Chapter 40 Late-Night Bad News

Upon hearing this greeting, Lu Xiaodong noticed Yan Xue as well. She hurriedly stood up and waved at her enthusiastically, shouting, "Sister Moon!"

Startled by this sudden nickname, Yan Xue nearly tripped over her own feet, wondering when on earth she had acquired such a title.

Kang Ge reached out and gave the back of Lu Xiaodong's head a light slap. "What Sister Moon are you going on about?"

"Ouch!" Kang Ge hadn't used much force, but being suddenly tapped on the head made Lu Xiaodong instinctively shrink her neck before grinning and saying, "The saying goes, 'Those close to the water get the first view of the moon'! Sister Yan Xue is definitely the moon!"

Kang Ge burst out laughing. "If you put it that way... it doesn't seem entirely wrong, actually."

Knowing that Lu Xiaodong was well aware of the relationship between her and Kang Ge, Yan Xue didn't act coy. She smiled as the young girl hurried over to link arms with her, and casually joked, "If I'm Sister Moon, does that make your brother Brother Sun?"

"Of course not! The sun and the moon work day and night shifts, how much chance do they ever get to be together?" Lu Xiaodong pondered for a moment. "If you're the moon, then he's obviously the Heavenly Dog! You know, the Heavenly Dog devouring the moon—ouch!"

Her head was flicked once more, and Lu Xiaodong hurriedly hid behind Yan Xue. "Save me, sister-in-law! Someone is dying of embarrassment and trying to silence witnesses!"

Her loud declaration brought a blazing flush of red to Yan Xue's cheeks. Kang Ge, on the other hand, looked rather pleased with the remark, though he simply made a "shh" gesture at his sister. "Keep it low-profile, we're in the office!"

Lu Xiaodong quickly caught on and stopped teasing Yan Xue and the others. Eagerly, she helped Kang Ge unpack the insulated food bags, taking out the containers one by one and arranging them on the table.

Yan Xue wanted to help as well, but the siblings moved with such astonishing speed that she didn't even get a chance to lend a hand, left to watch helplessly as they filled the entire table with the food Lu Xiaodong had brought.

Crisp-skinned giant prawns, braised spring bamboo shoots, scallion-braised porcini mushrooms, steamed sea perch, pineapple sweet and sour pork, spicy blood curd stew, and several stir-fried vegetable dishes—altogether numbering ten different plates. While the culinary styles varied, every single dish looked utterly delicious.

The staple foods were equally diverse, including not just rice and wheat-based dishes, but also small pastries like mung bean cakes.

"Just how many people did Mom think she was catering a banquet for?" Kang Ge, who knew his family well, looked over the spread. "And these aren't all from the same restaurant, are they?"

"You bet they aren't! Three different places!" Lu Xiaodong immediately confirmed his guess. "I had to run all over the place just to collect everything! Mom said she had no idea what your 'colleagues' preferred to eat, so she wanted a bit of everything to make sure everyone was happy.

"Brother, I'm telling you, your sneaky streak is definitely inherited from Mom! You can never see that old lady coming. The moment she heard from Sister He Pei that you were renting a place outside instead of living in your own apartment, she immediately figured something was up, took action, and made her move. And wouldn't you know it, her hunch was spot on! Tell me that isn't impressive. And I didn't leak a single word!"

"Right, good girl. If you were playing informant, I'd go tell Mom you called her 'sneaky,'" Kang Ge said with a thoroughly benevolent smile.

"Despicable! Repaying kindness with enmity!" Lu Xiaodong expressed utter disdain for her biological brother before dragging Yan Xue down to a seat with an utterly ingratiating expression. "Sister Yan Xue, I'm rooting for you! You have to stand up for all women and keep my brother firmly under your thumb! Whenever he gives me grief, you deal with him—punish him hard! I promise to be the most well-behaved, adorable sister-in-law in the entire world!"

"I really have raised an ungrateful little wolf cub all these years," Kang Ge sighed, shaking his head. Judging by his tone and expression, however, he looked quite eagerly forward to the exact scenario Lu Xiaodong had just painted.

Too embarrassed to continue joking around with the two of them, Yan Xue simply changed the subject. "There's so much food, the three of us could never finish it. Why don't we keep a couple of dishes and leave the rest untouched to take back? We shouldn't waste it!"

"Don't worry, Luo Wei and Qi Tianhua will be here any minute. I also called Ji Yuan and the others back. With their appetite levels, they'll definitely be able to finish it all," Kang Ge assured her.

Before long, the others began to trickle back. Ji Yuan had the closest relationship with Kang Ge and showed no surprise upon seeing Lu Xiaodong. True to his aloof nature, however, he merely nodded slightly to her as a greeting.

Xia Qing didn't seem particularly surprised either; presumably, after getting together with Ji Yuan, she had already heard a thing or two about Kang Ge's personal life.

Luo Wei remembered Lu Xiaodong quite well, having previously mistaken her for one of Kang Ge's enthusiastic young fans. Discovering now that she was actually his real sister, he lost any lingering gossip curiosity and struck up a lively, pleasant conversation with her.

