the assistant's efficiency was quite high, and he gave a reply to li shuo two days later, xu darui had indeed borrowed a loan shark and was now hiding around.

li shuo uninterruptedly received all kinds of pleading information from xu darui, he did not reply, he planned to hand things over to the assistant to deal with, but certainly not now, but years later, if this time does not let xu darui suffer a little, next time maybe there is the courage to gamble, he is not a cash machine.

these days he is also really busy, years ago all kinds of social activities are very frequent, he also try to take time to deal with those materials, for several days can only sleep for three or four hours, resulting in poor spirits. fortunately, zhao jinxin did not come to him these days, and when he was at home, zhao jinxin would relent, but his father had not spoken to him much for several days.

chinese new year's eve night, a family of three dressed up to attend the spring festival gala of the chinese chamber of commerce. in recent years, the chinese chamber of commerce has become richer and richer, can invite many domestic and foreign stars, and the level of the program is also quite high-grade, but li shuo does not pay much attention to the entertainment circle, and he does not know the people who come.

as the president of the chamber of commerce, zhao rongtian's family is naturally the most eye-catching, remember that when i had not seen zhao jinxin before, li shuo had heard how handsome zhao rongtian's son was, and said that it was strange that for so many years, the two had just happened to have never met.

as soon as the zhao family appeared, it caused a little commotion. zhao rongtian sat at the main table composed of new york politicians and the president and vice president of the chamber of commerce, and li shuo and his father also passed. the families of these people sat next to them.

li shuo watched as zhao jinxin led lady zhao over and sat down next to them with a smile.

"li shuo, how come i lost weight after not seeing him for a few months?" madame zhao smiled and greeted her.

li shuo smiled: "years ago, there were too many things to be busy, and i felt more tired than going to work, but my aunt was more glorious than the last time i saw it." "

the two of them talked for two words, and madame zhao went to talk to li shuo's mother.

zhao jinxin leaned over slightly and whispered in li shuo's ear, "have you not had a good rest in the past few days, and what are you busy with?" "

"busy socializing."

"i'm heartbroken to see you have dark circles." zhao jinxin quietly shook li shuo's hand.

li shuo smoked a little, did not pull out, but was dragged under the tablecloth by zhao jinxin, gently rubbing his thumb.

li shuo looked at him, his eyes full of warning.

zhao jinxin smiled softly, blinked his eyes slightly, and said "i miss you" with his mouth.

li shuo had no choice but to go with him. li shuo knew that zhao jinxin was very good at provoking people in such small details, and no matter how deliberate these behaviors were, they did not make people feel contrary. but i need to ring the alarm bell for twelve minutes to resist the surge of emotion.

zhao jinxin's charm has never diminished, he just doesn't want to continue to indulge.

after the host made the opening remarks, the deputy mayor of new york took the stage to speak, followed by zhao rongtian.

zhao jinxin smiled lowly and said to li shuo, "my father really has a model, right?" "

"well, yes."

"if you want to, he'll be your dad from now on."

"be honest." li shuo wanted to withdraw his hand again, but still did not succeed, zhao jinxin shook his hand sweaty, or refused to let go.

"seriously." zhao jinxin whispered, "if you say a word, i can come out on the spot." "

li shuo frowned and ignored him.

"you don't believe it." zhao jinxin suddenly released his hand and stood up.

li shuo's heart jumped in fright, and he grabbed zhao jinxin's arm and whispered, "what are you doing!" "

the people next to them were also startled and looked at them.

zhao jinxin blinked slyly: "go to the bathroom." "

li shuo was secretly relieved, he really did not dare to make conservative guesses about people like zhao jinxin.

mrs. zhao suddenly pulled on zhao jinxin's sleeve: "the lamp in the bathroom in the lobby is broken, and my mother will go with you." "

li shuo was stunned, and suddenly remembered that zhao jinxin had interrupted his meeting with han feiye for the reason of being afraid of the dark, he had always felt that zhao jinxin was playing tricks on lai, was it... it's true?

zhao jinxin seemed a little embarrassed: "mom, how do you accompany me, no need, i will go to other floors." "

madame zhao looked at li shuo, and she leaned over to li shuo's side and whispered, "li shuo, would you like to accompany jinxin to the bathroom?" that light was broken, and i was afraid of him... uh, fell. "

li shuo clapped her hands and said softly, "okay." "

the two men got up and walked out of the banquet hall.

as soon as he went out, li shuo said, "you don't really want to go to the bathroom." "

zhao jinxin shrugged: "no, the heating inside is too big, and the heat is killing me." "

li shuo paused: "you are really... afraid of the dark? "

"it's true, but when i grew up, i got over a lot." zhao jinxin took li shuo's arm and laughed, "besides, uncle li will protect me, right?" "

li shuo paused, still unable to restrain his curiosity: "why?" "

"when i was a kid, i went surfing, got hit on the head by a surfboard, went blind for a few days, and have been afraid of the dark since then, but as long as someone accompanies me, i am not afraid." zhao jinxin blinked his eyes, "will uncle li accompany me?" "

li shuo coughed softly, "you are such an adult, you should learn to overcome the fear in your heart." "

"sometimes..."

li shuo's mobile phone text message interrupted his words, li shuo looked down, it was sent by xu darui again, but this time it was not a text message, but a file attached, he opened the text message curiously, inside was a player logo, he looked at zhao jinxin, turned and walked to the corner.

zhao jinxin looked at him in the same place.

