Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
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The morning sun was warm and the air was as fresh as dew.
Chi Rui’er showed up at the entrance of the hospital at eight o’clock sharp.
She was there to collect her results from the checkup.
Fear and anxiety filled her.
Upon arriving at the gynecologist’s office, Chi Rui’er pushed the door open to see that the gynecologist was already waiting for her.
“Are you Chi Rui’er?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Please take a seat,” said the gynecologist, who had a grim expression on her face.
Chi Rui’er’s heart began thumping in her chest upon noticing how serious the gynecologist looked.
“Doctor, are the results bad?”
The gynecologist let out a long sigh before revealing the result. “You’re diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer.”
“What!” Chi Rui’er gasped in shock as her face turned pale as a sheet.
“Early stage of cervical cancer. But don’t get too worked up yet, your condition has yet to deteriorate to the later stages. So, we’ll be able to get rid of the cancer cells as long as you get treated as soon as possible.”
“What kind of treatment do I have to undergo? A surgery?”
“Do you still plan to bear children?”
“I can no longer conceive, so I don’t plan on having any children.”
“Alright, then I suggest you get admitted to the hospital and schedule for a womb removal surgery immediately. This is the best treatment option at the moment, especially because the cancer cells have yet to spread elsewhere. Thus, this would be a better solution.”
“Doctor, tell me the truth, how much longer do I have to live?”
“That depends on the development stage of the cancer cells, the results of the treatment, your body’s condition, as well as several other factors. Thus, it’d be hard to pinpoint exactly how much longer you’ll have to live, but it’ll definitely be longer than that of patients who have developed later stages of cancer.”
Chi Rui’er was still in disbelief of the results. She felt like Heaven was being too unfair to her for putting her through so many ordeals and hardship.
Why did Heaven do that?
Was she really going to have to end up dying alone?
Or could it be that she was struck with her retribution for committing too much evil?
Without hesitation, she immediately proceeded to settle the administrative processes to be hospitalized. She did not dare to tell her mother about it and instead just gave an excuse of going on a vacation for a few days.
After a round of discussion, the doctors decided to perform the surgery for her on the same day and instructed Chi Rui’er to ask her family to accompany her at the hospital.
However, Chi Rui’er said that she did not have any family members and signed her name on the surgery form.
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An Xiaoning headed to the police station after dropping An Youqing off at school.
It was her first time reporting there in days. She stood in front of the office only to find that it was dead silent inside.
“You guys look so spiritless, what’s the matter?” asked An Xiaoning as she placed her purse on the table before sitting down.
Ma Jianguo looked up to see that she had arrived. “Team Leader, you didn’t answer all our calls. We’re going to be in despair if you don’t come again,” Ma Jianguo lamented.
“Don’t be. What happened? Has the case still not been solved?”
“We don’t have a single clue at all. It’s all Gong Le’s fault. Otherwise, we would’ve solved two cases by now. Great, now the officers from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit come by every day to question us,” Ma Jianguo groused in utter annoyance.
“Do they come by every day?” asked An Xiaoning.
“Of course.”
She looked at Gong Le, who quickly said, “Team Leader, I think you’d better take over this case, it’s too difficult.”
An Xiaoning reached a hand out and said, “Hand me the document file.”
Ma Jianguo hurriedly handed it to her. “It’s all in here, have a look.”
An Xiaoning looked down and said, “This is a case regarding a school murder. The victim Liu Chen’s corpse was found in a lake in the school. An autopsy was carried out after the corpse was retrieved and there were no wounds on the victim’s body at all. The cause of death was drowning. After some investigation, it’s found that Liu Chen’s favorite hobby is swimming.”
“Maybe he had a cramp in his leg. For a man who’s great at swimming, it’s most likely due to a leg cramp, since the victim is generally healthy with no serious illnesses,” Ma Jianguo suggested.
“Have you guys watched the footage of the surveillance cameras in school?”
“The surveillance cameras only managed to capture him going to the lakeside alone before entering the woods where there were no surveillance cameras. Sis Xiaoning, it’s very likely that he fell into the lake himself and suffered a cramp in his leg, after which…” Ding Liang added.
“It can’t be. The autopsy report showed that there were no traces of any drug or alcohol in his body. Besides, he’s been attending the university for three years, he should be very familiar with the area around the lake. He couldn’t have fallen in by accident,” Zu Dong protested.
At last, Gong Le said, “His roomates and his family members as well as his friends have all testified that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Thus, it can’t be that he attempted suicide because of a heartbreak. He has a warm family and enjoys a strong camaraderie with his classmates in school. There are no reasons for him to commit suicide…”
Placing both hands on the table, An Xiaoning stared at the four of them and said, “Although all the superficial reasons show that there’s no substantial evidence to this case, that is in fact the very reason why it’s extremely suspicious. How could it be that a boy died for no rhyme or reason?”
“Team Leader, we’ve asked the victim’s parents for his birth characters. Here are his birth characters as well as his home address,” said Ma Jianguo as he handed her a piece of paper.
After taking a look, An Xiaoning said, “He did drown to death. In my opinion, I’m very certain that someone amongst the people you’ve questioned is not telling the truth.”
“They lied?” the rest asked in unison as they looked at each other in puzzlement.
“Where’s the victim’s corpse? Has it been cremated?”
“No, it’s with the forensic pathologist.”
“Let’s go have a look together.” An Xiaoning stood up while the four of them followed closely behind.
After taking a look at the corpse, An Xiaoning made a brave decision.
She decided to solve the case with a different approach, which gained the approval of her team members.
The team of five then headed to the victim’s college together.
An Xiaoning quickly stopped them from alighting the police car.
“Team Leader, what’s the matter?”
“Look at the black car behind us.”
Everyone turned around to take a look.
An Xiaoning stared at the reflection of the black car, which was parked a short distance away from them, in her rear view mirror. She happened to notice the car while on the way to the college. The car pulled over right after they did.
They were definitely being tailed, if it was not a coincidence.
Realizing that the people in the black car had yet to alight even after a long time, An Xiaoning said, “We’re being shadowed.”
Everyone soon realized it.
“Shall we get down and see who it is?” said Ding Liang, after which Ma Jianguo chided him immediately.
“Dimwit, so what if we have a look? We’re on the streets right now, what can we do if they refuse to admit that they’re tailing us? We might even end up alarming them,” Ma Jianguo chastised.
“That’s right. So let’s just feign ignorance for now. Get down from the car.”
An Xiaoning alighted and was greeted with the sight of another car that pulled over. It was Jin Qingyue. She wound down the windows and greeted, “Sis-in-law.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I went to see my mother. I was planning to go home, but I happened to bump into you. Why are you here?” Jin Qingyue answered as she alighted from the car. Just as she was walking towards An Xiaoning, she shrieked all of a sudden, “Watch out!”
Jin Qingyue immediately pushed An Xiaoning to the side, after which a bullet brushed past her left shoulder.
If she had not pushed An Xiaoning away in the nick of time, the bullet would have struck An Xiaoning in her back and gone through her chest.
“Qingyue!” An Xiaoning quickly looked behind her, only to see that a window was closed immediately.
“Send her to the hospital right now, hurry!” she shouted at Ma Jianguo.
