Chapter Thirty-Seven: Threads Unbroken

"Don’t say such things carelessly! If rumors spread, it could ruin her reputation!" Lu Jun was startled by his wife's sudden words and hurriedly signaled her to stop talking.

"I'm not making things up! Before Lu Min died, things between him and Ding Mulan had improved quite a bit, you all know that, right? His surgery was never completed, he only got a pair of fake breasts, nothing else was done. The two of them… occasionally still had marital relations." As Lu Jun's wife spoke, she seemed to realize that discussing such matters in front of her husband and two young detectives—a man and a woman—was somewhat embarrassing. Midway, she glossed over the details, yet her listeners instantly understood her implication.

Qin Ruonan felt a little awkward, turning her face aside and covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she coughed quietly. Though as a detective she was used to all sorts of situations, she was still an unmarried young woman, and having someone discuss such topics in her presence made her cheeks flush.

Had this been about someone else, Lu Jun might have felt embarrassed by his wife's words, but since she was talking about his own brother and sister-in-law, shock outweighed any discomfort.

"I’ve never heard anything about this! How do you know such things?" His eyes widened in disbelief.

Lu Jun’s wife pursed her lips. "Ding Mulan and I are sisters-in-law, both women. There are things we can talk about, things we wouldn’t dream of telling men! These are private matters between women, who would feel comfortable letting men know?"

"So you're saying Lu Min didn’t finish his gender reassignment surgery because of Ding Mulan?" Qin Ruonan put aside her initial embarrassment; Lu Jun’s wife’s words surprised her. She’d assumed Lu Min hadn’t completed the procedure due to financial reasons. After all, a middle-aged man willing to leave behind his wife and daughter and spend money on transitioning couldn’t be expected to have much sense of responsibility.

Had she misjudged Lu Min?

Lu Jun’s wife didn’t answer with certainty. She hesitated a moment, then said haltingly, "Like I said, Ding Mulan and I are sisters-in-law—not real sisters. We can discuss things we wouldn't with men, but that doesn’t mean we talk about everything. Even if we do, who knows if it’s the whole truth, or if there’s a bit of saving face mixed in."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ding Mulan told me once that Lu Min came home after getting breast implants and didn’t push to finish the rest. He told her that he just wanted to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a woman, getting implants, dressing like a woman, going out and enjoying himself. That was enough for him; after so many years together, with family and children, he couldn’t bear to abandon them completely and become a woman." Lu Jun’s wife recounted this, though she didn’t seem to believe it herself.

"You don’t quite believe that, do you?" An Changpu asked casually.

She didn’t deny it. "How could I believe it? Someone willing to sell their parents’ burial plot just to become a woman, spending tens of thousands on—what’s it called again?"

"Silicone," Qin Ruonan supplied.

"Right! Silicone! Spending all that money for a couple of silicone implants, just to have a bit of fun and then take them out and go back to being a man? If someone from a rich family did that, maybe I'd believe it. These days, people with money do all sorts of things out of boredom. But in our family, who’s well-off? Does Lu Min have the means to indulge and then revert?!" She spoke with disdain. "If you ask me, Lu Min probably had some ulterior motive! Whether Ding Mulan was pretending not to know, or whether she was fooled, I can’t say. Now that he’s dead, there’s no way to find out."

As she spoke, Lu Jun stared blankly off to the side, his gaze unfocused, as if he hadn’t heard a word she’d said.

"We’re all women," Lu Jun’s wife continued, oblivious to her husband’s distraction, addressing An Changpu and mostly Qin Ruonan, her fellow woman. "I’ll say this openly, Ding Mulan really has it tough. Her husband is useless, obsessed with becoming a woman, neglects everything. She’s the one who works, cooks, does laundry, takes care of everything. Two kids—the younger one is at least sensible, though stubborn, but the elder is hopeless! Always at odds with her mother, never doing anything good. Now that Lu Min is dead, the younger one still doesn’t have a partner! If Ding Mulan has to live with the elder and her husband, she’d be better off alone!"

"Is Lu Anju really that unfilial?" An Changpu was surprised at how harshly Lu Jun’s wife judged Lu Anju.

"If Lu Min had survived, maybe the elder and her husband would treat him better, since she’s always favored her father. But now it’s Ding Mulan left behind—no matter what, living with Lu Anju and Lu Ji won’t be good! Ding Mulan was strongly against their marriage in the first place. I think Lu Anju still holds a grudge."

Just then, Lu Jun scraped his foot loudly across the rough cement floor, startling his wife. She glanced at him, realizing he wasn’t stopping her from talking, just absentmindedly lost in thought, so she continued: "Back then, Ding Mulan thought Lu Ji wasn’t reliable, not someone to settle down with, so she objected. But the elder insisted, and before anything else happened, she got pregnant. Lu Ji’s family wasn’t enthusiastic about the marriage either, but once she was pregnant, they hurried to marry. It could have worked out, but before the wedding, Lu Anju somehow miscarried and never conceived again. So after the wedding, she suffered at home, never daring to contradict Lu Ji."

"When Lu Min was alive, did Lu Ji and his wife ask their in-laws for money?" Qin Ruonan asked.

"Of course they did! Big sums, who knows, but small amounts—hundreds or thousands—everyone in our extended family knows these two loved to sponge off their parents!"

Lu Jun let out a loud sigh, instantly drawing the others’ attention.

"What’s wrong with you? If something’s bothering you, say it. Why all the sighing?" His wife was baffled by his mood.

"I just can’t figure out what was going on in Lu Min’s head. He did all those crazy things outside, but was he thinking of coming back? If I’d known he wanted to make amends, I wouldn’t have gone after him!" Lu Jun was deeply affected by his wife’s remarks about Lu Min and Ding Mulan’s improving relationship, regret filling his gaze as he looked at her.

He hadn’t expected himself to admit to confronting Lu Min. Qin Ruonan glanced at An Changpu, who seemed equally excited.

Now, it seemed that the dispute between the brothers Lu Jun and Lu Min was about to be clarified.