The terrified scream sent a chill down the spines of all the guests downstairs.
It was clear the scream had come from the bridal chamber upstairs.
The groom, Zhou Chongqian, rushed upstairs.
"Yunyun, ah—"
Zhou Chongqian let out an anguished cry.
Not knowing what had happened, the other guests all surged upstairs.
Si Yanli, remembering Wen Yan's inner thoughts, his face suddenly changed color, and he hurriedly followed the crowd upstairs.
He pushed past those blocking his way and squeezed to the doorway of the bridal chamber.
Seeing the scene inside the room, his pupils dilated sharply.
The bride, dressed in a bright red embroidered xiuhe dress, had hanged herself in the room.
Ji Yun's face was deathly pale, her eyes wide open, her mouth agape, her discolored tongue protruding.
A thick rope was around her slender neck; her death was a horrifying sight.
A buzzing filled Si Yanli's head, his mind almost going blank.
It was as if a swarm of bees had flown into his ears. A bone-chilling cold seeped from his spine.
"Yunyun…"
Si Yanli wanted to step forward, but his legs felt like they were filled with lead.
On what should have been a joyous day, the bride's sudden suicide by hanging was nothing short of a bolt from the blue for both the Zhou and Ji families.
Aunt Ji and Uncle Ji came upstairs. Seeing Yunyun hanged, their legs gave way, and they collapsed to the floor.
Aunt Ji cried out in despair, "My daughter…"
Uncle Ji's eyes were red-rimmed. He wiped his tears, "I said back then, if Yunyun didn't want to marry, we shouldn't force her. And now look, it's ended in tragedy—"
Tears streaming down her face, Aunt Ji howled and threw herself at Zhou Chongqian, "What did you do to my daughter? Give her back to me!"
Zhou Chongqian closed his bloodshot eyes. Suddenly, his expression turned sharp as he looked at Si Yanli, his finger trembling as he pointed at his nose, "He's the one who killed Yunyun!"
Zhou Chongqian took a diary from the bedside table drawer. "This is Yunyun's diary. She's had a secret crush on Si Yanli since childhood, but he led her on, being kind to her yet never accepting her feelings, causing her immense pain!"
Zhou Chongqian handed the diary to Uncle and Aunt Ji. "Yunyun agreed to marry me because she wanted to forget Si Yanli. But she was already deeply hurt by him and had developed severe depression. I truly never imagined she would end her own life in such an extreme way!"
Aunt Ji saw the words of adoration for Si Yanli in the diary. The last few pages contained only a few sparse lines: she said she was heartbroken, miserable, in agony, that life was worse than death, and she wanted an early release.
Furious, Aunt Ji glared at Si Yanli and threw the diary at him.
"Third Young Master, you killed my daughter!"
"Give me back my daughter!"
Si Yanli's fingers were icy and trembling as he opened the diary.
A young girl's heartfelt secrets were all recorded in the words.
Each character seemed to weep blood, each one spoke of sorrow.
Even Si Yanli himself began to believe that it was his rejection of Ji Yun that had caused her such immense psychological harm.
Wen Yan stood not far away, watching the despondent Si Yanli, who looked as if he had suffered a major blow. She shook her head in disbelief.
[He's not stupid enough to actually believe he's the culprit behind Ji Yun's death, is he?]
[Zhou Chongqian entered the translation institute before him and was originally in line for a promotion. But Si Yanli's professional skills were too strong, making Zhou jealous. He's wanted to get rid of Si Yanli for a long time.]
[According to the original plot, because of Ji Yun's death, Si Yanli suffers a major blow. He was supposed to get promoted, but Zhou Chongqian gets the promotion instead. Si Yanli even feels guilty towards Zhou Chongqian and introduces several of his own major clients to him. Later, when Si Yanli contracts a virus in prison, Zhou Chongqian also had a hand in that.]
Si Yanli, immersed in immense grief and self-blame, jolted upon hearing Wen Yan's inner thoughts.
What did Wen Yan mean?
Could it be that Ji Yun's death was not as it seemed?
Wen Yan browsed through her gossip system and clicked her tongue.
[Damn, this Zhou Chongqian is vicious. Aunt Ji also pushed her own daughter into a pit of fire!]
[Before she died, Ji Yun recorded a video. She recounted her tragic experience and mailed the memory card to Si Yanli. This idiot probably never checked his mailbox, right?]
Si Yanli's handsome features tensed abruptly.
Before long, the police arrived.
Ji Yun's body would be taken for examination. The case would only be closed after confirming it was suicide.
The wedding banquet had turned into a funeral. All the guests felt a sense of creeping horror.
Si Yanli handed his car keys to Wen Yan. "Take me back to my apartment first."
He needed to check if the memory card Wen Yan mentioned was in his mailbox.
Seeing Si Yanli's low spirits, Wen Yan didn't say much. She took the keys and drove him to his apartment building.
Si Yanli got out and walked to the mailbox.
He opened it; there was nothing inside.
He suddenly remembered that before going to the hospital to visit his eldest brother that morning, he had cleared out the mailbox.
There had been a white envelope. He opened it, saw nothing inside, and threw it in the trash.
Could it be that the white envelope contained the memory card?
Si Yanli rushed to the trash bin.
The garbage had already been taken by the cleaner.
Si Yanli got back in the car and instructed Wen Yan to drive to the garbage disposal site.
Wen Yan was puzzled.
Did he know Ji Yun had mailed him a memory card?
Maybe Ji Yun had texted him about it before she died!
Suppressing her impatience, Wen Yan drove to the garbage site.
As soon as they arrived, the usually fastidious, aloof young master charged towards the piles of trash.
Even sitting in the car, Wen Yan could smell the overwhelming stench.
She lifted her hand to pinch her nose.
Si Yanli searched for over an hour but couldn't find the white envelope he had thrown away.
With so much garbage at the site, it would be a miracle if he found it.
Wen Yan couldn't bear to watch anymore. She checked her gossip system.
[So the garbage collector uncle wasn't feeling well after his morning round, so he didn't dump the trash at the disposal site. The garbage truck is still parked outside his house right now!]
Si Yanli, now covered in filth and reeking, thought, "..."
Was she doing this on purpose?
Forget it. Thanks to her providing this information, otherwise, he could search until he died and never find what he wanted!
Si Yanli took a bottle of mineral water from the trunk, washed his hands, and got back in the car.
Wen Yan looked at him with utter disdain. "You stink!"
Si Yanli knew he smelled awful. He couldn't stand the odor either, but what could he do?
"I want to go to the garbage collector's house to look. Drive me there."
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow. "Who are you asking?"
Seeing Wen Yan's half-smiling expression, Si Yanli gritted his teeth. "I. Am. Asking. My. Eldest. Sister-in-law!"
Well, well.
The one who swore he would never call her 'sister-in-law' even if he died had already broken his vow.
Since he called her 'sister-in-law,' Wen Yan drove to the garbage collector uncle's house.
Si Yanli found the white envelope he had thrown away.
Sure enough, inside the envelope was a very small memory card.
