Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn't Seem to Be Acting-Chapter 78

Qian Jiangde's greatest fortune in life was that he obtained Zhong Jia and became her husband.

But at the same time, this would also be his greatest misfortune.

He had used dirty and deceitful tactics to marry her.

He arrogantly regarded Zhong Jia as the best slave, confident that he would not suffer the same backlash as Yan Jiajia.

Most people around him treated their wives in similar ways, and their wives were subservient, so he felt his actions were not excessive. Even on the surface, he was still bearing with his wife's infertility.

The reality played out as he desired; his wife only put up a brief struggle before he seized control of her lifeblood, making her obediently submit to his manipulation, providing money for his lavish lifestyle and women.

"Zhong Hua is such a pain, I had to beat her to get the money out of her, wasting my time," he muttered with a hint of impatience, massaging his sore wrist.

Wobbling out, he decided to head straight to Hong Mei, as the money he had was enough for the saucy woman to put in some serious effort for two rounds, and he planned to spend the night there.

With money in hand, he couldn't bear to spend a minute at home.

Previously, Zhong Jia's figure was lean, but her skin and facial features were normal, giving her a delicate beauty. Now, however, she was emaciated to the point of looking like a straw man, her body old and rough, utterly distasteful to look at.

Thinking about this, he disdainfully pursed his lips, quickening his steps as he left.

Ye Sangsang followed behind him, and she didn't even need to conceal herself because Qian Jiangde didn't pay attention to anyone trailing him.

She wore a black hoodie, moving carefully to avoid cameras.

Fortunately, this era didn't have many cameras, so evading one or two along the way was enough.

Qian Jiangde also chose to take small paths, probably because the things he did were not fit to be seen.

Ye Sangsang glanced at the sky, which was now pitch black.

There were still a few pedestrians on the road, as nightlife wasn't concentrated in this area, so it wasn't crowded.

She didn't wear a hat or mask, as it wasn't necessary; ordinary people wouldn't pay attention to others.

However, wearing a hat and mask in this era would actually draw more attention, potentially prompting people to stare, thus defeating the purpose.

After walking for a while, according to the map, Qian Jiangde wasn't heading toward the planned bridge.

Ye Sangsang became a bit doubtful and took out her phone to check.

"Could it be because the time isn't right?" she whispered to herself.

Zhong Jia had designed Qian Jiangde's death as an accidental death with a sudden, random method of committing the crime.

Compared to meticulously planning and inflicting various tortures, randomly finding and using accidents to kill was the most difficult to find evidence and suspects for.

When she was young, she had read about a solved cold case where the murderer had randomly chosen women to rape and kill, depending on his mood. The police had no leads.

It wasn't until years later, when DNA left at the scene was matched, that they obtained a clue about the murderer.

When apprehended, the police found that he was an ordinary person who could have been anyone passing by.

Because of the randomness, it was difficult to even create a suspect profile.

Zhong Jia had probably been inspired by this, so she chose to act in this manner.

The incident was set to occur three days later.

The game system didn't provide any other information.

But Ye Sangsang was very clear that once that door was opened,

revenge would begin, and she wouldn't stop easily.

So this move was also for another purpose.

Qian Jiangde's disappearance was a part of Zhong Jia's plan.

It was just that the mission hadn't been triggered yet.

Ye Sangsang thought for a moment and stopped walking.

At this time, a vehicle parked across the street caught Ye Sangsang's attention; she noticed it quickly with a glance.

Black tinted windows, a long van, looking ordinary.

But she clearly realized that it hadn't been parked there before; it had stopped there while she was walking.

The only person Ye Sangsang could think of was Chen Shu.

She guessed that Chen Shu had already investigated her information, along with Yan Jiaojiao's, trying to find a connection between the two.

Unfortunately, Chen Shu probably wouldn't succeed, as Yan's family should have some wealth and were not originally from this city.

