Jin Liwei frowned. He didn't expect that this was what Fan Luo was like when drunk. She had always been a sweet and proper young lady. So she also had this kind of side.
Shrugging, he dismissed her words as a careless joke made in a drunken state. He had no more interest in listening to such petty female drivels, so he silently left to find another quiet place to relax.
After some time, he finally returned to his mother's birthday ball. The youthful Huang Yuyan didn't look like his mother but looked like his older sister instead.
Although this was her birthday ball, she was bashful when meeting and talking to her own guests. It was her best friend, Fan Yuming, who actively chatted with everyone. Fan Yuming was Fan Luo's mother. Huang Yuyan treated her like her dearest sister. She allowed Fan Yuming to lead the conversations, as if it was Fan Yuming's party and not hers.
Huang Yuyan's eyes lit up when she saw Jin Liwei. She excused herself from the group and headed towards him.
"Happy Birthday, Mother," he greeted.
To others, his expression looked cold and indifferent as usual, but Huang Yuyan detected the gentleness in her son's eyes and tone.
"Thank you, son. I'm glad you came. I know you're very busy at work."
"En."
He didn't deny it. He was indeed extremely busy at work. Jin Corporation would be launching a new product line in the international market soon. He was flying all around the world personally meeting with business partners and investors.
Another matter that he was busy with was the new business partnership between Jin Corporation and the Fans. The two companies already had a couple of older partnerships during his father's time. This was the first time that he personally approved a partnership between the two companies as a favour to the Fans for their friendship to his mother.
He had a lot on his plate at the moment, but tonight was his mother's birthday. So even if he had much more important things to do at work than listen to all the shallow pleasantries, he still did his duty as the firstborn son and attended the ball.
"Son, did you congratulate your brother and Little Luo Luo? They're together now," Huang Yuyan gushed. Her excitement was obvious in her sparkling eyes. "I'm so happy. I've always treated Little Luo Luo like my own daughter and now maybe she can be my official daughter in the future. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"En."
Then she looked up at him in a teasing manner. "How about you, son? Don't you think it's time for you to find a girlfriend as well? If you like, we can ask your Aunt Yuming to look for some nice young ladies—"
"Not interested."
Huang Yuyan pouted but didn't force the issue.
The birthday ball ended as a big success. It was even featured in the news because of all the impressive guests who attended.
The next day, Jin Liwei went back to work at Jin Corporation. His schedule was tight with barely any breaks. He was focused on work and had no time to spare about anything else. His mood wasn't the best at the moment.
They passed by several departments along the way. A department chief called out to them to ask for approval about something. After signing the approved documents, Jin Liwei's eyes caught the news playing on the wall TV.
"Pop singer Iris Long in critical condition after car crash last night."
The news anchor made a brief introduction about Iris Long and showed some short clips of her latest viral music video. Then the available information about the car crash was reported.
Jin Liwei frowned when he heard that the girl was just 18-years old who crashed her sports car after clubbing. She must be some spoiled kid who was probably drunk out of her mind but still decided to drive by herself. No wonder she crashed.
He didn't immediately recognize Iris Long and dismissed the news out of his mind. He had more important things to do. He returned to his office and buried himself in his work. It was only much later when the name Iris Long registered in his mind.
'Isn't that the girl Fan Luo and her cousin were talking about last night?' he thought, frowning. 'Did Fan Luo actually do what she said about messing with the girl's car? No way. Must be a coincidence.'
He continued working but it continued to bother him. Unable to concentrate, he called Xu Tian from outside the door and instructed him to do a quick background check on the pop singer Iris Long.
Xu Tian was perplexed, but he still obeyed the order. Within a couple of hours, he presented Iris Long's dossier to Jin Liwei. The girl didn't have anything that was difficult to dig out.
Jin Liwei scanned her dossier.
One name stood out to Jin Liwei.
Jin Chonglin, his brother.
It seemed that this Long Xiulan sent someone to monitor Jin Chonglin's whereabouts so that she could pop up wherever he went. Jin Liwei's impression of her went from bad to worse.
"A stalker," he concluded.
After reviewing her dossier, he wanted to dismiss the car crash as mere coincidence after hearing Fan Luo's words last night. However, he continued to feel bothered and couldn't concentrate on his work. He called Xu Tian again and instructed him to investigate the car crash.
The police made an early conclusion that the car crash was a result of drunk driving. An 18-year old known for being a party girl driving a sports car after clubbing also gave them a bad impression. Verifying the cause of the crash wasn't their immediate priority.
Jin Liwei's investigation was completed during this window of time.
It was only when Long Tengfei discovered what happened to his daughter that he requested the police to do a full investigation. Hours already passed since the accident occurred when he made the request.
When Jin Liwei received the investigation results, he was stunned. It confirmed that the car crash was indeed connected to Fan Luo. She really did what she said last night.
"Uh...President, it's a reminder for your conference call with our British partner in five minutes. Would you like me to cancel it?"
Jin Liwei frowned. "No. I'll do the conference call."
This was an important call for the launch of their new product line. There was no way he would cancel it. He looked at the investigation results again and made a quick decision.
Fan Luo was his brother's girlfriend. His mother loved her like a daughter. Perhaps the car crash was just a prank gone wrong. Fan Luo must've been drunk when she ordered the tampering of the car. She was a nice girl and wouldn't deliberately kill someone. She must've not expected that the tampering would lead to such a serious car crash.
'Yes, that must be what happened,' Jin Liwei persuaded himself.
Besides, if this went public, it would be a huge scandal involving not only her but also his brother Jin Chonglin. Their families couldn't afford a scandal like this especially now that they were working on a new business partnership. Not to mention that his mother would be heartbroken if this came to light.
'Well, thank goodness the girl didn't die,' he thought.
He turned to Xu Tian and ordered, "Erase all evidence pointing to Fan Luo in this car crash."
Xu Tian hesitated but still obeyed.
Then everything changed about a year and half later when he met a beautiful young woman reading a Russian book at a hotel lobby.