My Lovely Wife is a Forensic Doctor - Chapter 328
Chapter 328 Ties
“Huh?!” Mu Yu was surprised yet delighted. Instantly, questions tumbled out of her mouth. “Who exactly is this fake Qian Dacheng? Is he not from Huacheng? Did he ever come in contact with Sun Meilan and Zhao Yongli while he was there? Did he assume a different name to hide from the killer? What was his relationship with Qian Xiaoyu? Why did she help him despite the heavy consequences?”
She walked as she spoke on the phone. Along the way, she kept running into other coworkers who greeted her, so she had to divide her attention and smile back at them. Eventually, Mu Yu jogged over to the patch of trees nearby so that she wouldn’t get distracted during her phone call with Rong Jian. She crouched under an osmanthus tree and pressed her phone close to her ear, listening carefully to what he had to say.
“Qian Dacheng’s real name is Qian Daqing, and he’s a member of the Qian Hamlet in Xichang Province’s Dutou Town. In truth, he was already thirty-eight, which is the same age as Qian Xiaoyu. Prior to her adoption by Qian Fenggen, she was neighbors with Qian Daqing and his family. They had grown up together since they were small children, so they could be considered as childhood sweethearts. Qian Daqing’s parents were disabled—one was deaf, and the other was blind. They were already in their forties when he was born, so they showered him with plenty of affection. They would rather starve and suffer from the elements themselves than let their child go hungry, and they did their best to fulfill everything he needed. Although Qian Daqing’s family lived in poverty, he had never gone through any hardships, nor did he have to work. He was considered the most fortunate out of all the children in his village back then. Under the deluge of attention and spoiling from his parents, Qian Daqing slowly grew into a lazy and arrogant child who tyrannized everything in his path, and such was his self-absorption. It was said that the other village children hated him back then, and everyone secretly avoided playing with him.”
“They could’ve just avoided playing with him, but why did they have to do it secretly?” Mu Yu interrupted.
Rong Jian grinned. “They couldn’t avoid him if they didn’t do so secretly. Listen up now, because this was how it went—the children would play with him, but he would never follow any of the game rules. If he wanted the game to go a certain way, then his word was law. Back then, children would’ve made bets on game cards, marbles or things of that nature. As long as he participated in their games, all the cards and marbles would have to go to him. If they disagreed, he would beat them up.”
Mu Yu pursed her lips. “Wouldn’t the other children have teamed up to go against him?”
“Teaming up wouldn’t have been useful. If Qian Daqing lost, he would go home and tell his parents. Every time it happened, his parents would grab some sticks to help him beat up the children who confronted him without even questioning anyone. Apparently, they once beat a child up until they broke his leg.”
“Oh gosh! His parents went over the line, didn’t they?” Mu Yu cried out in surprise. “They were both disabled, so why did they treat the other children like that? Weren’t they worried that the other parents would come and beat them up too?”
“You don’t know how Qian Daqing’s parents were; if the other parents came to talk, they would either shut their doors and ignore them, or they would straight up curse and yell at them. They weren’t the slightest bit reasonable. To top it off, they were both disabled. Hence, no one dared to touch them. All the other parents could do was accept their misfortune and take their children home.”
“Even if his parents broke their child’s leg?! Weren’t they condoning his parents’ awful treatment toward their child?” Mu Yu asked, seething.
“There wasn’t anything else they could do. It was said that the parents and uncles of the child whose leg was broken surrounded Qian Daqing’s house. When they broke in and dragged Qian Daqing’s blind father out to teach him a lesson, his deaf mother stripped herself down and ran out of the house, accusing the child’s family of their intent to rape her. She even ran to the child’s house before she rolled and threw a tantrum inside their own house like she was about to die, crying all the while. The child’s family was terrified of being humiliated and causing her death, so all they could do was acquiesce. No one thought that Qian Daqing’s mother would still continue her antics even after they gave in; she planted herself inside the child’s family home for the next few days, causing chaos for the family. In the end, the child’s family had to swallow their losses and pay Qian Daqing’s family a sum of money before they could put the saga behind them. Ever since then, the village children treated Qian Daqing like the bogeyman. No one dared to play with him, and whenever they saw him, they gave him a wide berth. If he caught them and asked them to play with him, they would all respectfully let him have his way. Although they didn’t want to, they were self-aware, and they would give him their toys and trinkets.”
