Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1012: A mother’s insight

"Start talking."

Yijun bent his torso over the desk, enveloping the dealer in his intimidating space.

"I don't know anything."

He smiled. "Oh you know everything. Right from the night you went to Hou Lin's cafe until now when you supposedly met some mystery man. So once again. Start talking."

The dealer anxiously looked around and in no mood to answer.

"Who are you looking for?"

"N-Nobody! I am not talking to you!"

"Are you sure? I feel like you are looking for somebody close by."

"I am not talking to you!" He resisted harshly against his handcuffs.

"You better-"

The door opened with a loud thud just then and a furious Chang Fang entered the interrogation room.

"What is going on, Soo Yijun!"

Yijun narrowed his eyes. "What do you think is happening here, Inspector Chang? There is a criminal in front of me and I am questioning him."

"What I mean is why are YOU questioning him? I am Hou Lin's prison officer and as such I am in charge of this case."

"I am the one who arrested him."

He smiled sarcastically. "Sure, I will hang a photo of your recognition all around the bureau. Thank you for your efforts but I can take it from here."

Yijun noticed a visible change in the dealer's expression that shone with a sense of relief. The fear in his eyes transitioned to confidence and arrogance.

"You are now suddenly interested in taking over? Where was this interest when you were investigating?"

"What do you want to imply?" His face blackened.

"Where were you today?" He asked, point-blank.

"Why should I answer that question? It has nothing to do with the case."

"There is somebody who might have seen you in a place you shouldn't have been?"

"What nonsense," his expression twisted with annoyance. "Today was my day-off. I was at the theater to catch a movie. Then I got the news that the dealer was caught so I rushed right away. She must have misunderstood somebody else for me."

Yijun stared at him. "When did I say that it was a woman who saw you? Did I reveal the gender of the person?"

That caught him off-guard and so did the dealer.

"I mean it was just a hunch."

He smiled. "Some sharp hunch you have."

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He gnashed his jaw. "Limit your arrogance, Soo Yijun. Do you have a beef with me that you are trying to set me up like this?"

"Who has a beef with who, well, that time will only tell."

"And right now, it's time for you to leave. Like I said, I will take it from here," he smiled.

Thrown out of the interrogation room, Yijun cursed heavily in his mind.

Movie theater? He scoffed to himself.

"Yeah I have to find out which movie it was that he was enjoying so much."

—-

Alix rummaged through Mui's cupboard but couldn't find the target she was looking for. Suddenly, she heard footsteps creeping in the room and she froze.

Damn, isn't that idiot sister away?

"...Alix?"

Recognizing Ren Cuifen's voice, she heaved a sigh of relief. She popped her head out of the wardrobe door and frowned.

"Don't scare me like that."

"I was just wondering what you are looking for in Mui's room…"

"Let me find it first."

Alix went back to her work and Ren Cuifen chimed in again.

"Maybe I can help you."

"No, you can't. Apparently, your second daughter is very secretive. You won't know."

"I see…"

Alix resumed searching through her room and scoured all possible hiding places but couldn't find any suspicious bottles or medicine pills.

Where could she have kept it?

"Pillows?" Ren Cuifen suggested.

"Already checked."

"I mean…inside the pillows."

"That's where I checked."

"You just unzipped the pillow cover. I am talking about inside the pillows. Literally inside it. In the cotton."

Alix stared at her. "Seriously? Is she that smart?"

"She used to think that the best place to hide stuff is a place you are actively present. Like sitting on a couch or sleeping on a bed. I think she still does."

"How do you know?"

"Mothers know some things very well even if their children might grow up and become all secretive," she smiled.

She kept quiet.

Okay, maybe I underestimated her a teensy tiny bit…

"But if she hid it inside the pillow then tearing off the pillow and stitching it back should obviously be visible?"

"But Mui is very good at needlework. You…" she stiffened. "I mean she was too. They learned it from me."

Alix stared at her hands and wondered if she really knew how to do needlework. She didn't want to take that chance. She glanced up at Ren Cuifen in silence.

"If for some reason-"

"I can stitch it back the way it was. She wouldn't know."

She pressed her lips. "Are you a mind-reader?"

"I am a mother."

"Not…not mine. You don't have to help me so much."

Ren Cuifen stayed silent for a long moment.

"I simply know that the girl standing before me is my daughter. There cannot be any ifs and buts to that."

Alix uncomfortably walked upto the bed and grabbed the pillow. She refrained from pursuing that line of conversation and handed her the pillow.

"Please."

A while later, Alix held a small vial in her hands, containing some liquid. She peered closer and brought it in front of the bedside lamp.

"Have you seen this before?"

Ren Cuifen shook her head. "No."

She let out a sudden gasp with a guess occurring to her. "Don't tell me Mui is doing drugs? Is this poison? Is that why she is taking so much effort to hide it?"

Alix showed a picture to her on the phone and asked, "Do you remember this evening?"

"Oh yes. You were all at a party."

Her gaze softened in melancholy. "There wasn't so much hatred and contempt between you sisters at that time…"

Alix waited for her emotional turbulence to pass and asked, "Do you remember if something had happened back then? During this party or after it? Anything big?"

She knitted her brows. "No, it was just a normal party."

Alix clicked her tongue inwardly.

Back to square one…

"Um but…"

"What?" Her ears perked up again.

"I don't think if this counts as something big or not, but it was around this time that you were starting to act differently. You were always such a level-headed girl so your father and I were deeply shocked to see you irritable and anxious."