38 Gratitude and apology

Wu Yue hurriedly explained. "Y-Yes. He belonged to my Grandma mainly but after she passed away, I have been taking care of him."

"Mrs. Dai suffered an allergic reaction because of fur. Since you were seated directly opposite her, you were in close contact with her as much as Miss. Ma. It could be possible that there might have been some cat fur stuck on you which she inhaled if it got exposed in the air."

"W-wait!" Wu Yue exclaimed slightly loudly. "Are you blaming me for her death?"

Jia didn't mince her words. "Please lower your voice, Miss. Wu. This seemed to be an accident to me before, but you had a motive in harming Mrs. Dai. You were present in the theater and you have a pet whose fur might have potentially been a part to trigger her allergy. At this juncture, I cannot be sure of your intentions. It seems too much to pass it off as just a coincidence."

Wu Yue trembled hard. The color from her face was rapidly draining.

Just then from the other side of the corridor, she heard Mingshen's chirpy voice, "The cool grandma with cool eyesight is much better now all thanks to me~"

She parked this interrogation aside for now and said, "Come with me, Miss. Wu."

As they left, Yin Chin revealed herself from the corner and quickly walked up to her niece. "Why did she come here?"

"She got to know that Wu Yue and I met each other before. Now she thinks that Wu Yue has a motive. Shit. What should I do? I am already in detention! What if she thinks that we are together!"

She cautiously asked, "You didn't mention anything about my argument with that old bitch, right?"

"I didn't. But Aunt, you have to help me!"

"Stay calm for now. I will think of something."

—

Jia went back and could see the relief in everyone's expressions.

Ma Yanyu said, "Oh thank God," she held her forehead, mumbling to herself, "I thought she would collapse again like before…"

Mingshen caught her words and tilted his head. "Collapse? She had a panic attack before too?"

Her expression visibly stiffened as if she realized she accidentally spoke too much. "During that time we couldn't find Juan anywhere…"

Jia rushed to Mingshen's side and enquired. "How is Miss. Ma doing?"

"She is fit and fine. She just needs some rest," he grinned. "Things cannot go wrong when I am in charge~"

This narcissist man, her brow twitched.

Mingshen's gaze fell on Wu Yue, who was cautiously and reluctantly following Jia, fidgeting with her hands. He narrowed his eyes as he studied every body twitch of hers. "Who are you?"

Jia said, "She is Wu Yue. She and her boyfriend were seated opposite Mrs. Dai. You were looking after Yun when Huojin and I were asking them questions."

"Hoooo…"

Feeling his acute stare on her, Wu Yue grew even more anxious and instinctively looked away.

"Yanyu!"

Ma Yanyu glanced at the rushing figures of her husband and daughter behind him. He was huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath. Juan was right beside him, not tired at all. "Mom…Why did she suddenly collapse? How is she now?"

"Wenyan. Mom is doing fine now. But why did you get so late? And why did you bring Juan here?"

"Don't ask," he tiredly sighed. "I got your message just as I was about to drop off Juan. She was stubborn to know what happened and then well insisted on coming with me. And let's not talk about the traffic from Muxidi. It was so freaking bad that we got stuck!"

"Mama…Grandma…Is Grandma sick?" Her bright eyes were tearful.

"Grandma is fine, Juan. But this is not any reason to miss your school. Wenyan and I were here to handle it, right?" Ma Yanyu scolded her.

Juan bit her lower lip. She noticed others standing and felt embarrassed on being rebuked in front of everybody. But her eyes beamed as she recognized Jia and Mingshen.

"Pretty sister! Handsome brother! Aunt Meimei!"

Dai Meihui's face brightened to meet her again too. "Juan."

Ma Wenyan worriedly asked, "What happened to Mom? She was fine until this morning."

She impatiently looked at her watch and said, "It's a long story, Wenyan. We better talk about it at length at home. Mom is doing okay. So can you stay with her? I have a meeting I cannot afford to miss."

"You better leave now if you don't want to be late."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks. You are the best." She looked at Jia. "Sorry, but I will have to take my leave."

"Yeah. You sure you don't want to meet Miss. Ma before leaving? You can greet her for just a minute."

Ma Yanyu hesitated. "No. I have already been very late. It's fine. I will see her in the evening when I return home anyway." She hurriedly left with the click of her heels tapping on the floor.

Ma Wenyan probably noticed the silent question hanging in the air so he explained, "Actually, it's not her fault. Yanyu is very close to getting her promotion at her company, so these are some crucial months for her. That's why all her attention is on her work for now."

Jia smiled. "It's great to know that she is working so hard and her efforts are also getting rewarded."

"Thanks, Inspector. By the way these two are…" his gaze formed a question as he looked at Dai Meihui and Wu Yue.

Dai Meihui exhaled a shaky breath but politely said, "I am Dai Meihui. I am related to the case that happened in the theater. I apologize. It's because of my husband's irresponsible words that your mother got a panic attack," she clasped her hands together, throwing worried glances towards the ward. "So I came here just to accompany them. I am very sorry for Fengge's actions!"

She bowed in front of him, making him widen his eyes. "I see. It seems that you are more sensitive than your husband. I am glad you came. You don't have to apologize especially after knowing that you had helped find my daughter. Yanyu told me. I am truly grateful for your help," he bowed as well. "Also right now, I just want to focus on Mom's recovery, so I won't comment on your husband. But if he causes trouble again then…"

"Rest assured, Mr. Ma," Jia said, "It was unfortunate that they were together at the bureau and Mr. Dai lost his cool. It won't happen again."

Ma Wenyan smiled. "I have no problems if the inspector is confident. Thanks. I will head inside to meet Mom."

"Sure."

Jia's smile faded as she turned towards Wu Yue. "Come with me, Miss. Wu. You have a lot of questions to answer."