Chapter 76: Couple Butchers: Corruption
Chapter 76
Mu Mian looked at her sincerely, "Auntie, if I try hard, will you let me marry Fang Rui?"
"Of course not!"
Mu Mian blinked, "Then I won't try. You won't agree anyway. Trying is exhausting."
Mrs. Lu realized she had underestimated Mu Mian. She didn't seem very smart, but her mind worked quite fast.
"Mu Mian, I won't beat around the bush with you. Name your price. How much money will it take for you to leave my son?"
Mu Mian found her question strange and reminded her, "Auntie, have you forgotten? I have a lot of money myself. I don't need money from others."
"..."
"Auntie, I can leave your son. But can you agree to one condition for me?" Mu Mian looked at her with bright eyes.
"What condition?" Lu Jianhua asked and immediately regretted it, wondering how Mu Mian had turned the tables on her.
"After Fang Rui dies, will you give me his remains? If so, I promise to leave him and never date him again." Mu Mian looked at her cautiously, "Can you agree to this condition?"
Fang Rui's mother had the right to dispose of his remains, so as long as his mother agreed, she could still get Fang Rui's body. Even if Fang Rui married someone else, she could still obtain it. Chen Xue had said that a daughter-in-law could never defeat a mother-in-law.
"You only want his remains, that's enough?"
"Yes. You won't agree to anything else."
"...Do you love him that much?" Lu Jianhua looked at Mu Mian in shock. Goodness, this young girl was completely love-brained! Unable to have her son in life, she wanted to possess his remains after death.
Mu Mian didn't understand how she had reached this conclusion, but she nodded anyway.
"Mu Mian, don't worry, Auntie won't separate you two! Feel free to date Fang Rui. If anyone tries to stop you, I'll fight them myself."
Mrs. Lu muttered to herself, "Who would have thought, with Fang Rui's aloof personality, he could make a young girl love him so desperately. It seems our ancestral graves must be emitting auspicious smoke."
Mu Mian stared at her blankly, completely unaware of what had happened.
Was it really so difficult to donate Fang Rui's remains to her? Mrs. Lu would rather compromise and let her marry Fang Rui than give her his remains.
Mu Mian sighed, wondering if Fang Rui's marriage was less important than his remains.
When Fang Rui returned with takeout, he saw them getting along harmoniously. Mrs. Lu was chatting enthusiastically with Mu Mian, who looked like a startled rabbit, unable to escape and tiredly responding.
"Fang Rui, I need to go home for dinner," Mu Mian said upon seeing Fang Rui, as if she'd found a savior. Mrs. Lu was too enthusiastic, and Mu Mian had never met someone like her before, so she didn't know how to interact.
"Okay."
Mu Mian then said to Lu Jianhua, "Goodbye, Auntie!"
"Let's have dinner together another day. Oh, take these fruits with you."
"Thank you, Auntie." Mu Mian took the fruits to the door, then turned back and said, "Auntie, although our communication wasn't very smooth, I still like you very much."
Mu Mian actually quite liked enthusiastic people, as it meant she didn't have to work hard to socialize and could get along well with them. Of course, if they were too enthusiastic, she needed time to adjust.
"Haha, everyone who meets me says that. Mu Mian, you're very cute too, and Auntie enjoys chatting with you. It's just that your Chinese isn't very good, you need to work on it."
"..." Fang Rui could probably guess why.
After Mu Mian left, Lu Jianhua patted Fang Rui's shoulder, "You and little Mu were just pretending to be a couple earlier, right? Don't deny it, I know you too well."
"Then I won't go on blind dates! I'm very busy with work." Fang Rui knew they would be exposed.
"No more blind dates, we won't arrange any more! Just date Mu Mian, she's absolutely in love with you. I think you'll never find anyone who loves you more than her in your lifetime."
Fang Rui frowned. Mu Mian was in love with him? That was impossible! Mu Mian only loved his remains.
But seeing his mother's expression of "shipping them," he couldn't help but wonder if Mu Mian's feelings for him had changed. Like Zhang and Chen Xue?
Mu Mian's acting was so poor, if it were fake, how could his sharp mother not see through it?
At that moment, Fang Rui received a text message from Mu Mian:
[Fang Rui, wasn't my acting great? Did I manage to fool your mom? Congratulations, you don't have to go on blind dates anymore. But I never want to pretend to be your girlfriend again, it's so tiring! My brain almost short-circuited.]
Fang Rui smiled helplessly.
The next morning, Fang Rui was called to the Director's office.
Because the modus operandi of this case was extremely similar to a case in neighboring Linzhou City, the Director had communicated with the person in charge there and decided to investigate the two cases jointly.
Linzhou City took this case very seriously and formed a special task force overnight, led by their Criminal Investigation Team Leader Sun Guangtian, to come and assist Fang Rui's team in solving the case.
"Fang Rui, they say they're coming to assist us, but you know, Old Sun has more experience than you, and he's been investigating that case for over half a year. He knows the killer better than you do, so the investigation will still be led by them, understand?" the Director advised earnestly.
"I understand! Don't worry, I promise to cooperate well with them to solve the case." Although Fang Rui was upset about losing the lead on the case, he wasn't petty and would cooperate as needed.
The Director observed Fang Rui for a moment, "Fang Rui, judging by your expression, you seem a bit unconvinced."
"How could I be unconvinced! My bad mood is because my mom nagged me for half the day yesterday, so I didn't sleep well." Fang Rui explained. He really hadn't slept well last night, as he kept wondering if Mu Mian might have developed feelings for him as a person, beyond just his remains.
"Old Sun has a bit of a temper, so don't provoke him!" The Director was quite confident in Fang Rui but still couldn't help reminding him.
"I promise I won't argue with him!" Fang Rui took the opportunity to ask for a favor, "Director, I've written an application to purchase a batch of insulated shoes and gloves. Could you approve it?"
"What do you need those for? You're not electricians, do you really need such things?"
"Both victims were electrocuted. I suspect the killer might have a stun gun or similar dangerous items. I'm worried about risks during the arrest and want to take precautions."
The Director nodded approvingly, "Alright, I'll definitely approve this. Not bad, you're thinking ahead now, much more steady than before."
"That's all thanks to your good teaching, Director."
"Stop flattering me. If you want anything else, say it all at once."
"Director, you promised to allocate funds to buy an imported autopsy electric saw for Mu Mian. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"I haven't forgotten, but isn't that the Forensic Department's business? Why are you concerned about it?"
"Mu Mian is under my management now."
"The process is underway. You won't be shortchanged!" The Director found it strange. Fang Rui used to dislike Mu Mian, but now he was saying "she's under my management"?
"Please remember to follow up on it! The process is moving too slowly."
"..."
Upon learning that Linzhou City would send a special task force, Zhang and the others all looked dejected. This was originally their case, but with the task force coming, they would become mere assistants.
"Everyone, don't have negative emotions. When the expert team arrives, smile brightly and be enthusiastic. Also, make sure all the materials are organized to give to them," Fang Rui advised patiently.
Mu Mian nodded and gave Fang Rui an OK gesture. The others weren't so obedient.
"Boss, this case is ours!" Li still felt resentful.
"That's right! We'll have to take orders from them, it's so unfair," Zhang grumbled.
"The case is still ours, we'll continue investigating. Now we just have some criminal investigation experts helping us, understand?"