back home, and when she opened the door, she accidentally threw the key out because she was thinking about something, and it happened to hit the door of Mrs. Liu's house across the street.

She went to pick up the key and accidentally found a pile of newspapers stuffed in the box at the door of Liu's house. When she entered the house, Wen Tingli asked Zhou Sao in confusion: "Mrs. Liu and the others haven't come back yet?"

"No, I haven't been able to send the thank-you gift you asked me to give last time. Isn't that strange? Even if he went to Hong Kong to visit relatives, he should have returned after such a long time. Could something have happened to him?"

Wen Tingli's heart moved: "Last time you said which bank Mrs. Liu worked for?"

“It’s called Taifeng Bank.

Wen Tingli ran to the chest of drawers without saying anything and picked up the thank-you gift. "I'll be out for a while."

We quickly found Taifeng Bank and went in to ask around, and found out that Mrs. Liu hadn't come to work for a long time.

"She called us out of the blue ten days ago, saying she was feeling unwell and asked us to help her with the resignation procedures...Mrs. Liu has always been reliable, and this is really unlike her style."

Wen Tingli quickly replied, "The neighbors are also puzzled. Mrs. Liu asked me to buy some things a few days ago, but I couldn't find her before I could give them to her. She spent a lot of money on these things, and I can't keep them in my hands forever. Can you please tell me her phone number in Hong Kong? I want to send the things back to her."

The manager did not answer, but just stared at Wen Tingli's face carefully, and suddenly an idea seemed to come to him.

"You are Miss Wen Tingli, right?! My sister and I went to watch that drama competition."

Wen Tingli had no choice but to say cheerfully, "Yes, yes, yes."

"My sister likes you so much, could you please sign an autograph for me?"

Wen Tingli wrote a lot of signatures without hesitation. As a result, everyone in the office became more talkative. A colleague who had the best relationship with Mrs. Liu took the initiative to copy her phone number. Wen Tingli thanked him again and again and went downstairs to find the telephone office to make the call.

Mrs. Liu panicked when she heard Tingli's voice.

"We have all fled to Hong Kong, why are you still hanging around? I know nothing!"

Wen Tingli said anxiously, "Mrs. Liu, please don't hang up! I just found out today that you suddenly resigned. Has anyone caused trouble for you? Can you tell me what happened?"

Mrs. Liu trembled on the other end: "This, this has nothing to do with you!"

"I know that people from the White Dragon Gang have come to you, right?"

Under Wen Tingli's repeated questioning, Mrs. Liu tremblingly told about her experience some time ago.

It was a weekend last month. Mrs. Liu and Mr. Liu went to the dance hall to dance as usual. Unexpectedly, as soon as they came out, several people rushed out from the side, put sacks on the couple and threw them into a car.

Mr. Liu was so frightened that he almost peed his pants on the spot, but Mrs. Liu was relatively calm. She just thought she had encountered a gang of thieves and stammered, "Here's the wallet. Take the money and let us go."

But the other party didn't want any money at all. They took them to a dark room.

Someone held an icy dagger to their necks.

"I will only ask all the questions once. If you dare to hesitate, I will send you to hell immediately. Last July, did Miss Wen who lived across from you rescue a man?"

"No..." As soon as she said this, the cold tip of the knife touched her throat. Mrs. Liu was so scared that she almost fainted. "I remember that there seemed to be such a strange thing last year. One night, I woke up and heard some very chaotic noises coming from the opposite side. It sounded like several people were carrying someone in. The footsteps were hurried and chaotic. I thought it was a thief. I was so scared that I didn't dare to move. Then I heard Miss Wen say: Keep your voice down, there is someone next door."

"You didn't open the door and take a look?"

"No, no, I was a little scared. Besides, they only stayed in the corridor for a short while before going into the house. There was no trace left in the corridor afterwards, so I thought I was just dreaming."

"Apart from Miss Wen's voice, can you tell whether the other people are male or female?" the other party asked sternly.

Mrs. Liu shook her head hurriedly.

"You can't see the other person's face or hear the other person's voice. What's the point of having eyes and ears? Just cut them off and feed them to the dogs!"

Mrs. Liu screamed miserably, "Please spare me! I really didn't hear anything! Afterwards, I paid close attention for a while and didn't see any strange people coming in and out of the Wen family. Miss Wen has a few very young girlfriends who often come to play with her. Maybe they were playing some games that night, so I didn't think much about it. I swear I really don't know anything, otherwise I would tell you everything!"

Her husband rushed to say, "I remember that last summer, I saw Miss Wen go into a drugstore to buy medicine. It was across the street. I saw her go in and buy nutritional cream and a large bag of gauze."

"gauze?"

"Yes, it's gauze. I was wondering, didn't her grandfather die in the hospital a long time ago? Who did she buy these things for? But my husband and I both have to go to work during the day. When we come home every night, we never hear any movement from the other side, nor do we see any strangers coming in and out. After a while, we just let it go."

The man at the top seemed to be furious. He slammed the table and said, "I knew it had something to do with this bitch!"

But the man calmed down immediately.

"You two families have been neighbors for such a long time, have you ever seen Miss Wen holding a gun?"

The couple shook their heads like rattles. The tip of the knife approached their throats again. Mr. Liu said miserably, "If you haven't seen it before, you haven't seen it before. Even if you kill us, you still haven't seen it before."

The other party said coldly: "After you leave, if you dare to leak even a word about what happened today-"

With a "bang", it seemed that a chandelier above their heads was hit by a gun. Along with the sound of glass and metal clattering, sharp fragments flew over and scratched their feet and calves. Mr. and Mrs. Liu screamed in fright.

Recalling this, Mrs. Liu still has lingering fears: "We were locked up for a whole day and night. After we came out, we didn't dare to ask who kidnapped us. We bought boat tickets overnight and hid in Hong Kong. I didn't expect that Miss Wen..."

She seemed a little guilty. "Normally, we should have warned you before we left, but we were too scared. Did they come to trouble you? Please forgive us for what happened at that time."

