Reborn in the 80s: My Whole Family Secretly Hears My Thoughts and Goes Wild with Success! - Chapter 50

Li Xing sighed softly. “Not long after you moved away, my uncle had an accident at work. It was a case of white-haired parents burying their black-haired child. My grandmother cried for a full day and night, and when she woke up, she couldn’t see anything anymore.”

“Let’s not dwell on sad things,” Li Xing quickly changed the subject. “Zhiqiu, what do you do for work now?”

“I’m in the cultural troupe. What about you?”

Still as mischievous as she was in childhood, Li Xing teased Shen Zhiqiu: “Guess.”

“A doctor?” Shen Zhiqiu answered bluntly, pointing at Li Xing. “Xing’er, I can smell disinfectant on you.”

Li Xing leaned in and whispered, “I became a forensic examiner.”

“A forensic examiner? Xing’er, that’s amazing!”

Li Xing smiled wryly. “You know I always wanted to be a police officer, but my parents wouldn’t allow it—they insisted I become a doctor. Then, by some twist of fate, I got assigned to the forensic medicine program. I guess it’s the best of both worlds.”

Suddenly, Shen Zhiqiu had a thought. “Xing’er, can I ask you a professional question? Is it possible to determine a person’s cause of death from their ashes? Or whether they were poisoned before they died?”

“You can extract some information from ashes, but it depends on the specific circumstances.”

Li Xing studied Shen Zhiqiu and guessed, “Zhiqiu, do you want to find out the truth about Auntie Ye’s death?”

Shen Zhiqiu nodded firmly. “Xing’er, I won’t hide it from you—I think there’s more to my mother’s death than meets the eye.”

“After Auntie Ye passed, my grandmother kept saying how pitiable she was—that she was a good person but had poor judgment in people. She also said you were pitiable too.”

Li Xing recalled, “Even now, I remember the smell of herbal medicine on your family and Auntie Ye.”

“Oh, Zhiqiu, one time when my uncle was drunk, I heard him say that on the day your mother gave birth to you, she didn’t just fall—someone pushed her. But I don’t know if it’s true, and I’m not even sure I heard him right. You know how slurred his speech could be.”

Shen Zhiqiu’s eyes turned icy in an instant. She gripped Li Xing’s hand. “Xing’er, please help me. Can you test my mother’s ashes and see what information you can find? I need to know the truth about how she died!”

“I’ll try.”

Plans often change unexpectedly. To avoid complications, instead of reburying Ye Yunshuang’s ashes the next morning as originally planned, they quietly handed them over to Li Xing.

Confronting Shen Daqiang and Wang Fengqin would have to wait. Shen Zhiqiu wanted to see what Li Xing’s findings revealed before deciding her next move.

But in the meantime, she wasn’t about to let them off easy.

After leaving the crematorium, Shen Zhiqiu bought malted milk, canned goods, and six boxes of pastries before heading to Granny Xu’s house in Yangxi Alley.

“Zhiqiu?” Just like Li Xing, her parents, Li Guoxiang and Wang Yuhua, recognized Shen Zhiqiu immediately.

“Uncle Li, Auntie Wang, you still remember me?”

“Of course we do! How could we forget? You look exactly the same as you did when you were little—not a bit different.”

Wang Yuhua took Shen Zhiqiu’s hand. “Zhiqiu, come inside.”

“Uncle Li, Auntie Wang, I ran into Xing’er yesterday and talked about Granny Xu, so I came to see her.”

“You’re so thoughtful.”

As they spoke, Wang Yuhua helped Granny Xu out of the house. The old woman was indeed in decent health, as Li Xing had said, but her eyes were clouded over, devoid of any light.

Shen Zhiqiu quickly stood and helped Wang Yuhua support Granny Xu. “Granny Xu, it’s me, Zhiqiu—Qiuqiu.”

“Qiuqiu? Come, let Granny take a look at you.”

Once seated, Granny Xu reached out to touch Shen Zhiqiu’s face, then chuckled. “Yes, it’s Qiuqiu.”

“Qiuqiu, how have you been all these years? Your father mentioned that you and that stepdaughter of his both joined the cultural troupe and married well?” Wang Yuhua asked.

“Auntie Wang, I did join the troupe, and my marriage is fine—my in-laws treat me well.”

Shen Zhiqiu forced a bitter smile. “But to be honest, life at home hasn’t been easy.”

Wang Yuhua squeezed her hand. “Qiuqiu, tell me what’s going on.”

Shen Zhiqiu didn’t go into too much detail, but she explained how Shen Liya had caused her premature birth and how Shen Daqiang and Wang Fengqin had pocketed the money her uncle sent her, along with her wages.

Wang Yuhua was furious. “A stepmother means a stepfather—I always knew that Shen Daqiang was no good!”

“And that woman he married—sharp-eyed and sly. She might smile when she talks, but her gaze is shifty.”

“Auntie Wang, I only found out recently that she and my father knew each other long before. Shen Liya is actually his biological daughter.”

“I remember Shen Liya is only half a year younger than you. So that means…”

Wang Yuhua’s eyes widened in realization. “No wonder he was never home back then! The moment your mother died, he married that woman and didn’t even mind that she came with a daughter.”

“A woman’s marriage is like a second birth. Little Ye just didn’t pick a good man.”

Granny Xu shook her head sadly. “Such a sweet girl, gone so young. How could she leave this world so soon?”

“I think Yunshuang was ruined by all that herbal medicine she took. She drank it for years, but instead of getting better, her health only worsened. She must’ve gone to a quack.”

Li Guoxiang scolded Wang Yuhua, “Don’t go spreading rumors—how can you say things like that?”

Wang Yuhua shot him a glare. “Then what do you think happened?”

“How should I know?”

Li Guoxiang stood up impatiently, gathered his things, and headed out. He glanced at Shen Zhiqiu. “Zhiqiu, stay and chat. I’ve got to get to work.”

“Uncle Li, let me walk you out.”

Shen Zhiqiu followed Li Guoxiang outside. When they reached a quiet spot, he stopped, looked around to make sure no one was listening, then fixed her with a cold stare.

“Zhiqiu, every family has its own troubles. Each household deals with its own—no need to meddle in others’ affairs.”

“Uncle Li, what if your family’s troubles are tied to mine?”

Li Guoxiang frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Li Xing told me that Uncle Shunzi once mentioned the truth about my mother’s fall when he was drunk.”

Shen Zhiqiu lowered her voice. “If Uncle Shunzi knew more than just that—if my mother’s death wasn’t an accident—then maybe his own death wasn’t an accident either.”

Li Guoxiang, his younger brother Li Guoshun, and Shen Daqiang had all worked at the same factory, with Shen Daqiang and Li Guoshun in the same workshop.

Workshop accidents weren’t uncommon, but Shen Zhiqiu didn’t know the exact details of what had happened back then. She couldn’t outright ask Li Guoxiang.

But if her bold guess was right—if Li Guoshun’s death was somehow connected to Shen Daqiang—then she might be able to win Li Guoxiang over completely, turning him into a powerful ally.

Even if she was wrong, Li Guoxiang wouldn’t remain entirely indifferent. He’d remember how Shen Daqiang had deliberately made things difficult for Li Guoshun back in the day.