Chapter 112: The Findings of the Investigation

“And then? You didn’t agree on the spot, and he didn’t say anything else?”

Jiang Zao was on a video call with Meng Qiaoyuan, her speechlessness practically overflowing through the screen.

Meng Qiaoyuan looked at the screen and thought seriously for a moment before gently shaking her head. “No. He was probably a little embarrassed... Though honestly, I was the one who felt embarrassed.”

Jiang Zao sighed. “All right. You still have plenty of time. There’s no hurry; you can get to know each other gradually. But speaking of which, the fact that you were his idealized first love from childhood is so romantic! That’s wonderful. I’m so envious.”

Zhou Lichuan had not gone to work that day. It was rare for him to have the chance to spend extra time clinging to Jiang Zao, and in the beautiful spring weather, he rather resembled an emperor who had no desire to attend court.

He brought over some grapefruit he had peeled, speared a piece with a fruit fork, and held it to Jiang Zao’s lips.

Jiang Zao accepted the feeding naturally. Watching from the other side of the screen, Meng Qiaoyuan’s teeth ached with envy.

“All right, he should be arriving at your place soon. We’ll talk later. Let me know once you’ve reached a decision.”

Jiang Zao nodded. “Okay. Get some proper rest, and call me if anything comes up.”

“Mhm, mhm, go take care of things.”

After ending the call, Jiang Zao turned around and met Zhou Lichuan’s gaze.

The man’s eyes were as tender as water, filled with unmistakable satisfaction.

“What exactly is that smell on you?”

Zhou Lichuan withdrew his gaze and touched his nose. “I took a shower this morning. I used the red-tea-scented body wash in the bathroom.”

Jiang Zao shook her head, looking slightly disgusted. “No, that’s not it. The red tea scent is very fresh. The smell on you is different.”

Zhou Lichuan’s face paled slightly.

In truth, he had been rather afraid she would say that.

Meng Qiaoyuan had once told him that changes in the sense of smell caused by psychological factors were usually because the pregnant woman had not yet overcome the emotional knot in her heart.

The human body instinctively rejected the source of whatever made it uncomfortable.

As long as Jiang Zao still thought there was something strange about the smell on him, it meant that the obstacle in her heart had not completely disappeared.

Jiang Zao did not notice Zhou Lichuan’s disappointment at all.

She had always been utterly heartless about matters like this. Zhou Lichuan would never truly dare to get angry with her or make a fuss, so she behaved outrageously with a perfectly clear conscience.

Not long afterward, Shen Mushi knocked on the door of Zhou Jiayan’s house.

Zhou Jiayan was still rubbing her eyes when Jiang Zao pulled her out of bed. She was wearing adorable plush pajamas that happened to match Jiang Zao’s in a coordinated couple’s style.

By the time they came downstairs into the living room, Shen Mushi and Zhou Lichuan were already sitting on the sofa, chatting.

The moment Jiang Zao appeared at the head of the stairs, Zhou Lichuan immediately rose and went up to meet her, supporting her by the arm as she came downstairs.

Shen Mushi’s gaze fell upon Jiang Zao’s increasingly prominent belly, and he exclaimed, “Wow, it’s grown so much in just a few days!”

Jiang Zao supported her belly as she sat down on the sofa, smiling as she met his eyes. “This is when the baby grows fastest. We went for a four-dimensional ultrasound the day before yesterday. He’s really adorable.”

Yawning, Zhou Jiayan sat down beside Jiang Zao and said, “Pregnancy hormones are terrifying. Even something as horrifying as giving birth has become a source of happiness in Jiang Zao’s eyes.”

Jiang Zao looked at Zhou Jiayan’s drowsy expression and immediately found it amusing. Ever since Zhou Jiayan had personally witnessed all the hardship Jiang Zao had endured throughout her pregnancy, she had become extremely wary of the subject.