"I know, I understand." Wen Tingli said sympathetically.

On the way back, Wen Tingli's expression was unprecedentedly cold.

After that incident, Qiu Dapeng and his son almost disappeared from her life. Apart from occasionally reading one or two news reports about the White Dragon Gang in the newspaper, she knew nothing about their current situation.

Until a while ago, strange footsteps began to appear behind me...

All signs indicate that Qiu Dapeng had been secretly colluding with Deng Tianxing. Deng Tianxing must have threatened Luo Shuhong in some way to help investigate her, and when Luo Shuhong found the pistol she locked in her private cabinet, Deng Tianxing told Qiu Dapeng about it.

For Qiu Dapeng, this news was like a bombshell. In order to further confirm his suspicions, Qiu Dapeng simply had Mr. and Mrs. Liu kidnapped.

Then, there was a big fire that night.

At this point, the whole story is clear.

Qiu Dapeng would never let her go, Wen Tingli was very clear about this, just as she had been waiting for the opportunity to avenge her father over the past year.

Now that the venomous snake has taken the initiative, can she just sit there and wait for death? Obviously not, Wen Tingli calmly planned.

***
Qiu Dapeng leaned against a rattan chair with his eyes narrowed, calmly turning two heavy jade walnuts in his hands.

In front of him, several White Dragon Gang members responded with a gloating tone.

"The French Concession Police Station has received instructions from the gang and has stopped investigating further. Boss Liu of Golden Pictures saw that he couldn't find the murderer, so he simply put all the blame on Wen Tingli. Such a huge loss is enough to drive Wen Tingli half to death."

Qiu Dapeng said with a fake smile: "If we had burned her to death smoothly at the beginning, there wouldn't have been all these troubles later. If I can't even handle such a small matter properly, what can I say?"

Several people shuddered at the same time.

"The fire was set, and the set was completely blocked. Logically, Wen couldn't have escaped, but who would have thought she was so lucky! We still don't know how she escaped. Unfortunately, we didn't leave two spies at the scene that night because we were afraid of being seen."

Qiu Dapeng raised his hand to silence them, and asked expressionlessly, "When did Lu Shicheng return to Shanghai?"

"At the end of last month - wait, you suspected that it was Lu Shicheng who saved Wen Tingli that night?"

Qiu Dapeng did not comment: "Wen Tingli has not returned to the Wen family residence in the past few days. Could it be that she has been recuperating in the Lu Mansion these days?"

"It's hard to say. The Lu Mansion is as tight as an iron barrel. I tried many ways, but I couldn't get any information. If it was really Lu Shicheng who saved Wen Tingli that night, it wouldn't be surprising if he found a quiet place for her to recuperate."

Another person said, "Master Qiu, what should we do? We wanted to kill Wen Tingli as soon as possible to avenge the young master, but Lu Shicheng came back. It seems that the two of them are getting along again. It will be difficult for us to take action again in the future."

Qiu Dapeng slowly revealed a trace of smile: "It is human nature to put out fires. This doesn't prove anything. Maybe Lu Shicheng just happened to pass by that night. People have sympathy. They can't just watch Wen Tingli burn to death. Don't forget that he left for more than half a year. Even after returning to Shanghai, he never took the initiative to look for Wen Tingli. In my opinion, the novelty has long worn off."

After thinking about it, he was still a little worried, so he waved his hand and said, "Go, call Mr. Chen. I'll write a letter to Mr. Lu first. Mr. Lu and Lu Shicheng are uncle and nephew, so he knows best how to transfer Lu Shicheng out of Shanghai. If Lu Shicheng leaves as soon as he says he will, it proves that he doesn't care much about Wen Tingli's safety. We can take this opportunity to attack Wen Tingli again."

Soon someone invited Master Chen to come, and Qiu Dapeng sat there and dictated a letter.

He added, "Wen Tingli has escaped death, so she must be extremely wary now. We need to set up a trap to make her let down her guard... What she lacks most now is money, so just think about that. As for Liu Menglin, the boss of the gold company, find a way to put some more 'evidence' in front of him so that he will definitely hold on to Wen Tingli."

"Yes."

"By the way, we must not keep that kid named Deng alive. We must kill him as soon as possible and remember to do it cleanly."

Suddenly someone in the inner room shouted at the top of his voice: "Dad, Wen Tingli must be left alive! Don't let her die so easily!"

Qiu Dapeng stood up and walked quickly to the inner room. Although he had long accepted the fact that his son was paralyzed, a shadow would still pass across his face every time he saw his son unable to move.

He sat down beside his son's bed with a look of regret on his face.

"You don't have to worry about these things. Dad has his own ideas."

Qiu Lingyun grabbed his father's arm and said, "No, you must promise me to spare Wen Tingli's life. She has hurt me so badly. How can I get rid of the hatred in my heart if I don't torture her for a while?"

Qiu Dapeng reached back and grabbed the newspaper beside the bed. The cover of the newspaper was an advertisement for the Golden Pictures film "Southern Beauty" which would soon be shown in major cinemas.

At the top was a still photo of a girl, and it was none other than Wen Tingli.

"Don't think that Dad doesn't know what you're thinking. How many times have you looked at this photo? This little bitch hurt you so badly, and you're still thinking about her all day. Sparing her life? Will she continue to hurt you if you spare her life? Son, lust is like a knife hanging over your head!"

Qiu Lingyun's face turned green and red. "I think that instead of letting Wen Tingli die in confusion, why not let her die with a clear mind? She looks down on me, but I want her to be my slave. For someone like her, this is a hundred times more painful than killing her directly. Besides, since Dad wants to do it, why not just set up a bigger trap and let Wen Tingli kill Lu Shicheng by mistake? This way, her reputation, future, and lover will be ruined in her own hands. Isn't this more satisfying than shooting her?"

Qiu Dapeng's eyes lit up.

