But why was Chen Haoran suddenly being so enthusiastic towards her?

Wasn’t he just recently acting so… towards her?

She pinched the palm of her hand.

Suddenly, she understood why Lu Yao had a problem with Si Nian.

“We’re already here, let’s go, Sis. It won’t hurt to take a look. Besides, I have something I want to tell you.”

Chen Haoran still had his thoughts about Si Nian living in that kind of place.

Right now, his gossiping spirit was burning bright.

He couldn’t wait to share it with her immediately.

Si Nian said, “Are you talking about the accidental murder from ten years ago? I already know about it.”

“Accidental? Who told you it was an accident? I heard it was a premeditated murder,” Chen Haoran said with a frown.

Si Nian was confused. “Premeditated? Wasn’t it a burglar who broke in to rob the place and accidentally killed someone?”

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“Your version is the original one. What I know is the updated version. At first, everyone thought the same as you, but later word got out that the burglar was just unlucky enough to stumble into a murder scene and ended up taking the blame. Even after he was caught, he refused to confess, and the police couldn’t find conclusive evidence to prove he committed the murder. The case became an unsolved mystery. But because the victim’s family made a huge fuss, it was eventually closed as manslaughter.”

“I also heard that people walking by at night would hear sounds coming from the courtyard where the murder happened. It was extremely terrifying. Later, someone even went missing, so a lot of people moved away from there at the time.”

“A lot of houses over there still can’t be sold even now.”

Si Nian: “…”

She had thought that no matter what, it was a courtyard house, so it shouldn’t be that hard to sell.

So this was the reason.

No wonder so few people lived around there.

People in this era were inherently superstitious. With stories like this going around, there probably weren’t many who wouldn’t be scared.

Si Nian comforted herself: Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Even if it’s a haunted house, it’s a haunted house worth hundreds of millions.

If you aren’t afraid of being poor, why be afraid of ghosts?

However, ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍what puzzled Si Nian was that if this story had been updated, why did Song Zhaodi still tell her the original version?

She seemed to believe that the thief, Wang Ergou, was the murderer.

But according to what Chen Haoran said, did that mean the real murderer was someone else?

Based on her past experience of scrolling through short videos watching unsolved mystery cases, the vast majority of these incidents were committed by acquaintances, who likely lived nearby.

If Wang Ergou wasn’t the culprit, then it was highly likely that the murderer was still at large.

In this era, there were no surveillance cameras anyway.

There were far too many cases where people murdered someone, dumped the body, and it was treated as a missing person case.

There were also cases that were overturned decades later.

But by then, it would be too late.

Si Nian originally hadn’t wanted to pay much attention to this kind of thing; after all, hearing too much of it gave her the creeps.

But she had already bought the house. If this haunting issue wasn’t resolved, it would affect the skyrocketing value of her property.

This was one of her assets for her future retirement.

How could she let it be affected by an unfounded rumor?

Judging from the hundreds of unsolved murder cases she had read about, the haunting was very likely a rumor deliberately spread by someone to confuse the public.

Thinking this way, Si Nian lost all interest in going to any dance.

She directly took her leave, saying, “I still have some things to do at home. You guys go have fun, I’m heading back first.”

After saying that, without waiting for them to react, she put on her backpack and quickly left the school.

As she was standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus, a black sedan pulled up in front of her.

“Teacher Si, where are you going? I’ll give you a ride.”

Si Nian looked over in surprise. “Mr. Xiao?”

Xiao Yi nodded. “I heard there’s a freshman networking dance tonight. You aren’t attending?”

Si Nian shook her head. “Forget it, I’m already married, that kind of occasion doesn’t suit me. What about you, Mr. Xiao? No, it should be Professor Xiao, have you finished your classes too?”

“How is student Fang Bowen doing?”

“Little Bowen is doing well, thank you for your concern, Teacher Si.”

Si Nian smiled and nodded. Seeing the bus arriving, she hurriedly waved goodbye. “Thank you for the offer, but I can just take the bus back. Goodbye, Professor Xiao.”

Watching her get on the bus with her backpack, to the point where the male students behind her blushed and made way for her, Xiao Yi’s eyes flickered.

If he remembered correctly, that Zhou Yueshen should be thirty years old.

It was quite curious that a young girl like Si Nian would actually marry him.

Xiao Yi drove back home.

He had been busy lately and hadn’t been back for a few days.

As soon as he entered the house, his son ran over. “Dad, you’re back! Let me tell you, I saw Zhou Zedong. He and his younger brother both transferred to my school, and they’re even in my class. Dad, doesn’t this prove that I have a special connection with them?”

Xiao Bowen hadn’t shown it at school, but in reality, he was very excited inside.

Xiao Yi patted his head. When he looked up, his mother was standing at the top of the stairs, looking at him.

Xiao Yi paused and called out, “Mom.”

Mother Xiao had a cold and gloomy expression. “So you still know I’m your mother.”

After saying that, she realized her grandson was still there, and said in a deep voice, “Come up, I have something to discuss with you.”

Xiao Yi paused, then followed her upstairs.

Mother Xiao threw a few photos onto the table, her tone agitated. “What is the meaning of this? You sent Fang Hui to Yungui City just to look for these kids, didn’t you?”

Xiao Yi glanced at the photos and frowned. “You had someone secretly take pictures of them?”

“If I hadn’t had someone take pictures, I wouldn’t have known that our Xiao family still has children wandering out there!”

Hearing this, a trace of mockery flashed in Xiao Yi’s eyes. “Children? Back when my brother wanted to bring them back, have you forgotten how you stopped him? You forced my brother to marry, you threatened him with your life to force him to stay in Beijing, making him abandon his wife and children. And now you’re calling them children of the Xiao family?”

“You caused the death of their biological father. Their mother died of depression because she was abandoned in the countryside. The children became orphans, and just when they were finally adopted and started living a good life, you can’t wait to scheme against them?”

Hearing about her deceased son, a flash of guilt appeared in Mother Xiao’s eyes.

She was actually unable to refute her son’s words.

“If you still feel any guilt towards my brother, I hope you won’t disturb their family’s life.”

“They are much better off there than returning to the Xiao family.”

Back then, when Xiao Yi was on a business trip, he accidentally saw a newspaper article about Zhou Zedong being called a genius.

When he saw the photo at the time, he was extremely surprised because the child looked exactly like his older brother.

He only investigated out of suspicion.

He didn’t expect it to be such a coincidence; the child came from Xingfu Village, the very place where his older brother had stayed when he was sent to the countryside.

Later, he found out that their mother had died early, their father was unknown, and they had been adopted by their uncle.

He was originally very worried that the children might have a hard time living under someone else’s roof.

He was afraid that the children appearing in the newspaper was a publicity stunt by their adoptive parents for profit, wanting to use the children to make money.

So he specifically found a reporter to pay them a visit.

But the result was beyond his expectations.

The children’s uncle and his wife treated the children very well.

However, before he could investigate further, he had to return to Beijing due to work reasons.

To better understand the children’s situation, he sent Fang Hui, who was a reporter, to Yungui City, and even bought the house next door to the Zhou family.

Since then, he had continuously had people looking into the children’s situation.

Only then did he know that they were living very well and were very happy.

Naturally, Xiao Yi had no desire to tear their current family apart, which was why he had quietly taken his son and walked away. He had anticipated that his mother might eventually discover his older brother’s illegitimate child, but he never expected them to cross paths this soon. As for Xiao Bowen, he had only come upstairs to ask his father a question. Little did he know, he would end up overhearing such an earth-shattering revelation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep