Xin’er’s Mother

"Sleepyhead! You can wake up now!"

In his daze, Gu Sheng felt it becoming difficult to breathe. He couldn’t draw breath through his nose, and voices kept calling out beside his ear. He opened his eyes in confusion and saw Le Erya withdrawing her hand from his face, covering her little mouth as she laughed adorably.

His nose felt itchy and a little sore. She must have pinched it just now. This little demoness certainly had a unique way of waking people up!

"Yaya! What is it? Ah~ I was sleeping so soundly!"

Gu Sheng grumbled unhappily. He had genuinely been asleep just now. After dealing with Hu Si, he had needed to expend even more energy concealing himself from Le Erya at such close range, so he had been quite exhausted. Deep sleep was just what he needed to ease his fatigue.

That was also why Gu Sheng had advised Le Erya to sleep well for three days and three nights the previous night. It really was useful.

"Yaya, what time is it?"

The dazed look on Gu Sheng’s face made Le Erya smile. She found him especially cute like this, all groggy and confused.

"It’s three in the afternoon. You really are such a sleepy pig! You slept for over two hours straight."

Le Erya looked helpless. "You just kept sleeping on my lap, and I didn’t dare move. My legs have gone completely numb. Tell me, what are you going to do about it?"

Le Erya looked as if she had decided to cling to him for compensation. She crooked her little finger at Gu Sheng, as though asking him to pay up.

"What should I do~"

Gu Sheng tilted his head and thought. Then his eyes lit up as though he had suddenly realized something. While Le Erya wasn’t paying attention, he pulled her toward him and kissed her before darting to the side of the recliner. Supporting her, he carefully helped her stand.

"You shameless little thief! Will you die if you don’t take advantage of me?"

After Gu Sheng stole another kiss, Le Erya felt she had come off worse and couldn’t help pouting at him coquettishly. Her expression looked even more adorable.

"Xiao Ya! Haven’t you gotten Little Brother Gu up yet?"

Wu Mengchen’s voice came from outside. Le Erya rolled her eyes at Gu Sheng, then reached out to him. "Help me up and walk around a little. My legs are really numb."

"Oh, okay!"

Gu Sheng hurriedly nodded. He supported Le Erya as they walked around inside several times. Once her legs had recovered, the two of them opened the door and went out. The moment they did, they were met by four pairs of curious and assessing eyes.

"Xin’er, Anqi, Sister Chen, Sister He!"

Gu Sheng greeted the four according to how close he was to them. Chu Xin was naturally the closest, followed by Huang Anqi, who knew many of their secrets.

He had only met Lin Qinghe and Wu Mengchen a few times. He had actually seen Lin Qinghe more often, but his relationship with her was even less close than his relationship with Wu Mengchen.

The main reason was that this spirited woman was always focused on cases, constantly thinking about how to uncover potential leverage against Gu Sheng. Her intentions were far too obvious, which made her quite irritating.

Wu Mengchen, on the other hand, had the same purpose, but her methods were much gentler. She drew closer through small steps, like slowly boiling a frog in warm water.

Although Wu Mengchen’s intentions were impure as well, at least she didn’t provoke people’s disgust. She was nothing like Lin Qinghe, who always wore a stern expression and acted as though everything were strictly business.

That said, if it came to a direct confrontation, Gu Sheng would actually rather fight someone like Lin Qinghe. Smart people like Wu Mengchen had too many thoughts running through their heads, and dealing with them took a lot of effort. Besides, if they resorted to underhanded tactics, Gu Sheng would have a headache.

"Is everything settled for now?"

As he spoke, Gu Sheng looked at Lin Qinghe, wanting to know the results of her investigation.

"For now, that’s all. If there are any other matters that require your cooperation, we’ll contact Miss Chu again for further questioning."

Lin Qinghe brought her hands together over the documents, her cold expression revealing nothing. "By the way, since Miss Chu is still under eighteen, a guardian needs to be present to handle certain matters, and a signature is required as well.

"So we’ve already contacted your mother, Miss Chu Fanghua, by phone. Please wait patiently a little longer."

"What~"

Gu Sheng looked at Lin Qinghe in astonishment, then at Wu Mengchen. Finally, he turned to look at Le Erya, who had just come out, hoping for a clear explanation. He had no plans to meet the parents yet!

In the end, Le Erya spoke up. "Xin’er is still a minor. Some circumstances are difficult to verify, so her guardian needs to be present to provide confirmation."

"All right. I’ll go make a phone call."

Gu Sheng nodded helplessly, then took out his phone and walked outside, dialing Liu Daimei’s number.

"What were you doing in the lounge~"

Wu Mengchen suddenly walked over to Le Erya and asked, "For more than two hours! You were gone for so long. I don’t believe you did nothing."

Le Erya spread her hands, trying to brush the matter off. "Nothing at all! That brat is sly as a fox. He lay down and fell asleep the moment he entered. How could I have had a chance to tease him? I couldn’t exactly wake him and disturb everyone else, could I?"

"Really?"

Wu Mengchen stared intently at Le Erya. "You’re not exactly the honest type!

"Xiao Ya, that doesn’t sound like you. With your temper, wouldn’t you have woken Gu Sheng up even if he fell asleep? Besides, wouldn’t it be even better if he was asleep? You could have made sure he couldn’t sleep!"

Wu Mengchen wasn’t merely a medical professional; she was also an expert in psychology. Although she had known Le Erya for less than a day, she had already figured out her personality completely.

"Sister Chen, I’m dizzy and want to sleep. Don’t ask anymore, okay?"

Seeing that she couldn’t bluff her way out, Le Erya began acting spoiled. She pretended to be dizzy and leaned against Wu Mengchen, changing the subject repeatedly without answering her question.

"Xin’er, my precious Xin’er…"

Amid a series of cries, a middle-aged beauty rushed inside. She bore a slight resemblance to Chu Xin, but was somewhat older, with a more mature bearing and figure. She hugged Chu Xin and began sobbing, her cries revealing how frightened she was.

When she received the call from the City Police Department, she had been terrified. Her daughter was at the city police department, having been caught up in a major murder case.

The successive pieces of news had nearly driven her to collapse. She had spent years working overtime without taking leave, and this time she hadn’t even had time to ask her supervisor to approve a leave request. Only after getting into a taxi did she manage to request leave from her immediate superior.

"Mom, I’m fine! So many people are watching. Don’t do this."

Chu Xin shook her head shyly, signaling for Chu Fanghua to let go.

"Miss Chu Fanghua!"

Lin Qinghe walked over at that moment, handed her the folder, and flipped it open to a page. "Please sign here, where it says guardian’s signature."

"May I ask what this has to do with my Xin’er? She’s such a well-behaved girl. How could she possibly have gotten involved in a murder case?"

Chu Fanghua took the document and glanced through it briefly before signing without hesitation. The document roughly recorded the process and results of their questioning Chu Xin that day, ending with a note stating that Chu Xin was not currently considered a suspect.