Guo Wen paid the cleaner another hundred yuan, asking him not to speak carelessly.
The cleaner, who had been working with Guo Wen for a long time and was responsible for the crew's miscellaneous cleaning, politely refused, promising not to speak carelessly, and then quietly left.
Guo Wen looked at the two paper cups in front of him, temporarily handed over the crew's affairs to the assistant director and producer, and then personally took the two paper cups to the police forensics department.
Because he had made arrangements in advance during the day, he didn't go through too many procedures, and the identification results came out quickly.
"Four identical fingerprints on these two samples can be excluded from suspicion: the milk tea shop, the courier, you, and the cleaner. There is one remaining fingerprint on sample cup A, but it does not match the fingerprint from the wire testing this morning."
Guo Wen paused slightly. Sample cup A belonged to Liu Zhixi, but what about Xiao Dong's?
He asked confusedly, "What about sample cup B?"
"There are no other fingerprints on sample cup B," the forensic technician confirmed.
Guo Wen reconfirmed the mark he had drawn on the cup, becoming even more bewildered. "This is impossible. This is the cup used by one of our crew members. I saw her drinking water with this cup with my own eyes. How could there be no fingerprints? Was it wiped off?"
The forensic technician shook his head. "If you are sure that this employee's fingers touched this cup, and given that all other fingerprints on the cup are intact, the possibility of it being wiped off is very small. There is another possibility, although the probability is also very small, it can explain the current situation."
"What possibility?" Guo Wen immediately pressed.
"That is, this person has no fingerprints. But in reality, this possibility is very small. Everyone has fingerprint information. In today's society, how can there be a situation where all ten fingers have no fingerprints? So... I can't speculate on the specific reason. If you want to be on the safe side, you can take another sample."
Guo Wen was stunned with horror. When he dismissed the wire team that morning, he had already been suspicious, which was also due to what the person in charge told him as they left.
Later, in the afternoon, there was an accident where the steel frame suddenly collapsed for no reason, and he immediately thought of this method.
But if Xiao Dong really had no fingerprints, setting aside this extremely small probability, it would explain why there were no fingerprints on the wire or the paper cups.
Guo Wen was nearing seventy, and had seen many storms. Having no fingerprints was not an alien event. He wasn't that unacceptable.
Having made up his mind, Guo Wen returned to the crew, ordered a cup of hot soy milk for everyone, obtained another sample cup with Xiao Dong's fingerprints, and sent it to the forensics department the next morning. As expected, there were still no fingerprints.
At this point, Guo Wen had basically confirmed that Xiao Dong was the suspect in both accidents. However, he had no direct evidence, so he did not question Xiao Dong immediately. Instead, he hired a few bodyguards, disguised as staff, to monitor Xiao Dong's every move.
Of course, that's a later story. Time went back. After Quan Jiu had an examination at the hospital, although she was not injured, she still claimed to be frightened and went straight home.
It was only four o'clock in the afternoon when she got home. Mimi and Tutu were still at kindergarten, Grandpa Chu had been taken out for a stroll by Old Li, and Chen Ma was at the supermarket buying ingredients for dinner at this time. Therefore, the house was much quieter than usual.
Accustomed to a lively and crowded environment, she felt a bit lost upon seeing the quietness. Quan Jiu smiled wryly. She longed for a complete family so much; could she really make up her mind to divorce? Moreover...
"Why would you put yourself in danger?"
Just as she was closing the door, a somewhat angry voice suddenly came from behind her.
Quan Jiu turned her head and immediately understood. "No, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was forcefully kissed, sucking and plundering, with a domineering force, as if trying to swallow her whole.
Quan Jiu's breathing became difficult, and she felt her lips go numb. She struggled uncomfortably, "You... don't..."
But the other person was clearly burning with rage and couldn't hear anything. Not only did he let his angry desires roam, but his hands instinctively reached for a soft area, with a hint of punishment, leaving no room for refusal.
Quan Jiu felt as if she had been electrocuted, her whole body numb and almost unable to stand. She struggled and begged, "Don't do this, I... I didn't do it on purpose."
Perhaps her voice was too wronged, but Chu Rong's reason returned a little. He tightly grasped Quan Jiu's wrists, his heavy breaths spraying on Quan Jiu's neck, his low voice still carrying a hint of anger, "You didn't do it on purpose, so it was intentional?"
"No..." Quan Jiu finally got a chance to breathe, gasping for air, her face flushed red, and she quickly explained, "It was really an accident. I didn't know she had tampered with the steel frame. I just wanted to ease Pei Feng's nervousness, so I took a walk and chatted with him for a while. But I wasn't injured; Pei Feng blocked it for me."
Chu Rong's eyes darkened. "Pei Feng?"
Quan Jiu caught the change in his emotions and explained, "I don't know anything else. I only know his name is Pei Feng. Is he an artist from your company?"
Although Chu Rong's eyes were still gloomy, his anger had subsided considerably. He frowned and dialed Wang Xiao's number, saying coldly, "Those four bodyguards..."
"It has nothing to do with them." Quan Jiu saw him about to question them, snatched the phone from Chu Rong's hand, and said to Wang Xiao on the other end, "It's fine, I'm hanging up." She decisively hung up the phone.
Chu Rong frowned tightly, but seeing Quan Jiu's insistence, he couldn't bear it. He closed his eyes to calm himself, and then his brow relaxed a little. His tone returned to its usual gentleness, "I've brewed you some calming tea, come over."
Quan Jiu saw that he was still troubled in his heart, but he was trying hard to suppress his anger because of her.
For some reason, she impulsively raised her arm, circled Chu Rong's neck, kissed him lightly, and smiled, "I'm fine, this is the best outcome. Don't worry, I'll deal with them tomorrow."
In her opinion, she never let a grievance go unanswered.
Chu Rong's expression froze, and he stared for a long time. Surprise, disbelief, caution... various emotions flickered, until finally replaced by desire.
He scooped up Quan Jiu and strode into the room.
...
As it turned out, there are only zero times and countless times of stumbling.
Quan Jiu curled up in the quilt in annoyance, repeatedly asking herself what she was thinking at the time. Was she possessed? After being apart for so long, she had vowed to divorce, but in the end, she took the initiative to kiss him?? WTF? Was her brain caught in the door?
"A Jiu."
A gentle voice came from her ear, and then Quan Jiu's waist was held tightly by someone, and dense, warm kisses fell on her exposed fair neck.
"Oh, it tickles." Quan Jiu's thoughts were interrupted, and she couldn't help but laugh.
Chu Rong tightened his embrace around the person in his arms, his tone full of tenderness, "Are you hungry?"
Quan Jiu then remembered something. She quickly checked the time; it was already six o'clock. Why hadn't the children and grandfather returned yet?
"Why haven't the children returned?" she murmured while making a phone call.
Chu Rong, however, held her hand and smiled, "They've gone to the old house. Mom and Dad will be back at nine tonight. I asked the children, Grandpa, and Old Li to go back to the old house first, so that the elders wouldn't be alone when they returned."
Quan Jiu hadn't fully reacted when she heard a voice with obvious amusement whisper in her ear, "Tonight, it's just you and me."
Quan Jiu's face instantly turned red, and she stammered, "I'm hungry, I'll go make food."
"Okay." Chu Rong smiled lightly and quickly got up.