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墨書 Inktalez
The phone's noisy ringtone woke Autumn Wind from a half-dream, half-awake state in the early morning.
Autumn Wind kept her eyes closed and reached under her pillow, feeling around for her phone but finding nothing. She then stretched her hand toward the bedside table, groggily opening her eyes just a crack. The phone had stopped ringing, leaving only a missed call notification on the screen. Upon checking, she discovered it was from an unfamiliar Number.
As usual, Autumn Wind shoved the phone back under her pillow and comfortably turned over. However, the once spacious bed now felt cramped, and something heavy pressed down on her body.
Startled, Autumn Wind opened her eyes wide and looked at the hard object beneath her. With the light filtering through a corner of the curtain, she realized it was a living body.
She let out a scream, akin to the sound of Qiu Feng's red poodle getting its tail stepped on.
Her scream also startled the massive figure sleeping beside her. Autumn Wind struggled to sit up and jumped out of bed, hurriedly picking up scattered clothes from the floor like a scavenger. At that moment, the large figure turned on the light.
It was Liu Jian.
The light illuminated his broad shoulders, highlighting the perfect lines of his muscles. His hair was tousled, giving off a scent of shampoo.
Autumn Wind froze in place as she stared at Liu Jian, who was equally wide-eyed in surprise. They both inhaled sharply at the same time.
Liu Jian continued to lock eyes with Autumn Wind. He grabbed a cup and chose to close his eyes again, lying back down on the bed with an expression of helplessness as if waiting for dawn to arrive.
Autumn Wind shifted her gaze to the floor, which resembled an indescribable battlefield. It was hard to imagine what kind of wild party had taken place there last night!
Various items were strewn across the floor—dumbbells, clothes, shoes, records, vomit, red wine and empty wine bottles, along with several empty coffee cups.
Continuing her scan of the room, Autumn Wind finally spotted something she dreaded facing in the nearby trash can along with some packaging.
Screaming, Autumn Wind dashed to the Toilet, turned on the faucet at the sink, and buried her head under the stream of water.
She closed her eyes, recalling what had happened after Liu Jian returned last night. What exactly transpired?
Last night, Autumn Wind dejectedly got into Liu Jian's car, burying her head low to avoid letting Liu Jian see her face, yet tears continued to flow uncontrollably.
Liu Jian said nothing, merely taking Autumn Wind in a circular route centered around Zhongshan Park. He kept explaining the origin of his earlier words, "I have no ill intentions towards Ervin; I just..."
His fragmented words reached Autumn Wind's ears, but she felt dazed.
The lights began to flicker on the glass window, resembling well-crafted diamonds reflecting dazzling light.
It was raining again in Taipei.
Autumn Wind remembered telling Liu Jian about her homelessness, but she couldn't recall how she suggested going to Liu Jian's house.
This might be the smoothest process between any man and woman.
Six cups of coffee and three bottles of red wine flowed down like a mountain stream, clear and refreshing, into her stomach. All the bitterness and choking feelings in Autumn Wind's heart were thrown to the top of Yangmingshan.
Drunk, Autumn Wind leaned against Liu Jian's strong and long thigh, loudly questioning him if he truly loved her.
Liu Jian answered earnestly again and again, but when Autumn Wind asked him how much he loved her, he suddenly fell silent.
Autumn Wind exchanged a glance with Liu Jian and noticed that his pupils reflected the already darkened Taipei 101. The flickering light made it look like a dying planet.
Autumn Wind cautiously poured the remaining wine from the third bottle evenly into the glasses in front of herself and Liu Jian.
Liu Jian closed his eyes, his thick and long eyelashes damp, calling out Autumn Wind's name: "Autumn Wind, I know I am very immature, but I really love you, truly!" He silently grabbed the last glass of red wine and drank it all.
The air was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere. Autumn Wind's thoughts were clear yet chaotic. She also picked up the last glass of red wine and downed it in one go; getting drunk was a complete release for her.
Afterward, the two looked at each other again, their gazes becoming hazy, as if something had to happen to justify the red wine they had just consumed.
However, when Autumn Wind realized that this thought was futile, it seemed that everything was out of control.
On the streets of Taipei at five in the morning, the lights still flickered chaotically, and a light rain dampened the ground. The men and women from the nightclubs, having just vented their emptiness and loneliness, supported each other as they walked out of the harbor that had just made them lose themselves in intoxication.
The drizzle washed over this gentle yet lonely city, cleansing all the secrets that everyone was unwilling to face under the cover of night.
At the same time, in another location, Qiu Mowen was also sleepless throughout the night.
All night long, Qiu Mowen found it difficult to treat Liu Jian with his usual mindset. Liu Jian's performance tonight made it impossible for him to make an objective judgment. This suddenly appearing young figure haunted him like a ghost; every word Liu Jian spoke and every action he took replayed in his mind like a movie.
