Chapter 328: I Obey

Two days without going home and with only a few hours of sleep, Xiao Yu couldn’t take it anymore.

The case would have to wait. Right now, he needed sleep. Dragging his exhausted body through the door, he stepped into his home.

Everyone has that one place—a space filled with warmth, with family.

Home. A harbor for the soul. A resting stop in life. A sanctuary of emotions. A place where everything continues.

As Mu Qingwu helped him out of his coat, her slightly rounded belly made the movement slower. She handed him a pair of slippers, her face soft and gentle.

Xiao Yu looked at that familiar, beautiful face. And just like that, all his exhaustion melted away.

He pulled his wife gently into his arms. “I missed you.”

“Oh?” Mu Qingwu blinked her soft, liquid eyes, leaning against him. “How much?”

“Hmm…” Xiao Yu grinned. “So much that I just want to hang on you like a cool, stylish accessory.”

“Hah!” Mu Qingwu burst out laughing. “So… a little monkey accessory?”

“Exactly.” Swaying slightly, holding her close like a slow dance, Xiao Yu murmured, “I hope my sister will give me a daughter just as beautiful as her before I turn twenty-four.”

“Ah?” Mu Qingwu shot him a sideways glance, startled. “And what if this one’s a boy?”

“Look at that, you didn’t reject the idea. That means you agree,” Xiao Yu teased, grinning. “I’m only twenty-two. Even if this one’s a boy, we still have time for a daughter, don’t we?”

“Shameless.”

Mu Qingwu loved sweet words, and her heart melted at his.

“Who needs shame when having kids?” Xiao Yu looked utterly serious. “Sometimes, you just have to accept that being shameless makes life easier.”

“You really don’t feel bad for me at all.” Mu Qingwu lifted her lips into a teasing smile. “Am I just here to give you children?”

“Of course not.” Xiao Yu lowered his head, gazing into her eyes. “You’re the rose I found in a garbage heap.”

This world was filthy, like a massive landfill. And yet, in the midst of all that filth, a single, delicate rose bloomed.

“And what about you?” Mu Qingwu chuckled. “Are you enchanted by the rose?”

Another woman might have been offended. Comparing her to a garbage dump? But Mu Qingwu wasn’t just any woman. She understood her brother’s words instantly.

“Mhmm.” Xiao Yu nodded seriously, brushing his cheek against hers. “Just like how tonight’s romance comes from the rose.”

His wife was that rose.

---

After a warm and peaceful dinner, the newlyweds lounged together in the living room.

“Sis, can I smoke?”

Lying with his head in her lap, ear pressed gently against her belly, Xiao Yu looked up at her, his eyes full of pleading innocence. “For the baby’s sake?”

“No.” Mu Qingwu chuckled, ruffling his hair.

“But my colleagues all smoke, and their wives don’t mind.” Xiao Yu sighed, looking utterly betrayed. “Why can’t I?”

“They don’t listen.” Mu Qingwu ran her fingers over his smooth, handsome face and spoke softly, “Do you?”

“…”

Xiao Yu exhaled, defeated. “I listen.”

“Good boy.” Mu Qingwu’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled. “Time for bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Xiao Yu got up, taking her hand as they walked toward the bedroom.

Mu Qingwu followed beside him, looking every bit like a content little wife.

It was almost a year of marriage now.

‘My little brother cooks delicious meals and even helps with household chores. In the future, he’ll surely be a great father, right? And he’s very obedient too.’

---

Morning light streamed into the bedroom, casting a soft glow across the room.

Xiao Yu opened his eyes, leaned down, and placed a gentle kiss on his wife sleeping soundly in his arms before quietly getting up.

After washing up, he lay down again, resting his ear against Mu Qingwu’s belly for a moment, listening. He grinned wide, his teeth flashing. He then left the room, clearly in high spirits.

In the living room, Bai Ting looked up as he descended the stairs.

“Eat something before you go.”

“No time, the case is urgent.” Xiao Yu shook his head, glancing at Bai Ting. “I’ll have to trouble you, Sister Bai.”

“Trouble?” Bai Ting chuckled. “Protecting your wife is my job.”

“Job?” A flicker of amusement crossed Xiao Yu’s eyes. He smirked. “Then I should probably thank the big boss, huh? My very own bodyguard, Comrade Bai Ting?”

“Hah!” Bai Ting let out a rare laugh. “At least you know.”

Xiao Yu waved a hand and stepped out the door.

Watching his retreating figure, Bai Ting sighed with a wry smile. “What a terrifyingly sharp guy”

---

The red-flagged police car sped through the streets, arriving at the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

“How’s the progress—uh?” Xiao Yu stepped into the meeting room and frowned. The air was thick with smoke, and his colleagues all looked exhausted. “Didn’t I tell you all to go home and get some proper rest last night?”

Bloodshot eyes turned toward him, accompanied by weary yet amused smiles. Even He Li hadn’t gone home. She was still flipping through a case file, looking downright enthusiastic.

Xiao Yu sighed, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “You guys keep working like this, and I’m starting to feel guilty.”

Everyone else had pulled an all-nighter, while he’d gone home and slept.

How was that fair?

He knew, of course, that it was because of Mu Qingwu’s pregnancy that everyone was cutting him some slack.

“Cut the crap.” instructor Zhou Tinghu snorted. “Just get us a box of special-supply cigarettes and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal.” Xiao Yu nodded without hesitation.

With that, the meeting officially began.

New findings had come in. Just as Xiao Yu had predicted.

The perpetrator wasn’t necessarily a man, it could very well be a woman.

Was it weird?

This world was full of bizarre cases.

Xiao Yu had encountered plenty in both his lifetimes. And every single time, when he finally uncovered the truth, it felt like being force-fed a pile of crap.

Utterly disgusting.

“First, let’s talk about the woman in red from the video.”

Xiao Yu switched on the projector, pointing at the screen where the red-clad figure stood, then at the middle-aged man she had brutally murdered.

“This guy might not be the same perpetrator responsible for the three cases five years ago.”

The victim: Li Shuangcheng, male, 43 years old. Reported missing three years ago. He had also been a suspect in this case.

Right now, He Li and the forensic team were already at the victim’s residence, conducting a thorough investigation.

Three years had passed—could they still find evidence?

Yes.

With modern forensic methods, as long as there were traces left behind, investigators could uncover evidence of a crime in countless ways.

For example, He Li had found traces of human remains in the sewage system, proving that after Li Shuangcheng was murdered and dismembered, his body parts had indeed been flushed down the toilet and into the apartment complex’s septic tank.

“So, what’s next?” Zhao Changshan turned to Xiao Yu, voicing the question on everyone’s mind.

“Simple.”

Xiao Yu switched the projector to a new slide, showing the three locations where the victims had gone missing five years ago. He pointed at the images, his voice turning cold.

“If we can figure out how the perpetrator managed to abduct these three victims without leaving a trace, we’ll definitely uncover crucial evidence.”

And once they had that evidence, they’d follow the trail straight to the real killer.