The Vanishing Lover

The moment Old He walked back into the room, Qin Guan knew he had succeeded.

Old He's face was still taut, but the absolute confidence that had filled his eyes and expression earlier had completely vanished.

Though he was trying hard to show no expression, keeping his hands and eyes busily focused on his phone, Qin Guan saw right through it – it was merely Old He's cover.

This old detective had realized that this "open-and-shut" murder case might have problems.

As long as he realized the case was flawed, he would have to investigate it thoroughly from start to finish – would he dare casually declare a problematic case closed? Dare to submit it like that?

Losing his job or career prospects was secondary; the most important thing was his lifelong reputation.

Qin Guan took the cup of cooled boiled water handed to him by an officer, took a small sip, his gaze sweeping over Old He's tired, slightly oily face from above the disposable paper cup – after a few encounters with this man, Qin Guan knew he was extremely stubborn, obstinate, and his abilities were passable at best.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to discover for so long that Qi Min had returned, nor would he have been so easily fooled by Xu Ruyi.

But precisely because he was like this, he harbored a stubborn streak. Once he realized he'd truly been deceived, he would investigate relentlessly to the end, desperate to redeem himself.

"The sequence of events I just laid out, every tiny detail, is the truth, Captain He. I believe you must have already sent someone to check. It shouldn't be difficult for you to verify, and the results should come quickly. Now, you should have them, right..."

Seeing Old He remain silent after sitting down, Qin Guan finally couldn't hold back.

He knew he should be calmer, more composed, but he couldn't help it – he was eager to see the result of this first victory.

If he could, he would have banged the table urging this He Zhisheng to hurry up and investigate Xu Ruyi, turn her life inside out, dig out all her transfer records and surveillance footage.

Once they dug it out, they would know that bitch had been lying all along.

Once they confirmed she was lying, then all her testimony in this case would be inadmissible.

Moreover, following the trail of her investigation would lead to one crucial piece of information.

That was: Qi Min had returned.

"Qi Min had returned" – these few short words were Qin Guan's only lifeline at rock bottom. To reach this lifeline, he first had to drag Xu Ruyi down into the water with him.

"Go on," Old He said, elbows resting on the table, chin propped on his knuckles, frowning as he looked expressionlessly at Qin Guan – his superior Qi Zhifei's words still echoed in his ears: "Whether Qin Guan killed her or not, we can't jump to conclusions yet! Xu Ruyi's behavior in this case is also highly suspicious!"

Qi Zhifei hadn't consulted him; while Old He was out of town apprehending Qin Guan, he had taken it upon himself to bring Xu Ruyi to the station for a "talk." This action left a sour taste in Old He's mouth.

Yet, Old He had to admit that Qi Zhifei's approach wasn't wrong, and his words held some merit.

"Investigation must follow the evidence, no personal feelings involved. Xu Ruyi isn't your sister-in-law!"

Old He shook his head, took a deep breath, pushed aside these messy emotions, and fixed his gaze firmly on Qin Guan again. "Speak, Qin Guan!"

Qin Guan had been watching Old He the whole time.

The wandering look in Old He's eyes, the frown creasing his brow with pain, the frustrated shake of his head – Qin Guan saw it all clearly.

At this moment, it felt less like an interrogation room and more like the courtroom he knew best. Dressed in a suit, sharp-eyed, calm and rational, he stared at the opposing party, searching for cracks in their micro-expressions.

Old He had run into obstacles; he was under considerable pressure with this case.

On the table before him lay several printed sheets and a stack of photos.

That was the evidence.

Qin Guan's neck instinctively stretched forward, but he reined it in with reason – He Zhisheng certainly wouldn't report the results to him, but He Zhisheng's demeanor said it all.

They had uncovered some of Xu Ruyi's suspicious behavior.

Qin Guan took another sip of water – he had always said that bitch was unprofessional, never a match for him.

