"And then someone spotted me and suddenly fired a shot in my direction. Luckily, it didn’t hit me, but it put a hole in my window. I was terrified and immediately ducked down. When I stood up a little while later, the car across the street was gone."

"How many of them did you see?"

"Four? Or maybe five? It was dark and they were far away, so I couldn’t see clearly."

"Can we speak with your family?"

"You can, but all they heard was the sound of glass shattering."

After some questioning, they had almost no leads aside from the fact that the suspects were in a car.

They were a little disappointed. This wasn’t nearly enough to solve the case, and their superiors were pressing them hard.

Meanwhile, Xue Xingzhou was swamped with work.

Over on Xue Yue’s side, she had already gone to bed.

"Tonight, Mom told me she wants to send Xiao Yu to school—the same one as Shiyi."

He Lang, who was hugging Xue Yue’s waist from behind, already had his eyes closed.

"Mm-hmm."

Xue Yue glanced back. "Sleepy?"

"Mm-hmm."

Xue Yue smelled the alcohol on He Lang’s breath. "Don’t tell me you drank too much."

"Mm-hmm."

’Alright, from the looks of it, he really did drink too much.’

Meanwhile, Mrs. He was also talking to Mr. He about sending Xiao Yu to school.

"Our daughter-in-law agreed."

Mr. He was washing his feet.

"I told you they’d agree."

Mrs. He sighed. "It’s just that I feel uneasy about it. Our second son passed away and left his child with us. And while we’re raising her, we’re also living off them. Now we’re bringing in another child... I’m just worried our daughter-in-law might take it the wrong way."

Mr. He said dismissively, "You’re overthinking it. He Lang and his wife aren’t the type to be petty. Besides, it’s not like we’re freeloaders. We do our part. You women are always so sensitive, worrying about nothing."

Mrs. He shot him an irritated glance.

Just then, a sob came from under the covers.

Mr. He and Mrs. He exchanged a look and turned toward Xiao Yu under the blanket.

Mrs. He pulled back the blanket to find Xiao Yu sobbing, her small body trembling. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"What’s wrong? We thought you were asleep. What are you crying about?"

Xiao Yu sat up and looked at Mrs. He. "Granny, I miss my daddy."

At these words, both Mr. and Mrs. He’s expressions turned somber.

Mrs. He pulled Xiao Yu into her arms, patting her on the back.

"There, there, Xiao Yu. Grandpa and Granny are here. You poor child."

Xiao Yu cried in Mrs. He’s arms, and Mrs. He’s own eyes reddened.

’What a tragedy.’

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, just after breakfast, Qin Haize arrived to pay them a New Year’s visit.

"Grandpa He, Granny He, Uncle, Auntie, Happy New Year! Xiao Luoluo, Happy New Year!"

Xiao Luoluo was Qin Haize’s nickname for Ruanruan.

"Happy New Year to you too."

Xue Yue gave Qin Haize a red envelope.

"Thank you, Auntie. These are the New Year’s gifts I brought for you all."

As he spoke, an aide set down the gifts.

Xue Yue asked him, "Why aren’t you celebrating the New Year at home today?"

Qin Haize pouted. "My mom and dad didn’t come back for the New Year again, and my grandpa had to go to the base for something. I was so bored at home, so I had the aide bring me over. Auntie, can I have lunch at your house? I don’t want to go back."

Xue Yue’s heart ached for the boy. She nodded. "Of course you can. But we’re about to go out to make New Year’s visits. Do you want to come with us?"

Qin Haize nodded, then went to take Ruanruan’s hand.

Ruanruan scrunched up her little face. "Qin Haize, how many times have I told you? Boys can’t hold girls’ hands."

"Why not?"

"Because if you hold hands, you have to get married. I’m still little, I don’t want to get married."

Qin Haize looked at Ruanruan, puzzled. "Then we can just get married when we grow up."

Ruanruan thought for a moment. "Okay, then."

The group of adults didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the childish exchange. He Lang shot Qin Haize a displeased look.

’This little brat, trying to snatch my daughter away at such a young age. In his dreams.’

When Xue Yue and the others went to Xue Xingzhou’s place, they learned that her brother had gone to the bureau last night and still hadn’t returned.

"Don’t tell me there’s another case?"

Zhang Qian nodded helplessly. "It must be. Sigh, what a way to spend the New Year. It’s almost noon, and your brother only had a couple of bites of dinner last night. I don’t even know if he’s eaten anything since."

Xue Yue was also worried, but she still tried to comfort Zhang Qian.

"He’s definitely eaten. There are so many people at the police station; someone will make sure he’s fed."

At that very moment, Xue Xingzhou was eating a piece of bread. Because of the New Year holiday, the cafeteria wasn’t serving food, so he could only eat some bread to tide himself over.

It was a similar story for He Ziqing. Today, she had gone with her father and Wang Hui Fang to visit Wang Hui Fang’s parents for the New Year.

It was already afternoon when they returned.

Instead of going to his own room, Xiao Nian sat on the edge of He Ziqing’s bed, fiddling with a candy wrapper and complaining.

"That was so awkward. Dad insisted we go, but she’s not even our real relative. What was the point? Look at my face, it’s stiff from smiling all day."

He Ziqing smiled. "Dad wanted us to get to know her family. Don’t be so resentful. Aunt Wang is a nice person. How does she usually treat you?"

Xiao Nian muttered, "She’s nice *now*. Who knows how long she can keep up the act."

’Everyone says stepmothers are good at pretending. After a while, they always show their true colors.’

He Ziqing sighed. "Xiao Nian, it’s a two-way street. If you want her to be good to you, you can’t make things so difficult for her. Aunt Wang has no obligation to be nice to us; she’s just building a life with our dad. We’re grown up now, so we should be more understanding. Don’t put Dad in a tough spot."

The young man huffed and said nothing more.

’If it weren’t for his dad, would he be putting up with all this? He was already doing whatever they asked of him.’

He Ziqing was still agonizing over how to tell her father she was dating someone.

Seeing his sister spacing out constantly for the past couple of days, Xiao Nian walked over and waved a hand in front of her eyes.

He Ziqing glanced up at Xiao Nian.

"What are you doing?"

"Sis, what are you thinking about? I feel like something’s on your mind."

He Ziqing let out a soft breath. "Is it that obvious?"

Xiao Nian nodded. "It’s written all over your face."

He Ziqing hesitated for a moment, then asked Xiao Nian, "If... I was seeing someone, do you think Dad would approve?"

Xiao Nian got excited and instantly grabbed He Ziqing’s arm.

"Sis, you’re seeing someone?!"

Seeing how excited Xiao Nian was, He Ziqing let out a small laugh.

"Yeah. How should I tell Dad? Do you think he’ll be against it?"

Xiao Nian tilted his head and thought for a moment. "You’ll be 25 after the New Year. Dad probably won’t be against it. Sis, how old is your boyfriend? What does he do? Where’s he from?"

Xiao Nian immediately launched into a rapid-fire round of questions.

He Ziqing, amused, gently tapped him on the head.

"Zip it. One more question and you can go back to your room."

Xiao Nian quickly pantomimed zipping his lips, signaling that he would stay quiet.