Lin Zhiming was led out of the police station by the special secretary. Accompanying him were Paul, a barrister from the Royal Bar Association, and Natalie Portman, the daughter of the Duke of Bauhinia.
Natalie had already left her own testimony at the police station, proving that Lin Zhiming had been in her room at the time of the incident and had not left. Natalie also said that she would be legally responsible for her testimony.
This ensures his authenticity.
Lin Zhiming's suspicion was suddenly eliminated. Although Li Xuan was really killed, Lin Zhiming had a perfect alibi.
"Miss, the Duke knows what happened to you in the Venetian tonight. He hopes you can go back as soon as possible." Paul said.
"Oh, I will go back if I want to," Natalie said.
"Your Majesty the Duke... his health has been getting worse and worse recently." Paul whispered to Natalie.
Natalie frowned and glanced at Lin Zhiming, who was chatting with the special secretary.
For some reason, she didn't want to leave so quickly. In this case... she could chat with a man named Lin Zhiming for a few more words.
"Are you going back tonight?" Natalie asked.
"The best thing is this. The private plane is ready and you can leave at any time." Paul said.
"Okay, then wait for my news. You can wait for me on the plane first." Natalie said.
Paul nodded, said goodbye to Lin Zhiming, then turned and left.
"I didn't expect you to be the daughter of Duke Bauhinia. How amazing!" Lin Zhiming said to Natalie with a smile.
The Duke of Bauhinia is a very noble title, second only to the queen and prince in the country. Although he has no real power, he controls a very huge industry. At the same time, he is also a existence that countless people need to look up to in the aristocratic circle.
Although the aristocratic style is not popular in the Dragon Kingdom, the Western aristocratic style is still very useful in other places. In the eyes of many people, even the most down-and-out nobles are much more noble than billionaires.
"It's just an illegitimate daughter." Natalie said calmly.
Lin Zhiming was stunned for a moment, a little surprised.
"Mr. Lin, you have already arrived at the hotel, so I won't send you up. With my status, I am not suitable to enter the Venetian Hotel." The special secretary said apologetically.
"Okay, sorry to trouble you, I'll go and have a chat with the special head teacher tomorrow!" Lin Zhiming said.
"Okay, sir, I'm looking forward to your arrival!" the secretary said, turning around and leaving.
Lin Zhiming glanced at Natalie and said, "Thank you for testifying for me tonight."
"You asked me to go to your room, didn't you just want me to testify for you?" Natalie said.
"Oh?" Lin Zhiming raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "I didn't think so."
"Hypocritical." Natalie said with a smile.
Although she said that Lin Zhiming was hypocritical, Natalie's tone did not contain much contempt, it was more like joking.
"Can't people be a little hypocritical in life?" Lin Zhiming said.
"That's too tiring, I can't stand it." Natalie shook her head.
Lin Zhiming smiled and pressed the elevator to go upstairs.
The elevator came soon, and the two of them walked into the elevator together.
The elevator went up quickly, during which neither Lin Zhiming nor Natalie spoke.
In a blink of an eye, the elevator reached the top floor.
The two of them walked out of the elevator and saw that the door to Li Xuan's suite had been cordoned off.
"See you again in the future." Lin Zhiming said.
"Can I...can I go to your room for a drink?" Natalie suddenly asked.
"Have a drink?" Lin Zhiming was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "Are you sure you won't get drunk?"
"I rarely get drunk unless I'm in a bad mood," Natalie said.
"Then you were drunk that day because you were in a bad mood? Was it because I won money?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"Half of it, anyway, there are a lot of things that make me feel bad." Natalie shook her head.
"Let's go and have a drink." Lin Zhiming said, opening the door to his room.
Natalie followed Lin Zhiming into the room.
Lin Zhiming walked to the refrigerator, opened it, and asked, "What to drink? Whiskey, red wine, and beer are all available."
"Give me a glass of whiskey with ice, thank you." Natalie said.
Lin Zhiming nodded, poured two glasses of whiskey, took out ice cubes and put them into the wine. Then he walked to the living room with a glass of wine in one hand and handed the glass of wine to Natalie.
Natalie sat on the sofa and retracted her legs on the sofa.
Lin Zhiming sat across from Natalie, raised his glass from a distance and said to Natalie, "Let's go."
"Yeah." Natalie nodded, took a sip of wine, and then said, "Paul just told me your identity. I have to say, your identity shocked me. You are less than thirty years old this year.
, you have already obtained something that others cannot obtain in several lifetimes.”
"While we gained a lot, we also lost a lot." Lin Zhiming said melancholy.