The last to return were Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan. After a period of adapting to the job, Ning Shuyi appeared to have accepted her fate; her skin was a shade darker than before, and her frame looked significantly sturdier.

Huo Yan remained unchanged. Upon returning, he offered a brief greeting to the rest of the room, briskly sat down, and began to eat. He finished his meal at high speed, packed away his disposable tableware to throw in the bin, told Ning Shuyi he would wait for her in the car downstairs, and left first.

"Who on earth is that? So cool, he's practically like artificial intelligence!" Lu Xiaodong waited until Huo Yan had stepped out of the office before daring to voice her impression in a whisper.

Ning Shuyi was finishing up her meal and packing away her utensils. Hearing Lu Xiaodong's comment, she burst out laughing on the spot and gave her a thumbs-up. "Spot on comparison! For that description alone, I'm starting to like you!"

"How come you eat so fast now?" Yan Xue asked, somewhat startled by Ning Shuyi's dining speed. Back when they were studying in university, the four of them used to eat together every day. Ning Shuyi was always the first to finish, followed by Xia Qing; it was only the slow-paced Ren Yaya that kept Ning Shuyi from being dead last.

She well remembered that during military training, every meal had a strict time limit. At the beginning, Yan Xue was the only one in the dorm who ever managed to eat her fill. By the end of training, both Ning Shuyi and Ren Yaya were still surviving on half-empty stomachs.

"We have missions at night, you know! Hanging out with that 'AI' all day—every time we're out on a field assignment, he finishes eating in a flash. I simply don't have the psychological fortitude to chew slowly and savor my food like I used to," Ning Shuyi said with a shrug of resignation, patting Yan Xue on the shoulder. "Three days apart and you'll have to look at my speed with entirely new eyes!"

With that, she packed up her things, waved goodbye, and strode out briskly.

"Well, that truly is a rare sight," Xia Qing remarked to Yan Xue with a smile. "At this rate, you're going to have to hand your 'Wind and Fire Wheels' nickname over to Ningning!"

The atmosphere throughout the meal was exceptionally cheerful, and the group's collective appetite proved quite impressive. Every single dish was completely wiped out. Luo Wei ate to his absolute satisfaction, repeatedly expressing his hope that Lu Xiaodong would frequently visit the team to deliver warmth to her older brothers.

Lu Xiaodong shot Kang Ge a knowing look, keeping her lips sealed tight. Laughing and joking with Luo Wei, she smoothly steered the conversation away without drawing any attention back to Yan Xue or Kang Ge.

With dinner over and the hour growing late, Lu Xiaodong knew the team still had work to do and declined her brother's offer to drive her, hailing a taxi home instead. The remaining members tidied up and prepared to hold a briefing to share whatever information they had gathered.

First, Luo Wei and Kang Ge reported that their investigation into the commercial district's surveillance footage had yielded no results. They had checked all the main entrances and exits of the shopping centers in the primary area without finding any trace of Cong Fangfang's movements. Furthermore, several smaller streets lacked surveillance equipment entirely, making it impossible to trace her path. After considerable effort, this lead was effectively dead.

The online ride-hailing platforms had no subsequent records of Cong Fangfang booking a trip, and the taxi companies had already distributed her information, though no feedback had been received yet.

Kang Ge had taken charge of investigating Chen Qing's recent whereabouts. He discovered that her daily routine was extremely regular, matching her statements almost entirely. She rarely left the apartment, and even when she did, she was accompanied by her child, never venturing far beyond purchasing daily necessities before returning home. This effectively ruled out her involvement in the crime.

As for Shi Shugao, there was currently neither proof of his involvement nor evidence to clear him. When Kang Ge located his rented accommodation, he found that Shi Shugao's recent situation was indeed thoroughly decadent. His new job appeared to have hit the rocks as well; assigned to field sales, his schedule was highly erratic and impossible to pin down easily.

Over on Yan Xue's side, the investigation into Xin Rui had made some headway. Xin Rui's previous art exhibition had only run for three sessions, and ticket sales had been dismal, resulting in a guaranteed net loss that made his motives for holding such an exhibition completely baffling.

Moreover, too much time had passed, and the venue management had long since deleted the surveillance records from the exhibition period, meaning that any security footage of Cong Fangfang and Shi Shugao attending the show was irretrievably lost.

Thus, with Chen Qing eliminated, Xin Rui and Shi Shugao remained on the list of suspects.

"I still have one question: who was the person that tipped off Chen Qing in the first place? And when that person informed her, was their target Shi Shugao or Cong Fangfang? That question is quite fascinating to ponder," Yan Xue noted, raising a doubt. "After all, Cong Fangfang didn't suffer particularly heavy losses in that farce. If the culprit was targeting her from the beginning, that sabotage could hardly be considered a success."

"That's definitely an issue, but we can discuss it slowly later," Kang Ge said, having just finished a phone call nearby. Hearing Yan Xue's question as he walked back, he waved his hand at the gathered group. "We've got a case! Let's go—we'll talk after we've processed the scene!"