“No need. I’ll pick it up myself along with my suit,” Lin Mu’an said to the store manager. “Just take care of it properly.”
“Okay, Mr. Lin.”
After that, the store manager walked the two of them out. When she turned to look at her assistant, she was puzzled to see her wearing a strange expression on her face. “Why are you blushing?”
“Store manager, I’m feeling a little hot.”
“The customers who come to our store to order dresses are all rich and powerful. In the future, you have to be more careful. Don’t be as careless as you are today, understand? Miss Lu is a good person, so she didn’t make a fuss. If it had been a customer who minded, you’d have to bow down and apologize,” the store manager advised the assistant.
“I understand.” How could one not feel guilty after doing something wrong?
On the way back, Lin Mu’an drove while Lu Qianqian sat in the passenger seat and rubbed the space between her eyebrows.
When Lin Mu’an saw this, he immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Are you too tired from work?”
“No, I fainted at the wedding dress shop just now. The perfume inside was too strong. But, I woke up in a few minutes. I might be allergic to that smell,” Lu Qianqian quickly explained to stop him from worrying.
“You’ve always been very healthy.” Lin Mu’an had some doubts but kept them to himself.
“Forget it. The store manager is very considerate. The doctor and nurse even came. I’m fine after seeing them.”
Lin Mu’an smiled when he saw Lu Qianqian’s smiling face.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the Lu family’s home. However, Lin Muan didn’t seem to plan on staying there for dinner.
“You’re going back?”
“Yes, Grandfather wants to meet me. I’ll go back first. You and Mom have a good meal. I’ll come back later.” Lin Mu’an hooked his arm around Lu Qianqian’s neck and kissed her forehead.
Lu Qianqian’s cheeks flushed red as she pushed him away. “Who’s asking you to come over to sleep?”
“Then, I’ll stay at the Lin family’s home?”
“I’ll leave the lights on for you until 11p.m.” After saying that, Lu Qianqian entered the house.
Lin Mu’an shook his head lovingly and opened the car door. However, he wasn’t going to the Lin family’s home and Grandfather Lin did not ask to meet him. He only used that as an excuse to return to the wedding dress shop to find out the real reason why Lu Qianqian fainted.
Lu Qianqian was healthy. When had she ever been allergic to perfume?
And how long did she faint for?
The more Lin Mu’an thought about it, the weirder it got. After all, he attended police academy and had the mind of a criminal investigator. Just thinking about it made him suspicious.
His and Qianqian’s engagement ceremony was in two days. He didn’t want any more incidents to happen, especially when he had to be on guard against the Song family.
When he reached the wedding dress shop, Lin Mu’an pushed the door open. The store manager was a little surprised to see him. “Mr. Lin, did you forget something?”
“No, I want to see the fitting room where Qianqian fainted.”
“It’s here.” The store manager immediately led him there and explained, “I asked my assistant to help Miss Lu change into the dress. A few minutes later, I heard the assistant’s cry for help. When I entered, Miss Lu had already fainted.”
“A few minutes? Can you explain in detail?” Lin Mu’an walked around the fitting room as he confirmed specifics with the store manager.
“About five to six minutes.”
“How long does it usually take for customers to change?”
“Three to four minutes is about the average time. Some of the gowns are cumbersome and may take more time,” the manager replied seriously after some thought.
“Was there anything special when Qianqian fainted?”
“She was sitting on a black stool in the fitting room and was in undergarments. The gown was beside her feet. After that, I took some clothes to cover Miss Lu and asked my assistant to call the emergency department.”
Lin Mu’an carefully observed the changing room and also took a look at the bottle of perfume that they used to spray the room. He still had doubts in his heart.
He had asked the store manager to demonstrate Lu Qianqian’s posture after she fainted. Looking at the space, Lu Qianqian couldn’t have been sitting on the chair. The most likely possibility was that someone had moved her after she fainted.
The store manager had said that customers took varying lengths of time to change. Logically speaking, Lu Qianqian’s dress should have taken three minutes, but why did it take six minutes for her to do so and for her to faint in the fitting room?
“Mr. Lin, do you have any other questions?”
“What about the assistant?” Lin Mu’an asked again.
“She’s off work,” the store manager explained. “Do you want me to call her back for you?”
There were many suspicious points, and it seemed like the assistant had more answers.
“I’ll wait here. Tell her to come back. Also, I might get a few friends to come over. Store manager, will that trouble you?”
“No, no. Mr. Lin is our honored guest. We’re more than happy to welcome you.”
The store manager looked at Lin Mu’an and roughly knew that he was suspicious of Lu Qianqian’s fainting incident.
The store manager thought that it was better for him to find out whether there was a problem or not now. It was better than settling the score later.
Hence, she immediately called the assistant and asked her to come back because it was a little busy at the shop. She naturally wouldn’t tell the little assistant that she was being called back because of this matter. What if the little assistant had something to do with it?
Then, Lin Mu’an called Mu Qiqi. “Xiao Qi, can I trouble you to come out for a bit?”
“What’s the matter?”
“You’re a forensic doctor, so you’ll definitely be able to find out more. I’m just trying to be on the safe side.”
Lin Mu’an took a few minutes to tell Mu Qiqi about Lu Qianqian fainting earlier.
When Mu Qiqi heard this, she immediately tilted her head to look at Sheng Xiao and asked, “Can I go?”
“Are you sure that the perfume won’t harm your body?”
“Of course I’m sure. If there was really something wrong with the perfume, why would the others be fine?” Mu Qiqi suspected that the problem was not the perfume.
“I’ll get the car.” After Sheng Xiao heard this, he got up from the sofa.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the wedding dress shop. When the store manager saw who came in, her eyes widened.
“CEO… CEO Sheng.”
Who in Jianchuan didn’t know this person?
“Don’t be shy. They just want to get to the bottom of the matter,” Sheng Xiao said calmly to the store manager.
“Okay, my assistant is on her way. Please wait a moment.”
Mu Qiqi didn’t say anything and went straight to the changing room to look for Lin Mu’an. When she saw him frowning and looking around, she thought that he actually looked like a police officer.
“You didn’t go to the police academy for nothing.”
“Stop making fun of me. Hurry up and take a look. I suspect that Qianqian was temporarily drugged, but I can’t seem to find out what went wrong,” Lin Mu’an said to Mu Qiqi immediately.
“There’s no problem with the perfume. If you suspect that Qianqian was drugged, go to the hospital for a check-up. You’ll know the result very soon,” Mu Qiqi replied. “There are many types of drugs on the market nowadays that people use to knock people out. Orally, through injections, and even by shoulder pats. The fastest one to work takes 30 seconds.”