The Vanishing Lover

They were here to search again.

Xu Ruyi silently watched the policewoman Xiao Lu and the young man surnamed Wu – she didn't know what exactly they were searching for. She had long since cleaned every corner of this house; there shouldn't be, and wouldn't be, any trace left.

They had already checked the surveillance from Guanlan Court – the elevator's and the residential complex's. The two officers had been at Guanlan Court for over half an hour; Auntie Feng had seen them go to the security room earlier.

Let them search. It was unavoidable.

What needed to be kept, she had kept. What shouldn't remain, she had long since had deleted.

Of course, she knew the act of "deleting surveillance footage" might be discovered by the police – but this wasn't the most critical detail, Xiao Zhi had said.

"Make yourselves at home, search freely. Ask me if you have any questions; I'll cooperate," Xu Ruyi replied calmly, watching the two officers head into the rooms.

The master bedroom and study remained as they were.

Captain Qi had mentioned when he left last time that he hoped Xu Ruyi could temporarily refrain from cleaning Qin Guan's clothes and books.

Xu Ruyi sat on the sofa, silently watching her daughter draw, but her ears instinctively pricked up, listening for sounds from inside.

There were only footsteps; they weren't talking.

Soon, after about ten minutes, they came out.

Xiao Lu was wearing gloves. In her hand was a bag containing that thick legal code – Xu Ruyi knew that book well. It was where Qin Guan hid Qi Min's phone.

He had carved out a rectangular cavity inside it with a sharp knife; the phone and SIM card fit perfectly inside.

It seemed Qin Guan had started confessing.

Only by confessing everything from the start would the police accurately retrieve this book hiding the phone.

Xiao Lu had the book but didn't leave immediately.

She sat back down on the sofa.

"Ms. Xu, Qin Guan also mentioned another book, possibly related evidence for the case. I didn't find it just now. Have you seen it? It's called 'The Eye of Heaven' (天眼 - Tiānyǎn)."

Xu Ruyi's eyelids trembled slightly.

He had guessed.

Among the countless books on the shelf, he had managed, while arrested and locked in an interrogation room, relying solely on memory, to accurately pinpoint that one book.

Qin Guan had an exceptional memory; Xu Ruyi had always known that.

Deeply scheming, possessing an excellent memory, calm, rational, and professional – she had known from the very beginning that such a person would be difficult to deal with.

"'The Eye of Heaven'?" She frowned, pretending to "think." "That name sounds familiar..."

Of course, she remembered the book "The Eye of Heaven" – its cover and back were completely black, with an eye on the spine. The camera installed inside was seamless; even upon close inspection, it was hard to spot anything amiss.

It was an autobiography by a locally renowned senior lawyer.

Xu Ruyi remembered it was not long after she and Qin Guan married. That senior was retiring and held a banquet at Yuntian Lou. Her father had taken Qin Guan along – gatherings in this profession, her father never used to attend. But ever since Qin Guan entered law school, her father would actively go, always taking Qin Guan with him.

Her father treated Qin Guan like his own son, paving the way for him with all his heart. From the moment Qin Guan chose law as his profession, her father carefully guided him step by step, never missing any opportunity that could aid Qin Guan's progress and development in the field.

Her heart clenched violently again – he had been so good to him, so good. And the result?

Xu Ruyi calmly picked up her cup and took a sip of tea, frowning more deeply, pretending to search her memory. "The name 'The Eye of Heaven' rings a bell, but I'm not very familiar with his books. I rarely go into his study."

The book had been a gift from that uncle to Qin Guan, or more accurately, to her father.

"All the case files I've handled in my lifetime are basically collected in this book. I dare to thump my chest and say: I, Yan, in this profession, have walked upright and sat straight my whole life, open and above board! As a practitioner of law, I have guarded the dignity of the law all my life! I have never taken on a single illegal case! Never done anything against public order or conscience!"

That night, her father came back slightly tipsy, sharing the uncle's bold words with Xu Ruyi. The uncle had said, "I thought of many names for this book and finally settled on this one: 'The Eye of Heaven.' Heaven has eyes; the law has eyes. I hope that in this world, all dark tricks – thieves, monsters and demons, crooked paths – will be exposed under the Eye of Heaven, with nowhere to hide!"

"He spoke so well! Qin Guan, study this book well! Learn from him! This is Uncle Yan's life's work. He is also a role model for you on this path of law! As a practitioner of law, you must strive to be like this too, understand?" Her father solemnly handed the book to Qin Guan.

But Qin Guan took it back to the study, just flipped through it casually, and then tossed it onto a bookshelf.

He had also had a bit to drink that night. His tone carried a hint of contempt and arrogance that was somewhat unfamiliar to Xu Ruyi.

"What nonsense! The writing is pretentious, narcissistic, outdated stuff. Who can read this kind of thing? And it's so long!"

"I think I remember there might be such a book. My dad showed it to me once. It was a gift to my dad from a friend, an Uncle Yan. My dad wanted Qin Guan to read it, but Qin Guan didn't like it. He thought it was just the autobiography of a narcissist, so he put it aside. I really don't know exactly where he put it,"

Xu Ruyi "pondered" for a long while before answering calmly.

"That's alright," Xiao Lu smiled, clearly not really wanting the book. She was just asking. Her gaze had already shifted to Little Pear's drawing. "Your child is very talented at drawing! Her father mentioned that too, saying many of her drawings were framed by you and displayed at home as decorations. I saw quite a few; they are indeed great!"

Little Pear smiled proudly at the praise. "Yes! My mom made the frames for me!"

They were asking about that frame – the one on the shelf in the bedroom wall with the purple fringe – where the camera was installed, aimed at the safe.

Qin Guan had guessed that too.

And had confessed it to the police.

This was the real Qin Guan: observant, meticulous when calm, a formidable opponent.

Clearly, he had started dissecting this case from the beginning.

This seemingly calm but actually turbulent war had silently and truly begun.

Xu Ruyi's heart churned with turmoil, but her expression remained placid.

"Oh, Auntie Feng," Xiao Lu suddenly said, "Qin Guan said you have quite a few photos of your son, Xiao Zhi. Could we borrow some?"

They wanted photos of Xiao Zhi, candid ones.

Meaning, they had already looked at Xiao Zhi's social media accounts – the ones Xiao Zhi had cleaned up.

Had they discovered something?

Xu Ruyi's heart felt lodged at the base of her tongue. It continued to pound anxiously even after they left with the photo album provided by Auntie Feng.

"Sis, it was inevitable they'd get this far," Xiao Zhi said calmly on the phone. "The next step should be Xinhe Hotel."

"Xinhe Hotel," Qin Guan said calmly. "Captain He, I implore you: check every single surveillance camera along the route from Guanlan Court to Xinhe Hotel. Xu Ruyi couldn't have avoided all of them. She went to see Qi Min."