The Vanishing Lover

"Xu Ruyi found 'Zeng Demei' before I did."

Qin Guan looked at Old He in front of him, quietly recalling.

Old He was no longer the impatient man from the start, perpetually crossing his arms, openly radiating suspicion and rejection. Old He was listening attentively now.

Getting him to listen carefully and actually absorb the information—that was the first step to success.

Qin Guan knew this well.

Every small doubt, every little inconsistency in this whole affair, needed to be pulled out one by one and laid bare on the table.

As long as He Zhisheng was willing to investigate, to truly start digging, all of Xu Ruyi's little maneuvers would be exposed.

"Zeng Demei"—this woman was the most crucial figure in this case.

Qin Guan recalled the woman's appearance once more—during his first interrogation, the police sketch artist had already drawn a portrait of "Zeng Demei" based on his description. Yet, after so long, there was still no trace of her.

Why did this fake "Zeng Demei" vanish into thin air after that big argument with Qi Min at the Xinhe Hotel?

She didn't extort any money. Was she willing to just leave like that?

There was another possibility.

Xu Ruyi.

After all, Xu Ruyi had moved faster than Qin Guan to find "Zeng Demei."

That day, when Qin Guan chased after "Chunli Cleaning Service" to inquire about "Zeng Demei," Xu Ruyi had been secretly following him.

Qin Guan hadn't found out much that day; he was in a hurry to get to work at the firm. But Xu Ruyi had plenty of time.

It must have been that day that she learned "Zeng Demei's" whereabouts earlier than Qin Guan—after all, when looking for a nanny, it's easier for a woman to approach others. Her manner was naturally friendly when talking to people, and no one would be suspicious of a wealthy housewife like her.

Later, on Auntie Feng's birthday, when Qin Guan was chasing the boy in the orange shirt and bumped into Xu Ruyi "buying shrimp" in the market—that was likely when Xu Ruyi was going to see Zeng Demei for the first time.

She certainly wasn't really buying shrimp, and it wasn't a chance encounter with Qin Guan.

She was obstructing him.

Because that day, she had already gotten "Zeng Demei's" address beforehand; it was nearby.

It happened to be Auntie Feng's birthday; "buying shrimp" was the perfect excuse.

Xu Ruyi later marveled at her own quick thinking—she had been following Qin Guan. Seeing him chase the boy, she rushed into the market, hurriedly bought a bag of shrimp, and "bumped into" Qin Guan.

Qin Guan didn't suspect a thing and stopped.

The second time she went to find "Zeng Demei" was at dusk.

Qin Guan, of course, went too—he didn't have the exact address and was still following the boy in the orange shirt.

While Qin Guan was chasing the boy all over the place, Xu Ruyi was already standing inside "Zeng Demei's" shabby, dimly lit rented room, face to face with her.

As soon as Xu Ruyi saw "Zeng Demei," she knew she wasn't Qi Min's real mother.

Because ever since confirming Qin Guan's affair with Qi Min and deciding to deal with him, Xu Ruyi had investigated Qi Min's background. She had seen the old woman in photos.

The woman before her was fake.

Qi Min had hired a "mom."

A fake "mom."

In that moment, Xu Ruyi also understood—sooner than Qin Guan—that Qi Min must have dug a huge trap trying to ensnare Qin Guan.

"What's your plan?" Xu Ruyi got straight to the point. "You have two choices: either tell me everything, or I'll go tell Qin Guan right now! Once Qin Guan knows, all your schemes are ruined, and you can wait to go to jail!"

"Don't!" This "Zeng Demei" was cowardly and panicked instantly. "I... I'll tell you."

That dusk, as nightfall just began to cover the city, Xu Ruyi learned the entire outline of Qi Min's "disappearance and extortion" plan from "Zeng Demei's" mouth.

It was indeed a flawless plan.

Fake death, then use it to blackmail Qin Guan.

The plan was perfect. Even an expert like Qin Guan was kept in the dark, pulled along and kept on edge all day.

But Qi Min had found a terrible partner.

This Zeng Demei had no backbone at all. Moreover, her eyes darted about evasively. Her speech and the small movements of her hands clearly showed she wasn't a novice.

She had petty theft habits.

People who steal small things like that are greedy for petty gains and are the easiest to turn against.

Furthermore, while "Zeng Demei" spoke, she kept looking outside, as if worried.

"Is that your son?"

Xu Ruyi guessed right immediately—the boy in the orange shirt was probably this "Zeng Demei's" son.

But it was also a strange relationship—"Zeng Demei" lived in such poor conditions, yet the boy's clothes were new. Moreover, "Zeng Demei" seemed quite afraid of him; there was no closeness or intimacy between them.

"You're trying to please him. The little money you earn from this hard work probably has to be handed over to someone, right?" Xu Ruyi hit the nail on the head.

"Yes, yes, my husband... no, my later husband. He's back in our hometown up north. Waiting for me to return... he... he needs money... something happened..." "Zeng Demei" nodded, answering softly.

Her man needed money, so he urged her to come make some, even sending his son to keep an eye on her. So, she needed to finish this job quickly, get the money, and run.

This was truly a heaven-sent opportunity—learning this plan filled Xu Ruyi with excitement. Since Qi Min was faking her death to blackmail Qin Guan, and they were both after money, then Xu Ruyi could do them a favor, letting Qi Min carry out the extortion, even helping her succeed.

!

Doing this, Qin Guan would be tormented unbearably. Maybe, in this process of them turning against each other, Qi Min would drag him down to jail—"Zeng Demei" said Qi Min had other leverage over Qin Guan and wasn't afraid he wouldn't comply.

Leverage—this interested Xu Ruyi even more.

So, Xu Ruyi bluntly told "Zeng Demei": "Alright, we're both women, I understand you. I won't stop you, and I won't tell Qin Guan. But I have one condition: I want to meet Qi Min."

However, that day, before she could finish speaking or get Qi Min's address, Qin Guan interrupted them—he had caught up to the boy in the orange shirt and a fight broke out right outside the shack.

"That was the day, exactly,"

The fog in Qin Guan's mind cleared layer by layer.

"I caught that boy, followed him to where 'Zeng Demei' lived, near Doumen Community. It's an area marked for demolition, full of dangerous, old houses, messy and disorderly. Zeng Demei's room was messy too,"

"There seemed to be only two rooms—one for the boy, one for her. Barely furnished, besides a bed, the room only had a simple gas stove,"

The stove top was cluttered with a few bowls and plates. Without a range hood, everything in the room carried a strong smell of cooking oil.

Qin Guan had only stayed in that room briefly, but he came out reeking of it. He meticulously wiped himself down with wet wipes in the car before going home.

"When I got home, Xu Ruyi had, unusually, taken a shower before dinner. She had washed her hair; it was damp. She had even sprayed perfume, which she never uses normally."

He looked up calmly at the captain. "The reason she made herself smell fragrant was because she had met Zeng Demei before I did. She was covering up the smell of cooking oil on her!"

"I haven't spoken a single lie. That area has no surveillance cameras, but coming out of those alleys is a small street selling jewelry. Every jewelry store has cameras at the front. You can go check; you'll definitely see Xu Ruyi's figure!"

Lovers Who Disappear.