Chapter 25: Awareness

Chapter 25: Realization

Seven people?

Those seven roses!

Wei Zhengyi's eyes widened abruptly: "Are you suggesting that those seven people were all involved together...?"

Jiang Cheng quickly lowered his head, sifting through the statements from the group earlier, matching the times one by one, and finally found something amiss!

"Geng Haonan mentioned that Yuan Zhenghao was with Wei Xiaoxia last April," Jiang Cheng began, "but Cui Bowen claimed he took Xia Jingling out for a date that month."

"Yang Wenxuan mentioned that around July, Yuan Zhenghao and Lin Mengjiao were quite intimate, and they even got together once in mid-July. However, Gao Hanming stated he was with Liang Siqing that same month."

"In September, Zhao Yongxin noted that Yuan Zhenghao and Zheng Yudan were in a steady relationship. But shortly after, he brought Wei Xiaoxia to meet Wei Chengze and the others."

"And by late November, He Shuwen, Liang Siqing, and Zheng Yudan were all involved with Yuan Zhenghao..."

Jiang Cheng glanced up at everyone: "Their relationships overlapped in time."

A moment of silence fell over the room. Wei Zhengyi scratched his head and smirked: "So, you're suggesting Yuan Zhenghao might have been juggling multiple relationships simultaneously?"

Zhou Qiming nodded slowly: "That’s likely the case."

Wei Zhengyi was baffled: "Wait, how did he manage to find the time for all that? This wasn’t just a one-off; it spanned nearly a year of juggling multiple relationships. How did he avoid getting caught?"

He only dated one girl in college and always felt pressed for time. "Yuan Zhenghao must have been swamped too, right?" Wei Zhengyi continued. "I heard he’s been gradually taking over the family business. How did he even find the time to juggle so many women?"

Yue Lingchuan, calm and composed, spoke softly: "Who said he wasn’t found out?"

Everyone looked at him in shock. Shen Qingye also said: "If you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned. Once or twice might slip by, but over time, wouldn’t those girls catch on?"

She recalled a classmate in her university days who dated a guy from another school. At first, everything was fine, and they were sweet together. But later, just because the guy answered the phone two minutes late, or once didn't say goodnight when he dropped her off, the girl sensed something was wrong. She investigated and indeed found out the guy was seeing someone else.

Shen Qingye still trusted women’s intuition, particularly their sharpness in romantic matters.

Wei Zhengyi furrowed his brow: "Are you implying... these girls were all aware of each other?"

"Even if some are more naive, I don't think everyone is that innocent," Shen Qingye replied. She pointed to a few names on the list: "Zheng Yudan and He Shuwen haven’t known Yuan Zhenghao for long, so it's understandable if they didn't notice. But Wei Xiaoxia—she’s supposedly known him for several years, and they've been on and off for so long without completely breaking up."

"Lin Mengjiao, his high school classmate—they've been together since high school, and he takes her out from time to time."

Shen Qingye looked up at everyone: "They’ve known Yuan Zhenghao for so many years. Could they really not notice anything wrong?"

Zhou Qiming pondered: "Either Yuan Zhenghao's secrecy was really that good, or those women didn't really care. Or maybe they knew but couldn’t do anything about it." After all, Yuan Zhenghao is a rich second-generation heir, with a big family business. Even if they had objections, they could only make a fuss at most?

"What about the motive for murder?" Wei Zhengyi couldn't help but ask: "If that's the case, these women don’t mind him seeing other people, so there’s no conflict of interest. Why kill?"

"Or did the other women suddenly find out and couldn’t take it, so they chose to kill?"

Jiang Cheng said: "But this kind of murder is usually a crime of passion. Premeditated murders like this are rare."

Zhou Qiming said: "But killing at a wedding does fit the mentality that Zhengyi speculated. Otherwise, there’s no need to choose such a dramatic method."

Killing secretly in the dark might take a long time to be discovered, which would be more secure for the murderer.

"Since they chose this method, it means there’s still something we don’t know," Yue Lingchuan concluded as he clapped his hands. "Now that we have a lead, let’s get to work."

"First, find out where those people are, bring them to the station, and interrogate them one by one."

The group hurried downstairs, about to leave, when a voice suddenly called out from behind: "Qingye."

Shen Qingye paused in her steps, turning back in surprise. "Mother?"

Only then did she realize she had come to the wedding with her mother today.

Yue Lingchuan instinctively straightened up beside her upon seeing the newcomer.

Shen Linyue, in a long coat and high heels, her wavy hair cascading over her shoulders, walked over with an elegant and capable demeanor.

She glanced at Zhou Qiming and the others before focusing on Shen Qingye. "What are you planning to do?"

Shen Qingye glanced at Yue Lingchuan before replying, "We have some leads on the suspect and plan to summon them for questioning."

Shen Linyue raised an eyebrow. "Now?"

Shen Qingye hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."

Shen Linyue crossed her arms, staring at her in silence.

Shen Qingye blinked uneasily. "Mom..."

Shen Linyue shot her a glance. "Is it that urgent?"

Shen Qingye pursed her lips as Yue Lingchuan interjected, "It's not that urgent."

