Jia, Dai Meihui and Ma Yanyu waited outside the ward as Mingshen got occupied with checking Ma Zhilan's condition. Ma Yanyu was busy typing rapidly on her phone as she paced back and forth.
Dai Meihui prayed. "I hope it won't be anything serious."
Jia smiled. "I am sure she will be fine."
She then asked, "How is Yun? I gather you and Dai Fengge would have fought, which in front of a child is…"
"Yun is fine. I made sure that he was asleep before I confronted Fengge…" she slightly shivered, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "It's good that Yun is at the daycare now or he would have insisted on coming with me."
"Have you told him the truth of Mrs. Dai's death? It will be hard for him to understand."
"Yes, indeed. I told him that Grandma will be out of town for a while…"
She nodded in understanding. "That is actually better. Yun was quite shaken that day in the theater," she pursed her lips. "I hope he is doing okay. If at any time during this case, you need any help with Yun's care, please don't hesitate to call me. Officer Xiyang will be more than happy to babysit."
"Thank you so much. I really appreciate your support."
"You look really tired, Mrs. Dai," Jia expressed her concern. "You should go home and rest."
Dai Meihui let out a feeble smile. "I want to be here maybe because…she is the mother-in-law I wished I had. I felt at home when I saw her back then," her gaze looked faraway in the distance. "I thought I could just be here for support."
Jia said nothing.
"I will head to Gucheng for work after this. I feel more refreshed at my office desk instead of being at home."
"I see."
Since Ma Zhilan was still admitted, Jia thought she could meanwhile check on Yin Xiaoling and see how really 'sick' she was.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Dai. I will be back."
"Sure."
Jia took a turn towards a corridor and as she was about to open the door to her ward, someone from inside was already rushing out. They almost bumped into each other.
Jia looked surprised as she recognized the figure. "Miss. Wu?"
Wu Yue glanced at Jia and seemed to freeze for a moment. "S-Superitendent Song, right?"
"Yes. A surprise to meet you here. You came to the hospital. Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes, I am totally fine. It's…it's regarding my Grandma. There were some formalities to be done to get her d-death certificate so…" she trembled as tears brimmed her eyes.
She expressed her condolences. "I am sorry."
Jia didn't show it explicitly, but she stared at her with scrutiny.
The way she is averting her gaze feels like…
"Are you cold? You are shivering."
"No, no," her response was almost instantaneous. "It's just that hospitals always make me a little sick…"
"Oh."
"Why is Miss. Song here though?"
"You remember Miss. Ma Zhilan? The one whose seat was beside the deceased Mrs. Dai Yaling? She suffered a panic attack, so we brought her here for a checkup."
"Oh no. I hope she is doing okay."
"That's what Yang Mingshen is assuring."
"That's good. Hope she recovers soon," she rubbed her palms.
Jia threw an overall look at her and couldn't help but ask again, "Are you really okay? You look thinner than before too."
She answered almost immediately. "Yes, yes! I am fine. It's been depressing since Grandma passed away…I don't feel hungry much these days."
Jia craned her neck towards Yin Xiaoling's ward. Then she looked back at her. "You and Miss. Yin…
"O-oh that's nothing! I was just passing by and my gaze fell on the patient inside…I recognized her from the theater so thought to-"
Just then Yin Xiaoling wheeled herself outside and blurted out. "Hey you forgot your handkerchief like last time-"
Her eyes widened seeing Jia outside too. "M-Miss. Song…"
Jia immediately detected the tension in the air and she had clearly heard the last sentence too. "Like last time? When did this happen?"
With a little hurried and agitated tone, Wu Yue said, "Nothing! It was…it was at the theater! Yeah at the theater!"
Jia clearly read the discomfort in their gazes and sharply instructed them. "You better come out clean if there is anything you are hiding because I can sense some secrecy here. Especially from Miss. Yin, who seems to like hiding things."
She broke into a cold sweat.
After some more harsh nudging from Jia which was anything but friendly, Yin Xiaoling finally caved in. "...It was a month ago that we met in a shopping mall. But it was just a coincidence! That old hag had spotted Wu Yue with her grandma. Apparently, her grandma was the old hag's-"
"I would prefer it if you at least address her as Mrs. Dai," Jia corrected her. "She might not have been good to you, but she is no more now."
She made a face, clearly against this idea.
"...Her grandma was Mrs. Dai's teacher in high school. The conversation was anything but friendly though."
Needless to say, Jia hadn't expected to hear this piece of information. She faced Wu Yue. "You knew Mrs. Dai Yaling from before?"
Wu Yue rubbed her neck, feeling breathless. "No, no!"
"Miss. Yin is saying otherwise."
"I-I mean yes…I remember that. But I didn't recognize Mrs. Dai Yaling in the theater!"
Jia squinted her eyes and turned towards Yin Xiaoling. "Why wasn't the conversation friendly?"
Yin Xiaoling cleared her throat. "I told you that she was a very cynical person. On the surface, it seemed that she was talking sweetly, but she was actually insulting her grandma in disguise. She was reminiscing about the old days and from what I could gather, Mrs. Dai had been harassing her teacher in the past. Though she didn't see the bullying in that sense as expected of her," she sneered.
"Her Grandma was nice and polite. But Mrs. Dai kept with her facade. That's all. I didn't bother much. At some point, I thought the girl would explode in anger, but she didn't."
"At the theater, you didn't say anything about recognizing Miss. Wu," Jia pointed with a hint of sharpness in her tone.
"B-Back then, I didn't see her clearly! Plus it was a month ago. I really didn't remember her…" she looked away.
Jia then focused her attention on Wu Yue. "I believe you wouldn't forget this incident if the grandmother you love so much was humiliated and you too. So now I question if your presence in the same theater as Mrs. Dai Yaling was really a coincidence."
Wu Yue didn't look well. "I didn't…! I had no connection whatsoever to her death!"
"I will decide that after I question you once again. You already hid your familiarity with Mrs. Dai."
She suddenly grabbed onto Jia's hand, crying and gasping breathlessly. "You have to let me go! I-I am innocent! I didn't do anything wrong! I really didn't remember her!"
In that little panicked and urgent skirmish, she accidentally dropped her phone which Jia bent to pick up. As her phone lit up, her gaze fell on the wallpaper and she blinked once.
Jia looked back at her and asked, "This picture."
Wu Yue glanced at it and slightly stiffened. "Oh that. It's a picture of me with my pet cat…"
"You have a cat?" She asked, slightly taken aback.