By the time they returned to the station, it was right around lunch.

There weren’t many people in the cafeteria. Gu Yezhou told Sang Ning to sit first while he went to get food.

One meat dish, one vegetable dish, soup—

and an extra braised chicken drumstick.

Sang Ning glanced at the trays. Only hers had the drumstick.

“You’re not eating one?”

“No need.” Gu Yezhou rarely smiled, but when he did, it was devastating. “You got dragged around with me all morning doing field interviews. Consider it bonus compensation.”

A handsome man sitting across from her while eating—

easy on the eyes, and somehow even made the food taste better.

“Old Gu, so this is where you are. I was wondering why you didn’t take me out for a nice lunch today.”

The second Hua Ming saw Sang Ning, he instantly knew the person sitting opposite her had to be Gu Yezhou.

Both of them had vanished first thing in the morning, supposedly for “fieldwork.”

Since when did a forensic doctor go out on field visits?

Something suspicious was definitely going on.

“Oh, Forensic Doctor Sang’s here too.” Hua Ming grinned. “Wow, and there’s a chicken leg too. Old Gu, I want one.”

With that youthful college-boy face of his, every word and action somehow became even more unbearable.

Sang Ning almost lost her appetite.

Honestly, after spending the entire morning stuffing herself with siu mai and milk, then ice cream and milk tea, her stomach was basically sloshing with liquid already. She couldn’t eat much to begin with.

“If you want it, take it.”

She picked up the chicken drumstick and dropped it onto Hua Ming’s tray.

Before Hua Ming could even touch it with his chopsticks, another pair swooped in.

The next second, the drumstick disappeared into someone’s mouth.

Gu Yezhou didn’t even spare Hua Ming a glance as he calmly continued eating.

My wife’s chicken drumstick can only go to me.

Sang Ning nearly laughed out loud.

But she wasn’t really in the mood to eat.

All she could think about was what Principal Liu had said before they left.

*“I hope you can give Teacher Chen justice. She’s been dead for ten years. It’s time to let her rest in peace.”*

Ten whole years.

For ten years, everyone believed Chen Yuzhu had taken her own life out of despair.

Only Principal Liu had continued to doubt the truth behind her death.

He’d stayed in Yancheng all these years waiting for answers.

And the facts supported him.

Earlier, Shen Chen had conveniently run a background check on Principal Liu.

His son was actually very filial—not the ungrateful deadbeat those old men at the nursing home described.

The reason he rarely visited Yancheng was partly because of work, but also because he regularly hired caregivers to check in on his father.

He was worried about whether the old man was eating properly and staying warm enough.

Unfortunately, he’d hired the wrong people.

Out of kindness, Sang Ning had mentioned it to Gu Yezhou and suggested contacting Principal Liu’s son.

An elderly man living alone in a nursing home, mocked and excluded by the others—

that kind of environment wouldn’t last forever.

“So?” Hua Ming asked while shoveling food into his mouth and glancing around. “How’d the investigation go? Smooth?”

Then he looked around again.

“Wait… where are Shen Chen and that little brat Gu Yao?”

Sang Ning frowned.

“Gu Yao still didn’t come to work today?”

She hadn’t received any leave request.

“No clue. The moment I arrived this morning, your chief dragged me away. Didn’t even have time to stop by the forensic lab.” Hua Ming shrugged.

“It went fairly smoothly,” Gu Yezhou answered.

He finished eating quickly, then simply sat there staring at Sang Ning.

The look made her scalp tingle.

What kind of weird hobby was this? Watching people eat?

She stuffed two quick bites into her cheeks until she looked like a hamster.

“I’m done eating. You can talk now.”

The way he was staring at her—

there was definitely something coming.

Gu Yezhou completely ignored Hua Ming’s existence. From his pocket, he pulled out a small evidence bag containing several strands of hair.

“First, let’s confirm whether the victim is Dong Ruiyang.”

