The Plough

's family considered her a burden since she couldn't work and needed to eat.
They kicked her out, but Du Mianqing brought her back.
Do you know Du Mianqing?”

Ling Shu replied, “She is Du Yunning's younger sister.
I have met her once, but we are not familiar.” Yue Dingtang nodded, “Within two years, Du Mianqing got married and moved to Wuxi, leaving Ah Lan behind at the Du family.
Mrs.
Du saw that she was hardworking and didn't gossip, so she let her serve Du Yunning.
Later, she followed Du Yunning to live at the Yuan family.”

These were just experiences, and nothing useful could be found from them.

Ling Shu said, “So should we go to the Yuan family now?”

Yue Dingtang checked his watch, “I have a cocktail party tonight hosted by the American Consulate.
We can go now and come back in the afternoon to change clothes.
Our old classmate, Lin Dingkang, is now a translator at the consulate and he should be there.
You can catch up with him.”

Ling Shu stretched lazily, “I think I'll pass.”

Compared to the cocktail party, he would rather go home and sleep.
Yue Dingtang seemed to have anticipated his answer and sighed.

“Well, I'm afraid you won't get your wish.
First of all, your sister asked me to introduce you to potential career opportunities, and I already mentioned tonight’s party to her.
If you don't go, you won't have a peaceful homecoming.
Second, although you have temporarily cleared half of the suspicion, you still cannot prove that Du Yunning's killer is someone else.
Although the patrol room agreed to bail you out, Smith also instructed that you cannot leave my sight for too long.”

’

Ling Shu said, “I don't understand social etiquette.”

Yue Dingtang replied, “I'll teach you.”

Ling Shu said, “I don't have formal attire.”

Yue Dingtang said, “I'll lend you some.”

Ling Shu said, “I'm afraid of offending people with my words.
You'll have to take the blame.”

Yue Dingtang said, “Then you can eat more and talk less.” Ling Shu said, “I'm afraid my face will cause a frenzy among the ladies present and make other men uncomfortable.”

“It's okay,” Yue Dingtang replied confidently.
“I believe my charm is enough to dispel your concerns.”

Ling Shu remained silent.

Yue Dingtang continued, “As your old classmate and at the request of Sister Ling, I sincerely advise you to go.
This banquet is not just about marriage prospects, even your immediate boss may not have the qualifications to receive an invitation.
And your boss's boss, the chief of the city police, will be proud to attend.
If you can be there, how will your boss see you? And how will it help your career? You're a smart person, I don't need to say more, do I?”

Ling Shu rubbed his nose, looking hopeless.

The two of them dragged their feet and didn't leave until noon.
It wasn't that Ling Shu was dragging his feet, but rather that the doctor came to check on him and originally didn't agree to let him leave the hospital.
Ling Shu did ten push-ups in front of the doctor, shocking him on the spot.
The doctor reluctantly agreed to let them leave for half a day, but still required Ling Shu to return to the hospital that night before signing the consent form.

Along the way, Yue Dingtang kept glancing at Ling Shu.

Ling Shu was puzzled: “Did I not wash my face? Are my buttons not done up properly?”

Yue Dingtang said, “When you were in school, if your hand was pricked by a thorn, you would hold a handkerchief and wipe it for half a day.
Now you can even do push-ups after getting stitches on your head.
I just want to see if this Ling Shu now is not an imposter.” Ling Shu rubbed the wound on the back of his head and said, “If I don't do this, how will the doctor agree to let me leave the hospital? If I sneak out and my sister comes to the hospital and sees me gone, she'll cry again.
I can't stand to see a woman's tears.”

Yue Dingtang smiled and said, “With your personality, French women should like you, right?”

’

Ling Shu felt that there was some deep meaning behind his words, but he had just been jostled around in the car and his head was still a little dizzy, so he didn't delve into it.

“Well, before I went abroad, my sister specifically told me not to find a foreign woman, at least not to bring her back to China.
Otherwise, I would have to worry about which one to bring back.
What about you? Have you ever thought about marrying a foreign wife?”

Yue Dingtang said casually, “I have a Chinese stomach.
I don't eat foreign food often, and even if I do, I won't be able to eat it every day.
Don't be fooled by the fact that my third sister and your sister don't get along.
They actually have similar views on this.”

He didn't continue the topic and instead rolled down the car window to look outside.

“It's going to snow soon.”

The sky was gloomy, not like it was midday, but more like evening.

Without the sun, pedestrians hurried along, and the festive atmosphere of the second day of the Lunar New Year could only be seen from the decorations and clothing.

Ling Yao brought a new set of clothes for Ling Shu to wear out for the New Year, but Ling Shu ended up in the hospital and only now was able to wear them.

The dark clouds loomed over the city, as if ready to crush it.

The Yuan Manor was almost bending under the weight.
The old white walls looked even more eerie, even in broad daylight, making people feel very uncomfortable.

Ling Shu looked up at the balcony on the second floor.

That was Du Yunning's room, and also the place where the flowerpot had fallen last time.

Since the flowerpot incident, the patrol responsible for guarding had removed all the flowerpots from the balcony.
Now it was bare, with nothing there.

But the thin curtains by the window fluttered in the wind, visible from downstairs, always giving people the illusion that someone was standing behind them.

The author has something to say: Congratulations to Ling Shu for winning the title of “Little Cutie” that is loved by women everywhere.

Yue Dingtang: …

Ling Shu: The ellipsis fully reflects the jealousy of someone with the surname Yue.