Chapter 41

Chapter 41

It seemed his initial hunch hadn’t been entirely wrong. There might indeed be a connection between the deaths of Gu Zhishu and Wen Miao-he just hadn’t found it yet.

That made investigating Gu Zhishu’s death absolutely necessary.

And if he could get Xiao Shu’s phone and have Wen Xin crack Xiao Shu’s account, he could also find out whether Gu Zhishu had been in contact with Xu Lei while he was still alive.

“Are you sure Xiao Shu’s phone is still with the Gu Family?”

“I’m sure.” Nan Mu reached out, took the coat hanging by the bed, and slipped it on as he spoke. “I’ve been to the Gu Family’s place before. Gu Zhishu’s younger brother, Gu Zhiyu, said his brother left the phone on his hospital bed before he went missing… Back then, the Gu Family checked the hospital’s surveillance and confirmed Gu Zhishu deliberately set the phone on the bedside table, then left the hospital by himself. That’s why, at first, the Gu Family was convinced he left because he couldn’t endure the torment of his illness anymore.”

These days, what young person doesn’t bring their phone even when they go to the bathroom? If Gu Zhishu hadn’t already given up on living, how could he have gone out without taking his phone?

“But before we go, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

Nan Mu’s expression abruptly turned solemn, completely different from just now. A surge of unease rose in Wen Miao. “What is it?”

“When you were little, were you and Gu Zhishu both adopted by the Gu Family at one point?”

Wen Miao was surprised. She hadn’t expected Nan Mu to know about that, much less ask it outright. But it had been so long that it wasn’t something she couldn’t talk about.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“The police found it during their investigation…” Nan Mu answered vaguely, not daring to say it was because he’d been looking into the cause of her death.

Wen Miao raised an eyebrow. “So the whole thing with Xiao Shu really did blow up later on…”

They’d even traced it back to her. No wonder Nan Mu had come looking for her after he returned… Was he suspecting her?

The more she thought, the heavier her expression became. Nan Mu could tell at a glance that she’d misunderstood and hurried to explain, “I’m not suspecting you. I’m just curious…”

It was hard to tell whether Wen Miao believed him, but at least she stopped looking at him with that blatant you’re actually suspecting me stare. Slowly, she began to talk about what happened back then with the Gu Family.

“When we were little, Xiao Shu and I were pretty close… I went to the Orphanage when I was five… Well, five was what the Orphanage determined from testing our bone age. To be honest, I’m not even sure how old I really was that year, and I can’t remember anything about what my life was like before the Orphanage.”

“It was probably when I was six that the Gu Family came to the Orphanage to adopt a child. I heard Professor Gu’s wife had some kind of polycystic issue-anyway, it was hard for her to get pregnant. They’d been married for over ten years, I think, and still didn’t have children, so they wanted to adopt.”

“Actually, the first one they set their sights on was Wen Xin. Wen Xin was small as a kid. We were the same age, but he looked especially tiny… Couples who came to adopt back then seemed to prefer kids who were younger and healthy. Wen Xin had a condition, though: he wanted to bring Wen Tangtang with him, otherwise he wouldn’t go.”

Wen Miao couldn’t help laughing. “Wen Tangtang has been glued to Wen Xin since they were little. She was sickly, and Wen Xin, because he was small, was always getting picked on. The two of them clung together for warmth, and before long it was like neither could be without the other. But at the time Wen Tangtang was sick, her little face all yellow and drawn. Professor Gu was worried, which is only natural. Even if you’re adopting a pet, you’d check its health and pick a healthy one before you’d dare to raise it, right?”

Wen Miao said it lightly, as if it were nothing, but Nan Mu’s chest tightened as he listened.

