"Did I... kill the Professor?"
Xiao Yi looked at Maria with astonishment.
"You're not trying to deny it, are you!?" Maria roared, hurling the indescribable dish to the ground, shattering the plate.
"..." Xiao Yi fell silent for a moment before responding, "Indeed, I can't deny it, since we have no means to test for poison right now. That dish, perhaps, truly contained poison."
"!!!???" The online audience was shocked.
"No way, he actually just admitted it!"
"I thought he could get through by just denying it flat out, although the chances were slim, at least there was a slim chance, but he actually admitted it!"
"This is no different from committing suicide!"
However, unlike those who were almost hysterical, Xiao Yi remained utterly calm, even a bit excited.
I never expected to actually be identified as the murderer, what luck... this is what Xiao Yi thought.
Being identified as the murderer is a classic trope Xiao Yi often encountered, how could he not be thrilled.
Moreover, how to respond to such accusations was something Xiao Yi knew, hence, he said he couldn't deny that the food was poisoned.
"You admitted it," Maria said intently, her murderous intent intensifying, "You admitted you are the murderer of my husband!"
"No, I didn't admit it," however, Xiao Yi suddenly shook his head and said, "Even if the food was poisoned, it doesn't serve as evidence that I murdered the Professor."
"…Huh?" The chat filled up with question marks again.
Maria frowned and said, "What nonsense are you speaking? Do you still want to stubbornly argue now?"
"Have you not considered a possibility? Someone could have poisoned my food, used me to kill the Professor, and planned to set me up."
"Set... set me up?"
Maria was stunned again by Xiao Yi's words.
"I was merely cooking innocently, without poisoning." Xiao Yi believed this, so he said so.
His firm belief interfered with reality once more, and Maria calmed down slightly.
However, unaware of this, people in the live stream couldn't help commenting:
"You better have been just cooking."
"Normally, no matter how bad food is, it's hard to poison someone with it, but with Formalin, that's a different story."
Xiao Yi continued, "Aunt Maria, think about it, why would I want to kill the Professor? The Professor was so kind to me, I had no motive to kill him."
"…Motive?"
Hearing Xiao Yi's words, Maria calmed down further, realizing something.
Upon careful consideration, it was true that Xiao Yi had no reason to kill Hannibal; they should have had no conflicts.
"…What were you and Xiao Ni doing in the kitchen earlier? Come to think of it, why were you in the kitchen at all?" Maria asked.
"I was a bit hungry, wanted to have something to eat," Xiao Yi said with a smile.
Maria couldn't help but be speechless; the dinner for the entire family had been devoured by him, and yet he was still hungry?!
Xiao Yi continued, "Then, the Professor came over and suddenly said something about wanting me to become part of his family."
"Family? I see." Maria didn't react much, apparently, she was aware of this.
Then, Maria asked, "Did you agree?"
"Yes, the Professor was such a good person, of course, I had to accept... not to mention it comes with room and board."
"..." Maria pondered for a moment, then suddenly bowed her head and apologized to Xiao Yi.
"I'm sorry, Xiao Yi, I got too carried away. Upon careful reflection, you're right, you have no motive to kill Xiao Ni. Moreover, a dish of food, no matter how poorly made, couldn't possibly be lethal, especially since there are hardly any toxins in this world capable of killing my Xiao Ni. This must have been premeditated by someone.
I'm really sorry, even though you were so earnest in trying to find the real culprit for my Xiao Ni, I still doubted you."
"I don't mind, being skeptical of everything is only natural," Xiao Yi replied with a smile, thinking to himself that he had just delivered another cool line.
"..."
Watching Xiao Yi once again resolve what seemed like an unsolvable crisis and reconcile with Maria, the live stream didn't erupt in amazement as it had before but remained silent.
After a long silence, someone commented.
"Watching Brother Xiao Yi clear an abnormal instance really feels like riding a roller coaster, twist after twist, completely unpredictable, so thrilling that it almost gave me a heart attack."
"Even though it has been said many times, I can't help but ask, does his IQ really only measure 6?"
"About IQ, probably."
"Or in other words, 'seemingly IQ.'"
"No matter what happens in the future, regardless of what others say, I believe Brother Xiao Yi will definitely succeed! Believe in Xiao! Love Xiao! Wait for Xiao!"
Before, the astonishment at Xiao Yi's actions was primarily because they were unexpected; deep down, they didn't believe Xiao Yi had the ability to overcome such difficulties.
But now it was different; this time, everyone was truly convinced, hence, astonishment turned into admiration.
Expectation also morphed into trust to some degree.
At that moment, Maria suddenly said, "However, Xiao Yi, you indeed reminded me... a motive, huh? The motive to kill Xiao Ni, to kill us.."
Maria seemed to have thought of something, turned around, and prepared to leave, bidding farewell to Xiao Yi:
"Xiao Yi, there are some things I need to confirm. You go ahead."
"Confirm? Hmm, okay."
Xiao Yi nodded and then looked toward the Professor, feeling somewhat emotional.
"True to his title, the Professor truly married a devoted wife; willing to work so hard for your peace. I just hope she can also be a good mother. To cut off her son's hand though... that's definitely going too far."
The comments joked: "That's way more than a bit too much."
Mid-sentence, Xiao Yi suddenly froze.
"Wait! Mother!?"
The viewers in the live stream, seeing Xiao Yi suddenly make a shocked expression, were also perplexed.
"What happened with Brother Xiao Yi?"
"What's going on?"
Xiao Yi felt his mind suddenly clear up; his brain began to churn.
"Wait a minute, I remember, the Professor's last words were... 'damn it!' It seems like he was swearing, but such a refined person as the Professor would never swear, and especially not with his last words. He must have been trying to convey some message to me! Maybe he was hinting at the identity of the murderer!"
"????"
The live stream began to flood with a series of question marks.
"Damn it, although I don't know who 'he' is, this clue about the mother is very important. Thinking of who fits the identity of a mother here... could it be!?"
Xiao Yi abruptly looked toward the departing figure of Maria, and couldn't help but gasp sharply!
"Hisss... This woman is truly inscrutable!"