Case Closed as a Suicide

Time turned back to a week earlier.

Lin Xinluo took the elevator downstairs, only to realize she had forgotten her car keys. She went back to get them before driving to Shen Yu's home along the route she remembered.

When Luo Ningsang had been unable to find time to visit Shen Yu and Aunt Jiang, she had gone in his place, bringing the usual gifts and saying the usual words of concern.

Aunt Jiang generally gave them the cold shoulder.

Shen Yu, on the other hand, was very curious about them and always liked to follow them around. Honestly, Lin Xinluo couldn't blame Aunt Jiang for giving the captain the cold shoulder.

If you went every week to remind someone that her husband was missing and possibly dead, it would be a wonder if she gave you a warm welcome.

Lin Xinluo complained silently, though she only dared say such things in her head.

There were few cars on the road at night, and Lin Xinluo soon arrived at Shen Yu's door. She prepared what she would say and patted her cheeks, then looked at the unanswered calls on her phone in puzzlement. Had they gone to bed so early?

Knock, knock, knock—

No one answered.

"Aunt Jiang? Are you home?"

Lin Xinluo knocked for a long time without hearing a sound, and she felt something was wrong. She pressed herself against the door and listened. It was very quiet inside...

But a faint smell of blood seeped through the crack in the door.

She was very familiar with that smell.

"Oh no..."

Lin Xinluo didn't stop to think. She raised her foot and kicked the door, then hurriedly contacted the squad.

In less than ten minutes, they broke down the door and entered.

The pool of blood by the entrance and the fruit knife lying on the floor made Lin Xinluo's heart pound. She hurriedly looked around. Pills were scattered across the floor, and the disarray made it obvious something had happened.

She rushed into the bedroom, where Aunt Jiang's already stiff corpse came into view. There were no obvious external wounds, only a few nail scratches and an empty medicine bottle by her hand.

Lin Xinluo's expression was grave.

Back at the office.

Luo Ningsang and the others had gone to draw in the net (take revenge), leaving Lin Xinluo in full charge of the case.

Tests showed that the blood on the fruit knife belonged to Shen Yu, as did the tissue left under Aunt Jiang's nails. There were also clear signs in the bathroom that someone had induced vomiting, and Aunt Jiang had regularly gone out to buy sleeping pills...

All the signs indicated that Aunt Jiang no longer wanted to live and had wanted to take Shen Yu with her.

Lin Xinluo handed the report to Luo Ningsang, who had just returned from the hospital, and asked if he wanted to question Shen Yu as a matter of routine.

Luo Ningsang was silent for a long time. Then he said not to ask. Since Shen Yu had forgotten, it was better not to let him remember. It was fine this way.

He recalled the time Shen Yu had burned down the school. Shen Yu had lowered his eyes and stammered that he had only wanted to make Aunt Jiang a birthday present. Her birthday was the next day, and although that person had never come home before, he had never failed to send a birthday present.

Shen Yu had wanted to make one and pretend it was from that person.

Luo Ningsang placed the report at the very bottom of the pile.

If Shen Yu remembered that his mother had wanted to kill him with her own hands, how upset would he be...?

Luo Ningsang said, "Let's close the case as a suicide."

Lin Xinluo nodded obediently.

And Shen Yu, whom Luo Ningsang thought would be upset, was sleeping soundly at that moment.

A figure moved back and forth, making the light before Shen Yu's eyes flicker between bright and dark and dispelling his drowsiness. He opened his eyes to see who had the nerve to disturb his pleasant dreams.

Didn't they know he was a patient right now?

Shen Yu felt entirely justified.

But when he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar face. The person wore a nurse's uniform and a pink nurse's cap. A mask covered the lower half of her face completely, leaving only a pair of intent eyes visible. She was holding his hand and examining it carefully, considering where best to insert the needle.

The nurse in the pink cap finally finished examining his hand and prepared to disinfect it with a cotton swab. She looked up instinctively.

And discovered that the patient Xie Shuyang had repeatedly warned her never to touch while he was awake... was awake.

The young man lay quietly in bed, looking at her. His eyes held the reflexive tears of someone who had just woken up. His light-blue eyes were like pools of clear water that could wash away every trace of vileness in anyone, sacred and serene.

His blue hair was spread messily beneath him, with a few stubborn curls from his forehead pressed against his cheeks. The morning sunlight fell on him, making his face look even paler, like a fragile, precious porcelain doll displayed in a showcase.

Shen Yu: "..."

Why was she staring at him nonstop?

"Uh... well, my name is Kong Zhaoyue. I'm the nurse assigned to you." Kong Zhaoyue hurriedly explained, her visible eyes full of panic.

This was really bad. If she scared the kid, her pay would be docked again this month!

Shen Yu looked at her and silently held his hand out farther.

Go on, stick me.

He was really going to waste away lying here. Every day, all he had was millet porridge or one kind of soup or another, and none of it had any flavor. When would he get better? He wanted to go out and eat malatang.

[Host, given your current physical condition, it would be best not to eat that.]

...What's it to you?

[It's only a suggestion, but if you do want to eat it, I recommend asking Luo Ningsang to cook it for you.]

What's the difference between having it in a clear broth and not eating it at all?

The system fell silent. Clearly, it couldn't answer that question either.

Kong Zhaoyue hadn't expected him to be so cooperative. Dr. Xie had made it sound so serious. Still, she spoke in the tone one might use to coax a child. "Don't worry. When it comes to inserting needles, if I, Sister Kong, claim second place here, no one dares claim first. See? It didn't hurt at all, did it?"

Shen Yu hadn't even felt anything before he saw that Kong Zhaoyue had already taped the needle in place and was getting ready to pack up and leave.

Shen Yu blinked.

Whoa, I really didn't feel a thing.

He looked again at his hand, now connected to the IV drip.

His disbelieving expression made Kong Zhaoyue laugh. She raised her eyebrows. "I practiced hard for five whole years. I've got it down pat."

She really shouldn't have chatted so much with Shen Yu, but for some reason, the moment she saw him, she felt he would look better smiling instead of lying lifelessly in a hospital bed.

Shen Yu wholeheartedly agreed with her.

He had never encountered anything like it in his previous life.

She really was amazing.

Click—

Kong Zhaoyue pushed her cart away, leaving him alone in the ward again.

It was so quiet that all he could hear was the dripping of the IV, along with his own breathing and heartbeat.

It was too quiet.

Shen Yu said, "Talk."

[I'm here, Host.]

[What would you like to hear? I've downloaded this world's pop songs and its hottest novels~]

[There are also TV dramas airing right now. I have everything! Please make a selection, Host!]

The system typed diligently...

Shen Yu picked one at random.

Soothing music played by his ear, gradually calming his restless heart.