The couple was in Room 8088 at Gloria Hotel. Qin Jinhuan was in the shower while Mu Yu lay on the bed with both her eyes focused on the ceiling above her.

“What are you thinking about?” As Qin Jinhuan climbed into bed, he reached out to cuddle her. Mu Yu quickly pulled the sheets over his body firmly, afraid that he might catch a cold otherwise. “Do you think what we’re doing is right, Huan?” she asked in an anxious tone.

He smiled when he realized that she was referring to what they did with Wen Zeyu and Jiang Wenwen. “Of course.”

“I still have a bad feeling about it, though. Zeyu drank a lot,” she said.

“How is he going to make a mistake if he didn’t drink too much? How is he going to get a baby if the mistake doesn’t happen?” Qin Jinhuan chuckled as he got on top of Mu Yu and pinned her below his body.

“Stop fooling around! I’m talking about serious stuff here.” She applied force on his arms to stop his naughty hands from moving around. “Wenwen is the one who has more to lose here; what if Zeyu gets up tomorrow morning and decides to pretend that nothing happened?”

“Zeyu isn’t an irresponsible man. Furthermore, he really needs a woman to carry his child now. You shouldn’t be worried if Zeyu would bear the responsibilities; you should be more concerned about whether your good friend is going to hit the jackpot within a single night,” Qin Jinhuan replied.

“Nonetheless, I don’t support pregnancy before marriage—not when they don’t even have a basic relationship with one another,” she argued.

“What makes you say that they don’t have a basic relationship? Isn’t Jiang Wenwen crazy about Wen Zeyu?” he asked.

“That’s just one-sided love at most! I think you’ve planned this out too carelessly. Zeyu should have at least developed some feelings toward Wenwen first,” she replied.

He let out a light chuckle when he heard the resentment in her voice. “I just thought that this was the simplest and most straightforward way.” Mu Yu took a deep breath as worry filled her face. “I really want to help Wenwen, but I don’t want to see her getting hurt! I’m sure you know how much she likes Zeyu. She’s going to collapse if he rejects her! I’d really end up as the bad person in the whole situation then.”

“I’ve actually asked for permission beforehand,” Qin Jinhuan said abruptly.

“Whose permission? Wenwen’s?”

Qin Jinhuan nodded. “I gave her a call yesterday. I only brought this matter up after I told her about Zeyu’s current situation; I even ran through all the possible outcomes and gave her more time to think about it. I only arranged this dinner after she replied and agreed to the idea.”

This news came as a shock to Mu Yu. “Are you saying that Wenwen already knew what would happen tonight?”

“Yeah. She said that she wanted to try her luck. She’s mentally prepared for whatever the outcome may be, so she won’t blame you for anything.” Of course, Qin Jinhuan didn’t tell her that Jiang Wenwen was actually Qing Qing. He didn’t mention that he had made an agreement with Jiang Wenwen a long time ago—the two of them would meet up to devise a plan to cheer Mu Yu up whenever Mu Yu got angry at Qin Jinhuan, while he would help Wenwen and Zeyu to get closer to one another. Moreover, Qin Jinhuan wasn’t about to tell Mu Yu that the entire dinner had been planned weeks ago; they simply waited for Jiang Wenwen’s ovulation period so that she would be able to get things done with Wen Zeyu in a single night.

Mu Yu, who sincerely wished for her friend’s happiness, had no idea about Qin Jinhuan’s plan. She froze for a moment before she let out a long sigh. “Wenwen’s too silly.”

“It’s hard to meet someone you truly love,” he commented.

“But Zeyu doesn’t love her! Zeyu only loves Ying!” she cried.

“Nothing’s going to happen between Zeyu and Ying,” he replied.

“Why?” she asked. He gave her a faint smile and answered, “That’s because Ying doesn’t love him. She may appear like a weak and soft girl, but deep down, she’s a tough and stubborn woman. It’s impossible to change her mind about something once she’s decided upon it.”

However, Mu Yu didn’t agree with what he said. “As tough and stubborn as she may be, she still ended up studying medicine, right? She ended up being the dean of Fraternity Hospital, didn’t she?”

