“Old Madam Xiao is back?”

Seeing how she diligently visited Old Madam Xiao’s home every single day, Qin Jinhuan took pity on her and arranged for someone to keep watch 24 hours a day near the old lady’s house. The one who had called her was none other than the watchman, so she was a little excited after hearing the news—to her, Old Madam Xiao was their last hope.

“Yes, Madam. Old Madam Xiao is back; should I take you to her immediately?”

“No, no. I’ll head over right now.” Mu Yu stopped him at once, worried that his company would frighten the old lady. After a moment’s thought, she then added, “Stay there and don’t let her notice you. Let me know if she suddenly leaves—I’m coming right away.”

“Understood.”

She hung up and quickly called Rong Jian again. Unexpectedly, he spoke into the phone first. “Old Madam Xiao is back!” Those were Rong Jian’s first words.

She was surprised. “Have you been informed?”

“You too?” Rong Jian was a little surprised as well.

“Yeah, Huan arranged a guy to keep watch around her house.”

“I see—I just heard from her neighbor, Madam Zhang. I’m heading over to see Old Madam Xiao right now.”

“I’ll go along with you!”

“You… Okay. I’m already in the parking lot, so wait for me at the main entrance of the lobby.”

“Sure,” she responded as she ran back to the forensic lab to bid Nie Yunkang farewell, informing him that she had to leave due to an emergency—earlier on, she merely left the lab to give Rong Jian a call.

Jogging to the main entrance of the lobby, she quickened her steps upon noticing that Rong Jian’s car was already parked by the staircase. She descended hastily two steps at a time.

Seeing her rushed movements, Rong Jian immediately wound down the window and warned her—it seemed like he was concerned for her safety. “Slow down, Yu. Be careful!”

“No worries.” She rushed down the staircase and opened the door, panting as she got into the passenger’s seat.

“There’s no need to rush; it’s only a few seconds. It’ll be bad if you fall, for Huan will break my legs out of anger.”

“It’s nothing serious, and I’m not a child,” Mu Yu responded nonchalantly as Rong Jian started the car. As he did so, he asked, “What were you saying about Rubing and Li Jianyun earlier, Yu?”

Remembering her sudden thoughts before hanging up, Mu Yu was a little taken aback for a moment. She laughed awkwardly and avoided the subject. “This case is truly nerve-wracking; I don’t even know if Old Madam Xiao can provide us with any reliable information.”

It was just a mindless hunch, after all—she’d rather put her hopes on Old Madam Xiao.

Suddenly, Rong Jian sighed. “I don’t think it’ll be likely. I’ve already asked Madam Zhang; she told me that Old Madam Xiao can’t see very well and that her hearing is inconsistent. She has also never heard her mention anything bad about Rubing’s past—the old lady has always painted Rubing as a good person.”

However, even though the outcome seemed bleak, he still decided to take the trip. After all, he had been disappointed countless times; one more wouldn’t make a difference.

Mu Yu didn’t respond; she simply stared ahead, silently praying for a sudden turn of events.

About half an hour later, Rong Jian’s car came to a stop in a small alley. They got down from the car and started walking hurriedly to Old Madam Xiao’s house.

“Hey! They’re here!” Madam Zhang, who was keeping Old Madam Xiao company under the tree, saw them approaching. She called out to them and said, “It’s Chief Rong, Madam Xiao. They’re here.”

“Ah,” Old Madam responded as she rose from the ground. She squinted ahead, not very sure where to look.

Rong Jian ran to her and greeted the old woman cheerfully. He then introduced himself and said, “Nice to meet you, Old Madam Xiao. I’m Rong Jian, head of the city’s Crime Unit.”

“Ah, nice to meet you, Chief.” Old Madam Xiao turned to him immediately as she heard his voice. She looked a little nervous. “Why are you so eager to hear from me about Rubing? Is she in trouble?”

“About Madam Feng, she…”

“She’s fine!” Rong Jian interrupted Mu Yu and continued lightheartedly, “We’re just in a bit of a tight spot right now, so we hope that you can help us with our investigation.”

Mu Yu finally realized why Rong Jian was hiding the truth from Old Madam Xiao—if they had been completely truthful to her about Feng Rubing, the old lady might start panicking and things wouldn’t end well. Hence, Mu Yu pursed her lips sheepishly and stopped talking.

However, Old Madam Xiao seemed to have caught on; her eyes darted left and right before she replied steadily, “Ask me whatever you want. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Thank you, Madam.” Noticing that her neighbor was still around, Rong Jian said in a low voice, “Shall we talk inside, Old Madam Xiao?”

“Sure.” The old lady reached out swiftly and grabbed her walking stick by the stool. She then turned and headed toward her house.

“Slow down!” Madam Zhang rushed forward to give her a hand, but Mu Yu beat her to it. Seeing this, Madam Zhang instinctively pulled back and turned toward Rong Jian. “I’ll head home then, Chief Rong. Just give me a ring if you need my help.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” Madam Zhang then waved a dismissive hand at the other neighbors. “Stop staring, guys. Madam Xiao’s relatives are here to visit for the New Year. There’s nothing to see here, so run along.”

Meanwhile, Rong Jian and Mu Yu were helping Old Madam Xiao into the house. After sitting her down, Mu Yu closed the door whereas Rong Jian bent down and started asking her about Feng Rubing’s past right away.

Old Madam Xiao didn’t respond, and she simply ‘stared’ at him.

Thinking that the old lady was having trouble hearing, Mu Yu reminded Rong Jian in a hushed tone, “Old Madam Xiao’s hearing is compromised, Chief Rong. You should speak louder.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Rong Jian had forgotten about it. To his surprise, he was about to repeat his words when Old Madam Xiao raised her palm at him.

