The police car sped down the familiar road.
Qin Guan sat in the back seat, hands clasped loosely in his lap, his eyes vacant as he watched the rows of towering buildings pass by outside the window. He looked exhausted, drained, relaxed, but inside, his heart remained lodged in his throat, swaying precariously.
The evidence collection at his in-laws' place had barely begun when the police demanded he return to Guanlan Ting to open the safe.
They seemed to have a very clear target: that safe.
Was there something inside the safe?
Qin Guan certainly remembered the contents. It was his safe.
Initially, it held the property deed – for Guanlan Ting, co-owned by him and Xu Ruyi. Later, to prevent his mother-in-law from meddling, he secretly used it as collateral.
After marriage, Xu Ruyi placed her jewelry box inside – a pale purple box containing quite a few pieces: several jade bracelets left to Xu Ruyi by her mother, two precious gemstone rings her mother had treasured, pearl necklaces, jadeite...
His mother-in-law had also been an only child, from a family even wealthier than his father-in-law's, so she had possessed many valuable pieces.
There was also the custom-made gold ruyi scepter, gold zodiac animals, gold neck circlet... gold jewelry, diamond rings, necklaces given to Xu Ruyi...
Oh, and his father-in-law had also gifted Xu Ruyi a set of his personally collected, out-of-print art albums.
They had always been generous with their only daughter, Xu Ruyi, and their only granddaughter, Little Pear. Almost every year, they prepared valuable gifts for them.
These gifts had always been kept by Xu Ruyi.
Originally, this safe belonged to Xu Ruyi too.
It was his mother-in-law who insisted on installing it for her daughter during the renovation.
Qin Guan had even overheard his mother-in-law's little scheme – she had the safe installed before their wedding. She was wary of him, this son-in-law. Behind his back, she urged Xu Ruyi to be cautious, to protect her own assets.
But, in reality, Xu Ruyi had never hidden anything in the safe from him.
Xu Ruyi was simple-minded, believing love alone could sustain her. This was true even when they were dating, and after marrying him, she held nothing back.
Moreover, she wasn't particularly interested in those jewels. Perhaps because she grew up in comfort, she was indifferent to jewelry. Gold, diamonds, luxury watches – she just stored them away, rarely wearing them.
She didn't chase brand names at all.
So, she seldom opened the safe.
When her mother died, Xu Ruyi was so grief-stricken she practically lived in the hospital until she gave birth.
Even after things settled, every time Xu Ruyi opened the safe and saw these pieces belonging to her late mother, she would be depressed for a long time.
Thus, when Little Pear was about three months old, she handed the safe keys over to Qin Guan for good, instructing him to safeguard those gifts. After that, she scarcely glanced at the place again.
Several police cars were already parked downstairs at Qin Guan's Guanlan Ting apartment.
The conspicuous vehicles naturally attracted a crowd of curious neighbors.
Qin Guan walked calmly through the onlookers, went upstairs, and entered his apartment. The rooms were already packed with people.
He recognized a few familiar faces – people from the Criminal Investigation Division, ones he'd dealt with before. The man standing beside Lao He was the captain of the Major Crimes Unit, surnamed Gao. Tall, his words were like iron plates – harsh, blunt, and utterly inflexible.
Qin Guan had once tried to get an intermediary to invite him to a meal regarding a previous case, but not only did he refuse, he publicly berated the intermediary.
The captain was here already? So fast.
Indeed, although they hadn't officially filed a case, they were clearly investigating diligently.
Officers from the technical department, wearing white gloves, were already searching everywhere.
Their first stop didn't surprise Qin Guan either – his study and his bedroom.
They'd been waiting to search him.
"Open the safe!" Lao He stood beside the wardrobe, pointing at the safe inside, glaring at Qin Guan, his voice sharp and severe.
Qin Guan detested this man too. Ever since Li Yang filed the report, Lao He had been doggedly pursuing him, lacking evidence yet always watching him, often speaking with a mocking tone, clearly prejudiced against him as a lawyer.
"Open it! We have the paperwork, everything's by the book! Don't worry, we all know you're a professional lawyer, a big-shot lawyer. No one dares to mess with you!" Lao He's voice rose higher, the sarcasm dripping heavier.
Qin Guan felt irritated but didn't dare argue, didn't dare stall, and couldn't stall.
He took out the keys and opened the safe.
As the door swung open, the hammer was instantly visible – the very hammer Qin Guan had retrieved from Auntie Feng's drawer.