"If it really works, there will be no problem in regaining the trust of Gang Leader Cao. Last time, he suffered such a big loss at the hands of Lu Shicheng, and he has never been able to find a chance to make a comeback. Gang Leader Cao has always coveted the shipping and factories of the Lu family. If we can successfully kill Lu Shicheng with the help of Wen Tingli this time, Third Master Lu will be able to take charge of the Lu family again. By then, the White Dragon Gang will be able to officially board the Lu family's big ship, and no matter what business they want to do, there will be no way for them to do it."

Qiu Dapeng hesitated for a moment, smiled and shook his head: "No, Lu Shicheng has many elite soldiers and generals under his command, be careful not to lose more than you gain."

"In the end, Dad just didn't dare to touch Lu Shicheng. Don't forget, if it wasn't for saving him that night, your son would never have ended up like this. Old Master Lu is old, and Third Master Lu is of the same mind as us. Even if they find out in the future that we killed Lu Shicheng, what can we do?!"

Qiu Dapeng frowned and paced. Qiu Lingyun had been paralyzed in bed for half a year, full of anger and nowhere to vent, and couldn't wait to continue: "The Cao Gang's boss has a wide network of contacts. We can work with him to find a way, and there will always be a chance to take action! It's best to do it after Wen Tingli's "Southern Beauty" is released, so that she will fall from the clouds just after she tastes the taste of being a big star! Also, doesn't Lu Shicheng think he can call the wind and rain? I want him to die in the hands of a woman."

***
Wen Tingli quickly contacted Li Chengying.

After Li Chengying learned the whole story, she promised to come to Wen Tingli immediately. In response, Wen Tingli was indescribably grateful: "Sister Li, you are so kind."

"Don't you think about how many times you have helped us secretly?" The voice on the phone was always so kind. "Now that you are in trouble, we naturally can't just stand by and watch."

Then head nurse Liu interrupted with a smile on the other end of the phone: "Xiao Wen still thinks of himself as an outsider."

During the deployment process, Li Chengying accidentally mentioned that Lu Shicheng had wandered around and questioned the Wen family that night.

Wen Tingli didn't know how to explain to Li Chengying her current relationship with Lu Shicheng. Thinking of this incident, she knew that she must remind Lu Shicheng in time. If Qiu Dapeng was determined to avenge his son, then he would hate Lu Shicheng no less than he hated her.

She called Lu Mansion.

Manager Xu told Wen Tingli that due to some urgent matter in Nanyang, Master Cheng left overnight and would be back in a few days. The difference from the last time was that this time even Kuang Zhilin accompanied him to Nanyang.

"Didn't Master Cheng tell Miss Wen?"

Wen Tingli was stunned: "Excuse me, is there any way to contact Mr. Lu as soon as possible?"

"The only way is to send a telegram. Please write down this number."

After sending the telegram, there was no news from the Lu family. Fortunately, there was no movement from the White Dragon Gang for the time being. However, Wen Tingli knew that this was just a sign of impending storm. On the surface, she was actively preparing for the final exams at school, but in fact, she even wished she could sleep with one eye open at night.

In order to prevent the White Dragon Gang from making a secret move, she turned down all social activities.

On the day when the final exams ended, Wen Tingli saw a piece of news in the newspaper in the school library: an out-of-date star named Deng Tianxing came out of a tobacco shop and was hit by a passing car. He was so seriously injured that he died on the day he was sent to the hospital.

The nearby residents all testified that Deng Tianxing had suddenly run into the middle of the road on his own. The police also believed that there was nothing suspicious about the cause of Deng Tianxing's death. They only asked the driver to pay a small amount of money to Deng Tianxing's widowed mother and soon released him.

This kind of thing is not uncommon in red-light districts, and since Deng Tianxing has been quiet in his career for a long time, the news did not attract much attention.

Wen Tingli knew that this was a dangerous signal. After getting rid of the only witness, Qiu Dapeng would attack her next.

This means her chance has come.

Sure enough, on this day, someone suddenly came to the French Concession Police Station and took the initiative to provide a clue: a week before the incident, they saw Wen Tingli go to the Xincheng Company to buy two barrels of Mobil gasoline.

Those who said this were several shop assistants from the Xincheng Company. They could provide signed receipts of Wen Tingli's purchases. In addition, a rickshaw driver who lived on that street also strongly confirmed this incident.

"It was Miss Wen Tingli whom I picked up that day. She was wearing a hat and a scarf, and she looked very afraid of being recognized, but I recognized her as the little star at first sight. Yes, yes, yes, she has been in the newspapers a lot recently..."

The French Concession Police Station immediately called Wen Tingli for questioning.

After hearing what happened, Wen Tingli couldn't help but laugh: "First of all, why would I buy gasoline? Are you suspecting that I set myself on fire? Secondly, even if I wanted to set a fire, I wouldn't be stupid enough to let so many people see it. What's the difference between this and a murderer buying a knife before committing a murder? The French Concession Police Station even believed these nonsense?"

"You know better than anyone why you wanted to buy gasoline. Now there is not only one witness who identified you, but also many people nearby who can come forward to prove it. Could it be that all these people are framing you? Who has such a big heart?"

Wen Tingli sneered: "If the murderer could create such a big fire to murder me, what else can he not do? Why don't you check the relationship between Xincheng Foreign Company and the White Dragon Gang?"

The two policemen looked at each other guiltily and immediately changed the subject: "Speaking of this fire, Miss Wen, don't you find it strange? You kept saying that someone set the fire to murder you, but you were unharmed after the fire."

"That's because Mr. Lu Shicheng happened to arrive and rescue me when the fire broke out, otherwise I would have been buried in the sea of ​​fire."

"But you were safe and sound in the end, weren't you? The timing was just too good." One of the policemen scratched his head. "Ms. Wen, after this period of investigation, we have more or less learned a little about your relationship with Mr. Lu. You really want to reconcile with him, right? This fire has created a great opportunity for you."

Wen Tingli laughed instead of getting angry: "What do you want to say? There are obviously a hundred ways to fix it, but I chose the stupidest and most risky way? Don't you know that he and I were almost burned to death that night?!"