“I can hear very well. In fact, my ears are working great.”

“You can hear well?” Mu Yu was puzzled. “But Madam Zhang said…”

Old Madam Xiao smiled as she explained, “I only hear what I want to hear; I pretend not to hear anything else. This has allowed me to live a peaceful life, for an old lady like me isn’t fit for arguments anymore. Don’t you get the wrong idea, though. I’m not pretending to be deaf in front of Zhang because I don’t trust her—she’s a nice lady and her heart is as kind as Rubing’s. It’s just that she talks too much at times.”

“Well, has Rubing ever told you about anything unusual that happened to her when she was fifteen years old?” It was the only thing Rong Jian was concerned about.

Old Madam Xiao didn’t answer directly. Instead, she returned his question with another. “Are you really the head of the Crime Unit from the Bureau?”

“Yes,” Rong Jian quickly answered, afraid that the old lady was skeptical about his identity. “You can ask Madam Zhang if you don’t believe me; she knows me.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way; I don’t mean it like that.” However, Old Madam Xiao’s tone became wary when she spoke again. “I just want to know—exactly what crime did Rubing commit? Even the head of the Crime Unit is involved!”

“Don’t take it the wrong way too, Old Madam Xiao. Although I’m from the Crime Unit, I’m also a good friend of Rubing’s. Naturally, it’s my duty as a friend to help her now that she’s facing some difficulties.”

Old Madam Xiao shook her head and smiled wryly. “I might be blind, but my intuition is still sharp, officer. Stop lying to me and tell me what actually happened to her. If she’s not in trouble, there’s no way she wouldn’t pay a visit for so long without even giving me a call. To be honest with you, I’ve always treated Rubing as my daughter. I even had a lawyer prepare my will—I’m leaving her all the property and saving accounts under my name. Now, I’d really like to know what happened to her.”

“She…” Rong Jian glanced at the old lady whose face was lined with wrinkles; he hesitated and instinctively turned toward Mu Yu.

Old Madam Xiao seemed to have picked up on his concern. She sighed and said, “When I was forty, my husband died on duty; when I was fifty, my only son lost his life because of his job as well. Believe me, I’ve been through a lot.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

The old lady waved a hand at him, her eyes solemn. “Please tell me what happened to Rubing; I can only answer your question thoroughly after you do so.”

Seeing that the old lady was calm and composed aside from her rational manner of speech, Rong Jian let go of all his concerns. Finally, he told her the key points of how Feng Rubing had become a prime suspect of a murder case. By the time he finished, Old Madam Xiao’s wrinkled face was covered in tears.

“Oh, my poor Rubing… What did she do to deserve this? Heaven is truly blind! How unfair!”

Mu Yu’s eyes watered uncontrollably as well. She quickly took out a piece of tissue paper and gently wiped the old lady’s tears. Holding back her own tears, Mu Yu asked, “Could you think of an instance where Madam Feng told you about anything that happened between her and Li Jianyun, Grandma Xiao?”

The old lady lowered her head and was immersed in her own thoughts for a while before she looked up. She responded softly, “Rubing has never told me about anything that happened between her and anyone else. However, around seven or eight years ago, she had a little too much to drink on her grandmother’s memorial day. As soon as she came, she crashed into my arms and cried for a long time. Eventually, she did tell me that there was something which pained her greatly, and she kept it a secret for many years. However, she said she couldn’t tell anyone about it; she didn’t want to risk the information getting out and hurting Qiqi, causing her to live in shame for the rest of her life. I guess that’s the very thing you want to know. Seeing that she was reluctant to disclose her story, I didn’t press her on back then. I only advised her to forget about it if she couldn’t tell me, but alas, she couldn’t do so. She said that her mind would always remind her of it, and it made her writhe in agony every time. What’s worse is that she couldn’t let Qiqi know that she was in pain; I pitied her a lot and I was afraid that her mental health would suffer greatly if she kept on hiding it. Hence, I told her that she could always come to me whenever she feels bad to vent out her feelings.”

Rong Jian prodded on and asked, “Did she mention when it happened?”

Old Madam Xiao shook her head dejectedly. “No, she never told me anything specific; I guess she didn’t want me to share her pain. Ah, what a silly girl…”

The old lady let out a long, exasperated sigh. At the same time, Rong Jian’s last hope was crushed. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists; a look of hurt was evident in his eyes. Just then, a surge of worry came over Mu Yu as she watched him, but more than that, her heart went out for Feng Rubing who was bound to be sentenced to prison for unjust reasons. However, there was nothing she could do for her.

“We should head back, Chief Rong.”

Just then, a loud crack sounded and Mu Yu jolted. Looking toward the noise, she realized that Rong Jian had broken the car key in his hand with his bare fingers. He hurled the broken key onto the ground furiously before dropping to his knees while screaming. With his hands pulling his hair, he yelled, “Why haven’t we found anything even after so much hard work and effort? Why is she neglecting all our effort? Why is she tormenting me like this?!”

Mu Yu immediately went over and tried to calm him down. “Please stop, Chief Rong. You’re going to scare Old Madam Xiao.”

“The killer is too cruel! If they want to kill, so be it—why did they have to frame a woman with such a difficult life? The most ruthless thing was the heavy snowfall that night! If it wasn’t for that, Rubing wouldn’t have failed to find even a single eyewitness!”

“Saying all these wouldn’t make a difference now, and there’s no use in complaining either. We should head back and think of other ways to help Madam Feng.”

At last, Rong Jian seemed to have calmed down a little. Apologizing to the old lady, he started to head outside with Mu Yu following behind him.

“Wait! Wait!” Just as they were opening the door to leave, Old Madam Xiao suddenly stopped them anxiously.