Sang Ning took the bag and looked at it carefully.

“When did you get this?”

They’d entered the principal’s office one after another. When exactly had he managed to collect hair and seal it in a bag?

How had she missed it entirely?

Gu Yezhou said nothing. Instead, he picked up her tray.

“You’re really not eating anymore? Won’t you get hungry this afternoon?”

“Wow, Old Gu. If only you cared about me this much.”

Hua Ming nearly choked on his rice. His hoarse voice sounded like demonic audio pollution.

Sang Ning immediately stood up.

Any remaining filter she had for Hua Ming’s “youthful college guy” image shattered completely.

Seriously, what was wrong with Gu Yezhou’s team?

Oh right…

Xiao Zhang was probably the only normal one.

Shen Chen was absolutely terrifying too—obsessed with digging through people’s personal lives. Suspects, witnesses, related individuals—it didn’t matter. He’d investigate every inch of them.

The thought alone was horrifying.

Sang Ning suddenly started reconsidering whether she should ever let Shen Chen look into her own past.

“Hey! Are you two serious? I haven’t even finished eating!”

Hua Ming hurriedly stuffed rice into his mouth, but by the time he finished, both of them had already vanished.

Holding the evidence bag, Sang Ning walked beside Gu Yezhou.

“Dong Yunzhou was lying. Why didn’t you bring him in immediately?”

She didn’t understand what Gu Yezhou was planning.

When she’d examined the skeleton, the limbs had indeed been fractured—but not from a fall.

The bones had been deliberately broken.

There were also abrasions consistent with a sharp object scraping against the bone edges.

Unfortunately, after being sealed inside a concrete wall for so many years, all that remained were several parallel scratch marks.

All inflicted postmortem.

At most, it proved the killer hated the victim enough to continue mutilating the corpse afterward.

Of course, for now, those were only Sang Ning’s deductions.

“You heard what Teacher Yu said earlier too,” Gu Yezhou said as he started the car.

“Even his coworkers suspect Dong Yunzhou. If we drag him in now, do you really think he’ll suddenly tell the truth?”

“Then what do we do?”

Leaning back against the seat, Sang Ning opened a milk tea and took two sips.

Her eyes lit up.

“This is really good.”

“I want some too.”

Gu Yezhou lowered his head toward her.

It was only during a red light.

Before Sang Ning even reacted, he’d already taken a huge sip from her cup.

“Not bad,” he said casually. “Drinks near schools really are cost-effective.”

Sang Ning: “…”

Gu Yezhou continued,

“We’ll visit the former principal first and gather more information about Chen Yuzhu.”

“I already had Xiao Zhang visit Chen Yuzhu’s family.”

“As for the hospital… records from ten years ago may not still exist, but if Shen Chen checks personally, there’s a chance he can still find something.”

“Mhm. You’re the captain. Your call.”

Sang Ning turned toward the window, cheeks faintly red.

Then suddenly, she remembered Gu Yao.

“What’s going on with your sister anyway? When did she even get married? I never noticed.”

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

She kept that last thought to herself.

Yesterday afternoon, when she’d gone looking for Shen Chen, she’d briefly caught sight of Zhao Qianwen’s background file.

Only for a second.

Shen Chen had slammed the window shut like a guilty thief the moment she looked over.

Gu Yezhou fell silent for a while before asking,

“Has Gu Yao ever shown any unusual behavior at work?”

Sang Ning thought about it carefully.

“When there’s work, she works. When there isn’t, she stays beside me learning.”

“She’s eager to improve and asks questions whenever she doesn’t understand something. Pretty motivated, honestly.”

Aside from still struggling with corpses, she was fine overall.

Gu Yao was more suited to document organization and archival work. Over the past six months, all her reports and records had been meticulously organized.

Of course, digital backups existed too.

But there were still plenty of leaders these days who preferred paper copies.

Like their bureau chief.

“How often does she make mistakes during work?”

