Spellbound Hearts - Chapter 46 - Courting Death

Wu Shu stared at the car’s tail lights for a long moment before finally finding her voice again, her nerves still on edge.

“Ji Xuan, are you sure that guy doesn’t have… you know, some mental issues?”

Ji Xuan replied, “He doesn’t.”

After a pause, she reconsidered, realizing she didn’t actually know Liao Bei that well. “At least, I don’t think he does.”

Regardless, Wu Shu’s ordeal today had ended without catastrophe.

A few minutes later, Wu Shu climbed into the car with Ji Xuan. Ji Xuan fastened her seatbelt, retrieved a bottle of mineral water from the glove compartment, and handed it to Wu Shu to help her calm down.

Wu Shu took a sip, her voice tinged with melodramatic despair. “I feel like I just signed an unequal treaty that sold my soul.”

Ji Xuan, knowing exactly what she meant, smiled faintly. “You didn’t have to sign it. Do you have five million? Four million would do.”

Wu Shu winced as if struck in a sore spot. “No, I don’t.”

Ji Xuan shrugged. “Money makes the world go round. No money? Then you’re the one pushing the wheel.”

Wu Shu groaned, “That’s harsh.”

“Reality is always harsh,” Ji Xuan replied matter-of-factly.

As the car rolled down the road, Wu Shu gradually came to terms with her situation and started recounting the events of the previous night.

“I swear, I was just trying to do the right thing.”

“When I was throwing that paint, I felt like a hero, full of righteous indignation.”

“You know that coworker I mentioned? The one who’s barely in her twenties? She’s so timid, she relies on me to shield her at work.”

Ji Xuan wasn’t paying much attention. Her mind was preoccupied with the revelation that Liao Bei might be her mysterious benefactor. The initial excitement of the discovery had worn off, leaving her with a nagging sense that something didn’t quite add up.

Wu Shu rambled on, but when Ji Xuan didn’t respond, she nudged her. “Hey, are you even listening to me?”

Ji Xuan glanced at her briefly, her thoughts spinning. Then she asked, “Didn’t you say last night that you caught the guy because you and your coworker saw him having dinner with a girl? How did you manage to misidentify someone you saw with your own eyes?”

Wu Shu looked embarrassed. “Don’t even bring it up. She pointed to the right, but I was looking at the guy next to where she pointed.”

Who would’ve thought? Two brothers, meeting their dates at the same place.

Either way, Wu Shu concluded, neither of those brothers could be up to any good.

In her mind, she gave Liao Bei a mental label. But then, remembering how he had waived such a massive compensation fee, she adjusted her judgment slightly. At least he was better than his brother, Liao Jing.

After a pause, Ji Xuan sighed. “You really need to be more careful in the future.”

Wu Shu let out a long breath. “I was just trying to do a good deed.”

Ji Xuan replied, “I’m just worried you’ll end up losing everything in the process.”

Wu Shu fell silent, unable to argue. She had to admit, if it weren’t for Ji Xuan’s connections, she might have ended up in serious trouble today.

Thinking about Ji Xuan’s connections, Wu Shu grew curious. “How do you even know Liao Bei?”

She distinctly remembered Ji Xuan showing no reaction last night when she mentioned staking out the guy.

Ji Xuan tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Do you remember the benefactor who sponsored my education back in the day?”

Wu Shu nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! Wasn’t he supposed to be some young, handsome guy? And he used to write you letters all the time. I even teased you about it-like, why write letters when there’s a phone? It was so old-fashioned, like-”

Before Wu Shu could finish, Ji Xuan cut her off. “That person was Liao Bei.”

Wu Shu’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Ji Xuan explained, “When he wrote to me, he used the alias ‘Bo Xi.'”

Wu Shu was so stunned she couldn’t close her mouth. “…”

She distinctly remembered hearing Liao Bei mention ‘Bo Xi’ earlier today. But now, after Ji Xuan’s explanation, her brain felt like it was overheating. Finally, she asked, her face twisted in disbelief, “Are you sure?”

Ji Xuan admitted, “Not entirely. But hardly anyone else knows that name.”

Wu Shu thought back to the way Ji Xuan used to send and receive letters. “Still, I just can’t picture Liao Bei as the type to…”

The type to sit down and write letters.

That guy was so flamboyant. Just look at his flashy wardrobe. If someone told her he was a regular at nightclubs, she’d believe it. But a refined gentleman who writes letters? Not a chance.

At that very moment, the so-called “nightclub regular” Liao Bei was sitting in his car, talking on the phone with Song Zhaoli. His tone was both ingratiating and sheepish. “Hey, Song, hypothetically speaking, if you did a good deed but someone else took credit for it, how would you feel?”

Song Zhaoli, flipping through a contract, responded coldly, “Depends on the good deed.”

Liao Bei hesitated before continuing, “What if it was, say, sponsoring someone’s education?”

Song Zhaoli’s hand froze mid-turn, his voice dropping to an icy tone. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”