Solving the case: Combining the police dog's olfactory genes at the beginning

With a sob in her voice, Chen Xuanran explained incoherently, "It's because... because of what happened between me and Luo Fei... everything was fine at first... but somehow the conversation turned to my sister and brother-in-law... my sister said some really nasty things to my brother-in-law... and he exploded, insisting on a divorce... then my parents tried to mediate, and somehow they started arguing too..."

Dad said Mom spoiled my sister, and Mom got angry... The two argued more and more fiercely... In the end... In the end, they also said they wanted a divorce... They even said they wanted to go with my sister and her friends...

Li Guo was stunned on the other end of the phone, taking a long time to process this unbelievable information. He said, half-laughing and half-crying, "What... what is this all about... Alright, alright, Xiao Ran, don't worry, don't cry. I'll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau right away and stop them! Don't worry, with your uncle here, they won't do anything reckless!"

He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Xiao Ran, this has nothing to do with you and Luo Fei. It's just their pent-up conflicts erupting. Don't let it affect you. Just continue developing your relationship with Luo Fei as usual, understand?"

“Um…I understand, Uncle…” Chen Xuanran replied, choking back tears.

Just as I hung up the phone with Li Guo, my phone rang again. It was Luo Fei calling.

Chen Xuanran took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and answered the phone.

Luo Fei's gentle, expectant voice came from the other end of the phone: "Xuanran, how did it go? How did it go with your aunt and uncle? Did they agree? When should we register?"

Holding her phone, listening to her boyfriend's concerned voice, and thinking about the current mess of her family situation, Chen Xuanran couldn't help but give a bitter smile that was more like a grimace. Her voice was tired and helpless: "Luo Fei... we did discuss it... but... after discussing it... my dad, my mom, my sister, my brother-in-law... they've all gone to the Civil Affairs Bureau..."

Luo Fei: "...???"

Chen Xuanran sighed and added, "...They went to process the divorce papers."

A long, deathly silence fell on the other end of the phone. Clearly, Luo Fei was also completely shocked by this sudden and utterly absurd development.

With a wry smile, Chen Xuanran recounted the bizarre and chaotic situation that had unfolded at home to Luo Fei on the other end of the phone.

After listening, Luo Fei remained silent for a good ten seconds before speaking incredulously: "...You mean...your uncle and aunt, and your sister and brother-in-law...the four of them...really went to the Civil Affairs Bureau as a group...to get a divorce?" The absurdity of this news was clearly beyond his imagination.

"Hmm..." Chen Xuanran's voice was filled with helplessness and exhaustion, "Luckily, my uncle rushed over and persuaded them, and they should be on their way home now..."

Luo Fei took a deep breath, trying to process the information, then suddenly remembered something and his tone became slightly more relaxed: "By the way, Xuanran, don't be too anxious. I remember there's a one-month cooling-off period for divorce proceedings now. Even if they go today, they won't be able to get a divorce; the paperwork won't be completed."

"There's a cooling-off period?"

Chen Xuanran paused, realizing she wasn't very familiar with these laws and regulations. "Hopefully this cooling-off period will really calm them down... Sigh, is the divorce rate in Jiangcheng particularly high? It feels like everyone around me is getting divorced so easily..." As she spoke, a hint of worry about her own future marriage crept into her voice. "Luo Fei... do you think we... might also..."

"No!" Luo Fei interrupted her decisively, his tone extremely serious and firm. "Xuanran, remember this: unless one day you don't want me anymore, I will never mention divorce to you. The person I've chosen is for life."

Hearing Luo Fei's firm promise, Chen Xuanran's unease dissipated considerably, and she responded with emotion, "I am only widowed, not divorced."

The two reached a tacit agreement over the phone: the priority was to resolve the marital crisis of Chen Xuanran's parents and her sister and brother-in-law, and their own wedding could be postponed for the time being. Chen Xuanran also told Luo Fei that her uncle, Li Guo, had gone to the Civil Affairs Bureau to dissuade them, which should stabilize the situation for the time being.

Around noon, Chen's parents, Zhang Yong, and Chen Hao returned as expected. However, the atmosphere at home was unusually heavy and awkward. After entering the house, the four of them ignored each other, acting as if they were strangers.

With a stern face, Chen's mother grabbed Chen Hao's arm, and the two of them went into the bedroom without a word, closing the door behind them. Chen's father sighed, patted the dejected Zhang Yong on the shoulder, and the two of them silently sat down at the dining table.

