The Vanishing Lover

"Qin Guan, finally had a change of heart? Ready to talk?"

Lao He sprawled lazily in his chair, his face gleaming with oil and exhaustion from staying up late, yet his eyes showed no trace of fatigue.

The case was smoothly solved, the suspect apprehended. All evidence and procedures were steadily being finalized. Once the evidence and the suspect were taken back, this case would be completely wrapped up.

From receiving the report of Qi Min's disappearance to now, barely a month had passed. Solving it perfectly was quite an achievement.

He had known it was this man from the first moment he saw him, relying on his professional instinct. Sure enough, he was the one.

He stared coldly at Qin Guan. "You've been refusing to confess, stubborn as a nail in a cesspit—stinking, hard, and sharp. The young guys bringing you food all got cursed out by you, like a prickly hedgehog. So what, finally had a change of heart? Coming to me voluntarily?"

Qin Guan sat opposite him. He took deep breaths, one after another, swallowing saliva with difficulty.

This was the opportunity he had fought hard for—He Zhisheng had finally agreed to see him, finally willing to listen to him seriously.

He had prepared a long time for this conversation. Over the past three days, after the initial shock and breakdown, he had been thinking. He had gone over it hundreds of times in his mind before finally devising a counter-strategy.

The situation was perilous, but by calmly stepping back, viewing himself as a bystander, a defense lawyer, he realized he wasn't entirely without a chance.

"Have some water. No rush, take your time. I have plenty of it."

Lao He signaled the young recorder beside him to pass the water cup to Qin Guan.

Qin Guan reached out to take it.

The overhead lights were blindingly bright. The white disposable paper cup shimmered dazzlingly under the light—and his hands were completely exposed in that glare.

Qin Guan's gaze fell upon his own hands, and he froze for an instant.

During these days of detention, his mind had been filled with panic, anxiety, collapse, despair. He hadn't paid the slightest attention to the changes in himself.

This was the first time he had looked at himself properly.

Those hands he had once been so proud of—slender, with distinct knuckles. When he was dating Xu Ruyi, she had said she loved his hands the most, clean and long.

These hands had also been gently touched by Qi Min, who praised: "Qin Guan, your hands are so beautiful! They look like the hands of a domineering CEO!"

But now, those hands were completely changed.

They had thinned, the fat abruptly gone, leaving only a layer of skin on the back. The knuckles appeared coarse and ugly.

The once fair skin was no longer clean; it seemed covered in a layer of grime. Qin Guan rubbed and scrubbed vigorously, but couldn't remove the dirt and miscellaneous marks. His fingernails had grown wildly long, and the crevices were packed with filth.

Were these still his noble, proud hands?

"Here, figured you needed a mirror, brought one especially for you," Lao He said, actually pulling a small mirror from his pocket and sliding it towards Qin Guan.

Qin Guan took the little mirror and instinctively aimed it at his face—he hadn't seen himself in days.

The reflection was a complete stranger!

Hair messy, greasy, dirty. His whole face rough, coated in a thick layer of sticky despondency. Cheeks sunken, face stubbled. Where his hands had just rubbed his face, streaks of glaring grime remained.

He had become like this!

Qin Guan stared at his reflection in disbelief. The carefully devised counter-strategy in his mind, along with that last shred of defiance, began to crumble and disintegrate uncontrollably.

He had become this wretched apparition!

Who was he? He was a member of this city's elite! A nobleman living in a luxury penthouse! A renowned lawyer draped in designer clothes with a bright future ahead of him!

"Take a good look. Remember how you look now. This is actually decent, ah. Oh, it gets much worse later," Lao He chuckled.

Yes, he wasn't bluffing.

From now on, Qin Guan would only get worse.

Murder and disposal of a corpse—as a professional lawyer, he knew better than anyone what the sentence for that crime would be.

Either the death penalty, or spending the rest of his life in prison—and prison was hell on earth.

How could he accept such an outcome?

This wasn't him!

"Take it away! Take it away!" Qin Guan threw the mirror down in a fit of panic, swatting it away as if facing a mortal enemy. It skittered into a corner with a crisp, despairing crack. "Get it away! Away!"

That wasn't him. Absolutely not!

He kicked the chair away. Qin Guan, hands cuffed, screamed like a child lost in a hopeless situation, "That's not me! No! I don't look like this!"

The hard-won calm shattered completely.

How could he accept this?

Years ago, in that poor mountain village, the day his teacher brought his future father-in-law to his home, he knew his life was about to embark on a smooth, broad path.

For that path, he had schemed tirelessly. He had swept away every obstacle, even including his own mad mother—he had done so much, so very much, all for the life he desired now, the life of his dreams!

His future should have been radiant—whether staying at the firm or jumping ship to start his own.

But now...

"No, this isn't me, it's not..." Qin Guan yelled, the handcuffs on his wrists banging against the table, making a clanging, jarring noise.

Lao He watched his outburst coldly. Only when Qin Guan finally stopped roaring did he speak. "Alright, enough with the tricks. You know perfectly well the evidence—witnesses, physical proof—it's all solid. Confessing or not won't change a thing. Why waste the effort? Just start from the beginning and tell it straight!"

Yes, he was right. No trick could save him now.

Qin Guan slumped in the chair like a pile of mud.

"I confess. I'll tell everything. From start to finish, I won't hide a single detail... But, this case wasn't done by me alone. Xu Ruyi was involved. She was participating all along, and... she had an accomplice..."

"Qin Guan claims you knew about his affair long ago and secretly sought help to deal with him, even before the incident. Simply put, he alleges you were involved, that you had an accomplice."

Captain Qi held his teacup, taking a slow sip.

The green tea inside had long gone cold.

The so-called "just a few small questions and we'll leave" had in fact kept him sitting there for about an hour.

His gaze never left Xu Ruyi's face. "We've already found that person. Would you like to see him?"

Was this a test?

Or was it serious?

Xu Ruyi looked up, meeting his gaze calmly. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she gave a bitter smile. "Qin Guan said that? If I knew about his affair long ago, how could I have continued living peacefully with him? The day he left on his business trip, I even saw him and Qi Min off downstairs. If I knew, could I have endured that?"

"Most people couldn't endure it. Unless they already had a plan and means to deal with the other person. Endure hardship to accomplish a goal—it's possible to bear it for a while. Especially with an accomplice," Captain Qi smiled faintly. He glanced at his watch. "He should be arriving at our station soon. Would you like to go see him? Don't you want to know who he is?"

He asked again.

Evading the topic further would only make her seem more guilty.

Xu Ruyi nodded calmly and stood up. "Since you put it that way, I'll go meet this accomplice of mine."