"I find it very strange," Ling Shu said, sitting in the chair opposite Yue Dingtang.

He crossed his legs, tapping his shoe tips and twirling a pen in his hand.

The pen spun and danced between his fingers like a little girl in ballet shoes.

Suddenly, the "little girl" slipped and flew out from under Ling Shu's fingers.

He bent down to pick it up and continued twirling it.

This happened several times.

The sound of the pen hitting the ground was impossible to ignore.

Yue Dingtang couldn't take it anymore.

"Let's get down to business," he said, exasperated.

Ling Shu looked innocent. "I was just waiting for you to finish writing," he said.

The two men stared at each other for a moment, and Yue Dingtang lost his temper, putting down his pen. 

He didn't actually have anything important to do, but he was annoyed when he saw Ling Shu running so fast and disappearing in the blink of an eye without even putting on his coat and hat. 

When Ling Shu returned, he kept sneezing and looked like he was about to get sick. 

Yue Dingtang was not happy about it, so he decided to ignore him and focus on his work, even when Ling Shu kept talking non-stop.

It was like one thing led to another.

Yue Dingtang wondered if he had made a mistake by expressing his feelings first. 

Now, he seemed to care more about Ling Shu's health than Ling Shu himself. Ling Shu was so carefree and didn't seem to care about his own life.

"What's so strange?" Yue Dingtang asked, and Ling Shu immediately perked up.

He pointed his finger. "Firstly, Mrs. Sun lived in a small Western-style house. She claimed to be a widow and had originally come from a family of small landowners in the countryside. Her husband had died early, and with no parents or relatives to turn to, she sold her assets and settled in this small Western-style house in Shanghai. She felt that the concession was safer than other places, at least her neighbors were all foreigners, and no one dared to trouble a widow and orphan like her."

After pondering for a moment, Yue Dingtang replied, "That sounds reasonable. Is there any problem with that?" 

Ling Shu clicked his tongue twice and said, "That's why I say, Old Yue, you're good at studying, but you don't pay attention to details like I do. Let me ask you, how does the wife of a small rural landlord, who never leaves her house, know to buy a house in the concession? She hasn't studied or attended school, and her clothes are all traditional and old-fashioned, with no Western imports in her accessories. Logically, since she's so traditional, even if she didn't replace everything left by the previous owner of the house, she would at least replace some of the furnishings. But she didn't. All the furniture and decorations in the living room are Western-style, with not a single piece of Chinese furniture. Don't you find that strange?"

Yue Dingtang crossed his hands and finally became serious, adopting a posture of listening attentively. 

"Perhaps she is a shrewd and thrifty person. Instead of spending money to buy new things that are a mishmash of Chinese and Western styles, it's better to keep everything as it is."

Ling Shu raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, let's skip this topic for now. When I first visited her, Mrs. Sun was very nervous. She clutched her skirt with both hands and avoided eye contact. At first, I didn't reveal my identity and only said I was a police officer. She didn't suspect anything, which means she didn't know that Zhou Sa was my brother-in-law. So her nervousness was unreasonable. But when I told her about my relationship with Zhou Sa, guess how she reacted? 

"She seemed relieved instead and started to open up to me. She said that there was nothing between her and Zhou Sa, they were just acquaintances because he helped her find her lost son. She was grateful to him and would never have any improper thoughts about him. She even asked me to go back and advise my sister to be more obedient to her husband, saying that even the most honest man would get annoyed if they argued too much."

Yue Dingtang pondered for a moment and said, "So she's quite eloquent with her words." 

Ling Shu slapped his thigh. "Think about it, a woman who can speak so well and move from the countryside to settle in the concession, can she be introverted? Since she's not introverted and values tradition, why wouldn't she change any of the Western decorations in her house? And why was she nervous at first but relaxed when she found out my purpose? Could it be that she's done something shady?"

Yue Dingtang replied, "These are just your speculations."

Ling Shu said, "There are too many doubts. Speculations can become reality. I think there must be something strange about Mrs. Sun's background, but I just haven't found out yet--"

Before he could finish his sentence, he sneezed several times in a row, feeling a bit confused and almost unable to continue his train of thought.

"I haven't found any more clues yet!" he finished hastily.

Yue Dingtang frowned and got up to pour a cup of warm water, which he handed to Ling Shu. Ling Shu reluctantly took a sip of water and put the cup aside.

Yue Dingtang said, "Finish your water before you speak."

Ling Shu waved his hand dismissively, "I don't like drinking plain water. If you have alcohol, I wouldn't mind sharing a bottle with you in broad daylight!"

Yue Dingtang remained silent.

"Ling Shu," he said with a slight frown, "Your body seems fine now, but that's only because you're young. It's hard to say what will happen in a few years. I just hope that in the next ten or twenty years, we can still sit here and chat. Is it really that difficult for you to drink a glass of water?"

If Yue Dingtang had spoken harshly, Ling Shu would have ignored him. 

But now, with his gentle tone and kind words, Ling Shu found it impossible to refuse. 

Whenever he tried to say something tough, he would meet Yue Dingtang's gaze and become speechless. 

He grabbed the glass and drank it all in one go, coughing and choking from the scalding heat, but at least it covered up the burning sensation in his neck and ears.

It was just a matter of saving face, pretending to be tough when really he was soft-hearted.

Yue Dingtang sneered inwardly, thinking to himself, 'I'll teach you a lesson.'

Ling Shu was good at flirting with young girls, but not so good at being flirted with in return.

Once the tables were turned, he was helpless.

Making an excuse to leave early, he thought about how to regain his dignity in front of Yue Dingtang, and absentmindedly walked home from the police station, only to unexpectedly run into his brother-in-law, Zhou Sa.

Zhou Sa was also walking, without hiring a taxi, and seemed to be in a hurry, as if he was chasing after something.

This wasn't the usual route Ling Shu took home from work.

Curiosity piqued, he naturally followed behind to find out the answer. Putting aside the issue of the widow Mrs. Sun, it was time to resolve the conflict between his brother-in-law and sister.

There were still many people on the road, but Ling Shu didn't dare to get too close. He kept a distance, making sure that the other party never completely disappeared from his sight.

Zhou Sa seemed to have not noticed that he was being followed, but his footsteps became faster and his path more erratic.

Ling Shu's curiosity grew stronger and stronger. He had countless strange thoughts in his mind, including but not limited to Zhou Sa having a secret lover, hiding wealth, and even having an unknown hidden identity and mission.

After all, in this chaotic world, various demons and monsters were not uncommon. 

If someone suddenly told him that his brother-in-law had a twisted and bizarre background, Ling Shu didn't think he would be surprised at all. 

But little did he expect that after chasing Zhou Sa for almost half an hour, he would witness a heartwarming scene between him and a dog.