When they relocated, they changed their names and manipulated things further, and since there was no internet connection, as long as they didn't reveal their previous names, using the previous information seamlessly with the new one would show no name change.

Of course, one thing couldn't be changed: the paper graduation certificate. However, this didn't affect Yan Jiaojiao, as from 2002 onwards, China Academic Degree and Graduate Education Development Center had officially opened registration.

By 2008, it had opened national services, allowing changes and information updates; Yan Jiaojiao could directly use such certification to be recognized in this medium-sized city.

The paper graduation certificate, with her photo, could be explained away.

If they wanted to investigate, they would have to go to the school or ask Yan Jiaojiao's classmates.

But Yan's family changed their names, which meant they were very cautious in paving the way for Yan Jiaojiao. Therefore, this city would not be where she studied; there would be no classmates.

And Chen Shu probably hadn't thought of this yet, so he wasn't investigating in this direction.

What he currently knew was only that they had previously lived in the same place.

For him, Ye Sangsang had a strong motive for the crime.

Following her to gain clues was essential.

Even the surveillance footage, Chen Shu had probably watched over and over.

But because it was night, the footage was likely unclear, and he probably hadn't found anything.

Ye Sangsang continued walking, her gaze falling on a pharmacy, where she stepped forward.

After hesitating for a while, she gritted her teeth and walked in.

【Ah? Why stop following? I'll lose him!】

【What happened?】

【Isn't she going to off Qian Jiangde? I'm going to complain!】

Through the pharmacy's glass window, she could be seen standing at the counter, speaking to the clerk.

The clerk took out several bottles of wound medicine, and she inquired about the prices.

She hesitated at the counter for a long time before finally taking the cheapest one and pulling out money from her pocket.

All the money had been taken by Qian Jiangde, so she naturally couldn't afford it.

Finally, under the clerk's gaze, she dug out small change from her sock, counting it carefully before handing it to the clerk.

The clerk impatiently counted it, took it, and sat back down.

Ye Sangsang took the medicine and turned to leave.

She had discovered the method of hiding money in her sock by chance.

As she left the pharmacy, she suddenly understood.

Qian Jiangde had returned unexpectedly, but Zhong Jia had only moved late at night because she was being followed and had to give up.

The game copy really liked this trick of increasing difficulty for players.

By the time Ye Sangsang nearly reached the end of the street, the van started moving, driving forward and then turning to slowly approach the place where she was.

【Super intelligent, are you turning this camera just to praise Sister Sang's good alertness?】

【I thought Sister Sang was disappointing, why not just off the guy when she came out? Now it seems I was naïve.】

【It must be Chen Shu, I always felt this guy was relentless, now it seems that's indeed the case.】

Ye Sangsang hadn't been following Qian Jiangde for long; when she turned the corner at the end of the street, she arrived at the alley leading to her residence.

She directly turned in, not entering the house, but heading straight into a fork in the alley.

She stood at that intersection, listening to the sounds of the vehicles outside.

She hid in the darkness, carefully sensing the movements outside.

From the place where she stood, she couldn't hear the dialogue outside, she just wanted to know if they would get out of the car.

After a while, they didn't get out.

The small courtyard had a wall, and they couldn't see the inside, probably thinking she had entered the courtyard, so they just stopped there to observe her situation outside.

Ye Sangsang smiled and turned to leave.

She wasn't afraid if they entered, and they, as police officers, would also uphold their professional ethics and not enter.

She left from the back, as this type of row house area had interconnecting paths; she just needed to take a detour to avoid them.

She even had to thank them for fabricating an alibi for her absence.

The only trouble was that she had lost Qian Jiangde for a while, and the time wasted almost made her unable to find him.

After crossing several streets, she finally saw him.

Qian Jiangde stood at the street corner, looking left and right before lightly knocking on a courtyard door.

After a few seconds, the door was quietly opened, and a woman's figure appeared at the doorway, smiling happily as she welcomed Qian Jiangde inside.

