The first album was mostly filled, but the last two pages were empty; the second album only had two pages used.
Moreover, it was obvious that one album was old and the other was somewhat newer.
Lu Heng began to rearrange the photos in the albums, after several attempts, he said, "The photos from both albums could actually all fit into the old one. There was no need to buy a new one."
The old album had two empty pages, while the new album only had two pages filled.
All the photos together would just fill up one album.
Su Muyu also thought of the reason, "Are you saying that some photos were taken away?"
Lu Heng nodded and said, "Yes, in the old album, some of the photo spots have clearly been moved, indicating that someone removed a portion of the photos.
"But with those photos gone, some gaps would be left, which would look very strange.
"So this person moved the photos from the last two pages to the front, refilling the empty spots."
Su Muyu, deep in thought, said, "If that's the case, then Liu Lanying and her husband really seem like they had a child, but why isn't it mentioned in the records? When we asked their relatives, they all said the couple had no children. If there was a child, it would be impossible for the relatives not to know."
This was also the point that puzzled Lu Heng.
When previously investigating Chen Xuesong's relatives, they had asked about the couple and were told they had no children.
Even if it was an adopted child, the relatives would certainly know; it's impossible to raise a child without ever letting relatives see them.
The relatives of the Chen Family questioned couldn't possibly be lying, since they were asked directly using "Spirit Control," and normal people can't resist this skill.
All signs pointed to the fact that Chen Xuesong and his wife should have had a child by their side, but strangely, everyone said they didn't.
Not only that, but when Lu Heng inspected all the rooms in the house, he found no items related to this child.
Even the house itself didn't have a room that could be used for a child to live in.
The house was a two-bedroom, with one master bedroom and the other a study.
And this study had quite a few years on it; flipping open many of the books on the shelves, one could smell the mustiness.
Where was the problem?
What exactly was 027's relationship with this couple?
Lu Heng had looked into 027's eyes at close range and could confirm that those were the eyes of a young person.
The extent of 027's affection towards Liu Lanying – they would rather fight 013 to the end than to leave – this was not the gratitude for being raised, something ordinary people couldn't achieve.
This residential community was very old, so in the courtyard downstairs, there were quite a few elderly people sitting in the shade of the trees, enjoying the cool air, playing chess.
Lu Heng and his partner descended the building, deciding to split up and ask some of the older folks about Chen Xuesong's family situation.
A man in his sixties was sitting on a lounge chair under the shade of a tree, holding a pair of walnuts, calmly rotating them with his eyes closed.
This elder seemed like an intellectual, after all, Chen Xuesong was a professor at Capital City University, likely to interact more with neighbors of a similar education level.
Lu Heng greeted him, "Hello, sir."
The man opened his eyes, saw a young person with a polite demeanor, and promptly replied, "Young man, what can I do for you?"
Lu Heng sat down next to him, making conversation, "I wanted to ask you about Professor Chen from building 1, unit 301, do you know him?"
"Yes, I know him, old Chen," the elder cheerfully responded, with an air of being well-connected.
"What is their family situation now, do you know?" Lu Heng continued to inquire.
The elder frowned and became cautious, "Who are you? You aren't probing for secrets, are you? You know you can't ask about old Chen's work, right?"
Lu Heng quickly clarified, "I'm not asking about his work, just about his family, if they have any children."
Hearing that the question wasn't about work, the elder thought for a moment, seeing no issue, and said:
"They don't have children, the couple got held up by work when they were young and didn't have them, and later when they wanted to, they just weren't blessed with that fortune.
"Children, it's all about destiny, without that fate, even the goddess of childbirth won't knock on your door."
Lu Heng continued to ask, "But how come I heard that Professor Chen has a child? When Auntie Liu was living in the nursing home, there were children who often visited her, weren't they from his family?"
The elder waved his hand, "You must be mistaken, what you're talking about must be old Chen's students; he's a professor after all, taught many students."
Lu Heng persisted, "Not a student, their relationship seemed very close, closer than it would be with just a student. Did Professor Chen ever adopt a child later on?"
The elder continued to wave his hand, "No, he definitely hasn't adopted a child, that much is certain, for sure not adopted. However..."
Upon hearing the word "however," Lu Heng knew that the information he wanted to find out was coming and hurriedly asked, "However what?"
After a moment of thought, the elder said, "In the early years, they did want to adopt a child, but it never transpired."
"What was this child's name?" Lu Heng pressed on.
The man pointed in the direction of building 1, saying, "It's the child from 402, Old Xie's; they are also a pitiable family, old Xie was also a university professor, used to be colleagues with Professor Chen.
"Then, I don't know what happened, but Professor Xie and his wife passed away, leaving behind a ten-year-old child and someone in their seventies.
"That old person was the child's grandfather; imagine, with the old being old and the young being young, how were they supposed to get by?
"Professor Chen and the child's father were colleagues, so he often took care of them.
"There was a time when I even heard they wanted to adopt that child."