Once they got back into the car together, Sang Ning finally asked,

“Dong Yunzhou was obviously lying. Why didn’t you bring him straight back to the station?”

She didn’t know what Gu Yezhou was planning.

When she’d examined the skeleton earlier, the limbs had indeed shown fractures—but not the kind caused by a violent fall.

The bones had been deliberately broken by human hands.

Along the edges were scrape marks left by a sharp object. Unfortunately, after being sealed inside a cement wall for so many years, only a few faint parallel scratches remained, all inflicted after death.

At best, it proved the killer had been venting rage—even after the victim was dead.

Of course, for now, that was only Sang Ning’s speculation.

“You heard what Teacher Yu said just now.”

Gu Yezhou started the engine.

“Even his coworkers suspect Dong Yunzhou’s behavior. Do you really think dragging him back to the station would make him tell the truth?”

“Then what do we do?”

Leaning against the seat, Sang Ning opened one of the milk teas and took two sips. Her eyes immediately lit up.

“This is really good.”

“I want some too.”

Gu Yezhou lowered his head toward her.

It happened during a red light stop. Before Sang Ning could even react, a huge gulp of her milk tea was already gone.

“Yeah, not bad. Drinks near schools really are cheap and worth it.”

Gu Yezhou looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

Sang Ning: “…”

Gu Yezhou continued calmly,

“First, we’ll visit the former principal and ask about Chen Yuzhu. I’ve already sent Xiao Zhang to visit Chen Yuzhu’s family.”

“As for the hospital… records from ten years ago may not still exist. But I’ll have Shen Chen check anyway. Maybe he can dig something up.”

“Mhm. You’re the captain, so you call the shots.”

Sang Ning’s cheeks were slightly red as she looked out the window.

Then she suddenly thought of Gu Yao.

“What’s going on with your sister anyway? When did she get married? I didn’t even notice.”

And your brother-in-law doesn’t seem like a good person either…

She didn’t say that part aloud.

Yesterday afternoon, when she’d gone to find Shen Chen, she’d accidentally glimpsed Zhao Qianwen’s background file on his computer.

Only for a second.

Shen Chen had slammed the page shut like he was guarding state secrets.

Gu Yezhou fell silent for a moment before asking instead,

“Has Gu Yao ever shown anything unusual at work?”

Sang Ning thought about it carefully.

“She works when there’s work. When there isn’t, she stays by my side learning. If she doesn’t understand something, she asks sincerely. She’s hardworking.”

Aside from still being unable to handle seeing corpses, she was pretty good overall.

Gu Yao was actually better suited for organizing case files. Over the past six months, all the reports and documentation she handled had been perfectly arranged.

Of course, everything was archived digitally too.

But these days, plenty of department heads still preferred physical paperwork.

Like their bureau chief.

“Does she make mistakes often during work?”

“Not really. She’s serious about her job.”

Gu Yezhou went quiet again.

Sang Ning recalled the way Gu Yao had frozen the moment she saw Zhao Qianwen that night and sighed softly.

“Maybe I just didn’t pay enough attention to her outside work. Maybe she has made mistakes before. But nothing problematic ever reached me.”

“On the tenth, outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, I was there waiting for her to finalize her divorce paperwork.”

Both of Gu Yezhou’s hands rested on the steering wheel.

“She refused the blind dates my parents arranged for her. To anger them, she randomly married some guy she met outside.”

“But she didn’t expect that man to trick her feelings… and scam her out of her money too.”

“What?”

Back then, Sang Ning had genuinely believed they were kindred spirits in misery.

She’d thought Gu Yezhou had also been stood up.

Teasingly, she said,

“You siblings really are alike. She married some random guy to piss off your parents. And you? Didn’t you also marry some random woman you’d never met before?”

Who would’ve thought Gu Yao, who looked so lively and clever, could act so impulsively?

Throwing away the rest of your life just to spite your parents?

Then again…

Sang Ning wasn’t much different herself.

Could she really blame Gu Yezhou for this?

The car slowly drove into the retirement community where the former principal lived. Gu Yezhou casually parked in an empty spot.

Then he turned toward her seriously.

“I didn’t marry casually.”

“Huh?”

Sang Ning bit down on her milk tea straw and pointed at herself.

“What we did doesn’t count as random?”

She and Gu Yao really were similar.

One rebelled against her parents.

The other, in a fit of anger, cut ties completely with her ex-boyfriend and used marriage as the ultimate solution.

Forget it.

No point mocking someone else when she’d done the same thing.

“I’m serious about you.”

Gu Yezhou looked directly at her.

“You’re the most unique woman I’ve ever met.”

Right.

That line again.

All men said that.

You’re special. You’re different from other girls.

Sang Ning knew the routine.

Still sipping her milk tea, she nodded vaguely.

“Well, we’re already legally married anyway. If we can make it work, then great. If we can’t, we’ll divorce. I’m easygoing.”

“Besides, we don’t really have feelings for each other right now. If someday you meet someone you truly like, then go after her. I honestly won’t mind.”

The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became.

And the more uncomfortable she felt inside.

Gu Yezhou’s face was exactly her type.

But forced relationships never ended sweetly.

She understood that.

And if they divorced, he’d become a second-marriage man.

In the end, it really was her fault.

Gu Yezhou’s expression darkened more and more.

His hearing was excellent.

No matter how muffled Sang Ning’s words became, he caught every single one.

His large hand suddenly clamped around her chin, forcing her to release the straw from between her lips.

With her cheeks squeezed together, Sang Ning looked exactly like a startled hamster.

Her wide eyes blinked at him in confusion.

She didn’t resist at all.

Apparently, her brain was still lagging behind reality.

Seeing the unfinished milk tea still glistening on her soft pink lips, Gu Yezhou leaned down and kissed her.

Sang Ning’s eyes flew wide open.

She shoved him away immediately and wiped at her lips.

“Are you insane?! This is a retirement home!”

As she spoke, she nervously glanced around.

Luckily, nobody was out walking nearby. The parking spaces around them were completely empty.

“What if someone saw us?!”

She glared at him, cheeks burning an unnatural shade of red.

She was so hot now she wanted to take off her coat.

Had the car heater been turned up too high?

Gu Yezhou had apparently taken lessons from Hua Ming.

At least she hadn’t slapped him.

And she hadn’t called him disgusting either.

From Sang Ning’s reaction, they looked more like secret lovers terrified of being caught by the real spouse.

“Alright then,” Gu Yezhou said, smiling faintly.

“Next time, at home.”

He gently rubbed her head before getting out of the car.

Still frozen in her seat, Sang Ning stared at the milk teas in the back seat, then at the nearly empty cup in her hand.

“What do you mean at home? I never agreed to move in with you.”

Then she remembered all her luggage was still sitting in the trunk of Gu Yezhou’s car.

Gu Yezhou paused mid-step and said quietly,

“We just got married. And you already want me sleeping alone?”

Sang Ning burst out laughing and nodded repeatedly.

“Yep. You’re basically my trophy husband. Bringing you around is great for my image.”

Especially if she ever ran into Lin Zehui, that bastard, again.

Hopefully never for the rest of her life.

The ever-so-serious Gu Yezhou walked ahead with his usual stern expression, making the two of them look like complete strangers again.

By the time they reached the building where the former principal lived, several elderly men were just coming downstairs.