As they were talking, someone came in: "Boss Liu Menglin from Golden Pictures is here to bail out Miss Wen."

Half an hour later, Wen Tingli came out of the police station with Liu Menglin with a calm expression.

Liu Menglin's eyes were filled with excitement. "Don't worry, I'll get the company's lawyer to handle this right away. With the company backing you up, they can't sue you. Go back and have a good rest. Don't think about anything."

Wen Tingli knew very well in her heart that the Bailong Gang hiring someone to frame her was exactly what Liu Menglin wanted. After all, now he had more confidence to force her to sign the contract.

She couldn't help but frown. In fact, she didn't take Liu Menglin's "blackmail" seriously at first, even if she was told the truth, she was still one of the victims.

But now, the situation is getting worse. She has been unable to find evidence to prove that the fire was set by Qiu Dapeng, while the police station has gradually found relevant witnesses and material evidence to accuse her of arson. This is just the beginning. With Qiu Dapeng's methods, he will definitely throw more dirty water on her later.

If nothing unexpected happens, she will soon go from being a victim to a suspect. If Liu Menglin wants to take advantage of the fire, she may become the main person to pay compensation for the fire. If she insists on not admitting responsibility, she will have no choice but to sue.

Don't say she doesn't have that much money and time to spend with them. Even if she hired a lawyer to help her fight this lawsuit, what good would it do? With Liu Menglin's influence in the film industry, who knows how much unfavorable public opinion will emerge against her. Once the lawsuit is over, not only will she not be able to get any more film contracts, but even the school will be greatly affected.

She has not forgotten the agreement she made with the school when she first started filming: filming is allowed, but it must not affect the school's reputation, otherwise she will bear the consequences.

Well, there are only two options left: either sign a contract with the company to win the support of Liu Menglin and the company, so that at least she will no longer be fighting alone against the police station and Qiu Dapeng.

If you refuse to sign the contract, then you can only pay money to avoid disaster.

But where could she raise such a large sum of money?

Wen Tingli came back in the evening and told Li Chengying what happened during the day. Li Chengying proposed another plan: the police station was obviously in cahoots with Qiu Dapeng. Instead of looking for evidence to expose Qiu Dapeng's crimes, they might as well change the assassination into kidnapping.

They kidnapped Qiu Dapeng and forced him to pay the money to compensate for the fire damage.

But there are more variables in the kidnapping operation, which means that Li Chengying's people may expose themselves at any time, so Wen Tingli quickly rejected this plan.

Besides, once such a large sum of money passes through her hands, the White Dragon Gang and the police will immediately trace her back, and troubles will come one after another.

"I've figured it out. As long as Qiu Dapeng is alive, Xiao Taozi and I won't be able to live a peaceful life." Wen Tingli looked at him dimly. "Only by getting rid of him can we eliminate the trouble forever. Qian, I have another good idea."

At this point, her face lit up: "I can probably guess how Qiu Dapeng will set a trap for me, why don't we take advantage of it..."

***
With the unremitting efforts of Liu Menglin and a group of veterans of Golden Pictures, "Beauty of the South" is officially scheduled to be released at Golden Cinema and Enpaia Cinema on the sixth day of the first lunar month.

As the release date approaches, the police station begins to make trouble for Wen Tingli every day. In addition to the evidence mentioned above, some new "hard evidence" emerges, and there are more and more so-called "witnesses".

Even within Golden Pictures, someone wrote an anonymous letter to expose Wen Tingli. The letter stated: Before the incident, Wen Tingli often quietly went to the back door to hang out. The night of the accident was the last scene of "Southern Beauty". After the filming, everyone happily went to eat supper to celebrate the success, but Wen Tingli found an excuse to stay, so that when the accident happened, there were only her and Lao Lu on the set. The informant also stated that there were no suspicious people on the set that day, and it was reasonable to suspect that the fire was set by Wen Tingli in order to win the sympathy of Mr. Lu Xiao.

Faced with the frequent new situations, Liu Menglin tried his best to protect Wen Tingli, but also gave her an ultimatum: either pay 100,000 yuan within ten days to bear part of the company's losses, or sign a contract with the company, otherwise he would no longer protect her in the name of the company.

Huang Yuanshan ran to Liu Menglin's office in anger and argued: "Wen Tingli set the fire herself? You believe such nonsense at your age? What kind of ability is it for a big boss to bully a little girl all day long instead of trying to catch the real arsonist?"

Boss Liu slammed the table and said, "If you have the ability, why don't you catch the murderer and show him to me? Those are the evidences obtained by the police investigation, not fabricated by me, Liu Menglin! Even if Wen Tingli didn't set the fire herself, it's correct that the fire was caused by her, right? If she hadn't made a grudge with someone outside, why would the studio be burned to ashes? Now several films are on hold, and hundreds of employees in the company are waiting for my salary. As a boss, I'm about to be forced to jump off the building! Huang Yuanshan, stop talking nonsense, or you will pay for Wen Tingli's compensation?"

Without saying a word, Huang Yuanshan took out a check from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

"I also paid a lot of money from my own pocket for the films I invested in last year. I only have 20,000 yuan in my account now. I'll use it first! I'll find a way to help her with the rest. You withdraw the case immediately!"

Wen Tingli overheard this outside and was moved. She hurried in and stuffed the check back to Huang Yuanshan: "Sister Huang, this is my business, please take the money back."

Boss Liu simply kicked the two men out and refused to accept Huang Yuanshan's check afterwards.

The next morning, Wen Tingli received a call from a clerk named Chen from the French Concession Court, who claimed that the French Concession Public Trial Bureau had received a civil dispute involving her and asked her to prepare to go to court.

At this point, Wen Tingli had no choice but to "pretend to be embarrassed" and make preparations for both situations.

The first thing is to raise money “publicly”.

She first sent a pile of old clothes to a pawn shop to sell them, and at the same time notified the newspaper anonymously. Sure enough, the next day the newspaper published the news "Little star sells old clothes to raise money."

