Chapter 26
Li Wan, after about three days, managed to obtain detailed information on those virtual numbers, though from whom remained a mystery. After discussing it with Qin Qianrou, they decided to hand it over to Qian Zhifei, letting him take charge of the reinvestigation.
Li Wan left the Economic Investigation Brigade after handing over the materials. Qin Qianrou had been waiting for her in the car. They had agreed to go for afternoon tea after finishing their business.
However, Qin Qianrou didn’t drive to their usual spot.
Li Wan carefully examined their surroundings from the car, confirming she hadn’t misidentified the location.
“Qianrou, you’re not planning on having milk tea at the entrance of Meng City University, are you?”
The busiest small shops near universities were always the clustered chain milk tea shops, each with their signature products and a loyal following. However, it was still some time before the official start of the semester, so not many shops were open.
“It’s on the way, and it’s still tea.” Qin Qianrou didn’t deny Li Wan’s guess.
Li Wan’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she muttered, “But milk tea is fattening. At our age, we need to focus on healthy living.”
Qin Qianrou heard her but ignored her, walking straight ahead.
Li Wan quickly followed and saw Qin Qianrou actually buying milk tea.
“Don’t tell me you came here specifically to scout the location?” After receiving her iced, sugar-free milk tea, Li Wan didn’t hesitate, immediately inserting the straw and taking a sip.
Diet? We’ll talk about that after I finish this.
“I said, it’s on the way.”
Li Wan leaned against the counter, looking at the entrance of Meng City University across the street. Students were already starting to return to campus. In a few days, there would be many more.
“Will Shen Yiqiu live on campus after the semester starts?”
Qin Qianrou shook her head, then nodded. “She didn’t say. But I think she probably will.”
Perhaps communal living was more suitable for Shen Yiqiu now. Qin Qianrou was also considering where Shen Yiqiu would go after being discharged.
Li Wan looked at her teasingly, “You’re not a very responsible ‘Aunt Qin,’ are you? She’s a new university student, and you’re not even concerned.”
Qin Qianrou gave her a look, and Li Wan felt a chill.
But she wasn’t afraid of Qin Qianrou and continued, “I think she relies on you quite a bit. Last time, when we celebrated her birthday, she looked so pitiful, it was truly heartbreaking.”
Qin Qianrou thought to herself, Pitiful? Why do I mostly remember Shen Yiqiu being happy?
“Initially, I wasn’t in favor of you taking on this responsibility, but after interacting with her, I really sympathize with the child.”
Qin Qianrou glanced at her again. This time, there was no chill, but it inexplicably made Li Wan uncomfortable.
She straightened up, her tone returning to normal, “If the car accident wasn’t an accident, then this child’s current situation is actually quite dangerous. Are we really going to completely abandon her after she turns eighteen?”
Qin Qianrou looked down at the milk tea in her hand. She had been pondering Li Wan’s question for days. She hadn’t expected such a complicated situation. If the car accident was indeed deliberate, then someone still wanted Shen Yiqiu dead.
“Of course we can’t completely abandon her, but we’re still outsiders. How much can we really do?”
Li Wan became anxious, “But she…”
Qin Qianrou sighed softly, “That’s why we need to help her uncover the truth as quickly as possible.”
That was the only way to truly provide reassurance and allow Shen Yiqiu to live a normal life.
“It’s not that easy. When I went to the Economic Investigation Brigade today, Qian Zhifei’s brows were practically knotted together.”
Qin Qianrou had expected as much, but she didn’t plan to get involved directly.
“If you stepped in, I think Captain Qian would definitely work twice as hard.” Li Wan had noticed Qian Zhifei’s interest; she could tell from how he had repeatedly asked about Qin Qianrou today.
Qin Qianrou wasn’t interested in this topic and said seriously, “There are suspicious points in the case, so it should be reinvestigated. Whether it’s you or me who reports the issue, the result will be the same.”
Li Wan chuckled, biting on her straw. Could she not see that Qin Qianrou was deliberately avoiding contact with Qian Zhifei? If even she could sense it, how could Qin Qianrou, the person involved, not know?
Just keep pretending. When you finally meet someone you like, let’s see if you can still be so serious and aloof.
Li Wan naturally wouldn’t dare to voice these thoughts to Qin Qianrou, but she was indeed curious and expectant.
Through tracing the numbers, Qian Zhifei did indeed discover anomalies. The information was simultaneously passed on to the traffic police and criminal police. Shen Yiqiu, as a family member, formally requested a reinvestigation of the car accident, which was perfectly legitimate.
Chen Kang went to the hospital again before Shen Yiqiu’s discharge, but he hesitated at the doorway for a while before going in.
Shen Yiqiu was packing her belongings. Unknowingly, she had stayed in the hospital for over a month, accumulating quite a few things.
“Why are you just standing there? Why not go in?” The nurse saw Chen Kang hesitating at the door and found it strange.
“I was just thinking about something. I’ll go in now.”
Chen Kang steeled himself and pushed the door open, immediately meeting Shen Yiqiu’s eyes. He instinctively looked away, then felt it was inappropriate and awkwardly looked back.
“What brings you here?” Shen Yiqiu’s tone was as usual.
Chen Kang, however, felt uncomfortable. He scratched his neck a few times, his gaze involuntarily fixed on the floor.
“I heard you were being discharged, so I came by to see if you needed any help.”
“Oh? I’m almost done packing. Thank you for your concern.”
Chen Kang mumbled in agreement, still scratching his neck. Shen Yiqiu could tell he had more to say.
