“Why is the relationship not good? What’s the reason?”

“My daughter, she’s always been strong-willed since she was little. When we had money, I bought her whatever she wanted. But later, when we were deep in debt, I couldn’t buy her the things she liked as often. She was understanding and never asked for anything. Just a few months ago, a singer named Yuan Tongtong came to hold a concert, and she asked me for money to buy a ticket. When I heard it was six hundred, I refused. She gave me the cold shoulder after that.

It seemed like from that time, she rarely spoke to me. As soon as she got home, she’d go straight upstairs. She’s good at her studies, so I didn’t make her help with washing dishes or serving plates at home. But sometimes, when I asked her to look after her little brother, she wasn’t willing. She said we only knew how to give birth but not how to raise… I was so angry at the time, I went up and slapped her. She looked at me with eyes full of hatred. After that, she stopped talking to me. It’s been a month of cold war now. She’ll understand when she grows up. I won’t hold it against her.”

“Anyway, I’ve come to terms with some things. This is just fate. Whether it’s money or having a second child, maybe I just don’t have that kind of luck in this life…”

Zhou Rongguang seemed to have been holding back for a long time. When the topic turned back to the second child, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. With a slight tremor in his shoulders, tears rolled down his somewhat aged face. He turned to the side, wiping his tears with his bandaged hand.

The breakdown of an adult can sometimes happen in an instant.

The other person’s emotions had already collapsed, and the sentimental atmosphere continued to escalate. Mo Lin interlocked his fingers, placing them on his lap, and said word by word, “The forensic autopsy on your son’s body confirmed it was murder.”

“What did you say?!” Zhou Rongguang’s tears were still at the corner of his eyes. He suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Murder? Who would be so cruel to kill my son?!”

“We checked the surveillance and identified three suspicious people: you, your wife, and your daughter.”

“No, you must have made a mistake. We’re a family. How could we harm our own family? It must have been someone else!”

“The only people who could have done it are those who have been in the kitchen. Think carefully if there’s any clue you can provide.”

Zhou Rongguang suddenly fell back into his chair. He lowered his head, silent for a long time, and finally looked up in confusion. “My wife is mostly with me. She couldn’t have had the time to harm the child. Besides, she gave birth to him. No matter how incompetent she is, she wouldn’t harm her own son…”

“So, according to you, your daughter is the most suspicious?”

“Da Bao is an excellent student and a good child. She wouldn’t do such a thing. I don’t believe it!”

Mo Lin stood up from his chair, placing his hands on the table. His narrow eyes seemed to pierce through the other person’s soul. “So you must think carefully and provide us with some valuable information. For example, do you have any enemies outside?”

“In my early years… I did have some enemies, but I’ve settled all my debts. I don’t owe anyone anything outside. Who would want to harm our family?”

Mo Lin signaled to the criminal police officer taking notes, “Let him think slowly and record as much as possible.”

*

Outside the interrogation room, Li Meng sighed at the people inside through the glass window. “Why would Teacher Mo agree to be our consultant? Shouldn’t someone as impressive as him be out in the bigger world?”

“Who knows? Maybe he just likes places like ours that are down-to-earth…” Wang Yue was also feeling melancholic at the moment, but he was troubled by the progress between him and Meng Lan. He was not in the same league as Mo Lin, so how could he compete?

As they spoke, Mo Lin had already come out of the interrogation room. Meng Lan was about to bring him coffee but saw Mo Lin turn and enter the adjacent interrogation room.

Li Meng said, “Why do I feel like Teacher Mo is a bit overqualified?”

“What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on yourself?” Wang Yue took a sip of coffee, watching Meng Lan walk back with the coffee. The bitterness spread from his tongue to his heart. “I really want to drink the coffee Meng Lan made.”

“What day is it today?” Li Meng suddenly asked.

Wang Yue replied, “Tuesday, why?”

“I think we might be able to get a good night’s sleep this weekend. With Teacher Mo being so dedicated, he should be able to solve the case soon, right?”

“If he solves the case before the weekend, I’ll treat you to dinner. Bring Meng Lan along.”

“Alright, then you better reserve a spot. That Gangfu Seafood at Tianlong Bay, there won’t be any spots left if you’re late.”

“You really know how to eat, huh? One meal will cost me half a month’s salary!”

“When you’re chasing a girl, you have to be willing to spend money!” Li Meng said with a knowing look.

“Then why haven’t you found someone yet?”

“You don’t understand. There’s a saying, ‘Better to have none than settle for less.’ The girl of my dreams hasn’t appeared yet. I’m willing to wait patiently for her…”

Wang Yue: “You’re just talking nonsense…”

In the interrogation room, the laoban niang of the barbecue shop, Zhu Wanting, looked disheveled. Her makeup was smeared from crying, and she didn’t seem to have the energy to wash her face. Her bun was half undone, hanging over her shoulders, looking lost.

