Chapter 556 - 555: I’ll Help You

When Lin Huanzhu saw Tang Yuanxiao outside the door, her first instinct was to turn and run.

"Lin Huanzhu." She had just turned to flee when she heard Tang Yuanxiao’s voice.

Lin Huanzhu froze for a moment. Then, feigning nonchalance, she squatted down to retie her shoelaces before standing up and raising a hand in greeting.

"Morning. What are you doing here so early? What’s up?"

Lin Huanzhu tried to hypnotize herself into forgetting what happened last night.

"I came to find you," Tang Yuanxiao said as Lin Huanzhu walked over.

"To find me? What for?" Lin Huanzhu asked curiously.

Tang Yuanxiao watched her quietly for a few seconds, then looked away. "I said it last night. I’ll help you."

The smile on Lin Huanzhu’s face froze. "You... you’re serious."

"Mm," Tang Yuanxiao said, his gaze returning to her face. "I wouldn’t joke about this."

Lin Huanzhu swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on her feet. "Thank you."

"Let’s go. I didn’t get all the details last night. Tell me exactly what happened back then. And if you can, show me the information you’ve gathered over the years. We need to hurry."

Tang Yuanxiao started walking ahead.

Lin Huanzhu watched his back, a flicker in her eyes. She paused for a moment before hurrying to catch up.

"Thank you, but... it’s very dangerous. Back then, everyone called him a homicidal maniac." ’That person is dangerous,’ Lin Huanzhu knew.

"I’ll be careful." Hearing the worry in her voice, Tang Yuanxiao added an explanation, "I’m good at fighting."

Lin Huanzhu’s lips twitched into a bitter smile. She took a deep breath and turned her head to look at Tang Yuanxiao seriously.

"Tang Yuanxiao, I’m being serious. I’m grateful, and I desperately want to find the killer soon, but... it’s really dangerous. You don’t have to repay me this way. You’ve already thanked me for helping you before."

She didn’t want to drag an innocent person into this mess.

"It’s not just about repaying a debt. I want to help you. Aren’t we... friends?" Tang Yuanxiao replied after a pause.

’He wanted to help Lin Huanzhu. It was mostly out of gratitude, because she had helped him so loyally before, so he wanted to return the favor. But another part of it was because Lin Huanzhu was his friend.’

’That’s right, they were friends too.’

Lin Huanzhu looked into Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes, wanting to refuse, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

"Thank you."

’I’m running out of time. Let me be selfish just this once.’

"Don’t mention it." Tang Yuanxiao glanced at Lin Huanzhu’s eyes, then at a bun shop not far away, and pointed. "Let’s get some breakfast first."

Tang Yuanxiao bought some steamed buns and an egg, handing the egg to Lin Huanzhu. "Roll this over your eyes. They’re really swollen."

Lin Huanzhu touched her eyes and accepted it with a quiet word of thanks.

’Her eyes were swollen because she had cried last night. It was so embarrassing. She woke up with her eyes terribly puffy, and they felt very uncomfortable.’

"I have to go to class in a bit. You get your things organized today, and I’ll come find you after work."

Tang Yuanxiao checked the time, then took his buns and said goodbye to Lin Huanzhu.

The golden sun slowly rose. Lin Huanzhu stood rooted to the spot, watching Tang Yuanxiao’s back bathed in sunlight, her hand slowly clenching the fabric over her chest.

If... if that one phrase, "a girl," had moved her heart on that winter night last year...

Then this moment was a true heart-flutter.

The unfamiliar throb in her chest made Lin Huanzhu’s expression incredibly complicated.

Lin Huanzhu took one deep breath after another, slowly suppressing the strange palpitation.

During a break at work, Lin Huanzhu organized everything she had investigated over the years. After her shift, when Tang Yuanxiao arrived, she showed him all the materials.

"...From now on, I’ll help you look into this whenever I have time." Tang Yuanxiao now had a clear picture.

"Don’t push yourself too hard," Lin Huanzhu said.

