The Creator's Grace (GL) - Chapter 5

Midnight, Terminal 3 of B City International Airport.

The flight, delayed by an hour and a half, finally came to a stop, and the jet bridge connected to the aircraft door.

The overhead lights in the cabin flickered, indicating that it was time to deplane.

Chi Yu pushed her eye mask up to her forehead, moved her sore arms, her throat feeling tight and painful.

She sent a WeChat message to Ran Jin: “Sister Ran, the plane has landed. I don’t have any checked luggage, I’ll be out soon.”

Before she could even put her phone back in her pocket, Ran Jin replied: “I’m already waiting for you in Zone D of the East Parking Garage. When you come out to the arrival hall, follow the signs, take the elevator down to B2 parking garage, I’ll be here waiting for you.”

“Okay, see you in a bit.”

Chi Yu got up to retrieve her backpack, slipping the tablet that had been by her side into it.

The over ten-hour flight had left her exhausted. Even though there was a soft bed waiting, she was very particular about beds and had been unable to sleep a wink because of her sister’s passing.

Lying on that narrow bed, she hadn’t even moved her posture, let alone slept, her whole body aching and uncomfortable.

The redness and swelling in her eyes were worse than when she used to pull all-nighters writing papers. Chi Yu put on large sunglasses, covering half of her face, opened the cabin door, and deplaned.

At midnight, there weren’t many people in the arrival hall, but the lights were exceptionally bright, so bright that even with sunglasses on, her eyes still felt uncomfortable.

Walking on the sound-absorbing carpet, her high heels tapped out a rhythmic muffled sound, as if striking her heart.

Feelings of doubt, frustration, and grief swirled together. Facing the unknown journey ahead, she felt a sense of uncertainty and irritability, enveloped by a weary nightmare.

••••

When Chi Yu’s WeChat message came in, Ran Jin quickly woke up.

The interrupted dream left her feeling even more tired than when she was awake.

Ran Jin picked up her phone and saw the WeChat message from Chi Yu saying her flight had landed.

After replying to Chi Yu and telling her where she was, she was still a little worried.

Afraid that Chi Yu, who hadn’t been back for a while, might get lost, Ran Jin got out of the car, came up from the parking garage, and stood at this end of the bridge waiting for her.

As Chi Yu hurried towards the parking garage elevator, she received a call from a friend.

Before boarding the plane, she had asked a good friend in the country who handled private affairs to help investigate the cause of her sister’s death.

After hearing the investigation results her friend told her, Chi Yu stopped in her tracks, her face turning paler than ever before.

She stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass on the third floor of the terminal, watching planes land in the late night, the black shadows with flashing red lights resembling the floating eyes of vengeful spirits in the night.

And what she heard in her ears was more terrifying than vengeful spirits.

The “suicide” filled with doubts was like a meticulously prepared dining table, where the food and tableware displayed seemed ordinary, but were not in their proper places.

And the one who arranged all this was the “family” she had once trusted so much, the “sister-in-law” she had called for so many years.

“Okay, I understand.”

When Chi Yu hung up her friend’s phone, her voice was already hoarse.

She stood there for several minutes, adjusted her mood, and then started walking again to meet Ran Jin.

From afar, Ran Jin saw Chi Yu at a glance.

Twenty-two-year-old Chi Yu, tall at one meter seventy-five, had dressed very low-key for the funeral, but she was still the kind of person who attracted attention wherever she went.

Her long curly hair trembled occasionally as she strode forward. She wore sunglasses, a sleek black fitted trench coat, and black wool wide-leg trousers. Even in high heels, her pace was quite rapid.

“Sister Ran.”

Seeing Ran Jin, Chi Yu walked quickly towards her and took off her sunglasses.

Ran Jin saw her thin face and red, swollen, and glistening eyes. Clearly, she had lost a lot more weight than when she had returned home for the New Year. The hardships and suffering after experiencing a major life change were clearly written on her face.

Ran Jin’s heart ached as if stabbed. She opened her arms and hugged her, letting her cry in her embrace.

Her bag fell to the ground. Chi Yu wrapped her arms around Ran Jin’s waist, pressed against her neck, tears sliding from her eyes.

Ran Jin, who was a little shorter than Chi Yu, had her chin resting on her shoulder. She raised her head with some difficulty, patted her back, comforting her gently and patiently.

Giving this junior who had lost her sister a place to lean on, a place to cry.

Chi Yu’s slender fingers slowly moved from her waist to the back of her head, delving into her hair.

Holding her, imprisoning her firmly in her embrace.

Her friend’s words still echoed in Chi Yu’s ears:

“Your sister left a will using her own account within the Chi Corporation’s system. The content of the will was so simple that it made one think she was in a great hurry when she wrote it.

“The will only had two points: one, the Chi Corporation was to be given to Ran Jin, and two, the body was to be cremated immediately. So your sister’s body was cremated after the police ‘confirmed’ it was suicide, and what’s in the mourning hall now is her urn.

“The earliest autopsy report is gone. I finally managed to find a clue. What I sent you is the restored original version of the autopsy report. It’s not very clear, but you can still see that your sister had twelve stab wounds in her chest. I’m also fucking impressed that someone could commit suicide with twelve stab wounds.

