Chapter 35 - Photo: She didn't like to eat it, she just had no choice...

As the car drove into the residential compound, Zhou Leyan could be seen leaning against the car and smoking in the distance.

He was smoking very quickly, and if you got close, you could see that there were already quite a few cigarette butts piled up at his feet.

Seeing Fu Qingli park his car and walk over, Zhou Leyan opened the passenger door, took out a file folder, and handed it to him.

“We found it. That photo is from the scene where Uncle Lin and my father had the accident,” Zhou Leyan said, his jawline taut. He closed his eyes to suppress his anger. “No wonder it looked so familiar when I saw it.”

This result was completely unexpected. Fu Qingli's brows furrowed deeply, and a cold glint flashed in her deep black eyes.

He opened the file folder, which contained all the photos from the case files from that year. The scenes were extremely bloody, and the deceased lying in the pool of blood were his own relatives.

No matter how strong one's mental fortitude is, a chill can still creep down one's spine.

No wonder Zhou Leyan was smoking one cigarette after another here.

After looking at those dozens of photos that realistically recreated the scene, Fu Qingli felt a tightness in her chest and reached out to ask Zhou Leyan for a cigarette.

Zhou Leyan put the cigarette pack he was fiddling with back into his pocket, not giving it to him: "You shouldn't smoke. It's not good for Xiaoxi to smell secondhand smoke later. Just bear with it!"

Then, he recounted what he knew: "The murderer in the case, Liu Zaiming, was sentenced to immediate execution. He only had one son left in his family, but I checked, and his son also died six months after his execution. His missing wife had another son with someone else and never returned to Nanqing. She hated Liu Zaiming to the core and would never do anything extreme for him. However, I found out that during the middle of his escape, Liu Zaiming stabbed a young man for money, but I feel that it should be unrelated to this case."

“Hmm, there’s no need to check that,” Fu Qingli replied casually.

Since it was a clue that he himself felt was irrelevant, Zhou Leyan didn't pay much attention to it and stubbed out his cigarette on the trash can next to him.

"What about your end? Did the surveillance cameras capture anything?"

At this point, Fu Qingli couldn't help but sneer: "The security guard said the surveillance cameras in that area were broken, and the technicians took the hard drive away while maintaining it, so they can't find anything!"

Yesterday, upon realizing that Lin Xi was in trouble, Fu Qingli immediately asked Zhou Qi to investigate Lin Xi's whereabouts and find out the reason for the incident.

A colleague saw Lin Xi go to the restroom in the east or west corner. When Zhou Qi went there, there was a sign that said "Cleaning in progress" at the entrance of the restroom, and it was empty.

She went to the security room to check the surveillance footage to see who had come and gone, but the security guard was evasive, saying that the surveillance camera had suddenly broken down, and that a technician had just come and taken away the storage hard drive, but he did not have the technician's contact information.

Fu Qingli and the others naturally didn't believe such a coincidence. Zou Song contacted the owner of the World Trade Center, who was unaware of the matter. Upon investigation, he discovered that the security guard in charge had gone missing and hadn't even taken his personal belongings. The technician he mentioned simply didn't exist.

A search of the restroom revealed a photo of bloody footprints under the trash can, from which Lin Xi and Su Yi'an's fingerprints were discovered.

They didn't know what the photo was for, but it didn't look like a simple prank.

Fu Qingli knew the simplest way was to ask Lin Xi what had happened, but forcing her to recall in a short time would cause her stress.

Moreover, it is very clear that the instigator was Su Yi'an.

A single photo was clearly not enough to confront her; he needed solid evidence to make her pay.

He had previously compared the photos with information in publicly available databases, but found no matching clues.

Considering Zhou Leyan's identity, he asked him to see if he could use criminal investigation methods to find some clues.

He never expected that Su Yi'an would dare to go so far as to use Lin Fengyuan's matter to provoke Lin Xi.

Seeing Fu Qingli's sinister and ruthless expression, Zhou Leyan couldn't help but guess, "So you have someone in mind? Is it related to the Fu family?"

“Well, but I lack evidence,” Fu Qingli patted Zhou Leyan on the shoulder. “I’ll have to trouble you to help me find out who obtained these photos. I want to follow the trail.”

"No trouble at all. This case is not only related to Xiaoxi, but also to me! Since someone wants to use this case to their advantage, I will definitely not stand idly by!"

"If there is any progress later, we will share the information promptly."

Zhou Leyan had to go back to the team to continue investigating clues. After seeing him off, Fu Qingli stood downstairs and made a phone call to Zou Song.

Because of Lin Xi's latest incident, Zou Song was filled with trepidation when he received Fu Qingli's call. He took the initiative to explain, "Brother Fu, we are looking for the missing security guard, but there is still no trace of him."

"Okay, Xiao Tao will come over to hand over the work to you later. The rest of the investigation will be handled by him."

Upon hearing this, Zou Song thought that Fu Qingli had abandoned him, and immediately panicked: "No, Brother Fu, I really know I was wrong. It was my negligence, no, it was my lack of consideration that caused your wife's accident. I will definitely be more careful in the future, please don't give up on me..."

“That’s not what I meant,” Fu Qingli interrupted him. “They’re using underhanded tactics, and you can’t possibly cover everything. It’s not your fault. I asked Xiao Tao to investigate because you’re too conspicuous and would easily attract their attention, making it even harder to investigate; and because I’m worried about Xiao Xi being out of my sight, alone in Beicheng. So you should fly to Haicheng as soon as possible, sign that project, and then hand it over to Xiao Xi’s team.”

"Alright, alright!" Zou Song breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Fu Qingli's arrangement made sense. "I'll go to Haicheng to make the arrangements right away."

