My Youth Began With Him

“Oh, I can’t believe I forgot about it… True, I was going to put surveillance cameras inside the house, but since we were all family, it seemed unnecessary… You’ve got great memory, Xiuping, I can’t believe you remember this…” Huo Mian said to Yang Xiuping as if there was another layer of meaning.

The latter seemed to notice that she said the wrong thing, and she replied awkwardly, “Auntie mentioned it to me once. After all, I don’t wear a lot of clothes when I’m inside sometimes, so I care about stuff like this. Anyways, I’m going to help Auntie out in the kitchen, you guys sit tight.”

Then, she got up and headed into the kitchen…

The truth was, Yang Xiuping didn’t want to face Huo Mian because the latter was too smart and meticulous. If she kept talking, Huo Mian might find loopholes in her speech. Therefore, she looked for a reason to leave, leaving the Qin couple alone in the living room…

“Honey, what do you think about all this?” Huo Mian smiled as she looked at Qin Chu, who crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Why are you asking me? You’re the detective. I know you asked me about the surveillance cameras just now on purpose, just so she would give herself away.”

Not only did he figure out what was going on, he also knew that his wife was fishing on purpose, seeing if Yang Xiuping would bite…

The fact was, they didn’t target Yang Xiuping on purpose.

But aside from her mother and Yang Xiuping, no one else lived at this house. The last time her mother saw her jewelry was two weeks ago and aside from Qin Chu and Huo Mian, no one else visited during this time. Qin Chu, Huo Mian, and her mother would never steal the jewelry, making Yang Xiuping the immediate suspect…

Yang Xiuping wasn’t an idiot; she was smart enough to immediately clear herself of any suspicions by asking Yang Meirong to search her room.

In the past, Huo Mian always thought she was a country girl with bad intentions; now she realized that Yang Xiuping also had street smarts.

“Honey, she showed Mom her wallet and bank cards, right? She didn’t sell them since there was no extra money on her…”

“That’s simple, who would steal something and leave it on themselves? Even if she sold them, she wouldn’t bring the money back into the house. I bet she spent that money, maybe she bought something expensive with it that we haven’t noticed yet,” Qin Chu analyzed with certainty.

Then, he added, “I’m sure if we looked at the surveillance cameras outside, we would see her leave the house more than she used to.”

Huo Mian nodded in agreement with Qin Chu’s analysis…

Soon, they finished cooking; Yang Meirong came out holding a plate of beef patties while Yang Xiuping brought out a giant bowl of tomato egg soup…

“Cooking other dishes take too long, I didn’t want you guys to get too hungry so I made you some soup. Have some while it’s hot,” Yang Meirong said, filled with motherly love.

“Thanks, Mom.” Qin Chu was touched by how much his mother-in-law cared about him and Mian.

“Don’t thank me, you’re both my children. Cooking for you is all I can do since I can’t help you with much else.”

Then, Yang Xiuping handed Qin Chu a bowl of soup. “Brother-in-Law, have some soup.”

Qin Chu didn’t take it, but Huo Mian did, placing the bowl in front of Qin Chu.

Yang Xiuping then poured Huo Mian another bowl…

It seemed like she was still trying to suck up to them.

“Xiuping, this ring is really pretty, is it new?” Huo Mian suddenly saw a ring on Yang Xiuping’s finger when she was taking the soup from the latter’s hands. It was a small, not-so-obvious diamond.

Yang Xiuping’s expression immediately changed; she then laughed awkwardly, “It’s not real, I bought it on the street for 5 yuan.”

“Oh, it’s not bad… I would’ve thought it was real…”

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuping could barely sit still…

Before she could say anything, Huo Mian asked her, “Xiuping, have you been out a lot recently? Do you have any friends here in the city?”