Chapter 196: Chapter 196 Blackmail

"But I know you will take care of it," Su Mu looked at him. "Even if you and Jiang Bei don’t end up together, you won’t abandon this halfway once you’ve gotten involved. You will see it through to the end, won’t you? What I want to know now is, what are you planning to do? Jiang Bei is not the type to hide here forever. In a couple of days, she’ll go back to working at the hospital, and in a couple of days, Rong Shen will be released. Wouldn’t that be even more dangerous? No matter how many people you arrange to protect her, it’s one thing whether she accepts them, and I also feel that it isn’t a long-term solution."

Ji Nanfeng looked at her, a faint smile on his lips:

"I didn’t expect you to understand me so well. Don’t worry, I have indeed taken this matter into my hands. But right now, some things still need Rong Shen to step forward. On the contrary, I think Rong Shen’s release might be a turning point. The events of last night don’t seem like something Rong Shen would do. It’s probably his subordinates trying to vent for Rong Shen."

"You mean, hurting Jiang Bei was not Rong Shen’s intention."

"I’m just speculating," Ji Nanfeng opened the car door, clearly reluctant to say more, but before getting into the car, something else occurred to him. His expression was a mix of a smile and not quite a smile as he looked at Su Mu:

"Are you really not going to tell me about the situation between you and Wen Han? You should know that I will find out sooner or later."

Su Mu turned and went inside the house.

---

At 7 a.m. New York time, Song Yi knocked on Fu Shinian’s door. The moment the door was opened, Song Yi could tell that his boss probably hadn’t rested all night:

"Mr. Fu, there is news from Jiangcheng City."

"Speak."

In the living room, Fu Shinian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, leaving Song Yi with a view of his solitary and desolate figure. Song Yi sighed softly in his heart and began to speak slowly:

"The IP address is in Jiangcheng City, but the email was sent on a timer. According to the browsing records, we found that it was edited two days ago by a strange man at this address."

As he spoke, Song Yi handed a screenshot of the surveillance data to Fu Shinian:

"This man."

Fu Shinian took it and glanced at it:

"Who is he?"

"The most ordinary internet addict in Jiangcheng City. Apparently, someone who didn’t want to expose their identity had paid him off, and our people have already found this person and questioned him thoroughly. He met with the person who paid him in a coffee shop. The man wore a mask the whole time, so he doesn’t know what he looks like, only that it was a man."

"Cash given?"

"Yes," Song Yi exhaled, "They were probably worried about being tracked through the transaction money."

"So afraid of being found, it must be an acquaintance, right?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yi glanced at Fu Shinian, cautiously asking:

"Does Mr. Fu already have someone in mind?"

Handing back the documents to Song Yi, Fu Shinian looked at the scenery outside the window and said calmly, "Let’s wait. They will come to us."

Fu Shinian’s guess was not wrong. Later that afternoon, after finishing his last meeting in New York, his phone received another strange email, revealing their intentions unmistakably:

If Mr. Fu didn’t want the news of Mrs. Fu’s infidelity to become known throughout the city, he’d better prepare 200 million in cash and deliver it to my designated location.

The message displayed the transaction site in New York, indicating that the sender had thoroughly researched his schedule.

Fu Shinian immediately deleted the message without replying and instead instructed Song Yi to prepare the cash. Song Yi was startled by the amount:

"200... 200 million? Mr. Fu, are you really going to give it to them?"

"The negatives are in their hands. Without seeing the money, they need only click a few times, and the photo will be seen by everyone. Until we get the negatives, I indeed have no other choice."

The enemy was hidden, he was exposed; this was the only choice.

Of course, there was another option—to ignore it, allowing him to spread the photo and spoil their perfect plan. Fu Shinian really wanted to do so, but the reality told him he couldn’t! Even if he didn’t consider Su Mu’s reputation, he had to think about how the old lady would feel seeing that photo.

Recently, the old lady had inexplicably fallen ill with a strange disease; he couldn’t afford to trouble her with his own issues anymore.

But Fu Shinian was a businessman; paying without receiving anything in return was not his style. Though the money would temporarily be gone, it would eventually come back.

Seeing that Fu Shinian was resolute, Song Yi realized there was no room for negotiation. Though it pained him too, all he could do was comply:

"I’ll make the preparations. But we are abroad, so the banks may be slower."

"No worries, just start the preparations."

"Yes."

As Song Yi turned to leave, something suddenly occurred to him, and he turned back to face Fu Shinian:

"Madame has called me twice, asking when you will return to the country."

Fu Shinian heard him, but his indifferent demeanor suggested he hadn’t absorbed a word. Still, the message was conveyed, and he shouldn’t talk too much about Su Mu at this time, so he quietly exited.

When Fu Shinian was left alone in the room, he took out his phone to check it; there were two missed calls from Su Mu.

He didn’t answer and showed no sign of emotional turmoil; instead, he was as calm as ever, just as he was when they first married. Back then, she used to call him to ask when he would be home, and Fu Shinian often chose not to answer. Gradually, her calls became less frequent, eventually stopping altogether.

----

Su Mu had a dream where she stood at the edge of a cliff, one step away from an irreversible fall, but before her was a large python, its gaping maw inching closer. Behind the python, a relaxed Fu Shinian stood, coldly observing everything without any intention of helping.

She called his name, yet he responded with a cold laugh:

"Su Mu, do you need me to remind you of the good you’ve done? What right do you think you have to ask me to save you?"

Su Mu hadn’t grasped the meaning of Fu Shinian’s words before she slipped and plunged into the abyss, clearly seeing the smirk on Fu Shinian’s face in her final moment.

Startled awake from the nightmare, Su Mu’s eyes widened as she looked around at the familiar yet cold surroundings. It took a while for her to recover from that dream. She saw Jiang Bei sleeping sweetly beside her, carefully got out of bed, grabbed her phone, and headed to the bathroom.

Only after washing her face with cold water in the bathroom did she fully awaken, looking at her pale face in the mirror. Su Mu remembered the dream again—was it because she had done something shameful that she dreamt of Fu Shinian like that?

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