Chapter Forty-Nine: The Tea Bag

After settling down in a small restaurant near their workplace, waiting for the food to arrive, Kong Ge handed a pair of chopsticks to Yan Xue and opened the lunchbox, inviting her to try a bite. Yan Xue tasted it and found that Kong’s mother’s skills were indeed impressive. The mixed vegetables looked ordinary enough, but the aroma and flavor were unexpectedly delicious—refreshing and appetizing.

“Were you just teasing Luo Wei earlier?” Yan Xue said, thinking that Kong Ge was usually generous and unlikely to suddenly become so stingy.

But Kong Ge shook his head with a smile, surprising her. “No, I really didn’t plan to share with anyone else. Don’t be fooled by my mom’s skill at making mixed vegetables, it’s the only dish she’s truly good at! When I was a kid, there was a period when my mom was busy with work and didn’t have much energy to look after me. So whenever she had the time, she’d make these mixed vegetables and store them in the fridge. I was too young to use the gas stove to heat food, so she was afraid something would happen. Mixed vegetables were perfect—you just needed to cook a pot of rice in the electric cooker. When it was time to eat, I’d take some from the fridge, put it in a bowl, and then cover it with hot rice. That way the vegetables wouldn’t be too cold. At that time, I got so sick of mixed vegetables that just hearing the name made me nauseous. I thought I’d never want to eat them again in my life. But after so many years, with both of us busy and hardly seeing each other, I actually find myself craving this taste from time to time!”

Kong Ge shrugged, a bit helpless, but after taking a big bite of vegetables and rice, a satisfied smile bloomed on his face.

Yan Xue nodded in understanding. She could relate: before university, her family lived close to the school, so unlike other classmates who brought food or ate out, she always ate at home for all three meals. At the time, she thought even instant noodles tasted better than her parents’ cooking—their culinary skills were quite average.

But after going to university and then moving away for work, she rarely returned home despite not being very far away. Because of her job, visits home became few and far between, and she often found herself desperately missing her parents’ home-cooked meals.

But then Yan Xue paused and felt something was off.

“Aren’t you from this city?” she asked Kong Ge curiously. “Don’t you live with your parents?”

Kong Ge smiled lightly. “You’re right. I started boarding at school from junior high, and except during holidays, I hardly ever lived at home. After graduating from university and starting work, I moved out completely. Usually, either I’m busy or my mom is. If we manage to have a meal together, that’s already rare. There aren’t many chances to cook at home.”

Yan Xue accepted his explanation without suspicion, feeling it made perfect sense. Working at the police bureau meant irregular hours, and from Kong Ge’s description, his mother seemed career-driven, so naturally, they’d rarely see each other.

“But your family was really bold, letting you board at school from junior high! Were you so well-behaved that they felt confident, or were you so unbeatable that they weren’t worried about you at all?” Now that they were on the topic, Yan Xue chatted casually. “I bet it’s the second one, right?”

“Oh, that’s interesting. Why do you think I’m so unbeatable?” Kong Ge sat up straighter, clearly pleased by the compliment.

“Because of here.” Yan Xue pointed at him, then touched her own eyebrow. “You have a scar on your eyebrow.”

Kong Ge paused, instinctively touching the thin scar between his brows, then laughed. “Your eyesight is impressive! This scar has been with me for years. It’s not really related to living away from home in junior high, but it’s definitely my most glorious battle wound! Let’s eat first—no need to spoil our appetites. I’ll tell you the story later.”

Yan Xue was surprised. She didn’t know much about Kong Ge’s personal life, but from their interactions, she sensed he came from a well-off family—materially privileged compared to his colleagues. He was cheerful and outgoing, always joking and rarely gloomy, so she’d always thought of him as a child raised in a honey pot.

Yet, from his words, it seemed that wasn’t quite the case.

Yan Xue was tactful by nature. Since Kong Ge had said as much, she didn’t press further and instead shifted the conversation. The two chatted idly as they finished their meal.

Despite appearing stingy when teasing Luo Wei, unwilling to share his mixed vegetables, Kong Ge was generous at the table, urging Yan Xue to help him finish it—since the workplace had no fridge, the dish wouldn’t keep for long.

After eating, they tidied up and set out again, returning to K University, still aiming to find Wu Beibei.

“If we try to find her again and she refuses to talk, what then? We can’t prove Wu Beibei is a major suspect, so we can’t force her to cooperate,” Yan Xue worried as they headed to K University.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’ve got a plan,” Kong Ge said confidently. “If you talk to her about Xu Wenrui, she’ll likely get emotional and ignore us. But what if we talk to her about Deng Chun?”

“About Deng Chun?” Yan Xue hadn’t considered this angle, but after thinking it over, found Kong Ge’s idea ingenious.

Previously, when they spoke with Deng Chun, every mention of Xu Wenrui’s breakup and subsequent reconciliation with Wu Beibei caused her to either avoid the topic or flatly deny it, even attacking Wu Beibei and portraying the post-breakup entanglement as Wu Beibei’s one-sided obsession with Xu Wenrui.

