Chapter 34: The Bitter and Hard-to-Swallow Pill of Regret

After bidding farewell to Zhou Weihao, Bai Yuanzhi suddenly stopped in her tracks.

An inexplicable sense of crisis washed over her,

so she looked up toward the opposite side of the street.

A dilapidated black sedan was speeding toward her!

And the closer it got, the faster it went.

At first, Bai Yuanzhi was merely puzzled and didn’t realize the black, battered sedan was targeting her.

It wasn’t until the car was only about ten meters away and accelerating rapidly

that Bai Yuanzhi suddenly got a clear look at the person in the driver’s seat.

The person was thin, aged, and ugly,

with extremely short hair

that even erased gender characteristics, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female.

But Bai Yuanzhi felt this person looked strangely familiar.

Soon, a name escaped her lips: “Duoluoxi?!”

Once it dawned on her—

Bai Yuanzhi realized something was wrong.

And by then,

the black, battered sedan was only three to five meters away from her!

Bai Yuanzhi’s first reaction was to hurl the canvas bag she was carrying toward the black, battered sedan!

Then—

she sprinted in the opposite direction of where she’d thrown the bag.

In moments of crisis, people can unleash astonishing potential.

So, Bai Yuanzhi dashed into the west gate of Bilanting Hotel at a speed so fast… she could hardly believe it herself.

The west gate had a vehicle barrier lowered,

and Bai Yuanzhi even hurdled over the barrier in one leap, then quickly veered to the side, turned around, and fled toward the security room.

Meanwhile,

the driver of the black, battered sedan had intended to ram into Bai Yuanzhi,

but because Bai Yuanzhi had thrown an unidentified object (the canvas bag) at the car, the driver was startled and instinctively swerved the steering wheel to avoid it.

Unexpectedly, this caused the black sedan to veer off its collision course toward Bai Yuanzhi.

By the time the black car’s driver regained composure, they frantically jerked the steering wheel, trying to continue aiming for Bai Yuanzhi.

But by then, Bai Yuanzhi had already escaped into the west gate and leaped over the vehicle barrier in a single bound.

The black car’s driver narrowed their eyes, bit their lower lip, and recklessly gave chase.

“BANG!!!”

After a loud crash,

the black, battered sedan violently smashed through the vehicle barrier and barged into the west gate of Bilanting Hotel!

Simultaneously, the front of the black car was damaged.

Bai Yuanzhi had already fled into the security room.

Bilanting Hotel did not have its own security team but outsourced security work to a professional security company.

Thus, the guards at the west gate were all robust, agile young men in their twenties.

Seeing the west gate’s vehicle barrier maliciously destroyed by the black, battered sedan, and because the barrier’s obstruction temporarily halted the black car,

the well-trained security guards immediately rushed out of the security room armed with various “weapons.”

Some threw chairs, batons, and the like under the black car’s four tires, hoping to prevent the driver from restarting the battered sedan;

others grabbed unfinished coffee, milk, and similar items and hurled them onto the black car’s windshield;

still others carried over several water-filled barriers to block the entrance and prevent the black car from escaping…

Meanwhile, Bai Yuanzhi quickly picked up the landline phone in the security room and dialed the emergency number.

The driver of the black car tried several times to break free,

but the windshield was smeared with coffee and milk, making it impossible to see anything. All four wheels of the car were blocked by various obstacles, and the vehicle itself was essentially a scrapped car with poor performance…

Soon, smoke began to rise from the already smashed hood, and the roaring engine made strange noises.

The car could no longer move.

The security guards rushed forward, opened the car door in a defensive posture, and used large forks to pull the person sitting in the driver’s seat out.

Only then did everyone realize—

the driver was a woman.

An elderly South Asian woman.

Bai Yuanzhi did not leave the security room.

She observed everything through the transparent inner window of the security room.

Then she recognized that the South Asian woman being dragged out of the car by the security guards was none other than Duoluoxi.

Bai Yuanzhi was stunned.

In Bai Yuanzhi’s eyes, how had Duoluoxi turned into this state after just a few days?

She had become terribly thin and aged.

As soon as Duoluoxi got out of the car, she kept looking around frantically for Bai Yuanzhi, screaming angrily, “Bai Yuanzhi! Bai Yuanzhi… where are you hiding? Come out and face me! Come out now!”

