Old He rested his head against the top of the chair back in the most comfortable position possible. He tilted his face upwards, silently staring at the ceiling – this office used to be a storage room. The lighting was mediocre, the equipment was old, and the ceiling had long since yellowed.
The walls had been repainted later, but the ceiling was untouched. Compared to the snow-white walls, the roof looked even yellower and more worn.
Equally old was the air conditioner. Its casing was a deep yellow, and the two tubes connecting it to the outside were wrapped in layer upon layer of tape.
Old He recognized this air conditioner. He had installed it himself eleven years ago. Even when it broke down several times, he was the one who tinkered with it until it worked again.
"The worst thing for a person is laziness. Move your hands and feet for everything. When your limbs move, your brain can get moving! In our line of work, you need all kinds of life experience. Where does life experience come from? From doing work!"
Old He said this to every apprentice.
Of course, his apprentices took it to heart. Everyone in the bureau knew Old He knew how to train apprentices, and that his apprentices were all diligent and capable.
Especially Qi Zhifei – this apprentice, younger than him by a stretch, was willing to work hard and endure hardship, with a sharp mind. After joining the Criminal Investigation Unit, his performance shone brighter each time, eventually becoming Old He's superior.
A superior who was beyond reproach. Take office allocation, for instance. This worst, most unwanted one was given to him. He had stayed in it for two years, never complaining.
"Captain He! Captain He!" Qi Zhifei stood beside him now, trying patiently to persuade him. "Listen to me, hand this case over to me, alright? You've completed the task! Completed it beautifully! When you insisted on taking full responsibility for this case, I knew you could do it, knew you'd catch the killer. And in such a short time, you've already apprehended the suspect!"
"But now–"
Qi Zhifei made an anxious "tsk tsk" sound with his tongue. He glanced at the closed door and windows, then lowered his voice further. "Now this case has attracted public attention. Higher-ups are pressuring us to close it quickly. We really can't drag it out any longer… Of course, I understand how you feel right now. You still have many doubts about this case. You want to dig deep for the truth. I support you. I've always supported you. I share your suspicion of Xu Ruyi. I've also agreed we should keep digging, not overlook any doubts! And I know very well you haven't had a full night's sleep in a long time."
He looked at Old He's tired, slightly greasy face and sighed.
"But… could you also try to understand my position? Holding onto the case like this, not letting anyone else touch it, and with the time constraints… Ai, I'm stuck in the middle here, it's very difficult. Captain He? Captain He? Shifu!"
That word, "Shifu" (Master/Teacher), jolted Old He upright in his chair.
"Ai, having your own office is really nice!" The words slipped out of Old He's mouth, sour and insincere, before he could stop them.
He frowned – saying things like this only showed his pettiness and narrow-mindedness. But he knew the principle perfectly well: new waves push out the old; it was common for apprentices to surpass their masters. As a master, as a professional mentor, he should feel proud.
"Ai, haven't slept well these past few days, my head's all muddled," Old He avoided Qi Zhifei's gaze, scratching his head irritably, quickly trying to change the subject – but what to say? Whatever he said, he had to get to the bottom of this case, uncover the whole truth. He absolutely could not hand it over in this ambiguous, unclear state.
"About the case, I still want to…"
The door was pushed open, and Xiao Wu's head popped in, excited. "Captain He! Come quick! We found it!"
The video analysis room.
"This was captured by a camera outside a restaurant on Xinchang Road."
Xiao Wu had already put the processed surveillance screenshot up on the large screen.
Even processed, the image quality was poor – mainly because the figure was moving too fast, too urgently. He had practically flashed past the lens.
But Old He recognized the figure instantly – medium height, medium build, baseball cap, ordinary jeans, black short jacket, a bold tiger head printed on the back.
This was the same figure that had appeared outside the aquarium before, carrying an insulated bag – Xu Ruyi's explanation had been that this person was a delivery man, bringing the ice cream cake she ordered.
This person was no delivery man.
Qin Guan had recognized him instantly as Feng Zhi.
It was also Qin Guan who insisted that on the afternoon Xu Ruyi had her "accidental" fall covered in blood at the Tianfu Hotel, Xiao Zhi must have been at the Xinhe Hotel.
"She injured herself to divert my attention, and the ultimate goal was to move Qi Min. The only person who could do that was Feng Zhi! So I beg you, Captain He, check all the surveillance outside the Xinhe Hotel that afternoon. You will find Feng Zhi!"
But the figure was still just a back view, a back view where the face was completely unrecognizable.
No one could definitively say it was Feng Zhi based on this.
Moreover, at the exact same time, Feng Zhi was in class at his university.
Xiao Wu had long since contacted the university, obtained Feng Zhi's sign-in records, and even managed to get hold of classroom surveillance footage.
Feng Zhi was sitting in class.
He absolutely could not have been physically present over a thousand kilometers away at the Xinhe Hotel at the same time.
The problem circled back again – Old He scratched his head in frustration.
But this figure was becoming increasingly suspicious – his hurried, evasive steps, the way he pulled his cap down low when encountering people, his constant, furtive glances around – all proved he wasn't just a random passerby.
He appeared twice in the surveillance footage, over an hour apart, but both times near the Xinhe Hotel.
Meaning he hadn't left the area.
"I know Qi Min. She always says she doesn't care about money, that she values feelings. But that woman is fundamentally greedy. This was Xu Ruyi's first time approaching her for cooperation. The amount offered must have been small. She definitely wasn't satisfied, and definitely wouldn't obediently follow Feng Zhi away. Feng Zhi would have had to keep negotiating back and forth with her near the Xinhe Hotel!"
Qin Guan's words churned relentlessly in Old He's mind – one had to admit, Qin Guan's reasoning was logical.
"Xu Ruyi simply doesn't understand Qi Min. She naively thought that once terms were discussed, a price agreed upon, they had a deal, they were allies. In reality, for Qi Min, dealing with me was secondary; getting money was the main goal!"
"I owed her money. My wife actively went to give her money. What would she think?" Qin Guan's train of thought was clear. "With her cleverness and pragmatism, she would string Xu Ruyi along, first getting the debt I owed her, because I owed it, and Xu Ruyi and I are one family!"
"And there's one more point Xu Ruyi doesn't grasp. For a greedy woman like Qi Min, even if Xu Ruyi gave her a hundred, two hundred, three hundred thousand, she wouldn't leave. In fact, the more Xu Ruyi gave, the more generous she was, the more Qi Min would want! She would find a pile of excuses and reasons to try and squeeze more out of Xu Ruyi! She might even try to threaten Xu Ruyi!"
"And this is the key point of what I'm about to tell you next!"