“Hmm,” Fu Qingli paused, “Call Zhou Qi. I’ll treat you to dinner tomorrow and formally introduce you to Xiaoxi.”

Zou Song was overjoyed: "You and your sister-in-law have made up?"

Fu Qingli smiled gently: "Not only that, we're married now, she's your official sister-in-law!"

*

Around 9 p.m., Fu Qingli went to pick up Lin Xi.

He Xiaduo wisely refrained from getting into the car: "Thank you for your hospitality, Young Master Fu. I won't disturb your time together; you can take a taxi yourself! By the way, congratulations on your marriage!"

The words "Happy Wedding" brought a faint smile to Fu Qingli's lips, and she seemed to be in a very good mood.

After helping Lin Xi fasten her seatbelt, he started the car and asked, "How was your trip? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, we watched a movie, it was a comedy and it was pretty funny."

"Are we having barbecue?" Fu Qingli remembered that He Xiaduo had mentioned these two activities on the phone.

Lin Xi nodded: "Northeast-style barbecue, the portions are very large."

She pouted, a little regretfully, "We asked you to eat with us but you didn't come, so we didn't finish our food."

The tone rose, sounding more like a coquettish complaint than a complaint.

"When I'm around, it's not appropriate for you to whisper secrets between your best friends."

Thinking of the topics they discussed during dinner, Lin Xi scratched the tip of his nose guiltily. It really wasn't appropriate to discuss them when he was around.

Afraid that he would notice something was off, she quickly changed the subject: "So what did you eat for dinner?"

Fu Qingli could easily notice her subtle actions, but she didn't expose her: "I ate at Aunt Yao's house, just some home-cooked food."

"Huh? That's very spicy? Can you eat it?" Lin Xi looked at Fu Qingli and examined her carefully. Her mouth didn't look strange at all.

Yao Wenxiu's ancestral home is in Sichuan and Chongqing. She loves spicy food, and every dish on the table has a little bit of spice on it. Sometimes she even goes too far, leaving the dishes completely red.

Fu Qingli grew up in a sanatorium with her mother, so she prefers light flavors. Occasionally, she would accompany her to eat some strong-flavored food, but it was clear that she wasn't enthusiastic about it or fond of spicy food.

Fu Qingli: "It's edible. Aunt Yao specially made sure not to put chili peppers in a few dishes today."

"That's good." Lin Xi turned back with relief.

Fu Qingli hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Xiaoxi, can you eat spicier food now than before?"

When they ate hot pot for the first time after their reunion, Fu Qingli noticed this issue. She added a large spoonful of chili to the dipping sauce for the mildly spicy broth, and ate while sweating profusely, but it was clear that she was enjoying it.

This wasn't a big deal.

However, Fu Qingli had previously learned that some people with depression, after a long period of time, experience a decline in their sense of taste and may crave overly sour or spicy foods. This is because strong-flavored foods can stimulate their nervous system.

The report from before the Lunar New Year indicated that Linxi's condition was stable and that her medication dosage was being gradually reduced.

His concern was whether his love for spicy food might cause a relapse of his condition.

Lin Xi, however, disagreed: "Oh right, back in Jiangcheng, the cafeteria chef was also from Sichuan and Chongqing, and the dishes he made were very spicy. I gradually got used to it."

"Didn't you give any suggestions to the cafeteria?"

Lin Xi shook her head: "My colleagues usually eat takeout, not many people eat it, so I felt embarrassed and didn't mention it."

Fu Qingli knew that she was afraid of causing trouble for others, and she had been like this since she was a child.

When I was little, I clearly couldn't handle spicy food, but I never told Aunt Yao. When asked, I would say it was delicious and force myself to finish the food that was put in my bowl.

She felt that Aunt Yao taking care of her was already an extra burden, and she didn't want to cause trouble for her in other matters.

Moreover, as Zhou Leyan said before, Linxi has lived a very poor and difficult life in recent years.

She refused to use the compensation money she received for Lin Fengyuan's sacrifice, and she was unwilling to add extra financial burden to Yao Wenxiu. So, for those few years, she relied entirely on student loans and part-time jobs to cover her tuition and living expenses.

She didn't like the food, but she had no choice but to make do.

Fu Qingli's eyes welled up with tears, and she reached out to gently stroke the top of her soft hair with tenderness: "Do you like Aunt Tao's cooking?"

Aunt Tao was the aunt who took care of Shen Yu at the sanatorium back then, and she was good at cooking various cuisines.

After Shen Yu left, she followed Fu Qingli to Nanqing and then to Jincheng, taking care of their daily needs.

Thinking of Aunt Tao's cooking, Lin Xi's eyes lit up instantly: "I love it!"

"Then I'll arrange for her to come over and cook for us from now on."

Lin Xi was somewhat surprised: "Is Aunt Tao still at your house?"

Fu Qingli is actually a bit lonely and doesn't like having extra people at home. Even Aunt Tao, who has taken care of him for many years, was given a different house when she was taking care of them.

She thought that with his ability to take care of himself, he didn't need Aunt Tao.

As she expected, Fu Qingli explained, "She's still here, but not with me. When I went abroad, I arranged for her to return to Beicheng to take care of her grandparents."

"How can we get her to come over? What about her grandparents? Won't they be angry? It's okay, I can eat anything."

"No, you must eat three meals a day properly."

Her hair was soft and fine, and it felt wonderful to the touch. Fu Qingli couldn't help but rub it a few more times. Only when the stray hairs on her forehead stood up did she smooth them down. "I will arrange a nanny for them. They will definitely be very happy to know that she is taking care of their granddaughter-in-law."

He spoke casually, but Lin Xi's ears, hidden in her hair, quietly turned red.