Sun Qiyan stood still with wide eyes. She was in disbelief when she heard what her mother told her. Her own mother abandoned her? Just as she thought she'd see a ray of sunshine that could help her, her mother decided to turn her back on her?
Before she could react from her mother's words, she saw Sun Ruying hurriedly leave the interrogation room and flee away, leaving her stunned.
"Miss Sun, please cooperate with us." She heard the lawyer say without sympathy.
---
Because of the scandal exploded over the news, previous victims of Sun Qiyan's plagiarism and the families of women abducted by Xi Yunchuan stepped forward and filed official complaints against the two. Even if Lu Xinyi didn't do anything, other people would add fuel to the fire willingly.
When Lu Xinyi showed up at the police station with the Fu siblings, the officers and the wardens were surprised to see her.
"Madam Shen?" Who wouldn't have heard about Lu Xinyi marrying President Shen anyway?
"May I visit my cousin? I hope this isn't an inconvenient time to see her." She smiled politely.
When the officer took a look at her, he immediately greeted her with respect. "It's no trouble, Madam Shen."
"Then, I'll be troubling you to show me the way," Lu Xinyi said.
The officer smiled.
"Originally, the chief said not to allow Miss Sun to receive any visitors since you're a family relative and you asked this one politely, how can I decline your request?"
The corner of Lu Xinyi's mouth twitched. Ah, even the officers know how to sweet talk just to earn a good impression on the Shen and Tang families. While the public was oblivious to Lu Xinyi's background, some of them were aware that Sun Meixiu's mother came from the Tang family.
The man led her inside while the Fu siblings followed behind her.
"Madam needed not to worry about Miss Sun's condition. Even though this is her third day in prison, she received proper treatments and was held in a private cell." He thought that after Sun Ruying abandoned Sun Qiyan and none from the Sun family bothered to check on her, Lu Xinyi wanted to do so.
The officer brought her to the visitors' area and was told to wait.
"Madam Shen, please wait here. I'll bring Miss Sun and will give you enough time to talk. I'll be waiting outside this room so please don't stay too long."
Lu Xinyi thanked him again and apologized for the inconvenience she brought with her.
The room itself was divided into two with a glass wall separating the guests and the detainees. Lu Xinyi sat at one of the vacant cubicles, with her bodyguards giving her enough space for privacy.
A few minutes later, Lu Xinyi saw the same officer leading Sun Qiyan, dressed with flimsy but decent attire for detainees. Once Sun Qiyan saw her, she struggled away from the officer's hold but failed. She was forced to sit down across Lu Xinyi before the officer left them alone to talk.
Lu Xinyi stared quietly at her cousin's face before she revealed a sinister smile enough to evoke fear from Sun Qiyan. When Sun Qiyan saw that it was Lu Xinyi who visited her, her fear was replaced with overwhelming anger against this woman.
"Lu Xinyi!" she shouted at the mouthpiece that was the lone communication between them.
"Indeed, it's me, my dear cousin. So how's your stay at the prison? I hope you're enjoying your stay since this will be your permanent home in the future."
Sun Qiyan jolted up from her seat and hit the glass wall separating them. As much as she wanted to slap and scratch Lu Xinyi's face, the wall between them restrained her attempts.
"Lu Xinyi! You're such a conniving, vile woman!"
"It seems that you haven't learned your lessons yet. Don't waste your energy; it's useless to blame everything on me when you know you brought this upon yourself." Lu Xinyi laughed out and chuckled at her cousin's failed attempt.
Sun Qiyan slapped the wall with her hands for the last time. She stared at Lu Xinyi resentfully. She slumped back on her seat and laughed maniacally, making Lu Xinyi wonder if she lost some nuts like her mother.
"Lu Xinyi, are you here to mock me and to see how pitiful and miserable I've become? I'll tell you what! There would be a day that you'll suffer a hundred times more than me!"
"What a pity." Madam Shen chuckled and admired her wedding ring, twisting it on her fingers. "My mother has been killed with your mother's assistance, and my father died because of Sun Mingai. The moment I lost my family, it has been hell since then. A person like you who only cares about herself would never understand the words 'grief' and 'sorrow'. Even if there's a day I'll suffer, there's no assurance that you'll be able to see it."
Sun Qiyan was surprised for a moment as she tried to figure out what Lu Xinyi meant. There was a glint of fear in her eyes as she waited for Lu Xinyi to explain what was happening. She'd been locked for three days, and she had no idea what was going on outside.
Since she was young, she was pampered and spoiled by her parents and never experienced difficulties like this. She had thought that her arrest during Starlight's event was the most humiliating she'd suffered in her life, but when her mother abandoned her—refusing to help her from this mess, Sun Qiyan was troubled.
She refused to let Lu Xinyi see the uneasiness in her heart and sneered at her.
"Do you think I'll be frightened by your simple words?" She laughed. She was so confident that even if Lu Xinyi hated her, her cousin wouldn't dare to threaten her life.
Lu Xinyi shook her head and looked back at Sun Qiyan filled with pity.
"Qiyan, Qiyan, how can you be this dumb?" she said and sighed dramatically. "You've implicated Xi Yunchuan to this mess. Do you think he'll keep his silence and will not seek revenge on you?"
"But I wasn't the one who revealed it in public!" Her cousin cried in defense.
"No matter if it was you or not, the situation is still the same. The scandal not only ruined Xi Yunchuan's reputation but dragged Redux Entertainment with him. Who do you think he'll blame for his misfortune?" Lu Xinyi's eyes glowered, her lips slightly raised up.
"Why would I sell him out? I have no plans on making him my enemy. Who's capable of scheming against him like this…?" Sun Qiyan stopped midway and stared at Lu Xinyi's smiling face with her brow arching as if telling her to continue.
"It's you…?" she said in disbelief. "You brought this upon us!"
When Lu Xinyi's smile widened and didn't deny her accusation, Sun Qiyan felt a wave of anger filling her once more.
"Lu Xinyi, I didn't know you have such an insidious heart. You played us well! You knew where Qiushan was and what happened to her, and yet you waited for a long time to reveal it. Oh, Madam Shen is quite ruthless, I see."
Sun Qiyan had never thought that there would be a day Lu Xinyi would beat her for good.
"You just wait and see! Once my mother cleared up her mind, she'll come to my aid and rescue me. Until then, she should watch your back!"
"You're still hoping that your mother will come back to save you?" Lu Xinyi ridiculed her. Why would a mother save the life of the person who'd caused the death of her youngest child?"