About two hours later, Qin Guan saw Lao He again.
The Lao He who pushed open the door was nothing like the one who had left. He resembled a frost-bitten eggplant, completely wilted and dejected. The bright light that had filled his eyes and face earlier had vanished entirely. His haggard face, glistening with tired oiliness, was now covered by a thick layer of disappointment and frustration.
Of course, he was disappointed. Of course, he was frustrated. Because the taxi driver's final identification could only point to Li Yang.
Qin Guan sat quietly in the chair, his hands loosely clasped. He had always felt his luck was quite good.
Of course, the prerequisite for good luck was his super-sensitive intuition about many unknown events, and his exceptional ability to calculate and orchestrate the entire situation.
That night, after hearing Xu Ruyi's provocation, he left the hospital. Before going to the Xinhe Hotel to meet Qi Min, although filled with rage and emotional turmoil, his professional instincts and long-standing caution prompted him to meticulously prepare two plans.
He disguised himself as "Li Yang."
He parted his usually slicked-back hair into a 40/60 split like Li Yang's. Then, using his daughter's star-shaped stickers, he placed one on his ear – Li Yang liked wearing earrings; his ears were always adorned with shiny studs of various colors.
He carefully pocketed these stickers before knocking on Qi Min's door.
That night, he also dressed in Li Yang's style – a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, the hood pulled low over his head, pressing the longer side of his bangs down to cover one eye.
And, of course, he had simply replicated the scar on Li Yang's hand – Qi Min had mentioned that scar was self-inflicted. Addicted to drugs and broke, Li Yang had gone gambling. When Qi Min insisted on breaking up and he couldn't beg her to stay, he rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and chopped down on his own hand. He got nine stitches at the hospital.
That scar was on the right hand.
Because Li Yang was left-handed.
"Qin Guan—" The young officer beside Lao He started to speak but was stopped by Lao He pressing down on him.
Lao He's face was cold, his gaze fixed fiercely on Qin Guan, yet his lips remained tightly sealed, not uttering a sound.
Of course, he couldn't speak. The feeling of being played for a fool was terrible.
Qin Guan calmly met Lao He's gaze, sharp as a cold sword – not only was this man's current effort futile, but his future efforts would be too.
They would probably find the pedicab driver from that night soon. That driver, racking his brains, would also recall some easily remembered details – tall, dressed all in black, wearing a black mask, with very shiny earrings on his ears.
Also, he spoke with a bit of an out-of-town accent and had a slight stutter on certain words.
Yes. That was "Li Yang."
Of course, the most important piece was Li Yang himself.
After leaving the residential complex that night, Qin Guan had called an errand runner to deliver a sealed envelope to Li Yang. Inside was just one sentence: New stock is in. Come to the old stadium.
This was also something Qi Min had told Qin Guan – Li Yang had always been buying and selling illicit drugs on the side, and this was their method of contact.
The old stadium was only a ten-minute walk from the Xinhe Hotel.
The old stadium had been abandoned for seven or eight years. There were no surveillance cameras nearby at all.
Which meant that fool Li Yang couldn't prove he hadn't been to the Xinhe Hotel that night – during his previous outburst at the police station, agitated, shouting, threatening to fight, incoherent, he hadn't dared utter a single word about his own whereabouts at the old stadium that night. This clearly showed he didn't dare expose his involvement in selling fake drugs. He would desperately try to cover it up. And the more he covered up, the more suspicious it would look to the police...
"Lawyer Qin, I really underestimated you," Lao He finally spoke after a long silence.
He certainly had.
Qin Guan calmly twisted his pale fingers – scheming and plotting like this was something he had learned to do very, very early on. Did Xu Ruyi really think her clumsy skills could trap him? He had merely been caught off guard initially by underestimating her.
Next, it would be her turn to sit here with her hands cuffed.
Li Yang was a muddle-headed fool, possessing nothing but decent looks. The police would soon uncover his illicit drug dealing. And they would certainly trace his phone records to find his connection with Xu Ruyi.
Yes. Following Li Yang, they would discover that bitch's problems.
She had manipulated Li Yang into assaulting him and verbally attacking him in front of the supermarket, provoking him into blurting out in emotional distress: "Yes! I killed Qi Min! Are you happy now?"
The fact that she manipulated Li Yang to do this proved she had knowledge of Qi Min's whereabouts.
And it was that same day she stole the black stockings from his car.
She had also secretly copied his car key, only to later disguise herself as "Qi Min" at the car repair shop in a premeditated act.
...
In short, a stubborn, single-minded guy like Lao He would definitely follow this trail deep down. He would unearth everything she had done, along with her accomplices: Auntie Feng, Xiao Zhi...
That bitch should have realized when she used Li Yang as a pawn that this fool would one day trip her up.
Lao He soon left the interrogation room.
To be precise, he left dejectedly, resentfully, and bitterly – returning with nothing but a belly full of anger.
Qin Guan was alone again.
His mood was calm, his mind relaxed – because the one who needed to worry and get angry next was Xu Ruyi.
He didn't know how much time had passed; it must have been dark already. His stomach began to rumble – usually, someone brought food before he got this hungry, but no one had come yet.
Probably no dinner tonight.
No dinner was a good sign. Nine times out of ten, he could leave tonight – without concrete evidence of a crime or proof a crime had occurred, they had no right to hold him for long.
Qin Guan was just thinking this when the door opened. A young officer walked in quickly and unlocked the restraints on Qin Guan's chair.
"Come with me," he said gently.
It seemed true. He could really go back.
Go back, rest properly, conserve energy, and win the next round of battle – Qin Guan took a deep breath. "I can go back now, right? Where do I sign?"
The officer didn't hand him any documents or answer directly. He simply smiled, quickly leading him out the door. They walked down a long corridor. The officer stopped at a "Reception Room" door, knocked twice lightly, and opened it.
Qin Guan's eyes landed on Xu Ruyi.