Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 457 - 466: Shocking Bad News

Chapter 457: Chapter 466: Shocking Bad News

As they were talking, Li Yifei’s phone rang. It was a call from Officer Lin Qiong, Chu Xiaoyao immediately leaned over, trying to eavesdrop on Li Yifei’s call. Li Yifei flicked Chu Xiaoyao’s forehead and stood up to walk to the side before casually answering, "Officer Lin, long time no see."

But Officer Lin Qiong’s tone sounded rather heavy, "Are you with Chu Xiaoyao right now?"

Li Yifei was immediately surprised, "She’s at my place, what’s wrong?"

"You better be prepared, Chu Xiaoyao’s parents are both gone."

"What?" Li Yifei exclaimed in shock.

"There’s a suicide note, Chu Xiaoyao’s mother had always been extremely angry about her father seeing other women, but for Chu Xiaoyao’s sake, she never made a scene. Now that Xiaoyao did well on her exams, she’s sure to get into a good university, so she felt she had no more ties holding her back. She poisoned her husband with a strong pesticide and drank it herself, too. They’re both... dead now. Bring Xiaoyao back home," Officer Lin Qiong said.

Li Yifei was stunned by the news. During Xiaoyao’s college entrance exam, her mother always seemed hesitant to speak and even said a couple of cryptic things to him, telling him to take good care of Xiaoyao in the future. Little did he know that she had already made up her mind to join her husband in death by then.

"Uncle, what’s wrong?" Chu Xiaoyao stood in front of Li Yifei, playfully waving her little hand in front of him with a mischievous face.

Looking at Chu Xiaoyao’s smile, Li Yifei felt as if a needle had pricked his heart. He extended his hand to gently hold Chu Xiaoyao’s hand, took a breath, and asked, "Xiaoyao, you’re an adult now, aren’t you?"

"Of course, I am. I’ve already had my eighteenth birthday; I’m a grown-up now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare tease you like this, Uncle," Chu Xiaoyao boasted proudly, her smile radiant.

Li Yifei sighed again lightly, but found he just couldn’t bring himself to speak the words on the tip of his tongue.

By now, Chu Xiaoyao realized something was off with Li Yifei’s expression and suddenly felt nervous. She stammered, "Uncle, what’s wrong? You’re not really going to... kick me out, are you?"

Feeling even more distressed, Li Yifei suddenly pulled Chu Xiaoyao into his arms and said, "Uncle will never drive you away again."

"Huh?" Chu Xiaoyao froze. If she had heard Li Yifei say these words before, she would have been overjoyed, but today she just couldn’t bring herself to be happy, sensing that something must have happened.

Su Yiyi also sensed that something was amiss. Clutching Li Yifei’s arm, she asked, "Brother Li, has something happened?"

Li Yifei took another deep breath, hugged Chu Xiaoyao tightly, and said, "Yiyi, since you’re an adult now, you have to stay calm when you face problems. Uncle has something to tell you."

"Un... Uncle, you... don’t scare me, what on earth is going on?" Chu Xiaoyao’s body trembled slightly.

"Your parents... have passed away." Li Yifei managed to say these difficult words, then held onto Chu Xiaoyao tightly.

Chu Xiaoyao was dazed for a moment, then suddenly started to giggle, playfully hitting Li Yifei, "Uncle, don’t joke with me like this. It’s not funny at all."

"Xiaoyao, Uncle’s not lying to you. Officer Lin Qiong just called me. Your parents committed suicide by taking poison. Let’s go home now; their affairs are up to you to handle."

Chu Xiaoyao looked up, her eyes slowly reddening, then suddenly widened in anger, "Uncle, you’re lying to me, you must be lying! When I left, my parents were fine; these past days, they even took me on a trip. They’ve always been loving towards each other; how could they possibly be dead?"

Li Yifei held Chu Xiaoyao tightly and said, "Xiaoyao, I wish it were untrue, let’s go check."

"It’s definitely a lie, definitely that damn Officer Lin Qiong trying to trick you because she knows I’m with you, so she’s doing this to upset me. Hmph, I won’t fall for it, and you shouldn’t either, Uncle. Let’s go home and expose her right to her face," Xiaoyao said, fuming.

Chu Xiaoyao, so young and never having thought about how close death could be to her, certainly never imagined the loss of her beloved parents. She pulled Li Yifei along in a hurry to leave.

Su Yiyi also quickly followed. She knew Li Yifei wouldn’t make up such a lie; her heart was also in turmoil, scared that Xiaoyao couldn’t bear the blow of witnessing the truth.

When they arrived at the entrance to Chu Xiaoyao’s apartment building, two police cars were stationed downstairs. As soon as Chu Xiaoyao saw the police cars, her face turned pale instantly, and her legs went weak. If Li Yifei hadn’t been holding her, she would have collapsed to the ground.

Officer Lin Qiong was there and nodded at Li Yifei. At a time like this, it wasn’t convenient for her to say much to Li Yifei.

