First tone
Yu Zou spent the New Year in the hospital, and after the New Year, he was admitted to the hospital again.
Fortunately, the bullet was not deeply embedded and did not damage any nerves. Local anesthesia did not delay the police questioning, and coincidentally, the officers who came to collect evidence were the same Alpha officer and his partner who had handled the defective products case before.
"Hello, this is a police officer from the Capital City Police Department. We received a report and are here to understand the details of the case. Can you understand me?" The police ID flashed by, and Yu Zou only had time to make out the two characters "He Can".
"Officer He, I'm under local anesthesia, and my mind is clear." Yu Zou sensed that he was clearly hostile towards him, which he guessed was because the previous case had left a bad impression.
He Can's eyes flashed, and he asked, "That's good. You're the one who reported the crime?"
"no."
"According to your call logs, why didn't you report the incident to the police immediately and instead called other people?"
"If I lose consciousness, my fiancée is next to me. I'm calling my friend to protect him."
"Understood. The time and place of the incident."
"My home, or more precisely, my parents' home, is a guest room on the second floor. It was around 9 a.m.."
How did you get injured?
"Du Pianjian went back to his room to pack his luggage, and I went to help him. He was shot when he handed me the pipa, so I immediately took him to hide in the corridor."
Did you see anyone fire a shot or anyone suspicious?
"No."
"There are two bullet marks at the scene, one with a time difference. What were you doing after the first shot rang out?"
"I was sleeping when I heard the first sound, and I thought I was dreaming."
"Okay, thank you for your cooperation."
After He finished asking his question, his partner finished writing the last line, pressed the recorder, and then added, as if going through the motions, "I wish you a speedy recovery."
The two left the ward together. He Can glanced at Li Kuo, who was leaning against the opposite wall, then turned to Du Pianjian, who had just stood up, and said, "No need to get up, you can sit down. Would it be convenient for us to understand the process of the case?"
Du Pianjian nodded.
He Can's question was exactly the same, and Du Pianjian's answer was exactly the same as Yu's.
"The first bullet was fired when you were alone in the room. It's very likely that the other party intended to kill you. Have you ever had any conflicts with anyone?"
Du Pianjian thought for a moment and said, "No."
He Can raised an eyebrow, winked at his partner, took a step back, and his partner took a step forward. In that brief moment of movement, He Can slipped his police ID into his partner's back pocket, then turned and walked towards the fire escape. Li Kuo waited a minute before following him in.
With only a one-minute time difference, the fire escape was already filled with smoke.
He Can lit a cigarette, blew a long smoke ring, and waited for Li Kuo to come in. He complained, "If I had known we would meet here, why did we have to drive two cars at the dinner table? What a waste of gas money."
Li Kuo waved his hand in front of his nose, walked over, stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into the trash can, and retorted, "Fire exit? Can't you read?"
He Can's voice also carried a whiff of smoke. Li Kuo pulled away in disgust, but He Can pulled him back and spoke right in front of his nose: "You arrived before me. Did you see who it was?"
"Get lost!" Li Kuo pushed the person away, coughed twice, and said, "You'll be strangled to death sooner or later."
“If you don’t smoke, you’ll die right now,” He Can replied. “His punishment has already been handed down. I’m just going through the motions today. If you really care about your friend, then keep these two far away from this Omega.”
Li Kuo looked over suspiciously, and He Can whispered, "I suspect that when the first bullet was fired, he already recognized who it was, and then deliberately lured someone up to kill them. Of course, this is just my suspicion."
He patted him on the shoulder, took out a box of fruit candies from his pocket, poured out a few candies and put them in his mouth, then walked out of the fire escape.
When Li Kuo returned to the ward, He Can had already left, and Du Pianjian was nowhere to be found. Only Yu Zou was in the ward.
Yu Zou immediately asked, "Is it Luo?"
Faced with the choice of whether to tell the truth and exacerbate their conflict, or to conceal the truth and shift all the blame onto the Luo family, Li Kuo easily chose the latter: "Just focus on recovering, I'll handle it. What about Du Pianjian?"
Yu Zou's gaze abruptly stopped, and he abruptly turned to another direction, replying, "I went to get the medicine."
"When are you getting married?" Li Kuo looked at the engagement ring on Yu Zou's left hand.
"March 21st."
"Why don't you postpone your injury?" Li Kuo looked at Yu Zou strangely and made his judgment. "You're not as resistant as you were at the beginning."
"Yes," Yu Zou readily admitted without any attempt to conceal anything.
