“Why? Why did she have to do this?”

Li Mazi trembled as he looked at the number on the phone screen.

After a long time, he grabbed my arm, asking in a disbelieving tone, “Little Brother Zhang, can you tell me why she had to do this? You know how much I love her!”

Li Mazi’s tears rolled down his face. I was also shocked as the last person this mysterious person had contacted was Ru Xue!

I didn’t know how to comfort Li Mazi since Ru Xue was probably a traitor.

It was Ru Xue who had insisted that we visit Milan. She was also the one who had chosen this hotel. Moreover, she might be the one who had tried to kill Li Mazi in their hotel room that night. Perhaps the female ghost didn’t have anything to do with it.

Then, at the last moment, she recalled how much Li Mazi loved her and decided to let him go. However, I didn’t know how Ru Xue was related to that mysterious person. Did they buy her, or was it possible that she was the enemy’s pawn right from the start?

Several questions popped up in my head. However, I thought about Li Mazi’s love for her, so I said calmly, “You don’t need to panic. There might be a reason behind this…”

“A reason behind this?”

Li Mazi wiped his tears. In a self-mocking voice, he said, “What kind of thing could make her give up our love and marriage?”

Then, he held his head low and said nothing as we headed back to the hotel. I was afraid that he would start fighting with Ru Xue as soon as we got back. However, I didn’t know what to say and just followed him.

When we were in the corridor, Li Mazi halted for a moment before he entered his room. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes. “Little Brother Zhang, I, Li Mazi, am not a good person, but I know who treats me well. You’ve saved my life many times, and I can never repay this favor. If she sells us this time, I will kill her with my own hands. Then, I will turn myself to the police.”

Li Mazi knocked on the door, and as soon as we entered the room, he seemed to become another person. He smiled and happily chatted with Ru Xue and Yin Xinyue. He made the women laugh continuously. Compared to him, I looked so unnatural. Yin Xinyue secretly asked me a few times if anything was bothering me.

Li Mazi’s plan was simple. He wanted to test Ru Xue. When Yin Xinyue and I returned to our room, I told her the story.

“Impossible! This is impossible!” Yin Xinyue shook her head and ranted nonstop. She didn’t even stop to think. “Ru Xue is a good girl. You’ve misunderstood her!”

I knew that they had a good relationship, but I had to tell her frankly. “Li Mazi and I want to trust Ru Xue, but things have now come to this. We can’t just consider love or relationships. If Li Mazi and I hadn’t overheard the conversation between the ghost and that mysterious person, I’m afraid Li Mazi would have died.”

Yin Xinyue decided to trust me. Her voice grew sad. “Brother Zhang, if it was my phone, would you treat me the same?”

“Will it happen one day?” I laughed then pulled her into my embrace. Yin Xinyue smiled and leaned against my shoulder.

At around midnight, I got up and went to Li Mazi’s room, knocking on his door. He soon opened the door and asked, “What’s going on?”

Ru Xue was on the bed, smiling at us. I didn’t know what she was thinking.

“We should go to that church now! I can’t ease my mind if we don’t finish off that ghost!” I almost screamed.

While talking, I shot Li Mazi a glance. Li Mazi was a little surprised, but he understood what I meant. He turned and told Ru Xue to sleep with Yin Xinyue. Then, he left the hotel with me.

We returned to the hotel shortly after and hid in the corridor to watch Ru Xue’s movements. Li Mazi’s eyes bulged, and his body shook uncontrollably. He was afraid that he would see something he didn’t want to see. I was scared, too.

Yin Xinyue cooperated with us. After we left, she went to Ru Xue’s room.

We wanted to help Ru Xue. As long as she wasn’t going to contact that mysterious person, we wouldn’t mind what had happened previously. Yin Xinyue was there to watch Ru Xue.

Unfortunately, the mobile phone in my hand rang. It was Ru Xue’s call.

“Hahaha…”

Li Mazi laughed bitterly. He didn’t say a word and went to his room, his body shaking hard. When he got to the door, he suddenly slumped onto the ground.

