They come from a scholarly family and are usually careful about their words and actions. His wife is not usually concerned about these things, so why is she suddenly being so outspoken?

Liu Manling tossed her phone to Cheng Jiangkai to look at.

Her phone was on the trending topics page, where the key information was immediately apparent.

"So Zhuozhuo is the one who only did three divinations? She even got the top score in the college entrance exam... Wait, was she the one who broke the deadlock last night?" Cheng Jiangkai became more and more silent as he scrolled through his phone.

Finally, I put down my phone, feeling a tightness in my chest and an unbearable discomfort.

How could this be? He couldn't understand it at all. How could his adopted daughter, who used to be at the mercy of others, suddenly become so capable, surpassing their carefully raised son and daughter?

He used to think that the family had a bad background and didn't know how to raise children, and that Zhuozhuo would be ruined if he went back.

Now that others have gone back, they're shining brightly, which is practically a deliberate attempt to embarrass the couple and say that they're bad at parenting.

Cheng Jiangkai sighed: "That Zhuozhuo kid is really something. She was clearly very smart before, why did she have to hide it?"

Only this explanation makes sense; it must be that he and Liu Manling were strict in the past, which laid a good foundation for Mingzhuo.

All of this is nothing more than someone stealing the credit and getting the credit for their work.

He thought for a moment and said, "We can't keep holding a grudge against Zhuozhuo, after all, we raised her. We handled things wrong before, so it's understandable that Zhuozhuo is angry. Go and apologize to her properly, and she will understand us."

Liu Manling turned her head stiffly to look at him, "What do you mean?"

Cheng Jiangkai: "I still consider Zhuozhuo my own daughter. She came to my family when she was such a tiny little girl..."

Liu Manling's eyes were like she wanted to devour someone. "You only want to get close to her now that she's successful, right? Cheng Jiangkai, how can you be so shameless?"

Cheng Jiangkai retorted, "How dare you talk like that? I'm only doing this for Jingru's own good! Do you really think Jingru can surpass Zhuozhuo?"

He regretted it; he shouldn't have thrown Mingzhuo away like trash.

If he had known she was so successful and that her biological mother had such a good background, he would never have done this, even if it meant his death.

People always have to bow to reality. Why can't my wife understand this?

"You must apologize; I am the head of the household!" Cheng Jiangkai was too lazy to say more and got up to wash up.

He went to the bathroom and discovered that Liu Manling hadn't even cleaned the bathtub.

This was his newly bought bathtub, and Cheng Jiangkai hurriedly bent down to prepare to fill it with water.

Before he could even touch the flush button, a sudden, powerful force struck him from behind, and he tumbled headfirst into the bathtub.

Even though the water wasn't deep, it felt like he had fallen into an endless ocean, with water surging in from all directions, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't get out.

In the dim light, Liu Manling stood by the bathtub, her eyes coldly watching her husband struggle futilely in the tub.

It was as if I were looking at a dead person.

A slight noise came from the bathroom window. A sparrow flew over and landed on the windowsill, curiously watching the commotion inside.

Liu Manling raised her hand, and Sparrow suddenly tilted its head and fell down, crashing onto the second-floor platform, splattering a flower of blood.

It was still too early, and the commotion went unnoticed by anyone.

When she heard the noise from the windowsill again, Liu Manling reached out her hand again.

She suddenly stiffened and looked up at the puppet that had appeared on the windowsill.

But when she blinked, the puppet suddenly disappeared again, as if it had just been a dream.

Liu Manling turned around and took two steps back, her eyes catching a glimpse of a figure standing at the bathroom door.

"Husband?" She had just called out when she suddenly realized something was wrong. Cheng Jiangkai was in the bathtub, so who was that figure at the door?

The figure suddenly started walking towards her.

Liu Manling was terrified. She screamed, but before she could react, she slipped, hit her head on the bathtub, and tumbled back into the water.

The blood immediately spread out.

——

Shen Boyuan walked around the room and vaguely sensed the lingering yin energy in the house.

There was a dried bloodstain next to the bathtub, indicating that a murder had occurred there.

Liu Manling is dead.

Cheng Jiangkai almost drowned in this small bathtub.

The couple had resigned from their jobs for some reason and stayed at home without anyone noticing all morning. It wasn't until Cheng Jinghao, who had spent the night at a nightclub, came home to ask for money that they discovered the couple were unconscious.

Cheng Jiangkai was saved, but Liu Manling died from excessive blood loss despite all efforts to save her.

The police have already been here. This case seems very strange. Judging from the traces at the scene, it looks like two people accidentally fell into the bathtub.

This is unbelievable; two adults shouldn't be unable to get up.

Especially since Cheng Jiangkai didn't hit his head, he should have been conscious at the time.

Shen Boyuan walked around for a while before leaving and going to the hospital.

Cheng Jingru sat listlessly on a chair in the corridor.

Cheng Jinghao's face was full of hostility. His mother was dead, but he showed no grief. Instead, he asked Cheng Jingru for money.

"I'm warning you, I'm in this state because of you. Don't think you can abandon me just because Mom is dead."

Cheng Jingru was exhausted: "I won't abandon you, can you just let me have some peace and quiet?"

Cheng Jinghao: "Then hurry up and pay me, 200,000, quick."

Cheng Jingru was stunned: "Why do you want so much money?"

Cheng Jinghao grew impatient: "You're still a student, of course you don't understand. I've already entered the workforce. How can I maintain a good image or expand my social circle without some money?"

Cheng Jingru didn't want to argue with him, and she didn't want her father in the hospital room to hear the siblings arguing, so she took out her phone and transferred money to Cheng Jinghao.

Cheng Jinghao was satisfied when he saw the money had arrived in his account, and then turned and left.

Cheng Jingru was taken aback: "Brother, Dad is about to wake up, where are you going?"

Cheng Jinghao ignored him, his face beaming with delight and eagerness to return to his debauched world.

Cheng Jingru swayed slightly and was supported by a hand.

She turned around and stared blankly at the person who had just arrived, tears welling up in her eyes. "Senior brother..."

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the ward. Shen Boyuan pulled her along, saying, "Don't worry, let's go see what's going on."

Cheng Jiangkai woke up, but he was very agitated and terrified.

Upon seeing Cheng Jingru, he clung to her like a lifeline: "Jingru, someone—no, a ghost—is trying to kill me! Please save me!"

Shen Boyuan slapped a soul-stabilizing talisman over, and he slowly calmed down, but he was still trembling all over.

"Dad, what exactly happened?" Cheng Jingru couldn't help but ask, "Why did Mom die?"

Cheng Jiangkai was stunned. Liu Manling was dead?

Shen Boyuan: "Uncle Cheng, why did you say there was a ghost trying to kill you? Did you see something?"

Cheng Jiangkai came to his senses and recounted what had happened that morning.

...

Only after Cheng Jiangkai fell into a deep sleep did the two leave the ward.

Shen Boyuan asked, "Jingru, this was definitely done by Xuan Shi. Do you have any suspects?"

"Yes!" Cheng Jingru answered without hesitation.