“Yu?” Rong Jian looked back in confusion.
“If you can find the murderer through the first method, I don’t think it’s necessary to look into Madam Feng’s previous interactions with Li Jianyun anymore. Don’t you think so?”
Rong Jian froze for a moment when he realized what Mu Yu was trying to say.
“Well, don’t think too much into it. I’m not trying to imply that there might be something between them,” Mu Yu explained in a panic. “I just feel that Madam Feng is very mindful of her past; if you look too much into it, I’m afraid it’ll affect your relationship!”
“No, it won’t!” answered Rong Jian calmly and confidently. “Rubing’s unpleasant past would only make me cherish her more—it won’t change my feelings for her.”
Qin Jinhuan interjected lightly and said, “You might not mind it, but she might.”
Rong Jian fell silent upon hearing that. After a while, he pursed his lips and nodded. “I know what to do,” he mum
“Hello?” Greeted the polite, female voice again when there was no response. Ascertaining that the phone number belonged to Qin Jinhuan, Jiang Wenwen looked surprised. She gently tugged Mu Yu’s sleeves to calm her down and asked suspiciously, “Where is Young Master Qin?”“Our boss is currently in a meeting; this is his secretary speaking. Would you like to leave your name so that our boss may contact you later?”Jiang Wenwen let out a breath and kept silent as she turned toward Mu Yu.Mu Yu had already recognized Zhi Xiaoyin’s voice and realized that she had made a mistake. She was secretly relieved that she had not reacted impulsively and bared her teeth at Jiang Wenwen as she said, “This is Mu Yu, Secretary Zhi. Please have Huan call me once he is done with his meeting.”“Madam? Of course. Do you have anything else that you would like me to relay to him?”“Just tell him I have something important to ask
“I’m back in my room. You heard everything, didn’t you?” Qin Chengxi spoke softly into the phone.“How many candies did she take?” Dong Yueyun asked hastily. “All of them. Mom, did you put poison into the candies?”“Silly child, why do you not trust me? Do you think I’d be so cruel? And, even if I was so cruel, I still understand the logic behind taking a life. Do you think I’d poison candies?”“Then, tell me what was in the candies.”“Haven’t I told you repeatedly that the drug is harmless? The drug, when consumed by a woman, would only cause light bleeding that is similar to menstruation. It will neither endanger the woman’s life nor harm the baby she carries in her womb—I made sure of it when I measured the dosage.” After saying this, Dong Yueyun heaved a sigh. “It’s an agreement I made with Yin Anran to secure your sister’s job at Qing Tian Group; I have to make it seem as though Mu Yu suffered a miscarriage, or y
Li Xianglan let out a shriek. “Oh my goodness! What happened to Miss Qin?”Mu Yu immediately dashed over and began examining Qin Chengxi.“It looks like poisoning. Quick; get her to the hospital!”Before she could finish speaking, Qin Jinhuan had picked up Qin Chengxi and was now running out of the room. Mu Yu followed closely behind him. Qin Chengxi was soon in the emergency room at Fraternity Hospital. “What in the world is going on? Xi was fine! How did she get poisoned all of a sudden?” Qin Xiaozhi roared outside the emergency room.“Grandpa, please calm down. It’s probably a bad case of food poisoning,” Mu Yu said assuringly as she steadied the old man, worried that he might hurt himself in his state of panic.“Is Xi’s life in danger?”“No, of course not, Grandpa. Take a seat, and let’s try to remain calm.” Mu Yu eased him onto a chair and began rubbing his back in soothing
Hearing Yin Anran’s name brought up by Dong Wanqing, Mu Yu felt her skin prickle in surprise. “Yin Anran gave you those fruit gummies?” Mu Yu demanded with urgency.“Yes!” On this, Dong Wanqing’s response was unwaveringly certain. It was with disbelief that she asked, “Was there really poison in those fruit gummies? And, Xi was poisoned because she ate those gummies? Are you sure? Could there be some sort of misunderstanding?”Qin Jinhuan did not answer any of those questions but enquired instead, “Where did you buy those gummies?” “The gummies aren’t sold at supermarkets or shopping malls. They were specially made at a workshop, and Anran happens to be a regular customer—she gets on well enough with the owner. Were the gummies really poisoned? My goodness!” Dong Wanqing looked horrified. “The owner must have not known that Anran meant for those gummies to be a gift. What if the owner was out to get Anran?”“Wanqing!” Dong
