(1) Body Parts

Shen Wanwan hadn’t fully woken up and didn’t react right away. She turned over and grumbled a few times.

With this turn, Shen Wanwan’s face landed on something soft, and her grumbling sounded strangely like a pig’s squeal.

Shen Wanwan woke up.

She stretched out her paw and looked around. Sure enough, she had turned back into Huahua!

Shen Wanwan struggled and exposed her nose, taking deep breaths.

She was in Yang Chunling’s arms.

Yang Chunling was holding a big mobile phone, seemingly talking to someone on the phone.

Her voice was urgent, not even noticing the dog in her arms squirming to get away.

Shen Wanwan first stretched lazily, noticing that Yang Chunling’s house was in disarray, with several woven bags piled up in the living room.

Yang Chunling was planning to leave!

Shen Wanwan furrowed her doggy brows and gave Yang Chunling a deep, resentful look. She was about to walk over when she heard a grumbling sound, which seemed like dog talk. Shen Wanwan shouldn’t have understood it, but she clearly got the meaning—“The monster is coming! The monster is coming! Protect your chin!”

Was that Huahua’s voice? Strange, where was the monster, and why protect the chin?

Shen Wanwan, still focused on Yang Chunling, didn’t think too much about it.

“I’m really scared they’ll find out. They’ve already got their eyes on me. If I don’t run now, it’ll really be over… No way, I’ve been coming and going normally these past couple of days, no one’s following me.”

Yang Chunling was thinking of running.

Shen Wanwan wasn’t afraid of her running, just afraid she wouldn’t.

Yang Chunling was on the verge of breaking down. “If the police find out about my relationship with him, I’m done! Who can guarantee that everything will be fine… I don’t have money anymore. I gave all my money to him. Where’s the money? I don’t know, I don’t know where he put it. I haven’t heard the police say they found it… Okay, I’ll wait for you there, I’ll wear the sportswear you gave me.”

Shen Wanwan found it strange.

Yang Chunling’s relationship with Cheng Liang had already been exposed, so why was she still worried?

Unless the “he” she mentioned wasn’t Cheng Liang.

But who else could it be besides Cheng Liang? Her other men, were they involved in the case?

She also mentioned giving all her money to this man, which likely wasn’t a small amount. And the police could go after it…

Shen Wanwan subconsciously wanted to cross her arms and think, but as soon as her front paws were pulled back, she ended up stumbling and falling flat on her face.

“Monster! Monster! It really is a monster! The chin fell off, it fell off! Awoo!”

Shen Wanwan bared her teeth and struggled to get up.

She touched her chin—where had it fallen off? Who was spreading rumors?

Shen Wanwan couldn’t care less about the pain, she wanted to hear more clearly, so she perked up… It was really hard to get the broken Pekingese ears to stand up!

Yang Chunling and the person on the phone seemed to have reached an agreement. “I understand. I’ll listen to you. I’m calm, but you have to help me. No one else can help me but you.”

After hanging up the phone, Yang Chunling wiped away her tears, stood up, lit a candle, and continued to tidy up the clutter in the house.

She wanted to turn on the lights but didn’t dare. The person had told her that the police were likely monitoring her 24/7, and if the lights in the house were on in the middle of the night, it would raise suspicion.

Yang Chunling haphazardly stuffed the things she needed into a woven bag. The more she packed, the more aggrieved she felt. She simply hugged Huahua, sat on the sofa, and wiped her tears. “Huahua, it seems like I can’t take these things with me. If I do, it’ll raise suspicion. I can’t even take you with me, but I don’t want to leave you… You can come with me, but you have to stay quiet. Can you do that?”

Shen Wanwan thought for a moment and then nodded her doggy head.

She needed to “encourage” Yang Chunling to escape.

Just as she finished encouraging her, Shen Wanwan heard that strange sound again—“Huahua wants to go with Mommy. Mommy, don’t leave Huahua!”

Shen Wanwan was stunned for a few seconds.

