RPAGF Chapter 184 Faith collapsed, collapsed again.
Chapter 184 Faith collapsed, collapsed again.
Unable to extract any useful clues from Ying Li, Li Xi was somewhat discouraged.
Just then, Chu Xu called.
"Sister, take this call first." Li Xi took her phone and went to the end of the corridor.
She answered the phone and heard Chu Xu say anxiously, "Ms. Li, there are no problems at the lighthouse."
Li Xi managed to maintain her composure and asked Chu Xu, "Have you searched everything?"
What about in the sea?
Chu Xu said, "Out of caution, Chu Ying not only led people to carefully search the inside of the lighthouse, but also explored the sea area below the lighthouse."
"It's certain they're not near the harbor lighthouse."
"I understand." After hanging up the phone, Li Xi's expression became visibly serious.
Turning back to Ying Li's side, Li Xi said as calmly as possible, "Lili, I'm going to continue looking for them."
"Go to sleep quietly and don't wait for your dad."
"He'll be back when it's light."
After saying that, Li Xi was about to leave.
Ying Li grabbed Li Xi's wrist, her brows furrowed, looking at Li Xi with reluctance.
She was in Liu Lixi.
Li Xi was in a state of confusion and refused the other party with a hard heart, saying, "I have something to do, I'll come to play with you next time."
Upon hearing this, Ying Li, though reluctant, sensibly let go of Li Xi.
She silently followed Li Xi downstairs, wanting to see him off.
When Sister Zhang saw Ying Li with Li Xi, she worried that Li Xi might harm Ying Li out of anger, so she quickly braced herself and ran over to carefully hold Ying Li in her arms.
Sister Zhang cupped Yingli's cheeks and said, "Lili, it's so late, why are you still downstairs? Have you finished reading your bedtime storybook? Go back to your room and go to sleep after you finish reading it."
"OK?"
Ying Li is very dependent on Sister Zhang. When she is healthy, she is a very easy-going child.
Hearing Sister Zhang's words of advice, Ying Li pouted, looked at Li Xi longingly, and then waved goodbye to her reluctantly, silently saying goodnight.
Ying Li turned around and went upstairs.
Take one step and look back three times.
Seeing the sadness and desolation in the little girl's eyes, Li Xi's heart stirred, and she suddenly changed her mind.
"Lili".
"Tonight, I'll read you a bedtime story, and I'll leave after you fall asleep, okay?"
Ying Li happily ran down the stairs and hugged Li Xi again with joy.
After patting Ying Li's curly hair, Li Xi led Ying Li upstairs again.
Sister Zhang watched this scene with unease, worried that Li Xi would do something bad to Ying Li, so she had no choice but to follow.
Li Xi and Ying Li were reading in the bedroom, while Sister Zhang stood guard at the door.
Just to be on the safe side, Sister Zhang also secretly brought a pair of gardening shears. If Li Xichao made a move against Ying Li, Sister Zhang could immediately rush in with a weapon to save Ying Li.
But after listening at the door for a while, she realized that Li Xi was really just reading fairy tales to Ying Li.
Sister Zhang gradually relaxed.
Ying Li is reading Keigo Higashino's novel "Malice" tonight.
She read up to page 202, and Li Xi started reading from the last two paragraphs on page 202 until she finished the chapter.
A friend would not steal another's wife, much less conspire with his wife to murder him. Nor would a friend threaten or force another to become his ghostwriter.
So why did Grandpa refer to Kunihiko Hidaka as his 'good friend'...?
As Li Xi read this, his expression grew increasingly somber, while Ying Li became somewhat drowsy.
After placing the bookmark between pages 208 and 209, Li Xi looked at Ying Li, whose eyelids were drooping, and suddenly said, "Li Li."
"The reason your father didn't come home is because he kidnapped your brother Huaizhou."
Ying Li was startled awake, completely wide awake.
She sat up in shock, looking at Li Xi in disbelief, wondering if she had misheard.
Li Xi pursed her pink lips, glanced down at her watch, calculated the time, and told Ying Li in a deep voice, "Your father has given me a seven-hour deadline. If I can't find him within seven hours, he and your brother Huaizhou will both die."
"If we can find him, he will turn himself in and tell the world the truth."
"And now, there are only four hours left until the seven-hour deadline."
Li Xi looked at Ying Li calmly and said, "Tell me, did Ying Chengfeng leave you any clues?"
The little girl's delicate mixed-race face was completely bloodless. She grabbed Li Xi's arm tightly, trying to say something, but no sound came out.
