Married to the Protagonist's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 3

A cousin, as the name implies, is the son of Mo Junyi’s uncle. Conventionally, they should share the same surname, but the Lu family’s roots ran deep, and the internal complexities were countless. Mo Junyi had no interest in power struggles. To avoid being targeted by those eager to snatch the Lu family’s assets, he had taken his mother’s surname after his father passed away.

However, while Mo Junyi held little affection for the Lu family, there was one exception—Lu Hengyu.

This kid had been honest and straightforward since childhood, a sharp contrast to the calculating nature of the rest of the family. Mo Junyi and he got along quite well.

Therefore, when Mo Junyi read the plot of the final chapter, he immediately frowned. In that novel, aside from the villainous First Gong, Qi Ying, no one who humiliated Li Jinghan came to a good end, let alone a “cannon-fodder gong” designated by the author.

“Let’s go, I’m finished.” Su Xingtong, completely unaware of what he was thinking, interrupted his train of thought.

Mo Junyi snapped back to reality and nodded. As he stood up, he opened WeChat and sent a message to Lu Hengyu: “Are you dead yet? Get out here.”

There was no reply even by the time they got into the car. Mo Junyi glanced at Su Xingtong, who was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat. The superstar was leisurely scrolling through his phone, as if he had naturally accepted Mo Junyi as his chauffeur.

Feeling the gaze from the man beside him, Su Xingtong looked up and said innocently, “Officer, I don’t know how to drive.”

Facing this kind of socially useless person, Mo Junyi wordlessly withdrew his gaze and pulled on his seatbelt. Su Xingtong seemed to be in a better mood seeing this, a smirk playing on his lips as he continued playing with his phone.

The journey to the Civil Affairs Bureau was silent, and the registration process went smoothly—except for a small incident during the photo session.

The staff member looked at the two men, who looked like they wanted to stay ten thousand miles apart in the frame, and said helplessly, “Gentlemen, please move closer.”

Mo Junyi shifted a bit to the right. Su Xingtong didn’t even bother to pretend, keeping his bottom firmly planted. Mo Junyi paused for a moment. The staff member, not noticing, continued, “Could you two please embrace?”

Su Xingtong turned to look at Mo Junyi, his expression proud yet a bit mischievous. Mo Junyi simply raised his hand and draped it over Su Xingtong’s shoulder. The staff member froze and asked, “Are you two here to get married or to become sworn brothers?”

Su Xingtong burst out laughing. “Sorry, he’s a bit stiff.”

Mo Junyi was actually a person with plenty of zest for life, depending on the person. Having been unfairly labeled as “stiff,” his brow twitched, and he cast a cold look at Su Xingtong.

Su Xingtong acted as if he didn’t see the expression, reaching up to grab Mo Junyi’s hand from his shoulder and placing it firmly on his own waist.

Watching Su Xingtong’s smile and Mo Junyi’s cold face, the staff member snapped the shutter while imagining a whole drama of love and hate regarding a contract marriage. As they left, he said to Mo Junyi, “Your husband seems to love you very much, but marriage requires effort from both sides.”

This left Mo Junyi speechless. Su Xingtong laughed all the way back to the car. Mo Junyi glanced at him, and Su Xingtong replied fearlessly, “Don’t glare at me, Officer. Marriage requires effort from both sides.”

Just then, Mo Junyi’s phone rang. It wasn’t the cousin he’d just messaged, but the landline from the police station.

Mo Junyi’s expression turned serious. “Hello, what’s the situation?”

“Captain Mo, a suspect accidentally revealed a piece of info during interrogation,” the person on the other end said quickly. “In the previous cases, there was another survivor.”

Mo Junyi frowned. “Specific details… Village-within-a-city, Number 17, Liu Hongyu… Okay, tell Deputy Captain Liu to wait for me at the village entrance. I’ll be there shortly.”

Hearing the words “Village-within-a-city, Number 17,” Su Xingtong, who had been playing invisible, paused. He unobtrusively looked at Mo Junyi. Once the call ended, he asked, “A homicide in the village?”

Few would associate a glamorous star like him with such a place. Mo Junyi glanced at him but didn’t answer. “Classified.”

Su Xingtong paused for a few seconds, let out a soft “humph,” and returned to his phone.

By logic, since Mo Junyi was going to work and they weren’t a real couple, Su Xingtong should have been sensible enough to get out and leave. Instead, he sat firmly in the passenger seat with no intention of moving.

Mo Junyi said directly, “Don’t you have things to do? Get out.”

Su Xingtong checked the time. “I happen to be going to the village too. Officer, since you’ve started, see it through. Give me a lift.”

There were likely no such coincidences in the world. Mo Junyi scanned him, wanting to see what he was up to, and eventually started the engine. Su Xingtong looked up once but said nothing, continuing to scroll.

