Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Ten minutes later, Yu Fei and Huo Yang arrived. Even Yu Fei, a big tough guy of steel, was so frightened by the horrifying doll at the door that he shot two meters back and cursed, “Holy shit, that scared the hell out of me!”

Huo Yang’s gaze tightened. He stepped forward, picked up the doll, and turned it over.

Four huge words were exposed to view: Bitch, go die.

Yu Fei’s features twisted together. He nudged the empty, bloodstained box with his foot, caught a strange smell, then picked it up and sniffed it.

Xie Qiyan, who had heard Yu Fei howling like a ghost from inside, opened the door. His face was taut as he stared straight at the words written on the back of the doll in Huo Yang’s hands.

“It’s paint.” Yu Fei rubbed his fingers together, then stood and studied his boss’s expression.

This prank had been aimed at Xia Wanzhi. No wonder he was so angry.

Huo Yang put the doll back into the box and left with it without hesitation. “I’m going to check the surveillance footage.”

Yu Fei immediately followed up, “Don’t worry, President Xie. We’ll dig three feet into the ground if we have to-we’ll find whoever did this.”

“Clean up the hallway.” Xie Qiyan frowned at the stains by the door. He had been about to do it himself when a head bumped against his back. Helpless, he turned around and raised a hand, covering Xia Wanzhi’s eyes directly.

Xia Wanzhi’s face was small enough that Xie Qiyan’s palm covered her entire face.

“I want to see…” which son of a bitch is trying to hurt me.

But before she could finish, Xie Qiyan pressed her back inside. “Mm. So you can look, then jump onto me again and demand a hug.”

Xia Wanzhi was mortified. “…”

Yu Fei rubbed his nose.

Was this something he was allowed to hear?

These two were progressing at lightning speed. Looked like the day Xie Corporation had a CEO’s Wife / Madam President wasn’t far off.

Twenty minutes later, Huo Yang returned with a copy of the surveillance footage for Xie Qiyan to review, while Yu Fei went to investigate the identity of the suspicious person in the video.

The surveillance footage was enlarged. Xia Wanzhi watched it back and forth several times, but still shook her head. “I’ve never seen this person. Is it possible they were hired to run the errand?”

But that did not quite make sense either.

Xia Wanzhi had no idea who she might have offended. Besides, she had a background and someone backing her now; no one should have dared provoke her.

“It’s possible. We’ll know once Yu Fei finishes investigating.” Huo Yang switched to another surveillance angle. “Starting five days ago, this person has sneaked into the residential complex multiple times.”

In the footage, the person was dressed all in black with a baseball cap pulled low, looking more like he was tailing someone.

He was supposedly a man, but his frame and height were both on the smaller side. He looked more like a student.

“Wait. Go back to the previous shot.” Xia Wanzhi had sharp eyes and kept feeling like she had seen the person being followed before. “Yes, right there. Zoom in.”

The image was enlarged. The distance was far, and the resolution was not particularly high, but Xia Wanzhi still recognized the person at a glance. She slapped the table and sprang to her feet as if the case had been solved, pointing at the surveillance screen. “This, this, this! This is my butler!”

Xie-the-Butler-Qiyan: “…”

While his thoughts turned complicated, his brows drew even tighter. He thoughtfully rubbed the watch on his left wrist with his right hand.

He seemed to have vaguely guessed the source of the prank.

Huo Yang gave a light cough, suddenly at a loss for how to respond.

Madam, that is not your butler.

That is an actor hired to play your butler.

Your butler is right here.

Of course, how to patch up that lie was Xie Qiyan’s own problem.

“They followed my butler and then played a prank on me? Then is this aimed at me or my butler?” Xia Wanzhi could not figure it out. She knelt on the carpet and leaned over the coffee table, looking as though she were deep in thought.

Just then, Xie Qiyan’s phone buzzed with a WeChat notification.

Once.

Twice.

Then one after another.

Xie Qiyan was sitting behind Xia Wanzhi and could not see what she was fiddling with while leaning over the coffee table, but his WeChat was currently being bombarded.

He glanced lightly at his phone but did not move.

Xia Wanzhi frowned slightly and turned her head with a chill in her eyes.

Xie Qiyan’s phone vibrated several more times in a row.

Every time Xia Wanzhi sent a message, a buzzing vibration came from behind her. For a second, she almost thought she had sent them to the wrong person.
Huo Yang couldn’t stand the atmosphere. Steeling himself, he got to his feet. “I’ll go hurry Yu Fei along.”