"I agree with this. Just like me, after becoming the Duke's daughter, I lost friends, lost my lover, and lost too much. What about you, what did you lose?" Natalie looked at Lin Zhiming and asked.
"I lost my worries." Lin Zhiming said.
“…”
Natalie had the urge to throw the wine in the glass into Lin Zhiming's face.
"Just kidding, don't take it so seriously." Lin Zhiming said with a smile.
"I thought you were the same as me." Natalie said.
"You said you lost your friend and your lover, what's going on?" Lin Zhiming asked curiously.
"Originally, I was just an ordinary girl." Natalie held the wine glass, curled up on one foot of the sofa, looked at Lin Zhiming and said, "In the first thirty years of my life, I have been living a very happy life.
Happily, my family lives in a small village in York County. I live with my mother. I go to school, make friends, work, and fall in love like an ordinary person. This situation lasted until I was thirty-two years old.
.”
"What happened?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"One day, Paul found me, the lawyer just now, and he told me that I was actually the illegitimate daughter of Redbud Duke Ryan Portman..." Natalie said.
"Why did I find you then?" Lin Zhiming asked with a frown.
"Because... my father's only son died in a car accident during that time. He had no direct descendants. Then he remembered that I was an illegitimate daughter. Therefore, I became his heir and will inherit it one day in the future.
He took the title of Duke of Bauhinia and became the new Duke of Bauhinia." Natalie said.
"So that's it!" Lin Zhiming suddenly realized, and then said, "Shouldn't this be a good thing for you? Why do you still lose so much?"
"My original life was extremely peaceful. I taught in a high school in the county every day. My colleagues were all my good friends. My boyfriend was a bank employee. Our life was very ordinary, very peaceful, but also very beautiful. But since
I became the heir to the Duke of Bauhinia. Everything changed. I had to leave the place I was familiar with and learn the etiquette that a noble should master in a big city. I couldn't become friends with ordinary people because I was a noble.
I can't fall in love with ordinary people. For the sake of the prosperity of my family, I must find a noble to marry in the future. I have to leave my boyfriend, my friends, and the place where I have lived for more than thirty years. You know that kind of thing?
Are you helpless?" Natalie asked.
"What age is it now? Do you nobles still have so many rules?" Lin Zhiming asked in surprise.
"If it were just an ordinary noble, there wouldn't be so many rules, but the Duke of Bauhinia is different. He is second only to the queen and prince in our country, so I must strictly abide by the family's rules. From that time on, I lived a good life.
The life that a noble should live is full of all kinds of evil and hypocritical magnificence. My father gave me some properties and a lot of money for me to squander as long as I can inherit his title honestly in the future.
"Natalie said.
"Since you are unhappy, why don't you leave? Even if you are a Duke, there is no way to force you to inherit the title, right?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"Yes, he can't force me, but... he is my father, and he is sick." Natalie said helplessly.
"Sick?" Lin Zhiming frowned.
"After a few years of aristocratic life, I hated that kind of life very much, so I thought about leaving. But at this time, my father became seriously ill. The doctor said he wouldn't live long. I watched him helplessly.
His health is getting worse day by day, what will he do if I leave at this time?" Natalie asked.
"Hey!" Lin Zhiming sighed, this kind of thing was a bit tricky for him.
"Slowly, I became like this. I took the money he gave me every day and didn't know how to spend it, so I finally thought of gambling," Natalie said.
"Are you seeking excitement through gambling?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"Yes. Gambling can bring me sensory stimulation and let me know that I am still alive, but don't worry, I will never gamble again, because I am used to living like this. If you tell me now
If I go back to live the same poor life as before, I may not be able to adapt," Natalie said.
"Why would someone want to kill you?" Lin Zhiming asked doubtfully.
"Because of the right of inheritance." Natalie shrugged helplessly and said, "If I die, my father's title will be inherited by his other relatives. I am the first heir, and the second heir is mine.
Cousin, I think maybe he was the one who sent people to assassinate me." Natalie said.
"After so many years, wealthy families are still full of this kind of nonsense." Lin Zhiming said contemptuously.
"My father wants me to go back tonight, maybe he knows someone wants to kill me," Natalie said.
"Then you're leaving tonight?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"Well!" Natalie nodded, looked at Lin Zhiming and said, "So I tell you these words, because I don't know if I will have a chance to say these again this time."
"Why did you tell me?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"I don't know, maybe it's because you helped me. Thank you again!" Natalie picked up the wine glass and said.
"You're welcome." Lin Zhiming picked up the wine glass and clinked glasses with Natalie in the distance.