After Mrs. Jiang finished speaking, she turned her gaze to her son and immediately noticed something unusual about him.

She stared at him excitedly, both surprised and delighted.

After several seconds, she finally remembered the occasion and quickly covered her mouth with her handkerchief, seemingly sobbing, but upon closer inspection, she was tearing up with joy.

Then she whispered happily: “Ah, I knew it, my son couldn’t be gay.”

Lu Yan froze, quickly glancing at Jiang Chengyi, not daring to respond.

Jiang Chengyi frowned: “Mom.”

Mrs. Jiang ignored Jiang Chengyi and gripped Lu Yan’s hand tightly, saying cheerfully: “Good child, Auntie will get you both some nice things next time.”

Lu Yan awkwardly opened her mouth, wanting to explain but not knowing where to start. Mrs. Jiang had already turned her attention back to her son: “I’ll still have Housekeeper Liu come over every day to make breakfast and lunch. You need proper nourishment when you need it.”

After saying this, though Mrs. Jiang maintained an appropriately sorrowful expression for the surroundings, her spirits were noticeably better than before as she led Lu Yan inside.

Perhaps for business convenience, besides the living room, the Ding family had a medium-sized reception room inside.

The reception room was filled with guests, mostly older and expensively dressed.

Mr. and Mrs. Ding sat in the center.

Mr. Ding kept sighing, his complexion particularly waxy yellow, while Mrs. Ding repeatedly dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, looking as haggard as if she’d been seriously ill.

Fortunately, Ding Jing had a brother less than seven years old. Though still too young to understand, running around the reception room in confusion, thanks to this young son’s existence, Mr. and Mrs. Ding had something to live for and wouldn’t completely collapse.

Beside Ding Jing’s father sat a man in his fifties with graying hair, also wearing a black suit, carrying himself with natural elegance. Behind his chair stood a young man who looked like a secretary.

As soon as she saw the middle-aged man, Lu Yan had a vague feeling that although other guests were consoling Mr. and Mrs. Ding, their attention was focused on him.

Looking at him carefully for a few moments, Lu Yan noticed he somewhat resembled Jiang Chengyi, and she had a fair idea who he was.

Sure enough, she heard Mrs. Jiang say: “Old Jiang, Dr. Lu is here.”

Mr. Jiang immediately looked toward Lu Yan. His gaze carried a penetrating power born of wisdom and experience, extremely sharp and perceptive.

In just one glance, Mr. Jiang smiled, clearly very pleased with Lu Yan.

After offering condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Ding, Jiang Chengyi finally led Lu Yan to his father: “Dad, this is Lu Yan.”

Then said neutrally to Lu Yan: “This is my father.”

Mr. Jiang stood up gracefully and extended his hand to Lu Yan: “Miss Lu, hello.”

Lu Yan smiled slightly: “Hello, Uncle Jiang.”

Given the sorrowful occasion, although Mr. Jiang seemed to have more to say, out of consideration for Mr. and Mrs. Ding, he only said to Lu Yan: “Come visit us with Chengyi another day, have a meal with your aunt and uncle.”

Lu Yan hesitated briefly but still smiled and nodded.

Seeing the elders seemed to have more to discuss, Lu Yan stood for a while before leaving the reception room. Jiang Chengyi stayed behind, apparently wanting to inquire about something from Mr. and Mrs. Ding.

Lu Yan walked around looking at her surroundings and saw many familiar faces. Besides their No. 7 High School classmates, there were actors from that party at Da Zhong’s house, like Zheng Xiaowen, Yu Baifeng, Zhang Dashan, David, and several other familiar minor celebrities.

It seemed they had all once belonged to the same entertainment company.

Additionally, she spotted Teacher Zhou and Principal Wen’s son Wen Peng among the crowd.

Teacher Zhou was currently surrounded by students. Being mostly tall, they made him appear even smaller, but the grief on his face was genuine, clearly deeply regretting the misfortune that had befallen his student.

Lu Yan approached: “Teacher Zhou.”

He adjusted his black-framed glasses and turned around: “Lu Yan.”

Wen Peng also greeted her: “Junior.”

Teacher Zhou looked at Lu Yan and sighed deeply: “Who would have thought? Just recently Ding Jing organized a class reunion, and in just a few days, she met with such an accident.”

