Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s

Chapter 581 - 565, it’s obvious you’ve never been a dad.

Jiang Jinghuai wondered if he had missed a corner somewhere. He hadn’t seen any food in the car.

The dark pupils reflected a hint of doubt. He pressed his thin lips together. "What do you mean?" he asked while glancing at the car again. Shadows flickered, but he didn’t scrutinize them in detail, and he didn’t see anything. Xu Zhengyang quickly blocked his line of sight.

His face reddened with embarrassment. Xu Zhengyang spoke awkwardly, "Anyway, I can’t explain it to you clearly. You seem pretty sharp, but you’re being a bit clueless about these small matters. Think it over yourself."

Jiang Jinghuai clasped his wrist, his face darkening slightly. "Explain it clearly. That child is still hungry."

!! Xu Zhengyang let out a defeated sigh and gave Jiang Jinghuai a strange look of hesitation, as if he wanted to say something but stopped. "Clearly, you’ve never been a father before."

Jiang Jinghuai froze briefly, growing even more skeptical of Xu Zhengyang’s words.

Who said he hadn’t been a father? He had been one before. That wasn’t a guess.

"You’ve been one?" He raised his eyelids.

Xu Zhengyang: "..."

Jiang Jinghuai flatly uttered two words: "Continue."

Between two grown men, discussing such a topic made them both flush red and tense. Xu Zhengyang asked, "Do you know how old Mrs. Jiang’s youngest child is right now?"

Jiang Jinghuai: "74 days."

Xu Zhengyang: "How do you know that so precisely?"

"Police professionalism," Jiang Jinghuai answered. "Continue what you were saying earlier."

"A 74-day-old infant—what do you think he eats for food?"

"..." Jiang Jinghuai squinted his eyes in suspicion.

days... an infant... food... water?

Water in the car?

Silence. Stillness. Wordlessness.

Finally, Xu Zhengyang caught a flicker of understanding in Jiang Jinghuai’s eyes.

Given the experience the two had shared over several months, Xu Zhengyang knew he’d figured it out.

"Oh." Jiang Jinghuai lowered his gaze. "Let’s go. Take a few steps back."

Xu Zhengyang: You were the one sneaking a look, and now you’re the one telling me to move away... I just realized today that you’re quite the rascal.

Xu Zhengyang followed him, pulling out a cigarette and clamping it between his lips before offering one to him. "Want one?"

Was that even a question?

Jiang Jinghuai took it, lit it with Xu Zhengyang’s hand, and took a deep drag. He exhaled a smoke ring.

His throat was parched, dry. Another drag, thirstier, even drier.

Nearby, Tian Sangsang noticed Xu Zhengyang and Jiang Jinghuai standing at quite a distance. She scanned the area, seeing no one, and only then lifted her shirt. Tang Yuan’er caught the scent of breast milk, wriggling closer and latching on, suckling with little smacking noises—a baby’s instinct. Drinking too eagerly, Tang Yuan’er’s tiny face turned bright red.

When famished, he’d bite down, and Tian Sangsang felt a pang of pain. Yet, looking at Tang Yuan’er’s tender face, she thought this pain wasn’t that bad—her son was just starving.

When Tang Yuan’er finished nursing, Jiang Jinghuai and Xu Zhengyang still hadn’t come back. After a few minutes, they still weren’t back; they seemed to be engrossed in conversation.

The air in the car felt stifling; surrounded by the scent of milk, Tian Sangsang’s cheeks grew warm as she opened the car door, carrying Tang Yuan’er out to breathe fresh air. She didn’t close the door, leaving it ajar intentionally.

"Captain Xu."

Approaching the two men, Tian Sangsang sincerely thanked Xu Zhengyang. "Thank you for saving my son."

"Mrs. Jiang, you’re too kind." Xu Zhengyang felt humbled. "It wasn’t just me—Ye Jiang helped a lot too. This is our duty; as long as the child is safe now, that’s all that matters."

