But of course, Liwu had no plans to share this tidbit with everyone.

Linlin leaned over, grinning. "I used to think your life with the Tai’s and Zhang’s was dramatic but when you moved in with then Shen’s, it tripled. It is better than short dramas. Billion dollar necklaces, now kidnappings and stolen systems. You should start selling tickets."

Xuanji laughed. "Don’t forget the part where the stolen system was replaced with another. From beauty to silence. I don’t think there is a more cruel punishment in the world for an actress that has come this far, relying on her face, than this one. How is she supposed to act if she can’t talk?"

Liwu shrugged. "Not my problem."

Chief Abby’s shadow fell in the entrance of the office and the man himself leaned against the door stoop. "Well, consider it your problem now because her next step will be running to the media to cry about this. Come out, confront her, and put an end to it. Open a file and start an investigation that we both know is not going to go anywhere."

Liwu groaned. She rose unwillingly, following Xuanji and an excited Linlin to the open bullpen. Manman was sitting in the conference room, trying to use sign language that she barely understood. Without the beauty system, she was still beautiful, but not stunning in the way that made people take a second look. Like others, Liwu wondered if that beauty effects left by the system would also fade and eventually leave Manman as she was before.

Liwu took a seat across Manman, folded her arms and raised her brows. The rest of the team scattered around, waiting for the drama to unfold.

"Well, this is awkward." Liwu said.

Manman stared at her with eyes that burned with silent accusations. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She took a sip of water, and finally managed to whisper, "You did this to me. You stole my life."

The words echoed in the room like a curse. Then Manman fell silent, holding her head and grimacing as if her skull were splitting.

The detective shared questioning glances.

"What is happening to her?" She asked Xuanji.

He tapped his notebook, where he had taken down Manman’s statement. "Her system only allows her one sentence a day. She wrote down what she wanted to say before. I am guessing that she already used up her daily sentence and now she has been punished for being greedy."

Manman’s angry eyes flashed to Xuanji.

The detective shrugged.

Liwu’s eyes flicked to the pen and paper before Manman. "Miss Manman, perhaps you can explain in writing how I am connected to your stolen life. For the record, I deny all accusations."

Manman opened her mouth, then slammed it hut, eyes watering. She slapped the table a few times, screaming silently. Her finger jutted at Liwu through it all. Finally, she scribbled on the paper, ’Weijun.’

The room grew tense. Everyone knew Manman had once been entangled with Liwu’s husband, but it was all old gossip now. To assume that Liwu had stolen Manman’s beauty system because of it was farfetched.

Linlin whispered, "This is useless. We need a proper statement, not baseless accusations. If she can’t talk and she only writes one word, we are never getting a full statement."

Liwu smirked. "Nonsense. We have interrogated suspects who only spoke in riddles, those who sung their answers and even one who communicated through interpretive dance. One sentence a day? Child’s play. She can come in daily until we get everything."

She leaned forward, voice sharp. "Miss Manman, listen carefully. This is a serious matter and you need to talk all irrational thinking out of it. You can’t waste your daily sentence on melodrama. The theft of a system is a very big deal and we must seriously investigate. Since you have used up today’s sentence, you should return tomorrow and give us the facts. Who stole your system? How? Why? But your fingers are working well so we can move faster if you just write everything down and save us all some time."

Manman’s eyes blazed. She grabbed the pen, scribbling furiously on the paper. But the paper was suddenly burned to ash. The team gasped.

Even Liwu was astounded. What kind of monstrous silence system had her mother given Manman? "Even writing is forbidden! Ho! Miss Manman, you must have made yourself a deadly enemy. The person who did this to you must be a long term enemy holding a great grudge. To give you such a sadistic system, they must have wanted you to suffer. We need a list of all the people you have offended since you started talking."

Her team members reacted in a plethora of ways. People started talking at the age of one or two. Did Manman have to go back that far in her history?

Even Manman was confused. She knew Liwu was playing games with her.

As if Liwu sensed this, she said to Manman, "I know it sounds ridiculous to take you back that far. But, we have seen siblings harming each other basing on grudges that started in childhood. We cannot overlook anything. Let’s see if there are other ways you can communicate."

The team members took turns teaching Manman how to communicate in other ways. Like dancing, or making hand gestures. But each time she tried to communicate, her head hurt. In the end, Manman just sat there, like a statue.

"Great," Linlin groaned. "We are interrogating a statue."

Liwu sighed. "We should all go home. Tomorrow, Miss Manman can return. Even if takes us a month, we will take her statement slowly. I am sure as she levels up, she will be moved to two, three, four sentences a day. Eventually, she will be able to communicate like everyone else."

Manman was very confused. The way Liwu was handling things seemed very professional. She had also looked genuinely surprised to learn about the system and what it could do. As an actress, Manman knew when someone was faking.

Basing on those actions, Liwu was not acting. So, she was not the system thief. The question now was: would Liwu genuinely help her, when they were enemies?

Was she truly investigating, or was all this for show?