Li Yifei nodded back at Officer Lin Qiong, then took Chu Xiaoyao upstairs. The closer they got to her home, the weaker Chu Xiaoyao became, but when they reached the door, she suddenly burst with a great strength, broke free from Li Yifei’s embrace, and rushed into the house, screaming, "Dad, Mom!"

Li Yifei followed quickly, rushing into the bedroom, only to see Chu Xiaoyao’s parents lying in bed, their facial skin twisted in pain, evidencing the immense suffering they must have endured at death. The floor was scattered with filth, presumably the result of them vomiting up the poison they had ingested.

"Dad... Mom..." Chu Xiaoyao whispered, then swayed and fainted.

Li Yifei quickly caught Chu Xiaoyao and pinched her philtrum, and she soon woke up. After another glance at her parents on the bed, she burst into tears.

A girl of Chu Xiaoyao’s age had never faced much adversity, and now confronted with such a calamity, the blow was too great. She cried hysterically, and Li Yifei and Su Yiyi could only keep comforting her, but that was of no use, until Chu Xiaoyao cried herself into unconsciousness once more.

Officer Lin Qiong came over and said, "The forensic doctor has completed the examination; this is a clear case of suicide by poisoning. The family can now make arrangements for the aftermath."

Li Yifei nodded, saying, "Thank you."

Officer Lin Qiong sighed, "Take good care of her. I’m leaving now, call me if you need anything."

With the police gone, Li Yifei began contacting the funeral home. Soon enough, the hearse arrived. When the people came up to move the bodies, Chu Xiaoyao desperately tried to stop them, but in the end, it was Li Yifei who forcibly pulled her away, enabling her parents’ bodies to be carried to the vehicle.

According to the traditions of Mile City, the death of a relative involved various ceremonies, but Chu Xiaoyao just sat silently in front of the crystal coffin for three days, weeping quietly while watching her parents. All these matters had to be managed by Li Yifei and Su Yiyi.

They were fortunate to get some contact numbers for Chu Xiaoyao’s relatives; the following day, her family members arrived one by one, helping to handle the funeral.

During the cremation of Chu Xiaoyao’s father, she cried frantically, her sobs so heart-wrenching that all present couldn’t help but shed tears. An eighteen-year-old girl experiencing the death of both parents, who could understand such sorrow?

Finally, Chu Xiaoyao’s parents were buried, and she became utterly withdrawn, clinging tightly to Li Yifei’s arm. Her vulnerable state tugged at Li Yifei’s heart. Although he was an outsider in the presence of Chu Xiaoyao’s relatives, he couldn’t bear to leave her in such a fragile state as she clung to him.

After the funeral, Chu Xiaoyao and her relatives gathered at her home, which had already been tidied up, making for a gathering of some twenty people.

However, Li Yifei noticed at a glance that they were divided into two camps: one was Chu Xiaoyao’s father’s family, and the other was her mother’s side.

Chu Wenqiang, Chu Xiaoyao’s paternal uncle and evidently the representative of the Chu family, cleared his throat and said, "Xiaoyao is still young, and there are some matters we need to consider for her. If the in-laws have any opinions, let’s discuss them."

Wang Junyou, Chu Xiaoyao’s maternal uncle and her mother’s side representative, nodded, "Yes, we really should talk things over."

After a round of formal exchange, Chu Wenqiang finally got to the point, "The death of my brother and sister-in-law is heartbreaking, but since they have passed, we need to be clear about some things. They have left behind quite an estate, and as the eldest uncle, I normally wouldn’t speak of this, but we also have Xiaoyao’s grandmother with us, and she has inheritance rights. Therefore, we need to allocate a share of the inheritance."

Wang Junyou agreed, saying, "This is explicitly stipulated by the inheritance law; parents, spouses, and children are the first-order heirs. Both spouses have passed away, so now it’s just Xiaoyao and the grandparents. My idea is to divide the estate into three parts, one for each of the elderly to provide for their old age, and the remaining third for Xiaoyao."

Chu Wenqiang nodded, "That’s what I think too. Although our younger brother was drugged by his wife, he indeed did wrong things, and that drove his wife to drastic measures. We won’t pursue his wife’s responsibility anymore. Let’s divide it this way."

"Xiaoyao, do you have any opinions? After all, you are eighteen now, and everyone will take care of you," Wang Junyou asked, and then everyone looked at Chu Xiaoyao.

Li Yifei understood very well what both sides were saying; they had come to divide the property. This was all reasonable, as both sides had elderly people, and the law stipulated this. It wouldn’t be bad if everyone discussed it amicably. Chu Xiaoyao at the moment seemed oblivious, as if she hadn’t heard anything at all. The usually mischievous girl was now quiet, which made Li Yifei feel even more sympathetic. But with such matters of dividing the estate, Li Yifei, an outsider, was even less disposed to step in and make decisions for Chu Xiaoyao.