We Weren’t Fated, I Just Played My Cards Right - Chapter 40

The next morning, Liu Mumu took Dong Qi out with her.

Dong Qi was full of anticipation, thinking his “terminal illness” was finally going to be cured. Last night, he even dreamed that Liu Mumu had sold him off while his dad wasn’t around—clearly, he’d been overthinking things.

Then the car stopped right in front of the police station. Dong Qi was utterly dumbfounded.

What was she trying to do? Delivering him straight to the police station—was this some kind of righteous sibling betrayal?

Clutching the car door, Dong Qi refused to get out. Liu Mumu yanked at him impatiently. “What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and get out.”

“No!!!” Dong Qi glared at her with reddened eyes. “I just attended one pyramid scheme lecture, and you’re sending me to jail? Are we even real siblings?!”

He would never trust Liu Mumu again!

The taxi driver, being the nosy type, quickly intervened when he saw the two passengers arguing. “Miss, whatever the problem is, does it really have to end at the police station? How about we just go back? I’ll give you a 10% discount on the fare, okay?”

Liu Mumu was speechless. This uncle wasn’t just nosy—he clearly had a sharp business sense.

Deadpan, she said, “The person who can help you is inside the station. Stop dawdling and get out.”

“You’re lying.” Dong Qi sniffled, looking at her like she was finally making her move. “You just want to lock me up! I only went to one pyramid scheme event—it’s not a capital crime!”

He was so worked up his voice cracked.

At the police station entrance, passersby curiously glanced at the standoff between the siblings.

Liu Mumu felt her dignity had been lost before she was even born.

Finally losing patience, she coldly said, “Oh. You figured it out. I am sending you in.”

Dong Qi’s eyes reddened as he wailed, “I’m telling Dad! Waaah—”

“Go ahead. Dad will only listen to me.” Liu Mumu crossed her arms, embodying the ultimate villain.

“Waaah… sniffle…” Dong Qi cried even harder upon hearing this, even blowing a snot bubble.

“What on earth… are you two doing?” Fang Chuan, who had come down to fetch them, looked at the siblings with curiosity.

Liu Mumu sighed helplessly and said to Fang Chuan, “Just haul him out already.”

She didn’t want to keep being a spectacle for others.

Fang Chuan dragged Dong Qi out of the car, and the two walked toward the police station in single file. Dong Qi tried to struggle briefly but was quickly subdued.

By the time they reached the office, Dong Qi had finally stopped crying—only to start hiccuping instead.

Sitting across from Dong Qi and now aware of the whole story, Fang Chuan couldn’t help but think that this kid and Boss Dong were definitely father and son—their cowardice was identical.

“Alright, stop crying. We just brought you here to ask some questions, not to lock you up.”

“Hic—” Dong Qi looked at Fang Chuan with teary eyes. “R-really?”

“Really. Weren’t you hit with a curse? Your sister brought you here to get it removed.”

“Really?” Dong Qi still looked skeptical—mostly because Liu Mumu seemed like such a villain!

“Nope,” Liu Mumu chimed in casually. “I just wanted to lock you up so Dad’s fortune would all go to me.”

“Waaah—” The waterworks started again.

Fang Chuan rubbed his temples, thoroughly exasperated by the siblings.

It was at this moment that Yan Xiu walked in from outside. He carried a faint chill from the outdoors, his gray cashmere coat draped over his arm with effortless elegance.

Pausing briefly at the sight of such a “lively” office, his gaze settled on Liu Mumu, bundled up in her white down jacket like a cotton ball.

“You’re finally here,” Fang Chuan said with the relief of a man saved, pointing at Liu Mumu. “Please make her stop talking.”

Liu Mumu blinked innocently at Yan Xiu.

“Speaking is everyone’s right,” Yan Xiu remarked, his eyes sweeping over the snot-and-tear-covered Dong Qi before landing on Liu Mumu. “Come with me.”

Out of the meager camaraderie between colleagues, he decided to lend Fang Chuan a hand.

