Li Chu only came back to her senses when the cool water submerged her calves.
Her heart was pounding, but it didn’t show on her face.
On camera, Li Chu’s expression seemed only to reflect her enjoyment of the previous activity.
That fleeting moment of stolen intimacy, carrying a secret delight, seemed to linger in the tunnel where the water rippled.
Only when the day’s filming was done and Ji Yun gave the order to return to the previous shooting location did Li Chu, back in the car, savor the memory, marveling at how truly wild Teacher Ning’s inner self was.
Who would have thought? The seemingly prim and proper Teacher Ning actually dared to do that kind of thing in that kind of place .
Li Chu just felt, damn, that was exciting!
At first, she thought Ning Manqing was a gentle, well-mannered Bodhisattva. Now she discovered the woman wasn’t just coyly mischievous, but also a bit improper.
This contrast between a lustful inner self and an ascetic exterior completely hit Li Chu’s sweet spot.
A gentle goddess in public, but behind the scenes, more ruthless than anyone.
Nice.
“Sis, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and drink.”
Li Chu was still in her swimsuit, draped in a bathrobe with a blanket over it. Qian Duoduo was urging her to finish the ginger brown sugar water in the thermos.
The shower facilities at the water park weren’t actually bad, but Tang Congnan, worried about cleanliness and safety, had instructed Qian Duoduo to take Li Chu back to her accommodation to shower and change. So, Li Chu had gotten into the car just like that.
She pushed aside the thoughts swirling in her head and finished the sweet water in small sips.
She still had a scene with Ning Manqing later.
In the first case involving the body dumped at the garbage site, Xi Yiyun had gone to great lengths to find footage of the person who dumped the body, even locating two eyewitnesses who had seen it and remembered.
Xi Yiyun invited Qin Mu to the police station, ostensibly to inquire about Qin Chao’s disappearance, but actually to have the two eyewitnesses identify whether Qin Mu was the person who dumped the body.
Li Chu guessed that when the show was later edited into episodes, that segment would most likely become the cliffhanger ending for one of them, leaving the audience scratching their heads in suspense.
According to the plot’s progression, Qin Mu definitely wouldn’t be identified.
And indeed, that was the case. Qin Mu was such a meticulous and careful person. Having plotted her revenge for so long, how could she possibly dump the body herself?
The two eyewitnesses looked at Qin Mu through the one-way mirror. One hesitated, while the other firmly shook their head.
— “I’m a painter, one who specializes in drawing people. Even though she was wearing a mask when I saw her, I know it wasn’t the same person. Their eyes, the distance between their eyebrows, and the upper part of their nose don’t look alike.”
Xi Yiyun wasn’t discouraged; it was somewhat expected. The person capable of orchestrating these serial incidents wouldn’t likely show their face so easily to dispose of a body.
Suddenly, an idea struck Xi Yiyun. She took out photos of the nurse and the third victim Zhang Ming’s wife, Zhou Yin, for the painter to identify.
Unexpectedly, yet also somewhat within their expectations, the painter actually identified one of them: Zhang Ming’s wife, Zhou Yin.
After examining other photos of Zhou Yin, the painter stated there was an eighty percent chance it was her.
These cases seemed to be connected again in a strange way.
Zhou Yin was now the prime suspect in both the garbage dump body disposal and the explosive murder case. The police immediately issued a wanted notice and launched a comprehensive investigation into her.
According to the investigation, the police learned that Zhou Yin was a migrant worker who had married Zhang Ming eight years ago through a matchmaker.
The couple had a son after marriage, a boy whose primary gender was unknown because the test could only be performed at age eighteen.
The child died at the age of four. The investigation revealed that while visiting the countryside with Zhang Ming, the boy was playing and accidentally fell down the stairs, dying instantly. He couldn’t be saved.
Zhou Yin was deeply depressed for a while, constantly arguing with Zhang Ming during that period. Zhang Ming felt extremely guilty and let his wife vent her frustrations. After more than half a year, the couple reconciled, but Zhou Yin never became pregnant again.
The neighbors who recounted this story all expressed sympathy, feeling that the Zhang couple were good, honest people—one dependable, the other gentle—but unfortunately plagued by bad luck and fated to have few children.
Hearing these accounts, the police could only sigh. Some murderers operated without showing any sign.
“Do you think maybe Zhou Yin retaliated because Zhang Ming failed to look after their child properly back then, leading to his death?”
“How is that possible? If that were the reason, she could have acted much earlier. Why wait four years? Besides, she had plenty of ways to kill Zhang Ming, right? Why blow him up in the street?”
“According to the background check, this thug probably didn’t know Zhou Yin. Zhang Ming had no connection to him either. Why would Zhou Yin kill him?”
“It’s not certain yet if Zhou Yin is the murderer. But she might be the one who dumped the body. Even if she isn’t the killer, she knows the killer. Damn it, who the hell is behind all this!”
“Sister Xi, what do you think?”
After listening to the various analyses and speculations, Xi Yiyun shared her own thoughts.
She leaned towards Zhou Yin not being the murderer, but having a connection—perhaps as a partner, accomplice, or through some transaction. Zhou Yin was a housewife unfamiliar with chemical compounds; the explosive was likely provided by the murderer.
As for why Zhou Yin would kill her own husband, Xi Yiyun also felt it must be related to the child she had lost. However, just as the officers speculated, if Zhou Yin hated Zhang Ming, she had countless less conspicuous ways to kill her husband—poisoning, stabbing him in his sleep, or even pushing him off a cliff during a hike.
