Chapter Fourteen: Little Schemes

"What you like to wear is none of my business, but if you go to the police station with us dressed like that, you'll be the one to decide if you're cold in this weather." Yan Xue shot her a glare. "Because you attended that masquerade, we need you to come with us to the station for questioning, so please hurry up."

"Oh, really? Is it that exciting?" Song Chen looked at Yan Xue in surprise, then her eyes drifted past Yan Xue to Kang Ge. "And who is this? Aren't you going to introduce us? Is he your colleague?"

Yan Xue drew a deep breath, struggling to keep her temper in check. "If I were you, I'd go inside and change right now. I'm here for official business—if you don't hurry up, then you can come with us dressed like that, but that's your choice."

"Absolutely not! I'd freeze to death! Just wait here for me." Song Chen replied in her usual sugary tone, twisting around and heading inside.

Yan Xue felt her temples start to throb, blood rushing to her head. She'd always known Song Chen was nothing but trouble, which was why she kept her as far from her studies, work, and life as possible, drawing clear boundaries to avoid frustration and headaches. Who would have thought that this time, she'd end up entangled in the murder of Bai Yueni, a case that inevitably crossed into her professional world? Avoiding Song Chen was now impossible, and just thinking about it gave her a headache.

As she was lost in her annoyance, she turned and found herself meeting a pair of amused eyes. Kang Ge stood beside her, a faint smile on his lips, watching her with his head slightly tilted.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yan Xue suddenly felt uneasy, instinctively tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"It's nothing." Kang Ge shook his head and spoke softly. "Don't worry, even if she's your cousin, or even your own sister, she's an adult—her behavior won't reflect on you. Our team knows the difference."

Yan Xue nodded, saying nothing. Her feelings were complicated; what Kang Ge mentioned was certainly the main reason for her headache, but there were other unfamiliar emotions too—a strange irritability she couldn't quite put into words, so she simply left it alone.

After a while, Song Chen finally finished changing. When she emerged, her light brown, shoulder-length curls were now twisted into a loose bun, and her makeup was fresh. Her upper half was passable—a bright magenta fuzzy knit pullover—but her lower half was another matter entirely: she wore only a gray, leopard-print mini skirt that barely reached mid-thigh.

Whether this outfit was stylish or not was debatable, but one thing was certain—in this season and weather, anyone would question if she was entirely sane.

"All right, I'm ready!" Song Chen minced out, looking as if she were heading to a nightclub or another wild party rather than the police station for questioning.

The three of them went downstairs to Kang Ge’s car. Song Chen immediately recognized it as the one she'd ridden in the day before, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Kang Ge with fresh interest.

"Is this your car?" she asked in a coy voice, tilting her head.

"Yes, get in," Kang Ge replied, opening the passenger door for Yan Xue and gesturing to the back seat for Song Chen.

"I get carsick!" Song Chen protested, standing beside the car and glancing at Yan Xue in the passenger seat. "Yan Xue had me sit in the front yesterday. If I sit in the back, I’ll get sick and throw up!"

Sitting inside, Yan Xue heard every word, her anger rising. She reached to open the door, but Kang Ge noticed and promptly shut it from outside.

Kang Ge smiled at Song Chen, his face the picture of friendliness. "Don’t worry, it’s fine. I have an unlimited car wash subscription, so I might as well use it. There should be plastic bags in the seat pocket—if you feel unwell, don’t hold back. Now, let’s get going; we’re on a schedule."

With that, he strode around to the driver’s side and got in, leaving Song Chen standing in the cold night air.

Song Chen was stunned. She had never expected such a reaction from Kang Ge—she’d assumed he’d either be polite or worried about his car and give in to her, but instead, he told her it was fine to throw up wherever she liked. This was entirely outside her calculations.

She hesitated for a moment, but in the end, the cold wind drove her into the car, looking a bit flustered.

With everyone aboard, Kang Ge drove them back to the station. Song Chen hummed tunes in the back seat as if nothing had happened, and Yan Xue ignored her. Halfway there, Song Chen finally couldn’t hold it in and leaned forward.

"Hey, what’s your name? I can’t just keep calling you ‘hey, hey’ all the time," she said to Kang Ge.

"Oh, it doesn’t matter. I don’t mind," Kang Ge replied breezily. "Please buckle your seatbelt back there."

Once again, Song Chen was left speechless by Kang Ge’s unexpected response. She seemed to realize that Yan Xue wouldn’t bother with her, so after a pause, she tried again with Kang Ge. "Do you know who I am? You know my relationship with Yan Xue, right? I’m her cousin; we grew up together."

"Really!" Kang Ge pretended to be surprised, glancing back at her in the rearview mirror.

"Of course it’s true. What’s the point of lying about something like that? Yan Xue isn’t some celebrity. What’s the benefit in pretending to be her relative?" Song Chen, emboldened by the response, continued, "Are you surprised? Whenever I tell people we’re cousins, they never believe me!"

