The old policeman took a sip of tea and shook his head slightly.
"As a policeman, I shouldn’t say anything without evidence, but we asked many of their relatives and friends, and they all said the same thing. The person is dead, the two children say nothing, and we can’t investigate further."
"We wanted to give the deceased some dignity, so the file didn’t go into too much detail. After all, we had no evidence."
Lin Zhiyi asked, "What kind of disease is so terrible?"
"A filthy disease, it’s that kind of... The relatives said she refused treatment, delayed it, then suffered unbearable pain, became a bit mentally unstable, and once she died, the relatives hurriedly cremated her, leaving no evidence."
"How did she get the disease?" Lin Zhiyi asked, surprised.
"Don’t know."
"Do her relatives know?" Gong Chen asked again.
"They also said they don’t know."
"Alright."
Lin Zhiyi pressed her lips together; it seemed nothing more could be asked.
After leaving the police station, as soon as they got in the car, Lin Zhiyi scooted closer to Gong Chen.
"Third Young Master, what did you say to the policeman earlier to make him willing to help us?"
"On the way here, I had Captain Xing send a message."
"Captain Xing? Do you mean..." Lin Zhiyi speculated.
"Yes, I asked him to investigate Xia Wan for me too. If her father is from Jing City, there must be traces left."
"As expected from Third Young Master, you think ahead of everything." Lin Zhiyi gave a thumbs-up.
Gong Chen smiled without saying a word.
Lin Zhiyi took an envelope out of her bag: "What do you think this has to do with Xia Wan’s mother?"
Why did the old man call out her name?
"Let’s talk about it when we get back to Jing City."
Gong Chen, seeing Lin Zhiyi looking a bit tired, interrupted her thoughts.
Lin Zhiyi nodded, leaned on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
"I miss Xingxing."
"Me too."
"Or else..."
"I’ve already booked the tickets," Gong Chen said calmly.
"Sigh, I really can’t compete with you."
Lin Zhiyi and Gong Chen rushed back to Jing City from Lan City overnight.
After getting off the plane, they went straight to Gong Shiyan’s villa.
...
Villa.
When they entered, it was already late at night.
Xingxing was already asleep.
Lin Zhiyi and Gong Chen quietly walked into Xingxing’s room and lay by her bedside.
Watching Xingxing’s peaceful sleeping face, they finally felt at ease.
Lin Zhiyi kissed Xingxing’s hand over and over before coming back to her senses.
Liu He entered and said, "Alright, it’s not like you won’t see each other again. You two are also tired, go to bed quickly."
Only then did Lin Zhiyi get up.
Gong Chen said, "Zhiyi, you go take a bath first, I’ll stay with our daughter a while longer."
Just as Lin Zhiyi was about to speak, Liu He pulled her away.
Outside the door, Liu He whispered, "This is good for strengthening the father-daughter bond."
Lin Zhiyi nodded, then asked, "Mom, nothing happened while we were away these two days, right?"
"Riding the wave."
"The popularity of this year’s newcomer competition doesn’t compare to the one with me and Song Wanqiu. With the competition nearing, there are more stories about me and Song Wanqiu online, and my studio is somewhat famous, so the competition’s popularity is rising."
"But even so, that wouldn’t shift the focus to Shirley."
"So Xia Wan first asked me to design jewelry, then gave my design drafts to Shirley for the competition. Once it started, whether Shirley wins or not, Xia Wan only needs to say the designs are similar, and everyone’s attention would shift to me and Shirley."
"If I pressure Shirley, she will appear as the victim in the public eye."
"If I..."
Gong Chen continued, "If you want to clarify, you’d wait for the public opinion to peak before releasing evidence, and you and Shirley would still be the focus. Shirley just needs to ride the wave and can still achieve her desired outcome."
"Yes, either way, I’ve been used by the sisters. Perhaps they wanted to step over me, but more it was about Xia Wan helping her sister become an internet celebrity, gaining followers. Now they’ve done it. My mom said Shirley gained a lot of fans in just a few days, and with some packaging, she’s already a little famous."
After speaking, Lin Zhiyi opened her phone and found Shirley’s account.
Shirley simply shared her life, along with some drawings, every day.
On camera, she looked slender and delicate, like a fragile little white flower.
In just a few days, her followers surged to a million.
On average, it was an astonishing rise.
"I messaged my assistant, she said lots of companies are reaching out to Shirley recently, her influence might grow. What’s their next move?"
Gong Chen wasn’t afraid of any influence, but Lin Zhiyi was.
Her studio was even more concerned.
She didn’t even know what else they intended to do.
Gong Chen said in a low voice, "Perhaps they want to force us into the spotlight."
Lin Zhiyi was shocked: "If something happens to me, if you step in, they can use it to reveal our relationship."
"Maybe it’s not just that, there’s a crucial person in our relationship."
Gong Chen’s expression turned serious, his eyes rippling with waves.

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