Wen Kexing's beautiful wife, Gao Xiao Lian, is murdered, and the police request coroner Zhou Zishu perform the autopsy. The police commissioner gives them fourteen days to arrest the murderer. But is this a simple stalking case or do they have a s...
Zhou Zishu and Ye Baiyi arrived together at the funeral gathering in Wen mansion. Express invitations had reached them at their workplaces earlier that day. It appeared like dozens of people attended to console the families and demonstrate their support. Business colleagues and spouses, staff from partner companies, a few university professors, and former classmates mingled in the house and grounds. Family members congregated in the living room, den and dining room. Qiao Xing directed staff to keep the drinks flowing, the empty glasses retrieved and washed, the buffet tables indoors and out, well stocked. A maid worked upstairs, packing Kexing's suitcase and preparing other clothing to be sent over to the apartment tomorrow. Wen notified Qiao Xing that after the funeral, when the police released the suite, he wanted her to assist him in disposing of LiLi's clothing and personal items. She advised him to wait a while and let Zhi Yin be there to decide. Excluding her would definitely hurt her feelings. He agreed to that idea. But he insisted on moving out of the house completely.
Zhou especially wanted to see Wen again. The anxious eagerness increased at every thought of him. He and Ye accepted flutes of water but bypassed the food table and entered the living room to see a stiff Wen confronting the four parents. As the two approached, they felt the tension between the five. Wen stood alone. He realized, achingly, it had always been Lian and him together. And even together they never prevailed.
"Why don't you just stay here in your home?" questioned Zhi Yin plaintively. Her son-in-law examined his feet, hands curled into tight fists, lips compressed into a thin white line.
"I prefer my apartment," he answered softly, his voice shaking. "We discussed this before." He licked his lips.
"But this has everything you need, and the staff," his father-in-law insisted. "You lived here with your wife, and this is your home."
"No, it isn't," Wen's temper cracked a little. "You all bought this house for us and decorated it. I just lived here to avoid conflict. I contributed nothing to it. No one asked me if it pleased me. None of my paintings hang anywhere; none of my books occupy space on the shelves. The only room that truly belongs to me is my office and even that the decorator arranged. But I rearranged it to suit me. Someone else chose all the furniture and the colors, including my bedroom suite. You just extended you own homes." More family members left their conversations to listen to this outbreak. Too bad Lian died to bring on this rebellion.
"We wanted you to have room for your children," Gao Chong reminded him. "Maybe if you had children, you would appreciate it more. But you spent your time with men, especially this last one. You should have been here with your wife." Wen advanced a step, menace in his stance.
"My sexual preferences are none of your business. If Lian accepted my life, you have no right to say anything. Better we chose what made us happy than be trapped in a marriage like yours. She refused to be her mother, bullied at home and a show piece in public, always at your beck and call. Not allowed an opinion of her own. Just your nursemaid. She wanted to be her own person." Zhi Yin gasped and covered her face.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