Liu Mumu followed Yan Xiu into his office without a backward glance—her usefulness as a tool to torment Dong Qi had run its course.

Watching the office door close, Fang Chuan shook his head before turning back to Dong Qi. “We’ll take your statement in a bit. Just answer whatever I ask.”

With Liu Mumu no longer around to intimidate him, Dong Qi regained a sliver of courage and muttered, “Why should I?”

Fang Chuan arched a brow. “If you’d prefer not to give your statement here, we can always move to the interrogation room and discuss that pyramid scheme seminar you attended?”

Dong Qi’s courage instantly deflated. “N-no, that’s fine.”

…

Once inside Yan Xiu’s office, Liu Mumu closed the door and locked it—a routine she performed with practiced ease.

Hearing the click of the lock, Yan Xiu set his coat aside and turned to find her standing innocently by the door, hands clasped behind her back.

“Our conversation doesn’t necessitate locking the door,” he said, though he made no move to stop her, instead taking a seat at his desk.

Liu Mumu plopped down across from him, feigning consideration. “What if you confess your feelings for me and Fang Chuan overhears? How awkward would that be?”

“The sun’s still up. Save the delusions.”

“Hmph.” Liu Mumu pouted, thoroughly unamused.

Yan Xiu ignored her, picking up a fountain pen from his desk and beginning to write.

After he finished writing, he pushed the paper toward Liu Mumu: “Steps to remove the gu.”

Liu Mumu picked up the paper. Yan Xiu’s handwriting was elegant and bold—well, just slightly better than hers. After admiring the calligraphy, she began studying the three steps listed.

“At midnight, soak the person in strong liquor above 50 degrees for ten minutes. Wow! That’s such a waste. Can we use diluted alcohol instead?” she couldn’t help but complain. “If Dong Qi were a ginseng root, he might be worth soaking in liquor, but the problem is he’s not even as valuable as a radish.”

“No,” Yan Xiu replied, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed as he listened to her chatter.

“Fine. After the liquor soak, hold a piece of iron in the mouth for half an hour, then put it in the freezer afterward. Great, another fridge ruined. And we have to repeat these steps ten times? Is this for real?” Liu Mumu blinked her round eyes at Yan Xiu.

“Mhm.”

“I don’t think he’s worth saving. Maybe we should just give up on him.” Liu Mumu folded the paper and tucked it into her pocket, then mischievously suggested.

“Dream gu isn’t very harmful, but it’s highly contagious. If you’re not home, your family will get infected quickly.”

“Tch. Lucky him.” Then, with curiosity, she asked, “How do you even know how to remove gu? Did you study it?”

“No, I asked a friend.”

Liu Mumu narrowed her eyes. “What kind of friend?”

“…A male friend.”

“Hmm…” Liu Mumu seemed somewhat satisfied with that answer.

Just then, there was a “knock knock knock” at the door.

Yan Xiu opened his eyes and looked at Liu Mumu.

Liu Mumu remained motionless.

“Hey, you two inside, are you done whispering? Either come out or open the door and let me in!” Fang Chuan’s voice came through.

“Why didn’t you soundproof this place when you renovated it?”

“Because I didn’t plan on doing anything shady here,” Yan Xiu replied, getting up to open the door.

“Hmph, you’ll regret this,” Liu Mumu muttered under her breath behind him.

The door unlocked, and Fang Chuan peeked in, catching sight of Liu Mumu sitting across the desk with a displeased expression. He quickly pulled his head back and said to Yan Xiu, “We’ve finished questioning. It really is the two people we suspected. Unfortunately, he only went once and doesn’t know much. I’ve already sent someone to take statements from his grandparents.”

Liu Mumu walked to the door and added, “Dong Qi said there’s some kind of ‘long-life gu’ in the pills they sell. His grandparents both took them—will that be a problem?”

Fang Chuan glanced at Yan Xiu and answered vaguely, “We’ll figure something out.”