Shen Qingye turned to him in surprise. Yue Lingchuan stepped forward, a polite and humble smile on his face. "Auntie, do you need anything?"

Shen Linyue narrowed her eyes. Just moments ago, they had been chatting amiably, but now, for some reason, she found him irritating.

"Nothing much," she said, looking at the group. "I just wanted to say, if it's not urgent, have a meal before you go."

Shen Qingye was startled, as were Wei Zhengyi and the others.

"A meal?" she asked, puzzled, glancing toward the hall, only to notice that the guests were seated neatly, and the tables were already filled with various dishes.

Shen Linyue said, "You only said you couldn't leave, not that you couldn't eat, right? The hotel had the dishes ready, so I had them served."

The wedding feast had turned into a somber meal.

Yue Lingchuan watched, then turned to Shen Linyue. "Thank you, Auntie."

Everyone there was important, and though they were temporarily confined here, it was still an unusual situation, which might have caused some discomfort. But Shen Linyue had quietly arranged everything, saving them trouble.

Shen Linyue snorted. "It's past noon. Will there be food in the cafeteria when you get back?"

Shen Qingye shook her head. "So you'll go hungry all afternoon?" Shen Linyue asked.

Shen Qingye shuffled over, clinging to Shen Linyue's arm. "Mom~"

Shen Linyue glanced sideways. "Did you think I wouldn't let you go?"

Shen Qingye replied quickly, "Of course not! You're so understanding, Mom!"

Shen Linyue snorted, ignoring her, and looked at Yue Lingchuan and the others. "The food is already served. It's just a meal; it won't take much time. No matter how urgent the case is, you can't work on an empty stomach, right?"

Zhou Qiming and the others exchanged glances, and Yue Lingchuan smiled. "We were too busy to eat. We'd have just grabbed some bread later. Auntie, you're so thoughtful."

Wei Zhengyi also smiled and said, "Yeah, I was already hungry earlier, but I thought I could tough it out for a bit. Ended up holding out until I was starving."

Shen Linyue also smiled, tilting her head slightly as she said, "The food’s ready, so hurry up and eat."

Hearing this, no one hesitated, and everyone made their way over. Shen Qingye was still sticking close to her mother: "I want to sit with you."

Shen Linyue pushed her away directly: "Why sit with me? When I start talking business with other execs, are you just going to sit there like a robot, quietly eating?"

"Go sit with your colleagues."

Shen Qingye pouted but eventually headed over to sit at Yue Lingchuan's table.

The food was already served, and everyone dug in without hesitation, eating heartily.

Halfway through the meal, the forensic team and the Trace Examination Unit wrapped up and came down. Zhou Qiming called out to them, inviting them to join.

Shen Qingye glanced at Qin Yilang's white lab coat, stained with blood and dust, blinked, and suddenly remembered something:

"Isn't today Sunday?"

Yue Lingchuan looked up, strangely understanding Shen Qingye's meaning, and couldn't help but laugh: "For cops, especially detectives, these kinds of emergencies are pretty common. You’ve always got to be ready. Captain Qin is always... meticulous, so he’s got more than one of these white coats at home." He bit back the words "pain in the ass."

Shen Qingye got it.

As they were talking, Qin Yilang walked over slowly, glanced at Yue Lingchuan upon hearing this, and said, "Unlike Captain Yue, who stumbles into a murder case just by showing up at a wedding."

His tone was dripping with sarcasm, and Yue Lingchuan fired back: "Well, you’d better watch out—I’ve got a few more weddings to crash."

Qin Yilang said, "You’re talking like it’s your own wedding."

Yue Lingchuan replied, "Why rush? I’m still young. Unlike some people, pushing thirty and still flying solo."

Qin Yilang curled his lips: "We’ll see when you hit thirty."

Shen Qingye felt the undercurrent between the two, looking from one to the other, feeling a bit puzzled. Wei Zhengyi explained from the side: "They say Captain Yue is the living Grim Reaper—death follows him wherever he goes."

Yue Lingchuan, meeting the girl's curious gaze, couldn’t help but cough lightly and said, "Don’t mind him—he’s just salty about being called in to work overtime on the weekend."

Qin Yilang snorted from the side, and Yue Lingchuan also snorted.

Shen Qingye listened, her eyes and brows betraying a hint of a smile.

Xu Yanting acted like he didn’t hear the two squabbling, casually taking a seat with his team. Liu Wenkang couldn't help but ask his boss: "Are we just going to eat like this? Without chipping in, isn’t that a little rude?"

Yue Lingchuan replied, "Dig in—I’ve already covered my share."

Zhou Qiming, who hadn’t stopped picking up food, added, "Relax, look around—who here didn’t bring their crew?"

Jiang Cheng quietly added, "It’s just that Captain Yue’s entourage is a bit too big."

The large table of "family" couldn’t help but chuckle, but given the situation, they didn’t dare to laugh too openly, only stifling their laughter, their bodies shaking.

After a busy morning, everyone was starving, and now they didn’t hold back, tearing through the food like a hurricane, leaving almost nothing behind.

Yue Lingchuan pressed the table and stood up: "Alright, let’s get back to work."