We Weren’t Fated, I Just Played My Cards Right - Chapter 43

Yan Xiu turned to look at Liu Mumu, who responded with a sweet smile, a small dimple appearing on her right cheek.

“I’ll be right back,” Yan Xiu said quickly before hanging up.

“I took a huge loss this time—only charged ten yuan for the divination, all for your sake,” Liu Mumu grumbled under her breath, forcibly attributing her actions to him.

“Should I say thank you?” Yan Xiu replied coolly.

“Wow, shouldn’t such a great favor be repaid with your hand in marriage?”

Yan Xiu turned her head away. “Watch where you’re going.”

“Oh.”

Not far behind them on the path, Lü Yao stood holding a large bag of breakfast, having watched for who knows how long. She gazed at the man’s tall, straight figure receding into the distance, with Liu Mumu practically clinging to him and chattering away.

After a long moment, she lowered her eyes.

When she returned home, she was greeted by Old Lady Zhang’s scolding the moment she opened the door: “Where the hell have you been all morning? Running out without making breakfast, gallivanting around just because you’re pregnant.”

Lü Yao set the plastic bag of breakfast on the floor and bent to change her shoes.

Suddenly, a tennis ball came flying at her. Losing her balance, she staggered and barely managed to brace herself against the wall as the ball struck her head hard before bouncing to the floor.

She looked up to see her stepson Zhang Yang watching her with malice in his eyes.

Ignoring him, Lü Yao finished changing her shoes, placed the breakfast on the table, and retreated to her room.

Grandma Zhang looked at the breakfast on the table and started complaining loudly again: “All you know how to do is spend money buying food. We have everything at home, but you’re too lazy to even cook. My son’s hard-earned money is being wasted by you.”

That’s what she said, but she didn’t eat any less of the store-bought breakfast.

Zhang Yang sat beside his grandmother, who kept putting food in his bowl: “Eat more, Yangyang.”

While the grandmother and grandson were eating, Lü Yao began cleaning the house. She went to Grandma Zhang’s room first. Hearing the door open, Grandma Zhang glanced up but ignored her.

Once inside the room, Lü Yao retrieved a voice recorder from under the cabinet. Expressionless, she took out the recorder and replaced it with a new one before lowering her head to start mopping.

…

Liu Mumu was once again invited to the police station. As a frequent visitor, she casually found herself a comfortable seat, and an officer even brought her a cup of milk tea and some snacks.

“Master Liu, here’s your milk tea.”

The reverence was palpable. If there had been an incense burner at Liu Mumu’s feet, they probably would have lit some incense for her too.

These days, worshiping bodhisattvas is out of fashion—worshiping masters is the new trend!

The case that the capital had been investigating for so long ended with one of the suspects turning himself in right here, all because of a few words Liu Mumu exchanged with him.

No one would believe it if you told them.

Xu Yonglin was already at the police station by now. Fang Chuan had entered the interrogation room and hadn’t come out yet.

The interrogation was quick this time, partly due to Xu Yonglin’s cooperation. It only took twenty minutes for Fang Chuan to ask all his questions.

The results were fruitful, but everything would have to wait until the other suspect, Xu Yongshuang, was caught.

When Fang Chuan returned to the office, he saw Liu Mumu sitting in his office chair, snacking and sipping milk tea as if she were on vacation.

He stormed in, pulled up a chair, and sat across from Liu Mumu—only to suddenly break into a wide grin. “How’s the milk tea?”

The watching subordinates nearly jumped out of their skins. Was he putting on a face-changing performance or what?

“Not bad,” Liu Mumu replied, slurping up a tapioca pearl and chewing.

Fang Chuan rubbed his hands together. “Xu Yonglin said you told his fortune, and that’s why he decided to turn himself in.”

The weirdest part was that even in the interrogation room, Xu Yonglin tried to protect Liu Mumu, refusing to reveal who had told his fortune.

At most, the two of them had known each other for twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes was all it took for him to choose to confess and even rat out his own brother. Fang Chuan briefly wondered if Liu Mumu possessed some high-level cultivation skill like “silver-tongued persuasion.”

“Isn’t that great? Solving such a big case means a promotion and raise are just around the corner.”

