How come the celestial technique I stole is so powerful?!-Chapter 243 The Mayor’s Invitation

The scene shifts back to Jiangcheng.

Jiangcheng has already awakened from the long winter night.

Once again, it welcomes a sunny, radiant day.

Lin Xiaosu opened his eyes in the hotel room, reached out his hand, summoned his cell phone from the Secret Realm Space, and it fell into his palm.

The signal did a mad round of searching.

Text message notifications kept popping in...

His gaze landed on the screen—calls from Ding Ruoshui, a second call from Ding Ruoshui, a third call from Ding Ruoshui...

In an instant, seven messages, all missed call alerts.

This girl is anxious as hell!

Lin Xiaosu pressed a finger down—called back!

The call was quickly connected; Ding Ruoshui’s voice came through: "Oh my God, you finally called, help—"

"Who wants your life?"

"My mom!" Ding Ruoshui said, "She didn’t sleep all night, just stared at me, insisted I call you. When she couldn’t reach you, she started pestering my dad. She said you must’ve been thrown in a cell by Mayor Gao, abusing his power, and even wanted my dad to call the secretary to get her poor, wronged son-in-law out of jail..."

Lin Xiaosu sighed, "Truly a proper Daxia mother-in-law... Tell your dear mother-in-law that I just had a few drinks with Chief Shen last night, got a bit too tipsy, and didn’t even notice that where we were drinking, there was no signal."

"..."

Ding Ruoshui hung up and bounced out of bed, ran out of the room, and shot straight to the second floor: "Mom, stop giving Dad a hard time so early in the morning. Your son-in-law was not locked up, didn’t get beaten up, he was just out drinking with friends, got super drunk, and there was no signal where they were."

Yes, at this very moment, her mom really was tormenting Ding Lizhong, insisting Ding Lizhong find the secretary right away...

After Ding Ruoshui finished explaining,

Ding Lizhong was finally freed.

Mrs. Ding beamed with joy: "Let him come over; I’ll make lunch for you two..."

"No need for that, he said... he said he’s heading back!" Ding Ruoshui said, "I’ll go see him off!"

Mrs. Ding said, "Fine! You see him off, and on the way, go check on his mom. I’ll get you a gold bracelet, give it to her as a gift when you meet..."

"Isn’t that a bit much?" Ding Ruoshui was dumbfounded.

"You silly child, do you have any manners at all? He’s come to our place twice, and you haven’t even gone over to see his mom? How does that look?"

"But you don’t have to go giving her your collectibles..." Ding Ruoshui’s scalp was tingling.

"Didn’t he bring jewelry when he came over?"

Ding Ruoshui was about to lose it: "That was bought with my money... he didn’t spend a penny! He just carried the thing..."

"We’re all family, what’s there to fuss about?" Mrs. Ding ran into the next room, fetched a jewelry box, and put a beautifully crafted gold bracelet inside.

Mrs. Ding put the bracelet in her hand and gave her a long list of instructions...

Going to the countryside isn’t the same as the city.

You have to be down-to-earth: if you see housework, you need to offer a hand.

When you see people, you have to smile sweetly.

As for all those aunts and uncles, just follow little Su—if little Su calls her third aunt, you call her third aunt; if little Su calls him fourth uncle, you call him fourth uncle...

Ding Ruoshui finally couldn’t hold it in: "What if he calls his mom ’Mom’? What do I call her? Also Mom?"

"So what if you call her Mom? If you had little Su call me Mom, don’t you think I’d be over the moon..."

Ding Ruoshui smacked her forehead: "Mom, is this guy really that great? Whenever he’s around, you just have no principles! You forget every word you used to say—back then you told me girls must be reserved, keep themselves pure..."

"That was when you were little! Are you little now?" Mrs. Ding glared at her. "Already twenty-five, twenty-six—almost pushing thirty, still so reserved! Wait any longer and my son-in-law will be snatched away..."

"Mom, please, just drop it, I’ll go, okay?" Ding Ruoshui dashed off.

By the time she crossed half of Jiangcheng and arrived in front of Lin Xiaosu,

Lin Xiaosu was standing by the curb, seemingly in a daze.

"Hey!" Ding Ruoshui greeted him. "Are we heading straight for Fengcheng now?"

Lin Xiaosu got into the car: "Let’s stop by the City Government Compound first."

Ding Ruoshui was a little surprised: "The City Government Compound? What for?"

"Last night, it wasn’t just you who called seven times. There was also an unfamiliar number. I called back after returning your call, and it turned out to be Mayor He’s secretary; he told me Mayor He wants to have a chat..."

Ding Ruoshui’s brows suddenly furrowed.

Mayor He...

Wants to have a chat?

Why does my gut say this doesn’t feel right?

Mayor He’s only son, He Bin, died at the wedding banquet yesterday, in front of over a thousand people, right after having words with Lin Xiaosu, then suddenly dropped dead.

If Lin Xiaosu wasn’t a detective, and couldn’t solve the case on the spot, he’d be the prime suspect in He Bin’s murder.

As it stands, Lin Xiaosu is a detective!

He solved the case on the spot!

Cleared himself of suspicion.

But can Mayor He really let go of his only son’s death?

Can he really face Lin Xiaosu with a calm, even heart?

