The car, covered in mud, headed towards the damp village.

Liang Qi casually asked the girl next to him, "What are you going to Anshou Village for?"

"Visiting relatives."

Su Meng answered casually, taking out a bottle of energy water from her backpack and handing it to Liang Qi.

"Officer Liang, are you also going to Anshou Village? You're a criminal investigator, what happened in Anshou Village?"

Liang Qi gestured for Su Meng to put the water in the armrest box, and answered Su Meng's questions while driving.

“A drug developed by a pharmaceutical factory next to Anshou Village has caused a death. The villagers have joined forces and taken the matter to the police station. I came here to see what’s going on.”

Someone died?

Su Meng shrank back, her round eyes widened in surprise and fear.

Liang Qi laughed and said, "You're not a murderer, so don't worry. Just go visit your relatives."

The car made a sharp turn and entered an even muddier road.

...

It was almost noon.

Xia Wan sat on a small stool in the front yard, looking idly at the sparse wildflowers and weeds not far away.

Zuo Cheng sat not far away, working with his head down while keeping an eye on Xia Wan.

His gaze wasn't intense, but its frequency made Xia Wan feel inexplicably annoyed.

She turned her head.

Zuo Cheng quickly looked away and lowered his head to type on his phone.

But the next second, he caught a glimpse of Xia Wan getting up and walking towards him out of the corner of his eye.

"Sister-in-law, is there anything I can help you with?"

He asked politely.

Xia Wan didn't answer, but instead kicked him with her leg.

His eyes narrowed, and he used one hand to push himself back.

He looked at Xia Wan with a puzzled expression, but before he could ask, the sound of a ball hitting the ground came from not far away.

Then came Xia Wan's roar.

"Kid, can you just kick the ball around like that? What if you kick someone?"

Following the direction Xia Wan was speaking, Zuo Cheng saw a little boy who looked only seven or eight years old standing on a nearby earthen slope, hands on his hips, looking at them arrogantly.

"I'm kicking you murderers!"

The child was full of righteous indignation. After speaking, he made a face at them and ran away.

"murderer?"

Xia Wan looked at Zuo Cheng.

Zuo Cheng never expected that the matter that Brother Qi had specifically instructed him to keep from Xia Wan would be exposed by a little kid.

He secretly kicked the brat in his mind before barely managing to steady himself and look at Xia Wan.

"That child is at the age where they can play house."

Admitting it is absolutely impossible.

"Which kid is playing house and beating up a murderer?"

"The village kids are unruly."

Zuo Cheng remained calm and composed, his attitude serious.

If Xia Wan hadn't had the script in her hand, she would have almost believed his nonsense.

She now understood why Cui Ziqi had trapped her here and wouldn't let her leave.

Because of the murder at the pharmaceutical factory, the locals all regard the leaders of the group to which the pharmaceutical factory is affiliated as the murderer.

Cui Ziqi was the one Cui Jiyang pushed to take the blame for.

She came here with Cui Ziqi, so she was naturally one of the murderers.

Even though the villagers here are kind and honest, they held a xenophobic and even resentful attitude towards them.

He was afraid she would get hurt.

With that in mind, Xia Wan decided against going out.

She beckoned to Zuo Cheng, gesturing for him to sit down.

Although Zuo Cheng didn't understand, he obediently sat down.

Xia Wan moved the stool next to Zuo Cheng. It wasn't far away, but Zuo Cheng was startled and dragged the stool an inch to the side.

"Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law, you can just sit there and talk to me."

This place is under full-scale surveillance.

If his own boss saw him so close to his sister-in-law on the security camera, he was afraid he'd get his head blown off.

Xia Wan gave him a strange look. Was she some kind of monster?

"Don't be nervous, I just want to chat with you."

Seeing that Xia Wan did not move, Zuo Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"What does my sister-in-law want to talk about?"

Unless he's a murderer, he'll definitely tell you everything he knows!

How did you and Ziqi meet?

Zuo Cheng stood frozen in place, retracting his statement that he would "speak without reservation".

His first encounter with Qi Ge was something he couldn't talk about openly. If his sister-in-law knew that Qi Ge had gotten to know him through hiring male models...

Whether his sister-in-law gets angry or not is secondary; Qi-ge is definitely going to blow his head off with that silver spear!

"I...hehe...Brother Qi saved me, and that's how we met."

"How did you get saved?"

Sister-in-law, please don't ask anymore, I'm begging you!

Zuo Cheng screamed inwardly, but pretended to be calm on the surface.

"Sister-in-law, is there something else you want to ask me?"

"I asked you but you didn't answer, so let's have a chat. You still haven't told me how Ziqi saved you back then?"

Xia Wan seemed very interested, and her gaze towards Zuo Cheng carried a hint of anticipation.

But inside, he was suppressing a laugh.

She already knew that Zuo Cheng had been chosen by Cui Ziqi as a male model and had been unexpectedly saved.

Although Cui Ziqi was deliberately taken to that kind of place to be humiliated by those two bastards from the Cui family, and ordering male models was not his intention, he did indeed save Zuo Cheng's life.

Of course, for the two parties involved, this kind of thing should remain a secret.

"Sister-in-law, what do you want to know? I will tell you everything I know! Except for the matter of Brother Qi and the pharmaceutical factory."

Zuo Cheng thought for a moment and then added a final sentence.

He can't lie, so he can only compromise.

Xia Wan's lips curled into a smile, her eyes gleaming with the cunning of someone who had achieved their goal.

"Alright, let's talk about something else then."

Xia Wan showed great mercy, and Zuo Cheng breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Actually, you don't need to hide it from me. I know that because of the deaths caused by the pharmaceutical company's drugs, Ziqi will definitely be attacked by the victims' families after being transferred here. He let me stay here to protect me, right?"

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