The little rabbit’s explosive declaration left Su Zhisheng frozen in place!
Though, from a rabbit’s perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable wish.
What fault did the bunny have?
The bunny just didn’t want to become a spicy rabbit head!
“Little rabbit, can you tell me what you saw? I can give you some tasty rabbit snacks.”
The small brown wild rabbit, which had been hopping away through the grass, suddenly stopped.
It twitched its long ears and turned back in surprise.
“Human, how can you understand bunny talk?”
“Wait—you heard what I said about butchering people? You’re not scared? Are you actually a bad guy?”
It didn’t come closer, clearly still cautious. But it had indeed stopped its urge to flee.
Even though it suspected the human might be a villain, it stayed to chat with Su Zhisheng—a testament to his animal affinity.
Su Zhisheng chuckled and pointed to his colleagues in police uniforms beside him.
“We’re looking for the bad guy who killed someone. The friends in blue uniforms are the righteous police officers of our human world. They’re all good people. No need to be scared, bunny.”
The little rabbit twitched its three-part mouth. “So this is what Great-Grandma meant by police in blue uniforms. They look much cooler than the anglers in blue!”
Su Zhisheng: “…”
It seemed that not only the fish in the mountain knew about anglers, but the rabbits did too. Come to think of it, aside from the killer, the only people who frequented this abandoned mountain were anglers.
The little rabbit raised a paw and tidied the fur on its head.
Once it looked presentable, it began its role as a police informant—or rather, an inform-bunny.
“Eep! That day, when I was passing by the little house up the mountain, I saw a big strong man swinging a knife at someone. The woman wasn’t moving at all—I think she was already dead…”
“Great-Grandma said that when humans make spicy rabbit heads, they also swing big knives. It scared me so much that I ran away! He even tried to come after me with the knife, but luckily, this bunny is fast enough.”
The killer had probably heard a noise, thought someone was passing by, and tried to eliminate a witness. When he realized it was just a rabbit, he stopped chasing.
Su Zhisheng made a mental note and continued asking, “Do you remember what the killer looked like?”
“Eep! I only caught a glance. The moonlight was too bright. I could only make out the silhouette of a big man. I don’t remember anything else.”
“Where is that little house? Can you lead us there?”
This abandoned mountain had once been used for growing fruit trees. The house was likely where the orchard workers had lived.
“Eep! Yes. But this bunny is a bit short, and the grass in the mountain is tall—you might not see me easily. Carry me, and I’ll point the way.”
The little rabbit’s eyes darted between the police officers and the handsome young man, finally settling on Su Zhisheng.
“Handsome young man, you’re the one. Your backpack looks heavy—can you still carry this bunny?”
Even though a bunny should probably be held by a righteous police officer as an official helper, this bunny still wanted to be close to the handsome young man. And since he was working for the police, helping him was the same as helping them…
Su Zhisheng had no idea what the bunny was thinking. He just nodded. “Don’t underestimate me. I’m quite strong. I’ll hold you steady.”
“Alright! But first, the delicious rabbit food needs to go straight into my mouth—this bunny is hungry.” The little rabbit twitched its three-part mouth, full of anticipation.
It had heard that city rabbits ate very well—but they also ended up in the pot easily.
But now, without ending up in the pot, it could still enjoy equally delicious rabbit food.
“Okay, I’ll give you some snacks right now.” Su Zhisheng unzipped a corner of his backpack, reached in, and pulled out a bag of rabbit food.
He turned back to explain the rabbit’s plan to lead the way, then walked toward the bunny.
The police officers nearby, knowing the little rabbit had carefully chosen its human, couldn’t help but show subtle expressions.
Zhang Zhengyang, who had the strongest animal affinity among them, pinched the bridge of his nose.
This little rabbit really knew how to pick!
Su Zhisheng was the only one among them carrying a rabbit leg!
That was why Su Zhisheng hadn’t fully unzipped his backpack to find the snacks—he had only opened a small gap to reach inside. He was afraid a rabbit leg might fall out and scare the bunny away!
The little rabbit knew nothing of this. Held in the handsome young man’s arms, munching on nutritionally balanced rabbit food, it was in heaven.
Then, piloting this “human mech,” the bunny led the way into the mountain.
Pushing through the overgrown grass where no path was visible, they finally spotted a small house.
It was a single-story cement building with a rusted iron door, standing wide open.
Outside the door was an old hand-operated well pump. The area from the house to the pump had been paved with cement, forming a small courtyard.
Unlike the dust-covered interior, this cement ground showed clear signs of having been washed by human hands. If it had only been rain, there would have been moss, but this ground was too clean.