【Is this going to cheat?】

【Truly a complete scoundrel! Don't Zhong Jia's parents love their daughter at all? So infuriating!】

【This kind of terrible person, is he the one Zhong Jia's parents arranged for her to marry? They really didn't think for their daughter at all!】

Many viewers in the live broadcast were speechless. Zhong Jia's parents, how could they pick someone like Qian Jiangde, who indulged in drinking, whoring, beating, and domestic violence? If he weren't broke, he'd probably be gambling too. What a cursed fate.

Ye Sangsang watched for a while, then checked the time.

If she guessed correctly, around midnight, Qian Jiangde would leave.

According to Zhong Jia's testimony, it was Qian Jiangde's destined death that night when he encountered the husband of his mistress, who had returned unexpectedly from his late shift. Panicked, he fled.

She had originally planned to throw stones or other objects, but before she could act, the woman's husband suddenly returned.

She watched as Qian Jiangde bolted out.

He didn't go back home but instead went straight to drink with friends.

Drinking with friends.

Everything aligned perfectly—timing, location, opportunity. If she didn't act, it would be a waste.

She patiently waited. If the woman's husband hadn't returned, she would have made sure Qian Jiangde left.

Time ticked by, and Ye Sangsang gradually moved backward to avoid being noticed.

At 11:40 pm, a slender man approached the yard where Qian Jiangde had entered and began pounding on the door.

The house lit up almost immediately.

If one listened closely, they could hear the rustling sounds, followed by the sound of a window being opened.

The man outside continued knocking, unaware of any anomaly.

Over a minute later, the courtyard gate opened.

The man glared at his wife, "Are you deaf? Can't you hear me knocking?"

"No... I was just too deep asleep. Besides, even if I heard, I'd be scared it wasn't you," the woman replied in a soft, coquettish voice. The man quickly forgot his annoyance.

The two entered the house, closing the door behind them as they talked.

Meanwhile, at the side of the house's courtyard gate, Qian Jiangde, holding his clothes, hurriedly put on his disheveled outfit and rummaged through the ground for his shoes.

Finding them, he quickly slipped them on, hunching over as he hastened away.

Ye Sangsang quietly followed, her footsteps barely making a sound on the brick-paved ground.

After walking about a hundred meters, Qian Jiangde took a deep breath, his expression filled with a sense of satisfaction from having cheated on his wife. He took out his phone and began calling friends to meet at a bustling street for barbecue and beer.

At this time of night, while it was relatively dangerous for women, it was a paradise for men's nightlife.

Probably because his friends agreed to meet, Qian Jiangde's steps became lighter.

He hummed a tune as he walked down the nearly empty streets.

Ye Sangsang quietly followed behind.

According to the map, in about five minutes, Qian Jiangde would step onto a bridge. Although the river's flow was less turbulent in the fall compared to summer, the depth and width were still substantial.

The distance from the bridge to the river below was about ten meters.

Ye Sangsang kept her distance and walked close to obstacles to avoid being noticed.

However, it seemed Ye Sangsang's caution was unnecessary. The man ahead never looked back, completely unaware that someone might want to kill him.

Soon, Qian Jiangde reached the bridge, and Ye Sangsang followed, gradually closing the gap before reaching the target location.

From the initial dozen meters, the distance on the bridge was now just five or six meters.

Qian Jiangde seemed to notice someone behind him and glanced back.

By then, Ye Sangsang had already pulled up the hood of her hoodie, her head bowed. Walking at the edge of the streetlight, Qian Jiangde didn't recognize her as his wife.

He paid no attention to the smaller figure behind him, confident that Ye Sangsang posed no threat.

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Men, it seemed, remained confident until the very end.

Still humming, he continued towards the place where he'd agreed to meet his friends.

Ye Sangsang, after he looked back, quickened her pace, reducing the distance to just three meters.

Cars occasionally passed by, but no one paid any attention to this scene.

The bridge had a railing, but it wasn't very high, only reaching Qian Jiangde's waist. It was a metal railing.

