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Chapter 96: Xiao Yongqiangs Death, Framing Ye Chen
Offering support to the Wang family during their crisis could certainly earn their gratitude, but the cost was too steep for Xiao Yongqiang to afford. While the Luo and Li families’ combined assault might only seriously injure the Wang family without undermining its foundation, the Yongqiang Group was incapable of withstanding such pressure from both sides. If they couldn’t counter the Wang family, they might redirect their ire towards the Yongqiang Group, which would surely crumble under the strain.
“Ye Chen, please inform the Wang family that I prefer not to get involved at this time,” Xiao Yongqiang decided.
This rejection caught Ye Chen off guard. He had expected Xiao Yongqiang would surely agree. Given the life-saving favor Ye Chen had done for Xiao Yongqiang, he had assumed Xiao would agree out of gratitude, but he was wrong.
Ye Chen’s expression soured.
He had confidently assured both the Wang family patriarch and Wang Hong of persuading Xiao Yongqiang to join forces. Xiao Yongqiang’s denial now made Ye Chen feel embarrassed and slighted.
“Uncle Xiao, aren’t you going to reconsider?” Ye Chen attempted to negotiate.
“Ye Chen, let me be frank with you. I cannot interfere with the Wang family’s current situation,” Xiao Yongqiang clarified.
His statement was unequivocal, reflecting his keen understanding of the Wang family’s predicament, now compounded by the combined onslaught from the Luo and Li families. Despite his ill health, he remained concerned about the business affairs.
“Then I’ll take my leave,” Ye Chen said, his demeanor stiff and filled with frustration as he departed.
Shortly after Ye Chen’s departure, a figure strikingly similar to him quietly infiltrated the premises.
“Ye Chen just left, now is the perfect time. Someone will handle Xiao Yongqiang’s bodyguards for you. Don’t mess this up,” Bai Meixiang’s voice came through the earpiece of the figure.
“Rest assured, boss, I’ll complete the mission,” the assassin assured.
Deployed by Bai Meixiang to eliminate Xiao Yongqiang, he was disguised with a human skin mask, a perfect replica of Ye Chen’s face. His clothing and hairstyle were meticulously matched to Ye Chen’s, so well that even Ye Chen himself would struggle to spot the difference in a brief encounter.
Upon his entry into Xiao Yongqiang’s villa, he found Xiao’s bodyguards already incapacitated, expertly subdued by Qiu Zhu. Xiao Yongqiang’s guards, although formidable, were easily overpowered by Qiu Zhu’s superior skills, and taken down without even catching a glimpse of her.
The assassin, masquerading as Ye Chen smoothly made his way into Xiao Yongqiang’s study.
“Why are you back?” asked Xiao Yongqiang, puzzled to see “Ye Chen” return.
The impostor, posing as Ye Chen, remained silent, but pointed a gun directly at Xiao Yongqiang, which visibly altered his expression.
“What does this mean? You’re going to kill me just because I refuse to ally with the Wang family?”
Despite the gun pointed at him, Xiao Yongqiang maintained his composure, calmly facing the “Ye Chen” who had him at gunpoint.
“I saved your life, yet you refuse even a small request from me.”
The voice, altered to mimic Ye Chen’s, came through a voice changer.
“Time to die.”
With those final words, “Ye Chen” pulled the trigger, shooting Xiao Yongqiang straight in the forehead.
A bullet hole appeared right in the center of Xiao Yongqiang’s forehead. His eyes widened in disbelief, as he never expected Ye Chen to actually fire. Xiao Yongqiang had assumed Ye Chen would only intimidate him, never imagining that Ye Chen would dare to kill him.
His body slumped powerlessly into the chair, his eyes wide open, unaccepting of his fate even in death. After executing Xiao Yongqiang, the assassin disguised as Ye Chen quickly vacated the premises.
“Boss, I killed Xiao Yongqiang has been eliminated by me,” the assassin reported back to Bai Meixiang.
“Well done. Make sure this remains a secret, and don’t disclose it to anyone,” Bai Meixiang commanded.
“You can count on me, boss. I won’t reveal anything,” the assassin assured her, aware of the gravity of assassinating the city’s wealthiest man. If his identity as the killer were exposed, he would have no chance of survival.
As he was about to leave, Bai Meixiang turned her gun on him and fired. The silenced handgun delivered a fatal shot to his head.
“Dong Ju, take care of his body, and dispose of the human skin mask as well,” Bai Meixiang instructed Dong Ju.
Dead men tell no tales. Despite her long-term investment in training this capable subordinate, Bai Meixiang had to eliminate him to prevent any leaks.
After dispatching the actual killer of Xiao Yongqiang, Bai Meixiang called Chen Luo to report the situation.
“Has that guy been taken care of?” Zhao Yingxuan eagerly inquired of Chen Luo, immediately after he ended the call.
“Yes, he’s dead, and Ye Chen is the killer,” Chen Luo declared, a smile playing on his lips.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Xiao Yongqiang had been killed right after Ye Chen’s visit, inevitably implicating Ye Chen in the murder.
The news of Xiao Yongqiang’s death couldn’t remain hidden for long. Chen Luo, having deliberately leaked some details, ensured that Xiao Qingxue was quickly informed. She rushed back to Xiao Yongqiang’s villa from her company, only to find that she was too late to see her father’s body, which the police had already removed.
“Who killed him?” Xiao Qingxue’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“We’re still investigating,” replied the police to her question.
“But rest assured, Miss Xiao, we are committed to uncovering the truth and apprehending Chairman Xiao’s killer,” they assured.
Xiao Qingqiang nodded silently, then she drove to Zhao Yingxuan’s villa, confronting Chen Luo with a tempestuous presence.
“Tell me, did you kill my father?” she demanded, prepared to take revenge if Chen Luo was indeed responsible.
“No,” Chen Luo responded calmly.
True, he had orchestrated Xiao Yongqiang’s demise, but he hadn’t been the one to physically carry out the act. In his view, if he hadn’t personally done it, it wasn’t his deed.
“I don’t believe you. You had the most reason to do it,” Xiao Qingxue countered, recalling how her father had once targeted Chen Luo.
“But we had an agreement, remember? As long as you satisfied my conditions, I promised not to harm your father. And currently, I’m quite satisfied with you, so I had no reason to kill him,” Chen Luo explained.
“But I happen to know who the murderer is,” Chen Luo said, smiling as he looked at Xiao Qingxue.
“Who is it?” Xiao Qingxue gripped Chen Luo’s hand tightly, her voice urgent.
Despite the typically lukewarm relationship with her father, it didn’t mean she was indifferent to his well-being, evident from her current agitation.
“I do know the identity of the killer, but why would I share that with you?”
“Whatever it takes, I’m willing to pay any price,” Xiao Qingxue declared earnestly, her gaze fixed on Chen Luo.
“Oh, really? Willing to do anything?” Chen Luo leaned in closer to Xiao Qingxue, who stood her ground, given everything that had already transpired between them. He whispered something into her ear.
Xiao Qingxue’s expression shifted, her face a mix of shame and anger, as her neck turned a deep shade of red.
“I… I agree,” she said, teeth clenched, to Chen Luo.
Chen Luo’s face lit up with a brilliant smile, anticipating that Xiao Qingxue’s limits would continually lower, bringing her ever closer to being entirely his.
“Now will you tell me?” Xiao Qingxue looked up at him expectantly.
“Absolutely, let’s start with a surveillance video.”
Chen Luo produced a laptop and opened a surveillance recording. The instant Xiao Qingxue saw the video, her expression altered significantly.
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