Chapter 22

Aside from the opening few sentences, Shen Juan handed the rest over to Liu Guohua. Every profession had its own specialty; managing such a vast enterprise, she understood this principle better than anyone. So although she would ask about the progress of the case and provide clues, she rarely interfered with how the investigation was carried out.

Liu Guohua was very good at reading people’s minds. He pretended to be nothing more than a rather talkative friend and quickly took over the conversation, first asking a question. “Xiao Ge was busy with school and didn’t have much time to come home. This time, she suddenly came back without saying anything in advance. None of us knew what had happened. Do you know why she suddenly came home?”

The details of the case had not been disclosed by the police. Aside from the location of the incident, the victim’s name, and the driver’s name, everything else was blank.

At present, no one even knew why the victim had suddenly chosen to return to the country at that exact point in time—or, rather, what had provoked her into running back without a word.

After Liu Guohua finished asking, he stared at Muzi.

The young girl thought back very seriously. Her sweet-looking face appeared quite solemn. After a while, she shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it carefully, but I never heard her mention why she wanted to come back. She never talked about it at all.”

“I see.” Liu Guohua did not show any disappointment. As though they were merely chatting casually, he shifted the topic elsewhere.

While paying attention to Muzi’s expressions and words, Gu Shuge could not stop herself from [stolen content]looking toward Shen Juan.

Shen Juan was sitting to the side. Lin Mo had even used the coffee machine in the suite to make each of them a cup of coffee, deliberately creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Gu Shuge took a deep breath. The coffee was still steaming, but she could not smell its fragrance.

Aside from being able to touch Shen Juan’s blood and smell the scent of Shen Juan’s blood, nothing else had changed. She still could not touch or feel anything, as if she lived in a different dimension.

Shen Juan sat in a single-seat sofa, her posture elegant. Her left hand rested on the armrest, revealing a section of her fair wrist. Gu Shuge was still thinking about the word “sister-in-law” that Muzi had suddenly said.

Gu Shuge had never called Shen Juan that. Even when mentioning her to others, she would only say “my sister.”

But she knew. Shen Juan really was her sister-in-law. She had registered her marriage with Gu Shuge’s older brother. From the moment they got together, Gu Shuge should have changed the way she addressed her. It was only that Shen Juan and her brother had never minded.

Liu Guohua was still chatting with Muzi. He was very skillful at it. What seemed like idle conversation was actually a way of quietly inquiring about Muzi’s family background, classmates, and teachers. It both shortened the distance between them and allowed him to form an initial understanding of her, while also probing this person’s temperament and depth.

Gu Shuge could not help looking at Shen Juan again.

Shen Juan rarely spoke, but just by sitting there, she made it impossible for people to ignore her. When Muzi spoke, she would glance at Shen Juan from time to time, and Shen Juan would also look back at her in a friendly way. She looked as though she were listening seriously to their conversation, yet Gu Shuge felt Shen Juan seemed a little distracted.

She did not seem very happy. At least, she was no longer as happy as she had been in the office just now.

What was wrong? Gu Shuge looked at her worriedly.

“Shuge has a strong ability to learn. Our supervisor values her a lot. Several of the projects she was responsible for won awards. Her family background is prominent, and she’s super pretty too. She’s practically a perfect character setting. A lot of people at school know her, and a lot of people have crushes on her. It’s just that she shines too brightly, so very few people dare pursue her. But after getting to know her, you realize that Shuge actually has a very good temper in private, and she’s quite shy. Whenever we saw news about Gu Group online, we would tease her about it. Most of the time, she would just smile and not get angry, but she wouldn’t really join in the joking either.”

When Muzi said this, Gu Shuge noticed that Shen Juan’s attention had clearly returned. She listened with full focus.

“But Shuge is especially slow when it comes to romance. There’s a boy in our department, surnamed Liu. He’s from Hong Kong, and his family also owns a company. He’s usually very high-profile. He pursued Shuge for almost half a year. For a while, the two of them were even eating together.”