As Ye Sangsang silently counted down, Qian Jiangde reached the target spot.

She reached out, her gloved hand tapping Qian Jiangde's shoulder.

Instantly, Qian Jiangde turned around.

He was about to glare furiously at Ye Sangsang but froze as he realized the person behind him was his wife, Zhong Hua, coldly staring at him.

Ye Sangsang looked at him, and for a moment, he was so surprised he couldn't react.

When he finally snapped out of it, he found himself shoved against the railing.

Assuming Ye Sangsang had followed him to catch him cheating, he thought she was about to confront him. Instead of realizing the danger, he blurted out angrily, "Zhong Hua, you've been following me!"

His angry expression still on his face, he suddenly felt Ye Sangsang lunge forward. Before he could react, she grabbed both his ankles and pushed forcefully downward.

Qian Jiangde's hair stood on end as he instinctively reached out to grab Ye Sangsang for leverage.

Unfortunately, he was unprepared, and his opponent didn't give him a chance.

He toppled backward, headfirst, plunging toward the river.

His eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

To him, he was her pillar of support, a man who was supposed to be safe. Who would ever kill a man?

However, a robust man's survival instinct kicked in as he fell. Mid-air, he frantically grabbed at anything, narrowly catching hold of a railing.

The iron railing, about five or six centimeters in diameter, was newly installed, securely supporting Qian Jiangde's weight.

His body trembled as he clung desperately to the railing.

His gaze shifted to Ye Sangsang, now brimming with fear and despair.

It was only at this moment that he finally understood—what he had done had been remembered, and she harbored deep hatred for him.

Or perhaps, Qian Jiangde finally realized that she was a living, breathing human being.

This gaze, I first saw in Zhong Jia in this story.

【Does he realize it now? That Zhong Jia is also a person, not a tool.】

【What I get from this story is just one thing: if Zhong Jia doesn't fight back, then consuming her will be endless!】

The live broadcast viewers didn't feel a sense of satisfaction; instead, they felt a deep sense of oppression.

Their final confusion boiled down to one question: why did they hurt Zhong Jia, why did they take away everything that belonged to her?

There were no other people or cars nearby. Ye Sangsang crouched down.

"Do you feel despair too?"

Qian ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‍Jiangde's hand was throbbing with veins, his face flushed from the strain, as his other hand attempted to reach out and pull himself up.

However, Ye Sangsang reached through the railing, grabbing his outstretched wrist.

With all his strength focused on the other hand, even a slight touch was enough to render him unable to climb up.

Qian Jiangde wasn't an avid exerciser; his body was already weakened from excess drinking and womanizing. That hand, slippery with sweat, began to loosen slightly.

"Do you hate me that much?" he gritted out through clenched teeth.

Ye Sangsang crouched there, looking tiny and frail under the oversized black hoodie.

She smiled at him, "I didn't plan to kill you at first. But since you said you already knew, I'm glad you did. Otherwise, missing you would have made me die unhappily."

"My parents won't let you off! If I die, they'll report you based on the text I sent them! You'll pay with your life!" he threatened, his eyes filled with hidden rage.

Ye Sangsang thought for a moment, then said, "It doesn't matter. I never intended to stay clean forever."

"Even if I die and become a ghost, I won't let you off!"

Qian Jiangde's trembling hand gripping the railing slowly slid down, one word at a time.

Ye Sangsang watched as his grip weakened, "I hope you can, so I can become a ghost and not let you off either."

She calmly watched as Qian Jiangde's grip completely slipped, his yell fading as he disappeared from her view.

She took out a tissue, carefully wiping away any fingerprints Qian Jiangde might have left, then turned and walked away.

Given the depth, width, and height of the fall into the river, coupled with Qian Jiangde's inability to swim, there was no way he could survive.

From start to finish, no one passed by the bridge, and the surrounding deep night silence swallowed up his shout.

She slowly walked back, the pain in her body becoming more and more apparent.

