A Secret (GL) - Chapter 22

Aside from the opening remarks, Shen Juan left the rest of the questioning to Liu Guohua. She understood the concept of specialization; managing a vast enterprise meant knowing when to step back. Thus, while she oversaw the progress and provided clues, she rarely interfered with the specific methods of the investigation.

Liu Guohua was an expert at reading people. Pretending to be a talkative friend, he quickly took over the conversation. He started with a probing question: “Xiaoge was so busy with school that she rarely had time to come home. This time, she returned so suddenly without even a word. None of us know what happened. Do you know why she came back so abruptly?”

The details of the case had not been disclosed by the police. Aside from the location, the victim’s name, and the driver’s name, everything else was a blank. Currently, no one knew what had triggered her to fly back without telling a soul.

As Liu Guohua finished his question, he fixed his gaze on Muzi.

The young girl thought seriously for a while, her sweet-looking face turning quite grave. After a moment, she shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve racked my brain, but I never heard her mention why she was coming back. She didn’t say anything about it at all.”

“I see,” Liu Guohua replied, showing no sign of disappointment. He moved the conversation to other topics as if they were just making idle small talk.

Gu Shuge kept a close eye on Muzi’s expressions and words, but she also found herself uncontrollably looking toward Shen Juan.

Shen Juan sat to the side. Lin Mo had even used the coffee machine in the suite to serve everyone a cup, deliberately fostering a relaxed atmosphere. Gu Shuge took a deep breath; the coffee was steaming, but she couldn’t smell the aroma.

Aside from being able to touch and smell Shen Juan’s blood, nothing else had changed. She still couldn’t touch or feel anything, as if she were living in a different dimension.

Shen Juan sat in an armchair, her posture elegant, her left hand resting on the armrest and revealing a sliver of her pale, snowy wrist. Gu Shuge was still thinking about the word Muzi had blurted out: Sister-in-law.

Gu Shuge had never called Shen Juan that. Whenever she spoke of her to others, she only said “my sister.” But she knew the truth. Shen Juan was indeed her sister-in-law; she had registered her marriage with Gu Yian. From the moment they were together, Shuge should have changed her form of address, but neither Shen Juan nor her brother had ever made an issue of it.

Liu Guohua continued his skillfully managed chat with Muzi. It seemed like gossip, but he was quietly gathering information about Muzi’s family, her classmates, and her teachers. This helped him build rapport while gauging her personality and depth.

Gu Shuge couldn’t help but look at Shen Juan again.

Shen Juan rarely spoke, but her presence was impossible to ignore. Whenever Muzi spoke, she glanced at Shen Juan, and Shen Juan would return a friendly look. She appeared to be listening intently, but Gu Shuge felt she was actually a bit distracted. She seemed unhappy—at least, not as happy as she had been in the office earlier.

What’s wrong with her? Gu Shuge watched her with concern.

“Shuge has incredible learning abilities,” Muzi was saying. “Our advisor thinks very highly of her. Several of the projects she led won awards. She comes from a prominent family and is incredibly beautiful—the perfect person, really. Many people at school know her, and many have secret crushes, but her radiance is so dazzling that few people dare to pursue her. Once you get to know her, though, you realize she’s very sweet and actually quite shy. When we see news about the Gu Group online, we tease her. She usually just smiles and doesn’t get angry, but she doesn’t really join in on the commotion either.”

At this, Gu Shuge noticed Shen Juan’s attention snap back, listening with total concentration.

“However, Shuge is extremely dense when it comes to romance. There was a guy in our college, surnamed Liu, from Hong Kong. His family runs a company too, and he’s usually very high-profile. He pursued Shuge for nearly half a year. For a while, the two of them even ate dinner together.”

Gu Shuge knew exactly which student Muzi was talking about, but she was genuinely confused. He was pursuing me? She looked at Shen Juan in bewilderment and saw that Shen Juan’s brow was slightly furrowed, her attention fixed.

“We thought he had finally succeeded,” Muzi continued. “But it turns out Shuge didn’t even realize he had an agenda. She thought they were just there to talk about their research project.”

Shen Juan’s furrowed brow relaxed, and a smile touched her eyes. She asked, “And then?”

“Being that dense… who could handle it? Eventually, he gave up and went to find another flower,” Muzi said, throwing up her hands.

Shen Juan gave a faint smile, her expression revealing a touch of intimacy. “She is exactly that kind of person.”

Seeing the topic conclude, Liu Guohua immediately interjected: “You and our Xiaoge were quite close. Did you take her to the airport before she returned to China?”

Muzi shook her head. “No. She didn’t tell anyone she was coming back. But I did know she was returning, and I knew the flight time.”

Liu Guohua’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes visibly brightened. He didn’t interrupt, waiting for her to continue.

“I saw her booking the ticket,” Muzi said.

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

“Her flight? No. I haven’t told anyone, including the fact that she was coming back,” Muzi said firmly. “I don’t know if she told anyone else herself, but I haven’t mentioned it to a soul.”

Liu Guohua remained calm and asked once more: “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Muzi repeated. “After I heard about what happened to Shuge, I thought back on all of this. I’m certain I didn’t tell anyone.” She paused, then asked, “Why? Is it important?”

She clearly didn’t realize that she was currently the only person they could confirm knew Gu Shuge’s exact itinerary. In terms of opportunity, she was the prime suspect.

