The interrogation room.
Qin Guan was sitting inside for the second time.
The same oppressively empty room. The same rigid, deeply uncomfortable chair.
But Qin Guan felt none of the panic and confusion he had experienced the first time.
He was completely relaxed.
He slumped as much as possible against the chair, his head lolled loosely on his shoulder. His stretched-out legs jiggled lightly and defiantly under the lights, the old blue slippers hanging on his feet wobbling in rhythm.
His leather shoes and jacket had been taken away.
Naturally, for a thorough search and examination, just like the carpet searches they were undoubtedly conducting right now at Guanlan Court and Jiayuan Residential Complex – combing for any suspicious clues.
The reason Lao He gave for stripping him of his jacket and shoes was: "Citizens have an obligation to cooperate with our investigation of the case."
This justification aligned perfectly with Qin Guan's expectations – their second time bringing him here was still only temporary detention, short-term holding.
Formal custody and seizure require actual evidence; an arrest warrant even more so. But they had no actual evidence. Without evidence, they couldn't hold him for long, and an arrest warrant was utterly impossible to obtain.
This was his right granted by the law. This was the law. Qin Guan blinked, looking at the two officers sitting stiffly before him, faces etched with anger and frustration, their throats dry from talking yet powerless against him. He silently marveled at how wise his choice had been back in university – ignoring his in-laws' advice and ultimately choosing to study law.
"I'm a bit thirsty. Could I trouble you for a cup of water, please? Thank you," Qin Guan asked politely.
One officer stood up and went out to fetch water. As the door opened, Qin Guan pricked up his ears. Outside were steady footsteps and voices speaking.
Neither the steps nor the voices sounded rushed or panicked.
The water arrived.
The door closed again, and the room returned to a vacuum-like silence.
Qin Guan politely accepted the disposable cup. His cuffed hands held the cool, plain water, bringing it to his lips. He sipped in small, deliberate amounts, tasting it.
Calm. Composed.
Yes. Regardless of whether this was currently an "inquiry" or a formal "interrogation," regardless of whether they were conducting a carpet search, whether they were actively applying for an arrest warrant...
Qin Guan was calm. Composed.
Because he could now be one hundred percent certain they hadn't found Qi Min.
Qi Min's body was buried at the construction site. The foundation there had long been poured – this was confirmed information Qin Guan had seen with his own eyes.
Moreover, one of his "friends" had reconfirmed it later in a phone call – the friend was in landscape design, though his "company" was really just him and his wife. They had barely managed to secure a tiny project at that site, so they kept a very close eye on the construction progress.
Qin Guan had many such "friends," from all walks of life. Some held the most basic jobs; some didn't even have work. Xu Ruyi never understood before. "You're not in the same industry at all! How do you even become friends with them?"
She didn't understand. She grew up in an ivory tower, ignorant of the harsh realities of survival in this world.
People, besides striving desperately to climb upwards, also need support from below. Often, the support from below is even more crucial than a helping hand from above.
Qin Guan learned this early – ants struggling on the survival line, offered just a little sweetness, a tiny bit, would lie for you, cover for you, and if necessary, even fabricate what you needed...
The nature of humans, he had long seen through.
He had always understood the art of managing connections "above and below."
Since Qin Guan disposed of Qi Min, there had been no news, no abnormalities from that construction site.
A reinforced concrete foundation. Nothing in the world is more solid than that. Qi Min, along with that suitcase, had long been entombed within it. How could the police possibly find her so easily?
Qin Guan's cleanup work had also been flawless.
Even if they found Qi Min, how much effort would it take to get her out?
Demolish the building under construction?
That would require coordination across multiple departments. And the prerequisite for "coordination" was the police obtaining proof and authorization from higher authorities. But the prerequisite for that proof was having sufficient factual evidence of a crime.
It was a complex series of procedures.
But they simply had no evidence.
They didn't even have sufficient evidence to prove a "criminal fact" had occurred – to be precise, Qi Min was currently in a state of being unreachable. Up to this moment, there was no evidence proving she was dead.
Even less evidence proving her disappearance was enacted by him, Qin Guan – apart from the timeline of their shared business trip marking him as a suspect, the police had nothing else. At most, Qi Min's phone, but they would eventually trace signs of the phone being active in the city. That phone would lose its usefulness. Besides, the phone was currently in Xu Ruyi's hands. That fool. Once the case was officially filed, the police would locate the phone. It was a hot potato. Her holding onto it would inevitably blow up in her face.
So, what else did the police have? The hammer from Qin Guan's safe? They wouldn't find any blood on it because Qin Guan hadn't killed Qi Min with a hammer. His father-in-law's will? The will could, at most, prove Qin Guan had a "motive" to kill Qi Min.
Xu Ruyi was ultimately unprofessional, too naive, too childish.
She actually thought that listening to him chat about bits and pieces of law over the dinner table these past few years meant she understood, understood the law, had the capability to set a trap against a professional like him. That she could nail him down with this so-called complete chain of evidence.
Utterly laughable.
Qin Guan's face remained calm, his fingers lightly rubbing the paper cup. The officer opposite called his name for the nth time: "Qin Guan! Are you even listening?"
Qin Guan looked up, gazing at them with an "innocent" expression. "I heard you. You were talking about Qi Min. Ah, was Qi Min's body found? Was it really her? Is she really dead? Heavens, that's truly terrifying. Scared me to death, scared me to death. I still haven't recovered my breath..."
He blinked, trying hard to show his shock, fear, and sorrow – though he knew this shallow, fake act would only infuriate the people opposite him more.
But he couldn't help it. Strangely, ever since he laughed defiantly in Lao He's face, it seemed he had completely shed the facade he wore – well, at this point, what was the point of still playing the role of the model citizen, the law-abiding good man?
"I truly regret it, and I'm very sad, really," he sighed, "sincerely" expressing his feelings. "She was a good employee. I always thought she was just having a fight with her boyfriend, acting out, gone off somewhere else. I never imagined she... sigh. But, this really has nothing to do with me. I've said it ten thousand times, it wasn't me! Now that you've found the body, shouldn't you just follow the clues from the body to figure it out? It really wasn't me! Holding me is useless!"
"Speaking of which," he sat up straight, asking with "curiosity," "where exactly did you find Qi Min's body?"
One officer stood up angrily and slammed the door on his way out.
Qin Guan relaxed back into the chair again.
No evidence? Trying to out-talk him here? That was his area of expertise.
His neck feeling stiff, he simply slid his body down a little further, letting his neck press against the edge of the chair, his eyes fixed on the white ceiling – this detention would probably last three days. He needed to take care of his body. But three days? They wouldn't find squat.
Even taking the worst-case scenario, even if they found Qi Min and got her out, so what?
Qi Min's body bore no traces of him. Her fingernails had all been shaved off by him. The room at the Xinhe Hotel had been cleaned with bleach.
There was no trace of him anywhere.
Ah, that taxi driver who delivered Qi Min's luggage to Dewang Tobacco & Liquor Store for storage... they were probably close to finding him – Qin Guan gently twisted his neck, calculating the implications of this lead in his mind. Once that driver was found, he could get out even faster.
Because, when he planted that lead, his target was Xu Ruyi.