“In other words, everyone just rolled over and accepted it?”
“They didn’t continue to do nothing. About half a year later, Qian Daqing went to the toilet at night. Back then, the only bathrooms that rural villages had were public bathrooms, and the one closest to the Qian Hamlet was by the entrance to the temple, which was already a distance away from Qian Daqing’s house. He had a stomach ache that night, and when he went to the bathroom, a few masked men restrained him by shoving him inside a sack before beating the snot out of him. I heard that those men were relentless, and they beat him up until he was senseless. He wasn’t just missing a few teeth by the end of it—he had a dislocated hand, and they even broke his legs. He only made a full recovery after a month in hospital and another six months or so resting at home.”
It was only after hearing that that Mu Yu felt a little more at ease. But then, she asked once again, “Wouldn’t his parents’ hearts be broken since they loved him so much? Did they go after the people responsible for their son’s injuries with the law?”
“They actually wanted to, and they did file a police report, but villages back then were dark and barely lit at night, and there weren’t any video cameras. Besides, his family had offended many people, so they had long since been a thorn to the other villagers. After Qian Daqing’s incident, the villagers were all mentally cheering to each other about it, and they all didn’t cooperate tacitly with the police who were sent to investigate the case. The police had already heard rumors about Qian Daqing’s parents’ doings, so they did their best to drag their heels. The case just fizzled out in the end, though. Meanwhile, Qian Daqing became a lot more polite after being put through the wringer, and he was nicer to the other children after that. However, everyone hated his entire family, and they all tacitly agreed to stay away from him. Later on, he thought that staying in the village was boring, so he went to the city and became a gang member before he even finished middle school. A few years after that, his parents passed away one after another. He never returned to the village after he sold off the family house, cutting off all contact with the Qian Hamlet. Someone said that he was married in the city with kids, but the other villagers never heard anything else about him again. As for why he left Huacheng for An City to live with Qian Xiaoyu and why he changed his name, no one knows. Perhaps Qian Xiaoyu is the only one who does.”
Mu Yu only remembered that one question she wanted to ask then, for she had nearly forgotten about it. “What do Qian Xiaoyu and Qian Daqing have in common other than being neighbors as children?”
Qian Fenggen had taken Qian Xiaoyu to An City when she was in her teens. If she and Qian Daqing were merely childhood neighbors, there was no need for her to go to all that trouble for him.
“From what I know now, they were just neighbors. However, he was actually very nice to Qian Xiaoyu despite his poor treatment toward the other children. Before she was adopted, Qian Xiaoyu’s name was Qian Yuxia. She was five years old when her mother passed away. When she was seven, her father married again. Qian Xiaoyu’s stepmother didn’t treat her well and abused her. Not only did she make Qian Xiaoyu work from morning to night, she even starved her often. Also, Qian Xiaoyu often would get scolded and beaten for no reason. The villagers pitied her, but her stepmother was even more scathing and acerbic than Qian Daqing’s parents. Supposedly, Qian Xiaoyu’s uncle couldn’t bear to see her treating Qian Xiaoyu like that, so he had a few words with her. The stepmother didn’t take it lightly, for she grabbed a stool and sat outside the uncle’s house while hurling abuse at his family for a full three days. No one could talk any sense into her. Even when Qian Xiaoyu’s father kneeled before her, she wouldn’t listen. Since he was worried that she would fall sick from her anger and actions, Qian Xiaoyu’s father would bring her food during mealtimes. She would yell at Qian Xiaoyu’s uncle until night had long since fallen, and she would continue her tirade immediately the next morning. It was said that she still showed no signs of relenting by the third day, so in the end, Qian Xiaoyu’s uncle had to bow to her and apologize in order for the situation to come to an end. From that day onward, no one dared to poke their nose into her family’s business.”
“Gosh! There sure are a lot of weirdos within the Qian Hamlet!”
