Chapter 145: That Scoundrel

Lu Yan’s heart sank. "Are you going to see him?"

"Until the divorce papers are finalized, I still remember my status."

Lu Yan fell silent for a moment. "If you need anything, come back to me."

"I will!"

After Lu Yan left, Shen Qingyi went to the residential complex where Xia Xiyue had previously bought a place for Zhou Qing to live.

This was a complex that had opened for sales in the capital over the last three years. She had inquired about the procedures for purchasing a commercial property here once before.

One needed to go to the sales office to have someone lead them to view the units, sign a contract after being satisfied, and then pay the deposit to begin the process.

She needed a secure place to store her father's belongings—she couldn't carry them around at all times—and she would need a place of her own once the case was concluded.

The ten thousand yuan given by Han Lanzhi and the fifty thousand she had taken from Lu Yan were more than enough to buy a home.

Upon arriving at the sales office, she asked about the housing availability, and a woman in her twenties immediately came over to assist her.

"Comrade, what type of floor plan are you looking for?"

Shen Qingyi thought for a moment. "What is the smallest unit you have?"

She would be living alone in the future and didn't need much space.

"The smallest is seventy square meters, with three rooms. My name is Wei. If you have any other requirements, you can tell me directly," Xiao Wei introduced enthusiastically.

"Then take me to see the seventy-square-meter unit. It shouldn't be too high up; anything below the third floor is fine," Shen Qingyi said.

Current residential buildings were six stories high and lacked elevators.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wei quickly suggested, "If you are looking for a second-floor unit, would you consider a pre-owned one? It has just been renovated, the price is the same as a new, unfinished unit, and you can get the keys as soon as the contract is signed and the deposit is paid."

Such a good deal? Shen Qingyi was a bit skeptical. "Are there any hidden issues?"

Although Shen Qingyi believed in science, that didn't stop her from also being mindful of feng shui.

Xiao Wei waved her hands repeatedly. "No, no. My younger brother bought it to get married, but my father had a stroke and is now lying in the hospital. He’s saddled with debt, and his fiancée called off the engagement, so we are in a hurry to sell the property."

So that was it. Shen Qingyi looked at Xiao Wei, her expression sincere. "Then take me to see it."

Xiao Wei hurried to lead the way. When they reached the door, she took the keys from her pocket, unlocked the door, and said, "Come in and take a look."

Shen Qingyi looked around. The renovation was quite simple, far inferior to Zhou Qing’s place, but since it would only be used for storing books and manuscripts—and she would be the only one living there—it was perfectly adequate.

"Is it safe?" Shen Qingyi asked again.

Xiao Wei smiled. "The police station is right next door; how could it not be safe? Everyone who buys a home in our complex is either wealthy or influential, so there’s no such thing as petty theft. If outsiders want to enter without an introduction from someone we know, they have to register."

Shen Qingyi was satisfied; she had indeed registered when she entered today.

"How much do you want for this apartment?"

Xiao Wei and her family were desperate to sell, so she didn't beat around the bush. "I'll tell you privately—the prices in our complex are public, four hundred yuan per square meter. I won't charge an extra cent for the renovation. How about twenty-eight thousand for the whole set? You can take the keys as soon as the contract is signed, and we can handle the paperwork slowly afterward."

They had originally borrowed a lot of money to buy the apartment, and now, due to her father's medical condition, they had borrowed everything they possibly could. To pay for the next stage of treatment and settle their debts, they had no choice but to sell the property.

Shen Qingyi did the math in her head; the place was indeed very suitable for her.

"Has the property deed for this unit been issued?"

Xiao Wei nodded repeatedly. "We wouldn't dare sell it if it hadn't, would we?"

"Alright, I'll take it!" Shen Qingyi was decisive.

She followed Xiao Wei to the sales office to sign the contract and pay the deposit. Xiao Wei handed her the keys that very day. "You can pay the balance when the property deed is officially transferred."

At this time, mortgage loans from banks were not yet common; almost everyone paid in full.

"Fine!"

After buying the house, Shen Qingyi finally felt a major weight lifted from her heart.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon when she arrived home, and Lu Caiqin was cooking in the kitchen.

It was almost time for An'an to be home from school. Shen Qingyi walked into Lu Yan's room, intending to ask who would be picking him up.

The room was empty, but there was a stack of manuscripts on the table.

The handwriting on these pages was familiar.

They contained a detailed breakdown of He Xiangcao and Wang Chunhua’s backgrounds and a diagram of their familial relationships.

He Xiangcao had two older brothers and one younger sister; she was the third child, born only six months apart from her second brother and eight months apart from her younger sister.

Lu Yan had placed an 'X' over the equation linking fraternal twins and identical twins.

On the other side was Wang Chunhua’s family tree. A string of names formed a perfect closed loop, ruling out any possibility of hereditary cousins, ultimately concluding that He Xiangcao was actually Wang Chunhua’s biological sister, who had been given up for adoption.

The entire logical deduction was incredibly clear.

It had to be said that if Lu Yan weren't a scientist, he would surely make an excellent detective.

Shen Qingyi turned to the next page and was shocked to find information about Wang Chunhua's husband.

Reading about the man, Shen Qingyi couldn't help but curse, "Shameless scumbag."

The word 'shameless' was nowhere near enough to express the anger in her heart, but she didn't know any harsher words.

The door was pushed open, and Lu Yan walked in, holding An'an’s hand.

Shen Qingyi quickly straightened the manuscripts on the desk, walked over, knelt down to hug An'an, and asked, "Did you have fun at kindergarten today?"

An'an nodded vigorously, his hair bouncing up and down. "Yes, it was so much fun! On the way here, Dad was explaining the mechanics of how robots move."

Hearing this, Shen Qingyi remembered the pile of parts Lu Yan had dismantled. Looking over, she saw they had been perfectly reassembled and placed on the bookshelf.

Following her gaze, Lu Yan handed the robot from the bookshelf to his son and said gently, "Go and play."

An'an hugged the robot and hopped out of the room.

Only Shen Qingyi and Lu Yan remained.

"I think Wang Chunhua will call tomorrow. We'll go to her house to talk then," Lu Yan said, his tone utterly certain.

"Why are you so sure?"

"If even a bystander like you can get angry enough to curse, do you think the person involved can swallow that kind of humiliation? Besides, her sister hasn't gained any benefits from this, and her situation is precarious."

"Is that scumbag Wang Mingyi not afraid that Wang Chunhua will report him for bigamy?"

Hearing his wife call him a scumbag again, Lu Yan found it strangely adorable. She really didn't know how to swear.

"In rural areas, most people just hold a wedding banquet without registering the marriage. Once Wang Mingyi told her that their marriage wasn't legally protected, Wang Chunhua was helpless. On top of that, she has no relatives or connections in the capital; there's simply no way for her to deal with a university student like Wang Mingyi."

Shen Qingyi was indignant. "Even if they didn't register, they had children together. That already constitutes a de facto marriage."

"Wang Chunhua only realized that later, but by then, Wang Mingyi had already gone into hiding."