"So..." Shen Nian paused for a moment, looking at Mrs. Xiao. "I should probably not go and disturb your happy family anymore."
Xiao Mubai treated her well, and she didn't want to ruin Xiao Mubai's family.
With these words, she politely declined Mrs. Xiao's request.
Rising to her feet, Shen Nian gave a slight nod to Mrs. Xiao. "Madam, I will keep my distance from Xiao Mubai from now on, so as not to cause you any trouble."
After saying this, she took the porridge from the table and left the tea shop.
Watching her retreating figure, Mrs. Xiao moved her lips but ultimately said nothing.
...
When Shen Nian arrived, Xiao Mubai had already changed his dressings and was sitting on a long bench in the corridor, holding his phone as he waited for Shen Nian.
Hearing the sound of high heels, Xiao Mubai looked up, his eyes visibly brightening when he saw Shen Nian's figure. He immediately broke into a warm smile. "Didn't you say you'd be here soon when you called? I've been waiting for you for a while and was getting anxious, about to call you."
Shen Nian lied with a straight face, "That porridge shop was too crowded. There was a really long queue when I got there, so I lost some time."
"..." Hearing this, Xiao Mubai's gaze seemed a little strange, but it passed quickly. He asked in a casual tone, "Is that so? I see."
"Yeah." Shen Nian handed him the porridge. "Here's the porridge you wanted."
Xiao Mubai smiled. "Great, thank you."
He took the porridge from Shen Nian's hands with his uninjured left hand, set it on his lap, and opened it.
"I haven't eaten anything all morning, so I'm hungry now. Let me finish this porridge, then we can go."
"Sure," Shen Nian replied.
Xiao Mubai's other hand was still immobile, so he needed to open the plastic container's lid with his left hand. Seeing this, Shen Nian moved to help. "Let me help you..."
"No need." Xiao Mubai declined politely, giving Shen Nian a reassuring look. "It's a small thing, no need to trouble you."
With that, he easily opened the lid. There was a plastic spoon next to him, which he used to drink the porridge.
As soon as the porridge entered his mouth, he could feel it was cold. Xiao Mubai froze for a moment with the porridge in his mouth, then swallowed it without changing his expression. He casually told Shen Nian, "The porridge is cold."
Shen Nian had bought it hot, but after chatting with Mrs. Xiao for quite a while at the tea shop, coupled with the hot weather and the shop's low-temperature air conditioning, the porridge had gone cold.
"Really?" Shen Nian feigned ignorance. "Maybe there were too many people buying it, so the porridge container's lid was left open, and that's why it went cold."
Xiao Mubai smiled slightly. "Could be."
Then he continued eating the porridge.
Shen Nian didn't want to dwell on the subject any further. Seeing how skillfully Xiao Mubai was eating with his left hand, she casually asked, "I don't remember you being left-handed?"
"This?" Xiao Mubai glanced at his left hand, then explained, "I'm not exactly left-handed. I can use both hands. When I was little, I couldn't use my right hand to eat, so I always held chopsticks with my left. But my family insisted I switch back. Although I got used to my right hand, I didn't forget my left either. So I'm fortunate enough to be able to hold chopsticks and write with both hands."
Knowing Shen Nian's time was precious, he didn't waste too much time and quickly finished the porridge. He wrapped the disposable bowl and spoon in the plastic bag and threw it in a nearby trash can. Then he said to Shen Nian, "Let's go."
"Okay."
The two left the hospital side by side, with Xiao Mubai talking to her as they walked.
"If I remember correctly, the next court hearing is the day after tomorrow, right?"
Shen Nian: "Yes."
Xiao Mubai: "Are you ready?"
Shen Nian: "More or less."
Xiao Mubai nodded, then seemed to remember something. "Do you still remember those friends who joined us for the hot pot dinner?"
"I do," Shen Nian said, a little distracted.
"I only found out recently that one of my friend's older sisters married the only son of a provincial official, so he has a decent background. That's why I asked him to help me look into the backgrounds of Wang Yong and Yang Hao. Wang Yong has an aunt who married a secretary, while Yang Hao's wife is the younger sister of a bureau chief."
"..." Shen Nian's pupils constricted slightly. "I know."
They were all people with connections. The Lu family was at a disadvantage against them, and they were fortunate that the Lu family was not poor. If they were just ordinary citizens, this case would have been forcibly closed years ago.
Relying on their connections, they acted arrogantly and thought they were above everyone else. More than once, they spoke rudely and regarded human life as worthless...
"Lu Lingchuan must have investigated them over the years as well. They are old hands and naturally wouldn't reveal their weaknesses easily. As for Yang Hao and Wang Yong, those two are not good people. I looked into them - they've known each other for over ten years, loafing around and causing trouble since they were eighteen or nineteen, with no proper jobs."
"Even if the Lu family insists on holding them accountable for Lu Lingrui's case, the other side won't give in easily. If the Lu family demands the death penalty, the chances are less than 1%, maybe even less than that."
Shen Nian was well aware of this, even without Xiao Mubai pointing it out.
Then Xiao Mubai continued, "But for people like them with such tarnished records, is it possible that Lu Lingrui was their only victim? If there are more victims, and they show no remorse or change in their attitude, there's a high chance they could be severely punished."
Xiao Mubai was earnestly sharing the information and speculations he had gathered with Shen Nian.
His words seemed to clear the fog that had been clouding Shen Nian's vision.
Xiao Mubai was right - it would be difficult for them to receive the death penalty based solely on Lu Lingrui's case. But what if there were many other victims?
All these years, Lu Lingchuan had only focused on finding evidence to bring down the backers behind Yang Hao and Wang Yong. But they had been in their positions for so many years and were seasoned operators. If it was that easy to catch them, someone else would have brought them down long ago without Lu Lingchuan's involvement.
The Lu family had never considered taking another path...
After saying this, Xiao Mubai seemed to remember something and explained further, "I only thought of this after my friend mentioned it. Of course, Lu Lingchuan could probably find this information as well."
Xiao Mubai didn't even know Lu Lingrui when she died; he only met Shen Nian after that. Originally, he had no reason to get involved in this case since it had nothing to do with him.
It was only because Shen Nian cared about it that he went out of his way to call in favors from others to help Shen Nian obtain useful information.
"..." Shen Nian's feelings were complicated, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
After a brief silence, she spoke up, "Xiao Mubai."
"Yes," Xiao Mubai responded almost immediately.
"Thank you for your concern. I will be indebted to you for the rest of my life, but... I don't want to owe you that much..."
She paused, then said those words, "From now on... let's have less contact."
"..." Hearing this, Xiao Mubai's expression froze, and he forced an extremely unpleasant smile. "Is my existence causing you trouble?"
