A violent cough from the officer in the driver's seat jolted Qin Guan out of his memories.
He opened his eyes slightly—the car was still speeding along the highway, the night outside pitch black.
"Been pulling all-nighters lately, got heat building up," the officer tugged at his collar, took a sip of water, and started chatting casually with the other two. "My wife argued with me yesterday. I was the only one who didn't go to our son's sports day. That kid is so stubborn. He just stood on the field, pissed off. Didn't cry, didn't make a fuss, but no one could coax him away. That temper, one hundred percent takes after me. Hey, is the one in the back asleep?"
He spoke softly, naturally referring to Qin Guan.
Qin Guan kept his eyes closed, unmoving, breathing evenly.
He actually wanted to sleep. Being well-rested would give him strength and alertness. But sleep was utterly impossible.
He didn't know where the police were taking him, nor did he know what they were really doing.
The destination was clearly not the construction site. That meant Qi Min's body wouldn't be discovered yet—as long as Qi Min remained undiscovered, he was safe.
But they had already dug deep.
"Asleep, dead to the world. He's been up for nights, couldn't sleep a wink in the detention cell anyway!" The young officer in the back row braced his hand on the front seat, leaned forward, and asked his companions in a hushed, curious tone: "Where do you think this guy Qin hid the body? I'm telling you, I've gone over this case in detail. I think there are a few suspicious locations..."
"Whoa, you're already convinced he killed her?" The officer in the passenger seat laughed. "Reach the conclusion first, then work backwards to justify it—abductive reasoning. Hey, did you go to Professor Ding's lecture this weekend? Didn't even invite me?"
"Weren't you on a date this weekend? Who'd dare interrupt your shot at happiness? I'm being serious here. I'd bet anything this guy did it. Qi Min's been gone for ages! The guy's a criminal defense lawyer, heard his reputation is pretty lousy. Bad character, cunning—that kind of person is the most dangerous!"
"Captain He said something similar," the passenger seat officer's tone also turned serious, his voice dropping even lower. "This afternoon, his colleagues from the firm came by, right? They all said Qin Guan was using Qi Min, and their arguments weren't just a one-time thing. Before this business trip, Qin Guan slapped her! And it happened once a few months back too!"
Qin Guan's ears perked up again.
That argument had been witnessed too?
"I never trusted this Qin guy from the start. All sanctimonious on the surface, fake as hell. This investigation proves it—he's poisonous underneath," the driver chimed in.
"Right? The difference between his outer appearance and what's inside is huge. He and Qi Min argued again and again, then they go on a business trip together, and after that, Qi Min vanishes. Those two arguments are crucial. One was right before the trip, and the other—do you know when? Shortly before Xu's father died!"
That was indeed while his father-in-law was still alive.
That time, Qin Guan hadn't resorted to violence, just an argument.
Though it had gotten quite heated.
He remembered it clearly: in the parking lot under the firm's building, after work. He was sitting in his car—Qi Min had already booked the room. According to plan, she would go over first, and he would drive around a bit before heading to the hotel.
He was using this time to review case files—he had one in hand.
Someone tapped on the window. He lowered it. Qi Min smiled at him, gentle and alluring: "This was under your desk. Did you forget it?"
It was the tonics he'd bought for his father-in-law. Qin Guan had indeed forgotten to take them.
"I looked around when I was leaving, figured you'd forgotten," Qi Min placed the items through the window onto the passenger seat, her eyes brimming with affection. "You, always losing track of things. What's on your mind?"
She was flirting.
She wanted Qin Guan to answer: "I'm thinking of you, thinking about how I'm going to devour you later!"
But instead, Qin Guan suddenly frowned and snarled viciously: "What nonsense are you talking? What's on my mind?"
That day, the parking lot was empty except for the two of them.
And Qin Guan was inside the car.
Yet, a colleague had testified.
So, was there an eyewitness that day? Or had Qi Min blabbed to someone?
Qi Min had been wronged; Qin Guan knew that. He gave her almost no chance to rebut. He berated her, jabbing his finger at her face without a shred of mercy.
"What do you think you are? How dare you just brazenly take my things? Why don't you just announce to everyone that we're going to a hotel? And why are you wearing such strong perfume? Afraid people won't smell it? Do you realize, just from opening the window this long, the smell is already permeating my car!"
Naturally, the rendezvous was off that day.
Qi Min turned pale with anger, tears welling in her eyes. She gritted her teeth, turned, and walked away.
Later, Qin Guan bought her a bracelet to appease her anger.
"You never lose your temper like that. Is the pressure from this case too much?" After making up, Qi Min lay in his arms, hugging him tenderly. "What can I do to help?"
Yes, Qin Guan never lost his temper like that. Yes, Qin Guan was under pressure—as a lover, Qi Min was always perceptive and attentive.
But Qin Guan's pressure had nothing to do with that case.
His pressure came from his father-in-law.
At that time, the tangled mess of thoughts crowding his mind were all because of his father-in-law.
The father-in-law who had cut him out completely during his hospital admission and discharge. The father-in-law who said nothing every day yet seemed to know everything. Like a ticking time bomb strapped to Qin Guan's head.
He couldn't face his father-in-law, yet he had to face him every day.
Just like... just like that year, the year he accepted his father-in-law's sponsorship—
The teacher had come up the mountain, beaming, telling him to prepare: "Get all your awards out. The calligraphy you wrote, your essays, your homework assignments, get them all out. In a couple of days when the person comes, show them. Let them see you're a promising seedling worth nurturing!"
The sponsor was coming soon—this sponsor wanted to meet the recipient in person. Once confirmed, the sponsorship would continue all the way through university.
It should have been a moment of immense excitement, but Qin Guan's heart felt nothing like the anticipated thrill.
His small heart was weighed down by a heavy boulder.
That boulder was his Mother Mad.
Mother Mad, who had been completely mad and oblivious to human affairs since Qin Guan could remember, had somehow dug out his short top.
It was a top from a batch of donated clothes the village received a couple of years prior. Qin Guan didn't know what fabric it was, only that the bloodstains on it were impossible to wash out.
After hacking the old dog to death, he'd gone home and scrubbed it fiercely with soap, with laundry detergent, beaten it—nothing got it completely clean.
He'd meant to burn it, but he had no spare clothes to change into.
Holding onto a sliver of hope, he kept the shirt—after all, Father Drunkard never paid attention to such things, and Mother Mad couldn't even tell shit from food. Others? Others simply didn't notice him, let alone think along those lines.
But, despite all his calculations, Qin Guan hadn't anticipated his Mother Mad unearthing the shirt.
She had even recognized the bloodstains on the front and hem of the shirt, stains now blurred like simmered soy sauce or vegetable juice.
"Blood... is blood... baby... blood..."