As soon as Gu Shuge heard this, she knew which boy surnamed Liu Muzi was talking about. But she could not quite react. How had he been pursuing her? She looked at Shen Juan in some confusion and discovered that Shen Juan’s brows were slightly knitted, listening very intently.

“We all thought he had succeeded. But in the end, Shuge ​stolen content​hadn’t even understood his intentions. She had purely gone to discuss project-related matters.”

Shen Juan’s slightly knitted brows relaxed, and a smile appeared in her eyes. She asked, “And afterward?”

“With someone that slow, who could stand it? Later, he gave up and sought greener pastures elsewhere.” Muzi spread her hands.

Shen Juan smiled faintly, and a sense of intimacy appeared in her expression. “That’s exactly the kind of person she is.”

Seeing that this topic was over, Liu Guohua immediately picked up the thread. “You and our Xiao Ge seem quite familiar. Before she returned to the country, did you send her to the airport?”

Muzi shook her head. “No. She didn’t tell anyone about going back to China. But I knew she was coming back, and I knew her flight time.”

Liu Guohua’s expression did not change, but his eyes clearly brightened. He did not interrupt and waited for Muzi to continue.

“I saw it when she was booking the ticket,” Muzi said.

Liu Guohua asked, “Did you mention this to anyone else?”

“Her flight? No. I didn’t tell anyone, including the fact that she was returning to China.” Muzi said this with certainty. “I don’t know whether she herself told anyone else, but I never mentioned it to anyone.”

Liu Guohua remained calm and asked again, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Muzi said again. “After I learned that something had happened to Shuge, I thought back over these things. I’m certain I never mentioned it to anyone.” After saying that, she asked, “What’s wrong? Is it very important?”

She clearly did not know that she was currently the only person they could confirm had known Gu Shuge’s exact itinerary. In other words, if they were to speculate on the killer based on who had the conditions to commit the crime, she was the biggest suspect.

Liu Guohua was just about to speak when Shen Juan took over. She said, “It is very important.”

Muzi shifted uneasily, her eyes full of panic.

“Do you know West Garden Bakery?” Liu Guohua asked at the right moment.

Muzi did not dare be as casual as before. Slightly restrained, she said, “I know it. Shuge mentioned it before. Last year, I think. I can’t remember exactly when. A classmate said she wanted to visit Yanjing, so everyone gave her travel tips, telling her what places were fun and what food was good. Maybe because we had already mentioned everything we could think of, Shuge brought up that bakery and said its pastries were delicious. She said she and [unauthorized copy]you had loved eating their Western pastries ever since she was little, and that even birthday cakes were ordered from there.”

It was outside that bakery that Gu Shuge had gotten into the accident. Zhang Meng had driven there and struck her dead. Based on the clues currently in their possession, there was a high chance that the location of the incident had not been accidental, but had been designed long ago.

Shen Juan said, “List everyone who was present at that time.”

Muzi looked a little troubled. “It’s been too long. I can’t remember clearly. I can only do my best.”

Shen Juan nodded and had Lin Mo give her paper and a pen. Then she stood and went to the room next door.

Gu Shuge followed her, and Liu Guohua also followed.

This was a suite. Next door was a small conference room. Liu Guohua said, “The day of the incident was your birthday. If the killer knew in advance that she would return to the country, then he could infer that she would definitely go to that bakery. Combined with the flight time, it would not be hard to deduce when she would go there.”

Shen Juan was thinking along the same lines. The list Muzi provided was a direction for investigation.

“As for Zhang Meng, he confessed that someone had indeed paid him. They contacted each other by phone. The phone was an old-style device, and the number was unregistered, so its place ​stolen content​of registration can’t be traced. There’s also one very important point: the first time the killer contacted him was five days before the incident.”

That meant that five days before the incident, the killer already knew for certain that Gu Shuge would return to the country.

The investigation was moving very slowly, but it was not without progress.

