Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

"Were you at Majesty Hotel two nights ago?" Yijun asked.

Alix stared at him while Jin's cautionary words echoed in her ears.

If even one staff member or guest comes forward and says that they remember seeing you in passing, you are done for.

It was as if he was hinting that there was indeed somebody who might have caught a glance at her.

Though I was wearing a scarf, it seems like somebody did see me.

Alix clearly gauged that lying would get her more in trouble than admitting it. She gave it a quick thought.

"Yes, I was at the hotel."

Yijun was slightly taken aback for a moment as he held an impression that she would readily deny it.

Seems like somebody gave her a tip that lying would be futile, he thought.

"Why were you at the hotel?"

She shrugged. "Just indulge myself. I don't run Ren Designs anymore so I keep hanging around here and there like a free spirit. I am on the path of self discovery."

"Were you alone all the time?"

"If you are asking whether somebody can vouch for me, then sadly no. I like my own company."

"Did you cross paths with Wang Xia at any point during the evening?"

"No."

"She has something else to say about this."

Alix smiled. "She had a lot to say during the fashion show where she colluded with Kang Yuze in ruining my designs. She also had a lot to say about Liu Jin just a few days back but we all know how it ended. Are you sure you should trust in this 'something else she has to say?'"

Yijun coughed.

He then said, "There is no footage of you entering the room where Wang Xia was threatened apparently. We did see you entering a different room on a different floor though."

She inwardly smirked. It was true that she hadn't expected anybody to really notice her as hundreds of guests passed along the reception area. But she had prepared for a fallback for the worst case scenario.

She erased her presence from anywhere near the room of 'torture' and replaced it with her presence at some other room. She also hadn't chosen the twentieth floor randomly. She had already done her homework - none of the karaoke or party rooms were booked on that floor so anybody seeing her physically come out of the room was impossible. The only thing she couldn't really control was passing through the reception area.

But that was still okay. Alix was quite confident that Wang Xia's complaint wouldn't hold much water. Being present at the same time and same place could also be counted as a coincidence, not necessarily purpose.

But Yijun was smart. He was aware that it was the latter, not the former.

"Does it mean that I can go?"

"Well…" he cleared his throat. "To be honest, we can still continue our investigation to be completely thorough. But it would risk a certain someone's interests who has very crisply stated not to venture it any further."

"...So you are dismissing the case?"

"There will be a bloodbath if I don't."

Alix's expression changed as if she swallowed a bitter pill.

It's Jin pressurizing the case against me to be closed off.

"I thought cops had more integrity."

"The law was always very skewed. There are always some grey lines that can be ignored."

"Like mine."

"You really don't want to be in judicial custody, trust me."

I don't but I also don't want to take Jin's help!

She got up from her seat when she paused and looked back at him.

"What about Wang Xia?"

"Her father is naturally using all his resources and influence possible just like a certain someone is doing for you."

Her brow twitched.

"But that certain someone is not going to let her be free this time so rest assured."

"Sure, her end is pretty much set but you should also look into her accomplices."

He blinked. "Accomplice? Didn't she do this to take revenge from Bro Jin?"

"She could but then again, she doesn't have that much brain to think of asking for protection from the Liu family and all the families connected to it."

That made Yijun slip into a deep thought.

"Guess I do have a case to be thoroughly investigated, after all."

—

"Alix!"

Ren Cuifen hurried towards her which made her glare at her. "Why are you running around when you should be resting?"

"How could I rest with our situation! I heard that you were called at the bureau..? What happened? W-Why were you with the cops?"

"Sis, what happened!" Mui couldn't help but repeat it with her own panic in play.

Ren Cuifen looked haggard. It was as if somebody had snatched the glow from her face. Ren Luoyang didn't fare any better. Day in and out he was trying to get hold of the French agency but to no avail.

Alix rolled her eyes. "Chill out. It was only about the protestors outside our company making a fuss. That's why you should just sit down and relax or you will be knocking on heaven's door soon."

They will get a heart attack if they know I could have been arrested.

Ren Cuifen let out a sigh of relief but she was tired. Her anaemic condition had slightly deteriorated over the past few chaotic days.

This is not her age to see such hardships, she thought. They should be at a beach, tanning themselves under the sun.

Which made Alix say, "I am going to Paris for a few days."

Their eyes widened. "W-What?"

"There is no other way. I will have to personally bang on their doors if they are not giving us face. These calls are just wasting our time."

"B-But…" Ren Cuifen wasn't too sure.

"It should only take three or four days. I am sure I will find a way to talk to that model somehow and come to an understanding," Alix smiled evilly. "Clearly, she doesn't understand the straight way but she also doesn't know that I can think of a hundred other crooked ways. I will thoroughly ingrain it in her mind on this trip."