Qin Chengxi was far more nervous than they were. Her body stiffened as she began to stutter out the words, “Grandpa, the whole thing was my fault; it had nothing to do with Mom and Dad. Please don’t be too hard on them.”“Nothing to do with them?” Qin Xiaozhi fixed a dark look on Qin Wentao. “Of course,” Qin Wentao insisted, though his gaze flickered. “Of course, it had nothing to do with us.”Dong Yueyun pulled her husband back and shot Qin Xiaozhi a nervous smile. “Listen to what you’re saying, Dad. Xi is our only child; even if she isn’t good enough, we wouldn’t push her beyond her limits. All we ask is that Shang Qi treats her well—isn’t that right, Wentao?”“Yes, yes, that’s right.” Qin Wentao was doing an excellent impression of a woodpecker as he nodded profusely.“Grandpa…” “Fine. Regardless of whose fault it was, this matter ends right here, right now.” Qin Xiaozhi punctuated his words wi
At the Splendor Residency, Yin Anran was listening to music as she lounged on the rocking chair with a face mask stretched over her skin. When the ringtone she had specifically set for Qin Jinhuan sounded, she sat up and hurriedly ripped off the face mask before picking up the call.“Jinhuan! You’ve finally called! Did you miss me?”When she called Jinhuan’s name, it felt as though someone was wrenching her heart out. Her nose pricked and her throat tightened; it had been so long since Qin Jinhuan had called her number, particularly at night. “I need to ask you something. Did you give Dong Wanqing any fruit gummies made by Yun Ji Workshop?”She did not expect those to be the first words to come from Qin Jinhuan, especially since he was the one who called her first at this time of night. Yin Anran was disappointed, but she sounded composed when she answered, “No, I did not.”“Are you sure?”“Of cour
Mu Yu gave him a sideways glance. “What do you think?” she asked in a sing-song voice, clearly mocking him now. Qin Jinhuan stared at her for a moment and said nothing more. “Regardless of what you actually saw…” he began in a cautioning tone, “it’s company-related and highly confidential—you can’t tell anybody about it. We’d get in trouble if word of it gets out.”“Company-related and highly confidential?” Mu Yu was incredulous, but regarded him with suspicion as she demanded, “Well, then, tell me who’s this Qing Qing.”“Secretary Zhi,” Qin Jinhuan answered plainly.“Secretary Zhi?” “Yes,” Qin Jinhuan confirmed, leaning his weight against the edge of the desk as he geared up for an explanation. “Qing Tian Group is a huge corporation, and there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes—most of which are confidential—to make sure the company continues to progress. We’re trying to avoid unnecessary risks, so we never use
“What do you want to say?” Qin Jinhuan asked as he dialed Rong Jian’s number. “I’ll tell you about it later.” Mu Yu hastily took the phone from him and pressed it against her ear as she listened to the dial tone from the call.“Put it on speaker,” Qin Jinhuan ordered.“Okay.” The moment Mu Yu put it on speaker, Rong Jian’s voice came from the other end of the call. “Huan?” he said.“Chief Rong, it’s me, Mu Yu. I need to ask you; have you looked into Qiqi’s family history?” she asked.“Qiqi’s family history?” Rong Jian was clearly confused. Qin Jinhuan flashed Mu Yu a curious look as well. Mu Yu ignored him as she continued to talk on the phone. “If I recall correctly, Madam Feng is 30 this year, right, Chief Rong?”“She turns 30 in 3 months,” he replied.“Qiqi just celebrated her 14th birthday, and Madam Feng’s about 16 years older than her. According to our investigation, Madam Feng left Lin