In the eyes of the live stream viewers, her lip color gradually turned pale, until it was a ghastly white.

The pain wracking her body was like having her muscles torn and bones split, almost sapping her of all strength.

She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

Cold sweat continuously seeped from her forehead, her complexion as white as paper.

She stood up, twitched her lips, and muttered under her breath, "I forgot the painkillers." Or perhaps, the painkillers were no longer effective.

She moved step by step towards her residence, reaching out to take out a clean tissue to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.

【I can already sense something unusual. My Sis Sang is known for her tolerance of pain.】

Yes, it must be extraordinary pain to make my sister go buy painkillers.

I don't know why, but I feel it's a terminal illness, and it's late stage. I've heard that some late-stage cancers cause pain that makes people want to die, requiring doctors to inject controlled painkillers just to relieve the suffering. At this point, it's basically end-of-life care to let the patient die without so much pain.

With one person's explanation, the live stream fell into a dead silence, with a large blank area where the bullet comments once filled the screen.

Because this explanation was very reasonable.

Judging from her previous personality, she was indeed a very gentle and harmless person. She wouldn't fight back when hit or curse when insulted. Even when experiencing hardships, there was little resentment on her face. Her colleagues had a good relationship with her.

Such a person, even if knowing the truth, would likely choose to report Yan Jiaojiao to the police, seeking justice for herself.

Such unusual behavior must have a reason.

She probably wouldn't live much longer.

She was struggling to survive in this world, while Yan Jiaojiao was experiencing the perfect moment of her life.

Only in such a situation would she no longer endure in silence.

Ye Sangsang walked and thought, realizing that Zhong Jia was really quite tolerant.

She had a plan to kill Yan Jiaojiao at least a month ago, which was why she had switched to cleaning a different floor.

This proved that when Yan Jiaojiao gloated over her wedding eve, she already knew about the impersonation.

How did she find out?

Considering the timeline, it would have been around the time she wanted to retake the college entrance exam and regain control of her own life.

Only to discover that her academic record had been taken, and she couldn't even take the exam.

Discovering Yan Jiao Jiao's existence, realizing her own illness, and conceiving thoughts of revenge.

Planning everything, executing it all.

Ye Sangsang first felt the pain and realized something was wrong, as the pain wasn't something that excessive fatigue would cause, only a serious illness.

She found a stone block to sit on and began to slowly relieve her pain.

It was already past midnight, and the streets were almost empty.

The pain was morePersistent than Ye Sangsang had expected, wracking her body for half an hour before it eased slightly.

She began to take a detour back.

She didn't climb over the wall to get home, as the wall was one meter and seventy centimeters tall, and Zhong Jia was only one meter and sixty centimeters tall, making it impossible for her to climb over a wall ten centimeters taller than herself.

She quietly observed.

The police couldn't watch every minute, and even with shifts, the officers would become tired.

She peeked out, observing in the dark.

She thought for a moment and imitated a cat's meow.

Their car windows weren't fully closed, as the car needed ventilation at night, and with dim lighting, they would open about a third of the way to ensure they could see the doorway.

After the cat's meow, Ye Sangsang didn't sense any movement.

She paused, lowered the volume of her meow, pretending the cat had moved away.

After a while, a faint grumble of complaint came from the car.

She knew they likely closed their eyes and continued to doze off.

No movement. After waiting for about an hour, Ye Sangsang tried another low meow.

This time, there was no grumbling from the other side.

Ye Sangsang took out her keys and slowly walked to the courtyard gate, cautiously inserting them. The gate lock turned and opened the courtyard gate without making a creak.

It went smoothly, and Ye Sangsang entered the courtyard.

The inner door of the house wasn't closed, and she walked in directly, feeling her way by memory to find the medicine bottle. She poured out three pills and took them with water.

The pain was too intense.

After taking the pills, Ye Sangsang chose to skip the timeline.

When the morning sun bathed the small courtyard, she opened her eyes, washed and changed her clothes, and went to work.

