A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you…

Noon on the 16th.

Li Mu and his girlfriend's family celebrated Fan Chengcheng's birthday.

Children don't really understand the meaning of birthdays, but Fan Chengcheng, who is now gradually able to speak in sentences, still expressed her gratitude with the most sincere heart:

"Mommy, eat, cake!"

After taking a bite of the cake and experiencing its wonderful taste, little Fan Chengcheng happily skipped off to do somersaults.

The cake was also placed on the floor, but neither Fan Tao nor Zhang Chuanmei paid any attention to it.

To be honest, this peculiar free-range parenting style was quite novel to Li Mu. Especially watching the child do a series of somersaults, then lie on the ground and munch on cake...

Fan Bingbing nearly laughed her teeth out; she grabbed her boyfriend's digital camera and started snapping away at her younger brother.

After the shoot, she said happily:

"When he grows up, I'll show him how we feed our dog."

"What are you saying!"

Fan Tao glared at his daughter, annoyed, while Li Mu said gently:

"Chengcheng, can I get you some to eat on the table?"

As soon as he picked up the tray, Fan Chengcheng reached out:

"Gao Gao! Gao Gao!"

"Brother put this on the table for you, here, eat it like this..."

Unfortunately, the older boy clearly couldn't control the younger boy.

Fan Chengcheng put the cake back on the floor and continued to lie there and eat it...

Li Muxin said, "What a strong seed!"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Let him do whatever he wants. He'll just mop the floor later."

After Fan Bingbing finished speaking, Zhang Chuanmei added:

"You drag it?"

"I'm not dragging it out, I'm leaving after I finish eating... Li Mu, you drag it out."

"good."\

As soon as Li Mugang agreed, Fan Tao rolled his eyes.

But actually, I was quite happy.

Although they've only spent three days together, based on their experience, he and his wife could tell that Xiao Li was indeed someone who doted on his daughter.

But the more this happened, the more he felt that he and his wife had spoiled their daughter.

"Xiao Li, don't pay any attention to her. You brat, mop the floor after you finish eating. If you don't, you're not leaving this room today!"

"Oh dear, Lao Fan, you're protecting him now?"

"You brat, I'll slap you! How dare you talk to your father like that!"

"Hehehe... Hey, Chengcheng, suck suck suck..."

With a bewildered look on Li Mu's face, his girlfriend handed him a piece of fatty braised pork.

She ate the lean meat herself.

Li Muxin said, "Are you calling me a dog?!"

Hey, you know what... Fan Chengcheng recognizes the number. Hearing the noise, she looked up, saw the food her sister was offering, and instead of doing her somersault, she walked over and opened her mouth.

Little Fan felt a great sense of accomplishment after completing the action, but Li Mu noticed that Big Fan's mother was clearly flushed.

have to.\

This family's level is too high; Old Li is a little scared.

Let's eat discreetly.

And so, after finishing their meal, the girlfriend rushed back to the film set. But this time, the whole family was traveling together; the three of them were returning to Yantai.

Airport.\

"Xiao Li, we're leaving now. We'll bring you something delicious next time."

"Okay, Uncle and Aunt, have a safe trip."

Li Mu politely said goodbye, then glanced at his girlfriend again.

This is an airport. There was no intimate hug or other parting gesture between them; a single glance was enough for them to understand each other perfectly.

After seeing the person off, he parked the car back in the Modern City parking lot and drove his Santana directly to the Golden Ring Hotel.

And before I knew it, another week had passed.

June 22nd.

Early in the morning.

When Li Mu arrived at the Jin Huan Hotel, he saw Qin Liyan standing at the entrance, smoking and holding a phone.

After parking his car, he walked straight over, waving in greeting from afar, but didn't say anything.

Just as he walked up to him, Qin Liyan hung up the phone, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes:

"Li Ji, good news!"

Li Mu was taken aback:

"What good news?"

"The paperwork is done!"

At first, Li Mu didn't realize what kind of procedure it was, but he was only a second slow to react.

"Now?!"

"Yes, I just received the notification..."

Before Qin Liyan could finish speaking, Li Mu's phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at his phone and saw it was Zhu Lingjun calling.

"Brother Zhu called."

"I think it's about this too. You can take the call."

"Okay... Hey, Brother Zhu."

"Xiao Li, I just received notification that Liu Xiaoqing's arrest has been approved. Are you coming over now?"

Upon hearing Zhu Lingjun's meaning, Li Mu understood; he wanted photos taken at the scene of the arrest. He immediately agreed.

"Okay, I'll go to the station?"

"Yes, let's meet up first."

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu glanced at Qin Liyan and smiled:

"Brother Qin, I'll head over now."

"Um."\

Qin Liyan nodded.

As tax authorities, they do not have the authority to make arrests. They must first arrest the person and put them in detention before they can proceed.

The interrogation process culminates in submitting the facts of the crime to the court for sentencing.

Li Mu turned and left, dialing Sui Kuan's number as he walked; Sui Kuan had been slacking off every day during their recent passionate romance.

"Hey, Fatty, get up right now, Brother Zhu's going to arrest someone today!"

"What!?"\

Fatty Sui, who had been dazed, immediately snapped back to reality and continued:

"Right away, where?"

"Brother Zhu! Hurry up!"

"Okay, I'm hanging up!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu quickly drove off in his Santana.

