“Where are the gloves?” Qin Jinhuan asked Cheng Xiang.

“Here.” Cheng Xiang stepped forward and held up a plastic ziplock bag which contained a pair of white lace gloves.

Qin Jinhuan didn’t take the bag. Instead, he looked toward Dong Wanqing’s hands as he asked, “Where did the rhinestone on your left ring finger go?”

At the same time, Dong Yueyun and Yin Anran immediately shifted their attention to Dong Wanqing’s well-kept, manicured left hand.

Dong Yueyun and Dong Wanqing were both very fond of manicures, especially the ones with sparkly accessories like rhinestones and such. Whenever there was a new design, they would be the first to book an appointment to snag the latest accessories. Nonetheless, Yin Anran, who also liked manicures, had never gotten her nails done as it was inconvenient for her work—she spent most of her time typing on a computer.

Meanwhile, Dong Wanqing instinctively reached her fingers out and studied her own nails; only then did she realize that she was missing one of the mini rhinestones which were arranged in a circle on her ring finger. She exclaimed in shock, “Oh no! When did I lose a piece? It looks ugly now—I’m going to replace it right after this.”

“Is this the rhinestone you’ve dropped, Miss Dong?” Cheng Xiang reached out his palm in front of Dong Wanqing.

Lying on Cheng Xiang’s open palm was a small transparent ziplock bag, and there was a tiny yet dazzling stone in it; its color, shape and size matched the ones on Dong Wanqing’s nail precisely.

Dong Wanqing reached out for the bag to take a closer look at the stone. However, Cheng Xiang quickly dodged her hand and picked it up with his fingertips before moving it closer to her.

After a thorough look, she was about to admit that the rhinestone was hers when she suddenly thought that this could have something to do with the car accident. Once she realized it, Dong Wanqing pursed her lips and swallowed her words; she soon noticed from the corner of her eye that Qin Jinhuan and the others were staring at her in anticipation, so she quickly cast a helpless glance at Dong Yueyun.

Dong Yueyun took a step forward and narrowed her eyes at the tiny bag. Then, she asked Cheng Xiang nonchalantly, “Where did you find this?”

Cheng Xiang dangled the bigger bag in his other hand and replied, “We found the rhinestone in one of these gloves, and it was retrieved from Miss Yin’s car.” Then, he turned to Yin Anran and continued, “When was the last time you let Miss Dong borrow your car, Miss Yin?”

Yin Anran’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “Wanqing hasn’t driven my car in ages!”

“Could you be more specific with the duration?”

After thinking about it, Yin Anran then answered, “She hasn’t borrowed my car for the past two years; my dashcam broke two years ago, but I’ve been too lazy to get a new one. Because of that, Wanqing daren’t use my car anymore and hasn’t driven it since.”

Cheng Xiang nodded and turned toward Dong Wanqing. “Is that so, Miss Dong?”

Dong Wanqing nodded frantically. Following that, Cheng Xiang asked her again, “From what I know, the rhinestones on your nails were new arrivals from three days ago. Since your latest nail appointment was yesterday and you haven’t driven Miss Yin’s car in a long time, can you explain why your rhinestone was uncovered in Miss Yin’s gloves from her car?”

“H-How would I know?” Dong Wanqing stammered nervously. Then, her voice suddenly dropped as she continued, “Perhaps…”

Naturally, Dong Yueyun picked up on the connection between her niece’s manicure and Mu Yu’s car accident. Without missing a beat, she pulled Dong Wanqing toward herself and hid her behind her back. Then, she looked straight at Cheng Xiang and argued, “What makes you so sure that this rhinestone belongs to Wanqing? It doesn’t have her name on it—did you deduce that just because her nail is missing a gem? Don’t you know how easily these stones fall off? Aren’t you too quick to judge just because she’s missing a piece of rhinestone and you found one of the exact same design in someone else’s car? We’re not the only customers of that particular shop, you know; they have six branches in An City, and half of the city’s women get their nails done by them. They have plenty of customers every day in each branch; you wouldn’t even be able to get a slot without an appointment, so this rhinestone could easily come from any one of those clients. Even without a manicure, anyone could nick a rhinestone or two from their shop and plant it in their own car as well.”

With that, she shot a complicated look at Yin Anran; it had a sense of mockery to it.

“That’s right!” Dong Wanqing chimed in at once, finally realizing that Mu Yu’s car accident could be connected to her and Yin Anran.

Dong Yueyun’s presumptuous claim slapped Cheng Xiang right in the face and he was stunned.

Yin Anran knew exactly what Dong Yueyun was hinting at with the look in her eyes. In return, she argued in frustration, “What do you mean?”

Dong Yueyun flashed her a slight smile. “We don’t mean anything; it’s just a discussion. There’s no need to be oversensitive if you’re not guilty.”

“Of course I’m not! I never left the office the entire morning, so I couldn’t have done anything harmful to anyone!”

The smile on Dong Yueyun’s face remained unchanged as she said calmly, “Who knows? There were no witnesses.”

“Witnesses… Hey! Jinhuan!” Just then, Yin Anran clapped her hands in joy all of a sudden. “If I can prove that I was in the office the entire morning, does that mean I can clear all of your suspicions of me?”

Qin Jinhuan’s eyes lit up once he heard her. “Can you prove it?”

If Yin Anran could prove that she hadn’t left the office that morning, the person who left the company using her car and entered the underground parking lot of Olay Supermarket must’ve been Dong Wanqing.

“Yes, I can!” Yin Anran nodded confidently.

Her fearless and positive expression made Dong Wanqing even more agitated and worried—she knew that if Yin Anran was proven innocent, she would be deemed as the one who had hurt Mu Yu. Knowing how protective and affectionate Qin Jinhuan was toward Mu Yu, Dong Wanqing would be as good as dead!

