"Li Yang?"
Qi Min snorted at Qin Guan's mention of the name. "You think I'd use him against you? That trash? You overestimate him."
She knew Li Yang's worth all too well.
The man had nothing but a pretty face. Addicted, penniless, incompetent, yet prone to explosive tantrums. After love-bombing her into letting him move in, his true colors emerged: laziness, stupidity, mooching off her while policing her phone for "suspicious activity." Post-fights, he'd kneel weeping, begging not to break up.
Useless. But useful.
Qi Min needed someone impulsive and dim-witted. Li Yang fit perfectly.
Days before the business trip, she dangled engagement hopes. As expected, he became putty in her hands.
She instructed him to arrive near the lakeside villa, renting him a car and lodging – close enough for timely intervention. That morning, before the "game" with Qin Guan, she deliberately sent Li Yang the villa's location from the bathroom, then "panickily" retracted it.
Jealousy guaranteed he'd come running.
But Li Yang arrived too early.
Qi Min's original plan involved Zeng Demei – "She's my mother," she admitted flatly.
Qin Guan recalled her mentioning their strained relationship. Money bridged the gap.
The scheme: Zeng Demei would knock during Qin Guan's panic, forcing him to stash "corpse" Qi Min into the Hanke suitcase. Li Yang's inevitable confrontation would create chaos for Zeng Demei to swap suitcases – replacing Qi Min's body with an identical case filled with junk.
Qin Guan, fearing exposure, would dispose of the "body." Normal people wouldn't reopen the case.
Reality derailed the script.
Li Yang arrived prematurely, chickening out upon facing Qin Guan.
Drugged and unconscious in the suitcase, Qi Min risked actual death if delayed beyond three hours without antidote. Zeng Demei salvaged the mess by calling Li Yang:
"Young man, I'm a cleaner here. Saw a pretty girl with grapes... Don't tell the guest! Maybe ask him again – a grape seller said she came this way."
Li Yang returned just as Qin Guan prepared to vanish with the suitcase.
"His second visit delivered fresh meat to your doorstep," Qi Min sneered.
Qin Guan's jaw tightened audibly – the suitcase he'd agonized over contained nothing but old books.
"The swimmers – those kids who pushed the case into the lake. Your doing?"
Qi Min frowned. "What swimmers?"
The lake incident baffled her too – two strangers nearly ruined everything.