Deng Chun was always particularly agitated when discussing this, and despite trying to restrain herself, her words carried a strong resentment. Such intense emotion made it impossible for there to be no connection between the two women—Yan Xue even suspected they’d clashed, with Deng Chun clearly on the losing side.

Yan Xue recalled a joke: boys often think girls dress up to please them, but in reality, girls dress up to outshine other girls. Girls often seek to please themselves, and their sense of competition is usually triggered by another girl.

Deng Chun and Xu Wenrui did break up, confirmed by classmates and Xu Wenrui’s parents. Given Deng Chun’s intense negative feelings toward Wu Beibei, she could be considered Wu Beibei’s defeated rival.

Deng Chun’s resentment and denial of the reconciliation implied she hadn’t given up trying to win Xu Wenrui back, which would naturally disturb Wu Beibei. Even if Wu Beibei didn’t want to talk about Xu Wenrui, discussing a troublesome rival—her former adversary—might prompt her to open up.

“Now I’m really curious,” Yan Xue mused, having figured out the angle to approach Wu Beibei. “As a man of your age, which would you choose: someone like Wu Beibei, beautiful, or someone like Deng Chun, extremely capable and supportive? Which type is more attractive to men?”

“There’s no single answer—everyone’s preferences differ. I’ll just speak for myself,” Kong Ge replied, ever the conversationalist. “We don’t really know what type Wu Beibei is, so I wouldn’t carelessly choose the unknown. Let’s leave her aside for now. As for Deng Chun, it’s easier to say—she’s not for me! Look at me, a grown man, healthy and capable. Do I look like someone who needs to be fussed over and cared for so meticulously?”

“Didn’t expect you to be so ambitious!” Yan Xue teased him. “So what kind of person do you think is right for you?”

“I think different needs lead to different choices, but the principle is the same. Some say opposites attract, others want someone similar to themselves. I don’t think those matter much.” Kong Ge tapped his temple with one hand on the steering wheel. “It’s mostly about here. Personalities can complement or resemble each other, but it’s the alignment of minds that’s essential. That’s what lets you go far together, and makes things work.”

“That makes sense. Every time my family asks what kind of person I want, I get a headache,” Yan Xue sighed. “If I found someone opposite, I’m impatient and if they’re slow, I couldn’t stand it. But if I found someone too similar, two hot tempers together would be disastrous! One disagreement and it’d be like Mars colliding with Earth—nothing good would come of it!”

“You don’t need to think so much. When you genuinely like someone, the answer will be clear. All your confusion is just because you haven’t felt that way about anyone yet.” Kong Ge waved his hand. “Besides, what does a sword need? A scabbard! The scabbard protects the sword from damage and stops it from accidentally hurting others. They fit perfectly but never injure each other. That’s who you need to find.”

“Listening to you really opened my eyes!” Yan Xue laughed at his theory, playfully clasping her hands in mock salute. “Then I’ll follow your advice and hope to find the right scabbard for my sword!”

“You will.” Kong Ge turned to Yan Xue with a smile and nodded.

As they neared K University, Yan Xue received a call from a colleague. The forensic team had tracked the source of the toxins found in Xu Wenrui’s body. After examining his personal items one by one, they’d reached a conclusion.

“They found it—it was in those tea bags we sent to the lab,” Yan Xue told Kong Ge. “Nothing else tested positive, only the tea bags contained the same substance. But the forensic team is a bit puzzled. After discovering the tea bags were problematic, they checked the accompanying tea cup. It was very clean—even in the crevices, there wasn’t any obvious tea residue. So they think Xu Wenrui wasn’t a frequent tea drinker, certainly not addicted to it.”

“Tea bags found problematic… tea cup very clean, no tea stains… so is it related to the amount consumed?” Kong Ge pondered, connecting the dots from Yan Xue’s information.

“Yes. The forensic team thinks Xu Wenrui had clear delusions and hallucinations before his incident, his mental state was very poor. But if those mushrooms were just steeped in water, there might be some adverse effects, but not to that extreme. Based on the residue found in his body and his state before the incident, the forensic team sees two possibilities: either he ate them directly, or he drank a very concentrated tea made from them.”

As Yan Xue spoke, Kong Ge made a U-turn at a traffic light.

“We’re not going to try our luck with Wu Beibei?” Yan Xue realized he’d changed his mind.

“Yeah, I thought about it. She’s still upset, so it’s not smart to provoke her now. Better to let her calm down for a bit. Today, let’s pay a visit to Xu Wenrui’s parents. Since they left the police bureau, we haven’t had a proper face-to-face conversation with them.”

“Alright, let’s go talk to them then!” Yan Xue guessed Kong Ge’s intention and had no objections.

Following the address they had, they found Xu Wenrui’s parents’ home. After knocking, Xu Wenrui’s father peered out from the crack in the door, surprised to see Yan Xue and Kong Ge.

“What brings you here?” he said, finally opening the door with a puzzled expression. “Didn’t we just talk on the phone? Is there something else?”