Chapter 25: Good News, Bad News

When Chu Xuan arrived, panting, near Lin County Elementary School, she caught sight of Feng Ti’s figure in the distance.

That confirmed her suspicion—Qin Xuehong was in danger.

Judging by Feng Ti’s demeanor, he must have already found out where Qin Xuehong lived.

Chu Xuan tried to steady her breathing to avoid alerting Feng Ti, and quietly followed him.

Three minutes later, Feng Ti stopped outside the gate of a courtyard.

The gate was tightly locked.

Thinking no one was home, Feng Ti quickly climbed over the wall, intending to steal something.

Chu Xuan also assumed the house was empty, so she waited patiently outside.

She planned to intercept Qin Xuehong when she returned, explain the situation, and then set a trap to catch Feng Ti.

Less than two minutes later, she heard Feng Ti cry out in shock. Then she saw him scrambling back over the wall, trembling and muttering, “Murder! There’s been a murder!” He tried to flee in a panic.

Chu Xuan sensed trouble. She immediately stepped forward and tripped Feng Ti, shouting, “Help! Catch the bad guy! Catch the bad guy! Somebody help!”

Qin Xuehong’s neighbors all rushed out. Feng Ti had no way to escape and was terrified, but his mind was still sharp. “I didn’t kill anyone! It wasn’t me! I just heard something inside and went in to help...”

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately broke the lock.

Chu Xuan was the first to rush in.

She saw a surgical knife stabbed into Qin Xuehong’s chest, a severe head wound at the back of her skull, and blood everywhere...

Chu Xuan quickly called for help, and the neighbors fetched a door panel. No one cared about getting blood on their clothes—they carried Qin Xuehong to the hospital as fast as they could.

Feng Ti didn’t run, because he knew that if he did, even if he wasn’t the killer, he’d be treated as one. It was better to stay and explain himself.

At that moment, no one wanted Qin Xuehong to survive more than Feng Ti did.

After emergency treatment, Qin Xuehong was out of immediate danger, but due to the severity of her head injury, she remained unconscious.

The police arrived and took statements from Feng Ti, Chu Xuan, and the witnesses.

Feng Ti insisted he was there on behalf of his wife to seek medical help from Qin Xuehong, and that he only climbed over the wall after hearing faint cries for help.

Chu Xuan explained the circumstances that led her there.

If it weren’t for the need to help the police solve the case, Chu Xuan really didn’t want to provide Feng Ti with an alibi.

But for the greater good, Chu Xuan truthfully stated that Feng Ti climbed the wall at around 1:20 p.m., because when she bought buns earlier, she had glanced at the shop owner’s watch—it was 1:13 p.m.

Forensic analysis determined that Qin Xuehong was stabbed before 1:00 p.m., so Feng Ti was ruled out as the killer.

However, Feng Ti was not released. He was taken in for further questioning.

After all, Chu Xuan had mentioned that her father might not be Feng Chunhua’s biological son, and that Qin Xuehong had delivered Feng Chunhua’s eldest child years ago.

If Qin Xuehong revealed identifying features of Feng Chunhua’s eldest son, and Chu Xuan’s father didn’t match them, Feng Chunhua would not only have to return the compensation money, but could also be charged with abducting someone else’s child. So both Feng Chunhua and Feng Ti had motives.

Qin Xuehong was unmarried, had no children, and usually lived alone, but she did have relatives.

Upon hearing the news, the Qin family rushed to the hospital. Some stayed to look after the unconscious Qin Xuehong, while others went to the police to ask about the investigation.

Qin Xuehong’s nephew, Qin Wenxue, provided a clue: “My aunt keeps a diary. Maybe there’s something useful in it.”

Unfortunately, the police couldn’t find Qin Xuehong’s diary.

Everyone suspected the real culprit had taken it.

Chu Xuan realized things weren’t so simple, so she told the police that Feng Chunhua might have bribed Hua Daling and nurse Hong Ping from Lai County Hospital.