Upon arriving at the Economic Crime Investigation Division of the branch office, they found Zhu Lingjun sitting in his office, making a phone call.

Upon seeing Li Mu arrive, the man didn't stand on ceremony; instead, he grabbed a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his desk and tossed it to Li Mu.

After Li Mu took one out, he sat down on the sofa.

Then Zhu Lingjun said:

"...Then let her know, so she can be mentally prepared. Also, tell her what the guards need and let her prepare it. Don't say anything else, no matter what she asks, understand?...Okay, that's all."

After the call ended, without Li Mu even asking, Zhu Lingjun proactively said:

"This afternoon, we'll go arrest them. That was our colleague over there; they're still waiting for signatures here. After they've signed, and after lunch, we'll head straight to the scene."

Li Mu was taken aback:

"Why not arrest them immediately?"

"No need, she's in the Rose Garden. Our people have been following her the whole time. She knows she can't escape, but she hasn't. She's been waiting for this day every day. She's been quite nice to my colleagues, so I'm returning the favor by giving her some time to prepare. The conditions in the detention center are far worse than in the villa."

Li Muxin said the law enforcement was quite humane.

But... well, Liu Xiaoqing has indeed been quite quiet lately.

This is what Zhu Lingjun referred to as the "final stage."

Knowing there's no escape, even if the body isn't physically inside, the mind is already there. And once inside, the spirit automatically convinces itself to calmly accept the process.

To put it simply, it's about making peace with oneself.

Furthermore, he often heard his colleagues praising Liu Xiaoqing during their shift changes, saying that this big star had no airs at all, that they would take walks together, play badminton together, and even buy water for them…

Of course, I'll say that and remember your kindness, but I definitely won't be lenient about what needs to be done.

This is a matter of principle.

Being given a few hours to prepare, so that they won't be completely lost when they enter the detention center... is already considered an act of leniency.

"Phew... What do we say tonight? How about a good drink?"

Hearing this, Li Mu laughed:

"Is Brother Zhu free?"

"Hmm, probably. Once the person is transferred to the detention center, the interrogation and such are no longer our responsibility."

"Shall we call Brother Qin?"

"Alright, we've been busy for so long, let's drink until we drop tonight!"

As they were talking, they heard hurried footsteps outside.

Sui Kuan arrived, panting heavily.

Upon seeing Fatty Sui, Zhu Lingjun chuckled:

"Are you so engrossed in this romance that you've forgotten all about home?"

"hey-hey."\

Fatty Sui also gave an embarrassed smile.

The two sat in Zhu Lingjun's office all morning, and after lunch, seeing that it was almost time, the three of them set off together.

The place where Liu Xiaoqing lives is called Rose Garden.

It's in Changping, quite far from the city center.

After driving all the way there, Li Mu arrived at this villa area built in 96 for the first time.

"This place, tsk tsk..."

Zhu Lingjun, who was driving, sighed with emotion and said:

"This area was one of the earliest gathering places for wealthy people in Yanjing. I remember when it opened, the average price of a house in Yanjing was less than 2000 yuan, but they dared to sell it for over 7,000. And look at this, you two."

Following his finger, Li Mu saw the blooming flowers on both sides of the road.

It's bright red, and looks like a rose.

"Rose?"

"Yes, why else would it be called Rose Garden? I remember it very clearly, the highlight of this place was that all the flowers planted in the community were imported. Especially these roses, they were all varieties transplanted from France. As far as I know, besides Liu Xiaoqing, Zhang Yimou also seems to live here. There are many other celebrities... This phase has about a hundred villas, and it's completely full now."

"..."\

"..."\

To be honest, Li Mu was quite surprised, even though he was a wealthy man now.

But I was still curious about the gossip Zhu Lingjun was talking about.

During this conversation, the car quickly arrived at the gate of a villa.

Unlike Mingya Garden, Rose Garden does not separate pedestrians and vehicles, so many residents' cars can still be seen parked on the roadside at this time.

But they're all parked in their own spaces, and even those occasionally parked on the street seem quite orderly.

In front of this villa, including Zhu Lingjun's Santana, there were three Santanas – one loaf of bread and three Santanas. And they were all black and white, almost blocking the road.

"Was that a vehicle from the detention center?"

"Yes. It should be said to be the best prison van in the detention center."

Looking at the golden cup's design, Zhu Lingjun parked the car and got out.

A young police officer immediately ran over:

"Captain Zhu."

"Okay, here you go."

Zhu Lingjun handed over the arrest warrant.

The young man took it and immediately went inside.

Li Mu glanced at Sui Kuan, and the two of them, without hesitation, grabbed their cameras and followed.

。\

Knock, knock, knock—a polite knock on the door.

The person who opened the door was also a staff member.

After the two nodded, they, along with Zhu Lingjun who was following behind, entered the room in groups of three or four.

Li Mu immediately spotted Liu Xiaoqing sitting on the sofa, her eyes glazed over.

The other party seemed completely stunned, not even noticing the two reporters, Li Mu and Sui Kuan, but staring intently at the document in the young officer's hand:

"Liu Xiaoqing, you are hereby formally notified that you are suspected of..."

Liu Xiaoqing remained unmoved, his gaze blank.

After the agent finished reading the arrest warrant and uttered the words "formal arrest," a single tear rolled down her vacant eyes.