It turned out she had been hearing Huahua’s thoughts all along!

It seemed that during the time Shen Wanwan had turned into Huahua, Huahua’s consciousness was still there, but it couldn’t control itself.

Shen Wanwan would turn into Huahua at night and squeeze into its body, and in the morning, she would automatically detach.

But what was that thing it mentioned—the monster?

Shen Wanwan looked around—there was no monster.

What a strange dog.

Yang Chunling cried while holding Huahua for a while, then pulled herself together and continued packing.

This time, she wasn’t adding to her burden, she was getting rid of the worthless things.

The person was right—if she carried too many bags, she wouldn’t be able to escape, and it would be easy for the police to find her.

In the end, Yang Chunling only packed what would fit in a backpack.

Even with the backpack, she didn’t dare to pack it too full.

Yang Chunling walked to the wardrobe and opened the door.

The clothes were neatly folded together. Her style was mostly sexy tight dresses or fashionable jeans and blouses.

Yang Chunling touched the clothes regretfully and finally took out a set of sportswear she hadn’t worn much.

She held the clothes and whispered, “It’s all up to you now.”

Before the alarm could ring, the first rays of sunlight in the morning shone through, landing right on Shen Wanwan’s face. Shen Wanwan bounced up, and her mind had only one thought—Yang Chunling was about to run.

Before finishing work last night, Captain Tao had ordered an old detective to take Xiang Dong and monitor Yang Chunling’s building downstairs. Yang Chunling wouldn’t be able to escape.

But she had mentioned another person.

From Yang Chunling’s tone, the case was indeed related to her, but why was she telling other people about it?

Was this person so important, or was what Yang Chunling did not important?

Shen Wanwan went to the kitchen, planning to cook herself a bowl of noodles.

The old Shen family still used a stove that required kindling a fire, and they used a big iron pot, one that could cook enough food for several people.

The original owner was skilled at cooking, and Shen Wanwan could make simple meals, but she didn’t know how to start a fire or use the big iron pot.

She didn’t even understand how to clean the big iron pot properly.

Shen Wanwan stood in front of the stove, unsure of what to do.

Lin Yuying had already gotten up early to wash clothes. Washing clothes was the women’s task in the Shen family. Even when the original owner went to school, she had to get up early, wash, and hang the clothes before leaving, while Shen Zhuo just slept in and only woke up to have a quick breakfast before running off.

Shen Wanwan had been leaving early and coming home late these past few days, so she hadn’t mentioned anything about washing clothes.

When Lin Yuying saw her daughter enter the kitchen and noticed no sound coming from inside, she wiped her hands and went in to check. “Are you going to work so early? Why aren’t you doing anything?”

Shen Wanwan calmly lied, “Mom, the fire hasn’t started yet. Can you teach me again?”

Lin Yuying looked at the stove curiously.

The stove was no different from usual. Shen Wanwan had been helping since she was young. Starting the fire, cooking, and washing the pot were all things she was skilled at, and her cooking was even better than Lin Yuying’s.

But Lin Yuying, being simple and honest, didn’t think too much about it. “Forget it, I’ll do it. I’ll cook you some noodles. It’s not easy for you with your early and late hours.”

As Lin Yuying cooked the noodles, Shen Wanwan helped, observing how Lin Yuying used the big pot.

She had no intention of letting Shen Zhuo have the noodles. She felt a layer of distance between herself and them, and she couldn’t always trouble Lin Yuying. She had to be able to do it herself sooner or later.

While cooking, Lin Yuying chatted, “Your brother can be a bit of a rascal, but what boy isn’t like that? As long as he doesn’t cause trouble everywhere, I’ll thank heaven. I don’t expect much from you two siblings, just living a stable life is enough.”

This was Lin Yuying’s way of telling Shen Wanwan to tolerate Shen Zhuo.

Shen Wanwan directly exposed Lin Yuying’s thoughts. “Mom, are you talking about what happened last night?”

Lin Yuying, who was always busy and had a habit of frowning, responded, “If he wants to eat more, let him. It’s nothing.”

