Chapter 44: The Debt of Gratitude

Si Heng was leading the police response this time.

Jiang Yuan walked up to him, frowning. "Captain Si, Mary is injured. I must take them to the hospital for treatment first and go to the station to give my statement a bit later. Is that alright?"

Mary?

Si Heng looked at the two small birds in her arms. "Who is Mary?"

Jiang Yuan pointed to one of the slightly larger birds.

"What is the name of the other one?" Si Heng asked.

Jiang Yuan shook her head. "I don't know its name yet."

How could this not be touching? These birds, complete strangers, had actually risked their lives to save her.

Si Heng nodded. "I wish them a speedy recovery."

"Thank you." Jiang Yuan gazed into the man's deep eyes. "Then I'll be going now."

"Miss Jiang, wait." Si Heng suddenly called out to her.

Thinking he disapproved of her taking Mary and the others for treatment first, a hint of irritation colored Jiang Yuan's exquisite features.

She turned back, only to hear the man's gentle voice: "Are you injured?"

Jiang Yuan instantly suppressed her emotions and shook her head. "If it weren't for them, I might have been injured."

"Yuanyuan." Jiang Die, who had gone upstairs to get the car keys, had already driven the car over.

"I'm leaving now." Jiang Yuan walked quickly toward the red BMW.

Fortunately, Mary and the other little sparrow had not sustained any life-threatening injuries.

"Although the situation isn't particularly serious, they are currently unable to eat on their own and need nutritional injections. Let them stay in an incubator for the next few days..."

Walking out of the pet hospital, the weight in Jiang Yuan's heart finally lifted.

She lowered her head, her voice sounding somewhat choked up. "Sister, they were injured because they were trying to save me."

Suppressing her surprise, Jiang Die comforted her softly, "They are truly brave. The doctor said they will be fine in a few days. Don't blame yourself too much."

"Yes." Jiang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you still have to go to the police station?" Jiang Die asked quietly.

Jiang Yuan nodded. "Yes."

Inside the red BMW, Jiang Die gripped the steering wheel, hesitating over whether she should speak up.

Gazing at the receding night scenery outside the window, Jiang Yuan said slowly, "A while ago, I discovered a corpse in Blue Bay Park."

Jiang Die turned to look at her in surprise.

Jiang Yuan continued, "I reported it to the police. They found out the killer was the son of the man from earlier."

Jiang Die's hands tightened abruptly on the wheel, her voice agitated. "So, he thinks you harmed his son and wants to take revenge on you?"

"Yes." Jiang Yuan nodded.

An expression of anger surfaced in Jiang Die's usually gentle eyes. "He's insane!"

"There really are many sick people in this world," Jiang Yuan sighed.

Wasn't she the same in the past?

***

At the police station.

From Jiang Yuan's statement, Si Heng learned that Xu Decai had been watching her in the shadows for a long time, and had even attempted to make a move on her once.

"Why didn't you report it?" The man's handsome face was grave.

Jiang Yuan said indifferently, "At the time, he suddenly rushed at me to chase me, but he didn't pull out a knife. He stopped halfway through the chase and just left..."

"Jiang Yuan, you are too careless," Si Heng said, frowning.

Meeting the man's slightly displeased gaze, her thoughts suddenly drifted, and a smile played on her lips. "Captain Si, have you encountered any particularly tricky murder cases lately?"

Si Heng: "..."

The topic jumped so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

Before leaving, Jiang Yuan added, "If you ever need help, just find me. I'll give you a discount on my consultation fees—a friendship price."

Finding it amusing, Si Heng raised an eyebrow. "Are we friends?"

"Aren't we?" Jiang Yuan blinked, saying righteously, "I already have you on my WeChat Moments. Doesn't that make us friends?"

The smile deepened in the man's dark eyes, and his thin lips moved slightly. "We are."

**

New Year's Eve arrived as scheduled.

Jiang Yuan was sleeping soundly in her quilt when she suddenly heard the system issuing a task.

[System 009: Random task triggered—Harvest the gratitude of ten small animals. Task reward: 2x Random Draw opportunities. Task failure: Random plot deployment.]

Jiang Yuan opened her bleary eyes, feeling utterly bewildered.

*How dare you issue tasks while I'm sleeping?*

[System 009: It's because you're staying in bed too long!]

Momo stood at the bedroom door, pushing it open a crack, and said in a milky voice, "Auntie, Grandma told me to come wake you up."

"Okay, Momo, Auntie knows." Jiang Yuan took a deep breath and struggled to get out of bed.

After having brunch, she was reflecting on the new task the system had just issued when she suddenly heard her phone ring.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the caller ID; it was actually Zhou Shuyu.

She pressed answer. "Miss Zhou?"

The woman's voice came through the receiver. "Miss Jiang, am I disturbing your rest?"

"Not at all." Jiang Yuan gave a light laugh. "Is something the matter, Miss Zhou?"

Zhou Shuyu smiled. "Yes, I'd like to send some New Year goods to Miss Jiang to thank you for saving my life."

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Please don't be so formal, Miss Zhou. It was just a small matter. Besides, I have already accepted what was owed to me."

"That five hundred thousand was to thank you for helping me find my lost gold bars and necklace; those cannot be lumped together." Zhou Shuyu's tone was incredibly sincere. "Miss Jiang, please give me a chance to repay your kindness."

Since that was the case, Jiang Yuan stopped declining. "Then, would you like to come over to my house for a bit?"

"Yes." Zhou Shuyu agreed joyfully. "When would be convenient for you?"

After hanging up, Jiang Yuan told her family that a friend would be visiting in the afternoon.

Deng Rui was somewhat surprised. "Do you have any other friends besides Xiaoxiao?"

Jiang Yuan: "..."

*Is it polite to ask that?*

But on second thought, it seemed only Fu Xiaoxiao was truly sincere toward her.

Others claimed to be her friends on the surface, but they always mocked her behind her back, acting like socialites despite being poor.

Seeing that she had nothing to say, Deng Rui didn't push her further.

In the afternoon, Deng Rui took the three furry little ones downstairs, intending to soak up some sun and chat.

To her surprise, as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw Cao Laoting lifting her thick leg and kicking forcefully at the little black dog.

She kicked while cursing, "I'll kick this mongrel to death! How dare you steal my food! And you dare bark at me! I'll definitely kick you to death today!"

Seeing this, Deng Rui clenched her fists, her face turning pale with rage. She gritted her teeth and said, "Cao Laoting, have you lost your mind? You're actually abusing a puppy!"

Cao Laoting spat out a sunflower seed shell and said sarcastically, "Oh, why so much anger? I didn't kick your dog!"

Deng Rui was fuming. "How did the dog offend you?"

Cao Laoting snorted. "This mongrel stole my food! I said a few words to it, and it dared to bark at me!"

The little black dog hid aggrievedly under the stone table, whimpering, "You're lying! I didn't steal any food!"

Blueberry quickly explained to Xixi and Xiaobai, "Remember this, this old hag is always bullying our family!"

Xixi stared fiercely at Cao Laoting. "Old hag! So mean! Abusing puppies!"

Xiaobai gnashed his teeth. "Xiaobai is angry! Xiaobai wants to bite her!"