Class 6’s monitor Liu Qin shook his head in grief: “How many years has it been since high school graduation? We’ve already lost two classmates too early.”

Everyone fell silent, knowing without saying that the other referred to Deng Man.

To prevent the mournful atmosphere from spreading further, Liu Yujie suggested: “Teacher Zhou, you had surgery at the beginning of the year, your health isn’t like ours, you must be tired from standing so long. Why don’t you rest over there?”

Teacher Zhou wasn’t even forty-five, but everyone felt he had aged considerably these past few years.

Hearing Liu Yujie’s words, Teacher Zhou didn’t object.

Lu Yan watched their retreating figures, then suddenly said to Liu Yujie: “Liu Yujie, I need to talk to you.”

Liu Yujie stopped and turned back to look at Lu Yan coldly. Seeing Lu Yan’s tone and expression were both calm, she hesitated for a few seconds, apologized to Teacher Zhou, and followed Lu Yan aside.

The place they went to talk was a small room next to the kitchen, very small, somewhat like a housekeeper’s bedroom, but quieter than other areas.

Lu Yan partially closed the door and quietly looked at Liu Yujie.

Liu Yujie returned her gaze, and after a while, tugged at the corner of her mouth and said: “Haven’t congratulated you on getting back together with Jiang Chengyi yet. But honestly, I’m a bit surprised. Aren’t you Lu Yan the goddess? With admirers everywhere, yet you’re common enough to eat leftover grass?”

Lu Yan was unmoved by her words and only smiled faintly, probing: “You know about Winter Solstice, right?”

Liu Yujie’s expression changed.

Lu Yan grew more certain: “Ding Jing was already killed because of Winter Solstice. If you don’t want to become the killer’s next target, you’d better tell everything you know.”

Liu Yujie’s expression turned extremely poor, and she said angrily: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She moved past Lu Yan to leave.

As she opened the door, Lu Yan said leisurely: “You have my phone number. After you go home and think it through, if you have anything to say, feel free to call me.”

Liu Yujie ignored her and left quickly.

Lu Yan watched Liu Yujie’s retreating figure, remembering years ago in high school when she had missed cheerleading practice because she was helping a teacher collect exam papers. When she finally arrived at the gymnasium, breathless with her backpack, she was already ten minutes late.

The music was loud inside, and the basketball team hadn’t arrived yet. The cheerleaders, led by Ding Jing, were practicing formations with their pom-poms.

She ran to the side to put down her backpack, took a drink of water, and was about to return to her usual training position.

Just as she reached the back of the formation, she saw Liu Yujie give Ding Jing a look, then heard Ding Jing shout: “Stop!”

Lu Yan looked around, finally realizing Ding Jing was talking to her, and blinked: “What’s wrong?”

Ding Jing walked up to her and said in an official tone: “Including last Saturday, you’ve been late twice now. According to our cheerleading rules, members who are late twice are considered uncommitted to training. As captain, I have the right to revoke your cheerleading membership.”

Lu Yan calmly explained: “I was wrong to be late this time, but last Saturday I was late because I went to Math Olympiad training, and I had already asked for leave from Vice Captain Liu Yujie.”

At this moment, there was a commotion behind them, with boys’ laughter mixed with the distinctive sounds of basketballs bouncing and shoes squeaking on the floor. Everyone knew without looking that the basketball team had arrived.

Liu Yujie casually glanced at the team members, then fixed her gaze on Lu Yan, saying innocently: “When did you ever ask me for leave?”

Ding Jing sneered: “Looks like Lu Yan, you’re not only fond of being late but also a liar.”

Deng Man, also a cheerleader, had been watching and couldn’t help stepping out of formation to seriously tell Ding Jing: “I know about that day. Lu Yan said she would ask for leave from you all and specifically went to Class 3 to find you. Maybe she couldn’t find the captain, so she asked the vice-captain for leave.”

“No way,” Liu Yujie was shocked, “That never happened, okay?”

Lu Yan coldly looked at Liu Yujie.

Last Saturday when she went to Class 3 to find Ding Jing, Ding Jing wasn’t there. On her way out, she met Liu Yujie in the hallway and told her she would be late for practice, formally asking for leave, and remembered Liu Yujie had readily agreed. She didn’t expect her to deny it now.