Seeing this, Li Xi picked up the phone from the bedside table and handed it to Ying Li, saying, "Don't worry, type it out on your phone and tell me."
Ying Li snatched the phone away, her fingers trembling violently as she typed.
She wrote emotionally: "Why did my dad kidnap my brother Huaizhou?!"
Aren't they best friends?
Sister Li Xi, please don't lie to me!
My dad wouldn't do that kind of thing!
In Ying Li's eyes, Ying Chengfeng, who adopted her and took her back to Dongzhou City to care for her, is the best person in the world.
How could such a good person kidnap Brother Huaizhou?
“Although this sounds absurd, your father did kidnap Gu Huaizhou.” After a pause, Li Xi continued, “13 years ago, the murderer who killed your brother Huaizhou’s family was also your father.”
Ying Li's blue eyes widened like copper bells.
She saw seriousness and earnestness in Li Xi's eyes.
Realizing that Li Xi wasn't joking to scare her, Ying Li's always elegantly upright shoulders instantly went limp.
That's a collapse of faith.
Two clear tears slid down Ying Li's pale face. Her vision blurred by tears as she stared at her phone screen, typing shakily: "How could this be? How could my father be the deranged murderer who killed Huai Zhou's family?"
This morning when Mingming left home, Dad said he would take me to your and Huaizhou's house for dinner next time.
[Dad clearly considers Huaizhou his best friend, how could he be the bad guy who hurts Huaizhou?]
How could Dad be a bad person!
She typed a lot of random words, then deleted them all. Finally, she typed out the most important sentence—
Will Dad be sentenced to death after turning himself in?
Li Xi stared at the line of text, remaining silent.
Ying Li understood what Li Xi meant.
She threw down her phone, gripped Li Xi's shoulders tightly, and burst into silent sobs.
*
After crying, Ying Li rubbed her swollen eyes and typed a message to Li Xi: "Did you find any clues when you came to our house?"
Li Xi shook his head.
After thinking for a moment, Li Xi said, "I've searched everywhere except your father's study."
"If there's any clue, it will only be in the study."
Ying Li nodded, indicating that she understood.
She got out of bed, put on her leather slippers and trench coat, and then took Li Xi's hand and went back to the third floor.
Ye Lan reappeared, blocking the study doorway. "Lili, your father's study can't be opened to just anyone..."
Ying Li pushed Ye Lan aside and typed on her phone: "I will bear all the consequences."
Ye Lan could only sigh, "Lili, don't be fooled by this woman..."
Ignoring Ye Lan's nonsense, Ying Li directly entered the password and successfully opened the door to Ying Chengfeng's study.
Li Xi followed Ying Li into the study.
As the lights came on, Li Xi saw a wall covered with the published comic book "Seven Days of Nightmare," along with several self-portraits.
Each painting lacks specific facial features.
But Li Xi recognized her at a glance; the subject of the painting was her.
At the age of 10, Li Xi, dressed in a dirty princess dress, was found in a desolate, mass grave.
Li Xi, who was 12 years old, was lying on a chair in a psychiatric clinic.
Li Xi, who was 15 years old, was eating while standing at the school gate.
At the age of 18, Li Xi sat forlornly and aloof in a corner of the banquet hall, dressed in a formal gown.
At the age of 21, Li Xi braved the wind and snow to pick up Xie Xingyun, who was drunk, from the club.
The last picture is of Li Xi, dressed in a gorgeous gown, standing beside Gu Huaizhou at his succession ceremony last Thanksgiving, looking radiant and captivating...
Li Xi, from age 10 to 22, was hidden here.
Seeing those paintings, Li Xi felt only horror.
Ying Li had visited Ying Chengfeng's study when she was young. She had seen these paintings long ago, but she never knew who the people in the paintings were.
It wasn't until she met Li Xi last year and learned that Li Xi was the original author of "Seven Days of Nightmare" that she vaguely guessed the identity of the protagonist in the painting.
Ying Li typed, asking Li Xi: "Sister Li Xi, are all the people in the painting you?"
Li Xi nodded. "It's me."
Just as Ying Li was about to ask Li Xi why she knew her father at such a young age, she heard Li Xi say, "I am the little girl who saved Gu Huaizhou from the clutches of a psychopathic killer back then."
“Your father has been monitoring my upbringing ever since then.”
Ying Li's small mouth opened slightly.
The little girl is already over eight years old; she's not an innocent child.
She was intelligent and perceptive, so she naturally understood what Li Xi's words meant.
My father is a real psychopathic killer.
Dad has been monitoring Li Xi's sister's life.
dad...
He is a murderer.
That night, Ying Li's faith crumbled again and again.