Days after the murder took place, Jiang Ying embarked on a search for his wife and daughter, but to no avail. He began to suspect that Wu Dayong had something to do with it since both his wife and daughter were last seen at the latter’s house.

Thus, Wu Dayong decided to go all out and planned an ambush at Jiang Ying’s house. He then took the chance to slit Jiang Ying’s throat while he was sound asleep.

Afraid that he would arouse the suspicion of the police, he decided to chop off the heads of all three victims.

Afterwards, he abandoned the corpses in the house and cleaned up after the mess, making sure not to leave behind a single trace of evidence.

It happened to be the peak of summer where temperatures were at their warmest, the perfect condition for the decomposition of corpses.

Although the case was finally cracked only after eight years, Wu Dayong would still have to pay the price for the crime he had committed.

An Xiaoning decided to leave before the interrogation was over.

Just as she exited the room, she bumped into Pan Zhenghui, who said smilingly upon seeing her, “I knew we could count on you, Xiaoning. It’s time for you to shine and show your forte. Keep up the good work.”

“Like I always say, I’ll try my best.”

An Xiaoning then drove to meet Mei Yangyang for lunch. They sat down opposite each other while Mei Yangyang appeared to still be a little shaken from the events that took place that morning.

“Sis, was there really a spirit beside you earlier?’

With a nod, An Xiaoning answered, “It belonged to a five-year-old girl who died a tragic death. The case is finally closed now.”

She then took out some money from her wallet and handed it to Mei Yangyang. “Here’s the money for the items I got you to buy this morning.”

However, Mei Yangyang refused to accept the money and said instead, “Sis, keep it. It didn’t cost much. Let’s not be so calculative if you really see me as your sister.”

An Xiaoning put the money away and said smilingly, “Alright, this meal’s on me then.”

“Sis, how are your swimming lessons going?”

“I can practice on my own without a coach now. Swimming has become a piece of cake for me. Yangyang, shall we take up wrestling when we’re free?” said An Xiaoning with a smirk on her lips.

Mei Yangyang’s eyes lit up at her suggestion, to which she agreed instantly, “Sure! But it’s a difficult sport, isn’t it?”

“It is, but we can just take our time to get the hang of it. There’s no harm in possessing some martial arts skills anyway. I’ve decided to spend an hour each day learning wrestling, then train more when I have the time. The hours are going to add up, and we’ll definitely master it well in the long run. In this case, I shall sign up for both of us later.”

“Thanks, Sis. Why are you so different from other wives of rich men? I find that you’re really well rounded, and you always make it a point to live your life to the fullest,” Mei Yangyang said with a cheery smile.

“Everyone leads a different lifestyle. You’re pretty busy every day yourself too. Well, that’s life, you gotta make the most out of it.”

“Being friends with someone so outstanding like you has truly inspired me to live my life to the fullest too. I don’t ever want to return to the days where I just dragged my feet through life.”

Just as Mei Yangyang finished speaking, Long Tianze’s voice could be heard coming from outside the dining room as he swiftly walked past. She stood up and proceeded outside the room, only to see that he had entered another room.

“What’s the matter?” asked An Xiaoning.

“I just heard Long Tianze’s voice coming from outside. I went to have a look, and it turns out it was really him,” answered Mei Yangyang as she closed the door and returned to her seat.

“Have you two made any progress recently?”

“Actually, Sis, I don’t know why, but as much as I’d like to get together with him, I still feel a little worried. Although he mentioned that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that my family was poor, I reckon it’d definitely become an issue to his family. I like to think far ahead, though I’m still young,” Mei Yangyang explained with a sigh.

An Xiaoning looked at her solemnly and said, “Yangyang, don’t stress yourself out about things that have yet to happen. You’re only going to create unnecessary worries for yourself by overthinking matters.”

Mei Yangyang felt a sudden whim of confidence upon hearing her words. “Yeah, you’ve hit the nail on the head, Sis. That’s exactly what’s wrong with me. I guess I’ll worry about those matters in the future, when the time comes,” she said, feeling a little relieved.

