Chapter 19 — When the Spider Plant Turned Black

The senior police officer picked up his phone.

"Contact Chen Yan first."

The call went out, but no one answered. He tried again, and the phone was already switched off. My mother’s expression shifted instantly. I opened my chat window with Chen Yan. The last message stopped at seven-sixteen in the morning. *Stop pushing my mother.* The taxi's license plate was quickly verified. The driver answered the call to confirm the passenger had already gotten out. The location was the old northern district of the city, just two streets away from Peace Alley. Hearing the address, my mother stood up abruptly.

"They went to find Liu Xuanha."

The police told us to wait for updates. Yet as I sat in the chair, my palms were drenched in sweat. That spider plant was no ordinary flower. It had been watered with tea for an entire month; clues might still linger within its roots, the soil, and its leaves. If they destroyed it, the forensic analysis would lose its most direct piece of physical evidence. Seeing me unable to sit still, my mother pressed her hands down on my shoulders.

"Don't act rashly."

I said, "I know." But a restless, burning sensation surged deep within my chest. The fact that they dared to brazenly snatch the item right under the police's nose proved that the spider plant was far more crucial than I had previously imagined. Half an hour later, news came back from the police station. The district officers had arrived at number seventeen, Peace Alley. The door was locked from the outside. Neighbors reported that the resident was a woman in her fifties, always acting mysteriously, frequently visited by people seeking traditional remedies and praying for children. Early this morning, she had dragged away a red suitcase. Before leaving, she even asked the convenience store owner downstairs to help ship a cardboard box. I quickly asked, "Shipped to where?" The police replied, "Currently under investigation." My mother swore under her breath.

"They sure know how to run."

Right at that moment, my phone rang. It was Chen Yan. I pressed the speakerphone button. His voice was very faint, accompanied by the howling wind and the noisy sounds of street traffic.

"Ha Vu, are you satisfied now? You scared my mother so badly she's having heart pains."

I did not beat around the bush.

"Where is the spider plant?"

He fell silent for two seconds.

"Thrown away."

I ground my teeth. "Would you dare repeat that?" His tone hardened as well.

"It's just a flower, do you have to stir up trouble until everyone is miserable?"

The police officer made a hand gesture, signaling me to keep him on the line. I tried to steady my breathing.

"You guys went to Peace Alley, didn't you?"

Chen Yan did not answer. The frantic, shrill voice of my mother-in-law echoed through the phone.

"Don't tell her! Hang up!"

My heart tightened.

"Ma Guifen is there too?"

Chen Yan lowered his voice.

"Ha Vu, let's pretend you know nothing today. I've already dealt with the flower, and this matter ends here. We can get a divorce or not get a divorce, but stop clinging to my mother."

I let out a laugh, though my voice still trembled.

"You destroyed the evidence with your own hands, and you still have the nerve to tell me to end it here?"

He snapped irritably.

"That wasn't evidence! That flower doesn't prove anything at all!"

The police officer hurriedly scribbled a line of text on a piece of paper and pushed it in front of me. *Ask for his location.* I asked, "Where are you right now? Let's meet up." Chen Yan grew alert.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Discuss the divorce."

The other end of the line went dead silent. I continued, "Didn't you say you didn't want to blow things out of proportion? Let's meet and talk it through clearly; I might consider not dragging you down too deeply with this." As soon as those words left my mouth, my mother glared at me fiercely. I shook my head in response. Chen Yan's breathing had clearly grown disordered.

"What do you mean?"

"I can redirect the focus away from you and onto your mother and Liu Xuanha."

I gritted my teeth as I finished that sentence.

"But you have to tell me where that spider plant is."

My mother-in-law shrieked again. "She's lying to you! The mother and daughter are equally vicious!" Chen Yan seemed to walk a bit farther away. The sound of the wind grew fainter. He spoke in a low voice. "The flower wasn't thrown away. It's with Liu Xuanha." My heart sank.