At the same time, she "openly" entrusted Mrs. Pan, Boss Xiang and others to help her take advertisements, of course, in her personal name.

But now that the year is coming to an end, almost all companies are preparing to close down. I asked many of them and they said there is no chance at all.

After a few days, people outside heard about Wen Tingli's urgent need to raise money. That morning, Gao Xiaowen called and said, "No, no, no, I'm not sending you money. I know you're still trying to figure it out. Two of my brother's friends want to shoot some New Year's products for their company to be published in the newspaper. You know one of them, and the other is also a very reliable old friend. Get ready, I'll drive over to pick you up right away."

When they arrived at Gao's house, Gao Tingxin was playing cards with several guests in the reception room. Meng Qiguang was sitting on the right side of the card table, and on the other side were two girls in gorgeous costumes.

Gao Tingxin introduced the two parties with great enthusiasm: "These are the two daughters of the Yan family, the candy king of Ningbo. Miss Yan and Miss Yan, you two should get to know each other. As for Mr. Meng, there is no need for me to introduce him any further, right?"

Meng Qiguang didn't say anything, but Miss Yan was busy looking at Wen Tingli curiously: "You brothers and sisters are good at recommending people. This Miss Wen is not only beautiful, but also has a natural smile. During the New Year, who would not be happy to buy a few more cans of candy when seeing such a festive face? Big sister, what do you think?"

When Wen Tingli saw that they were two female bosses, she immediately put aside half of her worries and quickly smiled and shook hands with them: "Hello, Miss Yan, and Miss Yan, hello."

He bowed to Meng Qiguang again: "Hello, Mr. Meng."

After both parties sat down, the two Miss Yans drank tea while implicitly asking Wen Tingli where she studied and whether she had filmed any commercials before. They seemed very satisfied with her.

Gao Xiaowen strikes while the iron is hot: "Miss Wen is very busy. She has been taking a break from filming recently. Once she gets busy after the New Year, you and I may not be able to make an appointment with her. Since we have already made up our minds, why not make it today?"

The two girls were a little stunned. Gao Tingxin said hurriedly: "Sister, you are too impatient——"

Meng Qiguang did not interrupt the whole time. Needless to say, he could already see that Wen Tingli was more anxious than anyone else at the table.

Gao Tingxin looked at Meng Qiguang, then at Wen Tingli, clapped his hands cheerfully and said, "Miss Wen, Qiguang's factory has just got a new health-preserving medicine and is planning to advertise it during the Chinese New Year. However, the original actress suddenly fell ill, so the filming plan had to be stopped. Xiaowen saw that he was worried, so she recommended you to him. Linguang, now Miss Wen is here too, what do you think?"

Meng Qiguang casually threw a card on the table: "Every aspect is very satisfactory to me, except that it is a little less famous."

Before Wen Tingli could respond, Gao Xiaowen's eyes widened. "Brother Meng, what are you talking about? Wen Tingli's new film will be released in a few days. It's the highlight of Golden Pictures this year. If you want to ask her to shoot a commercial next time, her value will be much higher than this."

Meng Qiguang looked at Wen Tingli seriously again, and then said to the person behind him: "Go and bring the contract to Miss Wen for review."

Wen Tingli opened it curiously and gasped. Meng Qiguang actually gave her a full 100,000 yuan in compensation.

Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a seven-year contract.

The contract stipulates that Wen Tingli is not allowed to accept other advertisements for medicines, health products, or snacks, otherwise the Meng family has the right to hold Wen Tingli accountable.

It turns out that there is no such thing as a free gift in this world, but this is at least much more reasonable than Boss Liu's contract of selling himself.

The most attractive thing was that the money was deposited into her account in one lump sum, eliminating the need to worry about splitting the profits with the company in the future.

Wen Tingli was very excited, but her tone was a little hesitant: "I wonder if Mr. Meng has any special requirements for the content of the advertisement?"

Meng Qiguang looked at Wen Tingli meaningfully: "Why, Miss Wen, are you worried that I'll ask you to take pictures that you shouldn't?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant—"

"I have already made an appointment with Huang Yuanshan to help me shoot the film. She will decide the content. If Miss Wen really has concerns, I will find someone else to shoot it."

Meng Qiguang provoked her, and Wen Tingli hurriedly held the contract in her arms: "I'll think about it carefully, and I will give Mr. Meng a reply as soon as possible."

At this time, Miss Yan was also a little impatient. If Wen Tingli really signed a contract with Meng Qiguang, she would no longer be able to cooperate with them. The New Year was approaching, so where could she find such a female star that she liked?

She hurriedly winked at her sister, but her sister remained indifferent. She could only smile and say to Wen Tingli, "Miss Wen, please consider it more. The price offered by our Yan family is not low."

Wen Tingli inexplicably became a hot commodity.

But before Miss Yan II could bring the contract to the table, Miss Yan I secretly winked at her younger sister, and seemed a little hesitant. Gao Xiaowen took the opportunity to speak: "Hey, it's past six o'clock. I'll ask them to serve dinner. You guys can chat while eating?"

Wen Tingli's social skills did not disappoint Gao Xiaowen. After a dinner, Wen Tingli not only consolidated Miss Yan's good impression of her, but also successfully won over Miss Yan.

After three rounds of drinks, Miss Yan raised her glass and complained to Wen Tingli with drunken eyes: "To be honest, our Yan family has been eyeing the Shanghai market for a long time, but the competition here is fierce. It is not easy for foreign brands to enter the local market. I am a cautious person. It took me half a year just to find local department stores to help distribute the goods. I finally designed a few pleasing festival sweets, but it was delayed for several months because of a machine malfunction in the factory."

Wen Tingli said sympathetically, "Ms. Yan is such a smart person, don't you know that good things take time? Think about it, my movie is released during the Chinese New Year. If you publish an advertisement in the newspaper at the same time, it is equivalent to the entire film industry promoting your product. Isn't this a hundred times better than your previous plan? This is what they call - it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."

Miss Yan covered her chest and laughed: "Miss Wen is such a lovely girl. Her words are really pleasing to hear."

