Chapter 27: Mother’s Photo Album

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At the Zhang family villa, Zhang Yanran clenched her delicate fists and lowered her head.

“Half a month, and you’ve finally decided to come home?” Zhang Fuqiang said as he tapped the ash from his cigarette.

“Dad, were those gangsters sent by you?” Zhang Yanran asked, her voice choking with emotion. Her eyes were red.

Yet, in order to verify the truth of what Chu Feng had told her, she had still chosen to come back.

After all, she had always harbored a suspicion that her mother’s death had not been as simple as it seemed.

Her mother had always been in good health. How could she have suddenly died of an illness?

Zhang Yanran’s greatest regret was that while she had been attending classes at school, her mother had quietly passed away.

It was a pain she would carry forever.

Zhang Fuqiang, however, clearly had no intention of answering her directly. Instead, he told Yanran to return to her room and get on with her life, warning her not to pull another stunt like running away from home.

When Zhang Yanran reached the second floor of the villa, she saw a blonde, blue-eyed woman.

She was tall and slender, with a Nordic face that looked like a sculpture from ancient Greece.

Whether in appearance or figure, she was in no way inferior to Li Xueli.

She did not appear much older than Zhang Yanran—perhaps twenty-three or twenty-four.

The woman nodded at Zhang Yanran, then walked over to Zhang Fuqiang and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Darling! There’s a party tonight. Let’s go together.”

“Of course.” Zhang Fuqiang slipped an arm around her slender waist.

“I knew you were the best.” As she spoke, the woman kissed him on the cheek. Her behavior was exceedingly bold. Then she glanced at Zhang Yanran. “Hello, Yanran. My name is Nina.”

Furious, Zhang Yanran stormed into her room and slammed the door shut.

Only after she heard Zhang Fuqiang and Nina’s car gradually disappear into the distance did she come out again.

Aunt Liu, the housekeeper, came upstairs and said, “Miss, you have no idea how worried we were while you were away these past few days!”

“But my father wasn’t worried at all.” Zhang Yanran gave a bitter smile.

“Your father did send people to look for you, Miss… The madam still hasn’t come home, has she?” Aunt Liu asked with concern.

Zhang Yanran sighed. “Aunt Liu, I want to be alone in Mother’s study.”

“I’ll make you something to eat.” Aunt Liu was about to say more, but Zhang Yanran had already entered her mother’s study.

It was where her mother had worked during her lifetime, and it was also the absolute forbidden ground of the villa.

Other than her father, Zhang Yanran allowed no one to enter.

Li Xueli had never even set foot inside. Zhang Yanran herself handled the cleaning.

Whenever she encountered a setback or suffered some grievance, Zhang Yanran would always come here to sit quietly by herself.

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The lingering scent of her mother still remained in the air, and her mother’s presence seemed to linger everywhere around her. This place was the only refuge in her heart.

“Mom… Why haven’t you come to see me in my dreams lately?” Zhang Yanran sobbed.

Outside the door, Aunt Liu heard her voice and let out a sigh as well.

She had watched Zhang Yanran grow up and knew how difficult life had been for the girl.

“Miss, I’ve left your meal outside the door.” With a gloomy expression, Aunt Liu walked away.

Hugging her knees, Zhang Yanran wiped away her tears.

After crying for a long time, she slowly rose to her feet. For some reason, a scene from the last time she had been with her mother suddenly surfaced in her mind.

“Yanran, Mother may have to go away on a business trip soon, somewhere very far away… If you miss me, remember to look at our photographs.”

Before, Zhang Yanran had assumed that her mother had simply been reluctant to part with her.

But now, after hearing what Chu Feng had told her, she found the words strangely unsettling.

Her mother had often traveled for work, but transportation was so convenient. Even years ago, traveling by plane or train had been perfectly commonplace.

Why had she said somewhere very far away?

Suddenly, Zhang Yanran realized something.

Could her mother have known long ago that she was going to be murdered?

At that thought, Zhang Yanran immediately began searching through the bookshelf. She found the photo album.

Inside were photographs of her and her mother together, from childhood until the present.

In every picture, her mother’s smile was so gentle.

She flipped to the very last page. There was a photograph of them at an amusement park—the final picture of mother and daughter together.

With trembling hands, Zhang Yanran took the photograph out.

Yet there seemed to be nothing unusual about it.

“Wait… Is this photograph thicker than it should be?”

Zhang Yanran felt as if her heart were about to leap from her chest. She quickly picked up a utility knife and peeled away the plastic sleeve around the photograph.

Sure enough, there was a hidden layer inside the sleeve.

“Is this… a telephone number?”

When Zhang Yanran saw the string of numbers, she stood there in a daze.

…

In the dressing room, Chu Feng changed into a casual outfit.

He looked at himself in the mirror and was quite satisfied with what he saw.

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At that moment, a pair of snow-white arms wrapped around Chu Feng’s neck, followed by a breath carrying a faint, alluring fragrance.

Chu Feng turned around and saw Li Xueli dressed in a seductive nightgown.

She had ordered it online. After all, no store carried anything quite so daring.

The fabric was as light as gauze, trimmed with ring upon ring of lace.

“We’ve been clinging to each other for two days already. Are you planning to keep me imprisoned at home forever?” Chu Feng teased with a smile.

Leaning against his shoulder, Li Xueli said, “It’s so late, and you’re still going out… Are you going to see your lover?”

Chu Feng slipped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her into his embrace. Looking down at the beauty in his arms, he raised the corner of his mouth.

Li Xueli really was a temptress.

During the two days they had spent at home, she had found countless ways to repay him.

“Aren’t you afraid that if we keep this up, we’ll end up with a child?” Chu Feng said playfully.

In truth, they had already used up the supplies they had bought at the supermarket. By now, they had almost no way left to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.

Li Xueli merely hugged him tighter. “If it were your child, I wouldn’t mind.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“I’m already thirty-one. Technically speaking, I’d be considered an older mother. How about I bear a child to carry on the Chu family line?”

“In your dreams!” Chu Feng poked her lightly on the forehead, earning an adorable little whimper from her.

“If I divorce Zhang Fuqiang, can I stay by your side?” Li Xueli asked softly.

Chu Feng froze for a moment.

Could it be that this mature beauty had fallen for him?

“What’s so good about me? I’m just a penniless man.”

“I’ve already experienced the life of the rich. These days, being with you, I don’t have to worry about my status or position. All I need to do is take care of you and prepare your meals.” Li Xueli rested her cheek against his chest.

Chu Feng could tell that she was speaking from the heart.

After all, he had spent so many years in prison. He could recognize sincerity from falsehood at a glance.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Chu Feng’s voice turned somewhat cold. He did not want to become entangled in matters of the heart.

Besides, he was planning to meet someone tonight—the friend who had taught him boxing in his previous life.

If he wanted to fight Zhang Fuqiang, he needed someone capable at his side.

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