In the following period, Jiang Hezhou became busy once again.
Although the case had gained a breakthrough with the false eyewitness, the subsequent leads had gone cold again, so the bureau was still at a loss for direction. Everyone continued working hard from morning till night.
Still, no matter how busy Jiang Hezhou was, he always made time to have at least one meal with Chu Luyu. When he truly couldn’t make it, he’d call her in advance and ask a colleague to pick her up so she could stay with him at the bureau’s dormitory.
Chu Luyu felt that the male lead was a bit too clingy—it struck her as odd. But the system kept pointing to the disgust value above his head.
It said that his disgust value had been stuck at a high level for a long time with no sign of dropping, which meant he was still annoyed by her deep down. The reason he squeezed out time to be with her was most likely due to his damned sense of responsibility.
System Cuihua: [He thinks you two are going to get married no matter what. Following his earlier line of thinking, he just wants to spend more time with you before the wedding. That’s actually normal! The male lead is the type to think things through more thoroughly.]
After being persuaded like this twice, Chu Luyu stopped overthinking it.
The days passed quietly. Before she knew it, November was already half over, and there was less than a month left until the plot point where the male lead would break off the engagement with the female supporting character.
·
On the day of Lidong (Start of Winter), Chu Luyu was called back to the Chen family home by her mother for dumplings.
A couple of days earlier, Jiang Hezhou had been sent out of town on a business trip by his team, and he’d been away from Jingzhou for two consecutive days. Although they called and texted every day, they hadn’t seen each other in person.
After class, Chu Luyu headed straight to the Chen residence. On the way, she sent Jiang Hezhou a message.
[I’m not coming back to the apartment tonight. Mom called me home for Lidong dumplings. Dinner will probably run late, so I’m planning to stay over there.]
Jiang Hezhou had once told her that they needed to keep each other updated on their whereabouts every day. Though she didn’t see the point, seeing how seriously he reported his own activities and whereabouts every day made her feel obligated to reciprocate.
Over time, it had become a habit.
She arrived at the Chen house around five in the evening. The whole family was there today—even Chen Huanian and Chen Zhou, who were usually busy, had both made it home.
“We’ve been waiting for you.” Chu Yinyin came forward to take her daughter’s bag and coat, her eyes full of affection. “Today we made your favorites—coriander and fennel dumplings. While we waited, your little brother peeled a bunch of shrimp for you. Go wash your hands—dinner’s ready!”
Ever since the old couple had reconciled thanks to Chu Luyu, the atmosphere in the Chen household had gotten better day by day. Wearing the original host’s skin without the original host’s troublesome behavior, family relations were now unusually harmonious.
After washing her hands, Chu Luyu made her way to the dining room. From a distance, she could smell the fragrant steam of freshly boiled dumplings mingled with warm moisture in the air.
Chen Mian proudly set a plate of peeled shrimp in front of Chu Luyu’s seat, his handsome young face practically shouting “Praise me, praise me!” She couldn’t help but smile and popped a shrimp into her mouth.
“Sure enough, shrimp peeled by my little brother taste two hundred times better than usual.”
Chen Mian finally felt satisfied, putting on a smug look. “See? Even if your fiancé isn’t here, your plate can still be full of shrimp! When you call him later, tell him to stop worrying about you so much. He’s only been away on a business trip, but he called Mom and me ahead of time to make sure we take good care of you. He gave us such detailed instructions—how you never touch shrimp with shells, how your milk has to be warmed with 36-degree water, how your after-meal fruit should be pineapple and cherry tomatoes… I’m seriously done!”
Chu Luyu choked for a second and glanced toward Chu Yinyin. “Jiang Hezhou called you guys?”
Chu Yinyin smiled warmly, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes. “Yes, Hezhou knew you were coming today. Before you arrived, he called us—first to explain that he was on a business trip and couldn’t accompany you, and second to ask us to take good care of you. He also talked to your brother afterward and gave him some specific instructions.”
Then, her smile growing wider, she added, “I can tell you two have been getting along really well these past few months. He seems to have genuinely fallen for you—he’s so attentive in every way.”
Chu Luyu thought to herself—if only they could see the disgust value hanging over his head every day. His attentiveness was purely out of a man’s sense of responsibility toward his fiancée. But of course, she couldn’t say that to her family.
So she simply nodded along and smiled. “Yeah, he really is good to me.”
Chen Zhou, who had been quietly listening all along, suddenly spoke up.
He still wore his usual gentle, refined expression, his smile warm.
“I heard those serial homicide cases in Jingzhou still haven’t made much headway. Is his business trip related to that?”
Chu Luyu didn’t think much of it and answered casually: “Probably. I didn’t ask.”
Chen Zhou continued: “He’s out at crime scenes doing forensic work with the team all day—that must be pretty dangerous, right? I once heard about a forensic pathologist who was targeted by the killer of a homicide case. Before the killer was caught, he tracked down the pathologist’s home, stabbed him to death, and didn’t even spare his wife. The methods were brutal.”
