After Understanding the Language of Beasts - Chapter 2: Teaching the Scoundrel a Lesson

Chapter 2: Teaching the Scoundrel a Lesson

The policeman’s words, meant to reassure her, stuck on the tip of his tongue. The murmurs of the crowd died down as everyone pricked up their ears to listen.

"I didn’t fall into the water by accident. Wu Bowen pushed me into the sea after putting sleeping pills in my drink," she said.

Wu Bowen was the boyfriend of the original owner of the body—a man with a kind face but a heart of stone.

The policeman looked at her seriously. "Are you saying your boyfriend pushed you into the sea? This is a serious accusation. Think carefully before making such a claim."

Jiang Shiyan replied firmly, "Officer, I can take responsibility for my words."

With the growing crowd of onlookers, some officers decided to take Jiang Shiyan to the hospital for a thorough medical examination.

When the results came back, everyone was astonished by her condition. Despite spending over thirty days on a deserted island, her body was in remarkably good health, aside from an elevated brain activity level compared to the average person.

Jiang Shiyan remarked in surprise to her system, "Xiu, they couldn’t detect a trace of you."

The system responded, "[Xiu comes from an advanced civilization galaxy. Since Blue Star is just a regular civilization, it’s impossible for it to detect systems developed by advanced societies. Don’t worry, dear.]"

Once Jiang Shiyan was placed in a private room, she recounted everything that happened to the original Jiang Shiyan before her death during the police interrogation.

One of the female officers suddenly commented, "But from what I know, your boyfriend Mr. Wu Bowen was the one who reported Miss Jiang missing."

Jiang Shiyan responded with a bitter smile, "A week before our planned vacation, Wu and I bought ten 'Shuangseqiu' lottery tickets, and one of them hit the jackpot. Before he pushed me into the sea, I told him where I kept the winning ticket…"

Then, Jiang Shiyan covered her face and began to cry.

Seeing her distress, the officers decided to leave a female officer to keep her company.

Jiang Shiyan was born into a well-off family. She has a brother who now runs a pet hospital, and her parents are a high school English teacher and a university professor.

Maybe because her brother was so accomplished, the original “Jiang Shiyan” seemed less impressive by comparison. Her parents’ expectations for her were simple: to grow up healthy and happy. She’d never been in love before, but after meeting Wu Bowen, she became easily swayed by sweet words and didn’t mind spending money to support him.

Wu Bowen was also what’s known as a "phoenix man"—from a poor, mountainous region with four sisters back home. He had a charming appearance, which allowed him to deceive easily.

More importantly, Wu Bowen was a graduate student under Jiang’s father’s guidance, and it wasn’t long before he invited him to join a national research project.

But when Jiang Shiyan thought of how this man had repaid kindness with betrayal, a wave of hatred surged through her, a resentment originating from the heart of the original owner.

After receiving a call from the police, the Jiang family rushed to the hospital the next morning. When Jiang’s mother saw her daughter, whom she’d lost for over thirty days, she broke down, hugging her tightly, unable to let go.

Her father looked at his youngest daughter with reddened eyes. "The most important thing is that you’re back; that’s all that matters."

After the family finally calmed down, Jiang Shiyan told them outright that Wu Bowen had pushed her into the sea, his intentions clear—likely for the lottery ticket worth five million.

Jiang’s father, usually calm and kind, trembled with anger. "What a scoundrel!"

Wu Bowen had acted so well in daily life that Jiang’s father believed he genuinely cared for his daughter, even inviting him to join the research project. Later, after his daughter’s incident, Wu Bowen acted the part of the grieving boyfriend, making great efforts to search for Jiang Shiyan.

His heart pained, Jiang’s father collapsed, momentarily breathless.

When he regained consciousness, it seemed like he had aged twenty years. He held Jiang Shiyan’s hand with a trembling grip, his eyes red. "Yan Yan, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see him for who he was and invited a wolf into our home…"

Jiang Shiyan comforted him, "Dad, don’t blame yourself. If there’s blame, it’s on Wu Bowen for being skilled at deception and fooling us all. Look, I came back safely."

The original owner of the body was accustomed to pampering and comforting her family. Though Jiang Shiyan found this strange, she followed through, almost instinctively, as if her body had developed reflexive responses.

Jiang Yiheng reminded her, "Dad, our first priority is to find evidence proving Wu Bowen tried to kill Yan Yan. You need to take care of yourself. Given Wu Bowen’s unscrupulous nature, you may need to be extra cautious with your research project…"

Jiang’s father’s face grew stern.

...

News of Jiang Shiyan’s return spread quickly to Wu Bowen’s ears.

The papers in his hands dropped immediately, and he grabbed the person he was talking to, "Who did you say came back?"

The person replied, "Professor Jiang’s daughter, Miss Jiang. I heard she was missing for over a month and was rescued from a deserted island…"

Wu Bowen’s face turned pale, and he ran toward the Jiang family’s home in a panic.

"Wait, your information—"

The Jiang family lived at Z University. Wu Bowen ran the entire way to the faculty quarters, panting by the time he reached the floor. Once he composed himself, he made his way upstairs to see what was going on.

At that moment, a soft voice sounded behind him. "Brother Bowen, it’s been a while."

Wu Bowen spun around abruptly, his face as though he’d seen a ghost, instinctively stepping back. "Yan, Yanyan…"

"Brother Bowen, aren’t you happy to see me back?" Jiang Shiyan asked, slowly approaching Wu Bowen in a flowing white dress, her hair disheveled. She even applied special makeup to look ill, her skin pale, her lips colorless.

At that moment, "Dahuang," a dog roaming the campus, appeared behind Wu Bowen, blocking his path with a threatening growl.

"Are you… are you human or a ghost?" Wu Bowen stammered, his lips trembling.

"Brother Bowen, what do you think? Are you happy to see me back?" She continued to approach, saying softly, "We were supposed to see the dolphins together in the sea. Why did you leave me there alone? The sea was so cold and dark, I couldn’t see anything clearly…"

Wu Bowen felt a chill down his spine, his legs trembling uncontrollably. "I-I don’t know…"

Suddenly, a snake sprang out of the grass, biting Wu Bowen directly on the ankle.

"Aah!!!" 

Wu Bowen screamed, Dahuang scampered off in fear, and Wu Bowen collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg in pain. In that moment, Jiang Shiyan walked up to Wu Bowen and grasped his hand with her icy fingers.

"Brother Bowen…"

"No, don’t come near me! Don’t come any closer…"

Stumbling, Wu Bowen got to his feet and hobbled away. Jiang Shiyan quickly discarded the ice cubes she’d hidden in her pockets, exhaling to warm her hands as she walked away.

"It’s so cold."

[Mission "Teaching the Scoundrel a Lesson" completion at 60%. Qing Qing still has some work to do. Upon completion, Animal Language skill will unlock.]

Jiang Shiyan smirked slyly.

"We’re almost there."

(End of Chapter)