For her, whether she could stay on the cheerleading squad wasn’t important, but she hadn’t broken any rules, so why should she be driven away like this? If she were to leave, it should be her own choice.

The noise behind them gradually quieted as the basketball team members noticed the situation.

Lu Yan composed herself and looked at Liu Yujie: “When I asked you to leave, there should have been other students in the hallway. I’ll go to Class 3 now to ask around and find someone who heard our conversation.”

Liu Yujie’s eyes showed panic for a moment, but she quickly maintained her stance: “That’s a good idea, go ahead and look. That way I won’t be accused of wronging you.”

School was already over, so even if Lu Yan wanted to look, she would have to wait until tomorrow.

Lu Yan nodded: “Alright, give me one day. Tomorrow I’ll bring classmates to explain together.” She walked to the side, picked up her backpack, and was about to leave.

Deng Man hurriedly left formation too, shouldering her backpack to follow Lu Yan.

“Wait a moment.” Someone spoke up.

Though this person didn’t talk much, everyone was familiar with his voice. They froze and looked toward him.

Jiang Chengyi walked up to Liu Yujie and looked down at her. After a while, he said lazily: “What a coincidence, I happened to see when Lu Yan asked for leave.”

Liu Yujie’s face reddened, her voice becoming soft, but still arguing: “You were clearly in the classroom, how would you know what Lu Yan said to me?”

Jiang Chengyi smiled and said: “I paid attention to what she said.”

Ding Jing came closer and said with a dry laugh: “Jiang Chengyi, stop joking. There are so many people in the hallway during breaks, how could you hear what people were saying from inside the classroom?”

Several of Jiang Chengyi’s friends gathered around, grinning mischievously: “What’s not to understand? Of course, it’s because she’s pretty, that’s why Jiang Chengyi paid special attention.”

The room erupted in laughter.

Liu Yujie’s face alternated between pale and red as she bit her lip and said nothing more.

Ding Jing glared at Lu Yan and hesitated a moment, but ultimately didn’t continue the previous topic.

Lu Yan quietly looked up at Jiang Chengyi. After saying those few sentences, he had already started training, quickly making a beautiful three-pointer. After passing the ball, he glanced casually in her direction.

She put down her backpack with slightly reddened cheeks and unhurriedly sat with the other cheerleaders in the stands.

After staying in the room for about ten minutes, Lu Yan opened the door and walked to the living room, scanning the crowd for Tang Jie when she heard Tang Jie calling from behind: “Lu Yan, where did you go? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Lu Yan turned around, but before she could speak, she saw Jiang Chengyi standing with Class Monitor Liu Qin, talking.

As she looked up, Jiang Chengyi happened to turn and look her way.

Tang Jie pulled her aside and whispered: “I suddenly remembered some things from before, I want to tell you about them.”

“What things?” Lu Yan looked at her.

Just then, Ding Jing’s little brother suddenly ran from the hallway, screaming: “Mama, Mama, an auntie is lying on the ground, I think she’s dead!”

Lu Yan froze, but Jiang Chengyi had already pushed through the crowd, quickly walking toward where the child had come from.

When Lu Yan got there, she saw a young woman lying on the ground, with Jiang Chengyi crouching beside her.

Looking closer, it was Liu Yujie.

Jiang Chengyi’s expression was grave as he said to the bewildered Tang Jie and others: “Possible poisoning. From now on, secure the doors and don’t let anyone enter or leave.”

Lu Yan’s heart was pounding as she reached for Liu Yujie’s carotid artery to check—thankfully, there was still a pulse.

She then lifted her eyelids to check, finding the pupils had contracted to pinpoint size.

Her suspicions deepening, she leaned in to assess Liu Yujie’s increasingly slow breathing and finally concluded. She looked up at Jiang Chengyi and said: “It’s a morphine overdose, she needs to be hospitalized immediately.”

Jiang Chengyi had already made a call, and hearing Lu Yan’s words, he gently moved Liu Yujie’s neck, indeed finding a tiny fresh injection mark on one side.

His expression darkened slightly as he stood up and took out his ID: “Police. I now suspect the killer is present at the scene. I hope everyone will cooperate with the investigation. From now on, no one leaves without my permission.”