Although she had no proof, she believed the police could follow the leads.

Because of all this, Chu Xuan stayed in Lin County for the night and bought a clean set of clothes to change into.

Her old clothes were stained with blood, so she took them home to wash before wearing them again.

Feng Ti was temporarily detained by the Lin County police.

The next afternoon, before leaving, Chu Xuan requested to see Feng Ti.

They met across a window and a table. Feng Ti sincerely thanked Chu Xuan. “No matter what, thank you for testifying for me.”

Without Chu Xuan’s testimony, he would have been branded a murderer. Now, he even suspected his own sister had set him up as a scapegoat.

Chu Xuan sensed Feng Ti might be a breakthrough, so she deliberately said, “I heard Feng Chunhua has already been taken in for questioning in Lai County. She’s blaming you, saying you handed her the baby back then, and that you came here to kill Qin Xuehong because you were afraid the truth would come out.”

Feng Ti slammed the table in anger. “That’s bullshit! She threatened me to come kill Qin Xuehong. I didn’t want to kill anyone—I just wanted to talk things over with her. Who knew that as soon as I got to Qin Xuehong’s house, I’d hear something wrong inside... I’m being set up! I don’t want to be locked up! Feng Chunhua set me up! Waaaah...”

He broke down in tears.

The police didn’t even need to interrogate him further to get part of the truth.

They immediately contacted their colleagues in Lai County.

Before nightfall, Chu Xuan returned home. She boiled water for a bath, changed into clean clothes, and washed her bloodstained clothes under the light in the yard.

Chu Feng noticed the blood on her clothes and stammered in fright, “Sis, did... did Dr. Qin really get killed... by Feng Chunhua?”

Chu Xuan shook her head gently. “It wasn’t Feng Chunhua. The real culprit hasn’t been found yet. Dr. Qin was rescued in time and is out of danger, but the doctors say there’s little chance she’ll wake up.”

“I heard Hua Daling was taken in for questioning. Does that mean we’re close to the truth?”

“If nothing unexpected happens, yes.”

In her previous life, Chu Xuan hadn’t followed Feng Ti, so he hadn’t been caught, and Hua Daling hadn’t been questioned...

In this life, Feng Chunhua would probably spend the rest of her days in prison.

Serves her right!

Thinking of this, Chu Xuan felt a surge of satisfaction.

Chu Feng gave a wry smile. “I used to see how other people’s grandmothers doted on their grandkids, and I always wished our grandma would love us more. But she just never did. I thought maybe I wasn’t good enough, or maybe I wasn’t sweet enough, or maybe it was because I was too young to earn money. I never imagined she wasn’t even our real grandmother!”

He looked completely at ease as he said this.

That night, the siblings talked late into the night, only going to bed when dawn was breaking.

In the days that followed, the Chu family no longer kept their gate closed for house construction, but left it wide open as they continued building.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed, and it was noon on July 9th.

The Chu family’s new house was finished. They set off firecrackers and invited the construction crew and Gao Meijuan’s family to a celebration feast in the yard.

The two new bedrooms were each over twenty square meters, with new kang beds, cement floors, glass windows with mosquito screens, and wooden frames. To prevent typhoon damage, metal sheets were installed outside the windows.

Normally, sturdy iron rods propped up the metal sheets so they wouldn’t block the light, but during a typhoon, they could be lowered.

Inside, the house was spacious and tidy; outside, the yard was orderly.

Most of the fifty-square-meter yard was paved with cement, with a small plot left for vegetables. They rebuilt the kitchen and toilet and added two new ovens.

Several sturdy clotheslines were strung up for drying laundry.

After the meal, Gao Meijuan and her daughter stayed behind to help clean up, while the others left first.

Once everything was tidied up, Gao Meijuan called Chu Xuan over to sit at the stone table in the yard.

“Xiao Xuan, about your father’s childhood, there’s good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Her tone was helpless, and her expression very serious.

Chu Xuan’s heart skipped a beat. Could something have gone wrong in the process?"