HH Chapter 50

Pei Qinghuai retorted, “Just tell me if what I said makes sense.”

Before Cheng Ye could respond, Fang Yuan pushed the door open and said, “Cheng Team, the family has arrived.”

Cheng Ye was taken aback and stood up from his chair. Pei Qinghuai also stood, “Let’s go,” he said softly.

As they walked out the door, Cheng Ye kept hoping that it might be a coincidence, that the person might just have the same name. But that hope vanished when he saw the family.

“Professor Cheng,” Cheng Ye called out.

“Where is my daughter?” The woman leaning on Cheng Yuanjun’s shoulder, her eyes swollen from crying, looked at Cheng Ye and asked.

Yan Ya hesitated but then said, “Please follow me.”

Cheng Yuanjun, looking like he had also been crying, glanced at Cheng Ye. Cheng Ye steadied himself, patted Cheng Yuanjun’s shoulder, and asked, “How did my daughter die?”

Cheng Ye opened his mouth slowly, wanting to say something but couldn’t. Cheng Yuanjun waited anxiously. Cheng Ye swallowed but still couldn’t speak.

Your daughter died because she got involved in someone else’s trouble and didn’t have to die. How could he say that? Cheng Ye kept thinking of ways to tell him, but his mind went blank.

Pei Qinghuai glanced at Cheng Ye, then at Cheng Yuanjun, and said, “She died trying to protect someone else.”

“Protect?” Cheng Yuanjun looked at Pei Qinghuai, his eyes twitching.

“Yes,” Pei Qinghuai replied. “That night, someone was calling for help in the hallway. No one else opened their door, but your daughter did. However…”

Pei Qinghuai deliberately left the sentence unfinished, but everyone knew what the unspoken words were. Cheng Yuanjun gasped, pulling Cheng Ye into a hug, holding him tightly.

Cheng Ye wrapped his arms around Cheng Yuanjun’s shoulders. He knew the man was crying, as was his wife. Once they had confirmation, she crouched at the door, burying her head in her knees.

After about half an hour, the couple had calmed down somewhat. Cheng Yuanjun, having had his daughter later in life, held his only child close, both of them holding hot water bottles, sitting in the waiting room. Gao Yuan had already been sent home.

“Are you sure my Xiaoxiao died protecting someone?” Cheng Yuanjun’s voice was hoarse as he looked at Cheng Ye and Pei Qinghuai.

“There’s about an eighty percent chance,” Pei Qinghuai said. “The calls for help weren’t loud, but she still opened the door and fought with the assailant.”

Cheng Yuanjun squeezed his wife’s hand. Despite the difficulty in accepting this, the event had already occurred, and dwelling in grief wouldn’t change anything.

“What about the remaining twenty percent?” Cheng Yuanjun’s wife asked, raising her head.

“We can’t rule out poisoning or drugs. Further autopsy is needed to confirm,” Cheng Ye explained.

Cheng Yuanjun’s wife trembled violently, her complexion even paler than before. She stammered, “Do it. One look is enough.”

After speaking, she buried her head in Cheng Yuanjun’s chest. Cheng Yuanjun tried hard to maintain his composure, his forced smile more painful than crying. “Thank you for your trouble,” he said.