Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 622: Chapter 592 Aching All Over_1

The banquet ended, and Zhou Ning shook his head to keep himself as sober as possible.

Xia Shouchang saw off the guests and walked over to Zhou Ning. Seeing him a bit drunk, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"Let Momo drive later, and you two head back early to rest. I didn’t expect my son-in-law to be good at everything except his alcohol tolerance could be a bit disappointing."

Xia Momo walked over and gave Xia Shouchang a glare.

"Stop with the cool talk. These people had no good intentions, saying we have different careers and can’t drink much, and yet they bombed me one by one. What do they mean by that? You know it too, huh? We’re leaving first."

Xia Momo approached and, taking Zhou Ning by the hand, headed toward the outside. Mrs. Xia patted Xia Shouchang’s arm.

"It’s your fault too for not stopping them. Xiao Ning didn’t drink little, it’s no wonder you’ve upset your daughter."

Xia Shouchang sighed with emotion, wrapped his arm around Mrs. Xia’s shoulder, and whispered:

"Seeing them reminds me of us back in the day. I don’t feel that I’ve grown old; instead, it makes me realize how our daughter has grown up. Watching him protect Zhou Ning, I feel a bit jealous. But I also understand why your dad didn’t like me at first. It has nothing to do with whether I was good enough; it felt like someone swept away his most precious treasure."

Mrs. Xia glared at Xia Shouchang and didn’t say anything more.

Xia Momo helped Zhou Ning into the car, and as soon as she sat down, Zhou Ning sat up straight, showing no sign of being as drunk as he had appeared. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"How was my acting, did I pass?"

Xia Momo rolled her eyes at him, much like Mrs. Xia had done, and started to laugh too.

"Only you would be so cunning. But how did you know they would spike your drinks?"

Zhou Ning smiled mysteriously and gestured for Xia Momo to start the car. He then opened a bottle of Hedyotis diffusa water and drank it all at once, as if cooling down the burning sensation he had been suppressing.

"Because we’re not having a wedding banquet and only set a table for relatives, they naturally wanted to take this opportunity. Let’s go home; tonight is technically our wedding night, and I can’t afford to be fuzzy-headed." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Before Xia Momo could react, Zhou Ning raised a finger, then thought of something else.

"No resisting."

...

The next day.

A cemetery in Qidong District.

This place wasn’t a martyr’s cemetery but just an ordinary public graveyard.

However, this area was strictly sealed off, and it wasn’t open to the general public. Zhou Ning and Xia Momo both held flowers as they stood in front of a shared grave. After arranging the flowers, Xia Momo stood beside Zhou Ning and bowed deeply toward the tombstone.

On the tombstone, instead of detailed names, only designations like "The Zhou and Bai family" were inscribed, with no photographs, no dates of birth or death recorded, no signatures.

Zhou Ning took Xia Momo’s hand and introduced the tombstone:

"Mom and Dad, I’ve brought Momo here to see you. This is the life partner I’ve chosen. I hope to receive your blessings; please ensure our remaining lives go smoothly."

Zhou Ning paused, then turned to Xia Momo and continued:

"My father was Zhou Xiangrong, and my mother was Bai Mei. My mother seemed to be a doctor. As for my father’s occupation, I don’t know. He might’ve been a policeman on the surface; he was often not at home, and most of the time, it was just my mother and me. As for the city we lived in, I don’t remember, only a red-brick hospital residential compound with seven or eight buildings—no more than five stories high. Our home was on the second floor, and from our balcony, you could see the main entrance.

"In the winter when it snowed heavily, the light from the gatekeeper’s lamp at the entrance was very bright at night, illuminating the falling snowflakes. The night they died was New Year’s Eve. My father even brought me back a gift, a wolf tooth. That item seems to have been lost that night. Regarding my father’s occupation, I’ve always had my suspicions since his killer was a death-row inmate with connections to Sapporo. Director Xu and Mr. Hu are also helping me investigate, but so far, we’ve got nothing, which means their identities were definitely not simple.

"Momo, this is all I remember about them, and since you were going to meet them, I thought I should share it with you."

Xia Momo nodded, holding Zhou Ning’s fingers tightly; she stood on tiptoe, patted his back, and then said to the two tombstones:

"Mom and Dad, I should’ve visited earlier. To be honest, I don’t care about what your identities were. After all, no matter what, you are Zhou Ning’s parents. I’ll take good care of him, love him dearly, and I’ll accompany him to visit you in the future, perhaps with our children too.

"As for what happened back then, I support Zhou Ning in his investigation; it’s a barrier in his heart, and I hope it won’t affect him. I hope you can bless him with safety and bless us as a happy couple."

After speaking, Xia Momo bowed three times to the tombstone.

Zhou Ning, holding Xia Momo’s hand, squatted beside the grave. They didn’t prattle on or give further explanations but simply closed their eyes, as if reuniting with his parents in their hearts.

After an unknown period, Zhou Ning opened his eyes and pulled Xia Momo up.

"Let’s go, let’s head back. I did drink a bit too much last night; I don’t think I performed well. Go buy me some oysters; I want steamed oysters for dinner."

Xia Momo’s face instantly turned crimson.

She glanced back at the tombstone, then pulled Zhou Ning toward the cemetery gate. Zhou Ning grimaced because Xia Momo was pinching that tiny bit of flesh inside his arm.

"Are you angry with embarrassment? What did you just tell my parents about taking care of me, and now you’re pinching me the next minute?"

"Enough said. We’ll talk about the oysters tomorrow."

Zhou Ning stopped in his tracks, immediately starting to resist.

"Why? That box with the less fabric, we’ve only worn two sets. Familiarity breeds fondness, and just when I get a taste of sweetness, you’re restraining me. I’m telling you, I’m going right now to old Xia’s office to have a serious talk with him."

