Chapter 49: A Loving Kiss

“How would you prefer the payment—WeChat or Alipay?”

“WeChat, of course. Just add me directly; it’s my phone number.”

With that, Detective Feng hung up. Song Qingtian thought to herself, “He sure knows how to end a call—so efficient, so professional.” After a few inward snipes, she added Detective Feng on WeChat.

The profile picture? Conan…

And as soon as she’d added him, Feng sent another message: a photo of Conan with his arms crossed, peering through a magnifying glass, accompanied by the caption, “There’s only one truth—and we can always negotiate the price.”

Song Qingtian was even more convinced he wasn’t trustworthy. She rubbed her forehead in frustration, then transferred the money. After all, such a small sum wasn’t worth worrying about.

No sooner had she sent the funds than Feng confirmed receipt, and only then did he send a serious message:

“Hello, Miss Song. Let me introduce myself—I’m Feng Zhenzhen. Please send me the details on the person you’d like me to investigate and keep tabs on.”

So Song Qingtian forwarded Ling Hanyu’s name, and to give Feng Zhenzhen a better sense of who he was, she even searched online for a strikingly handsome photo of him and sent that too.

When Feng Zhenzhen saw Ling Hanyu’s photo and name, he groaned. After pondering for a while, he solemnly replied:

“Miss Song, we can look into this guy, but it’ll be pretty tough—and you’ll have to pay extra.”

“How much?”

Seeing how decisively Feng spoke, Song Qingtian gritted her teeth and blurted out a figure:

“Ten thousand!”

Looking at the price, Song Qingtian thought it actually matched Ling Hanyu’s status better than “666.” So she promptly transferred the money again.

“Detective Feng, is the payment in now? When can I expect the investigation results I’m after?”

Feng Zhenzhen happily typed back, “Three to seven days. Normally I can deliver within three days, but Mr. Ling is a bit tricky to track down—that should be understandable, right?”

“Sure,” Song Qingtian replied. She didn’t want to argue too much with Feng; she was afraid she might say something that he’d use against her. After all, private detectives will do just about anything for money.

After finishing all that, Song Qingtian massaged her slightly throbbing temples and headed to bed. But once she lay down, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

She opened her eyes, closed them—yet Ling Hanyu kept popping into her mind.

Especially that time he’d kissed her and said, looking a little tired, “Be good and stay by my side, okay? Stop making trouble.”

To be honest, she could feel her heart flutter that day—but no way! When it came to love versus survival, there was no question. Besides, there were plenty of good men out there; why fixate on just one? There were vast forests waiting to be explored.

Comforting herself like that, she pushed aside any lingering guilt or affection for Ling Hanyu, leaned over to Nuonuo, planted a quick kiss on her little face, and forced herself to sleep.

That night she slept fitfully, and by a little past six she still couldn’t drift off. She glanced at Nuonuo, who was sleeping soundly, and tiptoed out of bed. After a quick wash, she went downstairs.

But imagine her surprise: as soon as she stepped into the living room, she found Ling Hanyu right there!

Her heart leapt with fright, and her hand trembled as she pointed at him.

“You—you—you! What are you doing here? Do you know this is trespassing?”

Ling Hanyu clearly didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. He gave Song Qingtian a cool, detached look, then said, almost as if calling a pet:

“Come over.”

End of Chapter 49: A Loving Kiss