"You've fallen for him?" Li Kuo reacted strongly, but Yu Zou didn't understand and asked in return, "Is that not allowed?"
Li Kuo hesitated, but Yu Zou told him to speak plainly. Li Kuo wanted to relay He Can's words verbatim, but at that moment Du Pianjian returned, carrying a packet of medicine. He walked past Li Kuo, looking at the doctor's instructions as he went, and spoke directly to Yu Zou: "Where are we going?"
Yu Zou looked at Li Kuo, and Du Pianjian followed suit. Under their gazes, the scales in Li Kuo's heart, which had been tipped, suddenly shifted in another direction. He Can was not entirely certain, and he had not been involved in all aspects of the matter. How much truth or falsehood in his guesses was enough to support his certainty?
“Safe,” Li Kuo said.
Yu Zou sincerely thanked him and extended an invitation: "Would you like to be my best man? You've helped me so much, I want to share this joy with you."
Li Kuo revealed an even stranger expression, mixed with a hint of expected surprise: "Let's see how it goes."
"You must have time. Li Kuo, please, my good friend." Yu Zou sat and tilted his head to look at Li Kuo's face. He knew that Li Kuo's awkward temper hadn't been completely worn away by growing up and was still somewhat there. He would agree, but it would require a strong request.
Li Kuo had already relented and asked, "Aren't you going to postpone the wedding?"
"Why the delay?" Yu Zou struggled to lift his arm, which was wrapped in white gauze. "A month is enough for me to recover."
"That would be best. I don't want to see you unable to hold the microphone up at your wedding. I'm leaving." Li Kuo's slight smile vanished as he left the hospital.
On the way from the hospital to the car, Yu Zou was mentally trying to figure out how to explain the sudden shooting, but Du Pianjian didn't seem to care at all. She calmly sat in the driver's seat and asked, "Where are we going?"
"Hmm..." Yu Zou thought for a while and decided to ask himself the question he thought was most important first, "Aren't you scared?"
Du Pianjian's eyes narrowed, but he forced them back down. His lips parted slightly, and after three or four seconds he said, "I'm scared. Although the police said the criminal has been caught, I'm still shaken and don't want to see that room."
“I have another place to stay.” Yu Zou typed with difficulty on the navigation with his left hand, “Hezhu Haishan.”
Du Pianjian started the engine, turned the steering wheel sharply, and the car turned out of the parking space and into the middle of the road. After a half-hour drive, the car entered the gate of Black Gold and drove for another fifteen minutes. Following Yu Zou's directions, they entered the underground parking garage. Yu Zou got out of the car first and led Du Pianjian upstairs in the elevator.
The elevator doors opened, and blue electric light danced across the ceiling. The goggles on the little robot figurine in the entryway suddenly lit up, its pixelated eyes blinking into a smiling face as it loudly exclaimed, "Administrator Z! Welcome home! We have a guest. Would you like something to drink?"
Du Pianjian bent down to be level with the little robot. The robot was two-headed, snowman-like, wearing a blue bow tie with an even bluer hyacinth in the center. Its pixelated eyes seemed to enlarge, as if trying to look at Du Pianjian. Its mechanical voice, though dull, held a lively, earnest effort: "Hello, I am Ysion-910, you can call me Yisong. It's nice to meet you. Could you tell me your name?"
"What is this?" Du Pianjian asked Yu Zou, pointing at the object.
"What's this? Hello! Welcome! What would you like to drink?"
"Yi Song, turn it off." The little robot screen yawned and slowly closed its eyes. Yu Zou pinched the bridge of his nose and explained, "It's an AI I developed based on smart home systems on the market, but it still has many flaws, and I haven't had time to perfect it."
Du Pianjian surveyed the living room. The cool-toned decor was simple yet sophisticated, with each piece of furniture retaining its own unique character within the overall harmony. Even the sofa felt exceptionally comfortable, perfectly matching the feeling Yu Zou evoked.
Yu Zou brought over a cup of tea and placed it on the tea table in front of Du Pianjian, saying, "Make do with this. I don't have any good tea here. Would you like to tell me what Shao Yuan said to your father?"
The tea was very pale, probably of the Longjing variety. Du Pianjian looked at the tea and shook her head: "Shao Yuan didn't go to see my father."
Yu Zou felt a chill run down his spine. Li Kuo's reaction meant it wasn't the Luo family who did it. Shao Yuan hadn't gone to find Du Junzhang, so it couldn't have been him either. Then who else could it be? Who else... Suddenly, he remembered the first gunshot. Perhaps it wasn't aimed at him at all, but at Du Pianjian.