Su Zhisheng didn’t get any closer, not wanting to disturb the scene with his footsteps.
The forensics team sprang into action, searching for clues.
“This powder looks similar to what was in the brick earlier. Bag it…”
“There’s half a faint footprint here on the ground…”
Su Zhisheng stroked the rabbit in his arms and took it to meet the logistics staff.
From then on, the little bunny’s food rewards would be distributed by this person.
“Eep! The handsome young man is busy with his studies and can’t come anymore, so I’ll get all my snuggles in now.” The little rabbit nuzzled against Su Zhisheng’s chest.
Su Zhisheng couldn’t resist reaching out to pet the incredibly soft little bunny.
Xing Tianwei, as Su Zhisheng’s supervisor, didn’t say anything to stop him from taking a moment to pet animals on the job.
Once Su Zhisheng had had his fill, Xing Tianwei got in the car and drove him back to school.
“I can get off here. Thank you, Captain Xing.”
The student dormitory building was near one of the school’s gates, right next to the parking lot.
“Wait a moment.” Xing Tianwei got out of the car and retrieved a box of mooncakes and several other bags from the trunk.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up. The department gave out holiday benefits, but you were in class when they were distributed. There was a lot, so I kept them in the car and brought them directly to you.”
Of course, Xing Tianwei had chosen this moment to deliver the gifts also to help take Su Zhisheng’s mind off the gruesome scene he had just visited. Even though Su Zhisheng hadn’t been an eyewitness, it would still affect his emotions.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been stress-petting that rabbit so frantically—he had practically rubbed the poor thing raw!
Seeing the pile of holiday goodies, Su Zhisheng was pleasantly surprised. “There’s so much! I can’t carry it all in one trip. Wait a moment—I’ll take things up in batches.”
Without waiting for Xing Tianwei to help, he hoisted the bags and dashed up to the dorm.
Xing Tianwei glanced at him but said nothing.
His physical fitness was indeed mediocre.
For a consultant who needed to move around investigating clues, it wouldn’t hurt to practice more.
On this ordinary day—not a special time like the start of the semester—no one paid much attention to Su Zhisheng being dropped off at school by a car.
After all, human remains had recently been dredged from the school river. Everyone from the administration to the parents was absolutely terrified!
Local parents had started driving their children to and from school, while out-of-town students traveled in groups, afraid to be alone.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, many students had bought the earliest tickets possible, planning to flee as soon as classes ended, unwilling to stay on campus any longer. Some had even requested early leave, just wanting to go home and calm down.
The entire school was shrouded in gloom!
Even the number of tourists visiting with their families had noticeably dropped.
Su Zhisheng’s cheerful expression caught the attention of his next-door roommate, Li Mengxi.
“Zhisheng, your mental toughness is incredible. That river is right next to our dorm building. At night, when it’s quiet, you can hear the water. I haven’t been able to feel happy lately.”
“Good news lifts the spirits.” Su Zhisheng waved the box of mooncakes. “My other internship job gave out holiday benefits.”
Li Mengxi suddenly understood.
Just then, Luo Guangsheng returned to the dorm to continue moving his belongings.
His expression was more excited than ever before.
Su Zhisheng was full of questions. “Are you moving into a mansion? Why else would you be so happy?”
Luo Guangsheng’s energy was off the charts—even more spirited than your average energetic young man!
His eyes were practically glowing.
“After my idol Su Mingjie’s merchandise prices hit rock bottom, they’ve started going back up.”
In the nanny baby-swapping case back then, Su Mingjie was merely a beneficiary, not a perpetrator. As long as Su Mingjie wasn’t a problematic celebrity, he could lie low now and wait for the storm to pass before making a legitimate comeback.
Plenty of celebrities who had done bad things had resurfaced. The fact that Su Mingjie was a fake young master wouldn’t completely destroy his career—he just needed an opportunity to regain popularity.
And as the youngest son always protected by the president of an entertainment company, and the fiancé of a movie theater chain’s heir… Su Mingjie had no shortage of resources for a comeback.
The window between Su Mingjie’s retreat and his comeback presented a perfect speculative opportunity.
Luo Guangsheng had decisively bought up merchandise when prices crashed, waiting to make a fortune later.
“Selling now would still make too little profit. Once my idol makes his comeback and his TV series airs, new fans will pour in endlessly, and I’ll get rich…”
Luo Guangsheng, brimming with excitement, cast a contemptuous glance at the “poor people” in the room.
“You study hard and do your internships well, then maybe you’ll find a good job and earn money. Opportunities to get rich like this are rare—you probably won’t come across them…”
Head held high like a victorious rooster, he strode off with his luggage.