The motive was questionable, and the significance of the murder remained unclear.
Xi Yiyun suspected that Zhou Yin might have discovered an unbearable truth, leading her to seek revenge in anger. Whether there was any intricate connection with the first victim, the thug, was hard to say. They had only one course of action: investigate, relentlessly.
Meanwhile, Li Rui’s investigation had also yielded some results.
Following up on the report, he consulted an authoritative doctor about the possible reasons for an Omega’s difficulty conceiving.
The doctor listed several possibilities: severe uterine damage, glandular defects or damage, or injection with KR.
Li Rui asked what KR was. The doctor explained it was a banned drug, long removed from the market, designed to render Omegas infertile. The drug was exceptionally insidious; it didn’t destroy internal or glandular structures but fused with gland cells, hindering pheromone binding and preventing Alphas from causing pregnancy.
Less than a month after its development by a medical institution fourteen or fifteen years ago, the state had banned its circulation. Because the ban was handled discreetly, the vast majority of people had never even heard the name of this forbidden drug.
Li Rui was already pursuing this line of investigation, not just because of the current cases involving Zhang Ming, but also due to the unease in his own heart. He knew he shouldn’t suspect his adoptive father. In his memories, his adoptive parents had a loving, sometimes overly affectionate relationship. His adoptive father had absolutely no reason to seek such a drug to make his wife infertile.
But if that possibility didn’t exist, why were these cases surfacing one after another? Why was the person behind the scenes seemingly forcing him to probe into the past?
The information was difficult to track down, but Li Rui eventually found it: before joining the state-owned enterprise, Zhang Ming had been an important researcher at the very medical institution that developed KR.
One clue after another seemed to surface, waiting to be connected to dispel the fog, yet simultaneously plunging everyone into an even deeper layer of mystery.
Carrying this fog of uncertainty, Xi Yiyun went to see Qin Mu.
This scene took place in Qin Mu’s home, which happened to be where Li Chu was currently staying, so she didn’t need to travel.
Inside the room, lighting technicians were setting up. Ji Yun observed the overall atmosphere, adjusting the layout. Li Chu leaned nearby, her costume—a slightly short top and a short skirt hugging her slender waist—hidden beneath her overcoat.
“Sit down.”
Ning Manqing saw Li Chu standing, her calves bare beneath the coat. She told her to sit properly on the sofa and placed a small heater near her feet.
“Sister Ning is always so thoughtful,” Zhao Zhichun teased from the side, his tone ambiguous, making Li Chu’s heart jump.
“Brother Zhao, if you’re cold, come over here too,” Li Chu waved at Zhao Zhichun, pretending not to catch the teasing undertone in his words.
Zhao Zhichun quickly waved his hands in refusal. “I’m not cold, I have a fiery heart.” Yeah, right, he thought. Sister Ning is already giving me the death stare. If I go over there, I’ll be annihilated.
Li Chu didn’t press further and simply waved for Ning Manqing to come sit with her.
This isn’t me showing favoritism and being clingy with Teacher Ning, Li Chu thought defensively. I invited Brother Zhao quite loudly just now. Everyone must have heard, right?
Ning Manqing sat down, maintaining a small, safe distance from Li Chu, and looked down at the script in her hands.
Seeing Ning Manqing studying the script, Li Chu also lowered her head, reviewing her lines while waiting for filming to begin.
Little did Li Chu know, Ning Manqing wasn’t looking at the script itself, but at the shadow of Li Chu cast onto its pages by the warm light.
After Ji Yun called for them to prepare for shooting, Li Chu took off her coat and stepped onto the set.
The indoor temperature was tolerable; she had just warmed herself by the heater, so she wasn’t too cold.
Qin Mu had intentionally chosen this outfit. Knowing Xi Yiyun was coming, she had specifically changed into it. She had also placed the tea canister on top of the refrigerator, forcing herself to stretch to reach it.
When she did, the already short top would ride up with her movement, revealing a sliver of her slender, fair waist. The pleated skirt clinging to her hips further accentuated her figure, inadvertently drawing the eye.
Xi Yiyun was indeed captivated. Ning Manqing needed no acting skills for this part; she played it naturally, as herself.
However, despite the allure, Xi Yiyun wasn’t one to lose her composure over such things. Amidst the casual chat while preparing tea, she cast her probing questions.
First, regarding the person who dumped the body. Xi Yiyun deliberately mentioned an eyewitness, pausing to observe Qin Mu’s reaction.
Qin Mu reacted plausibly. Xi Yiyun then added that she had shown the witness Qin Mu’s photo, and the witness had noted some resemblance.
Xi Yiyun was lying. She knew it, and Qin Mu knew it too. But Qin Mu had to feign ignorance. Appearing distraught, she nearly dropped the teacup.
On set, Li Chu looked up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, filled with panic, confusion, and helplessness.
“Could it really be my sister?”
“It’s likely not. After all, there are many similar-looking people in the world. It could also be a coincidence.”
Ning Manqing recited her lines, maintaining Xi Yiyun’s characteristic expression, as she used the pad of her finger to gently wipe the moisture from Li Chu’s eyelashes.
The dampness lingered on her fingertip. In the chill of winter, Ning Manqing felt herself growing warm.
She had a fondness for the way Li Chu’s eyes looked when veiled in a thin mist. Especially in bed. Tears threatening to fall, yet held back, utterly capturing her heart and soul.
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