Puzzling

"Why did you call him here?" Gu Nan asked softly, hooking her arm around Wan Yi's neck.

Wan Yihui held her shoulders, leaned closer, and deliberately lowered his voice: "You said before that you wanted to seduce him to do things for you, so I tested him for you. He's alright, he got here in two hours."

The two were whispering to each other with their heads down, so close that from a distance it looked like they were embracing.

Gu Nan's eyes flashed. She rushed back in two hours because she was anxious and afraid that something had happened to Xue Li. She didn't know how many times she had floored the accelerator along the way. What was Lu Yushi's purpose in compressing the three-and-a-half-hour journey into two hours?

He instinctively turned his head, but Wan Yi forcefully turned his neck back.

“If you turn around now, he’ll definitely know we’re cricketing at him.”

"..."

"If you want to use him, use him now, while he's still infatuated with you."

Gu Nan moved her lips, an indescribable melancholy lingering in her heart, unable to be dispelled, and swallowed the words that were about to come out along with her saliva.

The expected reaction did not occur. She raised her hand and pushed Wan Yi away, changing the subject: "Where is he?"

“I’ve arranged for her to stay at the Platinum Club,” Wan Yi boasted, patting his chest. “I can’t make decisions here. The club is my property, and they wouldn’t dare to force their way in and take her away.”

"Tell her to stay home as much as possible recently." Gu Nan finished giving the order and then fell into deep thought. She had seen the surveillance footage that Meng Qing had found. The thugs in the video spoke frivolously, but their behavior was really stiff. It was more like they were doing it to complete a task than because it came from the heart.

There were just a few candidates in mind, but only Wan Sizong.

She looked up at the tall buildings of Ping An Hospital, hoping to find another opportunity to meet Kang Shengtai's assistant.

"She's...your friend? I haven't heard you mention her before, but she doesn't seem to know you." Wan Yi shook his head, his eyes lighting up. He leaned in and nudged her shoulder with his elbow, casually sidling up to her. He sighed, "This person is really rich. When I told her the club could guarantee her safety, she rented a suite for three months without hesitation. Tsk tsk, too bad she's all alone, no family, no friends..."

Gu Nan interrupted, "Don't pry into her affairs, and don't mention me to her. I'm leaving."

"Huh?" Wan Yi's face scrunched up in a grimace as he muttered to himself.

"That's weird."

Ye Xu's voice came through the receiver, and as if afraid Gu Nan wouldn't hear him, he raised his voice and repeated, "You've been acting really strange lately!"

Gu Nan glanced at the doorway subconsciously, then belatedly sighed. What was there to be nervous about?

"Tell me, what have you and the bone plate been up to this time? And how did the soup bowl treat you... and the soup spoon?" The tone was deliberately condescending and pitying.

"...It has nothing to do with bone plates."

"Hey," Ye Xu teased, "A new character? Soup Cup?"

Gu Nan pursed her lips, deciding to treat it as a soup cup.

"The soup cup and spoon are linked together, but the soup bowl doesn't react. Is that reasonable?"

Although she had never had a boyfriend, she had at least seen pigs run even if she hadn't eaten pork.

It's somewhat unreasonable for a normal man to see his girlfriend arm in arm with another man and not react at all.

"How much? To be precise, that's quite unreasonable." Ye Xu chuckled mischievously. "You know you can't do it in front of him... and even a soup spoon knows you can't put your arm around a soup cup in front of a soup bowl."

"Soup..." Gu Nan sighed in relief, at the mess of cups and bowls.

She raised her hand to rub the tip of her nose, her voice lowering: "I was just trying to test him."

The way the room looked suggested that he cared about her, but didn't mind her being close to other men.

I still remember back at the Earl's Club hospital, Lu Yushi told Wan Yi in person that he "didn't like his girlfriend getting too close to other men."

Several months have passed, and he's become more magnanimous?

"What exactly do you think he means?"

"Maybe he likes wearing green hats."

"...Ye Xu"

“Raising pigs!” Ye Xu immediately raised his voice seriously, “When you love him to the point of life and death, hey, he just waves his sleeves, turns around and leaves. There is no more cruel revenge than this.”

"...Have you been watching too many short dramas lately? How much free time does he have to come up with this idea?"

"Then tell me what you really mean. You two are boyfriend and girlfriend, so it's understandable that he would help you out. But to see you hugging and kissing another man and still be able to accept it with a normal expression, and yet you won't admit that he likes being cheated on."

"...Is it a matter of whether I admit it or not?"

"Or he's planning something big."

"..."

"Baby, do you feel that you're trying very hard to prove that he likes you?"

"...Did you eat too many wild mushrooms and get hallucinating? I'm hanging up!"

"Wait a minute," Ye Xu said, straightening his expression, and kindly said a few heartfelt words, "Think it over carefully. Is Lu Yushi being nice to you now because he still needs your help? There are still a few more hypnosis sessions to go. If you really do something to betray him, you'd better explain it clearly before the hypnosis ends. Even if you part ways then, it will be an amicable separation. Don't end up like Lu Yuanzhi."

Gu Nan sighed. It was Lu Yuanzhi again.

"If we've fallen out, let's just fight. His family is big and powerful, and I'm not afraid of anyone with nothing to lose. It's not certain who will win."

"...I shouldn't try to persuade you," Ye Xu said dismissively. "I'm hanging up."

The phone call had barely ended when Chen Li's email came in.

