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"What does that mean?" Chen Rui couldn't believe that the girl in front of him had actually killed her ex-boyfriend with her own hands. She had loved him so much!
What terrified Chen Rui even more was that he looked exactly like that older brother, Zijing. What if she acted impulsively again or made some other mistake that reignited her murderous intent?
"It just means what it says," Li Xue said, stopping her tears. To Chen Rui, her once ethereal beauty seemed to have vanished, replaced by the visage of a grim reaper beckoning him.
Just what does "just means what it says" even mean? If this girl had killed Zijing herself, why did she still think about him so much? Why was she unwilling to accept reality for his sake?
Chen Rui felt cold sweat trickling down his back; there were too many contradictions and conflicts for him to discern what was real and what was false. The mix of misinformation made it impossible to find the truth.
He decided to stop thinking about these matters and feigned indifference as he smiled. "Let's hurry outside; we shouldn't keep them waiting too long."
Li Xue nodded, wiping away the tears on her face, and smiled as she followed Chen Rui.
However, when they exited QB Basement, they found no one outside. Li Xue glanced at her watch and saw that it was already past eleven-thirty. She pulled Chen Rui along as they walked out. "They've probably all gone to eat. Hmph!"
Chen Rui looked at the pouting beauty before him, who seemed no less stunning than before. Yet, he couldn't help but remember her words, which reminded him that this beauty was like a rose with thorns—its spikes laced with poison.
As they left the basement, they heard laughter and chatter. Li Xue became even angrier, gripping Chen Rui's hand tighter. He felt himself being yanked suddenly, nearly losing his balance and falling.
Entering the restaurant, they found everyone gathered around a round table, with three empty seats clearly reserved for Chen Rui, Li Xue, and the yet-to-arrive Luo Dong.
Seeing that they hadn't started eating yet, Li Xue shot a glare at her brother and fell silent as she pulled Chen Rui into a seat.
Once everyone was present, Luo Dong took his place at the table. Li Li smiled and said, "You guys must have kept us waiting for ages."
Her comment was interrupted by Zhou Zhi. "Exactly! Look at my stomach; it's starting to protest! Did you guys stir up public outrage?"
Li Xue shot him an annoyed glance. "Alright, alright, since you're so hungry, you should definitely eat more. Otherwise, it would be a hassle if you faint from exhaustion in the basement this afternoon." Chen Rui jumped in before Li Xue could retort. His comment was merely a tease; if Li Xue started to argue, their meal would likely be delayed.
Chen Rui's words made everyone laugh. Although there were plenty of medical tools in the basement, it would indeed be ridiculous if someone fainted simply because they hadn't eaten enough.
"Well, since everyone is here, let's start eating," Li Li said with a smile, interrupting the laughter.
Chen Rui noticed that this group didn't chat much while eating; most of their conversations were wrapped up before the meal. After Li Li spoke, everyone focused intently on enjoying the delicious food. The only sounds in the restaurant were the clinking of chopsticks and spoons against bowls and plates; even chewing was barely audible.
Truly, these were people of high society. Chen Rui smiled lightly; such quiet enjoyment of food was something only those of their status could manage.
After the meal, it was time to rest. Most people chose to take a short nap, but Chen Rui genuinely did not have that habit. He only went to sleep when he felt tired; otherwise, it was quite difficult for him to fall asleep at any other time.
Taking advantage of their break, Chen Rui went out to the balcony alone. The large wooden balcony was adorned with various potted plants whose names he couldn't recall—strange yet beautiful in their own right.
He found a wooden lounge chair to lean back on and took out his phone to search for information about Sheryl's ex-boyfriend, Chen Zijing.
Chen Rui first tried searching for "Chen Zijing" directly. Although some Weibo posts and blogs came up, none were about the person he was looking for.
Generally speaking, information about celebrities can usually be found online; public information is readily available, and even some insider details can be gleaned from magazines. However, Chen Zijing was not a well-known figure—he wasn't a public personality—so it was nearly impossible to find anything online.
Feeling frustrated, Chen Rui recalled that Li Xue had mentioned before that Chen Zijing was a soldier and an Air Force pilot. He decided to try searching for "Air Force pilot Chen Zijing."
Though he approached it with a sense of skepticism and didn't expect to find anything substantial, the results still shocked him.
One entry clearly stated: Pilot Chen Zijing, Major... and the title of that entry read: Casualty List of the Five O'Clock War!!!
