Chapter 15: How Can I Manage Without a Man by My Side?

After Li Ailan pulled a banner on the pedestrian street, the task of investigating the truth behind Gu Lingling's death was assigned to Si Heng.

He drove to Villa No. 6 at Yunshan Hot Springs and unexpectedly caught sight of a familiar figure.

The woman wore a long black coat, her figure slender and tall. A head of glossy, black, curly hair cascaded down to her waist.

"Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Yuan turned her head, the corners of her brows lifting slightly. "Captain Si, what a coincidence?"

"Why are you here?" Si Heng strode over with long legs, only then noticing she was holding a cat in her arms.

Jiang Yuan's scallion-white fingers gently stroked the cat's head, speaking unhurriedly: "I was thinking, the surveillance here isn't broken, so why didn't the cameras capture Gu Lingling appearing at Villa No. 6?"

Si Heng recalled Old Wang's Fried Food Shop.

Jiang Yuan's statement said she had borrowed the restroom at Old Wang's Fried Food Shop and accidentally discovered a human head in the freezer.

Later, Si Heng retrieved the surveillance footage. Jiang Yuan hadn't borrowed the restroom, nor had she ever entered the fried food shop.

So, how did she know Old Wang had hidden his wife's head in the freezer?

Si Heng's eyes darkened. "Have you seen the surveillance footage?"

"I haven't. Didn't you say so?" Jiang Yuan looked at him with bright eyes.

Si Heng pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and played a segment of surveillance video.

On December 29th, two males checked into Villa No. 6. That day, the two went in and out together several times, and they left together when checking out.

After the video finished, Jiang Yuan watched it again from the beginning.

"Any findings?" Si Heng looked up at her.

Jiang Yuan frowned, pondering: "If you go out of town for two days, would you drag such a huge suitcase?"

"No." He answered decisively.

Jiang Yuan paused the video, her fingertip pointing at the suitcase on the screen. "If Gu Lingling entered like this, the surveillance definitely wouldn't have captured her."

Upon hearing this, Si Heng's pitch-black pupils contracted violently.

A few seconds later, his expression turned anxious. "Miss Jiang, I need to head back to the bureau now. Do you need a ride?"

Jiang Yuan shook her head. "No need, I drove here myself."

She watched Si Heng leave, then lowered her eyes to the kitten in her arms and chuckled softly: "Thanks for your help, Little Loli."

**

In mid-January, Gu Lingling's case was solved. The two men who stayed in Villa No. 6 were the murderers.

One of them, surnamed Li, was Gu Lingling's online boyfriend.

He specifically targeted young, pretty girls, luring them out under the pretense of dating and vacationing, using their bodies to make money.

He coaxed Gu Lingling into hiding inside a suitcase to avoid the surveillance cameras.

He drugged Gu Lingling's food and drink, causing her to have intercourse with the other man while unconscious, and recorded the entire process.

When Gu Lingling woke up, she collapsed mentally. During a conflict with the man surnamed Li, she suffered cardiac arrest, missing the window for resuscitation.

Fearing the consequences, the man surnamed Li hid Gu Lingling's body under the bed in the second-floor room of Villa No. 6.

Police detected Gu Lingling's DNA in hairs found inside the suitcase belonging to the man surnamed Li.

During interrogation, the man surnamed Li confessed to his crimes without reservation...

Jiang Yuan let out a long breath and closed the news app.

She put down her phone, poked a piece of apple, and asked while eating: "Sis, what time are we leaving to pick up Zhan Zhan and Miao Miao?"

"In ten minutes." Jiang Die came out of the kitchen holding an egg tart in one hand and a chicken wing in the other.

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath: "Smells amazing."

"Eat while it's hot." Jiang Die smiled.

Jiang Yuan took two egg tarts, handing one to her. "Let's eat together."

Jiang Die took the egg tart and sat down beside her. Before she could take a bite, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Who is it?" Jiang Yuan asked, biting into the steaming egg tart.

"I'll check." Jiang Die also found it strange. She put down the egg tart and got up to open the door.

Seeing the man standing at the doorway, her expression changed slightly. She tried to close the door, but the other party reached out and pressed against it.

"Jiang Die, not welcoming me? Your place smells so good, just like you." The man's words were the definition of sleazy and vulgar.

Jiang Die's face was cold. "Please show some respect!"

"Sis, what's wrong?" Jiang Yuan also walked to the door. She saw a man with a greasy middle-parted hairstyle, a hairy mole on the tip of his nose, looking shifty and utterly repulsive.

"Who are you?" Jiang Yuan asked with clear disgust. "Sis, where did you meet such an ugly person?"

The mole-faced man had initially been stunned by Jiang Yuan's beauty, wanting to stare a few more times. Hearing this, he instantly flared up.

"How do you talk? Don't think you're all that just because you're pretty!" The mole-faced man scolded. "Jiang Die, control your sister. I'll let it slide this time, but next time I won't be polite!"

Jiang Yuan couldn't be bothered listening to him bark. She put an arm around Jiang Die's shoulder. "Sis, who is this ugly man?"

Jiang Die frowned tightly. "My boss at work."

"How did your boss find your home?" Jiang Yuan looked at him with hostility. "It's after work hours. What can't be said at the office?"

"If it weren't for me, do you think your sister could get special treatment, leaving at 3:30 every day?" The mole-faced man snorted disdainfully.

"So what?" Jiang Yuan pulled Jiang Die behind her, crossing her arms. "What do you mean? Speak clearly."

The mole-faced man suddenly laughed. "Little girl, your sister is a single mom raising two kids. It's not easy. I feel bad for her. How can she manage without a man by her side?"

Jiang Yuan knew exactly what this ugly man was plotting the moment she heard that.

She smiled too. "You're right. It really doesn't work without a man by your side."

The mole-faced man thought he had a chance, smiling until the corners of his eyes crinkled. "You're a sensible one."

"But the man my sister wants is over 1.8 meters tall, looks like the Four Heavenly Kings in their youth, and has a bank balance longer than his ID number." Jiang Yuan's smile grew even more radiant.

The mole-faced man was so angry the flesh at the corners of his mouth twitched. "Keep dreaming! Your sister comes with two burdens. She should be secretly glad I even look at her!"

Hearing the words "burdens" (drag bottles/oil bottles), Jiang Yuan's brows furrowed tightly. She clenched her fist and swung it at the mole-faced man.

Her fist didn't connect with his face, stopping inches from his eyes, but it scared him badly.

"You... you..."

The mole-faced man's legs went weak. He leaned against the wall to barely stay upright. "Jiang Die, looks like you don't want this job anymore!"

"Then I quit!" Jiang Yuan sneered. "Scram!"

Bang—

Jiang Yuan slammed the door shut hard.

She turned to look at Jiang Die, furious: "Sis, has that ugly thing bullied you at work?"

Seeing her so worked up, Jiang Die hurriedly reached out to pat her back gently, soothing her softly: "It's fine. He doesn't dare do anything too overt at the office."

"How many times has he come?" Jiang Yuan asked.

Jiang Die lowered her eyes, saying quietly: "Before, he always blocked me downstairs in the compound. I don't know how he got upstairs today."

"Damn it!" Jiang Yuan swore, raising her voice: "I'll boil a kettle of hot water and scald him to death!"

The mole-faced man outside had still wanted to persist, but hearing this, he got scared and ran off immediately.

(End of Chapter)