[Nan, this afternoon the person in charge of the Lu Group's project brought over the draft of the traceability system's information sharing mechanism. The Shen family won't provide any more important information before the cooperation begins. Should we finalize the contract with the Lu Group?]

Gu Nan held her head, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

Next to her room was the master bedroom, where the man who puzzled her the most lived.

In a moment of heightened anger, she even considered grabbing her phone and rushing over to confront him directly.

—When you treat me well, is it out of affection, or out of a sense of being subservient and making concessions?

She hoped it was love, so that she wouldn't be tied down and could use her status as Lu Yushi's girlfriend to stir up trouble in Beicheng and investigate that old incident from 18 years ago without any worries.

Yet, she fears that she might like him, enjoying his preferential treatment and cherishment, only to push him into the abyss from behind.

But it can't be that you don't like it.

She also needed to rely on Lu Yushi's influence. Without Lu Yushi, all her plans would have to be overturned and started over.

The incandescent light was blinding and slanted towards her. She leaned against the light and reached out to grab her shadow, which she couldn't grasp at all.

She suddenly realized that she herself didn't have the answer.

Separated by a wall.

The laptop light flickered; a new message had arrived.

[Mr. Lu, Mr. Xue's granddaughter has indeed passed away. According to elderly people who attended the funeral, Mr. Xue's entire family, including the servants, had bodies, and they were all placed in the coffin and buried on the same day. Lin Jianye led a vigil for seven days. Even if the little girl was still breathing when she was placed in the coffin, seven days is enough time for her to suffocate.]

Lu Yushi's fingertips twitched, but his expression remained unchanged. In fact, he had already guessed this result before the investigation even began.

Lin Jianye intended to silence them, and to ensure he had no future worries, he had to collect all the corpses without missing a single one.

Unconsciously, finger bones tapped the keyboard, the rhythmic "tap-tap" sound echoing in my ears.

Could it be that he guessed wrong?

He murmured softly, "Fire."

My gaze suddenly focused, and I typed: [Did the fire burn your face?]

Sun Qian's reply dispelled his suspicions: "There are injuries on her face, but she definitely looks like Mr. Xue's granddaughter."

Lu Yushi shook his head unconsciously, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. Had he been too busy lately? How could Lin Jianye be careless about something like this?

But this makes even less sense.

If Gu Nan and Mr. Xue have no connection, then why would she go to Xingyin Temple on the day Lin Jianye paid respects to his ancestors? Why would she let Su Wanting cause a scene at the main courtyard? And the woman who was with Su Wanting was most likely someone Gu Nan knew.

He had his men follow the woman for a long time, and finally found her residence. However, because of Gu Nan's appearance, the seven bodyguards who were there to keep an eye on her were all distracted. Since then, his men have never been able to find any trace of the woman again.

However, there are indeed some doubts regarding the little girl in the case file. The other members of the Xue family died of natural gas poisoning because the rooms were sealed off and they lacked oxygen, but the little girl's body was found on the lawn outside.

[Same cause of death?]

Yes. Lin Jianye used the excuse that he wanted his master to be buried as soon as possible, and without demanding an investigation into the suspicious points, he put the matter aside.

Lu Yu scrolled the mouse wheel, lost in thought.

There are more questions than just about the little girl.

Back then, when the latest research results on indoor safety devices were reported from abroad, the Xue family took the lead in installing them in their villa. The test results were outstanding. However, when a fire broke out, the safety devices not only failed to function, but also automatically locked the doors and windows.

A large amount of methane was released, and the oxygen concentration instantly dropped to below 10%, causing everyone to suffocate and die.

Under such circumstances, how could the little girl have survived until the fire broke out, the door was broken, and she rushed out of the room, eventually collapsing on the lawn from exhaustion?

The mouse wheel scrolling motion gradually quickened, and before reaching the last page, he closed the computer, pinched his brow bone, and got up to wash up.

Unable to find any evidence, those who usually only focus on facts suddenly began to trust their intuition.

He put down the towel, wrapped himself in a bathrobe, and came out.

The knocking drowned out his footsteps.

The next second, the person in my mind squeezed in through the crack in the door.

"Judging by the days, it's time to hypnotize you. After this, two more times should be enough. Since you helped me out of this predicament, I'll waive the fee this time."

Lu Yu turned off his phone without making a sound, and the last message disappeared into the darkness.

There's a woman named Xue Li in the countryside of Xuncheng. Look her up.

He began, "Boyfriend...can't be free?"

Gu Nan's eyes flashed with surprise, but she quickly smiled and stepped forward, tugging at Lu Yushi's bathrobe, her movements intentionally or unintentionally brushing against his chest.

"Boyfriend, there's something I don't understand. Can you help me figure it out?"

Lu Yushi looked down at her, his eyes flashing like a cunning fox, but his pursed lips made it hard to expose him.

Following Gu Nan's words, he asked, "What is it?"

“I have a good friend who has been dating her boyfriend for a while. He treats her very well, and she always felt that he really liked her. But one time, she accidentally had some overly intimate physical contact with another man, and her boyfriend didn’t react at all,” Gu Nan stroked Lu Yushi’s bathrobe, looked up from his chest, stared into his eyes, and asked, “You’re both men, why do you think that is?”

The room remained silent for a while before Lu Yushi finally spoke.

Gu Nan unconsciously clenched her fingers, staring intently at his answer.

How good is it?

?

Gu Nan's expression was complicated: "Is this the key point?"

"because……"

Unconsciously tense, her heart pounding uncontrollably, Gu Nan stared intently at Lu Yushi's lips.