When the banquet was over, Miss Yan finally relented and asked someone to bring the contract over while she was drunk. Gao Xiaowen took the opportunity to have another lamp delivered so that Wen Tingli could compare the conditions offered by the two companies.

After reading for a while, Wen Tingli picked up the pen and was about to sign the contract on the left. Meng Qiguang suddenly reminded her: "Ms. Wen, have you thought it through?"

Wen Tingli hesitated for only a minute, but still insisted on signing the Yan family's contract.

Gao Xiaowen personally escorted the two Miss Yans to the car, while Gao Tingxin called another car for Wen Tingli from the car dealership. As the two walked to the flower garden, Gao Tingxin suddenly stopped and said, "I forgot something, Miss Wen, wait for me for a while.

Not long after he left, Wen Tingli heard someone behind her say, "Turn around."

Wen Tingli hesitated for a moment, but turned around and looked back.

"Mr. Meng seems to like ordering others around," she said half-jokingly.

Meng Qiguang got straight to the point: "I offer more money, why sign with the Yan family?

Wen Tingli shrugged and said, "Maybe it's just because I prefer working with girls."

"I'm asking you a serious question, Miss Wen, can you please be serious?"

Wen Tingli straightened her face and said sincerely, "Anyway, thank you Mr. Meng for tonight."

"Thank you for what?"

"Thank you for your timely help."

Meng Qiguang said sarcastically: "Since you know I am helping you in times of need, why don't you accept my kindness?"

"They didn't ask me to sign for seven years. I don't want to be involved with the same company for so many years."

Meng Qiguang had nothing to say.

After a moment, he turned his head and looked forward and said, "Whether it's seven years or one year, it's just a formality. If you don't want to shoot one day, I will never force you to shoot. You are already in a desperate situation now, why don't you use this money to tide over the current difficulties?"

Wen Tingli thought about it, lowered her eyes and said, "Then I can't accept this money. Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Meng."

Meng Qiguang looked back at her for a long time: "I just want to remind you that the Ningbo Yan family is only prosperous on the surface, but there have been problems inside. Not many people in Shanghai know about this, even the Gao brothers and sisters are kept in the dark. They owe a lot of money to the warehouse alone, and there is no way they can take out 100,000 yuan of spare money to hire you to shoot an advertisement. There is probably something wrong with that contract. I advise you to think about it carefully."

Wen Tingli looked thoughtful, then smiled and said, "I see. Thank you Mr. Meng for reminding me."

Meng Qiguang was stunned instead. He looked at Wen Tingli thoughtfully.

Wen Tingli added: "I don't think there is anything on me that they can plot against, so I decided to trust them once."

Meng Qiguang tactfully stopped trying to persuade her: "Okay, since you have thought it through, I don't need to say anything more."

He turned and looked back: "Gao Tingxin won't come out for a while, I'll take you out."

The two walked out one after the other. On the way, Wen Tingli suddenly stopped, took out a letter from her pocket and handed it to Meng Qiguang.

"Oh, this is the letter Bao Xin sent from Peking. I have already told Bao Xin what Mr. Meng said that night. I think everything she wanted to say is in this letter."

Meng Qiguang took it.

"She is living a very meaningful life now. She often talks to me about her ideals and ambitions in her letters. I think Beiping is just a starting point for her." Wen Tingli squinted at his expression. "She probably hasn't decided whether to come back to face her family yet. Give her some time."

Meng Qiguang dusted off the letter and said, "Among all the younger generations in the Qiao family, the one who is most like me is Baoxin. She never acts rashly, but once she sets her mind on something, nothing can stop her. In this respect, she is more capable than her brother."

Perhaps because of the mention of Qiao Xingchu, neither of them was in the mood to talk for the rest of the way. When the car arrived, Meng Qiguang helped Wen Tingli open the door and watched her get in.

"Thank you." Wen Tingli looked at him again and said.

Meng Qiguang seemed to want to say something, but in the end he just helped her close the car door.

Wen Tingli watched him turn and leave in the car and let out a sigh of relief.

The next morning, Miss Yan sent a check for 30,000 francs, and the rest of the money would be paid after the commercial was finished. The studio was also rented, from the studio of the Folin Company, with a makeup artist and director ready, and the first film could be shot in about two days.

The two young ladies of the Yan family really kept their word.

It seems that everything is fine.

Wen Tingli arrived at Fulin Company on time at 6pm. As soon as she arrived at the door, a staff member came forward to greet her warmly. "Ms. Wen, this way please."

When she entered, she saw two young ladies from the Yan family sitting next to the director and waving at her. After a few greetings, a staff member led Wen Tingli to the dressing room at the back to change clothes.

***
Meng Mansion.

The servant came in and said, "Sir, dinner is ready."

Meng Qiguang was absent-mindedly flipping through a newspaper.

It was an old news story from a few days ago, about a sudden fire at the Golden Pictures studio.

"When the fire broke out, a new actor was changing in the dressing room and barely escaped the flames... Afterwards, the police found several Mobil gasoline barrels at the scene and suspected that someone had set the fire maliciously, etc."

Meng Qiguang's face became increasingly gloomy. Suddenly, the phone rang and the manager came over and replied, "Sir, Manager Cheng from the factory has something urgent to discuss with you."

Meng Qiguang's eyes were still on the newspaper. He thought for a moment and stood up suddenly: "Prepare the car. I need to go out for a while."

Fulin Company is about a 40-minute drive from Meng Mansion. By the time Meng Qiguang arrived by car, it was already completely dark.

He got out of the car in a hurry, but saw that the windows of the Flynn Company were brightly lit and two Indian guards were chatting at the gate. It seemed that everything was calm.

For a moment, Meng Qiguang suspected that he was overthinking it. At this moment, a very short and piercing sound suddenly came from inside.

The two Indians looked at each other: "What's going on?" Meng Qiguang's face had already changed. He quickly took out a gun from his arms and ran inside quickly.