Fang Chuan brightened. “I’ll take your auspicious words.”

Then he smacked his forehead in frustration—she’d derailed him again. “We’re talking serious business here. Be serious. What exactly did you say to him?”

“Just chatted a bit about the rest of his life.” Liu Mumu sat in Fang Chuan’s swivel chair, pushed off with her foot, and spun around happily.

“That’s it?” Fang Chuan pretended not to notice her antics, skepticism creeping into his voice.

Liu Mumu shook her head. “Someone with a good fate like you wouldn’t understand the troubles of those with bad ones. That guy was destined to spend the rest of his life in prison and die young. Given the chance to change his fate, why wouldn’t he take it?”

Fang Chuan believed in Liu Mumu’s fortune-telling abilities. If that was the case, he could understand now.

“But why did you help him?” Fang Chuan was also puzzled by this point.

Liu Mumu was a somewhat capricious girl. When she helped Jenny, they were just ordinary classmates, and she stopped at the bare minimum, unwilling to interfere too much.

When she helped Xue Lan, they were good friends, and she even took care of the “after-sales service.”

But Xu Yonglin was different from both of them. Before this, he and Liu Mumu had no connection whatsoever.

Oh, the only possible intersection was that Liu Mumu’s younger brother had been targeted by his gu—surely it couldn’t be because of that, right?

Liu Mumu thought for a moment, then said to him, “Don’t you think completely altering someone’s original fate is a fascinating thing? Xu Yonglin’s fate took an extreme turn, from the worst to the best. People like him are rare.”

“No, I don’t,” Fang Chuan replied woodenly.

“Tsk~ It’s the joy of a master. Of course, you wouldn’t understand.” Liu Mumu spun her chair around again. “But mainly, I think he’s worth saving.”

Fang Chuan frowned. “I don’t think he deserves to be saved.”

From Xu Yonglin’s confession, he had participated in creating so-called “miracle drugs,” placing half-finished gu worms in pills and selling them at exorbitant prices to elderly people through pyramid schemes. Even if he claimed that his older brother Xu Yongshuang was the one who insisted on recalling the gu worms—which led to deaths—in Fang Chuan’s eyes, this man still deserved punishment.

His rebuttal didn’t upset Liu Mumu. She just wagged a finger. “It wouldn’t be fun if I told you everything that happens next. You’ll see for yourself.”

Trusting Liu Mumu, Fang Chuan didn’t press further. The most urgent matter now was capturing Xu Yongshuang.

By the time the two finished talking, Yan Xiu had emerged from the office, holding a cut piece of yellow paper.

He walked up behind Liu Mumu, who tilted her head back to look at him, her eyes sparkling. Then, the yellow paper was slapped onto her forehead.

Liu Mumu blinked in confusion, looking like a little zombie that had just been subdued.

When she realized what had happened, her almond-shaped eyes widened. “What is this?”

She tugged at the paper, but it wouldn’t come off!

“Take her statement later, then send her home,” Yan Xiu instructed the nearby officer who was watching the scene, ignoring her.

“Understood, Consultant Yan.”

Seeing that he was ignoring her, Liu Mumu grabbed Yan Xiu’s arm and shook it vigorously. “Take it off me right now!”

How was she supposed to go outside with a piece of yellow paper stuck to her forehead?

“This talisman will protect you for eight hours. It’ll fall off on its own when the time’s up.” Yan Xiu patted her head gently, a faint smile on his lips.

Having learned from the previous experience, Yan Xiu had wisely improved the bl00d talisman in advance, and today it finally came in handy.

Liu Mumu shivered under his charming smile and quickly admitted her mistake, “I was wrong. Next time something like this happens, I’ll definitely notify you first.”

“Good. Since Master Liu has recognized her mistake, she should reflect on it properly.”

With that, Yan Xiu withdrew his hand without hesitation and left with Fang Chuan.

Liu Mumu clawed at the air a few times but didn’t even manage to grab a corner of his sleeve.

The remaining officer stifled a laugh as he took her statement. Indeed, only Consultant Yan could keep Liu Mumu in check.

*

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yongshuang waited for a full half-hour, but Xu Yonglin still hadn’t returned. His expression gradually darkened.