She adjusted her posture, her eyes bright as she gazed at Kang Ge’s profile.

Kang Ge turned to Yan Xue. "Yan Xue, since this is your relative, will you be recusing yourself from the questioning, or just sitting in? I’d advise you—distance yourself if needed."

Yan Xue almost laughed aloud. It was one thing for Song Chen to be meeting Kang Ge for the first time, but even she, after working side by side with him for some time, hadn’t expected his approach with Song Chen to be so surprising—every response was natural yet completely unpredictable.

When Song Chen first started chatting up Kang Ge, Yan Xue had already braced herself for a repeat of past scenes, but before Song Chen could even get started, she was shot down.

It seemed Song Chen realized her usual tricks wouldn’t work on Kang Ge. Normally, whether a man was attentive or indifferent, she had a way to handle it. But Kang Ge was polite and friendly, answering her without giving her any real opening.

So, sensibly, she chose to remain silent for the rest of the ride. Only when they arrived at the station and Kang Ge was pulled aside by a colleague did Song Chen take the opportunity to sidle up to Yan Xue, nudging her with her elbow.

"Hey, is your colleague always like this? Is he just slow and dull by nature?" she whispered, trying to keep her voice down.

Yan Xue, unwilling to waste her energy, shot her a look. "It’s none of your business. No need to pry."

If Song Chen could take a hint and keep her distance, Yan Xue wouldn’t have had headaches for so many years. But Song Chen, as always, pressed on, "He comes from a pretty well-off family, doesn’t he?"

"I wouldn’t know," Yan Xue replied coldly. She knew exactly what Song Chen was getting at; for years, Song Chen had never changed. The moment she saw a well-off eligible bachelor, her mind went into overdrive, plotting and scheming.

In truth, Yan Xue hadn’t pried into Kang Ge’s family background—she wasn’t interested. For her, the most important thing was that they got along. But she’d been to his home for dinner before, and just judging by the size of the place, it was obvious his family was very well-off. Still, she had no intention of telling Song Chen that.

Indeed, family upbringing played a big part in shaping a person’s character and values.

Yan Xue’s family was comfortably middle-class. Her parents had stable jobs and, years back when housing was still affordable, they’d bought a modest apartment—eighty or ninety square meters, enough for the three of them. Later, they bought a car, and after a lifetime of hard work, they had some savings set aside for retirement and possibly to help Yan Xue start her own household someday.

In this environment, Yan Xue’s parents always told her that what mattered most was the person—their values, their ambition, and whether their personalities matched. Material comfort was secondary; as long as you worked hard, things would get better.

Song Chen’s upbringing was the opposite. Her aunt had drilled into her from age fifteen or sixteen that poverty meant misery, and money was the solution to all life’s problems.

By university, Song Chen was popular with the boys—pretty and always coquettish. Her mother even encouraged her to judge suitors by how much they’d spend on her, claiming the most generous one was the truest in his affections.

Raised in that environment, Song Chen naturally absorbed those values, clinging to a fixation on money that she never wavered from—even after suffering for it.

It was no surprise to Song Chen that Yan Xue responded as she did. She rolled her eyes and shot Yan Xue a disdainful look behind her back.

With Kang Ge delayed, Yan Xue took Song Chen up to the office herself. Song Chen followed willingly, her outfit ill-suited to the season—a blast of cold night air making her knees ache with every step.

They climbed the stairs, walked down the corridor, and stopped at the office door. Yan Xue opened it and waved Song Chen inside, pointing to her desk. "Go sit and wait there."

Song Chen didn’t care about Yan Xue’s attitude; she clearly didn’t want to linger by the door anyway.

Qi Tianhua wasn’t there—likely over in forensics. Luo Wei, however, was busy, squinting at surveillance footage. Hearing someone enter, he looked up and saw Song Chen, reluctantly taking a seat at Yan Xue’s desk.

Song Chen spotted Luo Wei. Though he was less attractive and less well-dressed than Kang Ge, she perked up and flashed him a sweet smile.

Luo Wei was baffled by the smile and, taking in her striking outfit, hesitated to ask directly. Instead, he leaned towards Yan Xue. "What’s going on? Where’d you pick her up? She’s not one of those ‘ladies of the night,’ right? That’s not our department…"

"No, she was identified as someone who attended the party," Yan Xue answered, too embarrassed to admit Song Chen was her cousin, especially after Luo Wei’s misunderstanding.

"If you say so… all right, I believe you," Luo Wei replied, casting another glance at Song Chen. He muttered quietly, "No normal person would go out at night in this weather with bare legs and a mini skirt."

Yan Xue just smiled and said nothing. Soon, Kang Ge returned, ready to start questioning Song Chen.

"Luo Wei, you’re with me. Yan Xue, since Song Chen is your cousin, you can either observe or step out if you feel it’s not appropriate," Kang Ge instructed.

Yan Xue nodded. Luo Wei, hearing this, immediately realized what was going on and shot Yan Xue a look full of disbelief.