She didn’t dwell on it further. Outside, Dong Qi sat obediently on a chair, looking somewhat awkward as he averted his gaze when she peeked over at him.

Liu Mumu looked at him as if he were a radish about to be pickled in alcohol, not bothering to hide her disdain.

Although she wanted to stay and stick around Yan Xiu, they had a case to handle recently, so Liu Mumu could only reluctantly lead Dong Qi home in disappointment.

Once they were gone, Fang Chuan turned to Yan Xiu, who stood by the office window, with a troubled expression. “According to that kid, quite a few people bought the drug. They’re probably all infected with gu. If we don’t catch the gu master soon and they start extracting the gu, a lot of people could die.”

“Send more people to keep an eye on the Dong family,” Yan Xiu suddenly spoke up.

“What? Is there something wrong with that kid?” Fang Chuan immediately thought of Dong Qi.

“He carries the mother gu. Someone will definitely come for it soon.”

Fang Chuan’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Raising a batch of dream gu takes at least a year. This batch is already mature—the gu master won’t abandon it.”

“Good, I’ll send people right away.” Fang Chuan hurried out excitedly, only to collide head-on with a subordinate rushing toward him at the door.

“Captain, it’s bad—someone’s dead!”

The victims were an elderly couple living in Linghua Community, one of Qingcheng’s earliest affluent neighborhoods, where most residents were well-off.

The couple had run a business in their youth and developed a habit of buying health supplements in their later years. When Fang Chuan and his team entered, they found the house filled with boxes of such products.

The couple lay dead in their bedroom, their faces peaceful, with no visible wounds.

Yan Xiu examined the husband’s body, his gloved fingers pressing against the deceased’s forehead. A wisp of black energy, like a thin thread, spread downward from the forehead. When the clothes were removed, the black thread coiled around the heart.

“Same cause of death as Zhuo Ran. They’ve started extracting the gu.” Yan Xiu lifted his hand, and the black energy dissipated.

He redressed the body and removed his gloves.

“The person who reported it was the couple’s daughter. She said she spoke to her parents an hour ago, but when she arrived home twenty minutes later, they were already dead. There were no signs of forced entry. Maybe the surveillance footage will show something.” Even as he said this, Fang Chuan wasn’t hopeful.

A gu master could manipulate gu within a certain range without needing direct contact. After Zhuo Ran’s death, they had checked all the hospital’s surveillance footage but found nothing.

*

In an ordinary residential building across from Linghua Community, Xu Yonglin paced restlessly around the room, his face tense with agitation.

His brother had left after receiving a phone call and still hadn’t returned.

Xu Yonglin knew where the call had come from, though his brother never revealed the caller’s identity. Every time this person called, it meant trouble—this time was no exception.

About ten minutes later, Xu Yongshuang returned. Seeing his younger brother approach, his expression remained cold.

“Brother, where did you go?”

Xu Yongshuang glanced at him and revealed the incense burner in his hand.

Xu Yonglin’s eyes widened in shock. “Y-you went to collect the gu? Didn’t we agree that extracting the gu now would kill people before the Longevity Gu is complete?!”

“Stop with the nonsense. The authorities in Qingcheng are cracking down hard recently. We need to extract the gu as quickly as possible and leave this place,” Xu Yongshuang said coldly.

“But… but brother, so many lives are at stake. We don’t need to kill that many people. We’ve already made so much money in just a few days. There’s no need to be this ruthless,” Xu Yonglin stammered nervously.

“I’m not discussing this with you. Do you really think you still have a choice to back out now?” Xu Yongshuang sneered, as if mocking his younger brother’s cowardice and naivety.

With that, he picked up the incense burner and returned to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

However, the walls here were thin, and Xu Yonglin could still hear his brother talking to someone in the living room—no doubt reporting the day’s progress.

Xu Yonglin stared at the closed door, a flicker of conflict in his eyes.

Before his brother had found him, he had just been an ordinary con artist. Even if he was bad, he would never have stooped to murder. Who would have thought that recognizing this “brother” would be like stepping into a den of wolves?