After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food...

Qiao Xichen looked at her two best friends and her boyfriend, suddenly feeling a bit melancholy.

She murmured softly, "If only Jingjing were here."

The sudden remark caught Chen Cheng, who was picking up a piece of sea cucumber, off guard.

He thought she was talking about Qiao Jingjing, which gave him such a start that his hand trembled.

At the mention of Hu Jingjing, everyone present paused.

Even Xu Yan, whose mind had been wandering, swallowed hard.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Ji Nanjia spoke up to break the atmosphere.

"Well... a couple of days ago, I was going through Jingjing's things and found two pill bottles."

After Hu Jingjing passed away, Ji Nanjia and the others hadn't thrown away the belongings from her rented apartment; they were temporarily stored at Ji Nanjia's house.

"Pill bottles?" Qiao Xichen was stunned. "What kind of pill bottles?"

"I asked around. One was sleeping pills, and the other was Paroxetine."

"What's Paroxetine?" Xu Yan was also completely bewildered.

Ji Nanjia: "A prescription antidepressant."

"Following that lead, I went to the hospital to look for Jingjing's medical records."

"Jingjing had moderate depression."

"Jingjing had depression?" Qiao Xichen could hardly believe her ears.

In all her memories, Hu Jingjing was the little sun who warmed everyone.

Ji Nanjia nodded. "None of us noticed, but according to the hospital records, that's the case."

The three women fell into a brief silence.

Chen Cheng thought for a moment and asked Qiao Xichen, "I suggested you look into her financial situation before. Did you?"

Qiao Xichen nodded. "We did."

"Jingjing's financial situation indeed had some issues."

"She owed some money to online lenders."

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

"Um..." Qiao Xichen glanced at Ji Nanjia, seeking her opinion.

Ji Nanjia nodded in agreement, and only then did Qiao Xichen continue:

"We also looked into the reasons why Jingjing owed money."

"To summarize: investment losses, overspending, and then the compounding interest from online loans, leading to a cycle of borrowing to pay off debts."

Hu Jingjing was Ji Nanjia's cousin. She and Xu Yan were Hu Jingjing's classmates; the care they received from Ji Nanjia was all due to their relationship with Hu Jingjing.

Naturally, Ji Nanjia's opinion took precedence in this matter.

However, there were still some things Qiao Xichen didn't say.

There was another reason Hu Jingjing took out online loans: family demands.

When Hu Jingjing's mother came to Beijing for surgery, the entire cost was covered by Hu Jingjing, a fresh graduate and workplace rookie.

What to do when there wasn't enough money?

Grit her teeth and take out online loans.

When the old family house was renovated, they also took money from Hu Jingjing.

She bought gifts and gave red envelopes during holidays to save face for her mother.

Spending money is something that gets easier the more you do it. Once it starts, it doesn't stop until the bubble bursts.

And Hu Jingjing was the typical person who would suffer just to save face.

When her mother had surgery and she didn't have enough money, she could have easily borrowed some from Ji Nanjia.

Ji Nanjia had even specifically asked her if the money for her Second Aunt's surgery was enough.

If not, you have to speak up.

As a small business owner, though Ji Nanjia wasn't extremely wealthy yet, lending tens of thousands for her own aunt's surgery wouldn't have been a burden.

But Hu Jingjing insisted on being stubborn, saying she had enough.

In the end, she turned around and borrowed twenty thousand from online lenders.

Anyway, it's never just one straw that breaks the camel's back.

Hu Jingjing's suicide was caused by family neglect and exploitation, as well as her own tendency to suffer just to save face.

She was also a 'love brain' who didn't know how to say no.

She had every possible debuff stacked.

Qiao Xichen continued, "There was another destination for Jingjing's money. She frequently transferred funds to a mysterious account."

"But Jingjing had deleted all her chat history with that person."

"We tried calling the number, but it's always been turned off."

"So this lead has gone cold for now."

The corner of Chen Cheng's mouth curled; Lin Rui was about to be exposed.

By the way, had that green tea gigolo arrived at Ruilan yet?

In the plot, there's also the part where he competes with Qiao Xichen for the supervisor position.

Chen Cheng thought for a bit. "You can just report it to the police, say the person is suspected of fraud, and let the officers investigate the account information."

"After all, someone died; the police won't just ignore it."

"Finding the recipient's information and locating this person might help you piece together the cause of Hu Jingjing's death."

The three women looked at each other and said nothing.

Chen Cheng blinked and understood immediately.

After investigating for so long and gathering so much information...

...they already had a vague answer as to why Hu Jingjing committed suicide.

They just tacitly agreed not to dig any deeper.

They were only Hu Jingjing's friends and cousin; they had no right to blame her parents.

No matter who that remaining stranger was, family reasons had become the primary factor in Hu Jingjing's path to suicide.

Chen Cheng smiled. "Well, what's past is past."

"The living must continue to live well."

He raised his glass. "Shall we toast this final glass to Hu Jingjing?"

Ji Nanjia was the first to smile, raising her glass. "To Jingjing."

"To Jingjing~"

"..."

After finishing the last glass, the group crowded out of the private room.

Chen Cheng invited them to his home for a second round to appreciate his collection.

When he had mentioned inviting Ji Nanjia to appreciate his wine collection earlier, it was just a casual remark.

But since Xu Yan was also there, Chen Cheng was quite looking forward to the second round, especially with Shen Zichang present.

As it happened, none of them had drunk to their heart's content, so they would go back and drink some more.

"We've all been drinking. How about we leave the cars here and take a taxi back?" Qiao Xichen wrapped her arm around Chen Cheng's waist and leaned into his chest.

"I'll just come by and pick it up on my way to work tomorrow."

Chen Cheng shook his head. "No need, I've called a designated driver."

He turned to Ji Nanjia, whose arm was linked with Xu Yan's. "President Ji, you don't need to call; I've already arranged a driver for you."

Xu Yan didn't want to walk with Shen Zichang and have Chen Cheng misunderstand...

...so as soon as they left the room, she glanced at Chen Cheng, who was being held by Qiao Xichen, and immediately linked arms with Ji Nanjia.

Leaving Shen Zichang to follow behind the two of them somewhat awkwardly.

Ji Nanjia smiled. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

As Chen Cheng was leading Qiao Xichen to the checkout counter, a man paying his bill while joking with a young girl caught his eye, making him pause.

Xu Huanshan was dressed in a shirt and trousers, looking casual yet stylish.

Lin Youyou wore a white T-shirt with a short skirt and her hair in a ponytail, looking bright and energetic.

Chen Cheng hadn't expected to run into Xu Huanshan here.

"What's wrong?" Qiao Xichen asked concernedly when Chen Cheng suddenly stopped.

"Nothing, just ran into a friend," Chen Cheng smiled. "Come on, let's go say hello."

"Old Xu~"

Before Chen Cheng even reached him, he called out.