Chapter 204 - Pei Ji Huang's funeral
In the end, they divorced.
Nope, just kidding!
The couple snuggled together when they slept for the night. Xiu Mei ended up forgiving him without even knowing what he was apologizing for from the very start.
The next day went through like their usual routine of Xiu Mei packing up Lu Qiang's lunch, with the new addition of Lu Chen's lunch. She told him what happened yesterday and to prevent it from happening again, Xiu Mei chose to just visit the office once a week or only when necessary will she intervene.
Necessary like what?
Like when Lu Chen's anger is at the max level.
Like when he's being grumpy to the employees again when he's too stressed out.
Or like when he's not listening to Lu Shao's reminders to eat and rest anymore.
After dropping off Lu Qiang to his class along with his extra clothes, she reminded him again once more about changing his clothes right after playing and to always wipe away your sweat during breaks.
And then, she spent her time alone again in the house. She didn't have much work to do at all, it's all basically typing and encoding some confidential projects that they have yet to start or propose to the president.
Staring at the clock and feeling so much boredom at the sudden free hours she got for the past few days, Xiu Mei was at a loss on where she would spend it. After thinking for a few moments, she called the driver to pick her up and briefly messaged Lu Chen that she will just roam around in some places to stretch and you know, clear her mind on some things.
Doctor Lee did recommend for her to not stay cooped up in the house for long periods of time.
After spending her free time for the past few days just like that, another week passed in a blink of an eye.
Xiu Mei attended Pei Ji Huang's funeral with Lu Chen on the final day. She stuck with her husband while they visited the funeral, half hoping that Yu Zhenzhen won't make trouble with her and half hoping that no one would try to talk to her for something.
Lu Chen also kept his guard for his wife during the visit. And if he gets pulled by the other investors, thankfully, Xiu Gu Ren, his father-in-law stayed with Xiu Mei temporarily while he was absent.
Xiu Mei looked so solemn all throughout the visit. Not only was she here as the Lu Corporation's secretary, but also as the daughter hailing from the family of Xiu's, a political family.
She was sincerely offering her condolences to the grieving family, but she still couldn't help but grumble inside her head that she really hated this kind of event.
She doesn't have any good memories about visiting the funeral and it only reminds her of Ying Yue's funeral.
Second, because both of her identities are connected to Pei Ji Huang. As a secretary of the company who previously worked with him and as the daughter of the politician, Xiu Gu Ren.
When her father and her husband took her to pay respects on Pei Ji Huang's deceased body, she saw Yu Zhenzhen's figure at the corner of her eye.
It was evident in her eyes that she cried, and her normal glamorous dresses are exchanged with a humble and plain black dress. Still, she didn't miss the trace of dislike in Yu Zhenzhen's face fully expressing her discomfort in staying throughout the whole process.
Xiu Mei quickly picked up that what she was doing is for appearance's sake. She even saw her try to leave the place with the excuse that she has to rest because she was pregnant.
Sounds valid and reasonable, if it weren't for the fact that she was trying to leave every hour.
She silently pitied Pei Ji Huang. Look, his wife didn't look like she was grieving too much when he died. On the contrary, she even looked like she was feeling much better than when Xiu Mei last saw them at the party. She was reminded of how Pei Ji Huang was strictly handling Yu Zhenzhen's actions in public as his wife.
...Oh. Maybe that was it?
Pei Ji Huang's funeral proceeded smoothly despite the chaotic investigations being done behind his death. She also came with her parents when Pei Ji Huang was buried. After burying him, Xiu Mei stayed inside the car while waiting for her parents to finish their chat with some important people outside.
She was patiently waiting in the car when she saw Yu Ming Xi's figure go past her car. Her eyes grew alert and became cautious as soon as she saw him, recalling all his actions with Lu Qiang's biological parents.
She saw him go to an isolated corner with two people and they looked like they were seriously talking about something. Xiu Mei suddenly felt torn between the decision of staying in the car or leave the car and try to eavesdrop in their conversation.
...if she does the latter, she would definitely be scolded by Lu Chen.
Oh well. It is what it is.
Xiu Mei got off the car and walked in a roundabout way and stopped a few meters away from where they are. She casually stood with a group of female aunts that was talking about something and they didn't seem to notice her attempt to try to camouflage herself within their crowd.
".....the package in Hongkong."
"They should be. If the scolding and warning I did to them last time after our packages were turned over to the bluecoats, then I order you to immediately get rid of them. I have no use for useless men especially those who are too clumsy to even handle a single shipment."
That was Yu Ming Xi's voice. She tried to completely focus on their conversation that we're still trying to lower their voices while having their conversation.
Bluecoats? Package?
Xiu Mei paused to think.
Hmmm, were they talking about drugs?
She wasn't completely familiar with that kind of shady stuff but don't criminals usually deal with drugs and stuff. Besides, Lu Chen did tell her that Yu Ming Xi was getting more involved in the underground world for quite some time lately.
Maybe that's what where he was buying his packages? In the black market? Assuming that it really is drugs.
"...Yes, we've already planted the pieces of evidence to confuse the bluecoats."
"Good. If my brother and father get wind that I was involved with it, I'm not quite sure if they will just let it pass. Make sure to keep it under the wraps and that no one will figure out that something was wrong. What about our other shipments? Did they safely pass in Australia and South Korea as well?"
"We had a slight issue with our shipment in South Korea but we didn't alert the military over there."
"Make sure that they aren't really keeping track of our movements. Tell our planted men there to clean up the files if there are existing files about it. I want it wiped off the face of the earth."
"Understood."
"What about Vice President Yamaguchi in Japan?"
"The negotiations are going smoothly. He wanted to meet you first before he gives his permission for us to sell our products to his team and other close friends."
Because their voices are getting lower and lower, Xiu Mei couldn't hear anymore of their conversation. After deciding that she had eavesdropped enough, she took a step away from the crowd and circled around again just so Yu Ming Xi wouldn't notice her movements.
She returned to her car and released a breath of relief. And then she started reviewing the conversation she just heard a while ago.
Yu Ming Xi, was probably doing drugs. She wasn't entirely sure if the package he was talking about was drugs, but she was sure that it was something illegal. She could conclude that it was illegal because they were talking about alerting the military of South Korea of their movements and even trying to contact and negotiate with Vice President Yamaguchi of Japan about being given permission or something.
She was constantly keeping track of the news online and she didn't remember any joint collaborations with China and Japan for the past few years. The two countries weren't exactly in their best relationship either so it was more unlikely that it was something nationally important.
Oh, and then their other conversation too. The one about planting evidence.
A hunch seeded inside her mind as she suspiciously thought whether Yu Ming Xi was talking about planting evidence in some kind of case to confuse the cops. And the only case that came to mind that was currently being investigated and that could be currently linked to Yu Ming Xi was Pei Ji Huang's ongoing investigation.
Wait.
Did Yu Ming Xi kill Pei Ji Huang?!