Chu Yinyin’s face paled. Beside her, Chen Huanian’s expression also darkened.
“Is that information verified? Is it just something you heard, or is it a confirmed real case?” Chen Huanian asked.
Chen Zhou smiled. “Dad, I’m a lawyer. I wouldn’t believe unsubstantiated rumors, let alone bring them up. If you don’t believe me, when I have time later, I’ll have someone pull the case file and bring it back for you to see.”
Chu Yinyin’s face grew even more fearful at that. Chen Mian also looked a bit worried and said, “I used to think only narcotics officers and criminal police had dangerous jobs. Who knew forensic pathologists could be in that much danger too?”
“Exactly, exactly. I’d never heard of such a thing before. I thought forensic pathologists just dealt with dead bodies all day—how could they get targeted for revenge too?”
Chu Luyu finally sensed something off. She looked over at Chen Zhou.
Her stepbrother still wore that refined, gentle expression, as if he were just casually chatting about gossip.
But Chu Luyu felt something was strange.
She asked the system: [Cuihua, why do I feel like he said all that on purpose? But why would he bring up how dangerous the male lead’s job is?]
System Cuihua: [In the original host’s world, this stepbrother was actually quite good to her. Before you came, he often sent her money to spend. When others looked down on her, he was always comforting. He probably doesn’t have any ill intentions—he genuinely sees you as family. He must have recalled a case he’d encountered before and mentioned it out of fear that you might face danger in the future.]
Chu Luyu thought Cuihua made sense, but she still felt something was off.
Still, it didn’t matter much—she didn’t have a deep relationship with this stepbrother anyway. What he thought wasn’t that important to her.
She paused and spoke up to defend Jiang Hezhou: “Forensic pathologists do need to go to crime scenes and do trace analysis. Sometimes they might even encounter killers returning to the scene. But those are just probability issues—not every forensic pathologist gets deliberately targeted for revenge. Besides, as long as you’re alive, there’s always a chance of danger—it has nothing to do with profession. For example, a delivery rider could get hit by a car. A CEO doing grassroots inspections could get hit by falling debris from above. Even I—just a couple days ago, a little kid in my art class accidentally almost cut my wrist with a paper cutter! So there’s no need to worry about that. I don’t see anything wrong with Jiang Hezhou’s profession.”
Chen Zhou glanced at her, his smile deepening. “He’s also a forensic medicine professor, isn’t he? That job is already quite respectable.”
As if reminded of something, Chu Yinyin quickly nodded in agreement. “That’s right, that’s right—Hezhou is also a professor at the university! That job shouldn’t be dangerous, right? His family is well-off too. If you two really get married and start your own little family, it’d be better to minimize any risk.”
Chu Luyu paused, then said, “Mom, are you suggesting he quit his forensic pathologist job after we get married? But why? Why should he quit because of me?”
Chen Zhou’s voice drifted over lightly with a smile: “If he truly loves you, he’ll definitely make compromises and changes for you. If he doesn’t—”
Though he didn’t finish the sentence, the implication was clear.
“That seems a bit too absolute.” Seeing Chu Yinyin’s expression shift repeatedly, Chu Luyu didn’t want to keep arguing about this. She quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, today is Lidong—we haven’t even had a bite of dumplings yet! Let’s not talk about other things. Hurry up, let’s eat!”
Everyone could tell she didn’t want to continue the conversation, so they went along with her.
Still, Chu Yinyin’s mood wasn’t as good as it had been at the start of the meal. She ate distractedly throughout.
After dinner, when Chu Luyu went upstairs, she ran into Chen Zhou again in the second-floor hallway.
He was leaning against the railing, smoking. She greeted him politely as she passed and was about to head straight to her room when Chen Zhou suddenly spoke up behind her.
“You seem very protective of that second young master of the Jiang family. Looks like you two really have gotten along well these past few months.”
Chu Luyu instinctively frowned. She turned to face him, forcing a barely tolerant smile. “He’s been good to me, so naturally I want to be good to him too.”
In that moment, Chen Zhou’s gaze suddenly grew distant, as if he was looking through her at something else. After a long pause, he smiled again, as usual.
“But are you sure he’ll be good to you forever? What if he changes later? Or what if he’s just pretending now?”
Hearing this, Chu Luyu didn’t know why but she felt angry.
Since she’d transmigrated here, she’d never once doubted the male lead’s character. In her heart, he was a thoroughly good person with high morals and values.
Even when he later broke off the engagement with the female supporting character, he always handled it with dignity and never made things difficult for her.
Hearing someone speak ill of the male lead with such negative assumptions made her genuinely upset.
“Brother, no matter what, Jiang Hezhou is my chosen future partner at this stage. Regardless of how things end between us, I trust his character. His kindness toward me is real—there’s nothing fake about it. It can’t possibly be an act. So please don’t say things like that anymore.”