Li Mengxi looked conflicted. “Wealthy families have so much drama. Why doesn’t he take his profits and get out instead of gambling on the peak? Isn’t that too risky? I already suspected Su Mingjie wasn’t a good person from how he competed with the adopted son for affection. He’ll probably have another scandal in the future.”
Su Zhisheng shrugged.
“Who cares what they do.”
“If he makes money, good for him. If he loses it, you could say he really loves his idol. Fans have thrown plenty of money away for their idols—investing or not, it’s not that different.”
Li Mengxi nodded. “True. Buying low-priced merchandise at least sounds better than pouring milk down the drain. As long as he doesn’t take out loans and go crazy, it’s probably fine.”
At the police station, after rigorous analysis, the forensics team finally determined that the powder in the brick was a type of rose pollen.
Interestingly, there were no roses planted in the Su family’s courtyard.
Since roses were the flower of love, Su Mingjie wanted to admire them often and only allowed them to be grown in the glass greenhouse.
An experienced forensics officer added, “The pollen in the brick comes from a rare rose variety. In the past, any rose pollen I found at crime scenes came from common varieties—nothing like this…”
Officers investigating the Su family villa quickly thought of Su Mingjie’s Royal Juliet Rose.
When they had entered the glass greenhouse to investigate, Su Mingjie had specifically warned them to be careful when digging into the soil, not to damage that particular rose bush.
Other police teams investigating the case also sent back more information.
“Based on shoe size, we’ve narrowed it down to three suspects. Only the gardener has access to the glass greenhouse.”
“Additionally, the same rose pollen and pollen from other flowers were found at the dismemberment site. While the victim, being around Su Mingjie, might have picked up a small amount of pollen, the quantity here is too high—it can only be related to the gardener…”
“We were concerned the case might involve a hired killer, so we investigated the suspect’s bank accounts. Since the police began their investigation, the gardener has made many large purchases—he suddenly started spending extravagantly…”
All the evidence pointed to the gardener.
Thus, the police decided to make an arrest.
The officers already investigating the Su family mansion received the order, and their expressions grew serious.
At that moment, the killer, Zhang Liangzhu, was inside the glass greenhouse with Su Mingjie. The greenhouse had only one small door, and it was packed with potted plants and shelves, making it difficult to carry out an arrest.
The priority was to get Su Mingjie out first, so the killer wouldn’t panic and take him hostage.
Inside the glass greenhouse, Su Mingjie was still chatting amiably with the gardener.
“Young Master, you really love these flowers.”
“Yes. They symbolize the love between me and Feng Ge.” Su Mingjie stroked the petals. “You’ve taken excellent care of these flowers—you’ve clearly put a lot of heart into them.”
Feeling the gardener’s intense gaze, Su Mingjie understood.
This was not something a servant could ever aspire to!
No matter how loyal a dog, it must remember its place and not overstep.
Su Mingjie’s voice remained gentle. “I can see you also love these flowers very much. Someday, when you find someone you like, I will personally cut a branch for you to give to your beloved. Consider it my blessing for your love.”
In an instant, the light in the gardener Zhang Liangzhu’s eyes went out.
As always, he resigned himself. “Thank you for your blessing, Young Master.”
Just then, a police officer’s voice broke the silence.
“Mr. Mingjie, we have found evidence that the maid Xiao Tao hid something in your room. Please cooperate with our investigation.”
“What?!” Su Mingjie’s eyes widened.
His maid had pulled something like that behind his back?!
After all those red packets he had given her—what an ungrateful wretch!
Su Mingjie stormed out in anger.
The gardener, having already finished his work, followed.
Before Su Mingjie could even ask what was going on, the sounds of a struggle erupted behind him.
In the blink of an eye, his gardener was pinned to the ground.
“Stay still!”
“Mr. Mingjie, we just wanted to lure you out so you wouldn’t become a hostage. You can go rest now.”
Before Su Mingjie could process this, Zhang Liangzhu exploded in rage!
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying I would have hurt the Young Master?!”
Police: “?”
You’re a murderer—shouldn’t you be worried about your own situation? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?
Su Mingjie felt the same way.
Why was Gardener Xiao Zhang still fixated on him at a time like this? Shouldn’t he be thinking about the woman he killed?
Come to think of it, why was Xiao Tao killed anyway? He hadn’t seen any conflict between the two…
Suddenly, Su Mingjie remembered something.
They had argued—twice, actually, about him. He had cut them off both times before it went further…
Wait. The motive for this case—it wasn’t going to come back on him, was it?