Xia Momo quickly covered Zhou Ning’s mouth and hurried him into the car.

"You drive, we’re going to the pharmacy."

Zhou Ning was taken aback.

"What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

"Just go if I tell you to. You had me changing clothes all night, striking poses, and you kept me up; I hardly slept for two hours. I don’t know where you get your energy. My whole body is sore, and that part especially. And then feeding me oysters, you’re so satisfied with yourself, huh!"

Zhou Ning’s eyes sparkled, and he was instantly content. Without another word, he quickly started the car.

"All set, let’s go!"

...

September 28

He was woken up by the alarm. Reaching for his phone, a hand beat him to it and switched off the alarm. Zhou Ning flailed around, caught the owner of the hand, and pulled them into an embrace.

"Stop it, we need to get ready and head for the airport, or we’ll be late."

Zhou Ning rubbed his eyes and saw an already dressed Xia Momo, and he looked displeased.

"I’ve realized that bringing those four along was the least wise decision I’ve made; a perfectly good honeymoon turned into something resembling a company team-building trip. How about we ditch them and just go and have fun by ourselves?"

With a swish, Xia Momo drew the curtains open, letting the sunlight pour in. Zhou Ning jumped up, covering himself, and ran to the clothes closet, followed by Xia Momo’s laughter.

As Zhou Ning took a quick shower, he too smiled. Maybe this was happiness, not needing too much, just a little bit was enough.

An hour and a half later, the couple arrived at the airport, where they could see a plump Mr. Zhao from a distance, pushing a trolley and frantically waving at them.

Looking at the pile of luggage, Zhou Ning was a bit stunned. Comparing the small suitcases for each of them to the mountains of bags, he subconsciously slowed down.

"We’re going on a honeymoon road trip, not moving house. Didn’t we agree in the group to pack light? Even though we have an RV, this much luggage might weigh us down, won’t it?"

Mr. Zhao sighed and said, pointing at the suitcases:

"Comrade Zhujing did it on purpose. Actually, we’ve already mailed part of it. These are what we couldn’t send in time. He said he brought a lot of clothes for the photo shoots for the ladies, something in the style of Dunhuang, I don’t really get it, anyway, he crammed a whole suitcase full.

Those two are our bags, as for this big boy, this is not our personal stuff. Peng Shinian heard that we’re visiting so many places along the way, he sent along a set of his professional equipment with this checklist.

When he heard we had a lot of gear, the poet generously upgraded our flight class. Now we could add twice as much luggage and it would still be okay, but along the way, we’ll have to take photos for him and collect plant samples. I feel like I’ve fallen into a trap, Zhou Xiaozhou, you gotta save me."

Zhou Ning let out a sigh. Clearly, the poet wouldn’t let go of any opportunity to get samples, but since he upgraded everyone’s class right from the start, Zhou Ning found it hard to complain.

"Alright, the poet is a second-generation rich kid, his family isn’t lacking in funds. For his research, he’s willing to invest whatever it takes without batting an eye. Let’s just reluctantly accept his generosity. But Mr. Zhao, remember you promised to do the photo taking and sample collecting!"

Mr. Zhao pursed his lips, feeling somewhat guilty and daring not to say much more.

Liu Yufei leaned on Chen Cheng’s shoulder, sliding her sunglasses down a bit and surveying Zhou Ning top to bottom. Zhou Ning felt uneasy under her gaze.

"Mrs. Fei, don’t look at people like that. Your eyes are like X-rays, it’s uncomfortable to be watched."

"You’ve changed a lot since getting married; you’re much more cheerful."

Zhou Ning glanced at Xia Momo and they smiled at each other without saying much. The six of them checked in their luggage, passed through security, and waited patiently for the flight announcement. Out of the blue, Mr. Zhao’s stomach rumbled twice, and he looked at Zhu Xingxing with a mix of hunger and accusation.

"I said we should go out for breakfast, but you insisted on cooking. You tried to make sunny-side-up eggs, and they wouldn’t have been filling, but we could have managed. After all, there’s food on the plane. But your skills... wow. You smothered the eggs on the highest heat with the lid on. When I lifted the lid, the eggs had exploded and there was a rim of white foam around the pan."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yufei laughed out loud, poking the pouting Zhu Xingxing beside her.

"I can’t cook either, but boiling eggs is still doable. Why did you attempt the more challenging sunny-side-up? If you just toss the eggs in boiling water, even if they overcook a bit, they’re still edible."

Zhu Xingxing looked distressed.

"Plans change quickly. The water was already boiling, and I did mean to boil the eggs. But then I noticed that the shells were covered in chicken poop. I rushed to wash them, but it wouldn’t come off, and when I scrubbed hard, the eggs cracked. I had no choice but to change plans and make sunny-side-up."

"In order to make sunny-side-up, I even called Momo for instructions. I followed her directions, but somehow they all flew out."

Chen Cheng pushed his glasses up.

"I know how to do it. I’ve made it for Yufei before. You boil water, turn off the heat, then gently slide the egg into the pan. Don’t drop it in with a splash, or it will disperse. Let the residual heat cook it. Let it sit for five minutes, lightly push the egg around with a spatula, then turn on the heat, let the water boil for a minute and turn off the heat again, and it’s ready to eat."

Zhu Xingxing nodded continuously as she listened.

"It’s that simple? Then what? How do you season it?"

"Some shredded nori, a pinch of salt, cilantro, green onions, a bit of vinegar, two drops of sesame oil, and two spoonfuls of broth."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xingxing looked full of confidence.

"Let’s try it when we get back."

Mr. Zhao looked wary.

"You eat it first. If nothing happens, then I’ll eat. At least one of us should be able to call 120, right!"