Chapter 12 – It Must Have Been Gu Qiangwei

Zhao Minghua didn’t say anything in response to that last remark—he simply tacitly agreed with Wang Shufen’s thoughts.

Since their younger son was now gone, they had no choice but to rely on their elder son from now on.

After their conversation, the two of them launched into yet another furious round of cursing Gu Qiangwei.

Gu Qiangwei was just too despicable!

While the two of them were spewing insults at her, Gu Qiangwei had already left and returned safely to her maternal home.

Now, she was the only one left in her family. Back when she got married, she had deliberately kept this house for herself. She’d figured that once she and Lu Zhoushan had a child, they’d pass this house down to the next generation.

That was also what she’d thought in her past life.

Although her home hadn’t been robbed back then, her husband had died, and in order to take care of her in-laws, she’d brought them into this very house to live—since it was more spacious.

Later, she worked herself to the bone, getting jobs and running businesses just to give them a better life.

Looking back now, all that sincerity and effort from her past life had gone to waste—it was like feeding scraps to dogs.

After returning to her maternal home and opening the door, she found that most of the furniture and belongings were still intact—just dusty.

She put down what she was carrying, found a broom and a basin in the corner, and cleaned the house from top to bottom, wiping every cabinet and surface with a rag.

All these things were what her family had left to her.

And this house, too.

Back then, she had listed only two addresses—one was the Lu family’s, the other was this one.

Next time she met with Su Qingshuang, she’d have to let her know she’d moved, and briefly mention that her husband had died.

Once the house was clean, Gu Qiangwei lay down on the bed.

This house hadn’t been lived in for quite a while. She planned to tidy it up a bit more the next day—open the windows for fresh air and change the bedding.

From now on, she would live here alone. She would never again bother with the Lu family’s mess.

Oh, right.

That condolence money—she needed to get her hands on that too.

At the thought of it, Gu Qiangwei immediately got up.

The key was still in her pocket. She took it and quietly made her way back to the place where the old couple lived. Moving stealthily to the door of their room, she used her dimensional ability to transfer the condolence money into her hands.

Looking at the envelope full of money, Gu Qiangwei let out a cold chuckle.

In her past life, she gave so much. No amount of money they handed her now could ever make up for it.

This was what she was owed.

Since the person who had come back alive was Lu Zhoushan, then she wasn’t going to hold back. After all, he’d deceived her so deeply in the last life.

He was shameless beyond measure.

This time around, let him experience what it feels like to raise his parents all on his own. She wouldn’t lift a finger for them.

She’d get as far away from them as possible.

After confirming the condolence money was in hand, and that there was nothing else of value left in the house, Gu Qiangwei decided to leave the rest for the old couple.

Before leaving, she deliberately placed the key in the drawer of her old bedroom.

Then she slowly walked out, using a rope from outside—just like the technique she had learned from Detective Conan—to loop through the lock and secure the door from the outside, before quickly leaving the area.

The Next Morning

Wang Shufen got up early and started cooking porridge. The night before, she and Zhao Minghua had spent hours cursing Gu Qiangwei—calling her unfilial, heartless, and accusing her of being a marriage fraud.

After venting their anger, they finally went to sleep. Now that it was morning, it was time to discuss their next steps.

The porridge was soon ready. As they ate, Wang Shufen said, “Later, let’s use 500 yuan of the condolence money to buy some furniture. Then we’ll get some pots and bowls. No matter what, we need to hold out until Qingming gets back.”

“When he does, we’ll interrogate him—ask him why he didn’t protect his brother. Why was he the one who survived? We’ll make him feel guilty!”

“He’s going to support us for the rest of his life!”

As she said this, Zhao Minghua slapped the table hard. “It’s his duty to support us. If he doesn’t, we’ll make a scene in his unit. We won’t let him off the hook!”

“We’re his parents. If he doesn’t take care of us, he’s unfilial and heartless!”

Wang Shufen felt Zhao Minghua was absolutely right.

After finishing breakfast, she went into the room to get the money—but after searching the entire place, she couldn’t find the envelope.

She panicked instantly. “What’s going on? Old man, the envelope is gone—the money is gone!”

When he heard that the 500 yuan condolence money was missing, Zhao Minghua rushed into the room. The two of them turned the whole house upside down searching—but it was nowhere to be found.

Zhao Minghua was overwhelmed with anxiety and rushed to the local police station to report the theft.

The officers were stunned to hear that their house had been robbed again, and when they learned that it was the condolence money that was stolen, they were even more shocked.

“That money was earned with my younger son’s life! How could it be stolen again?!”

“It must be Gu Qiangwei!”

Wang Shufen suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “It has to be her—my daughter-in-law!”

She went on to sob in front of the two officers, telling them how Gu Qiangwei left without caring whether she or her husband lived or died.

When the neighbors heard that their condolence money had been stolen, they were equally shocked. Some even agreed that it could have been Gu Qiangwei.

“She definitely has a key to the house. It had to be her! You need to find her and get our money back!”

“That’s right, Officers, please help us!”

“If we’re left like this, we old folks will starve to death!”

As the old couple cried and pleaded, the officers went to question Gu Qiangwei.

She was at her maternal home, and when the officers arrived, she calmly explained that she had left the key in her room the previous night—in the drawer.

After confirming her story, the officers returned to the old couple.

“It was Gu Qiangwei, wasn’t it? She has the money, doesn’t she? Arrest her and interrogate her—you’ll see!”

“She must be involved!”

Wang Shufen was worked up, but the officers said, “We visited Ms. Gu’s house and questioned her. She said she left the key behind when she left—it’s in her drawer.”

“That’s impossible! She’s lying!” the old couple responded immediately.

One of the officers asked, “Which room was Gu Qiangwei staying in? We’d like to take a look.”

The old couple quickly led them to the room she used to stay in. The officers went straight to the drawer under the table—and sure enough, at the very bottom, they found the key.