Bai Ci observed An Shu's hesitation and confusion, understanding everything clearly.
Although there was the connection through Chen Quan, she and An Shu were, in essence, strangers meeting for the first time.
Speaking of which, she now seemed to understand why An Shu, whom she had just met, could accurately call out her surname.
Bai Ci had a clear self-awareness; she didn't possess any sort of heartthrob system, so love at first sight was highly unlikely.
It was hard to believe that merely surviving an insect swarm incident together would make Chen Quan, who dealt with all kinds of anomalous incidents daily, think about her constantly and bring her up to his team members every day.
Rather than such an absurd assumption, Bai Ci was more inclined to believe that a recent incident had brought her past connection to light.
And what recent incident would be worthy of the Bureau of Investigation's attention?
The successive deaths of those scumbags, of course.
Bai Ci did not believe that being a player made her superior to the instance NPCs. An official organization like the Bureau of Investigation, especially one established in a world with anomalous powers, wouldn't be incompetent.
Once they identified the anomalies surrounding the deceased and investigated what they did before dying, she would be completely exposed.
However, actually convicting her would be extremely difficult, as she had truly done nothing.
With this in mind, Bai Ci took the initiative to give An Shu an out.
Her tone carried a hint of self-deprecation. “I know this curse sounds ridiculous.”
“It only targets the women in my family, with a limit of thirty years old, and it can be broken simply by getting married—no other requirements.”
“Logically speaking, it's a curse that should be very easy to handle, and even if left alone, it wouldn't cause too much trouble.”
“But I don't want to live my life burdened by this curse, nor do I want to settle for just anyone just to survive.”
“Still, to trouble the Bureau of Investigation and waste your time and resources for my own obsession... I suppose I am being a bit selfish.”
She had handed An Shu a perfect excuse to explain her hesitation, but it wasn't designed for An Shu to simply back down.
“Miss Bai, don't say that!” Hearing Bai Ci's words, An Shu immediately spoke up in firm disagreement.
This seemed to trigger her core coding as an investigator.
She had aspired to become an investigator to help more people with her own strength, just like the person who had saved her back then.
To have someone ask for help right in front of her, only to want to give up because they didn't receive a response—Bai Ci's words struck a chord deep within her.
“No matter how big or small the matter is, as long as it's an anomalous incident and you've come to us for help, our Bureau of Investigation will not ignore it.”
“Besides, people should have the freedom to choose when to marry and whom to marry. Why should a curse dictate your life?”
“I support you in breaking this curse, and we will definitely do our best to help you.”
Once she finished speaking, An Shu fell back into a clumsy, tongue-tied silence.
Bai Ci had easily steered the conversation, and An Shu had followed along blindly, completely derailing the topic.
Even if she wanted to bring it back now, she didn't know how to start. She felt that doing so too abruptly would ruin the current atmosphere.
While An Shu was caught in a dilemma and wracked with conflict, a knock sounded on the door of the interrogation room.
After a pause of a few seconds, the door was pushed open, and a tall, upright figure walked in.
It was Chen Quan.
Chen Quan's gaze swept over An Shu, noting her conflicted, helpless expression, before moving to the calm Bai Ci. He understood the situation instantly.
While it was true that he didn't know Bai Ci very deeply, he knew his own subordinates like the back of his hand.
“If there's something you want to ask, don't beat around the bush. Just ask Miss Bai directly.”
Hearing Chen Quan's words, Bai Ci looked up at him and spoke in a gentle tone, “That's right. If you have questions, please ask them directly.”
“I've noticed that Officer An has wanted to say something from the very beginning, but she was too embarrassed to bring it up.”
“My request has already been stated. Now, it's time for me to hear your questions.”
Having her thoughts exposed by Chen Quan and then hearing Bai Ci's words, An Shu couldn't help but blush slightly, feeling a bit awkward.
She had been working in investigation for so long, yet she rarely encountered someone as open and cooperative as Bai Ci. For a moment, she was quite unaccustomed to it.
She opened her mouth several times to ask the questions in her mind, but she couldn't find the right words when they reached the tip of her tongue.
In the end, she simply stood up, grabbed Chen Quan, and pushed him down into her previous seat, speaking with a touch of embarrassment.
“Captain, you should ask her instead.”
Chen Quan gave An Shu a helpless look but did not refuse. He sat down, leaned forward slightly, and fixed his gaze on Bai Ci.
He got straight to the point. “Miss Bai, do you know that several of your recent blind date partners have died?”
Hearing this question, Bai Ci's face showed just the right amount of surprise, her tone carrying a hint of confusion.
“What? I did see one on the news, saying he died of a sudden illness, and I scrolled past another one on a short video platform. His death was... a bit hard to describe.”
“As for the others... I didn't know. How did they die?”
Everything she said was the absolute truth.
Jie Zhuoshi's death had made the local news, and Zhai Laiyi's death had circulated on short video platforms; she had indeed seen those.
As for the deaths of Si Diyi, Wa Yeyao, and Hai Bugou, she only knew they had perished through the reset on the Rain's Message panel; she hadn't paid any special attention to how they actually died.
She had merely adjusted her phrasing to show that she knew nothing about their deaths, thereby further conveying that their deaths had no direct connection to her.
Chen Quan looked at the confusion and surprise on Bai Ci's face. Her eyes didn't waver in the slightest; she didn't seem to be lying.
He nodded slightly and continued, “So, you were completely unaware of their deaths?”
“I really had no idea,” Bai Ci nodded gently, her tone still carrying a trace of doubt, and she even took the initiative to ask, “By the way, is it convenient to tell me how they died?”
“Wait, the way you're asking... I think I understand now. Did they encounter some kind of anomalous incident?”
Bai Ci acted as if she had just had a sudden realization, presenting the conclusion she had long since figured out as if she had only just now pieced it together.
“I see. Since I was the last blind date partner each of them saw, I am the common denominator, which naturally makes me the prime suspect.”
“Their deaths... they shouldn't have anything to do with the curse on me, right?”
“Though, to be precise, I can't guarantee that either.”
“After all, I don't know much about the specifics of our family curse. It's just what my mother told me, and I don't know what it's actually like.”
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