“Little Brother Zhang, help me up!” He tried to get up a few times, but he couldn’t. His tears rolled as he asked for my help.

The corner of my mouth convulsed. I didn’t mind Li Mazi and opened the door.

I saw Yin Xinyue sitting on the bed, but Ru Xue was nowhere to be seen. Yin Xinyue saw me. She didn’t talk and gestured toward the toilet. She also looked helpless.

“All right, go back to our room and wait for me.” I caressed her face.

Yin Xinyue nodded and left. Then, I waited outside the toilet and lit up a cigarette.

Meanwhile, the mysterious man’s phone in my hand kept flashing. All the calls were from Ru Xue. Li Mazi stood up and leaned against the wall, dumbly looking at the door to the toilet.

Finally, the door opened and Ru Xue walked out. She was startled when she saw us and asked us in a suspicious tone, “Oh, you are back already? Did you solve everything?”

“Ru Xue, you are still in the mood to pretend? I was blind to love you!” Li Mazi roared crazily. He was about to slap Ru Xue, but his hand halted halfway.

“Gosh! You should just leave! From now on, we are just strangers!” Li Mazi didn’t want to hurt Ru Xue. He waved and asked her to leave. I understood and moved aside to make way for her.

Ru Xue looked hurt. She jumped toward Li Mazi and hugged him. Her voice choked with sobs. “You don’t want me anymore? Did I do something wrong? Am I not good enough?”

Li Mazi had tears all over his face, but he gently pushed Ru Xue aside.

“All right, I’ll leave!” Ru Xue looked at Li Mazi in bewilderment for a long time. Then, she gave a self-mocking smile and rubbed her belly that had a small bump. She put on her jacket and bag, then left. As she walked, she rummaged through her bag. She was searching for something.

When she completely disappeared from our sight, Li Mazi fell on his knees and painfully pounded his head to the wall.

It was really hard to accept the fact that your loved one had sold you to the enemy. I understood his pain, but I couldn’t stand to see my brother harm himself. I went to the restaurant downstairs and bought a few bottles of wine. Li Mazi and I loved to stay in the antique shop to drink wine and enjoy some light snacks. It was the time when we enjoyed our companionship and discussed our business cases and our future.

But it was different now. None of us said anything. We just kept gulping expensive red wine as though it was water. At the same time, we smoked a lot.

Li Mazi was still crying, but I didn’t know how to comfort him. All I could do was stay with him and keep him company.

Who said that drinking red wine wouldn’t make you drunk? Because Li Mazi was drunk already. And who said that men didn’t cry easily? Because right now we couldn't stop crying.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but after drinking all the bottles and smoking all the cigarettes, Li Mazi and I were lying on the ground like two dumb men.

At this moment, someone suddenly visited us. When he saw us, he screamed in surprise. “Zhang, are you guys okay? What happened?”

I looked up and saw Marco. I got up and shook my head to clear my mind. “Why are you here?”

“I found a mobile phone outside. It’s from your country, and it has Mr. Li’s picture as the screensaver. I guessed one of you lost this phone.” Marco waved his hand. I tried to focus my attention and saw that it was Ru Xue’s phone.

After listening to Marco, Li Mazi reacted and quickly got up. “Where did you find this phone? And when?”

“Around twilight on the small path that leads to the Ghost Castle. My father knew where you wanted to go. He was worried that you would encounter something unexpected, so he asked me to go there to find you. But when I got to the castle, I didn’t see you guys.”

Marco spread his arms and looked at the room, which was a mess. He didn’t even have a place to stand. Then, he asked, “Zhang, did something happen?”

“It’s all right. Thank you, Marco.” I patted Marco’s shoulder and received the phone from him. Li Mazi and I then crazily dashed downstairs.

If Marco had picked up Ru Xue’s phone before the incident, the one that had just called the mysterious man wasn’t Ru Xue. Someone else had used her phone to do that!