Bow My Head

On their way, Zhen Nian told them of a really cool bar. Even the name was really cool and unique, Bluish Apple Pub. It really sounded like a cocktail.

So without apprehension, she took them to that bar which was owned by her friend, Nabanita.

However, they didn't have the chance to see her since she went to her country, India to visit her family.

After a few minutes of waiting for their order, it was Shen Linqin who broke the silence as she curiously asked, "Li-jie, how did you know that Hong Tingguang and Qi Xenjin are related by blood?"

"I went at the motel on the outskirt. Do you still remember the person who slandered me on Weibo about not passing the initial interview? I trailed his IP address and it led to that place."

"A motel? Who owned the motel?"Lan Meixu asked, holding her piña colada.

"It's Hong Tingguang. There are no cctvs near the motel but there's one inside Hong Tingguang's office. I managed to hack his computer and then I got the cctv footage of him talking to Qi Xenjin. There's also a copy of birth certificate on his computer."

"Oh my gosh! Li-jie! I didn't know you're also good at hacking computers." Shen Linqin gave Xu Jia Li thumbs up.

"I really bow my head to you, Jia Li." Lan Meixu laughed as she admired her artist. She raised her glass to Xu Jia Li.

"Then, Li-jie also managed to see his emails. That's why Li-jie knew that he sold the information to the editor in chief of The Harbinger." Zhen Nian proudly said.

"Li-jie, why did Zhen Nian know it ahead of time and I didn't? I'm really jealous." Shen Linqin pouted her lips after she spoke.

"E-eh…" Xu Jia Li didn't know how to answer, afraid to further hurt Shen Linqin's ego.

However, it was Zhen Nian who answered on her behalf, with a big smile on her face, she said, "Linqin, don't feel bad. Li-jie only cares about you so she didn't tell you. She's afraid you won't contain your emotion and faint."

"W-what? Li-jie! Look at this Nian. She's bullying me, oh!"

"Okay, you two. Stop it." Lan Meixu laughed before she turned to Xu Jia Li, "Xiao Li, how did you know about Qi Xenjin's secret affair?"

"It was sent to me yesterday afternoon by an anonymous sender. I guess I owe it to that person since there would be no way for me to learn about that."Xu Jia Li answered honestly while she held the tall slim glass of her angel tears cocktail with both hands.

"Oh my! Who could that be? I swear I'll kiss that person when I met him!" Shen Linqin exclaimed.

"Li-jie, will you really let Linqin kiss that 'sender'?" Zhen Nian's voice was full of teasing as she emphasized on the word "sender".

Xu Jia Li might not disclose it but Zhen Nian was convinced that it was Si Weimin.

Xu Jia Li's face reddened. She rolled her eyes, disregarding Zhen Nian's teasing and drank her cocktail.

"Uhm, Li-jie, how did the pictures of Qi Xenjin and Director Tang gets to Hong Tingguang? Your face was also edited. And how about the videos of Xenjin and Yun-ge? And also that with Hui Ruo? How did you get it?" Curious as ever, Shen Linqin fired her with questions.

"Well, I asked Nian-mei to edit the pictures and blurred Director Tang's face. Then, I sent it to Hong Tingguang since I already hacked his computer," Xu Jia Li paused for a while as she sipped from her glass before she continued,

"Seriously, I was just trying my luck. I never really thought that he would actually use it to destroy me. Nian-mei also heard them talking on the phone earlier. When she messaged me that, I knew that he took the bait."

"About the videos, I asked someone to follow Qi Xenjin. I knew I had to keep an eye on her. I need to be prepared since she will never stop until she saw me fall."

Xu Jia Li drank the rest of her cocktail and picked the fruit platter on the table. She ate with gusto since the fruits were so sweet and crisp.

Zhen Nian called to order more drinks. This time, there were expensive wines and hard liquor on the table. There were also braised beef, spicy shrimp, sautéed veggies, scallion pancakes, sio mai, fried chicken and osmanthus cake.

Xu Jia Li looked questioningly at Zhen Nian before she asked, "Why are there so many foods? I don't think we can finish that."

Zhen Nian only grinned mysteriously as she took the remote and entered a song. Since they were talking earlier, they didn't enter any song.

"Li-jie, sing!" Shen Linqin urged Xu Jia Li.

"You go sing now. I'll sing later. I'll just go to the restroom."

"Huh? Eh, get back here immediately, okay?" Zhen Nian reminded.

Xu Jia Li stood and went to the restroom. She felt like Zhen Nian was acting a little strange. However, she just shrugged her shoulders and didn't give it much thought.

Afterwards, she went back to their designated room. She yawned as she opened the door. She was starting to feel sleepy. However, she froze on the spot. She was startled when she saw the man who made her heart skipped a beat – sitting so dashingly on the spot where she seated earlier.