(1) Body Parts

Shen Wanwan wanted to move forward, but her feet felt light, as if she couldn’t feel their presence.

However, her body was very heavy, and when she moved slightly, her feet wobbled severely.

Wobbling?!

Having gone through the experience of turning into a flower, Shen Wanwan’s mental resilience had improved significantly.

She didn’t believe anything could be more overwhelming than turning into a dog.

Shen Wanwan calmed herself down and observed her surroundings.

She confirmed that she was in a bedroom. The room was decorated luxuriously, with a double bed and a crystal chandelier, all in a Western style. This was definitely not Yang Chunling’s house.

Moreover, what was that rack standing in front of her? It was like a series of bars, as if she were in prison.

Prison…

Shen Wanwan began to guess what had happened to her.

She couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. After laughing for a while, her legs became weak, and her body fell forward.

Her little head accurately bumped into a birdcage.

She had turned into a bird!

Shen Wanwan was recalling who might have a pet bird when the bedroom door was pushed open.

A woman dressed in a silk nightgown entered. She had a graceful figure, soft and slender, with long, smooth black hair and eyebrows shaped like smoke.

It was Qi Xia.

Shen Wanwan was stunned. So, not only could she turn into Huahua, but she could also turn into… This bird was raised by Qi Xia, as a pet, perhaps?

Did she turn into the criminal suspect’s pet every night?!

When Shen Wanwan turned into Huahua, she could hear its thoughts, likely a form of “shared consciousness.” Now, she wanted to hear the bird’s calls.

Qi Xia walked to the window.

The birdcage was placed on a cabinet near the window. Shen Wanwan calmed her mind and heard the sound of the bird, “Hello, hello—”

It was a very polite bird.

Wait, this sounded like… a parrot?!

“Hello, hello—”

Upon hearing the voice, Qi Xia walked toward the parrot.

Her appearance was delicate, and standing under the silver-white moonlight, she seemed to glow, like the unreachable snow atop a mountain.

Unlike Yang Chunling, when Shen Wanwan met Qi Xia’s gaze, she felt no trace of tenderness in her eyes. Qi Xia merely looked at her calmly, with no waves, no fluctuations—almost as if she wasn’t a real person.

In the quiet of the night, with a breathtakingly beautiful face staring at her like that, Shen Wanwan couldn’t help but suspect that Qi Xia might want to make parrot soup.

Shen Wanwan fluttered her wings a couple of times and obediently returned to her perch.

Qi Xia remained completely still.

Shen Wanwan pecked at her feathers to relieve the awkwardness.

Sure enough, animals tend to stay busy when they’re embarrassed.

The bedroom door was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman in beige plaid pajamas walked in. “Xiao Xia, why are you still awake? You haven’t slept well these past few days. I know you’re heartbroken over Cheng Liang’s death, but life must go on. If you keep falling apart, Cheng Liang won’t be at peace down there.”

Qi Xia raised her hand to smooth her hair and turned to greet her mother. “I’m fine, just can’t sleep. Mom, you should rest early.”

“Tell me the truth, are you thinking about doing something foolish?”

“No, Mom, I’m… feeling better now.”

“You’re talking nonsense again. Sigh, it’s really unfortunate for the Cheng family brothers. How could this happen to them? You should spend more time with your in-laws. They’ve lost two sons in one go. Their lives are even harder now.”

Qi Xia’s mother had been a housewife her whole life, kind-hearted.

Although there had been small conflicts with the in-laws, she still worried about them losing their sons so suddenly. It was something they might never be able to accept.

Qi Xia helped her mother sit down. “Mom, I have no ties to them anymore.”

“I know you’re heartbroken, but you still have children…”

Qi Xia coldly replied, “I’ll raise the child by myself.”

“Raising a child isn’t easy. You should find someone else if you need to, sigh. Losing two sons like this… Xia, have you been in touch with your sister lately?”

Qi Xia was of an age where she had several siblings, though none of them lived nearby.

Shen Wanwan remembered that Qi Xia’s sister, Qi Juan, had gone south to work and wasn’t in Xuzhou.

It was normal for her mother to mention the children, but Qi Xia’s gaze trembled.

She fell silent for a while before softly speaking, “Xiao Juan is doing well. Her job is stable, and she recently started dating a boyfriend. I’ll bring her back to meet you all when there’s a chance.”

“Sigh, your sister left a letter and just left, saying she wanted to make a lot of money. Our family and your in-laws are nothing compared to them, but we’re not lacking in money. That silly girl… why is she so fixated on making money? It’s been six years already. Let her come home for a visit. Your dad doesn’t say anything, but I often see him sneaking a look at Xiao Juan’s photos in the middle of the night. He misses her too.”

Xuzhou was a small city, and the brave young people liked to leave.

But it was rare to go years without coming home.

Qi Xia’s mother started wiping away tears after a few words, and Qi Xia comforted her for a while before sending her to her room.

When Qi Xia returned, she went straight to rest.

Shen Wanwan could only be a bird alone.

There is a big difference between being a dog and being a bird. A dog can sleep, but being a bird…

Shen Wanwan struggled with the perch all night.

By the end of the night, she developed a deep respect for the birds.