“Not often. She’s pretty serious about her job.”

Gu Yezhou went quiet again.

Recalling the way Gu Yao had frozen when she saw Zhao Qianwen that night, Sang Ning sighed.

“Maybe I haven’t paid enough attention to her outside of work.”

“She might’ve slipped up before, but nothing major ever reached me.”

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

Gu Yezhou rested both hands on the steering wheel.

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

“Turns out the bastard conned her emotionally—and stole her money too.”

“What?”

Sang Ning had honestly thought they were kindred spirits.

She’d assumed Gu Yezhou had also been stood up that day.

Chuckling, she teased,

“You siblings really are alike. She married a stranger to spite your parents, and you? You randomly married a woman you didn’t even know.”

Who would’ve guessed Gu Yao—who seemed so clever and lively—could act so impulsively?

Marrying someone out of spite?

Throwing away the rest of your life over anger?

Then again…

Wasn’t Sang Ning the same?

She and Gu Yezhou weren’t much different.

So she really had no right to criticize Gu Yao.

The car slowly entered the retirement home parking lot.

Gu Yezhou pulled into an empty spot and turned toward her seriously.

“I didn’t marry you casually.”

“Huh?”

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

“Us? Wasn’t this casual?”

She and Gu Yao really were alike.

One rebelled against her parents.

The other cut ties with her ex in a fit of rage and used marriage as the ultimate solution.

Honestly, neither sibling could really judge the other.

Gu Yezhou’s gaze deepened.

“I’m serious about you.”

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

There it was again.

Every man said the same thing.

*You’re different. You’re special.*

Sang Ning understood perfectly.

Drinking her milk tea, she nodded vaguely.

“Well, we already got the marriage certificate anyway. If we can make it work, great. If not, we’ll divorce.”

“I’m pretty easygoing.”

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

The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became.

And somehow, the worse she felt inside.

Gu Yezhou’s face was exactly her type.

But forced love never ended well.

She understood that.

And if they divorced later, he’d become a divorced man.

At the end of the day, this whole mess was her fault.

Gu Yezhou’s expression darkened.

His hearing was sharp enough that even her increasingly muffled muttering reached him perfectly.

Suddenly, his hand gripped her chin firmly, forcing her to let go of the straw.

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

Her wide eyes blinked at him blankly.

She didn’t even resist.

Clearly, her brain had completely crashed.

Gu Yezhou stared at the milk tea still glistening on her pink lips.

Then he leaned down and kissed her.

Sang Ning’s eyes widened.

She shoved him away immediately and wiped her mouth.

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

As she spoke, she nervously glanced around outside the car.

Thankfully, hardly anyone was nearby.

The parking area was practically empty.

“What if someone saw us?!”

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

She was so hot she almost wanted to rip off her coat.

Had the heater in the car been turned up too high?

Gu Yezhou had clearly learned something from Hua Ming.

At least this time, he hadn’t gotten slapped.

Nor had he been called disgusting.

Judging from Sang Ning’s reaction, she looked less like an offended woman and more like someone secretly dating and terrified of getting caught by the legal spouse.

“Fine,” Gu Yezhou said, lips curving upward. “Next time, at home.”

He gently patted her head before stepping out of the car.

Sang Ning sat frozen in the passenger seat, staring at the milk tea in the back seat, then at the nearly empty cup in her own hands.

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

Then she remembered her suitcase and belongings were still sitting in his trunk.

Gu Yezhou paused mid-step and looked back at her.

“We just got married, and you already want me sleeping alone?”

Sang Ning laughed and nodded repeatedly.

“Yep. You’re basically my trophy husband. Think how impressive you’ll look beside me.”

Especially if she ever ran into Lin Zehui again.

Hopefully never for the rest of her life.

Gu Yezhou walked ahead with his usual cold, proper expression, making it look like the two of them barely knew each other.

By the time they reached the building where Principal Liu lived, several elderly men just happened to be coming downstairs.