Even though Lin Xiaosu wasn’t He Bin’s real killer, people always look for someone to blame; when a loved one dies, everyone holds a grudge against those connected...

"What does this meeting mean for you?" Ding Ruoshui’s voice was steady, but heavy.

"Won’t know until I go."

"But... what if you end up getting locked away under some trumped up charge?"

Lin Xiaosu shot her a look: "Have you ever seen anyone who wants to frame you, start by meeting you face to face?"

Ding Ruoshui nodded lightly...

That’s true!

Power works in mysterious ways.

When doing things through the back door, power shows its real teeth; but going through the front door, power loses its effect.

So, whenever someone abuses their authority, the person in charge always hides in the shadows.

But today, this person is stepping out, front and center...

The car drove through alleys and streets, arriving at a residential compound.

This compound is right behind the city government office building.

It looks impressive, though it has a bit of old-time feel—the building’s been around for over thirty years. However grand it was back then, time has left its mark; there’s some wear and tear now.

By the gate, a young man was waiting.

That was the mayor’s secretary.

As soon as he saw Lin Xiaosu, he lifted the barrier and waved them through, then guided Ding Ruoshui to park in the garage...

Building Seven—the secretary accompanied Lin Xiaosu into the elevator.

Ding Ruoshui waited in the car.

At the door of apartment 703, the secretary gently pulled open the door: "Mr. Lin, please come in. I’ll wait outside!"

Lin Xiaosu entered.

The room was spacious, more than a hundred square meters. In the provincial capital, that’s a big apartment. The décor was traditional Chinese, considered upscale at the time but a bit dated now. The furnishings were above average, not luxurious.

In an average household, this would be grand.

But for the mayor of Jiangcheng—a deputy-provincial city—this was just ordinary.

In short: not deliberately showing off "humble official life," but by no means high-end or extravagant.

A man came out from the study—it was He Gaosheng.

Less than a day had passed since yesterday’s wedding banquet, yet he looked ten years older.

He Gaosheng raised a hand gently: "Detective Lin, please have a seat!"

Lin Xiaosu sat down. He Gaosheng took a seat across from him, picked up the teapot on the coffee table, and poured Lin Xiaosu a cup: "Detective Lin, I invited you here because I want to ask—why did He Bin become the murderer’s target? Was it really just to frame you, a random choice?"

Lin Xiaosu held the teacup, hesitating slightly...

"Detective Lin, you’ve unraveled an incredibly secretive murder; your detective skills are astonishing. Is it truly impossible to go further?" asked He Gaosheng.

This, in fact, was why He Gaosheng had his secretary find him.

He wanted to know why his son was chosen by the murderer.

The killer was already dead. There was no one left to ask.

The police were still investigating, but it could be years before they had a conclusion. As a father, faced with the sudden loss of his only son and a wife on the verge of collapse, he needed answers.

Originally, only police could give such answers, but after Lin Xiaosu’s extraordinary show of skill at the banquet, he wanted Lin Xiaosu to look into it—was his son’s death a random act, or was there a hidden story...

Lin Xiaosu closed his eyes briefly: "Mayor He, in your heart, what kind of person was your son to you?"

He Gaosheng let out a soft sigh: "Every child is their parents’ pride and joy for life. Of course I wanted my son to walk the path I laid out for him. Every step, I hoped it matched my expectations—from elementary to middle, high school, university... To be honest, I still keep all his awards! I just looked at them again a moment ago."

Lin Xiaosu said, "May I have a look too?"

"Of course."

Lin Xiaosu entered the study.

The huge desk was covered with certificates and awards.

Model student, outstanding class leader, work-study awards, social activity certificates, debate competition prizes, invention awards...

The time spanned more than twenty years.

Some papers were already yellowed.

And on the study walls, many photographs hung; almost every photo featured He Bin.

Looking at these photos—from childhood to youth, from awkward boyishness to vibrant adulthood, from domestic to overseas...

It was like watching someone grow step by step...

He Gaosheng’s eyes turned moist... freeweɓnovel-cøm

"Mayor He, judging from my earlier question, it appears you have a clear and warm answer in your heart, doesn’t it?"

"What can I say about He Bin? From primary school through college, I was always so proud of him. Even though his father is an official, he never had the attitude of a typical bureaucrat’s kid. You might not believe this, but in college, his monthly living expense was only one thousand yuan."

"You only mentioned up to college!" said Lin Xiaosu. "There’s still the period after that."

He Gaosheng gave a soft sigh: "If you’re asking about quarrels between father and son, it probably was about that period... He insisted on going abroad to study. The costs of studying abroad were beyond the reach of an average family; I couldn’t afford it! But he was determined, said he wouldn’t use my money for tuition. I couldn’t change his mind, so I agreed. And after he left, he kept his word, working to help pay his way through four years. So, if you ask me what kind of person my son was, I’ll tell you: despite a few little flaws, overall he was a decent kid."

Lin Xiaosu took two slow steps: "Mayor He, if you were just an ordinary father, there are things I’d rather keep to myself. But you’re not—you are a mayor of a major deputy-provincial city. If you don’t know certain secrets, it could cause endless trouble. So forgive me. I might have to shatter your illusions."

He Gaosheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat...

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