"Miss, do you still remember the murder case in Renhe Hospital half a month ago?" Zhou Xi looked at Zhou Yuanyuan with a hint of hope in his eyes.
"The day when the first snow fell this winter?" Zhou Yuanyuan thought for a moment and asked.
The first day Zhou Yuanyuan went to Hong Kong Island, the first snow fell in Kyoto.
That night, a bizarre murder occurred at Renhe Hospital. The victim, Xiaoqing, a nurse at Renhe Hospital, died inexplicably in the hallway of the Medical Technology Building on that snowy night. Before her death, Xiaoqing must have witnessed something terrifying; her eyes were wide open, their sockets bulging. Most puzzling of all, there was not a drop of blood on Xiaoqing's body, nor was there a single wound.
Dead? The blood was gone, and Zhou Yuanyuan kept thinking about it, thinking of some Western creature. But this was China, could some Western creature cross the line?
Zhou Yuanyuan shook her head and denied her guess.
The murder was so bizarre that in the days following Xiaoqing's death, people frequently burned incense and paper in the corridors of the medical technology building, as if fearing being haunted by Xiaoqing's spirit. After investigating for over two weeks, police officers made no progress. During this time, another murder occurred at a wholesale market less than 20 kilometers from Renhe Hospital. The victim was a middle-aged man in his forties named Lao Xiao, who had been working as a warehouse keeper at the wholesale market.
Three days ago, another nurse at Renhe Hospital died under similar circumstances to Xiaoqing. However, this time, the death occurred not in the hospital but in the nurse's home. The nurse was Xiaoxu, 22 years old, and had just graduated from nursing school less than six months ago.
Three murders occurred within two weeks, all with identical causes of death. The high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Public Security were now restless and had no choice but to report the case and request "external assistance." After some deliberation, the higher-ups assigned the task to the Special Operations Team.
"Miss, tonight... can you come over and support us?" Zhou Xi felt a little embarrassed when he made this request, but for the sake of the team members, Zhou Xi had to ask.
The special operations team had no cultivators, so facing such a "murderer," it was unclear whether they had any chance of success. After practicing the entire set of exercises, Zhou Xi felt that his sense of danger had become much more acute. Somehow, whenever he thought of tonight's mission, Zhou Xi would feel a sense of dread, which forced him to ask Zhou Yuanyuan for help.
"Okay." Zhou Yuanyuan nodded. Thinking of Xiaoqing, Zhou Yuanyuan recalled some things that happened when she was in the hospital. She had never pursued the matter before because she had never had time to pay attention to a minor character like Xiaoqing. It seemed that some things could not be let go just because she didn't want to pursue them.
"Thank you, young lady." Zhou Xi was overjoyed when he got Zhou Yuanyuan's affirmative answer.
After agreeing to Zhou Xi, Zhou Yuanyuan got in the family car and went to Zhao Qingshan's house.
When Zhao Yu and Zhao Xia saw Zhou Yuanyuan come in, they happily threw the toys in their hands aside, ran up and gave Zhou Yuanyuan a kiss on the cheek.
Zhou Yuanyuan endured the wet feeling on her cheeks and didn't dare to reach out to wipe it. There was no other way. These two little kids were always so enthusiastic every time they saw Zhou Yuanyuan. If Zhou Yuanyuan showed a hint of disgust, these two little ones would burst into tears.
"Sister, why haven't you come to see Xiaoyu for so long? Have you forgotten about Xiaoyu?" After Zhao Yu kissed Zhou Yuanyuan, she remembered that she hadn't seen her cousin at home for several days, and she blamed her.
"Sister, play hide-and-seek with Xiaoxia, play hide-and-seek with brother." Zhao Xia's speech was not as fluent as Zhao Yu's, but Zhou Yuanyuan understood that little Zhao Xia wanted her to accompany them to play the game of "hide-and-seek"!
Unfortunately, Zhou Yuanyuan doesn’t have time today. She promised Zhou Xi that she would go to help in the evening, and she also has to chat with her grandfather this afternoon!
"Xiaoyu, Xiaoxia, I'm busy today. Can I play games with you next time?" Zhou Yuanyuan picked up Zhao Yu and Zhao Xia, brother and sister, and negotiated with them. Although Zhao Yu and Zhao Xia were still young, Zhou Yuanyuan didn't want to use her status as an older sister to suppress them. Children this age are like blank slates. To determine how they will grow up, adults must first demonstrate how they behave in front of them.
"Okay! Let's go play with Aunt Qin first. Sis, Mom said that children who lie will have their noses grow longer! Sis, your nose won't grow longer, will it?" Zhao Yu quickly reminded Zhou Yuanyuan, fearing she would forget what she had said the next time she came. Aunt Qin was the Zhao family's new nanny. She was 42 years old and very patient with the Zhao siblings, who loved her very much.
"Hehehe... Sister, my brother's nose became longer last night." When Zhao Yu reminded her, Zhao Xia remembered Zhao Yu's embarrassing incident last night, and quickly poked Zhao Yu at Zhou Yuanyuan.
"Sister, mom said that children are good if they can admit their mistakes and correct them. I want to tell mom that you keep bringing up old things." Seeing that his sister didn't give him any face at all, Zhao Yu frowned unhappily.
Yesterday, Zhao Yu bullied a friend and lied to his mother, Yu Meiru, about it. That evening, Yu Meiru received a call from her mother complaining about the incident. She deliberately told the two children, Zhao Yu and Zhao Xia, a story from "The Adventures of Pinocchio." The chubby little Zhao Yu, frightened by the "lying makes your nose grow longer" story, quickly admitted his mistake to his mother.
Zhao Xia was teasing Zhao Yu! This child, though not very articulate, understood everything clearly.
"Yeah, my aunt is right. A good child is one who admits his mistakes and corrects them." Zhou Yuanyuan didn't know what had happened to Zhao Yu, but when she heard little Zhao Xia whispering in her ear, she couldn't help but laugh.
Zhao Qingshan stood at the doorway of the living room and saw Zhou Yuanyuan and the two little kids chattering affectionately as soon as they met, a smile on his face. Elderly people love to see a family in harmony.
Zhou Yuanyuan was still talking to Zhao Yu and the others, but she wasn't idle either. She carried Zhao Yu and his sister to the living room. Zhao Qingshan had been standing by the doorway waiting for her since he heard her enter. He was just too embarrassed to fight with the two children for her, so he stood there motionless.
"Grandpa!" Zhou Yuanyuan was overwhelmed by the sight of Zhao Qingshan. She had only been away for a few days, and Zhao Qingshan looked the same, yet Zhou Yuanyuan felt as if a long time had passed. Remembering the dangers of the previous few days in the secret realm, and how she almost didn't get to see her grandfather and his family, Zhou Yuanyuan's eyes welled up, and tears welled up.
Afraid that Zhao Qingshan would see her loss of composure, Zhou Yuanyuan secretly wiped the tears from her face on Zhao Yu when she put the two little kids down. When Zhou Yuanyuan stood up and faced Zhao Qingshan, a big smile had already spread across her face.
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