She had only taken one day off, and after the holiday, it was time to return to work.

At the same time, she assured others that she wasn't scared, ate breakfast, took her medicine, and started working again.

The pain was frequent, so she suppressed it with medication.

When the medication couldn't quite handle it, she decided to endure the lingering pain.

Fortunately, the hotel business was a bit slower, so she wasn't as busy.

When chatting with her, she would also pause to be curious.

Her colleague was now in her forties, and twenty-six years later, she would be close to seventy, making her Ye Sangsang's grandmother's generation.

They cared for Zhong Jia, the younger one, and chatted with her about her health, advising her to take care of herself and not to be too good to men.

They said a lot, such as fighting back if beaten, not giving money to men, not spending money on them, and that men should be the ones supporting the household, not spoiling them.

【Woohoo, without advocating for divorce, she's already giving advice. Middle-aged women aren't just busybody gossips; they understand life.】

Zhōng Jiā receives more kindness here than from her family.

【Often, we associate middle-aged women with shrewish behavior, but they're actually just like us, ordinary people with both good and bad traits.】

Listening to their words, the shock the live stream viewers had felt earlier was somewhat healed.

Zhōng Jiā hadn't been completely devoid of warmth. This was enough to offer some comfort to the live stream audience.

Ye Sangsang responded in agreement.

At noon, Chen Shu came knocking.

The manager came to call Ye Sangsang, his face already showing obvious impatience.

He felt the police were too troublesome, always asking questions with no results.

To him, the woman had committed suicide, so why investigate?

"Answer his questions, and get rid of him quickly. The police coming here keeps affecting our business," he said to Ye Sangsang as he turned back.

Ye Sangsang nodded, indicating she would answer well.

Soon, Ye Sangsang was brought to the private room, where Chen Shu was accompanied by two police officers.

The manager quickly left, and Ye Sangsang looked at the three police officers across from her, her complexion not quite right.

After several rounds of this, the usual nervousness of facing the police had disappeared, leaving only exhaustion.

After sitting down, Chen Shu began asking about the assault case.

Qian Jiangde hadn't been discovered missing yet. For most people, a man who likes to drink disappearing for a day or two wouldn't raise much attention.

The friend he was supposed to drink with was just a drinking buddy. Not getting through the phone call would only make him think Qian had changed his mind.

Reporting a missing person due to an unreachable phone call would be the level of close friends.

So right now, the police still had no idea about this.

They came to ask only about the assault case, as there were still strange elements to it.

Regarding the assault case, Ye Sangsang stuck to her original statement, with basically no changes.

The two watched, one recorded.

After asking this question, Chen Shu started with the main point.

“Based on the hotel's surveillance and the information from your colleagues, Yan Jiao Jiao's father clearly recognized you when he heard your name. What explanation do you have for this? Don't tell me you don't know each other; you're from the same city.”

Chen Shu's eyes carried an indescribable pressure, his expression tense, coldly staring at Ye Sangsang, exuding an intimidating aura.

After listening, Ye Sangsang shook her head slowly with a puzzled expression.

“Bang!” Chen Shu slapped the table with a loud bang, sternly questioning, “Do you still dare to say you don’t know each other? Do you think the police are easy to fool?”

“…I really don’t know…” Ye Sangsang was startled, still insisting.

Chen Shu watched her, "What about Yan Jiaojiao! You two are classmates!"

This was Chen Shu's breakthrough point, Ye Sangsang coldly laughed in her heart.

“Classmates? We are classmates? Hmm... Ah? She's that Yan Jiaojiao! I didn't recognize her... she's changed a lot...” Ye Sangsang pondered, softly answering the questions across from her.

After speaking, she rolled her eyes upwards, pondering, and then swallowed hard before saying, "Could it be that Yan Jiaojiao's dad thinks I was jealous of his daughter, so I killed her and now he's seeking revenge on me?"