After a moment of hesitation, Chen Kang said, “Actually, I came here today mainly to apologize to you.”
Hmm? Apologize?
Shen Yiqiu paused her packing, confused by Chen Kang’s intention.
“Before, you insisted on reinvestigating the car accident, and I kept advising you to accept reality. But the truth is, I almost allowed the truth to be buried. It was a dereliction of duty.”
For someone relatively new to the job, these feelings were complex. This chain car accident was the biggest case he had handled so far, so he had been particularly invested. Yet, despite his attention and effort, he had still made a misjudgment, which left him feeling annoyed, guilty, and frustrated
“Don’t blame yourself. You were advising me based on the available evidence at the time, and you didn’t force me to accept the outcome.” Shen Yiqiu paused, then continued in a slightly more intimate tone, “And you also agreed to give me more time, which led to this turning point. So you also helped me a lot, I should be thanking you.”
Chen Kang quickly waved his hands, “As long as you don’t blame me, there’s no need for thanks.”
He truly didn’t deserve any thanks now.
“Then I won’t thank you, and you don’t have to apologize anymore. We’re even.”
Chen Kang thought for a moment, then stiffly nodded, his expression finally relaxing.
**
Shen Yiqiu was discharged without any further issues. Shao Qidong hadn’t interfered again, and even Jiang Yuan had only called once, making a brief inquiry before leaving her alone.
It seemed that all the troublesome factors had disappeared, yet neither Shen Yiqiu nor Qin Qianrou felt at ease.
Qin Qianrou thought Shen Yiqiu would go directly to the dormitory, but she decided to return home first.
“Could you come up with me?” Shen Yiqiu made a small request before getting out of the car.
“Of course.”
This was the faculty housing area of Meng City University. Shen Zhifeng, as a distinguished professor, had been provided with housing benefits; this was the apartment the university had arranged for him.
“If you don’t want to live here, you can go to the dormitory today.” Qin Qianrou had spoken to the university, and they understood Shen Yiqiu’s situation and had made special arrangements.
“I want to take some things with me.”
Shen Yiqiu left her bag in the living room. The once familiar place now felt difficult to stay in for long. Without Qin Qianrou’s company, she was afraid she would start crying as soon as she entered.
“Do you need any help?”
Shen Yiqiu thought for a moment and shook her head, “Could you wait for me here?”
She wanted to find something her father had left behind, something Jiang Yuan was also likely looking for. Shen Yiqiu wasn’t sure if there was anything here in the Meng City apartment, apart from what was in the Hai City home.
Sounds came from the room, but after a long while, Shen Yiqiu came out empty-handed.
“Didn’t find it.” Openly admitting her failure, Shen Yiqiu’s disappointment was evident.
Qin Qianrou wanted to offer some comfort but felt it wasn’t a big deal to not find something. However, seeing Shen Yiqiu’s furrowed brows and thoughtful expression, it was likely she was looking for something important.
“Do you want to try sensing it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Try touching other things, see if you get any clues?”
Shen Yiqiu realized she was referring to her sixth sense and honestly replied, “I don’t think it will work. My heart isn’t giving me any signals, and it seems like I can only sense things from living beings.”
Qin Qianrou was no longer surprised by Shen Yiqiu’s unusual explanations; such supernatural phenomena were inherently inexplicable.
“So what are you planning to do next…?”
Shen Yiqiu looked around the apartment wistfully, then picked up her bag. “Let’s go. I don’t think I want to sleep here alone.”
She was the only one in the dormitory at the moment; her other roommates would arrive in a few days. Qin Qianrou helped her unpack and couldn’t help but remind her before leaving, “No matter where you live, be careful.”
She didn’t know if Shen Yiqiu was aware of her precarious situation, but Shen Yiqiu hadn’t asked for a place to stay, and Qin Qianrou couldn’t offer. Besides, Shen Yiqiu was now an adult. Subconsciously, Qin Qianrou didn’t want to get too close to her. After all, she had never been this close to someone she had only recently met, especially an adult.
**
Perhaps having gotten wind of something, Shao Qidong ceased all his petty actions against Shen Yiqiu. His last contact with Jiang Yuan had resulted in a preliminary cooperative agreement, which naturally involved exchanging information.
“I heard the car accident case is being reinvestigated?”
Receiving Jiang Yuan’s call, Shao Qidong rubbed his temples in frustration. “News travels that fast to Hai City?”
“It hasn’t officially spread, but regarding Lao Shen’s matters, we have our own channels.”
Shao Qidong didn’t have the energy to guess what Jiang Yuan’s channels were. He was currently troubled by how his seemingly flawless plan had developed a leak and been discovered. If the car accident continued to be investigated, would it eventually lead back to him?
Dongsheng Group being targeted was already troublesome enough, and now this issue had surfaced before the previous one had been completely suppressed. He wouldn’t be able to distance himself completely, and Qin Qianrou would definitely latch onto him and not let go.
The thought of Qin Qianrou made Shao Qidong even more irritated. She had managed to stir up this mess while on vacation. Now that she was back at work, things would be even more difficult.
However, getting rid of Qin Qianrou was no simple task. There were many people at the television station, both openly and covertly, protecting her. Moreover, she had a close friend who was the daughter of the deputy mayor.
“Didn’t you guarantee you could handle everything in Meng City? It’s just this small matter, and you’re already failing.”
Jiang Yuan’s taunt made Shao Qidong want to hang up immediately!
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