“In the end, they chose Xiao Shu. But I don’t know if Wen Xin’s demand made them consider adopting a daughter too, or what-either way, I went along with Xiao Shu in the end. Both of the Gu couple were university teachers; their income and benefits were good. That period at their home was honestly the best time in my life… Madam Gu liked me a lot and bought me plenty of pretty clothes… Oh, you might not really know what life in an Orphanage is like. The Orphanage often ran short on funds. There’s nothing to be done-too many children, and the food that made it to us was never much, let alone clothes. Most of the time it was just hand-me-downs from older kids to younger ones. When clothes were too torn to wear, they’d even be ripped into cloth scraps and made into blankets to swaddle the babies.”
Wen Miao signed to Nan Mu with a smile, but through that smile, he could see the longing deep in her eyes. No matter how indifferent she acted, how could a child deprived of affection not long for parents and their love?

“When I was about eight, Madam Gu got pregnant, and the whole family was overjoyed. But then the problems started. Professor Gu and his wife were both faculty members; raising two children had already exhausted all their energy. With a baby on the way, Madam Gu suddenly found herself stretched too thin to care for everyone. Although Old Lady Gu came to help, Madam Gu was an older mother and was ordered to stay on bed rest to protect the pregnancy. The old lady went to the hospital to look after her, leaving Xiao Shu and me practically fending for ourselves. Professor Gu taught during the day and came back to take care of us at night, but sometimes he’d get caught up in research conferences and wouldn’t remember that Xiao Shu and I had been hungry all day until he walked through the door.”

“Things went on in that chaotic way for about three or four months. One night, Professor Gu was working overtime again, and Xiao Shu and I were so hungry we couldn’t stand it. I thought I’d try to cook something myself. An eight-year-old isn’t even as tall as the stove, so I dragged over a small stool and stood on it to boil some noodles… I thought it would be simple. I’d seen how Madam Gu did it back when she was home. You just add water, put the noodles in, and boil them until they’re done.”

“I found the noodles and boiled the water, but when I tried to scoop them out, the ladle was too long. I tried several times but couldn’t get the noodles out. Xiao Shu brought a stool over to help me… The scene was a bit of a mess. We were both flustered, and somehow, the pot accidentally tipped over. The boiling water splashed all over Xiao Shu…”

“When Professor Gu returned later, he rushed Xiao Shu to the hospital. The family was already constantly arguing over the burden of childcare, and after such a major safety incident, the conflict became even more heated. Several times, I overheard Old Lady Gu telling Professor Gu that if they couldn’t handle it, they should send me back-after all, they had their own biological son now. At first, they seemed to hesitate. Later, perhaps because they realized they truly didn’t have the energy, or for some other reason, they said they would only send one of us back. But after two years, you’d even have feelings for a dog…”

“So, you decided to go back on your own?”

Nan Mu felt that Wen Miao wasn’t the type to wait for someone to send her away. Moreover, since Xiao Shu had been burned, she must have felt it was her fault. To avoid making things difficult for them, she had chosen to leave.

This was likely why, when the Orphanage Director called Professor Gu to inquire, he had hesitated for a long time before replying that, due to certain circumstances, they could only adopt Xiao Shu.

“Yes.”

“Did you stay in touch after that?”

“No. Seeing them… would be awkward.” Wen Miao smiled and glanced out the window, blinking. Before Nan Mu could think of something to say to break the heavy silence, she spoke up first. “By the way. Since you’ve been to the Gu Family home, didn’t you investigate Xiao Shu’s communication records?”

“When we went to the Gu Family, ten years had already passed. Perhaps because they had tidied up the room or for some other reason, they couldn’t find Gu Zhishu’s phone no matter how hard they looked. But Gu Zhiyu mentioned that after Gu Zhishu went missing-sometime on a night in June or July-he heard Gu Zhishu’s phone ring. He ran to answer it and asked if it was his brother, but for some reason, as soon as the person on the other end heard Gu Zhiyu’s voice, they hung up without saying a word.”

“Who was the caller?”

“We don’t know. It was reported to the Police Station later, but the number was unregistered, so the user couldn’t be traced. But Gu Zhiyu said…” At this point, Nan Mu hesitated.

“What did he say?”

“He said he felt certain the person on the other end was his brother.”