Fatal Desire

Chapter 111 Poor parents in the world
Before Shang Shixu could answer, his phone rang with a new call.

Qiao Yifan's shrill laughter came through the receiver: "Shang Shixu, Shang Shixu, you illegitimate child who can't be brought into the light."

The other person's deliberately drawn-out tone was like a dull knife cutting into flesh, "Thinking you can turn your life around by climbing on Song Xi's coattails? Too bad, you've chosen the wrong master!"

The sound of Qiao Yifan sipping red wine was clearly audible, and his tone suddenly turned sinister: "If you kneel down and beg me now, maybe..." He chuckled, "I might still be able to spare your lives."

Shang Shixu's lips curled into a cold smile: "President Qiao, are you so concerned about me because you're afraid I'll steal your position as the Qiao family's heir?"

The sound of a glass shattering came from the other end of the phone.

"You!" Qiao Yifan's breathing became noticeably heavier. "Do you think Song Xi can still protect you now? She can't even protect herself!"

Shang Shixu's voice turned icy: "Why don't you first check why your father's three accounts in the Swiss bank suddenly lost 80 million recently?"

The other end fell silent instantly.

Shang Shixu hung up the phone and looked thoughtfully at the reporters below the office building.

Netizens only know that Song Xi is the CEO of Morningside Venture Capital, but they are unaware that Song Xi is a member of the Zhao family.

It seems that the information related to the bombing was covered up by the Zhao family in order to protect her and, more importantly, to save face. They silenced those involved and erased all records and documents.

Shang Shixu asked Cheng Nian, "How much do you know about the bombing?"

"I've only heard about the explosion," Cheng Nian replied, knowing nothing else.

After a moment of silence, Shang Shixu said, "Go and inform President Song."

The truth behind the bombing is probably only known to those involved. Shang Shixu doesn't know the details and has no way to investigate it in depth.

Negative public opinion poured in, and many of Morningside's partners called to discuss terminating their contracts. The company still had to stay afloat, so Shang Shixu stayed in the office to handle the work.

When Song Xi saw the news, the centrifuge in the laboratory was humming regularly.

The cold light from the phone screen pierced her eyes, her knuckles turned white, her nails almost dug into her palms, but her back remained straight, like a sword that refused to bend.

"President Song..." Cheng Nian asked, "The public relations department is considering countermeasures and would like to know your opinion."

The best course of action in this crisis management situation involving suspected illegality is to report it to the police and refute it with strong evidence. Otherwise, you will only be making empty claims and others will think you are just making excuses.

Song Xi has her own laboratory in the research and development building. Her gaze swept over the experimental table. Those sophisticated instruments and flashing indicator lights were just like that night four years ago.

"I'll handle this. You can go back to your normal work."

Cheng Nian hesitated: "President Song, you don't look well..."

Song Xi's tone became firmer, and she directly ordered, "Go back."

"I'm right outside." Cheng Nian had no choice but to give up. "President Song, please call me anytime if you need anything."

The moment the lock clicked shut, Song Xi slumped into the swivel chair. Her vision blurred, her breathing became rapid, as if she were back in that terrifying night filled with raging flames.

The imperial green safety buckle felt warm against my collarbone, and memories flooded back like a tide.

Back then, she was angry and said she would go abroad and never come back, thinking that Zhao Yansen could persuade her to stay. She thought that as long as he asked, she wouldn't leave.

But even on the day before she was to leave the country, Zhao Yansen still didn't try to persuade her to stay. Disheartened, she lay in her bedroom staring at the starry sky on the ceiling.

A new message popped up on her phone. Senior Xu Yi said there was a problem with the lab data she had previously assisted with and asked her to come back to school.

To her surprise, Zhao Yansen appeared at the school. Song Xi ran towards him excitedly, thinking he had come to persuade her to stay, but that wasn't the case.

He leaned lazily against the car door, his long legs slightly bent. As she rushed over, he reached out and grabbed her slender waist, trapping her between his legs. Then, he slowly took out the safety buckle from the velvet box and put it on her.

She felt a surge of joy at the warmth of his fingertips brushing against the back of his neck and the weight of the safety buckle on his collarbone.

He said it was a gift for her going abroad to study. Song Xi's eyes burned with tears, and she ran angrily towards the laboratory building.

After running a few steps, I turned around and saw that he was still standing there motionless. I angrily kicked a pebble away.

She thought to herself, "My brother is driving me crazy!"

Who would have thought that her words would become a self-fulfilling prophecy?

However, it was he who was about to die.

The laboratory explosion occurred about half an hour later.

The centrifuge suddenly emitted a piercing alarm, jolting Song Xi back to reality. She stumbled over, only to find the display screen completely black: no one had started it at all.

It was another auditory hallucination.

She gripped the edge of the lab bench and gave a bitter smile. She used to hallucinate Zhao Yansen calling her name; now she was even hallucinating the sounds of the instruments running. If this continued, she'd be ruined sooner or later.

Song Xi set an alarm for five minutes later on her phone, covered her face with her hands, and remained silent for a moment until the alarm rang.

She composed herself and opened her phone to browse the news again, only to find the news page had returned a 404 error, and the influential accounts that had spearheaded the campaign were now marked as "cancelled."

The internet may disappear... but that doesn't mean the matter is over.

Song Xi dialed Uncle Liao's number, and he answered immediately.

"Uncle Liao, do you still remember Xu Yi from Tsinghua University?"

"I remember." Old Liao was driving and hadn't had time to watch the news, so he didn't know why she suddenly asked this.

"Help me find out where his parents are now," Song Xi said. "Come pick me up after you find them."

"Yes."

After hanging up the phone, there was a knock on the door. Cheng Nian said respectfully, "President Song, I've made you a red bean latte."

"Come in."

Cheng Nian brought in coffee and placed it in front of Song Xi: "President Song, it seems the news has disappeared."

"It's only temporary. Since the other party has released the information, they won't release it all at once." Song Xi lowered her eyes and scrolled through her phone. Sure enough, she saw a new chapter and clicked on the video.

The bald, middle-aged man in the video claims to be Xu Yi's father.

“My son, my son…” His Adam’s apple bobbed, and cloudy tears streamed down his nasolabial folds and into the corners of his mouth. His rough, bark-like fingers repeatedly wiped his face, but he couldn’t dry the tears. “He was always number one from childhood to adulthood… his certificates covered an entire wall…”

They said their family only had one son, Xu Yi, who was outstanding from a young age. They had worked so hard to raise him, but before he could enjoy his life, he was murdered. He couldn't believe his son could have done something wrong and kept searching for the cause. Because he was so stubborn, his wife divorced him... His son had never even been in a relationship, and his death was so tragic... Now he just wants justice.

With tears streaming down his face and those old photos, he truly showed the boundless love and concern of parents.

Cheng Nian was deeply moved by what she saw, but she still held back her tears.

"Are you very touched?" Song Xi took a sip of her red bean latte, her tone calm.

Cheng Nian looked troubled.

Song Xi: "To be honest."

“President Song,” Cheng Nian said honestly, “I was just thinking about my parents.”

"Mom and Dad..." Song Xi seemed to be deep in thought.

Did they think she was vulnerable because she had no parents and was all alone?

(End of this chapter)