Chapter 41: Zhuang Mengdie’s Resolute Decision

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Miao Ruolan’s body trembled lightly; to be precise, it was her legs that were shaking...

“You can call Zhuang Mengdie now!” A voice slipped into her ear.

“Now?”

“Yes!”

Miao Ruolan’s phone lit up softly, and a number was dialed far away.

The call connected.

Miao Ruolan lowered her voice and gave an address.

Then she hung up.

The glow of the phone faded, and silence enveloped the surroundings. Only from the bathroom, ten meters away, came the sounds of wild, unrestrained play.

Although Miao Ruolan couldn’t see or hear clearly, her imagination was running wild.

She couldn’t bear such a scene.

Where was Lin Xiaosu?

She slowly lifted her head and looked at Lin Xiaosu. From this angle, he really was rather handsome, but there was a clear frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Our friend Ms. Zhuang is ruthless—she’s brought the police straight here...”

“The police? Are you sure? I didn’t see any police cars...”

“Look, over there!”

Miao Ruolan’s gaze shot toward Tashan Lake, where she saw a black sedan with the license plate: 212563.

“Zhou Mei’s car!”

“Yes, and Captain Zhang is here too! On what grounds did they report this? If the report was on drug possession, she’s truly vicious!”

Ordinary misconduct wouldn’t warrant a police report.

For a simple affair, Captain Zhang, the head of the criminal investigation team, would never show up.

But if drugs were involved, that was another matter altogether.

This Zhuang Mengdie, catching her husband in the act, dared to call in a drug report?

Three cars stopped at a distance. More than a dozen plainclothes officers got out at once, all heading straight to the villa. Once outside, with a collective shout, they leaped up!

A hand reached for the wall, bodies followed, vaulting over the five-meter-high barrier.

In today’s world, frontline police officers are all highly skilled, especially the detectives.

Captain Zhang was particularly formidable, approaching silently like a hound. With a leap, he grabbed the second-floor ledge and climbed up swiftly and cleanly.

There was a brief pause inside the bathroom. The next moment, the door was thrown open. Lin Xiaosu didn’t need to look to imagine the chaotic scene within.

“Hands up!” Captain Zhang’s voice was steady and commanding.

“Comrade, we...”

“Save it! Stand against the wall!”

The door opened, and Zhou Mei entered with several other officers, only to be met by a shocking sight.

A man stood naked against the wall, and a woman, wrapped tightly in a towel, clung desperately to its corner, squatting on the floor.

Captain Zhang pointed a black pistol at the man’s back.

The two quivered in terror, completely at a loss as to how to handle the situation before them.

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“Search!” Captain Zhang commanded. Ferocious police dogs appeared, scouring the first, second, and third floors...

“Report! Nothing found on the first floor!”

“Report, nothing found on the second floor!”

“Report, nothing found on the third floor!”

Captain Zhang’s face darkened. No drugs? What was up with the informant? A false report? The scene before him hardly resembled a drug den—more like the classic play of a lover hidden in a golden house.

He, a dignified chief of the criminal investigation team, was dragged out in the middle of the night for this?

Just as he found himself in a difficult spot, Zhou Mei suddenly took out her phone. A message popped up: “Below the bathroom mirror, third compartment, press three times!”

The sender: “A Bit of a Rogue Detective.”

Zhou Mei put her phone away and entered the bathroom.

Two officers were still searching inside. In truth, the bathroom was the easiest place to search, as there were few things to check.

They had found nothing useful and were about to leave when Zhou Mei entered, scrutinizing the shelf holding the bath products. She reached out and felt around the third compartment, pressing it three times.

Silently, a secret compartment rotated open, revealing a metal cylinder in her hand. She opened it: inside was a red liquid.

Zhou Mei’s heartbeat quickened as she carried the cylinder outside. The beautiful woman squatting by the wall turned pale at the sight.

That change in expression was the greatest surprise to Zhou Mei.

“What’s in here?” Zhou Mei asked.

“It’s... it’s for fun, just lubricant...” the woman exclaimed, “I even have the receipt! It’s in the bedside drawer... let me get it for you.”

Still wrapped in her towel, she dashed into the bedroom and really did produce a receipt from the nightstand—an overseas purchase, labeled: Oudu Aphrodisiac Oil. The description matched the metal cylinder and its contents perfectly.

Captain Zhang’s brow furrowed tightly. Was there really a problem here? Why hadn’t the police dogs reacted at all?

“Let’s take it back for testing,” Zhou Mei suggested, glancing at Captain Zhang.

Captain Zhang hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “You two, get dressed and come with us.”

“Captain, this... is this necessary? At most, this is just a matter of personal conduct, not a crime...” Wang Changfa protested.

“It’s not up to you to decide what’s a crime! Take them away!” Captain Zhang ordered, signaling the team to move out!

