The body had been found.
These five words exploded like thunderclaps, detonating violently within Qin Guan's already precarious heart.
"Alright, where? Take me there immediately!" The captain waved his hand, and several officers swiftly followed him out.
The door slammed shut. Outside, the tense, urgent footsteps seemed to stamp directly onto Qin Guan's heart, which still felt soft and pulpy as water.
Found? Already? So quickly?
His legs gave way, and he slid completely off the chair, collapsing onto the floor.
"Well, well, Lawyer Qin, what's this? You look so pale. Are you trembling? Guilty conscience, Qin Guan?"
Lao He crouched down, his cold eyes fixed on Qin Guan's rare display of discomposure. His gaze was like a knife, stabbing straight into Qin Guan's violently trembling heart.
"Qi Min's body has already been found, Qin Guan. Do you really think you can still wriggle out of this? Huh?" Suddenly, the smile vanished from his face as he roared, "Why aren't you confessing? You're a lawyer yourself! You should understand this is your last chance!"
The room fell utterly silent. The air itself seemed to freeze.
Qin Guan's mouth hung open. His tongue lifted clumsily, but quickly, the moisture in his mouth seemed to evaporate.
Yes, this was his last chance. He hadn't been formally detained or arrested yet. Voluntarily confessing and admitting guilt could still offer some help for sentencing later.
Qin Guan's head spun. Everything before his eyes blurred.
Should he confess?
Should he seize this final chance to come clean?
After all, the body had been found. And Xu Ruyi... Xu Ruyi had already woven a perfect chain of evidence around him. Motive, evidence, and now the body... everything was complete…
"This chance is your only one!" Lao He barked.
Qin Guan shuddered. His nearly paralyzed brain mechanically followed Lao He's words – Yes, only this once. Miss it, and it's gone forever. Once formally arrested on murder charges, once the case enters the investigation phase, the review for prosecution phase... anything I say will be useless...
"Speak! How did you kill Qi Min! What weapon did you use! From beginning to end, not a single word left out!" Lao He's voice hammered down like stones.
A weapon? No weapon. He'd strangled Qi Min. But it wasn't intentional! Really! That woman had laid a trap, tried to blackmail him! That woman was playing him! Killing... it wasn't his intention!
Qin Guan's eyes bulged. He gasped for breath, mouth agape, body limp and trembling. These words churned uncontrollably in his throat, desperate to spill out.
It was all Qi Min's fault! She was too greedy! She deceived him, toyed with him! And Xu Ruyi! She deliberately lured him to the Xinhe Hotel! She deliberately brought up her father's death, making him, Qin Guan, lose control of his emotions, leading him to accidentally kill Qi Min!
It was all them! Them!
"Speak! Now!" Lao He ground his teeth, glaring down at Qin Guan from above, his eyes practically spitting fire.
Qin Guan still gaped, still gasped for air. All his fear condensed into beads of sweat. Bean-sized drops rolled down his forehead. On his back, thick, heavy beads of sweat fought their way out of his pores, wriggling frantically to escape.
He was struggling in his death throes. He was almost at his breaking point.
"Qin Guan!" Lao He glanced impatiently at his watch – it had dragged on too long. Over three full minutes now.
Success or failure hinged on this moment. Disappointed, he stood up, his tone icy. "Alright, Qin Guan. Seems you have no intention of confessing. Take him away!"
Two young officers stepped forward to help Qin Guan up.
His arms were seized forcefully, one on each side. In that instant, he was flung back to his childhood – his drunken father gripping his tender young arms with iron force, cruel and heavy. He struggled desperately but couldn't break free. Above him, his father's mouth, reeking of alcohol and foulness, laughed as he explained to the teacher: "There's just no way. It's not that I won't let him study. His mother needs looking after. I can't stay home; I have to go out and work to earn money, don't I? I have to support them both!"
His life had once teetered on the edge of despair.
And now, it was again.
"No—" Qin Guan's lips trembled. He tried to struggle. "Wait…"
Lao He raised his hand, signaling the officers to stop. His eyes locked onto Qin Guan's. He held his breath. His fists clenched.
All eyes fixed on Qin Guan's deathly pale face, waiting for the words they had longed to hear to finally spill from his lips.
Qin Guan took huge, gulping breaths. His wide, staring eyes bored into Lao He's – Qin Guan had quietly researched this man since Lao He's first visit to Guanlan Court. He Zhisheng. Forty-five. Old for a frontline officer in the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Brigade, even older than the brigade captain himself. Yet after all these years, he's still only a deputy squad leader. Heard he doesn't have much education; promotions came purely through sheer grit. And his grit? One word: 'diligence'. Any case, same approach: run. Run down suspects. Run down leads. Every possible or impossible suspect or lead, he never gives up. He runs tirelessly, back and forth, digging.
Probably because he's stubborn and never home, he got divorced long ago. His only child went with the ex-wife. A solitary man with no ties, plenty of time and energy, and extremely stubborn and difficult to deal with.
Qin Guan stared directly into the other man's slightly clouded eyes. Those deep-yellow pupils, shielded by wrinkles, stared back unblinkingly. They revealed no emotion, only a cold light, deep and chilling as a dark pool.
That cold light made Qin Guan feel like he was a child again. He looked up. His drunken father grinned, baring yellowed teeth, but beneath it, his eyes held the same icy, chilling light.
This cold light, just like before, was about to push him into the abyss.
He was powerless to resist.
But... Qin Guan actually swayed and steadied himself right on the edge of that abyss.
He took a deep breath, his gaze still locked with Lao He's, and spoke slowly, "Wait... I need to use the restroom. I feel unwell. I think I'm going to be sick."
As these words left his mouth, the cold light in those deep-yellow pupils opposite him instantly vanished. In its place flashed disappointment, anger, frustration...
Just as I thought.
Qin Guan smiled.
His tall frame leaning against the young officer on his right, he looked at Lao He and laughed. He laughed with relief. He laughed with abandon. He laughed mockingly. He laughed joyfully. He laughed a triumphant smile – the heart that had been lodged in his throat plummeted safely back into place.
Fake.
He saw through it. That "body found" business? Fake!
They were putting on a show.
All that groundwork they'd laid before, all those hints, those explicit statements, those threats – step by step – it was all to shatter his defenses completely at this very moment, to conquer him in one fell swoop.
Because they had no evidence. They couldn't find Qi Min. Qin Guan threw his head back and laughed, harder now, the cold sweat covering his body chilling him further – He was a professional criminal defense lawyer! He'd dealt with the police for years! How could he have forgotten? The police were masters of psychological warfare!
This was Lao He's "psychological warfare tactic". So close. He had almost fallen for it.