As she spoke, her expression was resolute and serious. Her pretty face was full of stubborn determination. Though her bright eyes were looking at him, the emotion in them was stern.
Chen Zhou was silent for a long while, then finally smiled again. “Alright, I understand. Your big brother said something he shouldn’t have today. It won’t happen again.”
Back in her room, Chu Luyu was still a bit upset.
She said to the system: [This stepbrother of mine is definitely a bit off. He doesn’t even know the male lead that well—why is he talking behind his back like that?]
System Cuihua: [Men understand men. Maybe he just wanted to give you a heads-up.]
Chu Luyu: [Even so, I still think he shouldn’t talk about people behind their backs. So annoying!]
Just then, her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw it was Jiang Hezhou’s routine evening call.
Still feeling unsettled, she answered with a slightly stiff tone: “Hello.”
The person on the other end paused for a moment, then asked: “What’s wrong?”
His voice, transmitted through the signal, carried more magnetism and sensuality than usual. It sounded like he was outside—she could hear the wind in the background.
Chu Luyu didn’t want to talk about other things with him, so she said: “Nothing’s wrong. I just finished Lidong dumplings and I’m a bit too full—it’s uncomfortable.”
“Usually when you eat too much, your voice gets all soft and clingy—not at all like just now.” Jiang Hezhou’s tone on the other end was certain. “You’re angry.”
The system let out a “holy shit” above her head: [This male lead really is a forensic pathologist! His observation skills are insane! You just said one ‘hello’ and he could tell you were upset!]
Chu Luyu was also surprised. She hadn’t expected the male lead to know her that well.
“I’m not angry. I just had a few words with family—differing opinions, that’s all.” Afraid he’d keep pressing and make things harder to explain later, she proactively changed the subject. “Today is Lidong—did you have dumplings?”
“No, everyone’s been busy. But we agreed that once we’re back in Jingzhou, we’ll make up for this Lidong dumpling meal together.”
Chu Luyu could hear the faint weariness in his voice and immediately thought of the serial homicide case he was still working on.
She asked him: “You’re that busy—has there been any progress on the case?”
“We’ve gotten some new leads, but the direction of the investigation isn’t very clear yet.”
So basically still no progress? New leads… might just be smoke bombs set by the original plot.
Chu Luyu felt a bit disappointed. She paused and asked the system in her mind: [Cuihua, even though there was already that deviation with the false witness, why does it still feel like this plotline shows no sign of changing its outcome or direction…]
System Cuihua: [What do you expect? In this world, the plot setting is like a god. It dictates the characters’ lives and fates. How could it change that easily? That small deviation before was probably just a minor bug that slipped through the cracks—or maybe a setting from the writer’s old scrapped drafts that somehow got mixed into this world’s storyline.]
Hearing that, she let out an unconscious sigh.
The person on the other end heard it immediately and asked: “What’s wrong?”
“Huh?” Chu Luyu realized her emotions had been detected again. Thinking fast, she used a flirty, coaxing tone to brush it off: “Nothing, I just miss you a little. But hearing that the case still has no progress, and knowing you can’t come back right away—I’m just a bit disappointed.”
Jiang Hezhou was silent for a moment on the other end, then simply replied with an inexplicable “I understand.” They exchanged a few more words before the call ended.
Chu Luyu didn’t think much of it. After chatting with the system for a bit, she went to take a shower and get ready for bed.
In the middle of the night, while she was in a daze, her phone suddenly rang out of nowhere.
At first, she thought she was dreaming. She turned over and buried her head under the pillow, but the ringing kept going, relentless.
Even the system was woken up, yelling at her to answer the phone.
With no choice, Chu Luyu groggily fumbled for her phone and brought it to her ear—
“Hello.”
Her voice was soft, still carrying a sleepy, childish tone. The person on the other end clearly paused for a moment, then spoke after two or three seconds.
“Coming downstairs?”
Chu Luyu instantly recognized Jiang Hezhou’s voice.
She was startled, all traces of drowsiness vanishing in an instant. She held the phone in front of her eyes to double-check the caller ID—it was indeed Jiang Hezhou.
She threw off the covers and rushed to the window—
On the small road outside the Chen family villa, a black G-Wagon was parked with its headlights on.
The night was deep and heavy, and the blinding lights cut a bright path through the darkness ahead. The surrounding endless black was given a faint glow by that strip of light.
The man stood beside the car, the hem of his camel-colored coat reaching just above his knees, layered over a white high-neck sweater. At a glance, his figure was striking and upright.
Chu Luyu’s heart pounded uncontrollably. She tightened her grip on the phone, looking down at him as she asked: “Why are you suddenly back at this hour?”
As if sensing something, the man slowly lifted his head after hearing her words, looking up at the second floor of the villa.
Their gazes met in midair, and she heard him say from below: “Didn’t you say you missed me?”
His deep, magnetic voice, carried through the receiver with the faint buzz of the signal, came through soft and electric—
“You missed me, so I came back.”
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