“You bitch, Bai Yuanzhi! You’ve ruined me!”

“If it weren’t for you, how could I have fallen to this state…”

“Bai Yuanzhi, come out! I’m going to kill you!” Duoluoxi wailed in agony.

Duoluoxi was pinned down by the security guards with steel forks, unable to move.

In addition, her forehead had been cut when she drove the car into the railing earlier, and blood covered her face.

Coupled with her ferocious expression…

Bai Yuanzhi couldn’t bear to look directly at Duoluoxi.

—Duoluoxi looked too much like the old woman ghost from Hong Kong horror dramas.

It was truly terrifying!

At that moment,

a white car suddenly stopped outside the west gate.

Zhou Weihao, who had left and returned, anxiously rushed out of the car, ran desperately into the west gate, and saw Duoluoxi being restrained by the security guards.

Zhou Weihao froze, murmuring his girlfriend’s name, “Duoluoxi… Duoluoxi? Why are you here? Didn’t I take you to the pier and ask you to leave Hong Kong City by boat?”

Duoluoxi knelt on the ground, her hands tied behind her back, sobbing uncontrollably, “Ahao, save me! Save me…”

Zhou Weihao ran toward her.

The security guards stopped Zhou Weihao, “Mr. Zhou, please step back! This woman is dangerous. She is suspected of attempted murder!”

Duoluoxi struggled desperately, “I didn’t! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Security Guard A said, “You still deny it? We all saw it—you tried to run over Bai Yuanzhi with your car!”

Duoluoxi screamed wildly, “Bai Yuanzhi owes me! She deserves to die!”

Security Guard B shouted, “Bai Yuanzhi is also a human being! Trying to kill her is murder! Luckily, Bai Yuanzhi ran fast…”

Duoluoxi roared with a ferocious expression, “But Bai Yuanzhi almost killed me too! This is her retribution!”

Zhou Weihao was also held back by the security guards, unable to approach Duoluoxi. He could only say anxiously, “This is all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! Duoluoxi, explain to them quickly—you were just joking with Bai Yuanzhi!”

“No, that’s not right,” Zhou Weihao realized something and quickly corrected himself, “Duoluoxi, hurry up and say your car malfunctioned! The steering wheel failed, the brakes failed too…”

“Duoluoxi, don’t you remember? We are good friends with Bai Yuanzhi! You would never hurt Bai Yuanzhi, right? Right?”

Then he anxiously said to the security guards, “Everyone, please give me some face… Her name is Duoluoxi, she’s my girlfriend, and Bai Yuanzhi is our good friend… Really! Duoluoxi would absolutely never harm Bai Yuanzhi, there’s a misunderstanding here!”

“Everyone, please let go of my girlfriend. There’s an emergency back in her hometown, she needs to leave as soon as possible…”

“Please let her go! Let her go! I’ll stay here for anything, I’ll take responsibility for everything!”

The security guards exchanged glances after hearing Zhou Weihao’s words.

But Duoluoxi refused to comply, “Who said I’m friends with Bai Yuanzhi? Bai Yuanzhi is a bitch! She’s ruined me! I would never be friends with that kind of bitch!”

Zhou Weihao was about to explode with anger, “Duoluoxi, shut up! Can’t you listen to me? Can you?”

“No!” Duoluoxi cried, “Ever since this Bai Yuanzhi showed up, you’ve been denying me! Ahao, you weren’t like this before…”

Zhou Weihao was so angry he saw stars.

“Woo-woo—woo-woo—” The sound of police sirens wailed in the distance.

Zhou Weihao’s expression froze.

“Who called the police?” Zhou Weihao said sharply, “Didn’t I already say it? This is a misunderstanding! Why go so far as to call the police?”

Bai Yuanzhi hid in the security room without making a sound.

Zhou Weihao wanted to break free from the security guards’ grip to give Duoluoxi a few instructions, but the guards saw him and Duoluoxi, who had tried to run someone over, as accomplices and refused to let go no matter what.

The deafening sound of the police sirens made Zhou Weihao panic.

He had no choice but to hint clearly to Duoluoxi in front of everyone, “Duoluoxi, this is a misunderstanding! Do you understand? This is a misunderstanding! You and Bai Yuanzhi are good friends. You drove here today to invite her out to have fun! But your car malfunctioned… Duoluoxi, do you hear me?”

