Xu Weiwei's unexpected death had no impact on Qingye Bar.
Ruan Chen was afraid that Ruan Yunhan would get lost in the crowded bar, so he sat at the bar for a while and only walked slowly toward the private room he had arranged to meet Tao Ran after confirming that Ruan Yunhan had come in.
Tao Ran wasn't wearing a mask, but a baseball cap with the brim low, covering most of her face except for her sharp jawline.
Ruan Chen stepped into the private room, carrying a bottle of soda, and sat on the sofa on the other side.
"Why are you suddenly feeling unwell?" Tao Ran got up, closed the door, and went to look at Ruan Chen. "The boss said he wanted to invite you to stay permanently, and I've already scheduled you for today."
Ruan Chen yawned, opened the soda bottle cap with one hand on the corner of the table, and instead of pouring it into a glass, gulped down half the bottle, looking listless. "I'm not in a good mood."
"What about Xu Weiwei?" Tao Ran sighed softly. "She was such a good girl, it's really a pity."
"Are you two very familiar?" Ruan Chen casually looked out through the glass door of the private room, making small talk with Tao Ran.
"What?" Tao Ran laughed, leaning back on the sofa with his arms outstretched. "Do you want to help the Xu family seek justice or help the Municipal Public Security Bureau solve the case?"
Tao Ran had already learned some information about Ruan Chen from Xu Xiaolan—such as that she was a genius favored by Professor Duan Jingfu of Jinghua University of Science and Technology, and that her relationship with the Ruan family was very strained.
No wonder she didn't care about his identity at all.
“Xu Weiwei’s death is suspicious. I happen to be going to the Xu family tomorrow, so I’ll ask you if you have any thoughts,” Ruan Chen lazily curled up her legs. “Aren’t you and Sister Xiaolan old friends? You’re not happy that I’m helping her?”
When Ruan Chen had nothing to do, she dug up information about the movie star Tao Ran. He graduated from Beijing University of Science and Technology and should have been a good candidate for scientific research. But somehow he made his debut and became famous for ten years.
He and Hsu Hsiao-lan are considered to be from the same school.
Seeing that Ruan Chen was genuinely willing to help, Tao Ran put down her wine glass and became serious.
“She started promoting me right after I debuted—not chasing after me, but the kind of promotion that involved spending a lot of money on me. Later, we became close, and she often told me about the Xu family—she has a younger brother with a congenital intellectual disability, and her family has always made her take care of him. They wouldn’t allow her to marry her boyfriend or go out to work, but they never mistreated her materially.”
Ruan Chen lowered her eyes and listened quietly.
Only Tao Ran's magnetic, cool voice flowed through the private room.
“I’ve been hanging out at Qingye Bar for a few years, and nobody knows about it except my manager. A while ago, my manager accidentally let it slip, and that girl came looking for me. But she doesn’t bother me. She just drinks alone upstairs. When she gets drunk, she cries. I’ll arrange for someone to take her home.”
“Until that night.”
Tao Ran sighed softly, her eyes filled with reminiscence, her slender fingers twirling the prayer beads.
Ruan Chen nodded to indicate that she understood.
Outside the door, Ruan Yunhan's figure had already circled around three or four times.
She put down the juice bottle in her hand, tilted her head, and gave Tao Ran a sly smile, "You made me come up here with you that day, causing me so much trouble. You owe me such a big favor, don't you have to repay it?"
"...What kind of things can you possibly like?"
Ruan Chen got up and left, leaving the door open before she did, and said coldly, "I'm going to the restroom, I'll tell you when I get back."
Tao Ran shouted to close the door, but the figure walking away ignored him.
Too lazy to get up, he picked up his hat and put it on his head, took out his phone and started a game to pass the time, wondering what Ruan Chen might want.
What can't a student that Duan Jingfu has his eye on have?
All he can offer are worldly things, which must be quite boring for a genius like him.
Ruan Chen hadn't returned after a while, but other people had come to the private room.
