Twenty-six. Branches and knots

  Isn't it that Li Cheng and Li Bin are just tools in Guan Xinyue's eyes? What about her child? It's unlikely to be Li Cheng's, nor is it Li Bin's. Whose could it be then? Isn't the real murderer someone else? I expressed my suspicions. This shocked Qin Ming again, he stared at me for a long time before asking in surprise: "You're saying... there's another third person involved in this case? Are you sure you're not making up a story? This is too... too unbelievable! Guan Xinyue... having emotional entanglements with three men at the same time, and she succeeded?"

  I nodded seriously, and the case seemed to have completely fallen into a dead end. Qin Ming let out a somewhat helpless cry: "Won't do? Can it really end like this? Are we going to hand over the case for others to handle? What can be done?"

  "Maybe it's not as complicated as we thought. No case is perfect, and right now we just need time." This case has piqued my interest greatly. It's precisely because it's so complex that I'm excited about it. After flipping through those things, I looked up at Qin Ming: "No matter who did this case, they've done it too cleverly. Haven't you heard? The pleasure of fighting with someone is endless. And what's more, it might be a ruthless and cunning person."

  Qin Ming looked at me curiously, seemingly a bit helpless as he shook his head, with a hint of doting gaze in his eyes. My face grew hot and I quickly lowered my head to continue flipping through the things in my hand. Would there be any clues here? And should I have a good talk with Shao Yin?

  "Could Li Cheng be the key figure?" Qin Ming's words broke the slightly awkward atmosphere again, and he said lightly: "Even if all our previous guesses were correct, Guan Xinyue's goal was to avenge the harm caused by Shao Yin's mother back then. But now, the central figure is Li Cheng. After all, he is the key figure in this case. Guan Xinyue, in this case, isn't likable at all..."

  "Not bad." I took another close look at those files, making a note of all the small details that I should remember. Perhaps it was time to reevaluate this strange woman, who had originally seemed like just a gold-digger but actually had other plans in mind. "But Li Cheng really is good-looking."

  "This is the benefit of being rich." Qin Ming's expression was somewhat inscrutable. He shook his head, then nodded and said: "In today's world, many people are still pursuing very practical things. But on the other hand, maybe in many people's eyes, love can also be bought with money? Do you remember that self-deprecating joke? 'How much does love cost per kilogram, I'll take two kilograms and feed it to the dog.' Guan Xinyue... if she didn't have an ulterior motive, what other reason would she have to be with Li Cheng?"

  "But Li Cheng seems to really like Guan Xinyue. Whatever their original motives were, they seem to have gotten what they wanted." I gave Qin Ming a somewhat helpless look. He was indeed strange, usually a righteous and serious police officer, but sometimes so careless. "In your eyes, how much does love cost per kilogram?"

  When the name Ye Qing jumped out of Qin Ming's aunt's mouth again, it scared me. I looked at the elegant woman in front of me and asked hastily: "Do you know her? How do you know her? Does she often come here? Is she alone or with a few people? Have you seen anything strange?"

  "Hey, hey, so many questions, which one should I answer first?" Qin Ming's eyes were filled with amusement as he looked at me, then shifted his gaze to the woman in front of him, who was around 40 years old. He coaxed her, "Auntie, she's my colleague and also a star in my heart that I can't reach. Look, she's always very enthusiastic about cases, so please sit down quickly and tell us everything you know. Otherwise, she'll stay here and won't leave."

  This 180-degree turn really caught me off guard. If Qin Ming's subordinates saw this, what would they think? He was always thought to be a man of few words, and his occasional jokes, although hilarious, were never met with laughter in his presence.

  Qin Ming's aunt, whom I later found out was named Wei Xue Man, also Qin Ming's mother's cousin, sat down with a smile and carefully sized me up, her eyes filled with a few parts of appreciation. After a while, she said: "Where to start? Actually, I only knew about it after reading the report that she was involved in this case. Not far from here is an elementary school, and I heard that her child is studying there. So every day when sending the child to school, she would come here and sit for a while. Most of the time, she was alone, occasionally with one or two female companions, or maybe some relatives? Every time she came here, she would brew a pot of green tea, order a few pastries, and just sit there without letting us disturb her. As for other things, I'm not too clear, she seemed to not like interacting with outsiders, unlike some housewives who would talk a lot as long as you asked them a question.

  Is that really the Ye Qing I saw? When I saw her, she was talking non-stop. Later it was also like this. However, this is not my main concern for now. Before I could continue asking, Wei Xue pointed to the beauty salon across the street and said: "That's also a place she often goes to. She spends at least five figures there every year. I've talked to the owner several times, and she said Ye Qing looks very strange, rarely talks nonsense, only occasionally mentions her children and is particularly happy. Nothing else, but it can be seen that she is a mother who loves her children very much and cares about her image in their eyes. There's nothing special besides this.

  After saying this, Wei Xue Man paused, seemingly making an effort to recall. After a while, she smiled and said: "Maybe we thought of it? You know, staying here all day, with a group of young girls, every little thing can be thought of in various ways. Once, there was a young man who came here looking for her. The two of them talked on the upper floor for half a day, it could be seen that the man liked Ye Qing very much, but I guarantee, that person absolutely is not Ye Qing's husband."

  "Oh?" This matter piqued my great interest. Could it be that Ye Qing also has some mysterious admirer? "When was this? Do you still remember what that man looked like?"