At this point, Ye Sangsang's expression showed more annoyance. She wanted to curse but looked at the police and hesitated, eventually refraining from doing so.

Chen Shu and the police officer next to him exchanged glances.

Ye Sangsang’s logic seemed plausible.

Chen Shu lowered his eyes and thought for a while. "Your colleague heard him mention that it must be Zhong Hua. We also found out that your former name was Zhong Hua, which indicates he remembered you well. He immediately identified you and rushed to kill you. How do you explain that?"

"I don't even know him. He's the parent of an unfamiliar classmate, and I’ve never even met him..." Ye Sangsang gradually lost patience. "Besides, how am I supposed to explain? How would I know why he wants to kill me?"

"That's your problem as the police, not something you keep bringing up to me again and again."

"Comrades, if you keep asking, my manager will likely fire me soon."

Ye Sangsang’s frustration grew, and she frowned at the people in front of her, pleading for them to consider her situation.

Acting was just acting; Ye Sangsang had never been one to feel ashamed about such things.

Moreover, she was incredibly curious whether Chen Shu could see through her facade.

She was really looking forward to seeing Chen Shu's expression when he found out the truth.

[Hahaha, Sis Sang, you really know how to turn things around.]

[I didn’t feel much at first, but now that you’re doing this, I want to support Chen Shu.]

[It’s fundamentally a game of strategy. There’s no clear winner, but it’s about who can reach the conclusion first. Sis Sang and Chen Shu are both focused on testing each other—it’s just her personality driving her to try.]

Chen Shu’s gaze fell on Ye Sangsang’s movements, scrutinizing everything before him with the keenness of an eagle.

"You can go back to work. We’re sorry to have disturbed you."

After a long silence, he finally waved his hand, allowing Ye Sangsang to leave.

Ye Sangsang stood up and turned to leave, her face breaking into a grateful smile as she left.

Chen Shu watched her retreating figure. The answers from this interrogation should have dispelled his suspicions.

But instead, his suspicions about Ye Sangsang deepened.

He squinted his eyes, becoming increasingly convinced that Yan Jiaojiao’s death wasn’t a suicide and that Yan’s Father hadn’t ended up in the ICU by coincidence.

All of this must be connected to her.

Most importantly, what is hidden behind it all?

He took a deep breath and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Chen Ge, this Zhong Jia seems pretty normal, and she’s also a victim. Should we…" The police officer taking notes looked up at Chen Shu, puzzled as to why he was so fixated on Ye Sangsang.

Ye Sangsang’s explanation earlier had made sense.

If they kept visiting her repeatedly, the hotel might eventually fire her.

It’s not right to make things difficult for a server like this.

"Exactly, and this is also way too time-consuming. There’s no evidence in Yan Jiaojiao’s room to suggest it was murder, and the case hasn’t even been filed yet. It’s not good to keep bothering her like this."

The other police officer nodded, agreeing with the one taking notes.

The room fell silent.

They had other cases on their hands, so they couldn’t afford to waste more time.

Hearing their words, Chen Shu’s mood also grew heavier.

Indeed, they had wasted too much time, and the other cases they were handling were also murder cases, with urgent investigations required.

He stood up. "Let’s first return and deal with the cases we have on hand. This case can be put on hold for now."

He had calmed down.

He decided to temporarily abandon plans to visit Yan’s hometown and question Yan’s Mother, focusing instead on solving the other murder cases first.

The other two officers breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that Chen Shu had come to his senses for now.

They were afraid he would be stubborn and stick to this case, especially since their other cases were in critical stages.

After a few more words, they left.

After they left, Ye Sangsang emerged from the corner.

The soundproofing wasn't very good, and she had heard everything.

In fact, Chen Shu was only a step away from the truth. If he had questioned Yan’s Mother, she would likely have told him the truth. Seeing her daughter dead and her husband unconscious, hearing a familiar name, she would probably have revealed everything.

Of course, even then, Chen Shu would have had no immediate recourse against her.