Shen Juan had Lin Mo settle Muzi down, then returned home first. Gu Shuge sat in the passenger seat, thinking about the list Muzi had given at the end.

There were eight people in total, all people she knew. She wanted to recall that incident in greater detail, but as soon as she got into the car, the only thing she cared about was how to communicate with Shen Juan more effectively.

The most crucial thing now was how to conserve Shen Juan’s blood.

When they arrived home and got out of the car, Gu Shuge was still thinking about this. Shen Juan suddenly said, “Someone was pursuing you, and you didn’t even notice?”

Gu Shuge looked utterly blank. Only after a long while did she realize what Shen Juan was talking about. She wanted to answer, but then remembered Shen Juan could not hear her, so she silently stayed beside Shen Juan without speaking.

After they entered the house, Shen Juan had the servants still in the house get off work early. Then she found a small glass dish and went to the study.

She first cut her finger and released about half a dish of blood. No matter what method they used to save blood, the initial bloodletting was unavoidable.

Gu Shuge grew dizzy from watching and hurriedly said, “Enough, enough.”

Shen Juan was not stingy with it. Only when she felt it was about right did she bandage the wound. Then she selected the lightest gel pen from the pen holder and said, “Dip some blood, then try to pick up the pen.”

Gu Shuge’s eyes lit up. Right. As long as she could hold a pen, she would not have to dip her finger in blood to write. This method was even better than diluting the blood.

She dipped her index finger and thumb in blood, then picked up the pen.

She could not lift it. The pen only rocked slightly on the desk. It did not even leave the surface before it went still again.

“Too heavy,” Gu Shuge sighed. She could not lift it.

Shen Juan saw the process and could guess some of it, so she asked, “You can’t pick it up?”

A check mark slowly appeared on the desk.

Shen Juan picked up the gel pen and tried to take it apart to remove the refill inside, but she did not succeed. This pen was a one-piece design and could not be disassembled.

“Why not buy a lighter pen?” Gu Shuge suggested.

Shen Juan thought for a moment. She stood up, opened the cabinet below the bookshelf, and searched out a box. When she opened it, inside the red silk lining lay a quill pen.

“This is part of Uncle Gu’s collection. Try and see if you can lift it.” Shen Juan took out the quill and placed it on the desk.

Gu Shuge’s eyes brightened. She reached out and picked it up. She could lift it. Although it was still somewhat heavy, at least she could lift it.

Shen Juan’s expression also relaxed. She opened the ink bottle and spread out a sheet of paper. “Use this and try writing a character.”

The quill floated into the air, dipped into the ink, and then wrote on the paper by itself.

It simply drew a circle.

Gu Shuge happily jumped in place. It worked. If she could still touch the quill after the blood dried, then as long as the quill did not break, they would no longer need to draw blood again.

Watching the quill leap up and down in midair, Shen Juan could almost imagine Gu Shuge happily jumping in place. The corners of her eyes and brows were also stained with a smile, and she said gently, “Write a few more words.”

Gu Shuge immediately lowered her head and wrote a long string in one breath. “That boy acted especially greasy. If I could avoid interacting with him, I avoided him as much as possible. How could I have imagined that he was pursuing me?”

Whether it was because she was unused to the quill, or because it was still too heavy and hard to move, this one sentence took her three minutes to write.

Shen Juan watched patiently, her mood pleasant and relaxed. Only after Gu Shuge finished writing did she say, “Xiao Ge, look at us now. We can’t see or touch each other, but we can communicate through writing, greet each other, and care about each other. Doesn’t it seem like…”

She paused there.

Like an online relationship! Gu Shuge’s heart nearly leapt into her throat. They could not meet, could not embrace, but cared for each other and were very close in heart. Like an online relationship! An online relationship was still a relationship. The light in her eyes [unauthorized copy]was extremely bright, her heart beating wildly. She was unbelievably nervous.

“Like pen pals from many years ago. Chatting and chatting until one day, they lose contact,” Shen Juan continued.

Gu Shuge: “?”