Just as Liu Guohua was about to speak, Shen Juan cut in: “It is very important.”

Muzi shifted uncomfortably, her eyes filled with panic.

“Have you heard of ‘Xiyuan Bakery’?” Liu Guohua followed up smoothly.

Muzi wasn’t as casual as before. She said stiffly, “I know it. Shuge mentioned it. Last year… I can’t remember exactly when. A classmate said they were coming to Yanjing to visit, so everyone gave them a travel guide, telling them where the best food and sights were. After we’d said everything we could think of, Shuge mentioned that bakery. She said the pastries were delicious and that she and you had loved them since childhood. Even your birthday cakes were ordered from there.”

Gu Shuge’s accident had happened right outside that bakery. Zhang Meng had driven there and killed her. From the clues gathered so far, the location was likely not a coincidence but a pre-planned trap.

Shen Juan said, “Who was there at the time? Make a list.”

Muzi looked hesitant. “It was so long ago, I can’t remember clearly. I’ll try my best.”

Shen Juan nodded and had Lin Mo give her paper and a pen. She then stood up and walked into the adjoining room.

Gu Shuge followed her, and Liu Guohua followed as well.

This was a suite, and the next room was a small conference room. Liu Guohua said, “The day of the accident was your birthday. If the killer knew she was coming back, they could deduce she would definitely go to that shop. Combined with the flight information, it wasn’t hard to figure out when she would be there.”

Shen Juan was on the same page. Muzi’s list was a direction for the investigation.

“Regarding Zhang Meng,” Liu Guohua added, “he confessed that someone did indeed bribe him. They communicated via phone. It was an old-style burner phone with an anonymous number; we can’t trace the origin. Also, a key point: the killer first contacted him five days before the accident.”

This proved that five days before the crash, the killer knew for certain that Gu Shuge was returning.

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

Shen Juan had Lin Mo settle Muzi in before heading home herself. Gu Shuge sat in the passenger seat, thinking about the list of eight names Muzi had provided. They were all people she knew. She wanted to dive deep into her memory of that day, but once she got in the car, her only concern was how to better communicate with Shen Juan.

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

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

Gu Shuge looked blank for a while before she realized what Shen Juan was talking about. She wanted to answer, then remembered Shen Juan couldn’t hear her, so she followed silently.

Inside, Shen Juan let the remaining servants off early. She found a small glass dish and went to the study. She cut her finger and let nearly half a dish of blood flow out. No matter what method they used to save blood, the initial collection was unavoidable.

Gu Shuge felt lightheaded watching and said hurriedly, “Enough, enough!”

Shen Juan was not stingy. Once she felt it was enough, she bandaged the wound. She then chose the lightest pen from the pen holder and said, “Dip your finger in the blood, and then try to pick up the pen.”

Gu Shuge’s eyes lit up. Right! If she could hold a pen, she wouldn’t have to write by dipping her finger in blood. This was even better than diluting it.

She dipped her thumb and forefinger in the blood and reached for the pen.

She couldn’t move it. The pen wobbled slightly on the desk but didn’t even leave the surface before going still.

“It’s too heavy,” Gu Shuge sighed. She couldn’t lift it.

Shen Juan saw the process and guessed what happened. “Too heavy?”

A slow checkmark appeared on the glass.

Shen Juan picked up the pen, intending to take it apart to use just the ink refill, but she couldn’t; the pen was a single-piece design.

“Maybe buy a lighter pen,” Gu Shuge suggested.

Shen Juan thought for a moment. She stood up, opened a cabinet beneath the bookshelf, and pulled out a box. Inside, resting on red silk, was a quill pen.

“This was your father’s collection. See if you can lift this.” Shen Juan placed the quill on the desk.

Gu Shuge’s eyes brightened. She reached for it. She could move it! Although it was still a bit heavy, she could at least lift it.

Shen Juan’s expression relaxed. She opened a bottle of ink and spread out a sheet of paper. “Try writing a word with this.”

The quill floated into the air, dipped into the ink, and began to write on the paper. It simply drew a circle.

Gu Shuge gave a little hop of joy. It worked! If she could still touch things after the blood dried, then as long as the quill didn’t break, they wouldn’t have to take any more blood.

Shen Juan watched the quill bob up and down in the air and could practically picture Gu Shuge jumping with joy. A smile touched the corners of her eyes as she said softly, “Write a few more words.”

Gu Shuge immediately bowed her head to write. In one breath, she wrote a long sentence: “That guy was really greasy. I tried my best to avoid him whenever possible, I had no idea he was pursuing me.”

Whether it was because she wasn’t used to a quill or because it was still too heavy, the single sentence took her three minutes to write.

Shen Juan watched patiently, her mood pleasant and relaxed. Once Shuge finished, she said: “Xiaoge, look at us. We can’t see or touch each other, but we can communicate through writing, greeting each other and caring for each other. Doesn’t it feel like…”

She paused there.

Like an online romance! Gu Shuge’s heart practically leapt into her throat. They couldn’t meet or hug, but they cared for each other and their hearts were close. Like an online romance! An online romance is still a romance! Her eyes were incredibly bright, her heart racing with tension.

“Like the pen pals that were popular years ago,” Shen Juan finished. “Talking and talking, until one day they just vanish.”

Gu Shuge: “?”