Duoluoxi sat on the ground, shaking her head desperately at Zhou Weihao, “You don’t want me anymore, right? I know you don’t want me anymore! But Ahao, if you don’t want me, what… what will happen to me even if I go back to my hometown?”

Zhou Weihao was almost frantic with worry, “As long as the green hills remain, there’ll be no shortage of firewood!”

Duoluoxi didn’t understand Chinese traditions and culture and didn’t know what Zhou Weihao meant.

All she knew was that because of Bai Yuanzhi’s appearance, her ten-year-long love with Zhou Weihao had fallen apart… Even if Zhou Weihao protected her and sent her back to the Philippines…

But what would happen after she returned?

Da’an’s family wouldn’t let her go, and her own family wouldn’t either!

She… would be finished!

Rather than going back to her hometown to suffer, she might as well die in Hong Kong City!

So Duoluoxi shouted at Zhou Weihao, “Ahao, promise me you will never, ever be with Bai Yuanzhi! Promise me!”

Zhou Weihao was so anxious he was about to cry.

He heard the loud wail of the police sirens, as if right next to his ear;

He saw the blue-and-white police car parked at the street corner, and two police officers getting out of the car…

Zhou Weihao knew,

It was too late!

It was over!

Everything was over!

He was so furious that he spoke without thinking, “Duoluoxi! Do you even understand… how much effort I put into protecting you! The Chen Family wanted to kill you, do you know that?

You have no idea what price I paid to help you escape this disaster!

Duoluoxi, are you an idiot? Are you an idiot?!

Don’t you know that as long as you return to your hometown, as long as you’re alive, I can still come find you one day? In the future, we can leave Hong Kong City, go somewhere no one can find us… we can still be together forever!

But now, if you get caught, if you go to prison…

Will we still have a future?” By the end, Zhou Weihao was crying.

Duoluoxi stood there, stunned.

“Ah… Ahao! So you… you were thinking like this?” Duoluoxi’s face showed a guilty expression.

Two police officers walked over.

One asked Zhou Weihao, “Sir, may I ask what crime that lady committed? Why would she be arrested and possibly go to prison?”

The other also asked Zhou Weihao, “Sir, are you by any chance encouraging that lady to give false testimony?”

Zhou Weihao opened his mouth,

He looked at Duoluoxi with disappointment and closed his eyes.

In the end, he lowered his head in defeat.

Duoluoxi finally realized the severity and started crying, “I don’t know anything! I really don’t know anything!”

Bai Yuanzhi quietly slipped away.

Because—

She was both the victim and the one who reported the incident,

The police would most likely ask her to go to the station with Zhou Weihao and Duoluoxi for questioning.

Bai Yuanzhi was willing to go,

But she didn’t want to go with Zhou Weihao and Duoluoxi—it was too uncomfortable.

So, it was better to wait until the police took Zhou Weihao and Duoluoxi away first, and she would go a bit later.

Coincidentally, during this time gap, Bai Yuanzhi decided to go see Zhou Xiangmei first.

When she arrived at the Wu family home, Zhou Xiangmei’s expression immediately fell upon seeing Bai Yuanzhi. “What are you doing here?”

Bai Yuanzhi smiled brightly and said loudly, “Auntie, it was Cousin Zhaoer who asked me to come! She said you have something good prepared for me and told me to come get it! What is it, Auntie?”

Zhou Xiangmei: ???

Bai Yuanzhi pursed her lips into a smile.

—Did Zhou Zhaoer think she was the only one who could stir up trouble? Bai Yuanzhi could do it too!

Zhou Xiangmei frowned, “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

As she spoke, Zhou Xiangmei glanced back into the house, then put on a serious face and said loudly, “Ah Zhi, you know how it is—I’m just your aunt. I’m not well-off myself, and I have my own family to take care of. How can I possibly look after you so much! From now on, come see me less… Even if you do come, I won’t be able to help you with anything!”

Bai Yuanzhi replied, “Is that so? Oh… then I understand. It seems Zhaoer lied to me. She probably wanted me to run an errand for her—to come ask you, Auntie, whether her Hong Kong residence permit has been processed yet!”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiangmei’s expression turned even uglier. “Rushing, rushing, always rushing! I know! I already went to handle this matter last time, but there are so many forms to fill out! I can’t read, and Zhaodi… Zhaoer is also useless—she can barely read either. So it hasn’t been done yet! I’ll go again in a few days!”

