Chapter Thirty-Two: The Temptation of Profit

As An Changpu walked out of Cheng Feng’s office, Qin Ruonan’s gaze followed him intently.

“Is it time for the handover? Who’s taking over my case?” Seeing An Changpu approach with an expressionless face, she hurriedly reached for the case files on her desk.

An Changpu pulled up a chair beside Qin Ruonan’s desk, set his notebook down, and said, “Alright, tell me—did Lu Anmei mention anything noteworthy today?”

“Who’s going to take over my follow-up on this case? Shouldn’t the new person be here as well?” Qin Ruonan was still unsure what was happening.

“If you really can’t stand working with me, you can ask Brother Feng to reassign you. But honestly, I think we’re a good team—I have no intention of changing partners.” An Changpu opened his notebook and looked at her, “Shall we begin?”

Qin Ruonan hesitated for a moment, her face unreadable, but her whole demeanor seemed to relax suddenly. She pulled out her notes from the conversation with Lu Anmei and recounted the details Lu Anmei had shared.

When it came to her father, Lu Anmei was extremely repulsed. She saw him as a selfish man, utterly lacking in his responsibilities as husband and father. Lu Min’s persistent desire to become a woman disgusted her even more.

According to Lu Anmei, since Lu Min had always dreamed of being a woman, he should have stood firm, refused to compromise with his parents, and never married or had children. But since he did compromise, took a wife, and raised kids, he should have abandoned his earlier intentions and devoted himself to living life properly.

Qin Ruonan mentioned that, during their conversation, the young woman—just over twenty—held a very negative view of the opposite sex. She believed men were unreliable and untrustworthy.

“So just because of her father, she’s negative toward all men? Isn’t that a bit of an overgeneralization?” An Changpu couldn’t quite understand. Normally, family influences shape one’s outlook on life and relationships, but Lu Min’s situation was unusual. After all, not every man harbors a dream of being a woman. That Lu Anmei’s pessimism toward men stemmed solely from her father seemed excessive.

Qin Ruonan shook her head and explained another reason behind Lu Anmei’s attitude: her brother-in-law, Lu Ji.

Lu Anmei had told Qin Ruonan that, ever since marrying Lu Anju, Lu Ji had never done anything for the Lu family. Whenever he visited, he acted like a pampered young master, expecting everything to be served to him. Lu Anju, meanwhile, was completely submissive to his every whim.

Initially, Lu Ji strongly opposed Lu Min’s plan to undergo gender transition surgery. He ran a small business, but it never prospered. He switched from one venture to another, always without success. When he learned that Lu Min had sold their parents’ burial plot for money and intended to use it for surgery, he was furious. He wanted Lu Min to invest the money in his business, but Lu Min refused, leading to a heated argument. According to Lu Anmei, if not for her and her mother’s intervention, and some help from Lu Anju, Lu Ji might have turned violent in his rage.

Afterwards, Lu Ji stormed off with Lu Anju. Not long after, rumors began circulating in the village about Lu Min’s surgery and transformation into a woman.

“So why did Lu Ji’s attitude shift from opposition to support?” An Changpu asked.

Qin Ruonan replied, “Lu Anmei said the change was abrupt—no warning signs. The only difference was that, after Lu Ji changed his stance, Lu Anju started spending money lavishly. Lu Anmei suspects her sister and brother-in-law benefited from her father. Earlier, Yao Chang mentioned that Lu Ji had borrowed money from him to cover gambling debts; later, he introduced Lu Min to borrow money as well. Clearly, Lu Ji and Lu Anju must have profited somehow. That would explain why Lu Min sold the burial plot, never completed the surgery, and still ended up deeply in debt.”

“You make a valid point. Anything else? Did Lu Anmei mention her mother’s attitude toward her father’s gender transition?”

“I did ask about that,” Qin Ruonan said with a sigh as she spoke of Ding Mulan. “Lu Anmei said that when Lu Min first talked about using money for surgery, he’d made such noise for years without ever acting, so apart from Lu Ji’s tantrums over the money, the rest of the family didn’t take it seriously. But when Lu Min left and returned having actually undergone breast augmentation, Ding Mulan went to their fields and cried for a long time. Lu Anmei found her, comforted her, and brought her home. Afterwards, Ding Mulan and Lu Min had a private conversation behind closed doors. After their talk, Ding Mulan’s attitude changed; she became indifferent towards Lu Min’s transition. Lu Anmei couldn’t accept this, believing her mother lacked conviction, so she left home in anger to work in City C, refusing to return.”

“What did Ding Mulan and Lu Min discuss?” An Changpu asked, though he didn’t expect much—children rarely know the content of private conversations between their parents.

Sure enough, Qin Ruonan hadn’t learned anything from Lu Anmei: “Lu Anmei did ask, but Ding Mulan wouldn’t tell her. However, while she didn’t get answers about that, she did learn something else. We already know that Lu Min and his brother Lu Jun became estranged after selling their parents’ burial plot, and the families stopped visiting each other. Shortly before Lu Min’s death, he returned home, and Lu Jun, hearing rumors, rushed to Lu Min’s house and called him outside. The two argued, and Lu Jun left in a fury.”

“Did Ding Mulan tell Lu Anmei why Lu Jun went to see Lu Min?” An Changpu pressed.

“No. Apparently, Lu Jun deliberately avoided the rest of the family, wanting to keep their conversation private. Ding Mulan only saw their faces darken as they left, and from afar, she noticed Lu Jun shoving Lu Min. As for the reason, she didn’t tell Lu Anmei—whether she didn’t know or just didn’t want to say, that’s unclear,” Qin Ruonan replied.

An Changpu frowned, thinking for a moment, then stood and said to Qin Ruonan, “I’ll call the Jiangkou District sub-bureau and ask them to keep an eye on Lu Ji. Then we’ll continue—I still have several unanswered questions about this case!”

With that, he hurried off to make the call.