Especially last night downstairs, in the same place as before, he saw Autumn Wind get into Liu Jian's car with a face full of sadness.
Just thinking about what might happen next ignited a raging anger within him. He wanted nothing more than to rush forward, pull Autumn Wind out, and give Liu Jian a good beating; however, he could not do that.
The immense resentment and anger merged into a pain he was unwilling to touch.
He picked up his phone from the table, deciding to call Autumn Wind for clarification. But after dialing, he quickly hung up. After thinking for a moment, he picked it up again but hung up before it even rang on the other end.
Three days later, Qiu Mowen changed his number: "Hello, is this ilsn? Help me look up a person; I will send you the specific details. The reward is good. I want all information about this person, including their romantic history!"
Ilsn is a friend recognized by Qiu Mowen, who once saved his life in Los Angeles, so Ilsn is extremely grateful to Qiu Mowen.
After returning to Taiwan, Ilsn joined a newspaper, but unfortunately, he was assigned to cover social news. Before he could report on a single story, he was involved in a car accident that left the scene horrific. Ilsn had no choice but to undergo amputation, and the cost of his prosthetic limb was covered by Qiu Mowen.
Once Ilsn's body recovered, Qiu Mowen helped him find a relaxed job at a company. However, he stubbornly returned to the media industry, this time not covering social news but working as a gossip reporter at Fruit Daily.
In his spare time, Ilsn also took on some investigative work, looking into Liu Jian's identity, which was easy for him.
On the third day, Ilsn contacted Qiu Mowen.
When Ilsn called, Chen Shanni was reluctantly getting out of Qiu Mowen's car. Qiu Mowen was anxiously chatting with Chen Shanni as she slowly walked away from the car. As soon as Chen Shanni stepped into the building, Qiu Mowen quickly picked up the phone. On the other end of the line, Ilsn spoke in his highly professional tone: "Ervin, it's done. Should I fax it to you or meet in person?"
Qiu Mowen thought for a moment and replied, "Where are you now? I'll come find you!"
"I'm at the office. Come find me!"
"Okay!"
Qiu Mowen turned the car around and drove towards Ilsn's company. The lights on the streets of Taipei began to hint at the start of a lively night. Linsen North Road was bustling with vibrant nightlife, with nightclubs flashing alluring neon lights.
As soon as Qiu Mowen parked by the roadside, Ilsn nimbly hopped in, showing no signs of being someone with a prosthetic limb. He pulled his hat low over his face and wore large sunglasses that obscured his eyes completely.
Ilsn took out a large file from his bag and mysteriously said, "Everything is in here; it's a typical trade case. His mother is Yao Lizhen's aunt. This guy returned last June but went back to the U.S. once in between. His parents are engaged in international trade business; sixty percent of your company's foreign trade with Europe and America is related to his parents. He studied law..."
Ilsn paused for a moment: "Aside from the well-known divorce case involving wealthy businessmen, he is also a member of several economic case lawyer teams. As for his romantic life, we haven't found much from America; in Taiwan, he has only been involved with one girl—Qiu Feng's assistant Xiao Yuan's wife. Currently, they are living together; apart from knowing her name, we have no information about her family situation..."
"Living together?" Qiu Mowen suddenly widened his eyes while casually flipping through the documents in the folder. His brows furrowed tightly as he discovered a photo showing Autumn Wind walking intimately with Liu Jian into an apartment, with Autumn Wind carrying a large bag of clothes and daily necessities.
The LV suitcase in Autumn Wind's hand stung Qiu Mowen's eyes. He suddenly felt regretful; would this investigation expose the relationship between Qiu Ruolan and Autumn Wind?
He frantically flipped through all the materials but found no other information related to Autumn Wind. He squinted, "Is that all?"
ilsn took off his sunglasses, looking terrified. "That's it, there's nothing more!"
"Oh, okay! This matter ends here! I will transfer the remaining money to your account!" Qiu Mowen reached out and touched the brim of ilsn's hat. "Don't mention this to anyone! Otherwise, we..." Qiu Mowen's mischievous expression suddenly turned serious as he raised an eyebrow. "Understand?"
"I understand this rule!" ilsn replied. "Then Ervin, I'm leaving!" His hand rested on the side of the car.
"Wait a minute!" Qiu Mowen reached for a large box bag placed on the back seat. "Your mom's birthday is coming up, give this to her!"
ilsn took the bag with trepidation, his hands trembling slightly. Qiu Mowen, "I might go to the mainland for a while and won't be able to celebrate her birthday. Just a little token of my appreciation. And you, don't gamble, got it?"
"I got it!" After finishing, ilsn lowered his head and slowly got out of the car, completely lacking the nonchalance he had when getting in. He held both ends of the bag and carefully looked at it; neatly arranged on the outside of the box was a stack of money. ilsn clenched his fists tightly, his body starting to tremble.
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