"She drove to the old mall parking lot because that was where she used to take my son for late-night drive-through snacks when he couldn't sleep, and they probably wanted to pass by there and have some snacks" Li Feng continued softly, his voice shaking despite his effort to remain calm, "They found the car burned down to ashes in a few hours after they left this house! No one knows what really happened… whether it was an accident… whether it was deliberate… or if someone else was involved. All your actions say otherwise, with the way you are nonchalant with her death, I always feel like you are involved in one or the other...."
He swallowed hard, his throat tightening painfully, "The investigation remains open, but all I know is that when they recovered their remains… they couldn't even tell where her arms ended and his body began. She was all ashes! Even if she had her body intact, you couldn't still recognise her, because you knew nothing about her..."
A heavy silence fell over the study room, broken only by Mrs Shen's wails and Mr Shen's strangled sobs.
"You want to blame me for her death?" Li Feng asked softly, almost gently, "Go ahead. I will carry that guilt until the day I die, but don't you ever… ever… pretend that your hands are that clean. You are just as guilty and dirty as I am..."
He turned away, walking back to his desk and sinking into his leather chair with a tired heaviness that seemed to age him decades in a single breath.
"Get out," he ordered coldly, not bothering to look at them again, "and tell your daughter… if she wants to follow the same path as Shen Ruyi… I will not stop her."
Mrs Shen collapsed onto her knees, screaming incoherently as Mr Shen struggled to pull her up, his own tears falling freely.
But Li Feng's gaze remained locked on the window, his eyes staring blankly at the blooming plum blossoms beyond the glass.
They were Shen Ruyi's favourite flowers.
And now… they only reminded him of everything he could never undo.
Nothing around the mansion ever felt the same again...
He loudly exhaled while feeling his eyes sting...
— — — — —
The silence in the corridor was thick and suffocating as Mr and Mrs Shen walked back to the master bedroom from the study room.
Mrs Shen's eyes were still red with tears, her hand clutching her chest as though she was trying to calm her racing heart.
Her husband walked beside her stiffly, his expression grim, his jaw set tightly in anger and helplessness.
"Did you hear what he said…?" she whispered hoarsely, her voice trembling, "How could he say such cruel words… how could he say Ruyi's death was our fault…?"
Mr Shen did not answer immediately. His eyes were dark, heavy with buried guilt and wounded pride. Finally, he exhaled sharply.
"He's ungrateful," he muttered coldly, "After everything our family has done for him… he dares to speak to us like that. I won't let him disrespect us like this!"
Mrs Shen bit her lip, her eyes filling again with tears as they reached the master bedroom door, "What… what if he really sends Li'er back to us…? What will happen to her then…? What about her career? Her prestige?"
Mr Shen paused, his hand holding on the brass doorknob, his expression flickering with discomfort before settling into stern resolve.
"Don't worry," he said flatly, "We will never let that happen. She is Mrs Li, and that will never change."
He pushed open the door gently walking in.