Chapter 378: Murder Case

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Huo asked in confusion as he buttoned up his coat and started walking.

“Let’s go.”

Chu Xi snapped out of her daze and immediately skipped after him.

Niuniu was with them too. Since she couldn’t walk fast, Xu Huo carried her with one arm. She sat on his bent forearm, her little arms wrapped around his neck.

CREAK~

The door was left ajar, and wisps of cold wind snaked inside, wrapping around their bodies and making them shiver.

Xu Huo shivered instinctively.

The three of them headed out.

The streets were bustling for the New Year. Even strangers would flash a smile and exchange greetings when they passed.

The sprawling, snowy scenery, in particular, added a special flavor to the Spring Festival.

Niuniu was curled up against Xu Huo, soaking up his warmth while staring at her surroundings with wide, curious eyes.

She had celebrated the New Year before. Every year, Master Du’e would take the few of them, the children, out for some good food.

Well, by that, she meant begging.

On this day, many people were especially generous and would give them a bit of meat to eat.

But what Niuniu was most curious about were the things that would explode when you lit them with fire. Her eyes were wide as she watched the laughing children by the roadside.

Another gust of bone-chilling wind swept over them, and Niuniu buried her head inside Xu Huo’s collar.

Xu Huo clucked his tongue slightly, paused, and looked back.

“Are you cold?”

Chu Xi was a bit afraid of the cold. Her body temperature was never very high, and the freezing weather seemed to have lowered her IQ a few points.

Xu Huo touched her hand. It was soft but also icy, like holding a popsicle.

“Let me warm you up.”

His large, warm hand enveloped her small one.

Feeling the warmth spread from his palm, Chu Xi blinked, pursed her lips, and pressed herself against Xu Huo’s other arm. Her head was about level with his shoulder.

“Mmm~”

The two walked through the snow, their two sets of footprints intertwining as they moved forward.

They weren’t in a hurry to find Chu Linhai, though.

Instead, they first made a trip to see Master Du’e.

After all, they could see Chu Linhai anytime, but Master Du’e was a different case. Although Xu Huo had given him a job, he was certain the master’s salary was being used for other things. He probably wouldn’t be able to afford a proper New Year’s Eve dinner.

However, when they arrived at the small courtyard…

…they found that someone had already beaten them to it.

“Hm? Chao Zi?”

Xu Huo’s expression faltered as he watched Wang Chao, Xiao Long, and Xiao Hu having a snowball fight in front of him.

Wang Chao was here.

And not just Wang Chao, but Zhang Niu and Zhang Min’s family as well.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Xu Huo bent down and set Niuniu on the ground. She immediately scampered off gleefully, grabbing a snowball and tossing it at Xiao Long and Xiao Hu.

Well, her hands were tiny, so it was less of a snowball and more like a pinch of snow.

“Ah?”

Hearing the voice, Wang Chao turned around. His face lit up when he saw Xu Huo.

“Brother Niu and his family came to Jiangsan City, right? But they don’t have relatives here, and they don’t know their neighbors. For the New Year, all they could do was stay home and watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV.”

“They asked me if there was anywhere to pass the time, so I brought them here.”

Xu Huo paused.

He glanced to the side.

Zhang Niu and Master Du’e were sitting together, playing chess and chatting cheerfully.

Du’e was still wearing that same tattered kasaya, but it was draped over a down jacket.

Xiao Long and Xiao Hu, however, were dressed normally. The two of them no longer wanted to help out at the shop and had become apprentices at a car repair garage.

“Aren’t you going home?”

Xu Huo asked, looking at him skeptically.

“I had a falling out with my family,” Wang Chao said. “But it’s not that serious. I just need to go home for New Year’s Eve dinner tonight.”

Wang Chao didn’t seem too bothered by it. It wasn’t the first time he hadn’t spent the holiday at home.

Besides…

“All my relatives in Jiangsan City went back to their hometowns for the New Year, so there’s no one I need to visit.”

“Just like Brother Niu, I’ve got a lot of free time. My older brother took my parents out, so it’s not like they need me around.”

Xu Huo nodded.

‘Complex family drama. It’s best for an outsider not to get involved.’

Speaking of which, in this entire house…

…it seemed like only Wang Chao and Zhang Min had parents.

Xu Huo fell into deep thought, turning to look at the scene in the courtyard with its dozen or so people, young and old.

‘It’s practically an orphanage…’

‘Then what does that make me?’

‘The director of the orphanage?’

Just as he was mocking himself internally, a sudden, biting cold sensation appeared on his neck.

Xu Huo reached up and felt a clump of snow. He turned to look.

He saw Chu Xi, who looked as if she hadn’t done a thing, her hands behind her back, her gaze wandering off to the side.

Xu Huo stared at her from up close.

Chu Xi still kept her head turned away.

Xu Huo cupped her cheeks with both hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. Feeling guilty, Chu Xi squeezed her eyes shut.

…

“Tsk, these kids are certainly lively.”

Inside, at the table, Zhang Niu smiled as he watched the boisterous scene outside.

“It is all thanks to Mr. Xu’s great kindness,”

Master Du’e said.

Zhang Niu chuckled, then looked Master Du’e up and down.

“But you, Master, you look a little malnourished.”

“Didn’t Xiao Xu give you a high salary? What, you couldn’t bear to spend it?”

“No, that’s not right. I heard from Xiao Wang… you used the money to buy bread?”

Zhang Niu asked, clucking his tongue in amazement.

Du’e had a salary. It was quite high—two thousand a month, plus benefits.

On top of that, employees could take home any unsold bread that was being disposed of. Logically, he should have been able to save a lot of money over the year.

But Du’e had used his salary to buy these expired loaves and give them away.

That was strange. He could have taken them for free, but he insisted on paying…

“The bread is not mine. It belongs to Donor Xu. He gave it to me, but in essence, it still belongs to Donor Xu, to the shop.”

Du’e shook his head, his tone as calm as ever. As he spoke, he made another move on the chessboard.