Under Xia Wanzhi’s gaze, Xie Qiyan remained seated upright and proper, his expression showing not the slightest hint of panic.

Xia Wanzhi was completely baffled. While waiting for Butler Qi to reply on WeChat, she fiddled with the surveillance footage and watched it back and forth several more times.

She was certain she hadn’t mistaken the person.

Twenty minutes later, Yu Fei returned with news. He first glanced subconsciously at Xie Qiyan, and only after seeing no reaction from him did he place the tablet in his hand on the table.

“Zheng Lei, female, twenty years old. She’s a sophomore at a vocational college in Beicheng, and also a die-hard fan of Qi Shi. In the two and a half years since Qi Shi debuted, she has never missed a single one of his events.”

Yu Fei said it all in one breath. “But recently, after Qi Shi blew up because of a food variety show and gained countless new fans, Zheng Lei went from being a fan to an obsessive stalker fan. From what I learned from her school, she’s been on leave for half a month straight. During that time, she appeared around Qi Shi multiple times to take photos and ask for autographs. Last Friday, she snuck into the hotel room Qi Shi was staying in and stole… all of his intimate clothing.”

Xia Wanzhi understood.

And yet, somehow, she didn’t.

“Who is Qi Shi?”

“What does this have to do with Qi Shi?”

“And what does any of this have to do with me receiving a horror doll?”

Yu Fei: “…”

Three fatal questions in a row.

Huo Yang rubbed his nose and played dead off to the side. Left with no choice, Yu Fei looked to his boss for help.

Xia Wanzhi swiped across the tablet a few times. “You’re saying this person named Zheng Lei is the one in the surveillance footage who disguised herself as a man and delivered the doll to me?”

“In other words, Zheng Lei followed my butler just to send me a prank? But I don’t know Zheng Lei, and I don’t know Qi Shi either. Why would she do that?”

Yu Fei looked up at the ceiling.

Huo Yang rubbed his nose and turned his gaze toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Xia Wanzhi pressed her lips together. Perhaps sensing that something was off with the two of them, she simply turned and stared straight at Xie Qiyan. “President Xie, they’re waiting for you to speak.”

Xie Qiyan lifted his eyes. His face remained as composed as ever, and his tone was perfectly frank. “Because the Butler Qi you met is Qi Shi.”

Xia Wanzhi’s breathing grew slightly quieter.

With that, everything made sense.

Yu Fei had never expected his boss to admit it to her so calmly, without the slightest guilty conscience of someone who had been caught doing something shady.

Seeing this, Yu Fei quickly continued, “Qi Shi became famous too suddenly, and a lot of people started spreading rumors that he was being kept by a rich woman. Zheng Lei believes every rumor she hears. After that, she got even worse and even followed Qi Shi home. She also saw Qi Shi bringing ingredients over every night to cook for… you, Miss Xia.”

Xia Wanzhi’s fists clenched slightly.

Yu Fei gave a light cough and went on, “Zheng Lei probably misunderstood and thought you were the person keeping Qi Shi, so…”

“So she put together a prank that nearly sent me to meet my great-grandmother.” Xia Wanzhi smiled faintly. Her voice was very soft, even giving off an impression of the utmost gentleness.

Utmost gentleness, deadly blade.

Yu Fei swallowed and prayed he would still be able to see his boss’s corpse tomorrow… no, body.

Xie Qiyan lowered his eyes, then glanced sideways at Yu Fei. “Find her. You know how to handle it.”

Yu Fei nodded. “Understood.”

Huo Yang gave a light cough. “I’ll deal with Qi Shi’s side.”

After a moment, Xie Qiyan gave a nod. “Mm.”

Once the two of them left, the living room sank into a long silence. Xia Wanzhi was still kneeling on the carpet. She turned slightly, propping herself up with one hand as she tilted her head and looked at Xie Qiyan.

Then, right in front of Xie Qiyan, she placed a video call to Butler Qi on her phone.

Two seconds later, the WeChat call ringtone rang from the phone in Xie Qiyan’s pocket.

The two of them stared at each other for a long while.

As smart as she was, Xie Qiyan knew she would figure it out.

After what had happened, he had no intention of hiding it anymore.

“So should I call you Xie Qiyan, or should I call you Butler Qi?” The corners of Xia Wanzhi’s mouth curved into a faint smile.

And within that faint smile lay a deep, murderous intent.