The Creator's Grace (GL) - Chapter 11
When they got to the Chinese restaurant on the top floor, Chi Yu deliberately ordered many dishes that took a long time to cook. She wanted to have a good talk with Ran Jin and extend the time she was there.
Chi Yu spoke frankly to Ran Jin about some of the things she had investigated. Of course, she didn’t mention the crucial evidence from the surveillance video.
If her sister had died so suddenly and she had come back to the country without investigating anything, Ran Jin would definitely become suspicious.
But she couldn’t tell her everything, or she wouldn’t be able to get any information out of Ran Jin.
Chi Yu started with Lu Siqing, as she was the most important witness who cleared Ran Jin’s name, yet Chi Yu had never heard Ran Jin mention knowing a police officer like her before.
“I met Miss Lu seven years ago. We’ve been in the same city all these years, but we weren’t close and didn’t have each other’s contact information, so we didn’t interact much. We accidentally ran into each other again later, and that’s when we exchanged WeChat.”
Facing Chi Yu’s “curiosity,” Ran Jin was very direct.
“So… you knew her before you knew my sister?”
“Yes. You know, before I came to the Chi family, I was wandering for a long time,” Ran Jin said, taking a sip of lemonade. “I got into a bit of trouble back then.”
“Did Officer Lu help you solve it?”
“You could say that.”
Chi Yu had expected Ran Jin to avoid talking about knowing Lu Siqing, but she was surprisingly candid.
However, upon closer inspection, while her answers were quick, she was vague about many details.
Chi Yu continued to ask, “I heard she drove you to the live broadcast when my sister had the accident?”
“Yes,” Ran Jin said. “Her dad came back from their hometown that day and brought some local specialties. She specifically brought some for me. She heard I was going to the live broadcast building and was also going there to investigate a case, so we went together. The dashcam footage has already been given to the police. The whole story of why I was in her car can be heard clearly.”
Ran Jin’s response showed that she had already realized Chi Yu was testing her.
Chi Yu didn’t back down. “Sister Ran, you know my sister’s personality. How could she have committed suicide? Last month, she was still telling me she was training to conquer Mount Everest before she turned forty. When my parents passed away, she was my age now. She gave up her own future to take care of me and rebuilt the failing Chi Group. You were in love with her for so many years, you must know how much she endured. She wouldn’t commit suicide. Especially not without leaving me a single word… I don’t know what you think, Sister Ran, but for me, it’s unbelievable.”
Ran Jin nodded, agreeing with Chi Yu. “At first, I also found it hard to believe. It was absurd when I was listed as a suspect. But now the police have a conclusion, and we have no choice but to believe it.”
Chi Yu felt a rush of anger at Ran Jin’s lukewarm and vague attitude.
Chi Yu patiently continued to circle around Ran Jin. But no matter how she set the trap, Ran Jin just skirted around it, not easily falling for it.
Even if she did step into a trap, she had a calm composure, as if she could lie down comfortably inside without being harmed at all.
Chi Yu was at a disadvantage and knew she wouldn’t get the answers she wanted by continuing like this.
“So, Sister Ran, do you really think my sister committed suicide?” Chi Yu lowered her eyes, and her expressive eyes quickly welled up. “I always thought my sister and I told each other everything. I always thought I was so important to her… I never expected her to leave without a single word.”
When Ran Jin saw Chi Yu’s reddened eyes and heard her voice tighten, her body, which had been leaning against the backrest, instinctively leaned forward.
Chi Yu didn’t need to act. What she was saying was mostly her true feelings, a deep-seated pain.
She looked up, and two lines of tears naturally rolled down her cheeks.
Ran Jin immediately pulled a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her.
After Chi Yu said “thank you” and took the tissue, Ran Jin, who had been lost in thought for a moment, finally spoke:
“Even between people who tell each other everything, there will be secrets. Just because she didn’t leave you a message doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t want to.”
Chi Yu held the tissue in her hand, unused. Tears welled up in her eyes. The usually strong Chi Yu now had a touch of fragility, making her appear more complex to Ran Jin.
Chi Yu asked her, “Sister Ran, did my sister say anything to you before she passed away?”
Ran Jin shifted her gaze from Chi Yu’s face to her own water glass, smiling somewhat helplessly. “She didn’t even leave a message for you, let alone me. You know, I had already broken up with her before.”
“Did my sister initiate the breakup?”
“No.” To Chi Yu’s surprise, Ran Jin said, “I did.”
“My sister must have done something to hurt you.” Chi Yu didn’t forget the purpose of this meal and continued to dig for any possible clues.
Unfortunately, the clear-headed Ran Jin still didn’t give her a chance, responding with the maturity and tact of an adult, “Relationship matters aren’t something that can be explained in a few words. Although I initiated the breakup, it was a mutual decision between your sister and me.”
No wonder they couldn’t list her as a suspect.
Chi Yu had truly witnessed Ran Jin’s complete discretion.
When Ran Jin was still her “sister-in-law,” the two naturally stood on the same side, and Chi Yu could get all the honest truths she wanted to hear from her.
But now it was different.
Chi Yu knew that they were now enemies, just not yet openly so.
Since she couldn’t break through Ran Jin’s solid defenses while she was sober, Chi Yu planned to get her to drink some alcohol.
