Chapter 52:

When Lin Qiao heard Ji Tong call out Shen Qingzhou’s name, she assumed Ji Tong, like herself, had been mistakenly locked inside the psychiatric hospital. The likely culprit behind this situation could have been Qi Zheng and Zhao Chunjun. However, after listening to their conversation, Lin Qiao realized she had been mistaken.

Ji Tong didn’t appear particularly happy at seeing his long-lost friend again. He sat up, pulled out two pills from beneath his snow-white pillow, got slowly out of bed, walked to the window, and forcefully threw them outside.

It seemed he hadn’t taken the medicine the hospital gave the patients every night, which explained why he hadn’t fallen asleep. Lin Qiao glanced at Shen Qingzhou, who was watching Ji Tong. His dark eyes were nearly invisible in the night, yet Lin Qiao could sense his current mood was somewhat gloomy.

“You finally came,” Ji Tong turned to look at Shen Qingzhou, leaning against the bed as he spoke indifferently. “Should I turn on the light?”

Shen Qingzhou looked up at him and replied, “No need.”

“After all these years, I thought I had forgotten what you looked like, but seeing you again, I still remember who you are. Isn’t that amazing?” Ji Tong slightly curved his lips. Moonlight illuminated the spot where he stood, making his expression somewhat visible. “How did you find me?” he asked.

Shen Qingzhou slightly furrowed his brows and said, “I accidentally came across your file while investigating this hospital’s background, so I came to check. I didn’t expect it to really be you.”

Ji Tong lowered his head silently, hands clasped together. He looked thin and frail, as if he couldn’t withstand even a gentle breeze.

“Are you genuinely ill, or were you locked in here by someone else?” The “someone” Shen Qingzhou referred to was naturally Qi Zheng. He didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “Do you know that Ding Yue has passed away?”

Ji Tong immediately looked up, staring at Shen Qingzhou. There was loss and confusion in his eyes, but no surprise. It seemed he already knew.

“Did Qi Zheng tell you that?” Shen Qingzhou asked.

Ji Tong paused briefly before replying, “Yes, he told me everything.”

Shen Qingzhou abruptly stood up, his tone cold. “It seems you really deserve to be locked in here. You know Ding Yue has passed away, yet you never visited her grave. You didn’t even come to see your child.”

Ji Tong’s expression turned subtly pained as he murmured, “Qingzhou, do you think Ding Yue would want me to visit her? She probably didn’t care whether I was still alive. She and Qi Zheng…” He stopped here, seemingly struggling to continue, his expression showing signs of weariness.

“What about her and Qi Zheng?” Shen Qingzhou turned his head and asked.

Ji Tong gazed at him for a while before speaking slowly. “You’re my best friend, and if you want to know, I’ll naturally tell you. Originally, I didn’t want to tell anyone about this. The dead should rest in peace; there’s no point in bringing it up now…”

“Don’t waste time,” Shen Qingzhou urged impatiently.

Ji Tong gave a faint smile and said, “You know I’m a journalist, always running around overseas. My life has been busy and dangerous. Women need companionship, especially during pregnancy… Xiaoyue had long been unhappy with me. Qi Zheng and she had already become involved during the time I was abroad.”

This time, not only was Shen Qingzhou shocked, but Lin Qiao also wore an expression of astonishment. As if he hadn’t noticed their reactions, Ji Tong continued calmly, “It’s not just my assumption. Xiaoyue herself admitted it. As for that child, I don’t even know if he’s mine or Qi Zheng’s. Qi Zheng probably felt guilty. Before my incident, he came to visit me overseas. At that time, Xiaoyue’s due date was approaching, and she couldn’t move around much. She had called me several times, but I had my phone accident during that time and couldn’t answer. All of this was told to me later by Qi Zheng.”

Shen Qingzhou asked expressionlessly, “Then how did you ‘die’?”

Ji Tong covered his face and softly laughed. “Qingzhou, you’re a man too. You should understand, right? A man who couldn’t even keep the woman he grew up with in the orphanage, who was cuckolded and might have even raised another man’s son… At that time, I really wished I could have died overseas. Unfortunately, I didn’t die after all…”

“So you had Qi Zheng lie for you?” Shen Qingzhou spat out the sentence stiffly, his mind racing back to those days.

