Transaction

  "There's actually something I should tell you." Just as I was about to leave, Ye Qing's face suddenly broke into a sly smile, and from who-knows-where, she pulled out a bright red notebook. "To be precise, I hope you can pass on this message to Shao Yin. She might think that our family's Li Cheng is truly in love with her, but the truth is, aside from Guan Xinyue, our family's Li Cheng has been keeping several women on the outside. Where they live, how much money he spends on them, how many times they've slept together - I have all the numbers right here. Judging by current expenses, Shao Yin is the one who gives our old man Li the most bang for his buck. She's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve, she's smart, and she listens to him... Tsk tsk tsk..."

  I felt like something was churning in my chest, and I couldn't help but want to retch, but I managed to hold it back. I raised my head and looked at her coldly, saying, "It seems that you two are indeed a match made in heaven. I used to think that Li Cheng, that country bumpkin, was not worthy of you no matter what, but now it seems that you're not much better than him..."

  Ye Qing sneered a few times, but didn't respond. Instead, she put away the red book and added a hint of indescribable charm to her eyes: "Tsk tsk tsk, is this anger? But it's no harm telling you. I and our family's Li Cheng, are not only husband and wife, but also confidants. Whatever his business, I know all about it, haha..."

  What she said last, completely reversed my impression of her. I originally thought this was a pitiful woman, but I never expected her to be so despicable. It seems that sometimes some old sayings are very right: if you're not from the same family, don't enter their home. She and Li Cheng are a match made in heaven! Shao Yin can do whatever she wants without any bottom line, but she is still far inferior to this shameless couple, because she is ultimately not the same kind of person as them.

  As I walked out of the Li family's gate, the person called Taizi who was still working with his head down looked up at me for a moment. Perhaps he noticed that I was looking at him, and he furrowed his brow before quickly lowering his head again to continue trimming the already tidy branches. From behind, he also appeared to be a handsome man. Ye Qing's lament wasn't wrong - if he had been born into a well-off family, his life trajectory would have been vastly different? His labor was also a service that Ye Qing could enjoy thanks to her wealth, right? I shook my head slightly. No wonder Ye Qing's days were so dull - with others doing all the work for her, what else did she need to worry about besides taking care of the child?

  So, what she said about Guan Xinyue, which ones are true and which ones are false? With a full stomach of doubts, I opened the door of Zhu Ling's house again - also known as Ye Qing's Aunt Zhu's house. A round-faced, smiling, white and plump woman stood there. After I explained my intention, she let me in while sighing sadly and hesitantly said: "Alas, who could have thought that the day before yesterday when I left, everything was fine, but suddenly it happened. Who could have expected?"

  From Zhu Ling's home, it takes a 10-minute walk to Guan Xinyue's residence, but her house and Guan Xinyue's residence are completely divided into two worlds. Zhu Ling's house is an old-fashioned house that looks like it's at least over 15 years old, most of which were collective housing from decades ago. The people living here are mostly old acquaintances. So when Zhu Ling invited me in, the neighbors with half-open doors couldn't help but peek out to take a look. I saw Zhu's mother give them a glance and then close the door.

  "So, who do you think the killer might be? After all, Guan Xinyue doesn't seem to have much contact with people in her daily life." I asked directly after explaining my intention, trying to look very curious.

  "Are you representing the Public Security Bureau to ask me questions? Or..." Zhu Yi looked at me with a vigilant expression.

  He's indeed a very smooth talker, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get away with it so easily. I calmly waved my hand: "Of course not. I'm just curious. Everyone says that Li Cheng has been deeply saddened by Guan Xinyue's death these past few days, and can't even eat. If the killer is found soon, he'll be able to rest easy soon too. But in my opinion, the ones who should be most heartbroken are Guan's family members. Why haven't I seen any of her relatives appear?"

  "Hey! Old Li is just pretending to be heartbroken in front of others. Don't look at his wealth, he's still a fake. I know him well. He made his fortune by doing some shady things back then. Otherwise, who would have looked up to him? His wife Ye Qing... have you seen her? Although she has given birth to children, she hasn't changed much compared to when she was young. Back then, he pursued her relentlessly and even gave the Ye family 50,000 yuan before they agreed to let their daughter date him. Who would have thought that a poor guy like him would become a rich son-in-law? Life is unpredictable, one decade you're on top, the next decade you're at the bottom."

  Does she always like to run off on a tangent like this? I felt a bit helpless at heart, but still couldn't help but listen to her. However, it seems that she knows quite a few things. Zhu Ling is a clever person, and she's very good at piquing people's curiosity. And as for me, of course, I wouldn't let go of any opportunity to make her show off, so when she stopped talking, I quickly asked: "So, Li Cheng and his wife... the two of them are still considered a devoted couple? Then how come... his wife knows he has a mistress on the outside, but doesn't stop him?"

  "Trouble? The Ye family still isn't eyeing that 500,000 yuan, are they? If Li Cheng wasn't wealthy, how could they possibly marry their daughter to him? Back then, Ye Qing was coerced by her family into following Li Cheng. Before the wedding, she brought up a ton of conditions to make things difficult for them, but Li Cheng agreed to all of it. But let's get back to the point - Li Cheng seems like he doesn't have much going on in his head, but he's actually quite cunning. How could he not know that the Ye family was after his money? At first, when they just got married, he didn't have much money. Once he had money, of course he wouldn't put Ye Qing in his eyes anymore. This is what happens to couples after being together for a long time. However, when facing outsiders, they still need to put on a show - after all, they have kids now. If not for the sake of the children, perhaps Guan Xinyue's child would have been aborted too..." Zhu Ayi chattered on and on until she finally realized that some things shouldn't be said, and slipped out.

  "You're saying... Guan Xinyue got pregnant, but was forced to have an abortion? I've heard that Li Cheng isn't very fond of her, so why couldn't they keep the child? Could it be that... he just treated Guan Xinyue as a mistress, so even if she had gotten pregnant, he wouldn't want to take responsibility?" I said calmly, with a sympathetic expression.