Look at them, standing on the perch and jumping without changing their expression—how many people could do that?!

Shen Wanwan didn’t sleep at all that night. Around 6 o’clock, she returned to her own body.

This time, she didn’t think about getting up early to exercise. Instead, she comfortably wrapped herself in a blanket and slept, staying in bed until the team’s phone call woke her up.

Shen Wanwan didn’t have time for breakfast, so she grabbed two plain buns and rushed to the team.

Zhu Jianhua was happily eating snacks when he saw her enter. He teased, “You’ve run out of intuition these past few days—why are you starting to be late now?”

Tao Jiang was a workaholic. Since the first day he joined the team, whenever there was a case, he would stay at the office with his luggage. Despite his age, he hadn’t married or had children. In his younger years, he had tried to date, but either the women rejected him for not being family-oriented, or he rejected them for not being considerate. Eventually, he decided to put marriage aside as he got older.

In the team he led, no one dared to be late.

This was Shen Wanwan’s first mistake.

Xiang Dong hadn’t been on surveillance the night before, so he was the first to arrive today. He put down the documents and started watching a show.

Tao Jiang, however, only glanced at Shen Wanwan and said, “There are no new leads on Lu Qian’s side for now. We’ve also found a few other women who’ve been assaulted, and only one is willing to testify. These are just the ones we’ve been able to contact. There are probably more who are too scared to come forward.”

Shen Wanwan quietly went to her desk and sat down.

She repeated Tao Jiang’s words in her mind several times.

Not every woman who’s been assaulted has the courage to face it. Some might be too hurt and simply lick their wounds in silence.

Shen Wanwan moved her chair over to sit beside Cui Luo. “Sister Luo, do you know Qi Juan?”

Cui Luo had a good memory. “Qi Xia’s sister?”

“Any news about her?”

“Why are you asking about her?” Cui Luo said. “I remember Qi Xia said her sister went south. She earns more there and seems to be in business.”

Shen Wanwan insisted, “Can you look into it again? I heard she hasn’t been home in many years.”

“Qi Juan? I understand you suspect Qi Xia, but to suspect Qi Juan… isn’t that a bit of a stretch? Even if we ask Tao Jiang, he won’t let us investigate her.”

Although Cui Luo didn’t think Tao Jiang would agree, she trusted Shen Wanwan’s judgment more than her own. After some complaining, she pulled Shen Wanwan to discuss it with Tao Jiang.

Tao Jiang’s sharp, hawk-like gaze swept over Shen Wanwan and Cui Luo. He said in a low voice, “Do you know Yang Chunling still hasn’t regained consciousness?”

Shen Wanwan replied, “I know the situation is urgent… Captain Tao, at least let us go get Qi Juan’s photo so that Yang Chunling can identify her.”

Tao Jiang thought for a moment, then picked up his cigarette. “If you want to go, it will be just the two of you.”

“We’ve checked, and Qi Xia’s relationship with Cheng Liang is actually not bad, it’s not as bad as Cheng Liang described. Qi Xia indeed doesn’t pay much attention to him, but Cheng Liang gives her a fixed allowance every month. As for Qi Juan, she had just graduated from high school before leaving Xu Zhou. Her grades weren’t great, so she didn’t get into college and went straight to work after graduation.”

Qi Xia still lives with her parents.

The first thing Shen Wanwan did when she entered was look toward the bedroom. “Do you keep a parrot?”

Although Qi Xia was surprised by Shen Wanwan’s question, she didn’t show it on the surface. She replied indifferently, “Are you interested?”

“Can I take a look?”

Qi Xia led Shen Wanwan to the bedroom.

Cui Luo, who followed behind, scratched her head. It seemed like Wanwan was always interested in the animals at the suspects’ homes?

In the birdcage stood a… rather hard-to-describe parrot.

Its feathers were indeed colorful. Its belly was a pale yellow, its back was grass green, with some blue feathers mixed in.

However, it was in a state of complete lethargy, soundly sleeping.

Qi Xia leaned over and looked at the parrot, slightly furrowing her brows. “Strange, it should be quite lively at this time. Maybe it didn’t sleep well last night.”

Shen Wanwan: “……”

Guilt flooded her. She wasn’t used to standing on the perch.

Shen Wanwan had originally wanted to hear if the parrot would make sounds like Huahua, but that was impossible now.

She faked some compliments.

Qi Xia said, “You two specifically came here. It can’t just be to look at the parrot.”

“We came to ask about your sister,” Cui Luo, who had a headache from looking at the parrot, said. “Do you have contact with Qi Juan?”

Qi Xia’s eyes flickered slightly. “Why are you mentioning her?”

Cui Luo invited Qi Xia to the living room and handed her the tea they had prepared. “I hope you can tell us everything about Qi Juan.”

The tea had already cooled down, but Qi Xia held the cup and still found it hot.

Qi Xia lifted the cup and took a sip of tea.

Cui Luo smiled faintly.

Qi Xia said, “Is Qi Juan’s situation related to the case you’re investigating?”

“Anything related to the case cannot be disclosed for now,” Cui Luo said with a gentle smile. “Is there something you’re unable to share about Qi Juan?”