Tao Ran took a break from the game, glanced at the tray the person was carrying, and said impatiently, "I didn't ask for wine."
The person carrying the tray said softly, "Miss Ruan Chen called."
No wonder he didn't come back for so long.
Tao Ran raised his chin. "Put it down."
He reached out and took one of the two glasses of wine on the tray.
The moment his fingertips touched the slightly cool wine glass, Tao Ran's eyes suddenly became wary beneath his baseball cap.
Ruan Chen doesn't drink alcohol. Every time I see her, she's either drinking juice or soda.
Ruan Chen never used her real name at Qingye Bar; everyone there called her Sister Bai.
After all, he graduated from Beijing University of Science and Technology and was a fellow student of Shen Xiaolan. Tao Ran quickly remembered who he was after a brief thought.
I met her at the Municipal Public Security Bureau that day; she's Ruan Chen's sister.
Shen Xiaolan once said that the two had a very strained relationship; they were half-siblings and not very close.
He smiled knowingly, put down his phone, and said, "My friend doesn't look like he'll be back anytime soon. Shall we sit down and have a drink together?"
Ruan Yunhan felt a sense of disappointment. Rumors had it that the movie star was an unapproachable figure, but now it seemed he was nothing special.
But she still sat down and carefully picked up a glass of wine and placed it in front of Tao Ran, saying, "Please enjoy, sir."
On the first floor, Ruan Chen took out his computer from the locker, found a quiet corner, and easily accessed the network of Qingye Bar, hacking into the surveillance system.
The story unfolded exactly as she had imagined—boring and cliché.
My phone vibrated slightly; it was Tao Ran.
"Is it fun?"
Ruan Chen smiled. In the surveillance footage, Tao Ran looked completely engrossed in playing the game. Ruan Yunhan watched him anxiously and expectantly, waiting for him to bring the wine to her lips.
She replied, "Didn't you ask me how to pay it back? Well, here's your chance, do your best."
Tao Ran: "I really don't want to go to the police station again. Last time, when we were photographed by paparazzi, it took the studio a lot of effort to suppress the photos."
Ruan Chen: "A renowned movie star who doesn't keep his word?"
Tao Ran sent a pleading emoji.
Five minutes later, the door to the private room was kicked open.
It was still a report from a concerned citizen.
Concerned citizens also reminded them to check the surveillance footage as soon as possible.
Early in the morning, before Ruan Chen was fully awake, a loud and continuous knocking on the door yanked her out of bed.
She frowned, stood up, opened the door, and looked coldly at the person banging on it. "What is it?"
It is Yu Wanqing.
The first thing they did was interrogate me, "Where did you go last night?"
Ruan Chen suppressed her morning grumpiness, went downstairs to wash up with a cold face, and replied casually, "What business is it of yours, you're just a live-in nanny?"
Ruan Yunhan went out with Ruan Chen last night and hasn't come back. Yu Wanqing tried calling her phone all night but it was switched off. Ruan Zhengde also had someone investigate, but there are still no results.
The driver who took Ruan Yunhan last night said that the young lady only asked her to go as far as People's Square, and then took another car.
After washing up, Ruan Chen loosely tied her hair up and casually spread chocolate sauce on the bread with a knife.
Yu Wanqing rushed over, wanting to press for answers, but when she saw the fierce look in Ruan Chen's eyes and the cold glint of the knife in her palm, her tone immediately softened.
“You left one after the other yesterday, so I thought you might be going the same way.”
Ruan Chen slammed down her knife, the metal striking the marble countertop with a crisp, cool sound, just like her tone: "I don't know, it's not on my way."
She ate her sandwich in small bites, finding it too dry, and then got up to pour herself some iced milk. Just then, Yu Wanqing's phone rang.
"Are you a family member of Ruan Yunhan? This is the Municipal Public Security Bureau. We're here to inform you that your daughter is currently under investigation for suspected poisoning..."
The phone slipped from Yu Wanqing's hand and crashed heavily to the ground.
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