“That was due to a combination of it being her grandfather’s final wish before his death, along with her parents’ manipulative methods of coercion. Furthermore, she was still young back then; she probably didn’t have the courage to stand up for herself yet. The same thing won’t happen to her now. She cut ties with Rong Jian for a few years over this; the two of them only started being nicer to one another in the past two years.” Qin Jinhuan then steered their discussion back to the main topic. “Zeyu has been going after Ying for so long, and we’ve tried to get them together all this while. Nonetheless, Ying has rejected him countless times. Things wouldn’t have come to this if there was even the slightest chance between them. Rong Jian and I have tried convincing Zeyu to give up multiple times now, but that man always ignores us,” he uttered.

“Why would you guys get him to give up? Perhaps Ying might actually be touched by Zeyu’s sincerity and effort someday.”

“You don’t understand Ying well enough. She isn’t the type of person who’d be easily touched by another person’s persistence and commitment. What she’s looking for is that thrill and excitement a person can give her, and she hasn’t found someone like that in her life yet. She’d rather be single than be with someone she doesn’t truly love.” He was afraid to tell Mu Yu about the fact that Rong Ying rejected everyone else because she was only interested in herself. Therefore, he had to find other ways of describing how stubborn Rong Ying was when she was in love.

“Will Zeyu put up with someone other than Ying, then?” Mu Yu was more concerned about this issue as it was related to a significant part of her best friend’s life.

“Trust me. I’d never just push your best friend into a pit of fire.” She was confused by his bold statement. “Why do you say that?” she asked.

“I intentionally started a conversation about relationships with Zeyu a few days ago. He was rather down then, and he was clearly disappointed with his love life. During our conversation, he mentioned that he no longer wanted to go after other girls; he hinted that he would be okay with just spending the rest of his life with a girl that he found to be decent. Perhaps he hasn’t realized it yet, but he seems to have decided on a compromise with his romantic relationships. Perhaps he will understand what he truly wants after tonight. Of course, I didn’t attempt to matchmake Zeyu and Jiang Wenwen just because you told me to. I actually got someone to do some detailed research and I concluded that the two of them have relatively similar views and beliefs in life. This whole dinner was also arranged only because Zeyu did seem to fancy Wenwen a little.”

Mu Yu was elated to hear this. “Does Zeyu really fancy Wenwen?”

“Yeah. He would often ask her to hangout and have meals with her; I think they get along pretty well.” Qin Jinhuan immediately realized that he made a mistake with his words once they slipped out of his mouth. He hastily changed the topic. “Regardless of whether Zeyu accepts Jiang Wenwen after tonight, I believe that tonight’s experience will certainly bring them closer to one another. If Jiang Wenwen is lucky enough to get herself pregnant tonight, then we wouldn’t have to worry about anything else any longer. Once we leak the news out, Yao Chenhua would definitely rush over to Zeyu with a wide grin on his face. I’m sure the old man would treat Jiang Wenwen like a piece of treasure as well. That way, Zeyu can do his dead mother justice by taking over Hui Ming Group; he’d naturally agree to be with Jiang Wenwen after that. When that happens, you can just teach Wenwen all about Zeyu’s preferences and interests. With the support of the child in her belly, I’m sure she’d eventually get Zeyu all to herself. Of course, if that doesn’t happen tonight, we still have more time to create chances for the two of them,” he explained.

Mu Yu nodded excitedly for a moment, but her worries soon overwhelmed her again. “Zeyu drank so much alcohol tonight, though! Even if Wenwen gets pregnant, we don’t know if the child will be healthy!”

Qin Jinhuan secretly pumped his fists in celebration when Mu Yu failed to recognize the mistake he had made with his words. “What matters the most to Yao Chenhua is that Zeyu is able to have babies. The wellbeing of the child is secondary; even if this child isn’t healthy, the next one would be. After all, neither Zeyu nor Wenwen has any history of genetic disorders.”

His words made Mu Yu feel a lot more relieved. “I hope that everything will work out for Wenwen tonight,” said Mu Yu as she prayed.

“I hope that everything will work the way I want them to tonight as well, darling.” He gave her a dirty chuckle as he leaned toward her ear. She immediately rejected him. “I’m not in the mood for that. Go to bed! Cover yourself up so you don’t catch a cold.”

Qin Jinhuan had no choice but to lie on the bed obediently.

…

Mu Yu sat up in bed a few times in the middle of the night; she perked her ears as she wanted to listen for any noises that came from next door. Qin Jinhuan was utterly amused when he realized what she was trying to listen for, and he pulled her naked body into his arms as he laughed. “Gloria Hotel has one of the best soundproof walls in town, silly. You’re going to freeze before you even hear any sounds from next door.”