Fulin Company was in chaos. Several people were about to run away. Meng Qiguang grabbed a man and asked, "Where is she?"

"Who?"

Meng Qiguang put his gun to the other person's forehead: "Wen Tingli!"

"She, she's in the dressing room at the back."

Meng Qiguang dragged the man all the way to the back building, and found that the door of the dressing room was locked. Meng Qiguang kicked the door open.

In the room, there was a man lying on the ground, tied up.

Meng Qiguang hurried forward and picked up the person, but that person was not Wen Tingli, but a strange woman.

"Makeup artist Chen?!"

The director was the one who was escorted in at gunpoint by Meng Qiguang. Seeing this, he couldn't help but yell, "Where's Miss Wen?"

Meng Qiguang tore the cloth out of Chen Makeup Artist's mouth, and Chen Makeup Artist trembled and shook his head.

"I, I don't know anything."

Before he could finish his words, Meng Qiguang had already put a gun to his temple. Meng Qiguang sneered, "You should know something now. Did the White Dragon Gang ask you to help set up a trap to harm Miss Wen? Tell me! Where did you take her?!"

The man was so frightened that his face turned pale. He begged bitterly, "Mr. Meng, please spare my life. We were also forced. Besides, Miss Wen was not fooled. She tied me here and ran away."

Meng Qiguang was stunned.

***
Wen Tingli put on makeup artist Chen's hat and coat, and under the cover of night, walked from the dressing room of Fulin Company to the back door, and then jumped into a car.

The driver in the car nodded to her tacitly, and the car sped forward.

On the way, Wen Tingli took out the invalid check given to her by the Yan family from her pocket and slowly tore it into pieces.

When they arrived near the Paramount, Wen Tingli did not get out of the car, but waited silently in the car like a black cat waiting to hunt in the middle of the night.

After a while, a group of White Dragon Gang thugs came down the stairs with Qiu Dapeng.

Qiu Dapeng drunkenly walked to a car on the side of the road and waved his hands at his men: "No need to help me... I'm not drunk, go ahead, go ahead."

A group of people got into another car in a noisy manner, and Qiu Dapeng turned around in his car and drove towards the end of the street. Wen Tingli and her companions quietly followed.

After walking for half an hour, Qiu Dapeng's car stopped in the back alley of Dayuan Teahouse, but he did not open the door and get out of the car. He just waited for someone in the car.

Wen Tingli did not dare to relax. According to the clues provided by Li Chengying's informant in the White Dragon Gang, whenever Qiu Dapeng had his own private matters, he would try his best to avoid the people in the gang and come here specifically to assign tasks to his own people. Tonight was no exception.

Not long after, a man came out from the back door of the teahouse and got into Qiu Dapeng's car.

Qiu Dapeng was already a little drunk, and since this place had always been his territory, he spoke without restraint, and his voice could be heard from a long distance away.

"Hasn't there been a reply from them yet?... Could it be that the two young ladies of the Yan family have changed their minds? Humph, I don't think they would dare to do that. Don't forget that the Yan family still owes the White Dragon Gang three ships of goods... While Lu Shicheng is back, we must make that little bitch a murderer tonight."

Wen Tingli sneered at first, but her face suddenly changed when she heard the latter part.

As he was talking, Qiu Dapeng's voice suddenly lowered a few notes. Wen Tingli was just wondering when she suddenly saw Qiu Dapeng's men getting out of the car with their heads down and walking hurriedly towards the alley entrance. It seemed that Qiu Dapeng had finished his instructions.

Qiu Dapeng stayed in the cab preparing to start the car. Suddenly, the side door of the car was opened and a cold gun barrel was pressed against his temple.

Then someone spoke in his ear. It was a little girl with a clear voice, but the words she said made people feel cold all over.

"Logically, I should settle accounts with you before I take action, but unfortunately I don't have time right now. Prepare to die!"

He was about to pull the trigger without hesitation, and the man was so scared that he kept shouting, "Lady, spare my life—"

Wen Tingli and her friends outside were both shocked. The person in the car was not Qiu Dapeng. Suddenly remembering the figure who had just rushed to the alley entrance, Wen Tingli shouted, "Oh no, it was Qiu Dapeng who got off the car! Go after him!"

He raised his elbow and was about to hit the man in the car hard on the back of the head, but his companion shouted, "Watch out!"

Wen Tingli bent down instinctively. In a flash, the front window glass made a crisp sound and something warm splashed on her cheek like rain and mist. She raised her hand and touched it, and found it was covered with blood. The bullet happened to pass through the front window glass and hit the White Dragon Gang man in the forehead.

The man died instantly.

Wen Tingli's heart was beating fast, and she gritted her teeth and asked, "Why is there still bullet in Qiu Dapeng's pistol? Didn't we switch his gun beforehand?"

The companion was obviously confused as well: "I don't know, how about we——"

Then I heard Qiu Dapeng cursing in front of me: "You want to plot against me, I want to see who is lucky! Tonight I will tear you into pieces."

Wen Tingli jumped out of the car with a gun in hand and chased after him. If Qiu Dapeng ran out of this back alley tonight, it would be difficult to kill him later. Not long after chasing him, she saw a tall and strong figure stumbling in the snow in front of her. Wen Tingli raised her gun and aimed at his vest.

bang bang bang-

He fired four shots in a row, at least three of them hit the target! Qiu Dapeng suddenly knelt on the ground! This kneeling was like kneeling on Wen Tingli's heart.

She felt extremely happy, and with red eyes she was about to fire a fourth shot, but unexpectedly Qiu Dapeng covered his shoulder, turned around and shot her.

Wen Tingli dodged and was about to chase again when she heard two long whistles and one short one behind her. Wen Tingli quickly retracted her steps and turned around. This was the secret signal she and Li Chengying had agreed on beforehand. When going out for action, she should follow orders and not act on impulse.

Immediately afterwards, someone caught up with her and pulled her aside. It was Li Chengying.

"There's a traitor on our side. There may be an ambush ahead. Let's retreat first."

