Chapter 44 Don't Take It Too Seriously

"The Yue family might come after you for trouble," Shang Moting said.

She had returned the items intact to the Yue Family Mansion.

Yue Mingzhou knew better than anyone whether the Yue Family Mansion was clean or not.

And nothing had happened at the Interstellar Hotel.

Therefore, Yue Mingzhou would immediately suspect Lin Ting.

The Yue family would not let her off.

"It's fine," Lin Ting said. "It doesn't matter."

Shang Moting looked at her in silence.

Lin Ting asked, "Is there anything else?"

"If you want to go somewhere, you can have the driver take you," Shang Moting said.

Lin Ting thought for a moment and replied, "A driver isn't necessary. If possible, just let me use a car."

"The keys are in the second drawer of the entryway cabinet. Take whichever one you like," Shang Moting said.

"Thank you," Lin Ting said as she turned to leave, but after taking two steps, she turned back.

Shang Moting looked at her.

"I suddenly wanted to say something," Lin Ting said.

Shang Moting gestured for her to continue.

Lin Ting said, "Between us..."

She paused mid-sentence.

Shang Moting waited for her to go on.

Lin Ting gathered her thoughts and phrased her words carefully. "You know, I approached you with a purpose."

She paused again and continued, "I know I'm pretty, smart, and interesting. Falling in love with me is as easy as breathing."

Shang Moting's brows twitched slightly, and the corner of his mouth curved up. "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to say..." Lin Ting extended a single finger and gently pressed it against the center of his chest. "It's fine if you find me amusing and want to add a little fun to your dull life. But don't get too emotionally involved."

Shang Moting raised an eyebrow.

"If you get too attached, just in case I decide to strike right here one day," Lin Ting said, "I'll feel terribly guilty."

"Really?" Shang Moting asked.

"Probably," Lin Ting said. "I think I'm still quite kind-hearted, so I should be capable of feeling guilt."

Shang Moting let out a low chuckle.

Lin Ting added, "Of course, maybe I'm overthinking it. It's understandable if you don't want your source of amusement to get hurt. After all, if it gets hurt, it really is quite a headache to look at."

Shang Moting raised a hand and patted the top of her head. "If you don't want to leave, I can lock you up here."

"I'm leaving right now, wouldn't want to be an eyesore," Lin Ting said, flashing out of sight.

From the sunroom, Shang Moting watched as she ran out into the courtyard a moment later, then quickly ran back in.

After a short while, she ran out again.

She was holding a car key in her hand.

She tossed it into the air and caught it steadily.

Then she jogged toward the garage.

Watching her, Shang Moting smiled faintly.

...

Lin Ting drove to Qin Lü's residence.

When she arrived, Qin Lü was painting on the balcony.

Yin Xing was curled up on the living room sofa, watching a drama.

It was very quiet, neither disturbing the other.

"Big sister, did you buy anything yummy?" Yin Xing asked, looking at the bags in her hand.

"Your favorites," Lin Ting said, placing the items on the coffee table. "Are you feeling better? Are you still scared?"

"Much better." Yin Xing began rummaging through the shopping bags.

Qin Lü walked over and said, "The police just left."

Lin Ting looked at him.

Qin Lü said, "An incident happened in her building block. The entire building, especially the floors directly above and below the scene, is bound to be heavily investigated and questioned."

Lin Ting nodded. "She hasn't been home all this time."

"That's right," Qin Lü said. "The surveillance footage retrieved by the police shows that she went out. Besides, she's a minor and had been traumatized, so they just asked a few questions and let her go."

Yin Xing chimed in, "They asked me if I heard any arguing from upstairs over the past few days, or if I noticed anything unusual. I really didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. It's always been very peaceful, and someone has always been secretly protecting me. So I don't understand why someone would fall from the building there."

"Is there any news about the deceased?" Lin Ting looked at Qin Lü.

Qin Lü answered, "Identity unknown. So far, no identification documents have been found. It has been confirmed as a fall from height. No fingerprints were extracted from the body, and there were no signs of a struggle."

"What about the building block itself?" Lin Ting asked.

"There were no traces at the spot where he jumped, and that location is a blind spot for the community's surveillance cameras," Qin Lü said. "It looks a lot like suicide."

"But if it's suicide, why go to a different residential complex?" Lin Ting asked.

"What's even more suspicious is that the surveillance cameras capable of capturing the comings and goings of people broke down," Qin Lü said.

Lin Ting's eyes fluttered slightly.

Qin Lü continued, "Right around the time Xingxing went out to play, roughly an hour or so later. By the time the police checked the surveillance, the cameras were already broken."

Lin Ting fell silent for a moment before saying, "Let's figure out his identity first. Something feels off about this."

Qin Lü nodded.

Lin Ting spent the entire day accompanying Yin Xing.

She played with her, went shopping with her, and ate with her.

She waited until Yin Xing fell asleep at night before finally leaving.

Qin Lü had pulled another all-nighter. When she left, he came out to see her off.

"Where are you rushing off to now?" Qin Lü asked.

"Going to check on the hotel," Lin Ting said. "I haven't been there all day."

Qin Lü looked at her, wanting to say something, but ultimately held his tongue.

Noticing his hesitation, Lin Ting said, "Ge, I can handle it."

"Of course I know you can handle it," Qin Lü said.

"And I won't let go either," Lin Ting smiled and said. "I won't let anyone else take anything left behind by Master Sister."

"Including the one sleeping in the room," Qin Lü said.

"Including all of you," Lin Ting said.

Qin Lü stroked the top of her head. "We don't need to be tightly clutched, we won't run away."

Lin Ting smiled. "I'm heading out."

"Be careful," Qin Lü said.

...

Lin Ting returned to the hotel and handled some matters until the early hours of the morning.

Her room was on the top floor of the hotel.

She had originally intended to sleep at the hotel.

She had already walked up to the door and pushed it open.

Yet, she closed the door again and turned away.

She entered the elevator and pressed the button for the second basement level.

As she watched the descending numbers on the elevator floor indicator, she gradually realized she could no longer see the numbers clearly.

The digits appeared very blurry.

She instinctively shook her head.

The movement made her feel dizzy.

She steadied herself by grabbing the handrail inside the elevator.

She hadn't had much appetite all day and had eaten very little.

She assumed her blood sugar had dropped.

So she pressed the button for the first floor instead, planning to grab a piece of candy in the lobby.

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out.

Because her vision was blurred, she staggered slightly as she walked out.

Someone walking toward the elevator instinctively reached out to steady her.

"Thank you," Lin Ting said, pulling her arm away from the person's grasp and stepping back.

"What's wrong?" the person asked, grabbing her arm again.

"Shang Moting?" Hearing his voice, Lin Ting looked up at him.

However, she couldn't see clearly, so her gaze remained somewhat vacant.

Noticing her blank and unfocused eyes, Shang Moting's expression tightened. He frowned and asked, "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"I can't see very well, feels like low blood sugar," Lin Ting said. "There's candy in the lobby."

Shang Moting bent down, picked her up, and carried her to the sofa in the lobby.

He asked the front desk for a few pieces of chocolate, unwrapped one, and handed it to her.

Lin Ting slowly chewed the chocolate in her mouth. Since she couldn't see clearly, she simply lowered her gaze and stopped trying. After a moment, she asked, "What are you doing here so late?"

Shang Moting squatted in front of her, ignoring her question, and asked instead, "Are you feeling better?"

"Let me have another piece," Lin Ting said.