Yao Xiuying had spent her entire life obsessed with making money.

Even a notorious deathtrap like Ping’an Apartments—she would rather rent it out dirt cheap and at least earn utility fees than let the place sit abandoned without water or electricity.

But every cent she earned, she refused to share with her family.

Instead, she either hid the money away herself—

Or spent it on the men she kept around.

And the middle-aged man standing before them now, several years younger than Yao Xiuying, had been introduced to her by the young man beside him.

Because he wasn’t Yao Xiuying’s biological son.

After raising him to eighteen, she’d cruelly revealed the truth herself.

Told him that from then on, no matter what happened, he’d have to rely on himself.

Of course, she’d promised to contribute a small amount toward his future wedding.

A *very* small amount.

After paying twenty thousand yuan for the bride’s jewelry, Yao Xiuying never gave him another cent.

Now he was already thirty-three and still couldn’t afford to get married properly.

The couple beside him had only held an engagement banquet. They hadn’t even registered their marriage yet.

Reading the information Shen Chen had just sent over, Sang Ning felt another headache coming on.

She truly hadn’t expected something like this to land in her lap.

More importantly—

What exactly did any of this have to do with her?

“When your mother got into trouble, I happened to be calling her about terminating my lease.”

The young man’s eyes widened. “You were moving out? What’s wrong with Ping’an Apartments? Why would you move out?”

That was the important part to him?

Maybe because the commotion had gotten too loud, Gu Yezhou emerged from the interrogation room, his icy gaze sweeping over the three of them.

The young man swallowed nervously the moment he saw him and instantly shut his mouth.

The man standing before him looked impossible to provoke.

Just standing there silently, with that expression like the whole world owed him eight million yuan, was enough to scare people speechless.

“The family isn’t here to claim the body?” Gu Yezhou asked coldly.

The young woman beside the young man hurriedly replied, “We are here to claim the body. We just happen to know this officer and wanted to ask about the situation.”

Her eyes practically sparkled while looking at Gu Yezhou.

A man this handsome—and he was a police officer?

Wasn’t he infinitely better than her current boyfriend?

That useless bum spent every day lazing around, just waiting for his adoptive mother to die so he could inherit her property. If it weren’t for all those houses under Yao Xiuying’s name, she never would’ve stayed with such an ugly man.

The young man truly wasn’t much to look at.

He was thin and scrawny, his skin dark as charcoal despite barely ever seeing the sun. No matter how hard he tried, he could never lighten his complexion.

And the acne covering his face made it even worse.

Whenever they did *that*, it wasn’t just men who liked turning the lights off—

Even she needed the lights off to stomach kissing him.

“Sorry, but I don’t know any of you. My relationship with the deceased was strictly landlord and tenant.”

Sang Ning stood up, preparing to lead them to identify the body.

The young man looked like he wanted to argue, but with that intimidating police officer standing there, he didn’t dare make a sound.

Ironically, the middle-aged man he’d brought along had the most courage.

The old woman was dead.

With that much money involved, was he supposed to let it all fall into this brat’s hands?

Sure, he’d only approached Yao Xiuying for money—but he’d still put in effort. He cooked, washed dishes, did laundry every day. He’d practically handled all the household chores.

Was it so wrong to want a share?

He cried dramatically, “Xiuying! Who killed you?! Xiuying!”

Sang Ning walked ahead while the middle-aged man sobbed loudly behind her.

The young couple, meanwhile, remained completely silent.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of grief on either of their faces.

If Sang Ning hadn’t already read Shen Chen’s report, she might actually have believed this middle-aged man had truly loved the landlady.

When they entered the autopsy room, Lu Lin had already assembled most of the skeletal remains on the other table.

As the group entered, he happened to drape a white sheet over them.

The young man’s eyes reddened slightly when he saw Yao Xiuying’s body.

His nose stung—

But he didn’t actually feel like crying.

His fists clenched tightly as he watched the middle-aged man throw himself beside the corpse and weep hysterically.

Meanwhile, he struggled desperately to suppress the smile threatening to rise at the corners of his mouth.

That woman was finally dead.

Now she could never reveal *that secret* again.

Lu Lin had always been blunt and tactless. He glanced at the young man and said mockingly,

“If you don’t want to cry, then don’t.”

He had no idea whether the deceased was actually the young man’s mother. Beside him stood a young woman.

Clearly a couple.

And then there was that middle-aged uncle who looked far younger than the deceased.

The whole family looked strange no matter how he examined them.

Being mocked by a complete stranger—especially a forensic doctor—the young man instantly exploded.

“My mother is dead, and you’re saying I don’t want to cry?!”

He lunged toward Lu Lin, but Sang Ning grabbed him with one hand and restrained him instantly.

“This is a police station. Even family members aren’t allowed to assault officers. Want to spend a few days locked inside?”

The young man was startled by Sang Ning’s cold attitude.

And even more shocked by how ridiculously strong this woman was.

“I—I just got emotional for a moment.” He stammered nervously. “My mother’s lying there like that. How could I not feel terrible? I’m just… not crying because there are too many people watching.”

While explaining himself, his gaze kept drifting toward the middle-aged man crying dramatically nearby.

Damn it.

Wasn’t that guy just an actor he’d hired?

Why was he acting more emotionally invested than the adopted son himself?

Sang Ning released him and handed over the prepared paperwork.

“Your mother died from a fall. Sign here, and you can take the body.”

On the way here, he’d already heard the cause of death.

Thrown from a building.

Without even reading the document, he immediately signed it.

Then he left with the body alongside the middle-aged man.

Yao Xiuying’s family had appeared out of nowhere—

And disappeared just as strangely with the corpse.

Other people’s family matters weren’t Sang Ning’s business.

Still…

Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She could’ve sworn she’d seen the young man smile just now.

Ever since regaining the ability to properly see the beauty of the world, Sang Ning had become extraordinarily observant.

And after becoming a forensic doctor, she’d grown even more unwilling to miss the slightest detail.

“What the hell was that?” Lu Lin muttered quietly. “Who claims a body like *that*?”

Thanks to the absurd scene, Gu Yao had finally managed to suppress the lingering fear from the incident at Ping’an Apartments. She looked noticeably better now.

“Dr. Lu, I think what you said earlier was too harsh. His mother just died, and you accused him of not wanting to cry. Didn’t you see how red his eyes were?”

To her, he had clearly looked devastated.

And the woman beside him had even been patting his back comfortingly.

Leaning casually against Gu Yao’s desk, Lu Lin took a sip of tea.

“Kid, this is where your inexperience shows. That guy was acting. If you ask me, the second he walks out that door, he’ll probably celebrate himself silly.”

After all these years, he’d seen every type of grieving family imaginable.

“No way…” Gu Yao stared in disbelief.

Resting her chin on one hand, Sang Ning looked toward Lu Lin.

“Why did you say that just now? Did you notice something?”

“What could I possibly notice?” Lu Lin scratched his head before suddenly realizing something.

He leaned closer to Sang Ning, one hand braced against the desk, the other casually resting on her shoulder.

The posture made him look like some tall delinquent sweet-talking a younger girl.

The vibe practically screamed:

*Hey little sister, wanna come with big brother? I’ll buy you candy.*

In short—

Completely shameless.