We found our starting point!

Shen Xiaoxi's POV

Seeing Yi Nan cry like this made me feel very bad. This guy was just like a coconut, hard from the outside but soft and sweet on the inside. Initially, he seemed rather unapproachable and cold, but as I got to know him, I discovered that he has a warm side too. It was obvious that he loved his brother very much.

It's not that he doesn't have any feelings. It's just that it's difficult for him to express his emotions in words. I think the reason he doesn't display his emotions, is because he is afraid to be seen as weak, vulnerable or pushovers. He is just afraid that others might make fun of him or take advantage of him, so he prefers to hide his feelings. I think he has his insecurities and finds it hard to be vulnerable, since he just lost his support system.

He is scared to be vulnerable. He is not strong as he likes to show, in reality he is weak. He is very weak and all that he needs is a bit of love, support and care. I hope that he gets all the love and support he deserves. Wait, why am I thinking so much about him? What's wrong with me? Ugh Xiaoxi, calm down. Wait, no calm him down. I shook off all my thoughts and tried to calm him down. After some time he stopped crying. He looked at me weirdly, as if he just realized what he had been doing. Oh this is going to be fun.

"Umm thanks!" He said fixing his hair and face.

"Thanks for what?" I said trying to appear innocent. Honestly, it was very hard to control my laughter, seeing his face. He looked so uncomfortable.

He suddenly stood up and said, "It's getting late, I have to return." He then ran back to the funeral. I really wanted to laugh, but seeing the circumstances I controlled myself and went inside.

Inside, I saw Yi Nan talking to a guy I've never seen before. It looked like; they knew each other for a long time. While I was looking towards Yi Nan, the priest said something, "Grief is really just love. It's all the love you want to give, but cannot. All the unspent love gathers in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat and the hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love, with no place to go." Honestly, this was so true. We truly grieve for people who we truly love. It's funny, how it only takes a moment to lose our loved ones; but an entire lifetime to forget about them. But is it really necessary to forget about them? Can't we just appreciate the time we had with them and cherish our memories? The rest of the time passed away with my thoughts.

Everybody went to the graveyard, for the burial. I also went there but to avoid any conflicts, I stayed at an appreciable distance. Seeing our loved ones die is really the most painful thing to experience. That time we cannot do anything but grieve. It's rightly said that the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said. But time is a very powerful thing; I hope it has the power to heal this situation also.

After some time most of the guests went away. I thought of going back but I needed to confirm whether Yi Nan was coming back or not. He was talking with that guy and it felt rude to interrupt. I waved in front of him, whisper – shouted his name and even called him, but he didn't respond. Who is this guy? Are they lovers or something like that? He looks so engrossed talking to him. Suddenly, Yi Nan's mother came in front of me. Oh no!

"What are you doing here? Are you here to see how miserable we are? Are you here to check, whether the amount of misery you gave to our family is enough or more should be given? Are you here to laugh on us? Are-"

"You're misunderstanding me. I just came to pay respect to your family."

"Huh! Respect? Respect to the person you killed? Seriously?"

Before I could say something, Yi Nan said, "Mom I brought her here."

"Why did you bring her here, Yi Nan? Don't you know she killed your brother?"

"Mom she didn't kill my brother. Instead of blaming the wrong person, shouldn't we try to find the real killer?"

Honestly, I never imagined that Yi Nan would defend me. After so long of only being accused by everyone of something I never did; having someone defend me felt nice. Actually, it felt very good, as if I had someone by my side.

"What are you saying, Yi Nan? Weren't you the one who was hell bent on her being the murderer?" Song Qin said.

"Weren't you the one who was sure that she wasn't? Then what happened now?" Yi Nan said.

"I-" Damn this guy really knows how to shut someone up.

"She has an alibi, how could she kill my brother? And most importantly she doesn't have any motive. Now I don't think she is a psychopath, who will kill someone without any motive. Right?" Yi Nan said.

Song Qin looked a bit uneasy but didn't say anything.

"Anyways mom I'm going back to Han Chen's house. I'll come back in a few days. Take care of yourself mom. Bye bye."

Before anyone could say anything; Yi Nan held my hand took me from there. The hand holding was very cliché; but honestly it felt nice. What is wrong with me? Do I have feelings for him? How is that even possible? I just am happy because he defended me. Yeah that's the reason. I cannot possibly like him. I mean why would I even like him? He is unapproachable, rude, irritating and impulsive. But then he is sweet, soft, emotional and headstrong. Ugh what's happening? I have definitely gone mad. I shook my head to distract myself.

"Have you gone mad? What's wrong with you? You're acting as if you're possessed." Yi Nan said looking weirdly at me.

"I'm fine." I said embarrassed. As soon as we reached home, I said, "Thank you!"

He looked towards me and said, "Thank you for what?"

"For defending me in front of your family." I said.

"I wasn't defending you." He said looking in opposite direction. I just shook my head smiling.

"Oh really then what were you doing?" I asked.

"I wanted to see Song Qin's reaction and it was suspicious. She even asked me if I was investigating the case. I feel something is wrong. So, we have to investigate her. But the question is where do we start? Honestly, I'm a bit tired today. Let's continue this tomorrow."

"Wait! Who was the guy you were talking to?"

"Guy?"

"The one you were talking to during the funeral."

"Oh him! He's Zou An, my brother's childhood best friend. He and my brother have been friends since I was born, i.e. 25 years. After some time Zou Zou and I became friends too. He started living in Taipei since past 6 years. But he would frequently come here to meet me and my brother. We would also go and meet him there. Honestly, he is a very good person. He was my support during the time when I and my brother's relationship were severed."

Before I could say anything my phone received a YouTube notification.

'STILLS FROM INSIDE OF WINDSOR EXOTICA'

When I received the email, I checked many videos regarding the hotel. I guess that's why I got this video as a recommendation. I opened the video to see the description.

'We went inside WINDSOR EXOTICA on 20th December, 2020.' I was shook seeing the date. But what shocked me more was the content of the video. I ran towards Yi Nan to tell him this.

"I found something." I said.

"What?"

"Look at this video. It was shot on the day your brother was murdered. This YouTube channel doesn't have many subscriptions so I guess this is not discovered yet. Look who's in the video!"

He was surprised too and said, "We found our starting point!"