The security guard awkwardly lowered the remote control in his hand, his attitude toward Gu Yezhou exceedingly respectful.

“Please go in. The principal said she’ll call Teacher Dong to the principal’s office. You can head there directly.”

Sang Ning, meanwhile, voluntarily filled out her information on the registration sheet sitting on the security desk.

The two of them entered the kindergarten one after the other.

“If only I could’ve gone to a place like this when I was little. There’s even a playground. This is amazing.”

Sang Ning stared at the nearby slide and seesaw with sparkling eyes.

“You want to play?”

Gu Yezhou lowered his gaze toward the woman whose smile shone as brightly as the sunlight overhead.

“The weather’s nice today. Once this case is over, I’ll take you to the capital for a trip.”

“The capital?”

Sang Ning stopped walking.

“Wait, your family isn’t from Yancheng?”

Before Gu Yezhou arrived as the new captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit, Xiao Zhang had mentioned that Gu Yezhou’s younger sister was here, and that his home was here too.

After all, no matter how many years someone spent wandering outside, eventually, they always came home.

“No. We’re from the capital. My parents are still there.”

Gu Yezhou spoke casually as he walked.

“When we have time, I’ll bring you to meet them. As for the wedding… I don’t really understand that sort of thing. Whatever ideas you have, just tell me.”

“Huh?”

Sang Ning had never planned to hold a wedding.

Well… she *had* wanted one before.

But back then, the groom had been Lin Zehui, that scumbag—not Gu Yezhou.

A random man she’d picked up outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.

She admitted it.

That day, she’d been furious.

And… a little blinded by lust.

Tilting her head up, Sang Ning stared at Gu Yezhou’s flawless profile.

Damn it.

How could a grown man have skin this good?!

There hadn’t even been any skincare products in his bathroom at home!

“Here we are.”

Gu Yezhou suddenly stopped walking.

Sang Ning had still been wondering what brand of skincare products he used—she was practically ready to ask for recommendations—and promptly smacked straight into him.

Normally, she never let her mind wander while working a case.

Maybe it was because this person was Gu Yezhou.

Married men like Old Chen only ever nagged her to hurry up, get married, have kids while she was young, recover faster afterward, raise children while she still had energy—

On and on and on.

Gu Yezhou raised a hand and knocked on the office door.

A gentle female voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

The moment Sang Ning entered, she saw a cute woman dressed in an equally cute style.

Beside her sat a man drinking tea.

Dong Yunzhou.

The man they had come to see.

He wore an adorable mascot costume, and the oversized mascot head rested beside him on the couch.

Brown Bear.

Sang Ning was actually rather fond of those things.

“Hello. This is Teacher Dong from our kindergarten.”

The principal’s eyes practically sparkled when she looked at Gu Yezhou.

A faint blush colored her cheeks pink.

When Sang Ning first walked in, the woman’s face definitely hadn’t been that red.

“Is the heat turned up too high in here? Why does it suddenly feel hot?”

Sang Ning couldn’t help commenting.

Even she failed to notice how sour her tone sounded.

Up until now, Sang Ning had been standing behind Gu Yezhou.

The moment the principal got a clear look at her face, a thought instantly surfaced in her mind—

*These two look ridiculously good together.*

But seeing Sang Ning in police uniform, she quickly dismissed the idea.

Must be a superior-and-subordinate relationship.

“Not at all. I don’t even have the heat on in my office. Please, sit down. Ask whatever you need.”

The principal politely took out a tea set and poured tea for both Gu Yezhou and Sang Ning.

But when neither of them sat, her smile stiffened awkwardly.

“No need. We’ll ask a few questions and leave. We just don’t know whether Teacher Dong is comfortable with that.”

Without bothering to introduce himself, Gu Yezhou’s gaze had already locked onto Dong Yunzhou the moment he entered the room.

Dong Yunzhou froze slightly.

From the second these two people walked in, he’d felt something was wrong.

That man’s eyes were far too sharp.

Impossible to ignore.

Over the past few years, he hadn’t done anything unforgivable.

So why would the police come looking for him?

Had some parent complained?

But he hadn’t done anything…

The more he thought about it, the less he understood.

Finally, he said softly,

“The principal isn’t an outsider. I’ve worked here for over ten years. She’s always taken good care of me. Ask whatever you want.”

The principal had just been about to leave.

At those words, she quietly sat back down.

Her expression became noticeably tense.

“Don’t be nervous, Principal. We’re here for Teacher Dong. It has nothing to do with you. Of course, if there’s anything you know, you can tell us as well.”

Sang Ning offered her a friendly smile.

Gu Yezhou pulled out a chair and sat directly across from Dong Yunzhou, while Sang Ning remained standing beside him.

“We heard Teacher Dong once had an older brother named Dong Ruiyang, who suffered a mountain-climbing accident ten years ago. Do you still remember that?”

The instant Dong Ruiyang’s name was mentioned, all color drained from Dong Yunzhou’s face.

His body trembled uncontrollably.

“I—I remember, of course I remember.”

He quickly realized his reaction had been too abnormal.

Both hands covered his face as his body shook harder and harder, quiet sobs escaping him.

“He was my real brother. We were only born a few minutes apart, but he was the only brother I had. How could I possibly forget him?”

Slowly lifting his head, tears already soaked his palms.

“Officer… have you found my brother?”

“We found him.”

After Shen Chen narrowed down the search range yesterday, he had still investigated the remaining dozen-plus candidates one by one.

Most were still alive.

Some had already died.

Either the ages didn’t match, or the genders didn’t match.

After eliminating every possibility, they confirmed the corpse dug out from the fourth-floor wall of Ping’an Apartments—

Was Dong Ruiyang.

“My brother is alive?”

Dong Yunzhou stared in disbelief.

Excitement flooded his voice.

“Where is he? Is he doing okay?”

“All these years… why didn’t he come find me? After he fell off that mountain back then, Mom couldn’t handle the shock. She passed away last year.”

“Officer, please tell me—where is my brother?”

Gu Yezhou answered coldly:

“He’s dead.”

“Dead…”

Dong Yunzhou collapsed weakly against the back of his chair, as though struck by devastating news.

Sang Ning raised an eyebrow.

“Since you were the one who reported him missing back then, you should’ve already been mentally prepared, shouldn’t you?

It’s been so many years. Did you really still believe your brother was alive?

Or was it not you who personally filed the death declaration and household cancellation eight years ago?”

Dong Yunzhou trembled violently, crying so hard he could barely breathe.

The principal beside him couldn’t stand it anymore.

She looked displeased as she turned toward Sang Ning.

“Officer, Teacher Dong’s brother died. That alone is already heartbreaking enough. Please don’t rub salt into his wounds.”

Sang Ning looked back at her coldly.

“Speaking of which, his brother worked here as a security guard ten years ago. Did you know that?”

The principal before them didn’t look very old.

Maybe thirty-one or thirty-two.

Ten years ago, she probably hadn’t even graduated yet.

Of course, back then, kindergartens often hired people with adult education diplomas, or even without teaching certificates at all.

That sort of thing had been extremely common ten years ago.