Volume One, Chapter 19: The Surrogate Nanny’s Ambition to Rise

After carrying twins for ten months and giving birth to Fang Fang and Yuan Yuan, Kong Huahua developed an extraordinary affection for the children and stayed behind to care for them. Later, the reason Kong Huahua moved out of Lin Xiaoyang and Fang Yi’s residence was due to Lin Xiaoyang’s intense jealousy, constantly suspecting Kong Huahua of deliberately enticing Fang Yi. Since the twins were dependent on Kong Huahua, Fang Yi had no choice but to purchase a new house nearby for them. Because Lin Xiaoyang was always in charge of the finances at Yi Media and devoted most of her attention to work, Kong Huahua took care of Fang Fang and Yuan Yuan most of the time. Lin Xiaoyang and Fang Yi visited and spent time with the children every day, cultivating a good relationship with them. Over time, they all grew accustomed to this arrangement.

After Lin Xiaobing finished recounting everything, Zhuang Jie asked, “Is there any substantial conflict between Lin Xiaobing and Kong Huahua?”

Without much hesitation, Lin Xiaobing answered, “My sister is fine in every way except she’s overly suspicious. Plus, Fang Yi is indeed impressive, so she’s always worried someone might steal her husband away.”

“But...” Zhuang Jie felt something was off, “Kong Huahua is just a nanny. Under normal circumstances, someone like Fang Yi wouldn’t be interested in a nanny.”

Lin Xiaobing smiled slightly. “Kong Huahua isn’t outstanding in many respects, but she did give birth to Fang Yi’s children, so that certainly adds emotional weight. Even if she hadn’t, a young woman spending all day at home managing a man’s household can easily develop special feelings over time.”

“But they have an employer-employee relationship,” Zhuang Jie said. “Kong Huahua provides labor, Fang Yi pays wages. That’s normal, right?”

Lin Xiaobing paused briefly, then smiled again. “Officer Zhuang, I understand what you mean. But people have emotions. If a woman is good enough to a man, even if he doesn’t love her, feelings and even dependence can grow over time. Especially since Kong Huahua is a woman in his household and bore his children!”

...

After Lin Xiaobing left, the police summoned Kong Huahua.

Before Kong Huahua arrived, Zhuang Jie asked Yang Chenxu, “Xu, don’t you think some of Lin Xiaobing’s words were overly subjective?”

“For example?” Yang Chenxu asked.

Zhuang Jie pondered, “She seemed to have decided from the start that Fang Yi and Kong Huahua had an improper relationship.”

“That’s normal,” Yang Chenxu replied calmly. “First, women tend to be more suspicious in such matters, and since Lin Xiaoyang was already suspicious, as her supporter, she easily adopted that mindset. Second, she was eager to find the suspect, so such judgments under pressure are understandable. Third, it’s normal for young women around Fang Yi to be attracted to him, given his status. As for whether Kong Huahua has ambitions to rise, that’s uncertain. From my initial judgment, even if she does, she wouldn’t dare act recklessly.”

Kong Huahua arrived at the police station about an hour after Lin Xiaobing.

Though actually twenty-seven years old, Kong Huahua looked much older, with faint strands of white hair visible on her head.

Perhaps because she was there as a suspect, she appeared noticeably nervous, her legs trembling slightly as she sat down...

When people are nervous, their speech tends to become incoherent.

Zhuang Jie told her not to be too anxious and to answer questions truthfully.

Kong Huahua’s mood improved slightly after hearing this. Before the police could question her, she asked, “Why is there my blood on the kitchen knife?”

She meant fingerprints, but perhaps due to her nervousness, she mistakenly said “blood.”

Zhuang Jie looked into Kong Huahua’s eyes but said nothing.

She wondered: Was Kong Huahua deliberately trying to deflect blame this way? Or was she genuinely confused, unaware of the situation?

But in Kong Huahua’s eyes, Zhuang Jie saw only fear and bewilderment.

She pondered further: Was Kong Huahua simply good at hiding her true feelings? Or was she truly innocent? Or even if she were the culprit, would such intense fear overshadow all other emotions?

“This is a question I want to know too,” Zhuang Jie said calmly. “Why are your fingerprints on the kitchen knife?”

Kong Huahua widened her eyes, appearing somewhat distraught.

Zhuang Jie added, “Unless you touched that knife.”

Kong Huahua stared at Zhuang Jie for a long moment before replying, “I only ever used the kitchen knife at home. I’ve never touched any other knives.”

“There is blood from Lin Xiaoyang and your fingerprints on the kitchen knife. That’s unlikely to be a coincidence,” Zhuang Jie said.

Kong Huahua still looked panicked, but her thoughts gradually clarified. “At home, I only use the kitchen knife to cut vegetables. I don’t touch it otherwise. Even when peeling fruit, I only use a fruit knife... I have no idea why Lin Xiaoyang’s blood is on it. I just moved into her house recently; Lin Xiaoyang had the accident before I moved in. How could this be my fault?”

Just as Zhuang Jie was about to speak, Kong Huahua suddenly added, “Even if you gave me a hundred chances, I wouldn’t dare harm Lin Xiaoyang! I’m just a nanny; how could I do that to my employer?”

During the subsequent statement recording, Kong Huahua’s mood improved noticeably but she insisted she had no idea how her fingerprints ended up on the knife.

Fingerprints are valid evidence but cannot alone determine the case’s nature.

When Kong Huahua left, it was already past six in the evening.

On the way to the restaurant with Yang Chenxu, Zhuang Jie suddenly said, “Xu, just now Kong Huahua said even if she had a hundred chances, she wouldn’t harm Lin Xiaoyang... I wondered, what if someone had promised her? Would things be different?”

Yang Chenxu seemed to have considered this and added, “Or even if no one agreed, if she saw a chance to rise, she might risk everything.”

Zhuang Jie turned to Fang Yi. “I thought about it carefully—she gave birth to Fang Yi’s two children, which could give her confidence to rise.”

Yang Chenxu suddenly paused, then frowned. “Whose children are Fang Yi’s two kids, after all?”

“What do you mean?” Zhuang Jie asked.

Yang Chenxu hesitated, then said, “I wonder whether Fang Yi’s two children are Lin Xiaoyang’s or Kong Huahua’s.”

Zhuang Jie was stunned immediately.

Yang Chenxu continued, “If the children are Kong Huahua’s, it makes sense she would want to rise. But if they belong to Lin Xiaoyang and Kong Huahua was just a surrogate, then the situation is different.”

Zhuang Jie quickly recovered. “Why not just do a paternity test?”

...