“Teacher Mo, she seems to be in shock. She can’t listen to anything. She’s been sitting there dazed since last night, hasn’t even had a drop of water. We’re at a loss…”

“I understand.” Mo Lin flipped through the record book, finding nothing useful.

“Has your husband been acting strange lately?”

Mo Lin’s tone was calm, but the question seemed to trigger something in her, bringing her back to her senses, her eyes gradually focusing.

Zhu Wanting: “What do you mean?”

“As a woman’s intuition, has he been acting strange recently?”

She suddenly let out a weak, cold laugh, her expression filled with sorrow. “He wants a divorce. He brought it up a month ago. I can’t understand it. We’ve been through so many hard times together, why suddenly talk about divorce… I gave him two children, a son and a daughter, and the daughter is doing well. What more could he want…” As she spoke, she suddenly became agitated. “He must have another woman outside!”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence? What evidence do I need… I’ve lived with him for so many years, I can tell what he’s thinking just by the way he moves. They say men think with their lower half. We haven’t done that in a month. Do you think that’s normal? And recently, he’s been running out frequently, not coming back for a long time… says he’s going to get supplies, but it never took that long before. Also, I’ve noticed he’s been in a bad mood lately. He must be fooling around outside!”

“Does your daughter know about this?”

“I was afraid it would affect her studies, so I didn’t tell her… Why are you asking these questions? And where’s my son? Give him back to me!”

“The forensic autopsy on your son’s body confirmed it was murder. You need to cooperate with us to find the real culprit.”

“How could you perform an autopsy on my son? He’s so young… how could you…” The woman’s emotions spiraled out of control again. After a while, she finally reacted. “What did you just say? Murder? Who did it?”

Mo Lin quietly observed the exaggerated expressions on the woman’s face, as if at this moment, he and the woman were in different scenes.

The woman took deep breaths, and after a while, she suddenly said in a sarcastic tone, “Oh~ I know, it must be that woman outside. Zhou Rongguang didn’t divorce because of his son, so that woman killed my son!”

His narrow eyes slightly squinted. “Provide some information about that woman.”

“I haven’t seen her. I only found a red curl on Zhou Chongguang. If I knew who that woman was, I would have made her life miserable!”

“Is that hair still around?”

“It’s long gone. Why would I keep that woman’s hair?”

Mo Lin nodded. “Tell me about your daughter. Has she been troubled lately?”

“She’s been sulking with her dad recently. As soon as she gets home, she runs upstairs and locks the door. I don’t know what she’s doing in there. She used to be willing to look after her brother, but lately, she’s been impatient. I don’t know if she’s having trouble with her studies. If there’s nothing else, let her go back to class. Missing lessons isn’t good…”

Zhu Wanting’s eyes were brimming with tears as she continued, “Her brother’s incident has already happened. I don’t want her to have too much psychological pressure. It’s our fault as parents for being incompetent, making the kids suffer. Thinking about it makes me sad…

She’s only 12, and after school, she has to do homework and look after her brother. Even though we run a restaurant, the guests get to eat, but she’s left hungry… It’s been so long, and I’ve never heard her complain. She’s a sensible child. A while ago, she wanted to go to her idol’s concert, but her dad wouldn’t give her money. I secretly gave her six hundred yuan, but she didn’t take it and cried in her room for half a day.”

“Every child is a treasure to their parents, but her dad is too biased. One night, he even talked about saving money for the second child to get married. I said the child is still so young…”

At this point, Zhu Wanting cried even more sorrowfully. “Who knew that not long after, the child would…”

Because Zhu Wanting was crying too much, the interrogation couldn’t continue. Mo Lin didn’t leave. He crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Zhu Wanting, his brows furrowed with emotions that were hard to read, seemingly lost in thought rather than looking at the person opposite.

After a long time, he pushed open the door of the interrogation room and returned to his office.

Meng Lan approached with coffee again, knocking on the door. “Teacher Mo, would you like some coffee?”

After a while, the office door was opened from the inside. Mo Lin stood in the doorway, looking perfectly composed from head to toe. He slightly raised the corners of his mouth, graciously accepting the coffee, and then said thank you.

Meng Lan was instantly charmed.

Even though she had spoken to Mo Lin many times, she still hadn’t developed any immunity.

She blushed, not knowing where to put her hands and feet, and quickly turned to leave the scene.

Li Meng, having drunk too much coffee, had a headache. He pressed his temple with one hand and walked over to Mo Lin. “Teacher Mo, any progress?”

Mo Lin: “This woman has issues…”