Chen Xuanran carefully poured water for them, then sat on a sofa a little further away, not daring to interrupt.

At first, Mr. Chen and Zhang Yong sat in silence, the atmosphere heavy. After a while, Mr. Chen broke the silence, lowering his voice to say to Zhang Yong, "Xiao Yong... Dad... sigh, I don't know what to say anymore... What a mess today..."

Zhang Yong raised his head, his eyes slightly red, his voice hoarse: "Dad...it's not your fault...it's me...it's my fault for being incompetent and not making enough money, causing her to suffer with me..."

"Hey! You can't say that!" Mr. Chen quickly waved his hand. "A man just needs to be hardworking and reliable! Whether he makes a lot or a little, as long as it's enough to get by, that's fine! The main thing is... the main thing is that life is so stifling!" As he spoke, he couldn't help but start pouring out his grievances, "In this family... I'm also... sigh... it's all tears when I talk about it..."

And so, the two men, both feeling oppressed and stifled in their marriages, seemed to have found a kindred spirit and began to confide in each other in hushed tones.

They complained about their wives' domineering, picky, and uncomprehending nature, becoming more and more agitated and resonating with each other, sometimes even gritting their teeth in anger. But the long-standing "oppression" prevented them from speaking loudly, forcing them to whisper like underground party members making a secret meeting.

Chen Xuanran listened from the side, watching her father and brother-in-law's expressions of mutual sympathy and unspoken anger, and felt both amused and heartbroken. She thought they were truly pitiful.

Just then, her phone rang; it was her uncle, Li Guo, calling.

"Xiao Ran, I've persuaded them to go home. I've said everything I needed to say." Li Guo's voice sounded a little tired. "Now it's up to them to see if they can come to their senses. Keep an eye on them at home, try to persuade them, and call me anytime if anything happens."

"Okay, I understand, Uncle, thank you."

Chen Xuanran hung up the phone. Looking at the strange and oppressive atmosphere in the house, she felt that anything she said now would only add fuel to the fire. She decided to let everyone calm down first, minimize communication, and avoid further conflict. So she silently got up and went back to her bedroom.

In the bedroom, Chen Xuanran pondered deeply, when suddenly a brilliant idea struck her! She thought of Luo Fei's miraculous hypnotic abilities!

She immediately took out her phone and called Luo Fei: "Luo Fei! I've thought of a way! Could you... use your hypnosis... to implant a message into my parents, my sister, and my brother-in-law... that they 'can't live without each other' and that 'divorce is a mistake'? To stop them from making a scene?" Luo Fei hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone and replied: "The method is theoretically feasible. However... the effect of such forcibly implanted information may not last. I used a similar method on my cellmates in Chengdu Prison before, implanting some simple false memories, but it only lasted about 24 hours. After that, they would gradually wake up, and the implanted information would become blurred or even disappear."

"It can only last for one day..." Chen Xuanran was a little disappointed, but he was still unwilling to give up. "Then... then can we just delete all these unpleasant memories of today? As if nothing ever happened?"

"Delete memories?" Luo Fei was taken aback for a moment, carefully sensing his newly acquired god-level hypnosis ability. After a while, he replied, "Super hypnosis might not be able to perform such precise operations, but god-level hypnosis... perhaps I can try. I need some time to prepare."

After saying that, Luo Fei immediately spent 1000 sin points to exchange for a skill upgrade card, upgrading [Super Hypnosis] to [God-level Hypnosis].

He carefully experienced the greater control brought by the new ability, confirming that god-level hypnosis indeed possessed more precise memory intervention and group hypnosis effects.

“It’s ready,” Luo Fei said to Chen Xuanran. “God-level hypnosis should be able to erase memories from a specific time period and can be applied to multiple people simultaneously. Try to arrange an opportunity for me to have close contact with your family so I can attempt to operate it.”

Chen Xuanran was overjoyed and immediately began to think about how to create an opportunity.

In the evening, the family sat down together for dinner, a rare occurrence. Although the atmosphere was still awkward, at least they didn't start arguing again.

After finishing the meal, Chen Xuanran seized the opportunity, cleared his throat, and said to everyone, "Um... Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law... I discussed it with Luo Fei, and he... he said he wants to come to our house tomorrow to formally talk to you about... about the bride price."