walking to a secluded place, li shuo pressed the play button, he originally thought it was a video, but he did not expect it to be audio, as soon as it was played, it was a man's cry, he was frightened and his hand shook, and he pressed pause.

zhao jinxin faintly heard something from a distance of several meters, and he said, "what's wrong?" "

"nothing." li shuo's heart was pounding, he could still faintly recognize that it was xu darui's cry, could it be that xu darui was loan shark... he didn't dare to think about it, he wanted to teach xu darui some lessons, but if there was really any serious physical injury because of this, he would be in trouble, but he quickly calmed down, if it was really xu darui who was used violently, how could he send the audio to him? if you want to send it, you should also send it to your family. loan sharks read their text messages?

li shuo took a deep breath, put the mobile phone to his ear, pressed the play button again, and there continued to be crying and xu darui's vague pleading, but the more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong, until, he heard his own voice...

li shuo was shocked.

this audio, it seems, is... when he took the account suspicious point to find xu darui to confront him! xu darui cried and begged him not to expose, and took his life to ensure that as long as the working capital was in place, he could cover up the fraudulent loan thing perfectly, so they talked about the middle of the night, talking about the emaciated heart, he was soft for a while, and made the mistake he regretted the most...

li shuo's face was iron blue, he didn't expect xu darui to record the sound at that time, he thought that the night's events, only the two of them knew, but he didn't expect xu darui to leave this hand!

the more he listened, the more cold he became. what frightened him was not this audio that threatened him, but the sinister nature of the human heart.

"li shuo." zhao jinxin suddenly pulled li shuo's shoulder.

li shuo looked at zhao jinxin with wide eyes, and his eyes were full of confusion.

zhao jinxin grabbed the phone and put it to his ear, but the audio just ended.

li shuo reacted, grabbed the phone, and said calmly: "what's wrong?" "

"what's wrong with you?" zhao jinxin touched his face, "what did you hear?" who sent something? "

"one asked me to borrow money." li shuo shrugged, "sprinkle the trick, i will let the assistant deal with it." "

zhao jinxin frowned and wanted to get the mobile phone, but li shuo put the mobile phone in his pocket: "this matter has nothing to do with you." "

"why doesn't your business have anything to do with me?" zhao jinxin said solemnly, "li shuo, i am your man, no matter what happens to you, it has something to do with me, especially troublesome things." "

li shuo pushed him away: "my own affairs, i handle it myself, do you look down on me when you are nosy?" "

zhao jinxin sighed, "what i get the most from you now is that i refused." "

"then you probably don't get enough." li shuo was in an irritable mood, and the words he said were naturally not good.

zhao jinxin's eyes flashed a look of injury, and his eyelids also drooped.

li shuo's heart was also very unpleasant, the big new year's day, he didn't want to touch any obscurity, but he was already obscure, he really didn't have the heart to deal with zhao jinxin, he clutched the mobile phone in his pants pocket and strode towards the banquet hall.

zhao jinxin slammed his fist on the wall, his face full of unwillingness.

li shuo returned to his seat and pulled out his mobile phone, and xu darui's text messages were indeed chased over, one by one, all very brief, but it could be seen that the mental state was somewhat unusual.

"dude, i don't want to go this far, you forced me."

"even you look down on me."

"i xu darui am a person who lectures on morality, i didn't confess you at that time, i am now forced to a dead end, and you will not help me."

"why didn't you stop me then, weren't you the most upright?"

"why don't you stop me?"

"li shuo, do you hate me?" i have nothing now, and i am not afraid of anything. "

"li shuo, you help me, you don't force me."

li shuo only felt dizzy in front of his eyes, something was stuck in his chest, he couldn't get out, and his breathing became heavy.

he did not expect that his momentary softness of heart at that time would cause such a situation as it is now, he did not deliberately harm people, did not have the intention of illegally making profits, but let himself fall into such a troublesome situation, and even after paying enough price, he could not get out.

xu darui's actions also made him feel cold in his heart. he fixed his mind and replied to xu darui with one word: wait.

he decided to stabilize xu darui first, and then find a way, a piece of audio can not be used as evidence to prosecute him, not to mention that the case has passed so many years, but it is enough to bring him a lot of trouble, such as facing the investigation again, the reputation that has been affected by the impact is destroyed again, which is much more important than money. but if he succumbed to xu darui's threat, it was likely that he would really become a cash machine.

do you want to make some extraordinary means...

unconsciously, zhao jinxin had already sat back beside him.

li shuo looked at him, put the phone in his pocket, and continued to watch the program as usual.

after the show, some people stayed to eat, most of them were representatives of international students or migrant workers whose families were not here, and others went home for a reunion dinner.

zhao rongtian invited li shuo's family to have a reunion dinner together, li shuo already knew that this would happen, i don't know if it was his delusion, he felt that the two families were getting closer and closer, but think of his father and zhao rongtian have such a big link of interests, must deal with the relationship, but also reasonable.

so the two families took a car to zhao rongtian's house.

zhao rongtian's mansion was arranged in a very festive atmosphere, which was a fairly rare chinese mansion on the upper east side, and the color of the lights at this time was a representative red of the manhattan chinese new year.

chinese new year's eve the meal had already been prepared, as soon as they entered the door, the maid began to pass the dish, and the two families spent a chinese new year in a lively and lively way.

looking at the festive smiles on the faces of the elders, and the gentle gaze that zhao jinxin had handed to him with a smile from time to time, li shuo suddenly realized that this picture was too beautiful to be interrupted.

but this beauty is superficial, zhao jinxin's threatening expressions, eyes, words, are still imprinted in his mind frame by frame...