A week later, a startling news reached Lu Qingfeng and Su Xiaofei. Cai Lin was found dead with his body floating in the shallow waters of the river separating Qiying City from Guangshang. Su Xiaofei was left speechless and Lu Qingfeng's features hardened upon hearing it.
"Do you think Ye Mingyu was involved?" Su Xiaofei asked once her assistant had given her and her husband the privacy to talk.
"It's hard to tell." Lu Qingfeng replied. "But it's a possibility. Let's wait and see what the investigators would say about the cause of his death."
After all, Cai Lin had been persistently stalking Ye Mingyu over the past months and it wouldn't be surprising if Ye Mingyu couldn't stand him anymore and took matters into her own hands.
Still, killing someone like this… Su Xiaofei felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Was Ye Mingyu not afraid of retribution and karma?
However, just as Lu Qingfeng said, it was still too early for them to accuse Ye Mingyu of something. The authorities had yet to identify the cause of Cai Lin's death and what he was doing before his untimely demise.
Su Xiaofei tried not to overthink it, but the last conversation she had with Ye Mingyu still bothered her to this day. How could she not when the other woman had voiced out some uncomfortable remarks that would leave one speechless?
She continued her daily routine while her mind was still occupied with Cai Lin's death for the following three days until she and Xi Qian received the date for Cai Lin's mourning and funeral.
Since Cai Lin didn't have any relatives or money left to his name, the people he got along with during their time at Qiying City Academy had stepped forward to chip in to pay for his funeral.
Su Xiaofei wondered if Ye Mingyu would show up. As for Feng Xue'er, she hadn't seen or talked to her for years, but Su Xiaofei was certain that she would pay a visit. Feng Xue'er's name was known within the showbiz industry, but she wasn't as popular as she was in Su Xiaofei's previous life.
"I'll go with you." Lu Qingfeng said when he heard about her intention to attend Cai Lin's funeral. "He's my senior, after all."
So the next day, Su Xiaofei came with her husband and was surprised to find that Song Yiran was already there. Xi Qian arrived a moment later, with Li Xiran, but her best friend refused to comment on why they came together.
Song Yiran, though, had struck a conversation with Li Xiran and Lu Qingfeng to dispel the awkward silence around them.
"I would have never thought that Cai Lin would end up like this." Song Yiran muttered next to Lu Qingfeng. "He's the star of QCA. How did his life turn miserable? This wasn't what I had in mind for our class reunion."
Su Xiaofei knew the answer but didn't voice it out. From the moment the graft charges against Cai Lin's father had resurfaced, he was already doomed. For someone who had never experienced bitterness in life, Cai Lin had a hard time adjusting to his new life as a commoner without a cent to his name.
"I say it's because of his poor choices." A familiar voice caught their attention.
Feng Xue'er, who looked more beautiful than the last time they'd seen her, joined their table. She eyed Su Xiaofei with a blank face, then greeted Xi Qian once she was seated next to Song Yiran.
"Did you keep in touch with him after we graduated?" Song Yiran asked her.
Feng Xue'er shook her head. Su Xiaofei could see the hint of sadness in her eyes, although Feng Xue'er kept her expression impassive. She might have moved on from her heartbreak due to Cai Lin, but it wouldn't change the fact that the man had once owned her heart.
"No. I just heard that he's been trying to make ends meet by taking up several jobs at once." She answered, pretending that she wasn't affected by Cai Lin's death.
"But still, why did he need to work that hard? It's not like he was deep in debt and owed someone a lot of money." Song Yiran frowned.
He tried to investigate what Cai Lin had been doing over the past few years, trying to find out if his sudden death was related to loan sharks that could be harassing him, but that wasn't the case. The only detail Song Yiran found odd was that Cai Lin had been wiring money to random people every month. That can't be a brother or a sister because Cai Lin had no living siblings after his one and only brother died three years ago.
"Hmm… it's hard to make assumptions when we aren't sure of what's the truth and not." Xi Qian said. "What do you think, Feifei?"
Su Xiaofei did not deign any reply and only shrugged. It was better for her to pretend that she knew nothing about Cai Lin stalking Ye Mingyu.
Suddenly, Feng Xue'er's face darkened and she stiffened next to Song Yiran. Her eyes were looking past him, as if she had just seen someone. Su Xiaofei had a bad feeling about this.
She cursed inwardly and turned to see who had just arrived and found Ye Mingyu with a wide smile on her face, greeting their other schoolmates, as if she was here to socialize and catch up with everyone and not to attend a funeral.
"She's smiling like that even though this is a funeral? Is something really wrong with Ye Mingyu, or is her popularity blinding her?" Xi Qian commented, with Li Xiran sighed with disappointment next to her.
Along with Xiao Rufeng, Ye Mingyu's name was starting to gain a place in the public eye with her stellar portrayal as the best friend of Xiao Rufeng's role in the TV series they starred in. The first season had become the talk of the town and many had given both actresses high praises.
"You shouldn't be surprised. We all know that Ye Mingyu likes to revel in praises thrown at her." Feng Xue'er said bitterly. It was obvious that she still held some resentment towards Ye Mingyu even though a long time had already passed.
"She's an actress, but she should have known that this isn't the right time to entertain such praises from our schoolmates." Xi Qian couldn't help but agree with Feng Xue'er though.
Still, something about how Feng Xue'er reacted from the moment she saw Ye Mingyu made Su Xiaofei suspect that the other woman knew something about Cai Lin's death.
They took turns to give respect to Cai Lin's remains for the last time. Su Xiaofei wasn't planning to stay for long, but someone grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving the restroom.
"Feng Xue'er?" She blinked. She could easily release herself and run away from this woman, but she wanted to know what caused Feng Xue'er to act like this.
Feng Xue'er released Su Xiaofei's wrist and ran to the door and locked it in a hurry. She then checked every stall in the bathroom to make sure that no one would overhear what she was about to tell Su Xiaofei. She came back and grabbed both of Su Xiaofei's hands, looking nervous.
"It's Ye Mingyu. I'm sure of it. You need to be careful around her."
Su Xiaofei frowned. "What are you talking about, Miss Feng?"
"Cai Lin called me a week ago. He sounded like he was drunk and I didn't take his words seriously, but he said that Ye Mingyu finally accepted him." She grimaced but her eyes were now shining with tears. "He said that Ye Mingyu agreed to move in with him, but how was it possible that three days later, he ended up dead?"
"Miss Feng, you do know that this isn't enough to accuse someone of murder." Su Xiaofei reminded her, slowly peeling off Feng Xue'er's slender fingers from her hands.
"You don't believe me?" Feng Xue'er asked in disbelief.
"It's not that I don't believe you, Miss Feng. But if you mentioned what you've told me today to the authorities, Ye Mingyu would only use this and file a defamation case against you. You don't want that to happen, Miss Feng. Not when your brand is starting to flourish."
Feng Xue'er somewhat calmed down upon hearing that. Indeed, her business was doing well lately and it would be bad for her if someone like Ye Mingyu dragged her into a legal battle. It would surely tarnish her reputation.
"What should I do then?" She asked Su Xiaofei desperately, clinging on her arm. "There was nothing else that Cai Lin mentioned about but her before his death. I'm sure we would be able to find something in his possession to increminate Ye Mingyu."
"You really believe that Ye Mingyu did it?" Su Xiaofei challenged her. "Are you sure you're not saying these words out of jealousy?"
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