"Alright, I'll continue," he said softly, putting the cup down, his voice still calm. "While she was watching me outside the supermarket, sneaking into my car to take those black stockings, I was watching 'Zeng Demei.' Because I wanted to know who exactly was blackmailing me from the shadows. I needed to catch the person behind it."

At that moment, Qin Guan was sitting in a taxi, closely following 'Zeng Demei'.

Before the car could even pull away from the traffic, he ran into Li Yang.

Li Yang, like a madman, grabbed onto him the moment he saw him and wouldn't let go, demanding over and over that he return Qi Min.

"Li Yang didn't appear by accident. Xu Ruyi called him there. Of course, Xu Ruyi has already admitted this – that she secretly contacted Li Yang using another number. But her excuse was that she hated me for having an affair with Qi Min and wanted Li Yang to teach me a harsh lesson."

Qin Guan gave a bitter smile. "I believed that before. But now, slowly piecing it together, it wasn't like that. From the very beginning of this affair, Li Yang was a pawn. At Lakeside Charm Hotel, he was Qi Min's pawn. Here, he was Xu Ruyi's pawn."

"Xu Ruyi called him for two reasons: first, to delay me so she could slip into my car and take the item; second, to use Li Yang to try and expose the fact that I had 'killed' Qi Min, thereby provoking me and escalating the situation."

Li Yang had indeed been called by Xu Ruyi.

He was a simple-minded idiot. Receiving a message from Xu Ruyi's other number, he didn't even question its authenticity before charging headlong to the location.

Looking back, the fog had lifted for Qin Guan; everything was now clear.

"Another point: Li Yang is extremely clingy. By using him to grab and hold me back, she could seize the opportunity to meet 'Zeng Demei' face-to-face again. I think, perhaps, the person she originally intended to meet that day was 'Zeng Demei,' or maybe Qi Min. In short, that day, the day that so-called crucial evidence, the black stockings, first appeared, Xu Ruyi was at the scene! Xu Ruyi took them!"

The door suddenly opened.

A young officer slipped in – Qin Guan recognized him; his colleagues called him Xiao Wu, Old He's subordinate and apprentice.

Xiao Wu handed a stack of photos to Old He.

They were surveillance footage stills.

Old He took them, his brows suddenly knitting together, his eyes widening in surprise, but at the same time, his face visibly relaxed.

Qin Guan stopped speaking, immediately reviewing his own words in his mind – what had he said that didn't match the facts? Had he revealed a flaw? Was that why Old He couldn't hide this instinctive surprise and relief?

"Are you sure Xu Ruyi was there at the time?" Old He finally asked.

What did he mean by this?

Qin Guan merely lifted his eyelids and answered calmly, "I should say I'm not certain. It could also have been Feng Xiangping. But I lean towards her doing it herself. As I said before, Feng Xiangping isn't very literate, her abilities are limited. This task was extremely risky; she couldn't have handled it—"

"No,"

Before Qin Guan could finish, Old He interrupted him. "Xu Ruyi was not found in the surveillance footage outside the supermarket. At the same time, Xu Ruyi was here."

He held up one of the surveillance photos – a screenshot with a clearly legible time stamp showed Xu Ruyi sitting beside her daughter, Little Pear, fully focused, accompanying her as she drew and did crafts.

"She wasn't even there. How could she steal the black stockings from your car?"

"She wasn't there? Really wasn't?" Qin Guan stared at the photo with disbelief, his brow furrowed, a flicker of panic appearing but quickly suppressed. "Then... then it was Feng Xiangping—"

"You just said Feng Xiangping didn't have the capability."

"Feng Xiangping truly doesn't, but she would take risks for Xu Ruyi!"

"Feng Xiangping was here at this time," Old He held up another photo. "The wet market. She was buying groceries at the wet market."

"Then it was Xiao Zhi!" Qin Guan was getting a little flustered. "I've been hoping you would seriously investigate Feng Zhi—"

"He was in class. At that time, the classroom has cameras," Old He looked at Qin Guan. "None of the three people you mentioned were there."