Only then did Bai Yuanzhi ask what she had been wanting to ask all along, “By the way, Auntie, where’s Li Yongzhen?”

Zhou Xiangmei’s expression soured. “How should I know? What’s it to you?”

Bai Yuanzhi had already thought it through on her way to find Zhou Xiangmei.

—When she spoke with Zhou Weihao and told him she was going to look for Li Yongzhen, Zhou Weihao’s reaction was intense, as if he didn’t want her to find Li Yongzhen.

—She also overheard Zhou Weihao telling Duoluoxi, “The Chen Family wants you dead. I paid a huge price to help you escape this disaster”…

So, what price did Zhou Weihao pay?

Was it related to Li Yongzhen?

Bai Yuanzhi quickly made a judgment in her mind.

—Although she and Li Yongzhen didn’t get along, at least Li Yongzhen wouldn’t want her dead.

But Duoluoxi was different.

Duoluoxi genuinely wanted Bai Yuanzhi dead! And she had already acted on it… several times!

So, it was best to take down both Zhou Weihao and Duoluoxi,

Only then could Bai Yuanzhi’s safety be ensured.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend!

Therefore, if Li Yongzhen’s disappearance was truly related to Zhou Weihao and Duoluoxi,

Then she absolutely had to find Li Yongzhen!

Only then could Zhou Weihao and Duoluoxi receive the punishment they deserved.

And it couldn’t just be Duoluoxi who faced consequences;

Zhou Weihao had to be implicated as well.

Otherwise, his love-struck brain would unconditionally side with Duoluoxi,

As long as Duoluoxi still hated Bai Yuanzhi,

Bai Yuanzhi would constantly be in danger.

So, Bai Yuanzhi said to Zhou Xiangmei, “Here’s the thing, our hotel is about to issue salaries, and we also have quarterly bonuses paid every three months… Besides last month’s salary, Li Yongzhen has a generous quarterly bonus to collect, totaling almost over five thousand yuan!”

Yes, Bai Yuanzhi intentionally exaggerated the amount.

Otherwise, Zhou Xiangmei wouldn’t seriously look for Li Yongzhen!

Then Bai Yuanzhi shifted her tone, “But today, the HR department came to me and said Li Yongzhen didn’t show up for work! So I went to ask the finance department if I could collect Li Yongzhen’s salary and bonus on her behalf…”

Zhou Xiangmei immediately grew anxious, “What does that have to do with you? Why should you collect it for her? I’m Li Yongzhen’s aunt, so if anyone collects it, it should be me! You really are…”

Bai Yuanzhi said helplessly, “Auntie, don’t rush, I haven’t finished yet!”

Zhou Xiangmei was almost frantic, “Go on, go on.”

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “…But the finance department said, ‘No, Li Yongzhen must collect it in person.’ They also told me that the salary collection period is only three days. Today is over, so there are only tomorrow and the day after left to collect it. If she misses these two days, she’ll have to wait until next month to collect everything together!”

“So, Auntie, do you know where Li Yongzhen is?” Bai Yuanzhi asked again.

Zhou Xiangmei’s mind was now filled with thoughts of “five thousand yuan,” so she waved her hand dismissively at Bai Yuanzhi and said, “Alright, you can leave now. I need to go find Yongzhen!”

Bai Yuanzhi asked curiously, “What if you can’t find her?”

Zhou Xiangmei shot Bai Yuanzhi a glare, “If I can’t find her, can’t I just report it to the police? Alright, alright, hurry up and leave!” Now, Zhou Xiangmei’s mind was completely occupied with how to spend the five thousand yuan once she got her hands on it…

Bai Yuanzhi nodded with satisfaction and left.

She even took the time to stop by Jiang’s Roast Meat Shop for a Roast Goose rice meal before returning to Xingfu Building.

The landlord, Aunt Huang, stopped Bai Yuanzhi at the convenience store. “Ah Zhi, there are police looking for you. What have you done?”

As she spoke, Aunt Huang handed over a business card. “They want you to go to the police station to see them!”