Jiang Zao had once accidentally run into Du Bin in the middle of the night, looking thoroughly disheveled as he went downstairs to buy contraceptives. In the eldest Miss Zhou’s eyes, bringing a new life into the world was probably a truly frightening prospect.

Zhou Lichuan sat on Jiang Zao’s other side. Leaning toward Shen Mushi, who was seated at the edge of the sofa, he said, “What have you found? Go ahead and tell us.”

Without hesitation, Shen Mushi took a laptop from his bag.

“There are several things. I’ll go through them one at a time. First, the real reason behind the gas explosion at Lin Rui’s family home all those years ago.”

After a few keystrokes, the case files from that time appeared on the laptop screen.

“The original files couldn’t be taken out or recorded. The person who helped me find the information compiled this version himself and added some of the subsequent investigative material. The evidence is thorough. It’s essentially conclusive.”

Jiang Zao skimmed through the documents on the screen. “Zhou Lichuan, there’s a printer in the study upstairs. Go get it, and bring down several sheets of A4 paper as well.”

The computer screen was inconvenient for examining the material. They needed to print everything out and compare the details carefully.

Zhou Lichuan carried the printer downstairs and quickly connected it to the power supply. One document after another began printing from Shen Mushi’s laptop.

Jiang Zao held the pages in her hands and read them carefully for a long while before finally raising her head.

“In those days, most households used gas cylinders. Liu Wenguang was so young that he watched his family twisting the valves every day. When he went to visit someone else’s home, he imitated them and twisted the valve there too, causing the gas leak.”

Zhou Lichuan handed the document in his hands to Zhou Jiayan, then pressed himself against Jiang Zao’s arm and lowered his head to read the same pages with her.

Jiang Zao looked up and shot him a sidelong glare, but said nothing.

Zhou Jiayan suddenly understood. “So the gas explosion back then was actually caused by a child’s prank!”

Shen Mushi nodded. “I was extremely surprised when I found out too. Lin Rui’s parents died at the scene, and Lin Rui was still very young. Liu Wenguang’s parents must have guessed what had happened; otherwise, they wouldn’t have so decisively testified that it had been an accident.”

Jiang Zao was not very familiar with police procedures, so she asked curiously, “The documents already show a connection between Liu Wenguang and the explosion. Why did nothing ever happen to his family?”

“Because there was no evidence.” Zhou Lichuan reached out and rubbed Jiang Zao’s hair. “Police investigations require evidence. Taken together, all the evidence could only establish that Liu Wenguang’s family had visited the Lin household on the day of the explosion. It couldn’t directly attribute the explosion to a child who was only a few years old.”

Shen Mushi agreed with Zhou Lichuan and added, “Besides, the Lin family eventually had only Lin Rui left. He was adopted by his uncle’s family and then abandoned by them. No one cared about the truth of what had happened back then.”

Jiang Zao nodded. “Lin Rui really is... rather pitiful.”

Zhou Lichuan stared at the final pages of the document. “Has anyone else looked into this material?”

Shen Mushi shook his head. “These are sealed archives. Uncle Liang had to go through two intermediaries just to gain access to them. Even then, they could only be viewed locally. The archives are managed very strictly now. Lin Rui has no chance of investigating through official channels.”

Zhou Jiayan smoothed down her unruly hair and continued, “What about the second matter? You said there were several.”

Shen Mushi printed the next document. It contained records of the movement of funds through several of Lin Rui’s overseas accounts.

He had placed five bets on an online gambling platform.

After that came Liu Wenguang’s extensive gambling records. The earliest entry appeared one day after Lin Rui’s betting records.

Zhou Lichuan explained, “Online gambling platforms use various baiting tactics. First, they let you win a little money, then lose some, then win some more. In the short term, there’s usually no major financial fluctuation, creating a false sense of security and constantly nurturing the gambler’s greed. Once the gambler lets down his guard and his greed has been fully cultivated, the real losses begin. He won’t stop until he’s lost everything.”