"It's nothing! I am just babbling," she awkwardly smiled.
"If there is anything of importance that you feel we should know that please tell. It will only help our investigation go smoother."
Dai Fengge urged her to speak. "Yes, Xiaoling. Go ahead."
She pursed her lips and hesitantly voiced her thoughts, "Fengge you know that ever since I became your friend, Aunt has been spending more time with me which didn't sit well with Dai Meihui…e-even though I have clarified so many times that we are just friends!"
Jia noticed him turn visibly stiff.
"You told me there have been frequent arguments between them too so I just unconsciously thought…"
Huojin raised a brow and made a note.
"Unconsciously thought that she planned to kill her mother-in-law?" Mingshen's cynical chuckle echoed.
"N-No I am not accusing her of murder!" She breathlessly said.
"Implying is the same thing as accusing."
"I don't mean any harm to her by saying this," her forehead creased with tension, "I was just concerned because Fengge got her call in the middle of the movie so…"
Jia glanced at Dai Fengge. "We got to know from two witnesses that you didn't seem to be in your seat when Mrs. Dai got the attack."
His eyes widened. "W-what? She suffered the attack when I was away?"
"That's what we conclude so far."
Dai Fengge clasped his palms together, his face paling. "Yes…I-I did step outside for some time. Meihui had been calling me continuously, so I had no choice but to answer her…"
Mingshen cocked his brow. "Had no choice? That's an odd language to use for picking up someone's calls who is supposed to be your wife. I suppose the reason might be…" he glanced at Yin Xiaoling and smiled, "that she wasn't too pleased to know about a certain woman's company with you, your mother and your son going for a movie looking like a picture perfect family."
"Y-you are implying the same thing as before! Can she just not be my friend!" He spoke, agitated.
Jia sharply eyed Mingshen to pull back, but he just lazily whistled.
Yin Xiaoling trembled with tears falling down her cheeks. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have brought Dai Meihui in between all this. She has nothing to do with this accident anyway even if she holds resentment against Aunt…She wasn't even here."
Jia was displeased seeing Yin Xiaoling acting like a typical white lotus.
Even though she is apologizing for dragging Dai Meihui into the conversation, she is also repeatedly highlighting her resentment against Mrs. Dai Yaling. She wants us to treat her as a suspect.
I want to set these two duck heads straight so badly for openly having an affair. Only if I wasn't a cop and had to maintain my professionalism…
"It's indeed strange that you mentioned the wife's animosity with her mother-in-law when you weren't on good terms with the deceased in the first place," Mingshen's gaze twinkled with a smirk. His inner sadistic side was enjoying seeing her fumble.
Yin Xiaoling jolted at her place. "W-what are you talking about? Aunt and I were always on good terms. That's why Meihui wasn't so happy…"
"But the kid has a different story to tell," Mingshen smiled, blowing air on his beautiful fingernails.
Jia asked, "Yun said something to you?"
"We were just chatting around when I was tasked to babysit him. He told me some interesting things about how he heard the woman in this picture-perfect family apparently wanting to send him to a boarding school far, far away."
The color on her face drained.
"Which didn't sit too well with the grandmother who doted on her grandson so much."
"What!?" Dai Fengge stood up, aghast. "Boarding school and Yun?" He looked at Yin Xiaoling and asked, "What is he talking about? When was there ever a discussion about sending Yun to any boarding school?"
"No! I said no such thing! I don't know why Y-Yun would lie like this…Is it because Meihui hates me that he is also…?" She sobbed, leaving the question unsaid.
Mingshen continued, giving no attention to her cries. "Which makes me wonder if you might have something to do with the death? You didn't like the fact that she opposed your wishes to send the annoying kid of the first marriage in your definition to a boarding school. The wife wasn't present here, but you were. Who knows if you…?"
He sneered, leaving the implication unsaid.
Yin Xiaoling gritted her teeth. "How could you accuse me of being responsible for Aunt's death just because of a disagreement? That's too much!"
"Well at least I am accusing someone who was present in the theater unlike you who pointed her fingers at someone who is miles away from here," he smiled. "Or did you possibly have some misunderstanding that only you can accuse people but not others?"
Her expression didn't look good, but it collapsed completely when Mingshen said the next thing, "Is it because of the bitter disagreement that you ignored Yun's calls to bring your attention to help your 'favorite Aunt' desperately gasping for help?"
There was a stretch of silence, and Mingshen let his words sink in.
Yin Xiaoling felt sheer terror at this point. She trembled with a burst of adrenaline spiking in her body as if she was in a life or death situation.
Jia wondered just how deep of a conversation Mingshen had with Yun. Yun was naturally in her radar for some questioning to know if he had noticed something out of the ordinary during the whole incident. But since he was only a six year old child and the matter was regarding his grandmother's death, she wanted to approach him cautiously.
I was mainly concerned about the impact it might have on his mind, but it seems that Mingshen already did half of my job without…
She took a quick glance at Yun, who was merrily talking and playing with Ma Zhilan outside.
Without affecting him negatively, she thought.
Mingshen felt a keen stare, and he noticed Jia watching him. But he couldn't gauge what she was thinking about. "Spicy your intense gaze is making my heart flutter. Stop looking at me or I might faint with your passionate display of love~" his snarky grin made her brows twitch.
Yup I was right in keeping that tiny praise for him to myself, Jia inwardly gave herself a thumbs up. Or I would have completely tipped off his mental balance.
Suddenly, Yin Xiaoling burst out in her defense. "T-this is all lies! Yun never called me…!"