“Your sister-in-law, oh no, former sister-in-law has strong connections in the police station, otherwise there wouldn’t be different versions of the autopsy report. I followed this lead and found out that she has a close relationship with a police officer surnamed Lu. In the month before your sister passed away, they had twenty-three recorded meetings.

“I have more information here. When you come, I’ll show it to you in person. The surveillance video should also be available when we meet.”

Chi Yu’s bloodshot, tearful eyes stared straight ahead at the empty midnight airport terminal.

Uncoordinated with the atmosphere of this embrace due to mourning was Chi Yu’s gaze.

There was still a hint of sadness, but more of it had transformed from a pondering emotion into a gradually dawning composure, and an increasingly sinister and ruthless determination.

But all of this was unnoticed by Ran Jin, who wholeheartedly offered her embrace.

She could only hear Chi Yu’s voice.

“Sister Ran, my sister has passed away, you must take care of yourself.” Chi Yu said, her eyes not blinking, each word distinct, “I will be by your side, I will take good, good, care of you.”

••••

They got into Ran Jin’s car and headed towards the Chi family home.

There were few cars on the highway at midnight, and Ran Jin drove not slowly.

“Sister Ran, how did my sister die?”

Chi Yu leaned back in the car seat and asked calmly.

This calmness didn’t sound like an inquiry. It was as if the questioner already knew the answer when posing the question, waiting to appreciate a performance they were already familiar with.

“Suicide.”

After a few seconds of silence, when Ran Jin uttered these one word, her tone was flat, as if the deceased wasn’t the “intimate girlfriend” she had been with for six years, but an insignificant stranger.

“My sister wouldn’t commit suicide.” Chi Yu turned her head to look at Ran Jin’s profile. “You and I know best what kind of person she was. Yesterday, or rather, the day before yesterday, she still video-called me on time. There was nothing unusual in the video. How could she suddenly commit suicide? Sister Ran, do you think there’s any other possibility?”

“What possibility?”

Chi Yu stared at Ran Jin’s face, trying to remember every subtle expression. “Is it possible that my sister was murdered?”

Ran Jin didn’t answer her question.

The half of her face illuminated by the cold light of the center console didn’t reveal any flaws either.

“The police also said my sister committed suicide?” Chi Yu leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Mm.”

“Who found her first?”

As the only bl00d relative of the deceased, it was entirely reasonable for Chi Yu to relentlessly question Ran Jin.

Even though Ran Jin wasn’t a police officer and wasn’t a suspect, at least not yet.

“Your sister’s personal assistant and secretary, Hong Yiling.”

Chi Li would go golfing every Saturday and video-call Chi Yu on the way to the course, and this week was no different.

The day before yesterday, she went to the golf course affiliated with the Chi Corporation, played for two hours, and then went to the private lounge to shower. Hong Yiling came to bring her clothes.

Hong Yiling had access to Chi Li’s lounge. Usually, after placing Chi Li’s personal belongings in the closet, she could leave without needing to see the boss herself.

But that day, in addition to bringing clothes, Hong Yiling also brought a document that needed Chi Li’s personal confirmation, so she didn’t leave immediately but waited in the lounge.

After waiting for more than an hour and still not seeing the boss come out, Hong Yiling found it very strange.

President Chi always adhered to schedules and knew that the document Hong Yiling brought was urgent. There was no reason for her not to appear for so long.

So, Hong Yiling plucked up her courage and knocked on the bathroom door.

After knocking for a long time without any response, Hong Yiling became a little panicked, wondering if something had happened to the boss.

Generally speaking, those who fought in the capital market were very wary of getting involved with the police. Once the police came to their door, it was mostly bad luck. So, Chi Li would avoid dealing with the police whenever possible.

As an excellent secretary, thinking from the boss’s perspective was a basic requirement for Hong Yiling.

Similarly, having a keen sense to detect abnormal situations was the main reason why she had been able to work by the side of the Chi Corporation’s chairman for so many years.

Hong Yiling knocked hard on the door several times, still receiving no response. Knowing that she couldn’t delay any longer, she immediately went to find the golf course manager. The manager used his authority to open the bathroom door.

Hong Yiling told the police that the moment the door opened, the sound of water and the water vapor immediately occupied her hearing and vision.

The chaotic scene was as if someone had deliberately blocked her ears and covered her eyes, preventing her from understanding what she was seeing at first glance.

But her nose was functioning normally.

She smelled a strong scent of bl00d.

Hong Yiling said she was terrified at the time. Almost instinctively, she immediately turned around and told the manager and the staff who had followed him to back out. Without even waiting for their reaction, she slammed the door shut.

Hong Yiling turned a deaf ear to the questioning voices outside the door. After taking a deep breath, she walked towards the place where the smell of bl00d was strongest.

“When she was found, your sister was lying in the bathtub filled with water, her wrists were cut, and she was already…” Ran Jin said up to this point, and then, to be considerate of Chi Yu’s feelings, didn’t continue.

Chi Yu continued to ask, “Besides the golf course manager, how many people have access to my sister’s lounge?”

“Three.” Ran Jin didn’t hesitate and quickly answered her question, “Your sister, Secretary Hong Yiling, and me.”