Nian Xi got angry before he even finished. “Captain Chen, you don’t know my brother, so you don’t understand the kind of person he is… but I do. I can tell you with full confidence that everyone in the Nian family has a deep-rooted military history. My brother was trained in the army since young, so he knows better than anyone what discipline and abiding by the law means. Even when my granny was stabbed by someone and faced certain death, he sucked it up and complied with the law. While he may say things like that, he will never do anything illegal.”
“Please don’t get all worked up,” Captain Chen said, flustered. “I’m just asking. As the police, we cannot let our judgment be clouded by our feelings. We need to consider every possibility with logic and rationale.”
“I understand,” Nian Xi said, “but I am willing to guarantee with my life that you’re beating a dead horse here. It’s best just to wait for the forensic report.”
“Alright.”
After hanging up, Jiang Yuning, who was feeding Jiang-Jiang, raised his head, “Did the perpetrator suddenly pass away?”
“Yes,” Nian Xi replied as she massaged her temple. “This case is a little strange. I’m guessing that his sudden death might have something to do with that gun.”
Jiang Yuning looked confused.
“It’s alright, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Just eat up and go to my paternal grandma’s place first, then we’ll go to my maternal grandma’s place at night.”
They finished up their breakfast before heading out.
The two of them moved slowly—it was already eleven-thirty by the time they reached the Nian Family Mansion.
Nian Junting and his family of three were already waiting.
When Little Apple saw her in a wheelchair, her eyes filled with worry, “Auntie, pain…”
“Yes, it’s very painful.” Nian Xi stroked her tiny face, “I heard that your uncle has been taking care of you. Has he been doing a good job?”
“Uncle… good,” Little Apple smiled to reveal a row of pearly white teeth, “like… Uncle, don’t like… Daddy.”
Nian Xi burst into laughter while Nian Junting’s face darkened. “Didn’t Mo Liuxi only take care of you for a week?”
“The food that Uncle makes is… good,” Little Apple said, all smiles.
Nian Xi asked Luosang with a smile, “Sangsang, aren’t your parents still in Europe? Why don’t you ask Liuxi to come over? Isn’t it lonely and boring to spend the Lantern Festival alone?”
Luosang sighed heavily. “I did, but he said that he wants to visit his girlfriend’s hometown to spend the Lantern Festival with her parents. I don’t even know where that is… probably either in Hubei or Hunan. I have to give it to him—he’s supposed to come back on the seventh, but school is starting in two days, so he’s hurrying back tomorrow. What perplexes me even more, is that even his girlfriend is too busy to go home for the Lantern Festival, and he has the guts to say that he wants to fulfill the filial duties for his girlfriend.”
Nian Xi was shocked. “Your brother has understood perfectly what it means to become a son for another family, but looking at how proud and arrogant he is, who would’ve known that he’d be so obedient to his girlfriend.”
“That’s right, it’s really unbelievable,” Luosang shrugged. “I want to see what kind of amazing, legendary creature his girlfriend is.”
“However, to a woman, he is a really good man,” Nian Xi couldn’t help but praise him.
“Xixi, I’m also a good man,” Jiang Yuning who was listening to their conversation beside them spoke up unhappily. “I didn’t go home during the New Year Festival either, and I spent the Lantern Festival with you too. If you think that I’m still not good enough, I can even marry into your family.”
No matter what, he had to become the best guy in Nian Xi’s heart. He didn’t want her to think that he’d be disposable in the future.
Luosang burst into laughter. Nian Xi grew flustered and said with exasperation, “Have you talked to your parents about marrying into my family?”
“There’s no need to, it’s my life—I make my own decisions,” Jiang Yuning said nonchalantly.