Thinking of the person, his eyes followed her gaze. Du Pianjian held his teacup, sipping slowly. His slightly parted lips were thin with a prominent lip, while his lower lip was full and curved, appearing even more translucent with the tea. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind: Du Pianjian was used to this kind of assassination, which was why he was so calm and hadn't questioned it.
Yu Zou's wound was burning, and a shiver ran through his skin. All the details he had never cared about before now had new meaning. An indescribable stimulation pierced his heart, and a strange current surged up his spine. At this moment, he met Du Pianjian for the first time.
"You..." He could only utter one syllable at this point.
"What?" Du Pianjian replied.
"No, it's nice to meet you."
Du Pianjian squinted curiously, trying to figure out what Yu Zou was trying to express. Seeing that he didn't speak but just smiled, she simply gave up trying to figure out what it meant.
Du Pianjian drove away in Yu Zou's car. The remaining vacation flew by. A month passed quickly. The wound was healing, and the wedding date was approaching.
Firecrackers exploded, red paper filled the sky, and a crowd escorted Yu Zou to the Du family home to fetch the bride. After a ceremonial rejection ceremony, Du Pianjian was led to the wedding car. The silver "Goddess of Joy," draped in a red gown, slowly appeared amidst red roses, its engine humming softly, a deep, barely suppressed joy. The motorcade maintained perfect spacing, moving steadily through the red carpet-like sunlight. The silent blessings of passersby and the intersecting flashes of camera lights were a momentary, eternal testament. This high-profile and luxurious march, steadily and triumphantly, arrived at the wedding venue.
With some time still to go before the auspicious time, the newlyweds were each in their own dressing room. It was considered unlucky for the couple to sit alone in an empty room; they needed the presence of the best man and the groom. At this moment, the best man was sitting on the sofa, and only He Honghan and Li Kuo were present as groomsmen. However, everyone remained silent. Yu Zou suddenly felt tense in this silence. He checked his watch for the third time; there were still 43 minutes and 25 seconds until the auspicious time. He tried to distract himself, but his mind was completely blank with tension. He could only keep reviewing the ceremony procedures, obsessing over the details, and unconsciously scrolling through pages on his phone after searching online.
"You remind me of my wedding day, it's so nice." The person with the best fortune was Zhao Junjie's father. His back was straight but not stiff, he leaned slightly against the sofa cushions, his gaze warm and clear. A just-right sense of distance kept the others in the room at bay, neither making them uncomfortable nor inviting them to get close. Yu Zou knew that Zhao Junjie might come to join in the fun, so it wasn't surprising that he offered to be a groomsman. But how exactly did he manage to convince his father to be the person with the best fortune for him?
Yu Zou shook her head to clear her mind of increasingly absurd thoughts, and smiled as she thanked him for easing her tension: "Uncle Zhao, I think I'll definitely forget my vows by then, what should I do? What should I say?"
Zhao's father's gentle tone could soothe agitated nerves: "Just say what you want to say. It's okay if you can't say it. Your partner will understand."
Yu Zou looked at him, wondering if, thirty years from now, he would also be sitting in the same spot as Zhao's father, reminiscing about today's wedding.
He had barely taken two steps when his heart began pounding like a cracked sunflower seed. In the quiet lounge, He Hong was constantly munching on peanuts and sunflower seeds. Not content with just one meal at the Du family's house, she had stuffed them into her pocket and was now leisurely munching on them, a smug smile on her face as she looked at Yu Zou.
Yu Zou stopped him with a look, then asked, "Where's the ring?"
He Honghan: "In Shinaona."
"Where is Shi Nao?"
"have no idea."
"You don't know?!" Yu Zou jumped up.
He Honghan threw the sunflower seed shells into the trash can, brushed the crumbs off her hands, and reassured him, "Calm down, calm down, I'll go find some."
After saying that, she pushed open the door and walked slowly down the corridor with her hands in her pockets. An Alpha walked briskly towards her, also dressed in a groomsman's suit, holding a bouquet of blue and white roses, and brushed past He Honghan.
He Honghan took two steps forward and then turned back. After watching the person disappear around the corner, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Her gaze narrowed slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, she walked forward again, pushed open the fire door, and with only a crack, a loud slap came out. Shi Nao lowered her voice and cursed, "Overstepping your bounds? A dog should have a dog's sense of propriety. Don't embarrass me!"
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