“Dig in, quick. The food is getting cold.”

After they were done with the meal, Mei Yangyang proceeded to send Long Tianze a text message to ask about his whereabouts.

Long Tianze replied that he was having dinner with his family at a restaurant.

She did not continue to ask him about anything else.

An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang exited the room with the aprons in their hands, only to see Long Tianze coming out of another room with four middle-aged people and a gorgeous woman. Mei Yangyang stared wide-eyed at the sight before her as her jaw dropped in shock. Was it a matchmaking session? she wondered to herself.

Dumbfounded, she stood rooted to the ground.

An Xiaoning pulled her forward to greet Long Tianze, as well as the rest of the people he was with.

“Hi, Uncle and Auntie, you’re here for lunch too?”

“Hello, Xiaoning. Yes, we’re here for a matchmaking session for Tianze.”

An Xiaoning took a glimpse of Long Tianze and said calmly, “Oh, I see. We’re just about to go downstairs too.”

“Let’s go together.”

An Xiaoning turned around and began walking while Mei Yangyang followed closely beside her.

Long Tianze remained silent, looking at her from behind.

Mei Yangyang had gone outside the restaurant while An Xiaoning was still footing the bill.

By the time Long Tianze reached the entrance, Mei Yangyang was already nowhere in sight.

He then proceeded to give her a call, but she did not answer.

“Tianze, what are you doing? Go send Ms. Lin home,” Mrs. Long instructed softly as she approached him.

“Mother, I have something to attend to.”

“You still have to send her home, no matter how urgent it is. Hurry,” Mrs. Long urged him.

Not wanting to embarrass his mother in front of everyone, Long Tianze reluctantly proceeded to send Lin Mingxi home as instructed.

An Xiaoning got inside the car only to see that Mei Yangyang had teared up while seated in the backseat.

“It’s just a meeting arranged by their parents, they might not really get married. Just answer his call and agree to be his girlfriend, if he’s still wooing you,” said An Xiaoning.

“I’m not going to. It’s only been a few days and he’s already gone for a matchmaking session. So much for wanting to woo me,” Mei Yangyang answered, sounding a little disgruntled.

“Yangyang, do you fancy him? From the way I see it, you’ve definitely fallen for him. In that case, you should grab the opportunity while he’s still interested. Besides, you can still continue to know him better after you get into a relationship with him. As long as you know your boundaries, there isn’t much of a difference between just casually dating and being in a relationship. Moreover, that would make him off-limits to other women who may be interested in him, wouldn’t it?”

Mei Yangyang had an epiphanic moment as she found that her words had made quite a bit of sense.

“We’ll become a couple after getting into a relationship. What if he wants to get intimate…”

“Like I mentioned, just make your boundaries clear, such that you won’t get intimate with anyone whom you don’t understand well enough or isn’t willing to be responsible for his actions. You don’t have to know him inside out before deciding to be his girlfriend. Actually, if you think about it, wouldn’t you get to understand him better after you two had become closer when you’re in a relationship? To be honest, I think Long Tianze is a pretty good catch worth considering,” An Xiaoning said smilingly.

“I’ll decide after seeing his behavior,” said Mei Yangyang as she looked at the missed calls on her mobile phone.

“Okay. Where are you headed to? Home or somewhere else?”

“I guess I’ll go home.”

Long Tianze arrived at Mei Yangyang’s doorstep soon after An Xiaoning had dropped her off.

After parking his car at the side, he proceeded to call her multiple times, yet she still refused to answer. He had gotten so anxious that he felt a sudden urge to climb over the wall and into her home.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, for his tight-fitted suit began to rip apart at the instant that he tried to climb over with all his might.

It left him dejected and forlorn.

However, he had fortunately managed to land in the backyard without causing too much of a commotion.

Mr. Mei was accompanying his wife in the bedroom, with the door closed shut. As soon as Long Tianze entered the house, he quickly proceeded to the other rooms upon hearing Mr. and Mrs. Mei’s conversation.

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