He could investigate, but there would still be no evidence to file charges.

It would only provide a direction for the investigation.

There was also a critical premise: Zhong Jia was a victim of having her spot stolen.

And she was also someone who had just discovered the fraud and was extremely angry.

Chen Shu might eventually find evidence to file charges, but it certainly wouldn’t be now.

The time she had left was already sufficient.

She turned around and informed her manager that the questioning was over before heading to work.

The manager didn’t say anything and let her leave.

As time passed, the day turned into evening.

It was getting colder. During the day, it might have been around 20 degrees Celsius, but at night, it dropped to around 13 or 14 degrees Celsius.

Fortunately, she was dressed warmly; otherwise, she might have caught a cold.

For someone already seriously ill, catching a cold could bring them close to the brink of death.

As Ye Sangsang headed home, Yan’s Mother was also having a tough time.

She was blocked by a group of six or seven muscular thugs who threatened her directly.

How dignified she had been at the hotel a few days ago, and now she was utterly humiliated.

These men didn’t lay a hand on her, but their intimidating presence and harsh threats were enough.

With a pale face, Yan’s Mother promised not to go back.

After several assurances, the men finally let her go.

She hurried back to the hospital.

When the police came to ask questions, she learned to keep her lips sealed, never mentioning the hotel.

Still, she was curious and asked the police about the name of the server who had hurt her husband.

She had her own motives; she wanted to know who that person was.

Unable to deal with the hotel, couldn’t she at least settle the score with a server?

The police officer, who had dealt with countless cases of assault, could tell at a glance what she was up to and directly warned her. He stated that they had instructed the hotel not to disclose the name to avoid further complications.

Since the police couldn’t provide the information and had already warned the hotel, Yan’s Mother shrank back, closing her mouth and dropping the matter.

Seeing her husband still in the ICU, the police officer said they would be notified once he woke up, emphasizing that this matter wasn’t over yet!

Charges would be filed once he woke up, and the assailant would face criminal responsibility.

Hearing about the criminal liability, Yan’s Mother’s eyes flickered.

The police officer warned her again before leaving.

Yan’s Mother completely gave up her intentions. For now, she only hoped that the person wouldn’t come after her. The family had already spent a lot on the wedding dowry, and now they needed to scrape together the medical fees.

If anything else happened, she wouldn’t have the money.

"Achoo!" Ye Sangsang sneezed.

Walking to her doorstep, she suddenly sneezed. Ye Sangsang quickly went inside and found some cold medicine to take.

Fortunately, she had been taking that painkiller for a long time, so there were no side effects, allowing her to take cold medicine without worrying about the game system flagging anything.

After taking the medicine, Ye Sangsang began thinking about skipping ahead in the timeline.

She found a spot to sit and started jumping through the timeline.

She estimated that she would need to call tomorrow afternoon, informing them that their son-in-law seemed to have run away.

She could also inform them that she had met an affluent old classmate and was now married into a very wealthy family in the area.

She believed they would come.

They were greedy and desperate to extract every penny from Zhong Jia.

Upon hearing news of Yan Jiaojiao marrying into a wealthy family, they would surely go to threaten Yan’s family for a hush fee.

And with the son-in-law running away, they would fulfill their promises to Yan’s family by keeping an eye on Zhong Jia, preventing any further trouble.

As for Qian Jiangde’s parents, Ye Sangsang wasn’t worried.

It was simple: Qian Jiangde didn’t have the brains to send any message. Even if he had, it wouldn’t matter. His parents were from the early 1960s and couldn’t read.

The related records stated that his parents had always been farmers with no education.

Moreover, even if, by some chance, he had sent a message and his parents could read, there would be no evidence!

Without evidence, everything was mere speculation.

Before finding any evidence, she had enough time to operate.

After gradually jumping through the timeline, Ye Sangsang checked the time and dialed the phone.

Meanwhile, at a train station somewhere, Chen Shu and his teammates rushed forward, handcuffing the suspect.