Even After My Death
Chapter 497 - 404: Qi Xingzhou: Can you come back home with me?

Chapter 497: Chapter 404: Qi Xingzhou: Can you come back home with me?

Jiang Ning slowly brought the car to a stop in front of Qi Xingzhou.

The car window rolled down, and their eyes met. Upon seeing Jiang Ning, the previously empty and indifferent look in Qi Xingzhou’s eyes seemed to be suddenly filled with vitality, coming to life at once.

He wore a white shirt today, with a sharp silhouette that outlined perfect shoulders, and one could vaguely discern his superior figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Light-colored casual pants complemented the attire, and his fluffy hair looked soft and voluminous in the sunlight. His eyes shone brightly as he happily looked down to meet Jiang Ning’s gaze, his demeanor clean and clear, brimming with youthful spirit.

Jiang Ning smiled and spoke, "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not long; I just arrived," Qi Xingzhou replied honestly, shaking his head and inadvertently revealing the sweat-dampened forehead beneath his black hair at his temples.

"Get in the car first, come sit at my place, and I’ll take you home later in the evening," Jiang Ning quickly offered.

"Sure," Qi Xingzhou answered swiftly, pulling open the door and skillfully taking the passenger seat next to Jiang Ning.

After getting into the car, Qi Xingzhou seemed to remember that he had come to bring Jiang Ning some cookies. He gently placed the blue package he was carrying on his lap, "These are small cookies baked by Mom. I’ll hold them for you for now."

Jiang Ning drove the car into the residential complex, glancing at the blue package on Qi Xingzhou’s legs, "Such a big bag?"

She had thought it was just a few cookies for her to taste.

Qi Xingzhou was not interested in the cookies made by Ji Shuang. After receiving them, he didn’t look closely, intent only on hurrying over to see Jiang Ning.

Hearing Jiang Ning’s comment, he looked down seriously and opened the bag to check, "There are three boxes, not too many."

"Oh, so probably one box for each flavor," Jiang Ning thought to herself, considering what to give Ji Shuang in return.

Jiang Ning had eaten at the Qi Family’s place several times before. This was the second time Ji Shuang had sent food over.

Jiang Ning chatted with Qi Xingzhou while pondering what to give as a return gift.

After parking the car in the garage, they rode the elevator up.

Upon exiting the elevator, Jiang Ning suddenly noticed a foam box placed in front of her door.

"Huh? Where did this box come from?" Jiang Ning walked over.

Qi Xingzhou followed closely behind.

The foam box wasn’t large, looking quite new, positioned dead center outside Jiang Ning’s door.

Jiang Ning thought it might be a neighbor’s box that had been blown over by the wind. She was about to nudged it aside with her foot when Qi Xingzhou suddenly extended his hand to stop her, "Don’t move."

Jiang Ning’s toes were just touching the foam box, allowing her to feel that it wasn’t empty.

Upon hearing Qi Xingzhou’s words, Jiang Ning immediately withdrew her foot, "What’s wrong?"

She looked down at the small foam box and then up at Qi Xingzhou, "Is there a problem with this box?"

Qi Xingzhou’s lips were tightly pressed together; the eyes that were clear and bright just moments ago were now dark as the abyss. He stared at the foam box on the ground with a hint of wariness, his eyelids drooping slightly, his brows furrowed as if confirming something.

His long fingers, which had been gripping Jiang Ning, relaxed and then immediately tightened. Qi Xingzhou lowered his gaze to Jiang Ning and slowly explained the reason for his intervention, "Inside the box is a civet cat that has been tortured to death while alive."

"What?!" Jiang Ning was shocked.

She abruptly looked down at the foam box before her.

Without any hesitation, Jiang Ning reached out and opened the foam box.

This time, Qi Xingzhou didn’t stop her.

As the lid of the foam box was opened, an intense and foul stench of blood rushed to their noses, and at the same time, the scene that appeared before their eyes was even more blood-curdlingly horrific.

The cat in the foam box had died a cruel death.

Not only were all its bones shattered, but there was not a spot of unmarred flesh on its body, and even its skin had been brutally stripped off by the perpetrator, leaving it covered in blood and gore.

Even with Qi Xingzhou’s prior warning, faced with such a gruesome sight, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but tremble subconsciously.

She pressed her lips tightly together, her expression growing increasingly solemn and somewhat angry.

Jiang Ning gently covered the foam box again, her eyes cold as ice, "System, where’s the mission?"

Jiang Ning didn’t believe the appearance of this cat at her place was coincidental; it was clear someone had deliberately tortured the cat to death and left it at her doorstep.

In the past, Jiang Ning had a small social circle, and aside from conflicts with the Huo family members, there were only those anti-fans.

But those anti-fans, at most, would just verbally attack and insult her online, never taking any concrete action.

And now, with her reputation cleared and after Huo Miao’s downfall, those anti-fans defending Huo Miao had long since vanished.

Various recent events swiftly came to Jiang Ning’s mind, the most targeted being the criminals she had caught after binding with the System.

The relationships between people are complex and tangled, and she apprehended those criminals because the System prompted her, standing on the standpoint of morality and law, those criminals who committed crimes should face justice.

But there might be some who are irrational, favoring relationships over justice, even if they know the other party is wrong, they not only fail to expose them but also help to cover up, otherwise, there wouldn’t be a term like "complicity."

Recently, she had been consistently trending on the internet, making quite the splash.

Jiang Ning strongly suspected that the person behind the scenes placing the tortured and dead cat at her doorstep was a form of provocation and also a warning.

[Ding! No tasks,] the System chimed in with a guilty tone, looking down at its fingers.

Jiang Ning furrowed her brows, "No tasks?"

With the situation being so grave, how could the System say there were no tasks?

She suppressed the anger in her heart and looked down at the foam box on the ground.

The seemingly brand-new foam box was immaculate, yet inside lay a lost little life.

[Yes... it’s a stray cat...] The System started to speak, then hesitated, but Jiang Ning suddenly understood.

Now that the System was bound to her, all conviction had to be based on the laws and regulations issued by her country.

And the country... despite being in a period of rapid economic development, was still seriously lacking in small animal protection.

At present, the country had no specific law for the protection of small animals, only precious wildlife was covered under criminal law.

As for common household animals like cats and dogs, if they were domestic and belonged to an owner, they were considered private property, and if mistreated by others, it constituted a crime.

But for unowned stray cats and dogs, safeguarding their rights was difficult.

Angry flames flickered in Jiang Ning’s eyes. Just as she was about to continue communicating with the System, a smartphone lit up with its screen was handed to her, Qi Xingzhou earnest by her side, reassuring her, "Jiang Ning, don’t be scared. We’ll report this to the police first, then go to the security room to check the surveillance. Rest assured, I will find the person behind this, and I won’t let anyone else hurt you."

As smart as he was, he not only analyzed in a short span of time that someone was intentionally using this to terrify Jiang Ning but also thought of a solution.

His slender fingers held Jiang Ning’s arm, his plea tinged with cautious earnestness, "But before we find out who the person behind this is, can you come home with me?"