This was also one of the reasons why Xu Tingyu decided to hold this tour in Kyoto.
Because she found that the truth of that year was truly shrouded in mystery.
Every time she thought she was getting closer to the truth, she would soon discover that it was not.
"You know?"
Qi Shifeng's expression tensed up, and his back stiffened even more.
This was exactly why he was most afraid that Xu Tingyu would hear the whole video.
Because in his retelling, he had already omitted some of the straightforward words Xu Jianmin had said.
Xu Tingyu looked up at him and smiled, but tears slid down from the corners of her eyes, and her expression was desolate.
"Yeah, I know. I know that at that time, there was no one in this world who loved me or cared about me."
Qi Shifeng was stunned and was about to speak.
But she interrupted him.
"But it doesn't matter, Qi Shifeng. None of those things matter. I love myself."
"No one cares about me, but I care about myself. If others want to push me off the cliff, I'll hold myself back."
"Moreover, now, you've raised such a wonderful Youyou. He loves me and cares about me. I'm really grateful to you."
During the darkest days of her life, it was herself who pulled her out of the abyss.
If there was no such person, she would be that person herself.
This was her own heroism.
She told herself again and again that it didn't matter even if no one cared or loved her.
But when she found that Youyou loved her so much, her once-empty heart was gradually filled up.
In this regard, she would always be grateful to Qi Shifeng.
Qi Shifeng didn't say a word. He just gently wiped away her tears with his fingertips and then pulled her into his arms.
He hugged her tighter and tighter, as if he wanted to blend her into his own flesh and blood.
"I'm sorry."
He murmured softly.
Xu Tingyu's tears were still flowing, but she told him in a very calm voice, "Qi Shifeng, Youyou loves you very much, and I used to love you too."
"So relax a bit. Don't be so tense. Be happy, okay?"
This time, he finally understood. She didn't want to completely abandon him or leave him. Instead, she was concerned about him.
He didn't know how she could tell that he was unhappy, but since she was willing to care about him like this, he felt that he could endure anything a little longer.
"Okay."
He didn't take the opportunity to make any other requests. He just hugged her even tighter and whispered a single word in her ear.
The two of them just hugged quietly for a long time, so long that Xu Tingyu thought time would be frozen at this moment.
There seemed to be something sprouting in her heart, but she didn't dare to say more or think more.
She didn't know how much time had passed. After Qi Shifeng adjusted his emotions, she asked again, "Did you know who that big shot was back then?"
She had investigated many things, but every time she was about to find a clue, it would break off.
This was really strange, as if she had always been under someone's surveillance.
At first, she also suspected that the person was Old Master Qi.
After all, as soon as something happened to the Qi family, he openly forced her to divorce.
Before that, it was very possible that he had asked Xu Jianmin to do so.
But later, Xu Tingyu dismissed this suspicion.
Because Old Master Qi wouldn't go to so much trouble. With his means, he didn't need to spend so much time setting up a game.
Moreover, Old Master Qi clearly knew that since she had signed the prenuptial agreement, she wouldn't be able to take a single cent from the Qi family if they divorced, but it would be bad for Qi Shifeng's reputation.
Since he had arranged this marriage back then, how could he have designed the Xu family to go bankrupt and then let the two of them divorce?
It didn't make sense.
Old Master Qi asked the two of them to divorce because the Xu family had gone bankrupt and he thought her zodiac was inauspicious.
It wasn't that he wanted the two of them to divorce and then made the Xu family go bankrupt.
There were only two possibilities for that so - called big shot to make such an unreasonable request.
Either he was the direct beneficiary of the Xu family's bankruptcy. Not only did he reap the benefits, but he also wanted to humiliate Xu Tingyu and make a fool of the Xu family.
Or he was really crazy about Xu Tingyu, so crazy that he lost his mind and had to have her.
After sorting these things out, Xu Tingyu re - investigated the people she knew back then.
But after a round of investigation, she didn't find any suspicious people.
She knew very few people, and she had never seen anyone who was crazy about her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have never had a proper relationship.
So this problem was put on hold again, which meant the clues were broken.
Now that this matter had been mentioned, she asked Qi Shifeng.
Qi Shifeng shook his head.
"That person never showed up. And the middleman had a car accident not long after your father's accident, and his intelligence regressed to that of a toddler."
This was basically the same as the information Xu Tingyu had found.
In this world, only Xu Jianmin and the middleman knew the real identity of the so - called big shot.
But now one was dead and the other was injured, and that person had never appeared in Xu Tingyu's life.
Even after she got divorced, no big shot came to approach her.
So later, she was more inclined to think that the so - called big shot had made that request just for the sake of profit and was just playing tricks on Xu Jianmin.
But on the surface, the biggest beneficiary of the Xu family's bankruptcy was Cai Lan.
But Cai Lan wasn't the kind of person who could set up such a big game.
Moreover, if you investigated deeply, you would find that Cai Lan's so - called benefits were just taking over the orders that had fallen from Xu's.
Xu Jianmin's gambling agreement and the large sum of money he lost later were the key points.
But the company involved in the gambling agreement had no problems no matter how much it was investigated. Xu Tingyu didn't know the person in charge of the company, and there was no intersection later.
When all the things were connected together, it was like looking at flowers through the fog. Xu Tingyu couldn't see clearly.
Every time she felt like she was touching the truth, she would find that it was just an illusion.
"Back then, Cai Lan's company competed with Xu's and took over many of Xu's orders. People in Kyoto all said that he had benefited the most."
"But later I investigated. The real reason for Xu's bankruptcy had nothing to do with him. He was just pushed out as a scapegoat."
Xu Tingyu frowned as she talked about these things.
So Cai Lan had ended up in this situation partly because of her instigation, but she didn't go too far.
Because she knew that he wasn't the real culprit.
The reason why Cai Lan was able to take over those orders back then was, first of all, that Xu's itself had problems.
Secondly, because Xie Yu was under Qi Shifeng's protection at that time, everyone knew that the backer of Cai Lan's company was Qi Shifeng.
Who wouldn't give Qi Shifeng face?
Since Xu's couldn't handle those orders, it didn't matter if they were given to Cai Lan. Anyway, they wouldn't offend Qi Shifeng.
All in all, in his later years, Xu Jianmin became paranoid and dull and made many wrong decisions, which gave others an opportunity.
Even without Cai Lan, the collapse of Xu's was a foregone conclusion.