Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Uncle, according to the blood test results, Xiao Chuan is not poisoned. Don't worry, if he had really come into contact with a toxic injection containing cyanide, his skin would have become red and swollen. As it stands, apart from a slightly nasal bump, Xiao Chuan is perfectly normal."

The doctor who spoke was Qin Laishun's eldest daughter, Qin Xiaomei. She busied herself examining her cousin and immediately informed Qin Shuangling of the results.

Hearing this, Qin Shuangling's eyebrows finally relaxed, but after a moment, his face turned cold again. He turned and glared at Yue Chuan, scolding, "Did you hear that? Those poisoned needles were highly poisonous. You were lucky to escape with your life, so hurry up and thank your older sister!"

Yue Chuan was indignant. He hadn't done anything wrong, yet he was still being lectured by his father. Just as he was organizing his thoughts to retort, his cousin giggled and said, "Uncle, don't be angry. Xiao Chuan and Ah Huang are close. It's normal that he can't accept hearing Gouzi's bad behavior. It just shows that our Xiao Chuan values ​​relationships. He'll definitely be filial to you and Auntie in the future!"

That's what they said, but Qin Xiaomei was also very surprised to learn that Yue Chuan had "dug up the grave and dug up the corpse" to find the dead dog. She only knew that her cousin was an excellent student, but she didn't know that he would do such an unusual thing for a dog.

After a moment of silence, Qin Shuangling gave a wry smile and said, "Xiaomei, you've been doing a lot of work these past two days while your second uncle was hospitalized, and now Xiaochuan'er has come to bother you again. I don't even know what to say..."

"Uncle, it's too formal for us to talk like family. Second Master has always treated me well since I was a child, and Xiao Chuan is my cousin. It's only right that I do what I can to help."

Qin Xiaomei was approachable and considerate of others' feelings. Seeing Yue Chuan sneezing repeatedly, she quickly said with concern, "Xiao Chuan, I think you have a bit of a cold. Why don't you wait here for me for a while, and I'll go to the pharmacy to get you some medicine?"

Yue Chuan was about to say something, but his cousin had already turned and left. He was too embarrassed to let his cousin run around, so he followed her to the pharmacy window.

Sure enough, having connections at the hospital made things much easier. Qin Xiaomei didn't even have to wait in line and got a box of fast-acting cold medicine in no time.

"Xiao Chuan, take this box of cold medicine and remember to take it after meals," Qin Xiaomei said softly as she handed the medicine to her cousin.

"Sister Xiaomei, actually... I'm really fine. I'll be fine in a day or two without taking any medicine..." Yue Chuan replied shyly.

"Don't talk nonsense. You have a lot of pressure in high school, so you need to take care of your health. Health is the foundation of everything!" Hearing his cousin's words, Yue Chuan felt warm inside and thanked her repeatedly. His silly appearance made his cousin laugh.

Seeing how approachable his cousin was, Yue Chuan became less reserved and blinked, asking, "Sister Xiaomei, could I ask you for another favor?"

"Go ahead and speak, don't be so polite with me," Qin Xiaomei replied with a knowing smile.

Seeing that his father wasn't there, Yue Chuan decisively reached into his wet clothes pocket, and the next second, the black cloth strip he had carefully hidden was suddenly revealed in front of his cousin.

"Sister Xiaomei, this was found in Ah Huang's mouth. I'd like you to help me analyze its composition... I strongly suspect that this black cloth was torn from the murderer's clothes by Ah Huang before he died..."

When Yue Chuan mentioned Ah Huang, tears welled up in his eyes again. He became emotional and blurted out all his guesses to her. Fortunately, Qin Xiaomei knew about the theft of the sheepfold at Second Master's house; otherwise, even if she were as clever as she was, she wouldn't have been able to make sense of the logic behind it all.

"Hmm, I think I understand what you mean. But this is a hospital, not a forensic center. Since this might be helpful in solving the case, I think it's more appropriate to hand it over to the police officers handling the case. How about this, you leave this piece of cloth with me for now, and I'll go to the police station when I have time to hand it over and also urge them to speed up the investigation. Is that alright?"

Qin Xiaomei's expression remained unchanged, but she was actually quite shocked. She was actually somewhat impressed by her seemingly "dull" cousin. She had only known that Yue Chuan was good at academics before, but this time, she finally had a new understanding—a top student is a top student after all. Not to mention her own disappointing younger brother, even she herself might not have the same mindset as him!

"Alright! Thank you very much, elder sister!" Yue Chuan clasped his hands together and hurriedly thanked her. He knew that his current abilities were too limited, and if he wanted to avenge Ah Huang, he would probably have to rely on the power of others.

Qin Xiaomei carefully placed the black cloth strip into a transparent resealable bag, and then disinfected her cousin's entire body again.

After completing the entire process, it was already evening when the father and son met again.

"Uncle, it's getting late, and the buses back to the village have stopped running. How about this, you and Xiao Chuan stay at my house tonight and leave tomorrow?" At this moment, Qin Xiaomei's white coat was gone, and she was wearing a plaid shirt and jacket, looking very poised and elegant.

"No need, no need! You should go home quickly. I'll take Xiao Chuan to the inpatient department to see your second uncle later. Since we're already here, we should go and see him to put our minds at ease." Qin Shuangling replied without the slightest hesitation, clearly having already prepared his explanation.

"Alright, I need to go home and cook for the kids. When you see Uncle Aimin, please say hello to him for me and tell him to just contact the nurse on duty if he needs anything. I've already told my colleagues." Qin Xiaomei exchanged a few simple pleasantries and then turned and left.

After seeing Qin Xiaomei off, Qin Shuangling and Qin Yuechuan both breathed a long sigh of relief. The father and son stared at each other for a moment—and wow! They looked exactly like black-eyed chickens, their eyes practically bloodshot!

"You're getting more stubborn as you get older! I told you not to touch that damn dog, but you insisted! Now you always do the opposite of what I say? Have you ever thought about how your mother would live if something happened to you!"

Qin Shuangling was always like this; a single sentence could make the atmosphere incredibly heavy. And now, Yue Chuan had become exactly like his father. The young man frowned and retorted directly, "As long as we can catch the murderer! Avenge Ah Huang! I'd do anything, even drink poison, let alone get something poisonous!"

These words nearly choked Qin Shuangling to death. She raised her hand to slap her son, but stopped abruptly just as her palm was about to touch his cheek. "Why are you always so impulsive? Can't you even use your brain and think things through first? What happened last time you stood up for someone at the school gate? You got beaten up anyway. You're so old now, can't you give your parents a break!"

Qin Shuangling ultimately didn't deliver the slap, but the words he uttered were far more damaging than the slap itself. Knowing full well that his son harbored resentment over the previous beating, he, as the father, deliberately rubbed salt into the wound. This low-level maneuver was nothing short of adding fuel to the fire!

Yue Chuan was a child with a very strong sense of self-esteem, and he was going through a sensitive period of adolescence. Now that his father had reopened his wounds, he was both ashamed and embarrassed, and his whole body trembled involuntarily. "You...you're still bringing this up? Where were you when I was being beaten? All you did was complain about this and that. Did you think that doing nothing would make things alright? If you hadn't been so inactive when my mother gave birth to Yue Shan, would she have developed health problems and been bedridden?"

After all, they are father and son, and they both know each other's weaknesses. At this moment, Yue Chuan also began to speak without restraint, picking out some hurtful things to say to his father.

Come on, let's hurt each other! Whoever can't take it anymore first loses!