The next day arrived.
Gu Yan had originally planned to spend the entire morning cozying up with Leng Qingqiu at the Leng Family home. However, he was coldly rejected by Leng Qingqiu the night before. She said that tomorrow was a rare quiet day for her, and she needed to study properly.
Tsk, what a heartless woman. But it worked out just fine.
Gu Yan opened his phone and saw a message from Chen Yingyin.
[Gu Yan, although this is troublesome for you, I still hope you can come with me to investigate a case.]
[If you agree, I'll come pick you up at your house.]
As expected, she's calling me?
Gu Yan wasn't surprised at all. After all, this plot point was originally supposed to be fulfilled by Xiao Lin. The reason being - if you want to clear your name, then provide some evidence that you're a good person.
After replying "okay", Gu Yan was still thinking about when she would arrive and whether he should bring Old Gao along.
The next second.
"Gu Yan! Come down quickly! Look who's here!" His mother Su Murong's excited voice came from downstairs.
Gu Yan seemed to realize something, and his mouth twitched.
He came downstairs.
When he saw Chen Yingyin, dressed in civilian clothes, smiling and chatting with Su Murong, Gu Yan's expression became somewhat helpless. He walked over with a wry smile and said, "So it turns out Sister Yingyin is already at my house."
"How can I refuse you now?"
Seeing Gu Yan's helpless look, Chen Yingyin also smiled, "Time is of the essence. This case is really too important."
As she spoke, she turned to the confused Su Murong, "Auntie, I'll be taking Gu Yan with me then."
?? Taking him? Case?
Su Murong opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But Gu Yan said, "Alright, alright, but I need to be back before evening. I still have a banquet to attend."
"That's fine."
"Mom, I'm going out with Officer Chen for a bit."
After saying this, the two of them left.
Leaving behind a very confused Su Murong.
Wait, can someone tell me what's going on? Did my son commit a crime? Or was he arrested by his father's good friend's daughter? Putting justice before family ties? Performance metrics? Just going through the motions?
Ah! I don't understand!
Su Murong hurriedly took out her phone and called Gu Tianming, "Tianming! Our son was taken away by the police!"
.......
........
Driving on the way to Autumn Water Garden residential complex.
In the front, Old Gao was driving.
In the back, Chen Yingyin was going over the Autumn Water Garden case with Gu Yan.
Gu Yan looked at a stack of materials while listening to Chen Yingyin's explanation.
She held up a photo of a man with empty, tired eyes and said, "The Autumn Water Garden case occurred in May of this year."
"This is the victim of the first case, named Hang Caiyi. He was a young man who came to Jianghai City to work."
"But for some unknown reason, starting from April, he stopped going to work and just stayed at home. It wasn't until May 15th that he was found dead in his house."
"He had no relatives, so no one even came to claim his body."
At this point, Chen Yingyin took out another photo.
Gu Yan glanced at it. It showed an energetic young man.
Chen Yingyin sighed and said, "This is a photo of Hang Caiyi's life before April."
A mysterious look flashed in Gu Yan's eyes, but he didn't say anything.
He looked at the photo taken of Hang Caiyi's corpse.
Looking at the claw-like wounds, Gu Yan had some recollection, and the plot kept surfacing in his mind.
Then, Chen Yingyin took out the files and photos of the next four victims.
After explaining all the information about everyone, Chen Yingyin said, "All of them had abnormal behavior changes before and after, and they all had three claw-like marks on their chests before they died."
"The forensic examiner also determined that the victims died from this vicious attack."
"Unfortunately, even after consulting biologists, we couldn't identify which creature caused this attack."
"Originally, I was also limited to species known to humans, but now...."
Chen Yingyin looked at Gu Yan seriously, "Gu Yan, was this done by a martial artist?"
Very clever, Gu Yan smiled lightly and nodded, "That's right, it was indeed a martial artist."
In the front, Old Gao's eyes sharpened.
After listening for so long, he had more or less understood. Next, young master was going to Autumn Water Garden residential complex with Miss Yingyin to investigate several homicide cases.
Most importantly, there were martial artists operating behind these cases.
Although he wouldn't worry about young master being in any danger with him around, he still didn't want young master to put himself at risk.
The enemy was in the dark, while they were in the open. Going there rashly was too dangerous.
So he spoke up, "Young master, matters concerning martial artists are handled by the Ancient Martial Arts Department. I can notify the martial arts department about this."
Hearing this, Chen Yingyin was stunned. She looked at Gu Yan.
If they could let professionals handle it, that would be for the best.
After it's resolved, they could announce that it was a heinous murder case and the perpetrator had been caught.
This way, it wouldn't cause too much panic among the public.
However, Gu Yan revealed a mysterious smile, "The martial arts department has known about this for a long time."
It's just that for certain reasons, they haven't been able to catch the culprit.
"They knew? Then why haven't they caught the criminal yet?"
Chen Yingyin asked instinctively.
Gu Yan didn't speak, just shook his head, "When we get to Autumn Water Garden and arrive at the culprit's home, you'll understand."
"This....."
Chen Yingyin hesitated, but still nodded.
Old Gao also stopped talking and focused on driving.
.........
........
Jianghai High School.
After class.
The teacher looked at the two usually most boisterous students at the back of the classroom with confusion and bewilderment.
Hm?
How come Leng Ling'er and Bai Qionglan are so quiet today? How strange.
He left the classroom with an uneasy feeling. These two couldn't be planning something big, right? About to pull off a huge prank??
Leng Ling'er was quiet because of what she had said in front of Gu Yan this morning.
She lowered her head, her eyes full of shame, her hands tightly clenched together.
Her heart was very unsettled.
Wah wah wah! It's over! Not only did I fail to hide my phone, but I also said those things in front of Gu Yan!
It's over! It's over! It's over! How can I ever face him again!
As for Bai Qionglan, it was because of her father's threatening words this morning.
He said that if she didn't go meet a man called Xiao Lin,
Then she might as well drop out of school and not study anymore, and just come back to learn how to manage the family business.
When she thought about this, her eyes reddened again, and she took out the half jade pendant from her chest.
As she looked at it, she started crying again.
Leng Ling'er, sitting beside her, heard the sound and quietly looked at her best classmate, best friend, and closest companion, Bai Qionglan.
When she saw that the other seemed to be sobbing and crying, she immediately panicked.
"Qionglan? What's wrong?"
She hurriedly comforted her, immediately putting aside her own troubles.
"It's... it's nothing."
Bai Qionglan wiped away her tears, then gave Leng Ling'er a smile, "Sister Ling'er, if, I'm just saying if."
"If I were gone too, would you feel lonely?"
At these words.
"?"
Leng Ling'er was stunned.
The next second, bang!
Leng Ling'er slammed the desk as she stood up, shouting at Bai Qionglan, "No, no! Qionglan, you can't commit suicide! You're my only friend now!!"
"If you die! What, what will I do, wuwuwu!!"
As she spoke, Leng Ling'er started crying herself.
A bunch of people looked over, wondering what was going on.
Bai Qionglan was stunned for a moment, then quickly pulled Leng Ling'er down, comforting her, "Wait, wait, Sister Ling'er, what are you talking about? Of course I won't commit suicide, don't cry."
Hearing this, Leng Ling'er sniffled and looked at Bai Qionglan with delight, "Really?"
As she spoke, she threw herself into Bai Qionglan's arms, "Qionglan, you scared me to death."
The latter looked at Leng Ling'er, let out a soft sigh, reached out to pat her back, and murmured, "It's precisely because of this that I worry about you, Sister Ling'er."
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