He had heard of Ji Tong’s death from Ding Yue. Before giving birth, Ding Yue had suffered from severe prenatal depression, always worrying about terrorist attacks in Ji Tong’s country. Not long after she gave birth, news of Ji Tong’s death came back. It was likely that Qi Zheng had gone overseas on Ding Yue’s behalf to check on Ji Tong, just as Ji Tong had really encountered a terrorist attack, narrowly escaping death. Ji Tong, unwilling to return home to face Ding Yue and the child, had Qi Zheng lie and say he was dead. Since Qi Zheng loved Ding Yue, he naturally wanted to marry her, so he would definitely agree, making everything fall into place.

What Shen Qingzhou thought of, Lin Qiao also figured out, and Ji Tong confirmed their thoughts by speaking, “Yes, I asked him to lie for me.”

Lin Qiao sighed and turned her gaze away, rubbing her forehead. There was a saying that fit Ji Tong perfectly in this situation, though it might be inappropriate to say it now: “If you don’t seek death, you won’t meet it.”

“But I didn’t expect Ding Yue to die because of this,” Ji Tong seemed to be caught in self-blame, squatting down and leaning against the wall, hugging his head, his body slightly trembling. “I really didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to harm her…”

Looking at Ji Tong like this, Lin Qiao began to doubt whether he was truly mentally ill. Shen Qingzhou stared at him for a while, his tone calm. “This isn’t entirely your fault. Ding Yue betrayed you first. She already had prenatal depression; your death was just one of the factors. You both made mistakes. You don’t need to blame yourself too much.”

Before Ji Tong could react to his words, the door to the ward was suddenly opened. The person who entered casually turned on the light, stepped aside to let the person behind him in.

It was Zhao Chunjun and Qi Zheng.

Zhao Chunjun, wearing a white coat, stood straight at the door, glanced at Ji Tong, who was sobbing in grief, and looked toward Shen Qingzhou. “He has severe schizophrenia. The fact that he could talk to you so calmly for so long shows that you two must have a really good relationship.”

Shen Qingzhou stood up from his chair but didn’t make a move to leave. However, Ji Tong, seemingly triggered by his action, suddenly rushed toward him, which startled Lin Qiao. She immediately tried to pull Shen Qingzhou away, but Shen Qingzhou didn’t need her help. He not only dodged himself but also pulled her aside.

“Don’t leave, Xiaoyue. I’m back.”

Ji Tong looked at Shen Qingzhou in a daze, reaching out toward him. Shen Qingzhou’s expression stiffened as he looked at his old friend under the bright fluorescent lights, his face pale and his expression indescribable. After a long pause, he finally said, “Farewell.”

Two simple words, polite and distant, like a client you’ve just met.

Without another word, Shen Qingzhou took Lin Qiao’s hand and turned to leave. As they passed Zhao Chunjun and Qi Zheng, he stopped and said to Qi Zheng, “From now on, I won’t interfere in your affairs anymore. However, I will continue to raise Ding Yue’s child, regardless of whether he is your biological son or Ji Tong’s. His legal guardian will always be me, and he will carry the surname Shen. That will never change.” As he said this, he tightened his grip on Lin Qiao’s hand, causing her some pain, though she didn’t utter a word.

She looked at him and saw his thin lips part slightly, adding with a hint of sarcasm, “Although Ji Tong and I are friends, I still have two words for each of you.” He turned to look at Ji Tong, who stood there bewildered, and coldly uttered two words, “Coward.” Then, turning to Qi Zheng, he said, “Traitor.” With that, he took Lin Qiao’s hand again and left without looking back.

After leaving the hospital and returning to the car, Shen Qingzhou sat in the driver’s seat without making a move. He didn’t speak, just sat there staring ahead, his expression blank as if he were thinking of nothing, yet his brows were slightly furrowed.

Lin Qiao looked at him with concern, pondering how to comfort him, when she suddenly heard his phone ring.

Shen Qingzhou took the phone from his pocket, glanced at the number, and furrowed his brows even deeper.

He pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear, quickly saying, “Zhao Chunjun?”

