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
“Why don’t you think so?” Mu Yu hurried over and sat down right beside him. She then stared at him earnestly as if she was a student waiting for her teacher to provide her the answers to a tough question. Qin Jinhuan had initially wanted to keep her guessing for a while longer, but he couldn’t bear to do it once he saw the look on her face. “What else does Li Jianyun enjoy apart from women?” he asked.“Gambling!” Rong Jian’s voice came from the phone while Mu Yu was still deep in thought. Qin Jinhuan nodded. “You guys have been placing the focus of your investigation on his interest in women because of how he had previously harassed Feng Rubing. However, I think this might simply be a psychological trick that the murderer pulled in order to frame Feng Rubing as the perpetrator. Li Jianyun’s death—and his arms that had been chopped off before he died—might have something to do with his gambling habits. Perhaps you guys should check if he had offended anyone in the past b
“W-What do you mean?” Feng Rubing’s voice was trembling as she spoke. Her response only made Rong Jian more suspicious than ever. “Is it true that Qiqi’s not your younger sister?” he asked again.“What nonsense are you talking about? How could Qiqi not be my sister? Who told you such nonsense?” Her face was pale as she refuted his claims. Rong Jian felt his heart aching to see the look on her face, but he stone-heartedly proceeded with his words. “I ran a DNA test.”Horror spread across her face as she stared at him. Her lips trembled uncontrollably—she was too shocked to even speak. He then took another step closer. “Qiqi is Li Jianyun’s daughter!” Rong Jian decided to simply lie to her as he felt like Qiqi’s appearances did slightly resemble Li Jianyun.But, the moment Rong Jian came to the end of his sentence, fresh blood spilled out of Feng Rubing’s mouth as her eyes rolled upward. She then collapsed onto the ground as her entire bod
Qin Jinhuan didn’t seem too concerned about it. He simply gestured for Bian Zijun to follow behind Mu Yu before he headed toward the hospital with the flask in his hands. He received a message from Bian Zijun when he arrived outside Qin Chengxi’s ward. His guess had been right—Mu Yu had indeed gone over to Rong Ying’s villa in the Fraternity Hospital. Dong Yueyun and Qin Wentao were both in Qin Chengxi’s room. They wore sheepish looks on their faces when they saw Qin Jinhuan entering the room, and they hurriedly came up with some silly excuse just to let themselves out of the room.“Huan.” Qin Chengxi looked weak and ill as she forced herself to sit up. She didn’t dare to look her brother in the eye. Qin Jinhuan didn’t speak nor look at her; instead, he simply placed the thermos flask on the table beside her. He then took a bowl out and began to scoop the watery porridge into it. His actions weren’t hurried, but Qin Chengxi felt oddly anxious as she watched him w
“What is it, Yu?” Nie Yunkang could tell that something was off by the look on Mu Yu’s face. “It’s nothing, Sir Nie.” Mu Yu gradually calmed her nerves before she gestured for Jiang Wenwen to take a seat. She then picked up the call from Rong Jian as she walked out of the lab.“Are you available for a chat now, Yu?” he asked on the line.“Hold on.” She quickened her footsteps and ran toward the end of the hallway, making loud thuds along the way. She only replied to his question once she saw that there wasn’t anyone near her. “I can talk now,” she said softly. She was contemplating how she would tell Rong Jian about the DNA test results.“Yu, I ran a DNA test.” His deep voice sounded from the phone.“What? You did a DNA test as well?!” She was dumbfounded. Did he also…“You did it too?!” He was equally shocked and in disbelief. “W-Whose samples did you use for the DNA test?” he asked.“I gave…” Mu Y