She knew Ran Jin’s alcohol tolerance was very low. Just a small amount—enough to cover the bottom of a Burgundy wine glass twice—could make Ran Jin confused.
If she drank spirits or baijiu, she would probably completely black out.
Four years ago, when Chi Yu received her offer from her desired university, her sister was especially happy and hosted a party at home, inviting many relatives and friends.
Chi Yu had just turned eighteen, and it was the first time her sister allowed her to drink openly.
Actually, she had secretly tried alcohol with a group of her friends before, always worried about being smelled when she got home, constantly on edge.
Being able to drink openly now felt completely different.
Drinking too much inevitably led to some loss of composure. Coupled with the fact that her classmates and good friends would be going their separate ways from then on, the reluctance to part urged these soon-to-be adults to eagerly want to experience the feeling of drinking until they were completely drunk.
That night, only halfway through the party, Chi Li’s secretary hurriedly came to find her, saying there was an emergency board meeting that she couldn’t miss. After apologizing to her sister, she asked Ran Jin to stay and handle things in her place.
After Chi Li left, the business partners she had invited also left one after another.
Only Chi Yu’s classmates and her ever-obedient sister-in-law remained.
Chi Yu became even more unrestrained, bringing over a large assortment of wines and playing truth or dare with Qi Tong and the others.
Their rule was that if a dare was too risky and they didn’t want to do it, they could opt to drink instead.
However, the amount to drink was determined by everyone taking turns pouring at the beginning of the game. Some poured just a little, afraid of being targeted, while others gulped down large amounts, confident they wouldn’t be the ones penalized.
Ran Jin had initially been watching Chi Yu from the side, reminding her not to drink too much.
Later, someone insisted on pulling Ran Jin into the game.
Ran Jin was several years older than them and had been sitting on the side as a guardian figure. When unexpectedly invited, she shook her head and declined.
Her classmates continued to egg her on. Chi Yu, already unsteady on her feet as if standing on an earthquake zone, came over with her wine glass to help Ran Jin out of the situation:
“Don’t mess with my sister-in-law, she really doesn’t like your kids’ shows.”
“Kids’ shows? But you’re the one who started it!”
“Exactly, hurry up and drink the wine in your hand.”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? Chi Yu is pretending to be drunk. If she stumbles ‘accidentally’ and spills the wine, she can get away with it.”
Chi Yu earnestly played innocent, “I really drank too much, I can’t drink anymore. Can I just drink half of this glass?”
Qi Tong took the lead in jeering, “Do you think that’ll work! You poured me a huge amount last round! Hurry up and drink it, or your sisters will look down on you!”
Chi Yu knew she couldn’t get out of it. She was just putting on a bit of a show. If she couldn’t get away with it, so be it. She wasn’t too drunk yet.
Unexpectedly, Ran Jin actually took her wine glass and finished it in one gulp.
Everyone present, including Chi Yu, looked at Ran Jin.
The giddy revelry of the moment suddenly quieted down.
Ran Jin frowned as she forced the wine down, paused for a moment, and then spoke in the same stern guardian tone, “Xiao Yu can’t drink anymore, or her sister will be angry. You guys continue playing, I’ll drink for her.”
Everyone present were seventeen or eighteen-year-olds, half of whom hadn’t even had a proper relationship. They were so shocked by Ran Jin’s sister-in-law power that they sobered up by half.
“Your sister is too lucky! Where did she find such a considerate girlfriend!”
“I want a sister-in-law like that too!”
“Alright, my margarita doesn’t need lemon anymore.”
That night, Chi Yu drank a lot of wine. She was dizzy, but thanks to the alcohol tolerance she had developed from years of secretly drinking, her mind was still clear.
On the other hand, Ran Jin, who had drunk that glass of wine for her, quickly turned red, and her responses to Chi Yu were a few seconds slower than usual.
Only then did Chi Yu realize that the sister-in-law who had been so bold earlier didn’t know how to drink at all. Afraid that she would continue to drink for her and that she wouldn’t be able to explain it to her sister later, Chi Yu withdrew from the game in the second half and just watched from the side. Ran Jin’s act of drinking for her was a crucial step in Chi Yu completely accepting this outsider as “one of her own.”
After all, it’s not that hard to be nice to someone, but to genuinely care for that person’s family isn’t something that can be faked.
The warmth of that time was now, ironically, becoming the weapon Chi Yu would use to break through Ran Jin’s solid defenses.
Chi Yu was indeed very sad, and the wetness in her eyes never really receded. Her actions of saying she “missed her sister too much,” ordering two bottles of wine, and wanting Ran Jin to have a drink with her, all seemed perfectly natural.
Chi Yu wanted to get Ran Jin drunk and pry open her tightly sealed mouth.
This was perhaps the most direct, efficient, and feasible plan at this stage.
The wine was served, and Ran Jin showed little expression throughout, neither refusing nor agreeing.
Chi Yu asked the waiter to open the wine and drank two glasses by herself in silence.
The alcohol burned her throat and rushed to her brain, but instead of making her drunk, it made her more sober, and she thought of more excuses to persuade Ran Jin to drink.
Unexpectedly, before Chi Yu even started persuading her much, just looking at Ran Jin with reddened eyes and saying she missed her sister and wanted Ran Jin to keep her company, was enough.
That was all it took. Ran Jin, as if unable to resist, hesitated for a very short time before emptying the wine glass beside her in one go.