The Vanishing Lover

"On the smart wheelchair handbrake, there are several buttons to control the wheelchair's direction—forward, backward, left, and right. This handle is the emergency brake device. Simply put, it's the braking mechanism. It is essential to teach the user this. Before going out, test whether it functions properly."

"The small black U-shaped box next to the handbrake on the left side of the wheelchair... if you encounter a malfunction, you can open the small cover below and press the red button inside for a quick restart."

"However, it is crucial to note that after the smart wheelchair restarts, the emergency braking function will temporarily deactivate. You need to press this black button again for the braking function to resume. Therefore, during use, ensure this step is completed and everything is normal before proceeding."

This was from the installation tutorial video sent by the wheelchair vendor.

For some reason, every word and sentence that had seemed utterly routine on that day now flooded Qin Guan's mind with perfect, word-by-word clarity at this moment.

Along with every detail of the installation.

Back then, he had privately grumbled that Xu Ruyi didn't think things through when shopping. Spending so much money on such an expensive imported item, yet the design had such an obvious flaw—what if someone forgot to reactivate the brake after restarting? Wouldn't that be dangerous?

Dangerous.

As if everything had been predestined by fate.

Qin Guan swallowed hard. A map unfurled rapidly in his mind—Jiayuan Community was about seven or eight hundred meters from the park. And the route back from here to Jiayuan Community, he knew every detail intimately.

Exiting the park gate, there was a long, gentle slope. At the end of the slope was a busy crossroad.

Qin Guan pried open the small box beneath the handle and pressed the restart button.

Smoothly.

He was truly lucky. The cover, which normally required a tool to open, somehow popped open under his fingers as he knelt gripping the handle, pleading.

He just used a little too much force. His fingernail bled.

His father-in-law naturally didn't notice.

The stubborn old man kept his head turned, the back of his head always facing Qin Guan. He simply didn't want to look at Qin Guan any longer.

He was finally paying the price for his stubbornness and obstinacy!

Qin Guan pried open the box. The moment he pressed the restart button, the wheelchair emitted a warning beep, but it was drowned out by Qin Guan's sobs. "Dad—Dad—please—please just listen to me say one thing? Just one thing, Dad—"

He wailed "despairingly," tears streaming, continuing his performance of remorse and sorrow—only like this would his father-in-law remain angry and disgusted. Remaining angry and disgusted would make him desperate to get away quickly. That way, his father-in-law would accelerate the wheelchair.

Acceleration. Brakes deactivated. Plus that gentle slope—only then could Qin Guan's desired outcome be achieved.

A loud thud.

Just like the sound he had stood by the park gate at noon that day, heart clenched, breath held, ears straining, hoping to hear.

It hit.

It really hit.

It finally hit!

He stood at the park gate, feigning confusion, brushed the dust off his clothes, glanced once more at the surveillance cameras nearby, then slowly took out his phone, pressed it to his ear. Pretending to make a call, he craned his neck, "drawn by the commotion" like the crowd, and walked forward.

"Traffic accident!" someone shouted in shock.

A crowd quickly gathered at the intersection.

Qin Guan's heart pounded so hard it felt ready to leap out of his chest. But his steps remained steady. He stood on tiptoe, his gaze penetrating the dense wall of people, "curiously" peering in.

It was his father-in-law.

He lay on the ground. The wheelchair lay overturned beside him. A small car was parked with its front end near the wheelchair. The driver crouched beside it, head in hands, looking shattered.

His father-in-law had really been hit by a car.

"Get him to a hospital quickly! He's an old man!" someone yelled urgently.

"An ambulance is already called!"

"Oh no, he's unconscious! Blood from his mouth and nose!"

"Oh dear, looks like he might not make it..."

Might not make it.

Hearing those words, Qin Guan's anxious, excited, uneasy heart finally settled, inch by slow inch.

"Hey, sleeping like a baby!"

Someone splashed cold water on his face, jolting Qin Guan from his dream-like memory.

He opened his weary eyes to discover it was already daylight—that loud noise earlier was the van door opening. An old man selling popcorn sat on the grass, popping his first batch of the morning.

"Boss, try some? Northern specialty. Delicious and fragrant. You city folk haven't had this before, have you?"

The old man politely offered some to the officers.

Qin Guan shifted his numb legs, feet, and arms. The handcuffs on his wrists made a sharp metallic sound—only then was he fully awake. He had been in the police van with three officers. The car had driven all night.

"Coming out, Qin Guan? What are you still doing in there? Don't want to leave?" the officer in the passenger seat said with a laugh.

The young officer who had been sitting in the back was already standing outside the van. He tossed popcorn into his mouth and leaned close to his colleague, whispering: "This guy's nerves are seriously something else. Slept the whole night, snoring too! In his dreams, he kept calling 'Dad' one minute, 'Mom' the next. Talk about baby-like sleep. Ever seen a murderer who can sleep, sleep so soundly, before facing justice? Normal killers can't sleep before they're caught!"

Qin Guan heard it.

He didn't respond—Couldn't sleep?

He certainly had times when he couldn't sleep—in the days after his mother-in-law's death, he lay awake night after night, terrified Xu Ruyi or his father-in-law would notice something wrong.

After his father-in-law's car accident, he slept even less—because so many police had come to the scene.

Only after everything settled—his mother-in-law buried, his father-in-law's accident ruled a traffic incident—did he occasionally sleep.

But at the slightest hint of trouble, he would still panic.

However, it was limited to that internal panic. On the surface, he would never let anyone detect anything unusual.

He didn't regret what he had done. Besides, his in-laws had brought it on themselves—what was the big deal about a man having an affair? Was it worth making such a federal case out of it? Hadn't he been good enough to their daughter?

Thinking of Xu Ruyi, Qin Guan's heart grew even colder—that bitch's step-by-step moves, her schemes... could it be she had discovered something about his mother-in-law's sudden death, his father-in-law's "accident"?

Logically, it shouldn't be possible. It was all so long ago. Dead men tell no tales. There was no evidence.

He had covered his tracks perfectly.

Including the matter with Qi Min—no body, no evidence. As long as he kept his mouth shut, the police couldn't possibly make any breakthrough.

"Coming down or not?" the young officer urged.

Qin Guan finally got out of the van. Outside, the world was lush green, a cool breeze blowing.

He turned and looked around. His heart trembled—this was precisely the lakeside villa where he had secretly met Qi Min.