By the time they reached the village, Liu Minghua was standing in the cold wind at the entrance, her hair a mess. She turned her head and saw Mo Junyi’s car, but before she could wave, she saw Su Xingtong in the passenger seat. Shocked, she hung up her call and rushed over.

Mo Junyi had just parked when someone started banging on his window.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Junyi asked as he stepped out.

“What’s wrong… Since when did you start chasing stars?” Liu Minghua exclaimed. “And you chased one right into your car?”

Mo Junyi patted his hands. “Not chasing stars. Personal matter.”

Su Xingtong, still in the car, let out a light laugh. Mo Junyi gave him a warning look. “We’re here. Get out.”

Su Xingtong looked at his phone. “My assistant hasn’t arrived. Go do your work, don’t mind me.”

These words sounded somewhat ambiguous. Liu Minghua froze for three seconds before a lightbulb went off. “Oh, oh, I get it, I get it.”

Mo Junyi didn’t even know what she “got.” He didn’t want to argue with Su Xingtong, so he slammed the door shut and strode ahead.

Liu Minghua followed. “Hey, you’re just going to leave ‘Sister-in-law’ in the car like that?”

Mo Junyi stopped and gave her a look. “Who are you calling Sister-in-law?”

Liu Minghua replied, “The one in the car, who else? Not bad, Captain Mo. You stayed single so long everyone in the squad said you were asexual. Turns out you were just waiting for a big catch.”

Mo Junyi walked into the village with a cold face. Seeing he didn’t reply, Liu Minghua was dying of curiosity and followed him with questions, but received not a single word in return.

Just as she was about to pry further, they saw a man with a hostile expression standing in front of the house they were looking for.

Liu Minghua immediately turned serious and followed Mo Junyi up. “Hello, I am Liu Minghua from the Huayang City Criminal Police Detachment.” She showed her ID. “This is our captain.”

“I am Mo Junyi,” he introduced himself simply. “Is Liu Hongyu your…”

Before he could finish, the man interrupted harshly. “Our family are all law-abiding citizens. No criminals here. You’ve got the wrong house.”

Mo Junyi frowned. Liu Minghua added quickly, “We’re not saying there’s a criminal in your house, it’s about your daughter—”

This seemed to touch a nerve. The man immediately exploded in anger. “I said we don’t have any!”

His spit nearly hit Liu Minghua’s face. She wiped her face and looked at Mo Junyi. Both realized the situation: the man was likely a relative of the victim who knew exactly what happened but refused to admit it out of a sense of shame.

Mo Junyi had seen plenty of this. He continued calmly, “If you keep shouting like that, ‘nothing’ will turn into ‘something’.”

The man froze and looked around. Sure enough, a few passersby were casting curious glances. His expression changed, and he glared at them until they ran away.

“Anyway, I said no means no,” the man said, his tone softening slightly though his expression remained hostile. “I’m the only one home. Hongyu is at school. Leave.”

Seeing his stubbornness, Liu Minghua, who had a bit of a temper, was about to speak but was stopped by Mo Junyi.

“With such a reaction, you’ve likely seen the news,” Mo Junyi said faintly. “The suspect is already in custody. One more or one less charge makes little difference to a criminal of his level. But your daughter is different. This kind of psychological trauma won’t vanish with the criminal’s death. I hope you think it through.”

Whether another charge matters to a criminal is irrelevant; Mo Junyi was clearly trying to provoke the man’s logic.

Liu Minghua frowned, not understanding why Mo Junyi would say this to such a stubborn man. But to her surprise, the man actually quieted down. After a while, he spoke again with a harsh tone, “You police… you weren’t there when it happened. What use is coming now that it’s already over?”

Both veterans knew this was the sign of softening. Liu Minghua gave Mo Junyi a look and stood there quietly. Sure enough, after cursing for a while, the man finally compromised.

Following him inside, they saw a middle-aged woman on a worn-out sofa, looking haggard and pale. Through the man’s introduction, they learned she was his wife and Liu Hongyu’s mother. Liu Hongyu was their only daughter. The incident had been a massive blow to the girl, leaving her crying in her room all day. She hadn’t been to school in three months.

Liu Minghua looked at the couple. “Why didn’t you report it sooner?”

Mo Junyi stopped her questioning. “Where is your daughter?”

The mother pointed to a door. Mo Junyi nodded and knocked lightly. There was no response.

The mother wiped her tears and said harshly, “I told her not to go out playing with those people. A girl going out late at night, what good could come of it…”

Liu Minghua frowned, wanting to interrupt. Mo Junyi, while knocking, observed the room’s decor and the parents’ attitude, looking for a breakthrough.

Just then, a yellowed, curling poster on the wall caught his attention. The person on it was none other than Su Xingtong.