Slow to mature after marriage

Upon arriving at the police station, Mu Siwan didn't have time to see anyone and went straight into the autopsy room.

The body was already lying on the table. She put on gloves and began examining it inch by inch, starting from the head. Heart, lungs, stomach contents—she didn't miss a single detail. Two hours later, she straightened up and removed her gloves.

Same as the previous report. Sudden cardiac death, congenital cardiomyopathy, excessive alcohol consumption. No signs of homicide.

In short, it means that excessive drinking leads to sudden death.

Mu Siwan took the report and walked out of the autopsy room toward the interrogation room. At the end of the corridor, the door was half open, and the sounds coming from inside could be clearly heard through the walls.

"It was you! You killed my son!"

A woman's voice, shrill and choked with sobs, sounded like it could lift the roof off.

"Why don't you police officers arrest him? Everyone heard him threatening my son that day!"

Mu Siwan pushed open the door.

In the interrogation room, a middle-aged woman in a black coat was pointing at a young man's face and yelling, her finger almost poking his nose. Beside her, a man in a gray suit, his face ashen, remained silent, but his gaze was like a knife, piercing the young man.

The deceased's family members, Mr. and Mrs. Zheng Hongyuan.

The young man they pointed their fingers at and insulted—

Mu Siwan's gaze fell on his face, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Longing to return.

What is he doing here?

Mu Sigui sat in the chair, his face pale, but his back ramrod straight. He kept his eyes down, letting the woman rant without uttering a single word.

It wasn't until he saw Mu Siwan appear in the interrogation room and met her gaze that a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

"I already said," Mu Sigui finally spoke up to defend himself, "I didn't kill him."

"Not you?" Zheng's mother's voice was shrill and sharp, her fingers almost poking his face. "Everyone heard you threatening my son that day! Those bones of yours, those messy things, who in their right mind would like that? You're a pervert—"

"Are you guys never going to stop?"

Meng Wan was also present at the scene of the case.

She leaned against the wall, initially not wanting to get involved, but the woman's insults grew increasingly vile, and she couldn't bear it any longer. She didn't have any feelings for Mu Sigui, but seeing her own brother being verbally abused like that left her feeling terrible.

"Instead of wasting time framing someone, you should take advantage of your good health and go back to practice the trumpet. The forensic doctor already said your son died accidentally, an accidental death. Don't you understand?"

Zheng Hongyuan shifted his gaze from Mu Sigui to Meng Wan and Mu Siwan, who had just entered the room.

He and the Mu family were both in the real estate industry. Although the Mu family had declined in recent years, the two families had business dealings in the past and knew each other.

He also attended the banquet when Meng Wan returned to the Mu family. The two women in front of him were, one was the Mu family's biological daughter whom they had later found, and the other was the Mu family's adopted daughter.

His gaze darkened.

"One is the Mu family's biological daughter, and the other is the Mu family's adopted daughter." He spoke softly, enunciating each word as if squeezing them out from between his teeth. "I, Zheng, had no idea that this police station was owned by your Mu family."

"you--"

"Quiet." Meng Qing's voice wasn't loud, but the interrogation room fell silent immediately. He glanced at Meng Wan, "You can leave now."

Meng Wan opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing. According to protocol, police officers, as family members of the suspect, shouldn't be present. She pursed her lips, turned, and walked out.

The door closed. Mu Siwan placed the appraisal report in her hand on the table.

"I didn't know my brother was the suspect in this case until this report came out."

Mu Siwan looked at Zheng Hongyuan, her voice calm.

"Therefore, to avoid any conflict of interest, this report is invalid. You can have it re-examined by other forensic experts. However, even if you find a hundred, the result will be the same."

Zheng's mother's sobs stopped briefly. Mu Siwan didn't look at her, but lowered her head to open the report, tapping the paper with her knuckles.

"The deceased, Zheng Ziheng, suffered from congenital cardiomyopathy. His long-term sleep deprivation and excessive alcohol consumption triggered sudden cardiac death. His death was accidental, with no signs of homicide."

The interrogation room fell silent. Zheng's mother's sobs resumed, each one louder than the last. Zheng Hongyuan stared at the report, his face ashen, remaining silent.

How could he accept the absurd reason that his only son, whom he was so proud of, died suddenly from drunkenness?

-

The door closed. Mu Siwan stood in the corridor, waiting for Meng Qing to come out.

"What happened?" she asked.

Meng Qing closed the file and began to explain it to her from the beginning.

The deceased, Zheng Ziheng, was a third-year law student and Mu Sigui's roommate. Around 11 PM last night, several people were in the dorm. Zheng Ziheng returned drunk and asked Mu Sigui to get him some water, but Mu Sigui ignored him. Zheng Ziheng cursed a few times and overturned the bone specimen on his desk. Mu Sigui stood up, said, "You'll die by your own hand sooner or later," and then left. He never returned.

The next morning, Zheng Ziheng was found dead in his bed.

After listening, Mu Siwan frowned: "If that's the case, wouldn't that further prove he died from drunkenness? Besides, my brother already kindly reminded him."

"Kindness? A reminder?" Meng Qing looked at her, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"Before he died, he told the deceased, 'You'll die by your own hand sooner or later'—wasn't that a kind reminder to drink less?"

Meng Qing sighed, his lips twitching slightly, unsure whether to laugh or sigh.

"Mu Siwan, only you would think that way. Any normal person would think that was a threat. Now, the two people left in their dorm are both insisting that Mu Sigui killed someone."

"What is their evidence?" Mu Siwan asked.

Meng Qing closed the file, his tone more subdued than before.

"First, the girl Zheng Ziheng has been pursuing for over half a year actually likes your younger brother. Everyone in the dorm knows this. Zheng Ziheng has been holding a grudge and once ganged up with others to bully Mu Sigui. In their eyes, Mu Sigui has a motive for revenge."

"Secondly, Mu Sigui is usually withdrawn and doesn't like to talk. There are bones on his table and a skeleton hanging by his bedside. In their eyes, these things are evidence of his perversion. They say that this kind of person is capable of anything."

"Third, the person said those words that night and died the next morning. To them, what else could that be but a threat?"

Mu Siwan looked up at him: "These three pieces of evidence only prove one thing."

"What?"

"Zheng Ziheng deserves to die."

Meng Qing: "..."

-

While the two were talking, there was another commotion in the interrogation room.

Footsteps, shouts, and the harsh sound of a chair being pushed aside mingled together, clearly audible even through the door. Mu Siwan turned to look; the door opened, and Mu Cheng strode in, his suit jacket open, his face still bearing the lingering anger. Xu Ruolin followed behind, her eyes red, whether from anxiety or anger, it was unclear.

Mu Cheng spotted Mu Sigui sitting in the chair, his expression changed several times, and he walked over in a few steps, raising his hand to slap her.