Chapter Seventeen: Contrasting Attitudes

"Lu Anju, pull yourself together. We don't even know if the deceased is your father yet. The most important thing is to uncover the truth, not to cry," Qin Ruonan strode over without hesitation, reached out, and pulled Lu Anju from her husband's arms, where she had been weeping.

Just as Qin Ruonan had suspected in her heart, Lu Anju's face showed some genuine panic, but not a single trace of tears. Qin Ruonan discreetly glanced at the spot where Lu Ji's shoulder met his shirt—there were no signs of moisture there either. It seemed this Lu Anju, who had always liked to put on airs, had merely thundered without rain, as usual.

Pulled abruptly from her husband's embrace, Lu Anju was momentarily bewildered. Then, regaining her composure, she twisted her shoulder in disgust to shake off Qin Ruonan's hand, frowned, and glared at her. "Don't touch me!"

She then leaned in closer to her husband, feigning frailty, as if Qin Ruonan were some dangerous beast rather than a policewoman.

Qin Ruonan watched Lu Anju's performance with distaste and made no response. Lu Anju seemed not to notice, but her husband, Lu Ji, looked uncomfortable. He nodded apologetically to Qin Ruonan and reached out, "Officer, hello. I'm Lu Min's son-in-law, Lu Ji. I just got word from Anju that my father-in-law may be in trouble, so I came to see if there's anything I can do to help."

"Your intentions are good, but unfortunately, only those with direct blood ties to Lu Min can be of help now." There is a saying: one doesn't strike the smiling face. Lu Ji's attitude was sufficiently courteous, so Qin Ruonan didn't speak too coldly to him, though she seemed disinclined to spend much time with this couple. She explained the facts succinctly and glanced at Lu Anju, "But you could help by comforting your own wife."

With that, she gestured for them to sit and wait for Lu Anmei, then turned to her own desk.

"Why did you go and provoke Lu Anju again?" An Changpu moved closer to Qin Ruonan once she sat down, his voice low and half-amused.

Qin Ruonan saw how near An Changpu was, frowned, and shifted away, so that only half her chair remained beneath her.

"I didn't expect you to enjoy such melodrama. Next time tell me sooner, and I'll let her perform a little longer," she said, turning away from him.

An Changpu was baffled by her evasive movement and awkward position perched on half a chair. He could only sit up straight, slap her shoulder, and say, "First, I'm only worried about some new trouble cropping up at a critical time. Second, sit properly! You'll fall off the chair at this rate! I don't bite!"

A flush crept over Qin Ruonan's cheeks at the latter part of his remark. She shot him a fierce glare, but shifted back to sit firmly on the chair.

An Changpu sighed quietly, making a mental note to himself: once there was a lull in this case, he'd have to find out if he and Qin Ruonan had ever had any past conflict. Their relationship seemed to go beyond simple astrological incompatibility; for some reason, he felt she treated him as if he were a monster. He rubbed his face, wondering what about his appearance was so alarming that it made her so wary.

After Lu Ji arrived, he greeted the two elders in the room. Ding Mulan spoke quietly with him, while Lu Jun merely snorted and gave him the cold shoulder, apparently not fond of his younger brother's son-in-law.

They waited a while longer, but Lu Anmei still hadn't appeared. Ding Mulan grew restless and approached Qin Ruonan, asking to call her younger daughter again. Qin Ruonan readily agreed, letting her use the office landline.

Waiting idly was pointless. Both An Changpu and Qin Ruonan understood that, given the circumstances, the odds were high that the deceased was Lu Min. The absence of a head meant only a DNA comparison was needed for confirmation.

Since that was the case, it was better to use the time to learn more from Lu Min's close relatives. While they couldn't probe too deeply into personal matters before the identity was confirmed, they could at least discuss Lu Min's surgery, which had clearly caused a stir in his family. No one could guarantee that his death wasn't related to it.

"Lu Ji, is that right?" An Changpu broke the silence, directing his question at Lu Min's son-in-law. "What do you do for a living?"

"I... run a small business, nothing worth mentioning!" Lu Ji answered modestly. He tried to smile politely, but considering the grim atmosphere in the Major Crimes Unit, with his father-in-law possibly a victim, grinning seemed inappropriate, so he quickly reined in his expression.

"You know your father-in-law's situation, don't you?" An Changpu pressed.

Lu Ji nodded repeatedly, but a strange expression flickered across his face. His nose wrinkled, pulling his upper lip outward toward his cheeks—a subtle movement soon smoothed away by the rest of his facial muscles, leaving his expression a bit stiff.

"What are your thoughts on your father-in-law's surgery?" An Changpu asked, his tone light and casual, as if it were just small talk.

"I support my father's decision, and so does Lu Ji," Lu Anju spoke up this time. Sitting beside Lu Ji, she entwined her fingers with his and answered with a hint of melancholy, "Maybe you can't understand my dad—think his actions are strange or whatever—but we're his family, and family understands family best. My dad's worked hard all his life. Now my sister and I are grown, he doesn't need to worry about us anymore. We think he has every right to pursue the life he wants. Don't you agree?"

She nudged her husband, who quickly nodded in agreement, "Exactly. Everyone should be free to live the way they want."

Hearing this, Ding Mulan turned her face slightly away, as if she hadn't heard her daughter and son-in-law's words. Lu Jun, on the other hand, snorted in disapproval and glared fiercely at the couple.

"So you still can't understand or accept Lu Min's decision?" Qin Ruonan had already heard from Ding Mulan about Lu Jun's attitude toward Lu Min's gender transition. Now, seeing his reaction, he made no attempt to hide his feelings.

"Who could understand him? What do you mean, everyone should live the way they want? That's nonsense!" Lu Jun, evidently quick-tempered, couldn't hold back any longer. He boomed, "Can a person only think about themselves? Can you just live for yourself? He wanted to become a woman, so he went and did it, leaving his family behind. What is that? Did he ever consider his parents' feelings, his relatives' feelings? Fine—even if he didn't, couldn't he at least think about his wife? After half a lifetime as husband and wife, suddenly her husband becomes a woman—who could accept that?"

"Uncle, that's not right. When Dad decided to have the surgery, Mom supported him just like we did! You don't need to meddle in front of the police," Lu Anju retorted, stung by his words, and pulled her silent mother over, "Mom, say something!"

Ding Mulan looked numbly at Lu Anju, then at Lu Jun, An Changpu, and Qin Ruonan, and silently nodded, indicating her agreement with her daughter.

Lu Anju immediately shot a victorious glare at Lu Jun, who, frustrated by Ding Mulan's lack of resistance, sighed deeply and sank back into his chair without another word.