The call was indeed from Zhao Chunjun. He didn’t call to say anything offensive; instead, he spoke in a very amicable manner. “Mr. Shen, sorry to interrupt your recovery, but I have something to remind you about. I think you’ll find it interesting.”

Shen Qingzhou said indifferently, “Speak.”

Zhao Chunjun didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “Fang Zheng has an inside man at Lin Group. You probably haven’t been to the group headquarters these past few days. I suggest you go check your feng shui setup as soon as possible. That wealth-attracting arrangement might have turned into something sinister.” With that, he hung up the phone decisively.

Shen Qingzhou put away his phone and looked at Lin Qiao. “Have you been to the company these days?”

Lin Qiao replied, “Yes, why?”

“Have you noticed anything suspicious, or any changes anywhere?”

Lin Qiao thought for a moment and said, “I didn’t notice anything strange with the people, but the arrangements you made before seem to have been changed a bit. I thought you had modified them when I wasn’t around. Wasn’t that the case?”

Without a word, Shen Qingzhou immediately shifted gears and stepped on the gas, speeding toward Lin Group. His gloomy expression made Lin Qiao realize the seriousness of the situation.

“Has something happened? What did Zhao Chunjun call for? He’s a bad guy, and you can’t fully trust what he says. Be careful; he’s up to no good,” Lin Qiao warned.

Shen Qingzhou nodded. “I know. Whether what he said is true or false will be clear once we check. Since he dared to say it, there’s a high chance it’s true. When a wall falls, everyone pushes. Now that Fang Zheng is in trouble, if he wants to avoid being implicated, he needs to show us goodwill.”

Lin Qiao said dryly, “That does sound like something he would do.”

“Yes,” Shen Qingzhou gave a slight sneer. “He’s a very smart man, smart enough to be nauseating.”

Lin Qiao asked in confusion, “Then what exactly did he say?”

Shen Qingzhou looked at her, his eyes slightly clouded with worry. “Let’s talk about it later. It’s hard to explain briefly right now.”

Lin Qiao knew that no matter how anxious she felt, it wouldn’t help. Shen Qingzhou was driving, and if he said it was hard to explain, it really was. Pressing him for details would only distract him, which would be unsafe.

All she could do now was wait, but those who have experienced such situations know how painful it is to be eager to know something yet have to wait.

Perhaps noticing how distressed Lin Qiao looked, Shen Qingzhou sighed and said, “To put it simply, have you ever been to Thailand?”

“Yes,” Lin Qiao replied immediately. “The land of Buddhism, where the four-faced Buddha is very powerful.”

Shen Qingzhou nodded slightly and said, “Then you should have heard of love curses and spirit possession techniques.”

Lin Qiao’s expression immediately turned strange. She looked as if she found it a bit terrifying and hard to believe, saying with a wry smile, “No way. Do such things really exist?”

Shen Qingzhou kept his eyes on the road ahead and spoke calmly, “The world is vast, filled with countless things beyond your imagination. You may choose not to believe in some of them, but never mock or desecrate them. Thailand’s love curses and Xiangxi’s Gu poison are renowned as the two major dark arts of Southeast Asia. As for spirit possession techniques…” He paused, glancing at Lin Qiao, perhaps fearing she might be frightened, and softened his tone. “That’s a form of spirit control. There are two different methods practiced in Taiwan and Thailand. To put it simply, it involves raising a little ghost.”

Lin Qiao’s lips twitched as she asked, “Raising a little ghost… you mean Thailand’s Kuman Thong?”

Shen Qingzhou spoke in a teacherly tone, “Certainly not. You must pay special attention to this. There’s an essential difference between Kuman Thong and little ghosts. Kuman Thong is inherently kind and feeds on incense offerings, while little ghosts are completely the opposite. Raising little ghosts is an extremely sinister act, a highly damaging one to one’s virtue. Any master with even a small amount of virtue would avoid doing this.” Unless there’s a significant incentive. Shen Qingzhou didn’t say the last sentence out loud because he didn’t want Lin Qiao to know too much about such ugly matters.

Shen Qingzhou’s explanation left Lin Qiao speechless. For her, who had previously disbelieved in such things, it was quite hard to accept.

She remained silent with her lips pressed together for a while before finally saying with infinite feeling, “Shen Qingzhou, getting to know you has truly broadened my horizons.”