Shen Wanwan raised an eyebrow and hooked her arm around Lin Yuying’s. “I know you both care about him, but you also need to think about this: you’re my family, and I care about you too. I used to earn little, but now that I finally have a job, I want to make things a bit better for you. You care about Xiao Zhuo and want him to eat more, but I also care about you—how many times have you even had fried chicken wings?”

Shen Wanwan only spoke the good things.

Lin Yuying’s nose tingled with emotion.

Her family wasn’t well off, and when she married into the Shen family, although Liu Cuixia didn’t make things hard for her, the Shen family’s condition wasn’t good either.

People in the old factory area weren’t wealthy, and only two families lived well, but even so, the Shen family’s financial situation was at the bottom in the old factory area.

Lin Yuying spent all her time washing clothes, cooking, and doing odd jobs to help with the family’s finances. She had no hobbies and no time for leisure.

Fortunately, she had a thoughtful daughter, or else she would be even more exhausted.

After hearing Shen Wanwan’s words, Lin Yuying almost cried. “Why feel sorry for me? My life is just like this, as long as you both are doing better than me, it’s fine.”

“You can’t say that,” Shen Wanwan firmly replied, “In the past, it was you and Dad who raised me and Xiao Zhuo. In the future, it will be us who support you. If there’s anything good, we want you to try it too,” Shen Wanwan declared with confidence. “If Xiao Zhuo dares to be selfish again, I’ll break his leg with the martial arts I’ve learned.”

Lin Yuying was both touched and felt something was off.

She didn’t have many thoughts of her own, and Shen Wanwan’s words quickly swayed her, leaving only emotions. She grabbed Shen Wanwan’s hand. “It’s all because your dad and I are useless.”

Shen Wanwan affectionately said, “How can you blame yourselves? Every family is like this. I just hope you won’t spoil Xiao Zhuo too much. Our family isn’t rich, and he’s spoiled. If he doesn’t change, he’ll be taken advantage of in society.”

When it came to Xiao Zhuo’s future, Lin Yuying agreed with Shen Wanwan’s words.

Having a bad character would indeed be a disadvantage in society—this wasn’t like the past.

But Lin Yuying didn’t know what to do.

Shen Wanwan continued to press the issue. “I don’t want you to spoil Xiao Zhuo, it’s for his own good. Think about it, when he starts working, if he’s selfish and spoiled and doesn’t know how to share, how will he manage relationships with his colleagues? If everyone gets annoyed with him, his work will be harder.”

Lin Yuying hesitated. “Eating a chicken wing, is it that exaggerated?”

“He’s already gotten used to thinking everything good is his. Haven’t you noticed?”

Usually, Lin Yuying only saw her son as handsome and lovable, never thinking there was a problem.

Now that Shen Wanwan pointed it out, Lin Yuying realized that Xiao Zhuo had never really been polite with them.

Lin Yuying felt confused. “Let me think about it more.”

Some ideas are deeply ingrained, and Shen Wanwan never expected that just a few words from her would make Lin Yuying change her mind.

However, it was rare for Lin Yuying to cook two fried eggs for her. In the past, she’d only get one if she was lucky.

After breakfast, Shen Wanwan hurried to the city police station. Yang Chunling was about to flee, and she needed to be prepared.

It was still early, and three people in the team were still asleep at their desks.

Tao Jiang had bloodshot eyes from staying up all night, smoking more than ten cigarettes. The office was filled with smoke, but he was still insisting on reading reports and searching for clues.

Shen Wanwan approached Tao Jiang and offered to help monitor Yang Chunling.

Tao Jiang didn’t even look up. “This job is tough. You’ll have to find opportunities for eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom. If anything happens, you’ll have to hold it in.”

Shen Wanwan replied, “Captain Tao, I’m already prepared, and I have some other ideas.”

Tao Jiang finally lifted his bloodshot eyes.

Shen Wanwan then asked, “Did you find any money at Cheng Li’s residence?”