“I wonder how things are going with Wenwen,” she muttered.

“You’ll find out tomorrow. We should go to bed now; we have to pick Xi up from the hospital tomorrow,” he replied.

She was rather surprised to hear this. “Is Xi getting discharged tomorrow? Has she completely healed?”

“She was supposed to stay for another two days, but tomorrow is Lunar New Year’s Eve. Grandpa wants the whole family back for a reunion dinner,” he explained.

“Tomorrow is already Lunar New Year’s Eve?” she asked.

“Yeah. Didn’t you see all the holiday and working shift announcements written on the blackboard in the hall of your workplace earlier?” he asked.

“I wasn’t paying attention.” Mu Yu then realized something. “If the Lunar New Year holidays start tomorrow, then Chief Rong’s trip to Linhe Country would be a complete waste, wouldn’t it?”

It was Qin Jinhuan’s turn to sound confused then. “Did he head to Linhe County tonight? Didn’t he send someone over previously? Why does he have to go there himself?”

“That’s because we have some new findings with the case!” Mu Yu briefly told him the main points surrounding the DNA test reports they obtained that day. “Chief Rong and I suspect that Li Jianyun was the b*stard who had put Madam Feng under house arrest all those years ago. However, Madam Feng’s body is too weak for us to directly question her now. Chief Rong didn’t want others to find out about Madam Feng’s past just yet, so he decided to head over and investigate the case personally.”

Qin Jinhuan seemed to have expected such a situation to be possible, for he didn’t seem extremely surprised. He simply sighed and said, “I guess Feng Qiqi is the reason that Feng Rubing keeps rejecting Rong Jian.”

“I think so too.” Mu Yu sighed along with him. “Chief Rong said that the Bureau has already agreed to continue their investigation of Li Jianyun’s case once the Lunar New Year Holidays are over. If we don’t have sufficient evidence that supports Madam Feng’s innocence by then, I’m afraid…” She sighed again.

Qin Jinhuan didn’t show as much sympathy for Feng Rubing. “No one else can be blamed in this case. It’s her fault that she refuses to work with you guys for the investigation, right?”

“I’m sure Madam Feng has her own reasons! If I were in her position, I would have done the same thing if it were for the sake of my daughter’s happiness.” Mu Yu insisted.

“She sacrificed her freedom and her future to bear the charges of being a murderer—all of that just to hide Qiqi’s tragic past from her. Do you think that would make Qiqi happy? I think she’s being too narrow-minded about it. I don’t think what she’s sacrificing here is worth it at all,” Qin Jinhuan argued.

Mu Yu heaved another sigh. “Have you ever considered the possibility that Madam Feng might have actually murdered Li Jianyun?”

He had considered this possibility in the past, but he still appeared stunned for a short moment before he responded to her. “I do think that’s highly possible. Did Rong Jian travel there to seek out Li Jianyun’s odd or problematic behaviors so that it would help reduce Feng Rubing’s criminal sentence?”

She nodded exasperatedly. “I still hope that Chief Rong will be able to find proof of Madam Feng’s innocence…” She muttered optimistically.

“Only Feng Rubing herself knows if she has really murdered anyone.”

“Yes, but we can’t question her too rigorously now because of the condition she’s in,” she explained.

“You guys can question her once her condition is stabilized, then.” He suggested.

“We’re worried—”

“You guys shouldn’t be the ones asking her. Perhaps you can ask Qiqi to question her instead.” Qin Jinhuan interrupted with his suggestion.

“You’re saying that Qiqi should be the one questioning her?!” Mu Yu was surprised.

“Yeah. Qiqi’s the one person she is the most concerned about. If we’re able to resolve the worries that she has about Qiqi, everything else can be easily settled,” he replied.

Mu Yu fell silent upon hearing her husband’s words. She had to agree that his words made some sense to her. However, she was worried that Feng Rubing would completely collapse if that happened—after all, Feng Rubing had sacrificed so much just to conceal the truth of Qiqi’s birth.

Right then, the notification tone on Mu Yu’s phone disrupted her train of thought. She reached over and grabbed her phone before she checked the inbox of her Wechat application. She felt a sudden surge of anxiety when she saw the text that Jiang Wenwen had sent her. ‘Are you there, Yu?’