The incense burner was clutched in his hand, his fingers unconsciously rubbing against it from time to time.

A plastic clock hung on the wall, its ticking loud like drumbeats hammering against his heart.

Xu Yongshuang dialed Xu Yonglin’s number again. After a few rings, it was finally answered.

“Brother, I’ll be back soon.”

Xu Yonglin sounded out of breath, as if he was hurrying.

Xu Yongshuang listened quietly, then suddenly asked, “Where are you?”

“Uh… I don’t know what street this is, but there’s a flower market nearby.”

Xu Yongshuang narrowed his eyes. “Is that so? That flower market seems pretty quiet.”

“Not really, there are still quite a few people. But since you told me to avoid crowded places, I’ve been keeping my distance.”

Xu Yonglin’s reply was perfectly natural, easing Xu Yongshuang’s initial suspicions slightly.

“I’ll be back soon. Do you want me to bring you some buns?” Xu Yonglin added.

“No need. You have ten more minutes.”

With that, Xu Yongshuang hung up.

Inside the van, Xu Yonglin—now wearing specialized handcuffs—put down the phone and said to Fang Chuan, “My brother is extremely cautious. He might be a little suspicious of me.”

“Aren’t you brothers? He even doubts you?” Fang Chuan glanced outside the car. Their team had already arrived outside Linghua Community, right across from Xu Yongshuang’s residence.

Xu Yonglin let out a bitter laugh. “I was sent away as a child. He only found me a few years ago. We don’t really have much of a bond.”

Fang Chuan didn’t comment on his words, parking the van outside the community as officers began disembarking.

Three officers stayed behind to guard Xu Yonglin before Fang Chuan also got out.

Through the window, he could see seven or eight officers entering the community.

Despite Xu Yonglin’s call sounding completely normal, Xu Yongshuang couldn’t shake a growing unease. He paced the room twice before his phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming message.

The sender’s number was hidden, but the content made his pupils constrict—You’ve been targeted by the police.

Without hesitation, Xu Yongshuang tucked the ever-present incense burner into his coat, leaving everything else behind, and pushed open the door to leave.

He didn’t head downstairs but instead went up to the rooftop.

By then, Fang Chuan and his team had already approached the rented apartment.

One officer knocked on the door, but there was no response. He glanced back at Fang Chuan, who nodded, and they proceeded to force the door open.

The apartment was empty.

The officer at the front cautiously scanned the surroundings when suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his eyes, and he let out a scream.

Fang Chuan’s expression changed abruptly as he shouted, “Everyone, pull out now!”

The others immediately helped the injured retreat swiftly. Once the men were brought out, Yan Xiu stepped forward to examine them and said in a low voice, “They’ve been poisoned with gu.”

Fang Chuan frowned deeply. They had been carrying defensive talismans, yet they had failed to guard against Xu Yongshuang’s gu poison.

“He’s still nearby and hasn’t gone far,” Yan Xiu said.

The two of them simultaneously looked upstairs.

Exchanging a glance, this time Yan Xiu took the lead.

They made their way to the rooftop, where the door stood open. Xu Yongshuang wasn’t hiding—there was nowhere for him to hide—but he was confident he could keep everyone here.

As Yan Xiu stepped through the rooftop door, he could clearly hear eerie rustling sounds. Countless black dots surged from beneath Xu Yongshuang’s feet, swarming toward the doorway.

Yet the scene Xu Yongshuang had anticipated didn’t materialize. Yan Xiu, walking at the front, merely cast a disgusted glance at the gu insects on the ground. With each step he took, the surrounding gu insects seemed to encounter something repulsive, scattering away from him.

“You’re not a cop. Who are you?” Xu Yongshuang’s eyes flashed with panic.

“Xu Yongshuang, for manipulating gu insects to kill civilians, you’re under arrest.”

“Ridiculous, I—”

Before he could finish, Xu Yongshuang’s vision blurred as something flashed past. Invisible forces pierced his limbs and heart.

Excruciating pain shot through his heart and limbs. Amid his screams, Yan Xiu walked up to him and, with a gloved hand, retrieved an incense burner from his chest.