Upon hearing this, all four people at the dinner table were stunned.

Chen's mother was the first to react, looking at Chen Xuanran with some nervousness: "Xiaoran! You...you didn't tell Luo Fei about all the mess at home today, did you?" She didn't want her future son-in-law, who was so capable, to laugh at her.

Chen Xuanran lowered his head somewhat guiltily: "No...no...I just said something came up at home, but I didn't say what it was..."

Mr. Chen was puzzled: "Bride price? What bride price? When your sister married Xiaoyong, we didn't ask for a bride price."

Hearing this, Chen Hao sneered and interjected sharply, "That's because I was stupid back then! I thought talking about money would hurt feelings! Now that I think about it, I was so naive! This time it's necessary! And it can't be less! Otherwise, people will think our daughter is worthless!" Her words were clearly directed at Zhang Yong, carrying a veiled insult.

Zhang Yong opened his mouth with a grim expression, but couldn't refute it. His family's financial situation was modest back then, and they hadn't given a bride price, which had become a sore point for Chen Hao to attack him with.

Mr. Chen frowned and looked at Mrs. Chen: "Honey, what do you think?"

Chen's mother gave a sarcastic snort: "How could I dare to have any intentions? I don't have any say in this family."

Mr. Chen sighed, "One thing at a time. Don't let the adults' affairs affect the child's happiness. Luo Fei is a good kid. The bride price is just a formality; it's fine as long as it's about right."

After thinking about it, Chen's mother agreed and nodded, "Alright, let's talk about it then. We can't let people think that we're giving away our daughter's money."

Seeing that his parents had relented, Chen Xuanran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Luo Fei could come, that was all that mattered!

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Chen tentatively suggested, "Then... shall we just ask for 38,000? Just a token amount? For good luck?"

Chen's mother immediately glared at him: "Thirty-eight thousand? How dare you say that! What can you do with thirty-eight thousand these days? You can't even buy a manual minivan! It makes it seem like our Xiaoran is so cheap!"

At this moment, Chen Hao interjected again, making a startling statement: "If you ask me, it would cost 688,000!"

"How much?!" The whole family was stunned by the number and all looked at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao, however, said matter-of-factly, "Six hundred and eighty-eight thousand! It sounds auspicious, and the amount is quite generous! Even if we give it back to Xiaoran as part of her dowry later, we have to make up for this! Otherwise, if relatives ask about it later and say that our daughter's dowry was only tens of thousands of yuan, we'll be laughed at to death!"

She paused, then added meaningfully, "Our Xiaoran is so beautiful, a civil servant, and she's dating the director of the National Security Bureau. She can't be worth less than a Land Rover, can she?"

The whole family was stunned by Chen Hao's astonishing price.

Zhang Yong let out a cold, ambiguous laugh. Chen Xuanran also found her sister's suggestion a bit strange, but at this moment, she was only focused on getting Luo Fei to come and perform the hypnosis smoothly, and didn't care so much about the specific amount of the bride price.

Surprisingly, after her initial shock, Chen Ma nodded thoughtfully: "Six hundred and eighty-eight thousand...that sounds quite impressive..."

After hesitating for a moment, Mr. Chen reluctantly agreed: "Alright...alright...it's just a formality anyway...how about asking for 688,000? Let's leave Luo Fei a few thousand yuan to bargain?"

And so, in a discussion about the bride price, this family, which had been on the verge of breaking up during the day, unexpectedly and temporarily united, creating a strange atmosphere of "unity." This outcome greatly surprised Chen Xuanran, who was only focused on creating opportunities.

Luo Fei, as the prospective son-in-law, stepped into the Chen family's door for the second time. Originally, he wanted to bring his grandmother along to make her happy, but then he thought that if his grandmother heard that the Chen family was asking for a bride price of 688,000 yuan, she would probably be quite shocked, so he gave up the idea.

He carefully selected a large number of high-end gifts downstairs, including cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and health supplements, before carrying large and small bags upstairs under Chen Xuanran's guidance.

Before entering, Chen Xuanran quietly pulled Luo Fei aside and whispered, "When we're discussing the bride price later, don't be shy, just bargain! You know our family's situation right now, it's a mess. They're probably just throwing out a high price; they might not really know what they're after. If you try to negotiate a lower price, they'll think you're shrewd and good at managing a household, and they'll have a better impression of you." (End of Chapter)