Wen Tingli broke out in a cold sweat, and at this moment, another gunshot was heard from the front.

It was obvious that Qiu Dapeng was already dead. After being shot at, his body fell heavily to the ground.

Wen Tingli was shocked and exchanged glances with Li Chengying in the dark. Li Chengying was as surprised as Wen Tingli. He immediately covered Wen Tingli's mouth and pulled her to the back to hide.

The next moment, several people came from the direction of the alley. Two of them seemed to be carrying something heavy. They walked to Qiu Dapeng and gently put the "thing" down.

Wen Tingli didn't dare to breathe as she watched. That "thing" was clearly a living person, and it was still breathing when it was put on the ground.

After settling down, another person came out from the darkness, with steady and light steps. He looked like a young man with a tall figure.

Wen Tingli was shocked.

The man walked calmly to Qiu Dapeng and looked down at him on the ground indifferently.

The ground beneath Qiu Dapeng was already oozing with blood. When he saw the face above him, he seemed to be shocked and hateful, and panted and said, "It's you!"

This was followed by a series of inarticulate curses.

The man ignored him, turned around and walked to the "heavy object" that had been put down earlier, squatted down and put the gun into the other person's hand.

Wen Tingli's eyes suddenly widened, and then she saw the man holding the "heavy object" in his hand, raising the gun barrel, aiming at Qiu Dapeng's chest and abdomen, and firing several bullets cleanly.

Qiu Dapeng's cursing stopped abruptly.

After doing all this, the man looked up at Wen Tingli intentionally or unintentionally. Wen Tingli's heart trembled. No matter how dark the environment was, she could recognize who this person was.

Fortunately, Lu Shicheng quickly withdrew his gaze, but this look was undoubtedly a silent warning.

Wen Tingli didn't dare to move.

As soon as the other party left, Li Chengying quickly pulled Wen Tingli to the end of the alley and jumped into his companion's car.

As soon as we drove out of that street, we heard the sound of a car whizzing towards us. It seemed that a large number of people from the White Dragon Gang had arrived.

Even when she returned home, Wen Tingli's heart was still pounding in her chest. She went into her room, took off the coat and hat that she had temporarily "borrowed", and paced back and forth in front of the table in a daze.

I accidentally looked up at the mirror and was shocked by the blood on my face. Although the blood had dried, it still gave me a strange and hideous feeling.

But she inexplicably liked the self in front of her. Whether it was the blood or the hideousness, it vaguely revealed a murderous power.

An hour had passed since the incident, but she was still immersed in high spirits and unable to extricate herself. She looked down at her right hand with a sense of unsatisfied desire, slowly raised her hand, made a "shooting" motion in the mirror, and whispered, "Snap."

Then she smiled freely. She couldn't describe how satisfying it was when she hit Qiu Dapeng with her own hands.

All this was thanks to Li Chengying's help. During the preparation process of half a month, she had witnessed Li Chengying's abilities more than once - this woman's control over people's hearts, her judgment of crises, and her speed of response to all kinds of complex situations, all made her deeply impressed, just like what she felt when she dealt with Dean Deng. The elements in them were exactly what she respected and yearned for the most now - power.

Now, this power is slowly growing upon her, how can she not be happy?
Tonight, she finally killed the poisonous snake with her own hands. If there hadn't been a traitor in the White Dragon Gang, she could have beaten him to pieces in one go.

When her thoughts calmed down, she began to recall the scene in the alley in her mind.

The situation tonight was more complicated than she had imagined, and she was not the only one who wanted Qiu Dapeng dead.

The two forces came together and ultimately allowed everyone to achieve their wishes.

That man...

She had to admit that he did a pretty good job. Even now, her heart was still beating in her chest. She slowly sat in front of the mirror, constantly recalling the details of that moment. When she raised her head, her eyes were filled with sparkling luster, like gemstones, and also like stars in the night sky, illuminating the clever smile at the corners of her mouth.

***
The next day, the newspapers were filled with news about Qiu Dapeng's assassination.

He is a capable subordinate of the White Dragon Gang's leader Cao, and his every move has always been closely watched by the public. When this incident happened, it immediately caused quite a stir.

In addition to Qiu Dapeng, the police also found another body at the scene. To be precise, the body was not yet fully dead. Upon investigation, it was found to be Deng Tianxing, who had "faked his death" due to a car accident some time ago.

On the way to the hospital, Deng Tianxing personally admitted to the police that he had murdered Qiu Dapeng.

Unfortunately, Deng Tianxing died before the police could find out the whole story.

Afterwards, the police speculated that Deng Tianxing and Qiu Dapeng had a long history of connection. The evidence was that Qiu Dapeng had helped Deng Tianxing repay two gambling debts. The two probably had done some shady deals. Afterwards, in order to clear himself, Qiu Dapeng secretly had someone cause a car accident on Deng Tianxing.

Not long after, Deng Tianxing's mother also had an "accident" in her hometown.

Deng Tianxing narrowly escaped the disaster, and from then on he bore a grudge against Qiu Dapeng. He first looked for an opportunity to kill Qiu Dapeng's cronies in the car, and then shot Qiu Dapeng three consecutive bullets.

But he himself died of blood loss due to his serious injuries.

Although the suspect confessed to the crime himself, there are still many doubts in the whole case. For example, there were many eyewitnesses at the scene of the car accident when Deng Tianxing had the accident. These people can confirm that it was Deng Tianxing who had the accident that day. This person's injuries were so serious that he was said to have died as soon as he was sent to the nearby Huiqun Hospital. No one knows how he survived, and how he found the opportunity to attack an old fox like Qiu Dapeng?
Furthermore, Qiu Dapeng and his cronies all had guns that night, and Deng Tianxing was seriously injured, so how could he fight two people alone?

However, all these doubts could not be traced back due to the inability of the police to find evidence.

Wen Tingli was sitting in the rickshaw, flipping through the newspaper in her hand. The more she read, the more her lips curled up. She put down the newspaper with a smile on her face, got off the rickshaw and walked into the company.

(End of this chapter)