“Don’t panic; let’s see what she’ll say,” whispered Dong Yueyun into Dong Wanqing’s ear while she grabbed the latter’s hand.

Yin Anran went up to Qin Jinhuan and proudly raised her phone in front of his face. “Since there aren’t any CCTV cameras in my office, I installed a hidden surveillance camera on my own for safety measures. It’s range covers my entire office—I can show you the footage from this morning right away.”

She tapped on her screen as she spoke.

Qin Jinhuan immediately put his attention on her phone; even Dong Wanqing craned her neck in anticipation to get a better view.

Just then, Yin Anran exclaimed in shock, “Huh? Why isn’t there anything?!”

Qin Jinhuan followed up at once and asked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know either, but nothing is showing up on my live camera app. I’ll have to check it back at my office.” With that, Yin Anran started running outside. Qin Jinhuan went after Yin Anran after a brief glance at Dong Wanqing; Bian Zijun and the others followed suit as well.

As she watched the group leaving the office hurriedly, Dong Wanqing cast a perturbed look at Dong Yueyun. “What do we do, Aunt Yueyun?”

“What else can we do? Let’s go along and have a look—I’d like to see what else that b*tch has up her sleeves.” She then turned around and headed toward the door, but she stopped after a few steps.

Dong Wanqing, who had been mindlessly following her aunt’s footsteps, wasn’t aware of her sudden halt and almost bumped into her. Then, she grabbed Dong Yueyun’s arm and asked in a startled manner, “Did you change your mind, Aunt Yueyun?”

Dong Yueyun ignored her question; she gave Dong Wanqing a solemn stare and asked her in a low voice, “Tell me, Wanqing—were you behind what happened today?”

“Of course not! Even though I really hate…” All of a sudden, she trailed off for the fear that someone else might be eavesdropping or that Qin Jinhuan’s office was installed with audio-recording CCTVs. She became conscious of her habit of speaking loudly and deliberately toned down her voice before she continued, “Even though I really hate Mu Yu, I’m timid and dumb; I don’t have the guts like you to make a move against her, Aunt Yueyun.”

Dong Yueyun’s face darkened in an instant. “What did you say? When did I ever do anything to her?”

From her sharp reaction, Dong Wanqing realized her mistake right away and apologized frantically, “I don’t mean it that way, Aunt Yueyun. I was just…”

“Whatever, forget about it.” Dong Yueyun cut her off, clearly upset. Then, she sternly warned her niece, “Don’t let me hear you say any of that rubbish again. Otherwise, you’re going to get it from me!”

“Yes, yes—there won’t be a next time. Don’t worry, Aunt Yueyun; from now on, I’ll be sure to think twice before speaking,” answered Dong Wanqing hastily as she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She made a silent note to reflect on everything she wanted to say before speaking if it involved her aunt. After all, she knew that her aunt wasn’t playing around with her threat.

“Enough blabbering; let’s go have a look.”

“Okay.” Dong Wanqing quickened her steps as she followed close behind Dong Yueyun.

On the other hand, Yin Anran and Qin Jinhuan arrived at her shared office with Dong Wanqing.

Upon entering the office, Yin Anran ran toward the book rack and carefully removed a stack of books. She whirled around after that, and her face was utterly dejected. “Turns out it wasn’t fully plugged in; no wonder there wasn’t any footage.”

Bian Zijun stepped forward to check it. Sure enough, he turned to Qin Jinhuan and shrugged in chagrin.

“I’m really too careless.” Yin Anran knocked on her head with her knuckles in defeat.

Qin Jinhuan pursed his lips while an ominous look passed over his eyes. He was just about to leave when Dong Yueyun came in with Dong Wanqing.

Dong Yueyun, who was usually perceptive, read the room right away and immediately stole a look at Dong Wanqing with a hint of delight in her eyes. However, as her gaze shifted to Qin Jinhuan, she swiftly hid her excitement and put on a mature demeanor as if the outcome was to her expectation.

“Huan, I know that you’re crushed from Yu’s condition and for her sake, you can’t wait to find the one who had relentlessly staged her car crash. I understand your pain—I feel terribly sorry for her as well. However, this matter really has nothing to do with Wanqing. Even though she used to have feelings for you, she’s always been a kindhearted woman and would never do something as cruel as to break apart a married couple. She had let go of her feelings for you since you and Yu got married, and I even heard her give the two of you her blessings countless times; she couldn’t have hurt Yu. Don’t you let a wretched, scheming woman and her flowery words blind your rationality.”

The blatant insinuation in her words made Yin Anran’s blood boil, and she forced a smile at Dong Yueyun while swallowing her anger. “I don’t think you know your niece very well, Madam Qin. You don’t know how much she admires your extraordinary interpersonal skills—in fact, she knows them very well too. Take your marriage, for instance; you knew exactly the type of husband you wanted and the way to capture his heart. Dong Wanqing has a good grasp on these things, and I bet she’d even outdo you for that matter.”

Her taunting struck a chord in Dong Wanqing’s heart and she argued angrily, “What do you mean, Yin Anran?”

Dong Yueyun pulled on her niece’s arm, signaling for her to keep quiet. “Conniving women like her always have a way with words—they’re awfully slick and sly. Don’t you fall right into her trap, you blockhead.”

Then, she turned away from Yin Anran and looked straight at Qin Jinhuan. “It’s already past 8.00PM, Huan. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking Wanqing home for dinner.”

Seeing that Qin Jinhuan only responded with silence, she took Dong Wanqing’s arm and headed toward the door.

However, before they could leave, someone stepped in and blocked their path.