The Five O'Clock War was a conflict that erupted over five years ago, instigated by a neighboring country. After declaring war at five o'clock and due to various issues, the country announced its surrender shortly thereafter, hence the name "Five O'Clock War."
It is well known that neither side in the Five O'Clock War deployed troops, so there should have been no casualties. Chen Rui clearly remembers that all the news at the time mocked the government of that country, and there was not a single report mentioning the deaths of our soldiers.
Chen Rui opened a message from an international news agency. The report was brief, as both sides had very few casualties. Our side lost only two personnel, both pilots—one a Lieutenant Colonel and the other a Major. The enemy's casualty list was also short, with just over a dozen names and no specific ranks mentioned. From the report alone, it was impossible to glean much information.
Chen Rui tried to search for information on those enemy personnel and was shocked by what he found. Every name belonged to high-ranking officials in that country's defense and military sectors.
Logically, during wartime, such figures would typically be under strict protection. However, their appearance on the casualty list could only mean one thing: they had been taken out by our special forces!
Yet this significant achievement, which should have been celebrated, had been deliberately overlooked by our country. The reasons behind this were not something that could be easily found online.
But these were merely speculations. To confirm his suspicions, Chen Rui called Jia Guang.
"Hello? Who is this?" The voice was cold, but it was undoubtedly Jia Guang.
"It's me! Brother, you didn't save my number? Even if you didn't save it, you wouldn't forget my number, right?" Chen Rui laughed awkwardly, completely unaware of his own mistake.
Due to work reasons, Chen Rui had two phone numbers—one for domestic use and another for international use. When his phone couldn't receive signals from domestic towers, it would automatically switch off the domestic SIM card and use the international one instead. Jia Guang had saved Chen Rui's domestic number, so naturally, he wouldn't recognize him with the new number.
"Come on! Let's talk sense! If this isn't the number I saved for you, I'd slap your face!" Jia Guang exclaimed angrily, still as hot-tempered as ever.
Realizing his mistake, Chen Rui quickly apologized with a smile. "Alright, alright! I'll buy you a pack of cigarettes when I get back; how does that sound?"
Jia Guang lit a cigarette, and the sound of the lighter and his inhalation created some static on the microphone. "Enough! You think I don't know you? There's nothing you wouldn't call me about if there's something going on. Spit it out!"
Seeing that his ruse had been uncovered, Chen Rui decided to drop the pretense and got straight to the point. "I wanted to ask about someone—a fellow Air Force soldier who's also a pilot. I thought you might know him."
Jia Guang paused for a moment; even the sound of him smoking disappeared from the line. Chen Rui tentatively asked, "Brother? Are you still there?"
"Come on, do you really want me dead?" Jia Guang cursed. "Pilots? Yeah, I know a lot of pilots. Aren't you one of them?"
Chen Rui chuckled lightly. "Mine's an Air Force pilot named Chen Zijing. He looks just like me."
"Chen Zijing? Never heard of him. Looks just like you? Now that's interesting. Alright, I'll ask around for you. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up; I've got things to do." Jia Guang extinguished his cigarette and hung up without waiting for Chen Rui's response.
Hearing the busy tone from his phone, Chen Rui smiled helplessly. Of course, if Jia Guang had met him, he would have mentioned it; after all, they look so alike. It seems getting useful information from Jia Guang would be difficult.
Chen Rui leaned back in his chair, weakly moving his neck and letting out a long sigh.
"What's wrong? Not going to rest and just playing on your phone?" A sweet female voice rang in his ear. Chen Rui sat up to see a freshly bathed beauty sitting across from him with a cup of coffee.
"Care for a cup?" Bai Qingyu asked with a gentle smile, lightly tapping her cup with a coffee spoon.
Chen Rui shook his head. He really didn't like drinking coffee, and it seemed she wasn't planning to take a break at this hour.
"From the looks of you, something's definitely on your mind. If it's something unpleasant, why not share it with me? It might cheer me up," Bai Qingyu teased playfully, her words laced with flirtation.
Chen Rui forced a smile. "I don't even know if I should be happy or not. Since you've known Li Li for a while now, you must have met him; maybe you know some things."
"Oh." Bai Qingyu placed her coffee cup on the table beside her, becoming somewhat serious. "Even now, not many people can calmly call him by name like you do. I was quite surprised before. Feel free to ask me anything; I won't hold back on what I know."
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