Tian Sangsang gave a faint smile and avoided looking at the man beside him. "Yes."

Feeling ignored, Jiang Jinghuai took a sullen drag on his cigarette, directing his gaze toward the depths of the forest.

From the moment she stepped out of the car, Tian Sangsang had caught a certain unpleasant smell—mixed with a hint of rot.

At first, she thought it might be coming from Little Tangyuan himself—he hadn’t changed clothes in a day. Zhao Chun used to bathe him every day, making him impeccably clean. But after just one day, the little one only carried a faint scent of milk, not much else.

Cold wind brushed past, and Tian Sangsang held Little Tangyuan tighter.

The smell grew stronger—it seemed to waft from the forest.

Xu Zhengyang started heading toward the car. "Let’s go back. Staying out here, the child might catch cold."

Tian Sangsang nodded lightly, wrinkled her nose, and couldn’t help but ask, "Is there a garbage dump in the woods?"

Xu Zhengyang froze in confusion.

Jiang Jinghuai glanced at her. "Why do you ask?"

Tian Sangsang frowned as she gazed into the forest. "I smell garbage." It wasn’t overwhelming, but there was a persistent trace of it. Maybe it wasn’t garbage—perhaps something else. In any case, it smelled unsettling and unpleasant.

"I’ll go take a look," Jiang Jinghuai said.

Xu Zhengyang knew he wouldn’t go unless he’d also noticed something. At this point, Jiang Jinghuai’s expression was grave as he focused, trying to detect the scent—but he smelled nothing unusual.

Standing side by side, Tian Sangsang and Xu Zhengyang watched Jiang Jinghuai’s retreating figure. Curiosity gnawed at Tian Sangsang, preventing her from immediately returning to the car; she felt the smell was sharp and intrusive. Normally, environmental pollution shouldn’t be this bad at a time like this, and there weren’t any nearby rivers to generate the stench. It was baffling unless someone had dumped a significant amount of trash in the woods.

She adjusted Little Tangyuan’s blanket, the little one’s breathing even as he lay peacefully with his eyes closed.

Watching his sleeping face, Tian Sangsang’s unease receded slightly.

The wait wasn’t long. Jiang Jinghuai reached a patch of grass and seemed to trip on something. He stepped back, crouched, and examined the area. Suddenly, he turned sharply and called out, "Captain Xu!"

Xu Zhengyang quickly approached, with Tian Sangsang not far behind, following hesitantly.

It was a corpse, hidden in the grass—likely dumped there. Tian Sangsang held her breath against the stench and craned her neck for a better look. The body was badly decomposed but not entirely—bugs crawled over it. The skull was decayed, the framework still visible—a horrifying sight.

"Ugh!" She felt chills course through her, bile rising to her throat as she ran a short distance away to retch.

Jiang Jinghuai shot her a covert glance before refocusing on the corpse, his gaze freezing, breath tight as he spoke. "The body is clothed. I estimate the time of death to be 4-5 months ago—a male. There’s a circular hole in the middle of the skull, likely caused by a gunshot."

Though not a forensic doctor, his experience gave him enough to make this conclusion.

Xu Zhengyang, accustomed to such sights, merely covered his mouth and nose without showing fear—the smell was overwhelming. "If it’s a gunshot case, this is no ordinary matter. The corpse has decomposed to this extent. It’s impossible to determine his identity."

Jiang Jinghuai pulled out his walkie-talkie, deciding to call the appropriate department at the precinct. "I’ll stay here and wait. You take Mrs. Jiang back first."

Xu Zhengyang went to start the car. Tian Sangsang sat inside, her mind nearly blank, hands trembling as she clutched Tang Yuan’er tightly.

"Mrs. Jiang, are you all right?" For anyone witnessing such a scene for the first time, it was always shocking. Mrs. Jiang had held up well, without screaming hysterically.

Tian Sangsang shook her head, her dry lips moving slightly. "I just thought of Kunling."