As they left the villa, Zhou Mei glanced around, her gaze lingering meaningfully on the willow tree where Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan had hidden earlier...

She clearly suspected someone was in that tree.

But she couldn’t see exactly which branch they’d used.

In fact, she was mistaken—by then, no one remained in the willow tree.

Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan had already withdrawn.

No one, apart from Zhou Mei, knew they had been there.

Even Captain Zhang was unaware.

Miao Ruolan rode her little electric scooter, taking Lin Xiaosu back to the detective agency. The May night breeze was chilly, but it couldn’t cool the heat on her face—nor could it erase the mess left on her underwear...

Once home, she headed straight for a shower. Afterward, she lay in bed, tossing and turning, her mind restless.

Every noise from the next room made her hypersensitive.

Perhaps, at a certain age, one truly becomes too susceptible to temptation...

After a long night of turmoil, she finally fell asleep. At dawn, Miao Ruolan washed her face with cold water, refreshed herself, and laundered her underwear. The absurd events of the previous night washed away into the Yishui River, and she returned to her usual self.

The day passed uneventfully, and once again, the sun set...

As the sun dipped behind the peak of Party Mountain in the west, the ancient stone pagoda of distant Tashan bathed its tip in the afterglow...

A black sedan approached from the west, stopping in front of the detective agency.

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Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan exchanged a glance. Miao Ruolan got up to make tea.

Zhou Mei, dressed in civilian clothes and looking elegant, entered the agency. As Miao Ruolan turned, she was already carrying a cup of tea for her.

“Have a seat,” Lin Xiaosu gestured to the sofa.

Zhou Mei sat down. “You two were in the willow tree last night.”

“Yes, at the request of our client,” Lin Xiaosu replied.

“So you saw that little bottle with your own eyes, and where it was hidden.”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but that’s the truth,” Lin Xiaosu said, his face expressionless. Yet Miao Ruolan’s cheeks flushed; the memories she had just managed to suppress now sprouted again as poisonous weeds in her heart...

Zhou Mei took a sip of tea. “Why were you so sure that bottle was suspicious?”

Lin Xiaosu answered, “If it was just an ordinary stimulant, there’d be no need to hide it so carefully. She could have left it in plain sight on the nightstand.”

Modern society is open about many things.

In ordinary hotel rooms, instant noodles, condoms, and aphrodisiac oils are all laid out together without a second thought. This woman was a kept mistress—why bother hiding such things? As Lin Xiaosu said, putting it on the nightstand would hardly be surprising.

On the contrary, hiding it in a secret bathroom compartment, and even going so far as to stash it away quickly when Wang Changfa entered—without even letting him see—was clearly problematic.

“I must commend the detective’s insight!” Zhou Mei set down her cup gently. “There was indeed a genetic toxin inside—recently added to our police database, codename P39. This toxin is extremely bizarre, transmitted sexually, and most intriguingly, it infects women but not men...”

She stopped abruptly, for the two before her—Lin Xiaosu calmly sipping tea, Miao Ruolan quietly holding a book—showed no sign of surprise.

“You... you know about this toxin?”

Lin Xiaosu smiled. “You forgot to ask why my client hired me to investigate her.”

“Your client was poisoned?”

“Yes. She’s Wang Changfa’s legal wife. Not only was she infected, but she also has a family doctor. Her knowledge of the toxin likely rivals your department’s. Everything you just said—she already told us. All we needed was confirmation.”

“Well, you have it now! Her commission is fulfilled!” Miao Ruolan beamed with joy.

A commission of a hundred thousand yuan, completed in one night!

This single job paid more than the previous half month’s work combined!

Lin Xiaosu smiled as well. “Did that woman confess?”

“No,” Zhou Mei replied.

Miao Ruolan was surprised. “Caught red-handed, and she still denies it?”

“She admitted to the affair with Wang Changfa, of course, but as for the new toxin, she denies everything! She insists the bottle contains Oudu Aphrodisiac Oil, bought overseas, just for fun. She has the receipt, her purchase records match, and the agent in the South was also apprehended. All their stock of the oil was tested—no toxins found.”

“It’s precisely the receipt that’s suspicious,” Miao Ruolan interjected.

“Oh?” Zhou Mei watched her closely.

Miao Ruolan continued, “Normally, who would leave the receipt for such an embarrassing item in the nightstand, readily available? The fact she kept it there, ready to show at any moment—doesn’t that seem suspicious?”

Zhou Mei laughed. “Hmm, good point. Go on...”

“There’s only one possibility,” Miao Ruolan said. “She deliberately set up this overseas purchase as a cover, using it to smuggle in the toxin. She’s been prepared all along in case things went wrong.”

Zhou Mei nodded gently. “Not bad, you little amateur detective. Under Detective Lin’s guidance, you’re really coming along!”

Miao Ruolan glowed with pride. “If I can see it, you certainly can. No matter how she tries to deny it, justice will prevail in the end!”