Rapid Collapse (GL) - Chapter 66
“He’s been killed…” Han Ning murmured. Shen Xi’s eyes were also filled with shock.
The police officer nodded and said, “Yes, we received a report from a nearby sanitation worker. We rushed to the villa area and found his body in the greenbelt by the roadside.”
He looked at Han Ning and continued, “We found that his last contact on his phone was you, so we came to ask about the situation.”
Han Ning recalled a few days ago. That day was the second day after Shen Xi returned. They were eating hotpot when A-Tian sent her a message asking about Nie Lan…
The villa area…
Nie Lan…
She snapped back to reality and asked the police, “Which villa area? Was it near Xinghe Villas?”
The officer nodded. “Yes, not far from here.” He looked at Han Ning and asked, “Miss Han, do you have any clues?”
“Yes. He contacted me earlier, asking about Nie Lan… Nie Lan is an actress with strong backing. She once beat him up badly. Officer, this whole thing is very complicated, but I can only guess that his death is related to Nie Lan. I’m willing to take responsibility for what I said.” Han Ning’s gaze was unwavering as she looked directly at the officer.
The policeman lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, “Thank you for your information, Miss Han. We’ll take our leave now.”
The two of them walked the officers to the door. When they returned inside, Han Ning’s face was pale.
Shen Xi sat beside her and asked, “Ning Ning, are you okay?”
“I’m fine… I just feel a little suffocated.” Han Ning sat on the sofa, feeling a heavy weight on her chest.
Just a few days ago, she had traveled to Jiuhua Mountain with A-Tian to find Zhong Kai.
Now, all of a sudden, he was gone—died an unnatural death. A living, breathing person had just vanished…
“Why do you think A-Tian went to find Nie Lan? She’s already a public disgrace. What was the point?” Han Ning asked, puzzled.
Shen Xi thought for a moment and replied, “People think differently. We may think something is unnecessary and should be left alone, but he might not have felt the same way. But since you said Nie Lan beat him up before… now that she’s fallen from grace, maybe he wanted to strike back at her while she was down and deliver a final blow.”
Meanwhile, at Xinghe Villas
Nie Lan sat wrapped in a thin blanket. Her slender fingers, holding a cigarette, looked like bare bones. She exhaled a puff of smoke, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The floor before her was stained with a large patch of bl00d, already beginning to clot. A female corpse with long hair lay in front of her, a dagger still lodged in her stabbed abdomen.
This was Nie Yan—her half-sister.
Two days ago, they had a falling-out. Enraged, Nie Yan grabbed a knife and stabbed at Nie Lan. However, Nie Lan had learned martial arts for acting and effortlessly subdued her.
Fueled by anger, she lost control and plunged the knife into Nie Yan’s stomach.
It wasn’t until Nie Yan slowly slid to the floor, lifeless, that Nie Lan realized—she had killed someone.
At that moment, she heard the sound of a camera shutter. She turned around and saw a man standing behind her. He looked familiar—then she remembered. It was Tian He.
Like a madwoman, she grinned eerily, grabbed an antique vase, and charged at him. Tian He was so shocked that he froze, unable to react in time. He had come for revenge, but instead, Nie Lan turned the tables and killed him with a single blow.
In the dead of night, Nie Lan stuffed Tian He’s body into the trunk of an inconspicuous black car. She pried off the license plate and discarded it before driving off to dump the body. Then, she drove back home.
But she didn’t know what to do with Nie Yan’s corpse.
Nie Yan, like herself, was Nie He’s daughter and one of the heirs to his fortune. If she disposed of the body, people would inevitably suspect that this was a murder over inheritance.
The body had already been in her house for a day. If she didn’t do something soon, it would attract attention.
Nie Lan paced back and forth in the house before finally making a decision—she would abandon the inheritance.
As usual, she dressed herself up glamorously and headed to the airport, leaving Lingchao behind.
When the police arrived at Xinghe Villas, they were too late. Nie Lan was long gone, leaving behind only a house reeking of decay.
Special forces officers broke in through the windows and discovered Nie Yan’s body. But it was too late.
Three Days Later
“What?! Nie Lan dumped the body and escaped?!” Han Ning exclaimed at home. “Two bodies?
One male, one female?”
Shen Xi was also shocked. She asked the officer, “Where did she go?”
“We only tracked her on domestic flights. After that, her trail vanished. She likely escaped by helicopter,” the officer sighed in frustration. “This is going to be difficult…”
If Nie Lan had left the country, capturing her would be nearly impossible—especially when they had no idea where she was.
This case caused a massive public uproar. Nie He suddenly passed away overnight, Nie Lan disappeared, Nie Yan was murdered, and You Xi reaped all the benefits, leaving for an unknown city to start a new life with her new lover.
No matter how big an incident is, time eventually dulls its impact. People die every day.
Life and death never stop. Most people are shocked for a while, gossip about it, and then move on with their lives.
Han Ning and Shen Xi were no exception.
Their lives gradually returned to normal. As usual, Han Ning continued acting, and Shen Xi stayed with the crew, learning from Chen Rong.
They moved in together and started a sweet, carefree life.
Shen Xi no longer isolated herself in the study to write. Instead, she wrote in the living room. When she got tired, she would take a break and watch Han Ning playing happily with the cats, filling her heart with happiness.
If only life could always be like this.
She lowered her head, fingers swiftly tapping the keyboard. Half an hour later, she posted a new chapter. She closed the document and sent a message to Shen Fengmei: “It’s time. The new chapter is up.”
Shen Xi’s novel had become Shen Fengmei’s bedtime story. She treated it like a daily news broadcast, waiting eagerly for updates.
For Shen Xi’s readers, this was a huge delight. Ever since she transitioned into screenwriting, she barely had time to update her novel. They had waited for over half a year with no news from her. Many had already moved on to other authors who updated more frequently.
And now, this woman—this irresistible woman—was back!
Shen Xi once joked in her author’s note: “There’s an old lady at home waiting for updates, feeling both pain and joy…”
She hadn’t expected that chapter’s comment section to be flooded with readers all saying in unison: “Thank you, old lady!”
Shen Xi was speechless.
Han Ning, cuddling a cat, read the comments and chuckled. “Isn’t this great? Auntie has something to look forward to.”
“Tsk…” Shen Xi hugged the cat, rolling her eyes. “My mom is really something… She only reads this one book. She could at least check out my other finished works. I’m busy all day following Chen Rong, and at night I still have to write. If I’m even half an hour late, she calls to rush me…”
“I guess that means she loves your story,” Han Ning murmured, sniffing Shen Xi’s neck. So fragrant. She kissed her lightly and sneakily slid her hand under Shen Xi’s clothes.
Shen Xi slapped her hand away with a cold expression. “I’m not in the mood tonight.”
“No, you have to be,” Han Ning said seriously. Then, she picked up the cat, set it aside, and pulled Shen Xi toward the bedroom.
The Next Morning
The two slept until after 9 AM. Han Ning had a night shoot, but before heading to set, she had a commercial shoot.
At the salon, Shen Xi sat beside her, enjoying a rare moment of leisure while the stylists worked their magic.
With silver ombre hair cascading down her back, Han Ning looked like a fantasy novel heroine.
“Wow…” Shen Xi stared in a daze.
Han Ning smirked and winked. “What’s wrong, girl? Mesmerized?”
Shen Xi sighed and muttered, “Ning Ning, just stop talking…”