"Hmm... the baby has a fever again?" Her brows furrowed anxiously. "Mom, I really can't come back right now. Go to Fourth Hospital—their pediatrics department is better. I'll take the bus back tomorrow during my day off..."
Ding Xiongwei didn’t ask anything at the time.
After You Ruixue hung up, worry lingered in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.
When Ding Xiongwei finished discussing work, he added, "If you need any help, you can call me."
You Ruixue smiled and thanked him.
But later, no matter what difficulties she encountered, she never called her former colleagues for help.
What happened afterward, Ding Xiongwei only learned from others.
He heard that although You Ruixue had been transferred to a grassroots position, she worked diligently step by step, improving steadily, and was soon reassigned to join the criminal police team in another district.
He heard she never married.
He also heard she had some unclear relationship with the youngest son of a certain gang. The rumors were vivid, claiming the young man had returned from studying abroad, had nothing to do with his family's affairs, and never revealed his identity to her. She was deceived, they said, and the child was his.
Later, a series of upheavals forced the youngest son to take over the family business. Despite being scholarly, he proved remarkably capable. Rumors said he ruthlessly eliminated all rivals with an iron fist—and did it so skillfully that when the police cracked down later, his opponents were caught with solid evidence, while he only held clean businesses like real estate and finance, completely unscathed.
But these were just fragments of gossip. After all, You Ruixue had always kept to herself over the years, while the youngest son had ventured into industry, married, had children, and expanded his business. By all appearances, the two were worlds apart, with no connection whatsoever.
...
"Your mother had a tough time all those years," Ding Xiongwei sighed.
In You Mingxu's memory, although she lived with her grandparents during childhood, her mother would travel from Xiangcheng to Jiangcheng to see her whenever possible. Her mother was always gentle, calm, and filled with boundless love for her, never showing any resentment or regret. This was the first time You Mingxu heard someone mention what kind of life her mother had led back then—rumors, suspicion, lies, betrayal, opposition...
Suddenly, You Mingxu no longer wanted to know whether there had been genuine feelings or deception between her mother and that man, or whether her mother had ever regretted it.
It no longer mattered.
Her mother had already given her the answers.
Two answers.
One answer was that, until her death in the line of duty, her mother had been a most dedicated police officer—self-disciplined, devoted to public service, diligent, and having achieved many indelible accomplishments.
The other answer was that her mother had no regrets or resentment about her coming into this world. She had poured all a mother's love into her and influenced her to follow in her footsteps, becoming a police officer herself.
You Mingxu's eyes grew hot. She lowered her gaze and sipped tea to hide it.
Ding Xiongwei watched her expression and remained silent for a moment before asking, "Is there anything else you want to know about this?"
You Mingxu replied, "No need." She let out a long breath, her tone turning calm. "Let's talk about Yin Chen."Ding Xiongwei frowned: "Yin Chen... I don't know much more than you do. Back then, nobody paid attention to this person. I don't know how he got to know You Ruixue. Later, in the case where You Ruixue died in the line of duty, I remember there was no mention of Yin Chen in the files either."
You Mingxu pondered for a moment and said, "I want to see the case files from that year."
Since Yin Chen had brought it up, and Xing Jifu also said that Yin Chen was "that kid who was pestering her back then," perhaps some clues could be found from that case.
Ding Xiongwei agreed.
That afternoon, a thick stack of yellowed case files landed in You Mingxu's hands.
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