Chapter 89: Fate

Arriving at Yingjiang Tower, a single bottle of three-thousand-yuan red wine was enough to subdue the enchantress. Zhen Yuqi was becoming increasingly intrigued by him.

Zhou Dongyun was not a seductress. After brandishing a bottle of red wine this time, she was excused from duty. She did drink, but didn’t feel particularly affected.

Xiao Ma himself drank very little but kept pouring wine for the two girls. Unfortunately, after finishing the bottle, both women seemed steady, barely affected, while Xiao Ma, who had only taken a single glass, was already feeling dizzy.

The two girls crossed their arms and looked at him in their own distinct styles. “So, what now? Going to keep going? Trying to get us drunk?”

Do you think I’m a pig?

Xiao Ma grew a little embarrassed. At three thousand yuan a bottle, continuing like this was clearly disadvantageous for him. Strategically, this was an utterly foolish tactic.

So Xiao Ma said nonchalantly, “I don’t think this wine is any good—it tastes weird, not really to my liking. Let’s change places and have something else.”

Zhen Yuqi actually liked this wine but was more keen on changing the atmosphere to a lively nightclub setting. She suggested moving as well.

Zhou Dongyun, on the other hand, found the taste unpleasant and thought it was a rip-off, but she didn’t like noisy clubs either. She proposed, “Since we’re wealthy, why bother changing places? If the wine is bad, let’s just open five or six more bottles and get drunk right here. Anyway, I’m ugly; I’m not afraid of getting drunk.”

In the end, Xiao Ma and Zhen Yuqi formed an alliance, winning two to one, and they headed to the karaoke parlor.

The private room’s atmosphere was quite pleasant. None of them were karaoke fanatics, so no one sang. Instead, some acoustic music played in the background while they drank beer, snacked on fruits, and mainly chatted.

Xiao Ma drank very little himself since he was busy pouring drinks for them.

But the dilemma was this: Zhou Dongyun was a pleasant and approachable person, though average-looking. Zhen Yuqi was a seductive woman with striking beauty and figure.

By this point, Xiao Ma was mentally conflicted.

As Xiao Ma himself, he was shallow and lecherous, decisively drawn to Zhen Yuqi. But the “Great Demon King” inside him was complicated—he disliked Zhen Yuqi yet was attracted to Zhou Dongyun.

Overall, the Great Demon King couldn’t win out against Xiao Ma, so Ma Wei-min inclined toward cozying up with Zhen Yuqi.

Zhou Dongyun was a reserved but secretly passionate type. Now that she had drunk enough, her words grew bolder: “Hey, stop it for a second. This is a group chat, you know. Why are you sitting so close?”

Zhen Yuqi and Xiao Ma reluctantly toned down a bit.

Zhou Dongyun then raised a hand to adjust her glasses and joked, “Does anyone know where the ‘Great Sword for Ladies’ in Haizhou is? If nothing else, I want to go have some fun.”

“Uh… I can’t help you with that,” Xiao Ma replied awkwardly.

Zhen Yuqi hesitated before saying, “The ‘Great Sword for Ladies’? I used to know about them, but their boss got caught by me and ended up in jail. I have no idea what happened after that.”

Xiao Ma and Zhou Dongyun sprayed their beer in her face, then clutched their stomachs laughing uproariously.

After all the laughter and joking around, Zhou Dongyun, aware of the futility of stopping the two mischievous schemers, withdrew from their antics. Like a little girl from long ago, she moved to the front to take over the microphone.

Her singing was unbearably awful, terrifying both Xiao Ma and Zhen Yuqi. This strangely became a temporary topic between them, as they huddled together whispering and drinking.

Later on…

Damn.

Zhou Dongyun glanced back by chance, only to find those two scoundrels not just cuddling anymore—Xiao Ma was pressing Zhen Yuqi down on the sofa, their faces wet with mutual licking.

It was utterly shameless and reckless. Zhou Dongyun cleared her throat twice.

They ignored her.

She picked up the microphone and coughed three times loudly.

They continued on.

Zhou Dongyun was not an overly harsh person. Resigned, she covered her face and sat down, unwilling to intervene but also not wanting to leave.

After a moment’s thought, she took out her phone and started recording, thinking, “You two are really taking this to the level of needing tissues now.”

“You’re so bad. She’s right here watching,” Zhen Yuqi said helplessly, slapping Xiao Ma’s shoulder. Then, feeling a tickle in her ear, she added, “No, stop. Someone’s here.”

From the Longze teacher incident, Xiao Ma believed her words should be taken oppositely, so he ignored her.

Thus, Zhou Dongyun filmed them for nearly an hour.

Xiao Ma seemed to be slipping into a split personality. Ultimately achieving little, he stubbornly lay on top of her, refusing to get up.

Zhou Dongyun wished she could summon a thunderbolt from heaven to strike them down into the shape of a comedy.

As she thought this, lightning actually struck.

The door to the private room was kicked open. The female enforcer Zhang Jing had arrived.

Zhang Jing frowned, clearly facing trouble. She looked over and saw the bastard not only showing off with two girls but also lying on one of them. She strode up and grabbed Xiao Ma’s ear: “Get up! Why are you lying on someone again?”

The violent enforcer’s rage could not be resisted, so Xiao Ma dejectedly allowed Zhang Jing to drag him away.

“Squat down,” Zhang Jing ordered, pointing to a corner.

“You’re not treating me like the ‘Great Sword’ again, are you?” Xiao Ma protested.

“Just cooperate when I tell you to. This time the problem is way worse than the ‘Great Sword’,” Zhang Jing said seriously.

Xiao Ma had no choice but to squat down. He really had had enough—almost every time there was a break or perk, this enforcer would mess it up. Maybe he owed her something in a past life.

Zhen Yuqi was extremely embarrassed. She quickly stood, tidied her slightly disheveled clothes, sat down, and steadied herself. “Officer Zhang, what’s going on?”

“Tian Jia has been beaten to death!” Zhang Jing said with a grim expression. “It happened in his mansion. The time of death is still unknown, and the forensic report hasn’t come back yet. But not long ago, neighbors near his villa heard noises and called the police. When officers arrived and knocked with no response, though the lights were on, they entered with the property management’s witness and found his body.”

“Ah—”

Zhen Yuqi and Zhou Dongyun gaped silently, unsure how to respond. They hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.

Zhen Yuqi’s mind was the clearest. Frowning, she said, “So does this mean someone here has become a suspect?”

“Yes, that’s why I came.” Zhang Jing nodded without hesitation. “But strictly speaking, the prime suspect is me.”

Zhen Yuqi’s expression twisted oddly. “That’s not entirely wrong.”

Zhang Jing continued, “But considering my position, after leaving the scene, I’ve been with at least three other officers at all times. So my suspicion can be ruled out.”

Zhen Yuqi could only nod slightly.

Zhang Jing then pointed to Xiao Ma, who was still squatting in the corner. “This guy is more troublesome. The police department instructed me to keep him under control. Countless officers are searching for him separately. I mentioned there were beauties nearby, so he would be at some entertainment spot. We split up to find him. Seems fate brought us here—here I am.”