"Huh? Why are you storing this in the safe? Who'd steal your hammer?" Lao He exclaimed, his eyes wide with feigned surprise.
Qin Guan forced a bitter smile. He couldn't explain.
What could he say?
That he was being blackmailed by his mistress after an affair? That his wife followed him to the park late at night? That to prevent him from catching the blackmailer, his wife had the nanny smash the windows that night? Then, he accidentally found this hammer deep in the nanny's closet, snatched it, hid it in the safe, intending to use it against his wife?
It was too messy, too absurd, too hard to convince the police.
No one would believe it.
Moving the hammer aside, the safe contained stacks of documents.
On top were the cases Qin Guan had handled, the ones he was proud of and couldn't bear to destroy – it was precisely these brilliantly executed cases that cemented his important position at the firm.
Of course, among them, there were cases where he had secretly manipulated things.
Like the Shi Jie case.
And the contracts drafted for Shi Jie three years ago.
Those contracts, seemingly normal on the surface but riddled with traps, were masterpieces Qin Guan was quite proud of.
He had done an exceptionally clean job, far surpassing his peers. Thanks to those contracts, Shi Jie made a lot of money, and naturally, Qin Guan profited handsomely too.
Shi Jie was always generous.
Thinking of Shi Jie, Qin Guan again admired his own foresight – it had been right not to accept Shi Jie's offer to be his legal counsel back then. Right to keep his distance during Shi Jie's frenzied money-making phase. Right to absolutely refuse to step into the core of Shi Jie's so-called financial group.
Shi Jie was arrested two years ago for economic crimes. After his arrest, an old case where he had stabbed someone to death was also uncovered.
Of course, Qin Guan didn't take his case this time – Qin Guan claimed it was an economic crime, outside his specialty, and refused Shi Jie outright.
Shi Jie was powerless – Shi Jie had sent Jun Jun to seduce Qin Guan, intending to trap him, create leverage, and bind Qin Guan to him.
But how clever, how cautious Qin Guan was! Not only did he effortlessly win Jun Jun's heart, turning her allegiance, but he meticulously checked every detail before and after their rendezvous, ensuring Jun Jun left no evidence.
Moreover, his mother-in-law's sudden death allowed Qin Guan to swiftly sever ties with Jun Jun – even if Jun Jun wanted to keep evidence, it was too late.
Thank goodness he pulled out quickly.
Jun Jun was also implicated in Shi Jie's case – naturally, she had been Shi Jie's mistress too, something Qin Guan had long known. She was summoned numerous times, detained for a while, fined, and her shop went bankrupt. After her release, probably feeling too ashamed to face Qin Guan, she sent him a long, emotional message. Receiving no response from Qin Guan, she slunk away from the city.
In short, Qin Guan had emerged unscathed from both Shi Jie's case and the affair with Jun Jun.
So lucky. His luck really had always been good.
Now, all of this was being dredged up.
Qin Guan watched with difficulty as they pulled out stack after stack of documents, leafing through them – Could they possibly find evidence of his crimes here? Difficult. Only if they found specialized personnel to scrutinize and investigate meticulously would there be a slim chance.
Fabricating evidence? Even if discovered, a case couldn't be retried. Besides, proving those pieces were fabricated would be very hard – Qin Guan was confident about that.
Illegal contracts? Not worried. They were just written materials. Any punishment would fall on Shi Jie, not him, Qin Guan.
Qin Guan's face remained calm as he stared at the stern-faced captain and Lao He – clearly, their target wasn't these documents at all.
"Huh, Lawyer Qin, keeping so many awards. You must be very satisfied with your life," Lao He sneered, continuing his mockery – Beneath the files was a large, neatly stacked pile of awards and certificates Qin Guan had received since childhood.
The corners and edges of these certificates and awards had been smoothed and neatly arranged by Qin Guan's frequent touch.
"Elementary school in the mountains, middle school in the county town, high school in the city's key school, university at a top-tier institution. Finished your studies, passed the bar, straight into the top law firm in our first-tier city,"
Lao He flipped through the certificates, looking up at Qin Guan with a smile. "Lawyer Qin, you really climbed the ladder so smoothly."
His face smiled, but his eyes held no mirth.
Qin Guan didn't dare smile – His heart felt like it had been hung out to dry on a desolate plain, surrounded by nothing but emptiness in every direction.
He didn't know what the police meant by questioning this. He didn't even know what they were so urgently looking for in the safe.
As clever as he was, as lucky as he had been, he now felt plunged into a thick fog, utterly unable to discern the meaning of everything happening around him.