Rong Jian smiled. “They aren’t weirdos. This is more of a village that’s filled with a unique bunch of people.”
“Qian Xiaoyu was so pitiful, though! What happened after that? Her stepmother didn’t want to continue feeding her, so she gave her to Qian Fenggen as an adopted daughter?”
“As a child bride,” Rong Jian corrected her. “Her stepmother probably didn’t give Qian Xiaoyu up because she was tired of having her around. Think about it—Qian Xiaoyu was seven when her stepmother married into the family. By the time her stepmother gave her to Qian Fenggen, she was already over 14 years old. If her stepmother truly didn’t want to raise her, she would have immediately given Qian Xiaoyu up the moment the marriage was official. I heard that Qian Fenggen gave Qian Xiaoyu’s stepmother some money, and this was probably the true reason her stepmother gave her to him.”
Mu Yu instantly sighed. “She clearly knew that Qian Fenggen’s son was a fool, yet she still accepted the money. This stepmother’s heart is wicked beyond words; if Qian Xiaoyu married him, her life would be over.”
However, Rong Jian disagreed with her. “Marrying Qian Fenggen’s fool of a son is still better than living an inhumane life with her stepmother. Hey, we’re getting further and further away from the topic. Let’s get back on track.” He cleared his throat before continuing to say, “Qian Xiaoyu’s life was pitiful after she got a new stepmother. She was frequently hungry, and even when she was old enough for school, her stepmother didn’t allow her to attend classes. It might’ve been because they grew up together, or they simply got along, or probably because she was just so pitiful that it broke his heart, but the little hellion called Qian Daqing never bullied Qian Xiaoyu. On the contrary, he was extremely nice to her. When she was hungry, he would sneak snacks and dried food to her behind his mother’s back. Whenever his parents bought tasty treats for him, he would always secretly give her some to eat. This was the only good thing that the villagers could remember about him. I think that’s the reason why Qian Daqing came knocking on Qian Xiaoyu’s door, as well as why she helped him regardless of the monetary costs. After all, Qian Daqing was the only one who ever showed her kindness and warmth back when she was a child.”
Mu Yu instinctively nodded, having thought that Rong Jian’s words made sense.
“Qian Xiaoyu’s biological father passed away from cancer over ten years ago. Her stepmother then took Qian Xiaoyu’s half-brother with her and married another man in a different village. Right now, we can’t get in touch with her. That’s all I know about the Qian Hamlet. Rubing and I are currently on the way to Huacheng since we want to get more information about Qian Daqing from them. I’ll call you later once we’ve gotten more leads.”
“Hey! Chief Rong!” Mu Yu hastily stopped him when she suddenly thought of Meng Sihan. “Your mother came by today with a girl called Sihan to see Madam Feng at the forensic lab! That girl doesn’t look like good news, and she kept ordering me around. I’m worried that—”
“She didn’t do anything to you, did she?” Rong Jian asked anxiously.
“She didn’t, actually.” Mu Yu laughed. “I’m not cowed so easily.”
“That’s good. Just ignore her if you ever see her again.”
“Is she… the fiancee that your mother has in mind?”
Rong Jian laughed wryly upon hearing that. “That’s what they hope.”
Just as she thought.
Mu Yu pursed her lips, indignant on Feng Rubing’s behalf. “You brought Madam Feng to Huacheng in order to avoid them, right? However, that’s not a solution—you can avoid them now, but you can’t avoid them forever. You two will have to return to An City at some point.”
“I know. I’m thinking about how to resolve this. All right then, let’s call it a day. We still haven’t had dinner yet, so I need to get Rubing some food. There are still plenty of things for us to do tonight once we get to Huacheng.”
“Okay, stay safe. Take care of Madam Feng and yourself too.”
“Got it. Thanks for your kind words, Yu. Bye.”
Rong Jian immediately ended the call after he said goodbye. Likewise, Mu Yu quickly stowed her phone away in her pocket. As she prepared to stand up, she thought about their conversation earlier. All of a sudden, someone patted her shoulder. She reflexively looked back, only to instantly see a ghastly pale face. Mu Yu’s face was instantly drained of color from fright, and she screamed.
