That night, Jiang Mengxin slept soundly, without a worry about Lu Ming's safety. It was Xiao Zhan who tossed and turned, unable to sleep, often getting up to walk to the window and look outside.
"Lu Ming, are you dead or alive?"
Xiao Zhan tried to call Lu Ming, but the phone was always busy. He didn't know if the battery was dead or if someone had taken it and turned it off.
The more he couldn't get in touch, the more worried Xiao Zhan became.
He even considered dialing 110, but after thinking it over, he couldn't find any reason to call the police.
Thus, in his restless anxiety, dawn slowly broke.
Xiao Zhan stood by the window, smoking and thinking about how to contact Lu Ming.
As he was thinking, he saw a majestic figure emerge faintly at the main entrance. Bathed in the morning sun, he appeared exceptionally grand and upright.
"Is that... Lu Ming?!"
Xiao Zhan was stunned at first, then he looked closely and indeed, it was Lu Ming!
"Lu Ming is back!" Xiao Zhan shouted excitedly, then, without even properly putting on his clothes, he shuffled in his slippers down the stairs, across the yard, and straight to the door.
It was indeed Lu Ming; Xiao Zhan hadn't been mistaken.
Lu Ming was back!
And he wasn't injured at all. Although he looked a little dejected and worn out, he was unharmed.
Xiao Zhan happily went to meet him and said, "Lu Ming, are you okay? I really didn't sleep well last night, I was so afraid the Jia family would kill you."
The Jia family?
They no longer existed.
Lu Ming smiled faintly and said, "A few things happened."
Xiao Zhan curiously asked, "What things?"
"It's hard to explain in a few words. You can watch the news later," Lu Ming said, rubbing his eyes.
Watch the news?
What kind of incident would make the news?
While Xiao Zhan was confused, Jiang Mengxin walked over. She was equally surprised that Lu Ming could return alive. Given Jia Chunming's personality, he should have dealt with Lu Ming last night.
But…
Even if Lu Ming returned, he must have suffered all sorts of humiliation and returned in utter misery.
Jiang Mengxin said haughtily, "Lu Ming, you must have been in a lot of pain last night, right?"
She wanted to find some psychological comfort from Lu Ming's suffering.
But unfortunately, Lu Ming didn't give her that chance.
Instead of showing any sadness or pain, Lu Ming was calm and composed, as if he hadn't suffered any torment last night.
He replied calmly, "There wasn't any pain."
No pain?
How could that be?
Jiang Mengxin said, "Lu Ming, stop pretending. Do you think Jia Chunming would let you off easily? It's a miracle he didn't kill you, but surely he didn't let someone beat you up severely?"
Lu Ming smiled, then said a remark that made people ponder, "You'll see on the news later."
See the news again!
Jiang Mengxin and Xiao Zhan exchanged glances, neither understanding what Lu Ming meant by this. What happened at the Jia family's last night that made him tell them to watch the news later?
Lu Ming rubbed his stomach and said, "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. I'm starving. I'm going to get something to eat. You two chat slowly."
Lu Ming walked away slowly.
Jiang Mengxin looked at Lu Ming's retreating back doubtfully. Judging by his appearance and tone of voice, he didn't seem like someone who had been harmed or humiliated.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be so calm.
Even if he were pretending, it wouldn't be this convincing.
Xiao Zhan said happily, "It seems heaven favors good people. It looks like Lu Ming is fine."
Jiang Mengxin looked at Xiao Zhan even more doubtfully and said, "What's wrong with you? Ever since you came back yesterday afternoon, you've been defending Lu Ming. Xiao Zhan, does Lu Ming have something on you?"
Xiao Zhan laughed heartily, "What leverage could he possibly have? I just think Lu Ming is actually quite a decent person, not as bad as I initially thought. So, President Jiang, I think you should get to know him better and not be so quick to judge. Lu Ming is a good man; marrying him might be a blessing for you."
A blessing?
Pah!
Ever since she'd been betrothed to Lu Ming, Jiang Mengxin had encountered nothing but misfortune. What kind of blessing was that? Lu Ming was her bane! Her jinx! Her bringer of bad luck!
"Let's not talk about that," Xiao Zhan changed the subject. "I'm very curious, though. Lu Ming kept telling us to watch the news; what exactly does he want us to see?"
Who knew?
Jiang Mengxin shook her head, "We'll find out in a while."
About an hour later, they did find out, because the news quickly reported on matters concerning the Jia family.
Of course, it was only what Lu Ming wanted others to know.
According to the news report, the Jia family was gone overnight!
All of the Jia family's businesses nationwide had ceased operations, their companies were transferred, stock prices plummeted, and their funds were frozen. The high-ranking members of the Jia family had mysteriously disappeared.
The Jia family had vanished from the face of the earth overnight.
This was terrifying!
Keep in mind, the Jia family's strength was not to be underestimated; they were about five or six times larger than the Xiao family. Such a colossal entity could disappear just like that, and what was more, the specific reasons were unknown.
It was truly chilling.
Now, there were various speculations, all saying that the Jia family had offended some powerful figure. But which powerful figure possessed such terrifying strength?
Xiao Zhan swallowed and said with a trembling voice, "President Jiang, who exactly did the Jia family offend? How could they be wiped out overnight? You scared me to death."
Jiang Mengxin also felt extremely frightened, but she had no clue either.
Suddenly.
Xiao Zhan stared blankly at Jiang Mengxin and said mysteriously, "Could it be... him?"
Him?
Who?
Jiang Mengxin asked, "Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush. Who is he?"
Xiao Zhan looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then whispered, "It's your fiancé, Lu Ming! The person the Jia family offended recently, wasn't it Lu Ming? And Lu Ming was at the scene last night, giving him ample opportunity and motive!"
That was indeed true.
Lu Ming met all these conditions.
But there was one condition he didn't meet.
That was... Lu Ming was a genuine nobody, completely incapable of defeating the Jia family, let alone doing so overnight.
Jiang Mengxin burst into laughter, saying with disdain, "Young Master Xiao, you've gone mad. Although I don't know why your attitude towards Lu Ming has done a 180-degree turn, one thing I can be sure of is that Lu Ming, that useless trash, absolutely has no ability to defeat the Jia family! Young Master Xiao, would you believe that a grave keeper has the ability to crush a family worth hundreds of billions?"
Uh...
Xiao Zhan rubbed his head and smiled.
Indeed, when put that way, he didn't think Lu Ming had such strength either.
"However..." Jiang Mengxin added, "Lu Ming was at the scene last night, so he must know what happened at the Jia family. Let's summon Lu Ming now and ask him for clarification!"