Bai Yuanzhi took it. “Today, when I got off work, I witnessed a car accident at the hotel entrance. They might be looking for me because of that.”

Aunt Huang finally felt relieved. “Then you should hurry over.”

Bai Yuanzhi took the business card and went to the police station.

An officer surnamed Zeng received Bai Yuanzhi. “Miss Bai, you were the one who reported the incident, right?”

Bai Yuanzhi nodded.

“Why did you leave the scene after reporting it instead of waiting for us?”

Bai Yuanzhi pretended to be innocent and naive. “Huh? So you’re not supposed to leave after reporting something? Sorry, Officer Zeng, I didn’t know that. At the time, I saw the perpetrator had been restrained, so I thought everything was fine and left.”

Officer Zeng took notes while asking Bai Yuanzhi, “So, what was the urgent matter that made you leave in such a hurry?”

Bai Yuanzhi nodded.

Officer Zeng carefully observed Bai Yuanzhi’s expression and pressed further, “What kind of urgent matter was it?”

“My cousin is missing. I wanted to go look for her.” As she spoke, Bai Yuanzhi explained that Li Yongzhen hadn’t shown up for work at the hotel.

Officer Zeng picked up his pen and quickly wrote everything down.

Next, Officer Zeng asked Bai Yuanzhi about all the details regarding Duoluoxi driving the car and trying to hit her.

Once wasn’t enough—Officer Zeng asked the same questions repeatedly.

After Officer Zeng finished, another officer surnamed Tang took over…

In short, the two officers questioned her about the incident from various angles.

About three or four hours later,

Bai Yuanzhi finally finished giving her statement.

She was experienced with this kind of situation.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have eaten a full meal before coming to the police station.

However, just as Bai Yuanzhi was about to leave the police station,

Officer Zeng stopped her again. “Sorry, Miss Bai, we might have to trouble you a little longer—the suspect, Duoluoxi, who tried to run you over with her car, is refusing to cooperate and won’t give a statement. She says she’ll only explain the whole story if she can meet with you alone.”

“So, could you please stay a little longer? Don’t worry, we’ll ensure your safety,” Officer Zeng said.

Bai Yuanzhi thought for a moment and agreed.

About ten minutes later, Bai Yuanzhi was led by a female officer to a small room.

The room was divided into two sections by a thick glass wall.

On each side of the glass wall was a table with a telephone on it.

Duoluoxi was already sitting on the other side of the glass wall.

As soon as she saw Bai Yuanzhi, Duoluoxi became agitated, pounding the table with her fists and opening her mouth wide, seemingly cursing nonstop.

But on Bai Yuanzhi’s side, it was completely quiet—she couldn’t hear a word.

Bai Yuanzhi glanced at the telephone on the table and understood—if the people on either side of the glass wall wanted to communicate, they had to use the telephone.

Bai Yuanzhi turned to the female officer and asked, “Is this a private conversation between me and Duoluoxi?”

The female officer replied, “Yes.”

Bai Yuanzhi asked again, “Will you be monitoring or recording it?”

The policewoman hesitated for a moment. “Yes.”

Bai Yuanzhi felt relieved. “Good.” She walked to the table and picked up the phone.

Duoluoxi was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up the phone on the table as well.

However—

Duoluoxi stared at the policewoman standing behind Bai Yuanzhi and was unwilling to speak.

Only after the policewoman left,

Duoluoxi began angrily cursing at Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi simply hung up the phone but did not leave. She remained seated in her chair, arms crossed, watching Duoluoxi.

Duoluoxi froze.

With one hand holding the receiver and the other gesturing toward Bai Yuanzhi, she signaled for Bai Yuanzhi to pick up the phone.

Bai Yuanzhi ignored Duoluoxi, just staring at her intently.

Three minutes later, Bai Yuanzhi finally picked up the receiver.

Duoluoxi erupted into another emotional outburst, shouting, “Bai Yuanzhi, you bitch—”

Bai Yuanzhi hung up the phone again.

Duoluoxi: …

After several repetitions, Duoluoxi was so enraged that she broke down into loud sobs. Finally calming down, she gestured toward Bai Yuanzhi again, this time with a pleading motion.

Only then did Bai Yuanzhi pick up the receiver once more and ask, “Do you regret it now?”

Duoluoxi froze, tears streaming down her face.