The Vanishing Lover

"Your family's tea is truly fragrant!"

The policewoman called Xiao Lu held her teacup, sitting on the sofa, smiling gently and apologetically. "I'm really very sorry, Ms. Xu. We can't easily disclose Qin Guan's current situation. We know you're feeling unwell, yet we have to disturb you at this time..."

"I'm alright," Xu Ruyi forced a smile. "I will cooperate with whatever checks or questions you have. I also want this case to end soon."

"Understood, and thank you for your cooperation," Xiao Lu put down her cup and got straight to the point. "The 13th of the month before last, the day Captain He came to your house with Li Yang, when Li Yang first mentioned Qin Guan's affair with Qi Min in front of you, he got into a fight with Qin Guan outside Yongfa Supermarket. Where were you all at that time?"

They were revisiting the day the black stockings disappeared from Qin Guan's car.

The black stockings – that most lethal piece of evidence – the police had to ensure its authenticity and reliability. Qin Guan had said that if the origin of evidence in a murder case was questionable, it wouldn't hold up in court.

Xu Ruyi certainly understood this. But she couldn't just stand by and watch the most crucial evidence fall into Qin Guan's hands.

That day, she had orchestrated everything from the shadows.

"You were accompanying your child at the art class the whole time? It was the Yiran Art Society class, right? Is this the correct address?" Xiao Lu passed over the address.

Clearly, Qin Guan had already provided the address, and they had verified it. Coming here was likely just to observe Xu Ruyi's reaction.

"Auntie Feng, what were you doing that day? Can you recall?" Xiao Lu looked up at Auntie Feng, still smiling kindly.

Auntie Feng stood to the side, slightly flustered, a little panicked. She glanced at Xu Ruyi, then started blinking rapidly, "thinking."

She was still a bit nervous.

After all, she hadn't done things like this before.

That day, she had been so nervous she broke out in a sweat.

While Qin Guan was waiting for "Zeng Demei" outside Yongfa Supermarket, Auntie Feng was following Xu Ruyi's arrangement, buying groceries at the market – the largest market near Guanlan Court, a high-end place filled with security cameras.

But she never once looked up at the cameras. She just carried her bag, looking at the seafood stalls one by one, selecting steak, just like on any normal day – as Xu Ruyi had instructed: a normal shopper wouldn't look for cameras.

Only when the call came to her phone confirming the stockings had been secured did she let out a long sigh of relief.

At that moment, her clothes beneath her outer layer were almost soaked through with sweat.

"The things are bought, as you asked, Miss." Auntie Feng wiped the sweat from her forehead and called Xu Ruyi to report the result.

And at that moment, Xu Ruyi was accompanying her daughter drawing – she had spent the entire day with her daughter, without leaving her side for a moment.

Because she understood Qin Guan better and better – after Qin Guan returned home, he would definitely question their daughter.

She absolutely could not let Qin Guan discover she already knew the truth – at least, not before everything was over. She couldn't push herself into the dangerous vortex first.

This man had dared to act against her mother, against her father... would he hesitate to act against her?

"That day... I remember that day," Auntie Feng frowned in thought. "That day, Little Pear's little friend Popcorn was coming over to play, with Popcorn's mom too. So, the Missus asked me to buy groceries. Yes, I was buying groceries."

Talking about buying groceries made Auntie Feng's speech flow more smoothly.

"I buy groceries at that big market. They have lots of vegetables, and the seafood is fresh. But I definitely can't remember exactly what I bought or what time it was. Let me think... I think I bought yellow croaker? Little Pear loves that. And steak, kids all like that. And what else... I have to think..."

This was the agreed-upon script, and it was also what she had genuinely bought that day.

"No need to think about it, Auntie Feng. What you bought doesn't matter,"

Xiao Lu interrupted her with a smile, continuing to ask, "What about later? After coming back from buying groceries, you didn't go out again?"

"Of course not!" Auntie Feng opened her eyes wide, perfectly candid. "I had to cook at home! Oh, right, I remember I made pizza too, with sausage-stuffed crust. Little Pear loves the ones I make! How would I have time to go out? Really!"

This was true; the rest of that afternoon, Auntie Feng spent cooking at home.

The community's security cameras and the elevator cameras could all prove this.

Xu Ruyi also remained seated beside her daughter.

Only, once confirming the black stockings had been secured, Xu Ruyi sent an anonymous text message to Li Yang detailing the incident of Qi Min and Qin Guan's "affair leading to death."

She wanted to elevate the "Qi Min missing person case" to an "affair-turned-murder case."

She wanted to thoroughly stir the muddy waters.

This way, Qin Guan would panic. Panic would lead to disorder. Disorder would lead to mistakes.

She urgently needed Qin Guan to make a mistake – this man was too professional, too formidable, and too calm.

If he didn't make mistakes, she would never have a chance of winning.

Li Yang indeed lived up to her expectations. After receiving the message, he didn't leave but stayed put, even calling the police.

By the time Qin Guan returned from meeting Qi Min in the park to get his car, Li Yang and the officers were already waiting beside it.

Someone as unrestrained as Li Yang, upon seeing Qin Guan, naturally lunged at him like a madman, shouting repeatedly: "He slept with my wife! He killed my wife!"

Qin Guan was furious, his anger ignited by Li Yang's pulling and shouting. In front of everyone, he yelled loudly: "Yes, I killed her! I fucking strangled her!"

"I said those words. You all heard them,"

Qin Guan looked at Old He, admitting calmly once more. "I've actually said this before. The reason I yelled at Li Yang like that was because I had just seen Qi Min, up on the hill in the park."

"My emotions were a bit out of control then. Because I had seen Qi Min, I knew this whole thing was a scam, a joke, played only on me, making me run around like a fool. Wasn't I angry? Wasn't I annoyed? I was full of pent-up rage. So, hearing Li Yang pestering me like that, I couldn't hold back."

"And precisely because I knew Qi Min was still alive and well, even though I saw you officers present, I dared to shout it out in front of you."

He gave a bitter smile. "If I had really killed Qi Min, how could I possibly have admitted it like that? Wouldn't that be admitting guilt without being pressed?"

"That same evening, you accompanied Li Yang to my house, remember? Xu Ruyi was also home at the time."

When Old He accompanied Li Yang to confront him at home, Xu Ruyi had stood dumbfounded to the side, her face looking awful.

"It's laughable. I was panicking terribly back then, afraid Xu Ruyi would find out about this affair. How could I have imagined she already knew everything?"

Qin Guan shook his head. "Actually, I did suspect Xu Ruyi then too. Because the black stockings were in my car. I only had one car key, always on me. Only Xu Ruyi could have gotten it."

"But I still underestimated Xu Ruyi's acting skills,"

He gave a bitter, desolate smile. "She acted brilliantly that day. Whether it was about the car key or that business card in my trouser pocket, she skillfully covered everything up."