Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

He has always been most disgusted by such prejudiced remarks that are based on a lack of understanding of one's place and that readily bring up one's stepsister. If it were anyone else, they would have already given him a cold rebuke.

But for some reason, when he looked into Bai Shanshan's eyes, which were feigning grievance and glistening with tears, the anger that was about to come out of his mouth inexplicably subsided, leaving only a touch of helpless tenderness.

Bai Shanshan was quick-witted and immediately sensed the displeasure in his tone. She quickly grabbed his arm, leaned against him gently, and pleaded in a sweet voice, "Okay, Ah Chen, I know I was wrong. I spoke without thinking. Please don't be angry, okay? I promise I won't say anything like that again."

As she spoke, she immediately turned to Shen Jingshu, a forced and insincere smile plastered on her face, and extended her hand in a feignedly friendly manner: "Oh, it's you, Jingshu. I'm your second brother's girlfriend. My name is Bai Shanshan. You can just call me Sister Shanshan from now on."

Shen Jingshu quietly observed the jealousy, scheming, and feigned gentleness that she couldn't hide in her eyes. Her gaze was calm, and she raised her hand without making a sound, giving a slight nod in response.

She had long seen through this unwanted suitor who had become entangled with Li Beichen. She maintained a friendly demeanor on the surface, but she knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

Li Beichen wasn't very familiar with Shen Jingshu and Lin Wanqing. After a brief greeting and a polite hello to Lin Wanqing, he turned and left with Bai Shanshan.

Shen Jingshu watched the two figures walk away hand in hand, her eyes slightly dim, lost in thought.

Bai Shanshan's deliberately concealed malice and scheming, as well as Li Beichen's influence from the Peach Blossom Curse and his inexplicable indulgence, were all clearly visible.

Lin Wanqing, standing to the side, remained calm. As the stepmother of the Li family, she always kept to her place and never interfered in the private affairs of the Li family children. As long as they maintained a harmonious relationship on the surface, that was enough for her.

Just then, Shen Jingshu's phone rang suddenly, and the caller ID showed Li Hanting.

She answered the phone, and Li Hanting's calm voice came from the other end, asking for her location immediately.

Shen Jingshu truthfully gave him the mall's address. Li Hanting paused for a moment, then said that he had something he wanted her to help with. Shen Jingshu thought for a moment and then agreed: "Okay, I'll wait for you on the first floor of the mall."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Jingshu turned to Lin Wanqing and explained that her older brother, Li Hanting, needed to speak with her and that she needed to leave first.

Lin Wanqing smiled and felt very gratified. She had always hoped that her daughter could get along well with the Li family's older brothers. She immediately nodded and agreed: "Go ahead and go. Don't worry about me. I can shop around by myself."

Actually, Lin Wanqing had received a call from Shen Xinyi while she was shopping. After Shen Xinyi found out that she was shopping, she insisted on coming over to accompany her.

Lin Wanqing hadn't had a chance to tell Shen Jingshu about this yet. Now that her eldest daughter had to leave, it would be perfect for her youngest daughter to come and keep her company. So she smiled and urged Shen Jingshu to set off, not wanting her daughter to worry at all.

After giving a few instructions, Shen Jingshu turned and left the women's clothing store.

Not long after she left, Shen Xinyi rushed to the mall and found the store by following the location sent by Lin Wanqing.

As she entered, she glanced up at the shop sign and recognized it as a top luxury women's clothing brand. A hint of envy and calculation flashed in her eyes.

Back when she was with the Shen family, Lin Wanqing was short of money and never dared to step into such stores. Now that she has married into the Li family, she is indeed living a life of luxury.

Fortunately, her mother had the Li family's credit card, so now she could get her mother to pay for whatever she wanted.

Shen Xinyi put aside her thoughts and immediately spotted Lin Wanqing sitting in the rest area drinking tea. She instantly adopted a sweet and obedient demeanor, quickly ran over, hugged Lin Wanqing's arm, and said in a soft, coquettish voice, "Mommy, I missed you so much! I missed you so much!"

Lin Wanqing chuckled and tapped her forehead, saying, "We haven't seen each other for long, why would you miss me like that?"

"Of course I want to! We used to be together every day, and I haven't seen my mom for days!" Shen Xinyi shook her arm, her sweet words dripping with honey.

"You're so sweet-talking," Lin Wanqing said with a gentle smile. "Your sister was shopping with me just now, but she had to leave first. Otherwise, you two sisters might have bumped into each other."

"Oh, I see. That's perfect! I'll keep shopping with Mom!" Shen Xinyi's eyes lit up, and she immediately took Lin Wanqing's hand affectionately as they strolled through the mall.

However, the two of them then visited trendy clothing and luxury accessory stores popular with young girls, and none of them had styles suitable for Lin Wanqing.

Throughout the entire trip, Lin Wanqing didn't pick out a single piece of clothing, while Shen Xinyi had a great time shopping, carrying large and small shopping bags and returning home with a full load.

Lin Wanqing didn't care at all; in fact, she doted on her daughter. She felt guilty for leaving the Shen family and not being able to be by Shen Xinyi's side, and now that she was financially comfortable, she was willing to make it up to her daughter materially. As long as Shen Xinyi was happy, spending more money was nothing.

As soon as Shen Jingshu stepped out of the mall, a sturdy black SUV slowly drove up and came to a steady stop in front of her.

The car window rolled down, revealing Li Hanting's handsome and well-defined face. Upon seeing her, he spoke in a naturally gentle tone: "Jing Shu, get in the car."

"Big brother," Shen Jingshu called out, opening the car door and getting into the passenger seat. After fastening her seatbelt, she asked, "Big brother, why did you call me so urgently? Is there something you need?"

"There's something I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Li Hanting gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed ahead. Ever since he learned that Shen Jingshu understood metaphysics, the relationship between the two had inexplicably grown closer, with a natural trust between them.

"Our police station recently had a series of murders. The task force has been investigating for a long time, but the clues have gone cold, and we haven't found a single lead." He turned his head to look at the girl beside him, his tone somewhat solemn. "I suddenly remembered that you can tell fortunes and read faces. I was wondering if you could use some metaphysical methods to help us find some clues."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingshu agreed without the slightest hesitation.

For her, helping the police solve major cases and catch vicious suspects is a way to uphold justice and accumulate considerable merit. She has no reason to refuse such a mutually beneficial thing.

Li Hanting said no more and drove directly towards the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The atmosphere in the police station was as oppressive as a frozen dark cloud. When Li Hanting arrived, his colleagues from the special task force all stood up to greet him.

When their gazes fell upon Shen Jingshu behind him, everyone was slightly taken aback, then nodded politely—Shen Jingshu had visited once before, and although they did not know her specific identity, they had met her once.

At this moment, no one understood why Director Li had suddenly brought this young woman to the crime scene.

In the center of the hall, a huge movable blackboard was covered with densely packed red and black arrows, forming a messy and heavy display of writing.

Several photos of the deceased were pasted on the edge of the blackboard; the images were gruesome and chilling at first glance.

Just as Shen Jingshu's gaze inadvertently swept over the photos, a young police officer from the station reacted quickly, stepping forward and gently raising his hand to temporarily block her view.

In his view, Shen Jingshu was just a teenage girl, and she would probably be too frightened to face such bloody photos of the crime scene.