"Don’t worry, I’m in a reconnaissance battalion now," Tang Yuanxiao reassured her.

Setting aside how Tang Yuanxiao and Lin Huanzhu began their investigation into the killer, Su Li, for her part, had reached the pinnacle of exasperation.

Looking at Su Dan, who had come looking for her, and listening to him blabber on, Su Li thought to herself that she must be fated to deal with trashy people these days.

’She had just dealt with Mrs. Tang, and her mood had barely recovered before Su Dan popped up.’

’It was probably because... she had been too happy before.’

’Wu Sheng had moved her so deeply, made her so happy, that she needed some trashy people to balance things out, lest she be too happy all at once.’

Su Li took a deep breath and looked up at Su Dan again.

"So... you want a divorce?"

The moment Su Li spoke, Su Dan immediately shut his mouth. Hearing her question, he bit his lip. "I... I..."

Su Dan couldn’t say whether he wanted a divorce or not. He wanted to, but when he remembered the pleasures he had experienced with Qin Shanshan, he felt a little reluctant.

But Miao Fenghua was dead set against keeping Qin Shanshan.

’What family would want a daughter-in-law who was in prison!’

Most people wouldn’t be able to accept it, let alone Miao Fenghua, who doted on Su Dan to no end and hadn’t wanted Qin Shanshan in the first place.

The only reason she had agreed to let him marry Qin Shanshan was because of the baby in her belly. Now the baby was gone, Qin Shanshan might not be able to have children in the future, and on top of that, she was now a human trafficker in jail. Who would dare to keep such a terrifying daughter-in-law?

After Qin Shanshan was arrested, Su Dan saw that things were looking bad, so he grabbed his camera and valuables and ran back home.

Regarding Qin Shanshan’s case, the authorities had tried to contact her husband. Since they couldn’t reach him, the police contacted Fengcheng County, asked about Qin Shanshan’s situation, and notified her family.

The major human trafficking case was something the entire nation was following. The news that a trafficker had come from Fengcheng County was shocking enough.

The news that Qin Shanshan was a human trafficker spread like wildfire.

How could Qin Shanshan’s parents believe it? But facts were facts, and soon, all the other things Qin Shanshan had done in the past were also exposed.

The Qin Family in Xinghua Village was pelted with rotten vegetables and sprayed with feces by the public. Qin Shanshan’s parents nearly went insane.

Meanwhile, Qin Shanshan’s aunt and uncle couldn’t believe it. They asked for help from various sources to get information, but the results were all bad.

This time, Qin Shanshan was truly infamous. She was completely ruined, an enemy of the people. If she had been there in person, she might have even been killed by the mob.

The Qin Family in Xinghua Village couldn’t escape the backlash, and neither could the Su Family.

Having married a wife like Qin Shanshan, the Su Family was quickly dragged down with her. Miao Fenghua and Su Dan already had poor characters to begin with, and now they were so ostracized they didn’t even dare to leave their house.

Under such circumstances, how could Miao Fenghua possibly dare to keep Qin Shanshan?

"Who would dare keep a daughter-in-law like that? Su Dan, go divorce her! Go get a divorce!"

Thanks to Su Li, Miao Fenghua was now very familiar with the word "divorce."

Su Dan, having spent a few days back home, was also terrified and wanted a divorce, but he had no idea how to get one.

Qin Shanshan was in prison, and Su Dan didn’t know how to divorce her. In the end, forced by Miao Fenghua to come to the Imperial City to handle the divorce, he came looking for Su Li.

Su Dan couldn’t get into the residential complex, so he went straight to the school.

After spotting Su Li at the school gate, Su Dan rambled on and on to her. When Su Li picked out the key point and asked a question, Su Dan was once again at a loss for words.

"If you want a divorce, then file a lawsuit. You can sue for divorce even if she’s in prison. If you don’t want a divorce..."

Su Li spread her hands and checked the time. "I have other things to do. I’m leaving."