Before long, the car fell silent again. Qi Qi could only feel the air growing heavy and stifling.
She ran a hand through her hair and quickly turned to look out the window, her tousled strands conveniently shielding her profile. The corners of her eyes, which had involuntarily grown moist, likely went unnoticed by anyone.
Fortunately, the designated driver drove quickly, and the car came to a slow stop in front of the Gu family villa.
Three people stood at the entrance—one was Uncle Wang, and the other two were her adoptive parents, Gu Yuanliang and Lu Qiuyue.
The first time she had met Lu Qiuyue was at the entrance to the morgue’s autopsy room at the funeral parlor.
She had been seven years old that year.
In truth, apart from the Gu family and Lin An, no one knew that both of her parents had been narcotics police officers. Her father had been working undercover in a drug den when a traitor within the unit exposed his identity. The drug traffickers tortured him relentlessly for three days before he died a brutal death.
On the day Qi Shaohua’s autopsy was performed, seven-year-old Qi Qi had crouched alone outside the autopsy room door. At the time, she had thought her father was merely injured and receiving treatment in the operating room.
She hadn’t heard what the forensic examiner said to Qi Shaohua’s teammates—she only saw that everyone present was crying.
Qi Qi still remembered the scene from that day. Even the highest-ranking leader of her parents had come. Every person who arrived would glance at her, their eyes filled with sympathy and heartache.
Before long, Lu Qiuyue had appeared as well. She was her mother’s friend. Lu Qiuyue said nothing—she simply gently lifted the ice-cold girl into her arms and asked if she would be willing to come home with her.
At the time, Qi Qi hadn’t understood why she wanted to take her back to the Gu household.
Until…
Standing at her parents’ funeral, Qi Qi finally learned that on that very same day—the day her father was autopsied—her mother had also died in the line of duty during a narcotics operation.
That day, she became an orphan without a father or mother.
The sound of the door opening interrupted Qi Qi’s memories.
She held back her tears and stepped out of the car.
“Qiqi.”
Seeing her emerge, Lu Qiuyue stepped forward and gave her a hug. “Mom thought you weren’t coming back again today. Spending so much time in the lab—you must not have been eating properly, have you? You’ve gotten thinner.”
Though her words were full of concern for Qi Qi, her eyes kept darting back and forth between her and Gu Cheng.
Qi Qi immediately understood why the two of them had deliberately stood at the door to greet her.
In truth, Lu Qiuyue and Gu Yuanliang had always been very good to her.
Except for the fact that, ever since they had discovered her feelings for Gu Cheng, they had deliberately made sure Gu Cheng never spent time alone with her again.
Qi Qi felt like an outcast being guarded against. From that point on, she had started coming home less and less.
“Uncle Wang said he couldn’t spare the time to pick up my brother, so he asked me to go in his place,” Qi Qi explained.
Gu Cheng glanced at her.
With both children home, Gu Yuanliang was in good spirits. “Your mother and I just got home too. You two haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come on in, quickly.”
“It was too rushed, so your father had someone buy food from outside. We’ll make do with this tonight—tomorrow, Mom will properly cook something to nourish you.” Lu Qiuyue led Qi Qi inside first.
Though she called it “making do,” the table was still laden with a full spread.
During the meal, Gu Yuanliang asked about Qi Qi’s work. Because of the previous case, Qi Qi had spent her days holed up in the lab and the autopsy room, barely getting any sleep. After finishing dinner, she said goodnight to the three of them and headed upstairs.
Her room was spacious, and Lu Qiuyue had even specially built her a walk-in closet. The room was cleaned every day, so even after a long absence, it remained tidy and spotless.
Qi Qi grabbed a set of pajamas at random and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
The night had deepened, darkness enveloping the entire city like an impenetrable net.
All around was pitch black, the surrounding weeds rustling in the wind, the sound howling eerily like ghosts.
A young couple glanced around before slipping into the underbrush.
“Let’s go over there.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t. That factory looks creepy as hell, all dark and shadowy.”
“Don’t be scared. I’ve been there before—there’s nothing in there.”
The man pushed aside the weeds and led the girl toward the factory.
The abandoned factory was dilapidated and crumbling, so dark inside you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
“What’s that? Something swaying back and forth?”
The girl suddenly spoke up, pointing at something above them.
The man shifted his light source in that direction.
The next second, both of them locked eyes with a pair of bulging, staring eyes.
“AHHH!!”
The silent night was shattered by two terrified screams.
Meanwhile—
Qi Qi finished her shower and stepped out, shedding the exhaustion from her body. She had just been about to lie down on the bed when her phone rang.
She answered, and before she could even speak, Wang Meng’s urgent voice came through.
“Qi-ge, there’s a case! Teacher Tang wants you to come over.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Qi Qi grabbed whatever clothes were nearby and slipped them on as she walked out of her room, but when she heard the conversation in the living room, her footsteps suddenly froze.
“Xiao Cheng, be honest with me—do you actually have any feelings for Qiqi at all?”
That was Lu Qiuyue asking.
“What exactly are the two of you trying to say?”
Gu Yuanliang sighed. “You just got back, so you might not know yet, but there are already rumors circulating about the two of you—all of them saying bad things about Qiqi. Not only that, but it’s also affecting the company. We want to know what you think.”
“What feelings could there be? You’ve both said it yourselves—she can only ever be my sister.” Gu Cheng’s voice was extremely faint, so faint it was devoid of any emotion.
Lu Qiuyue: “How are things between you and Jiang Yu?”
“Fine,” Gu Cheng replied flatly, then shifted his posture, lazily leaning back against the sofa.
Qi Qi finally caught a glimpse of his expression.
Nonchalant. Utterly indifferent.
Only when you don’t care about someone do you remain so unconcerned.
Yeah… he’d never liked her anyway.
That was why he could leave this place without a second thought, and why he couldn’t even be bothered to tell her before he left.
The more she thought about it, the sharper the ache in Qi Qi’s heart. She couldn’t help but press her hand hard against her chest.
Remembering there was still a case to handle, she suppressed all her emotions and walked out. Before stepping out, she deliberately made a bit of noise.
At least it would give them a heads-up—otherwise, it would be too awkward.
Hearing the sound of the door, the conversation in the living room came to an abrupt halt.
“Qiqi, you’re going out?”
“Yeah, a case just came in.” Qi Qi explained with a smile, deliberately not looking at Gu Cheng as she walked out of the living room.
Gu Cheng: “I’ll drive you.”
“No need. I can drive myself.”
Gu Cheng acted as if he hadn’t heard her, grabbing his keys and walking over on his own.
Lu Qiuyue was about to say something when Gu Yuanliang nudged her arm.
“Qiqi, let your brother drive you. It’s late at night, and a young girl like you driving alone isn’t safe.”
Seeing how insistent they were, Qi Qi knew refusing was pointless, so she nodded and followed Gu Cheng.
Knowing that her cases were always matters of life and death, Gu Cheng didn’t waste any time on the road, and the car quickly arrived at the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
When Qi Qi had first chosen forensic medicine as her major, Lu Qiuyue had tried to talk her out of it—after all, she’d be facing dead bodies every day, and she was genuinely worried Qi Qi couldn’t handle it.
But who would’ve thought—not only did she not give up halfway, she even successfully made it into the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Five years of university, plus juggling grad school entrance exams and internships, were all things she’d pushed through on her own.
Even getting into the Criminal Investigation Bureau was entirely due to her own abilities—she’d never once relied on the Gu family’s connections.