Qi Min had told someone about Xu Ruyi's father's death.
The words weren't loud, but they were sharp as knives, slicing through the surrounding noise and piercing Qin Guan's ears.
After saying this, the officer who had bought the drinks, Captain Zhang, looked up and saw Qin Guan's face in the back seat. He turned his back, hurriedly spoke a few more words, and hung up the phone.
Getting in the car, he distributed the Red Bull to his colleagues, complained for a moment about the prices at the service station supermarket, then drove the car to refuel. Soon, they were back on the highway.
The doors closed, and the car's interior returned to its oppressive, noisy silence.
They stopped chatting.
But the officer in the passenger seat was fiddling with his phone. He showed the screen to the officer in the back. Both leaned in, four eyes fixed on the display, looking but not speaking.
They were likely discussing something they didn't want Qin Guan to know.
Qin Guan leaned against the back seat. His closed eyelids fluttered wildly. The memories of his crazy mother that had filled his mind moments before vanished without a trace.
Qi Min had told someone about his father-in-law's death?
Who had she told?
What had she said?
The two officers were still huddled over the phone. The one in the back tapped the screen, pointed at something, and nudged his colleague in the front with his elbow.
Qin Guan narrowed his eyes to slits, wishing he could transplant his pupils onto the man's shoulder.
But there was no way. He could only see the back of their heads. His heart lodged in his throat, he desperately tried to guess what they were looking at.
Who had Qi Min told?
Either Li Yang or a colleague—because the firm was so busy, she had almost no time to cultivate female friends here. And colleagues? Qi Min had never been close to her colleagues. She was a smart woman; she knew there were no true friends in the workplace.
It was probably Li Yang. That loudmouth must be in custody too. Was he trying to clear himself by revealing something?
Qin Guan wasn't worried about Li Yang. He was worried about Qi Min—at this critical juncture, absolutely no new vulnerabilities could be handed to the police.
Xu Ruyi had Qi Min's stockings. Her recent efforts—self-harm, cleaning the room at the Xinhe Hotel, revealing Qin Guan's drunkard father's history of domestic violence to the police to prove he had violent tendencies—all of these were just scratching the surface. Qin Guan, battle-hardened, was never afraid of such tactics.
Xu Ruyi couldn't cause much trouble. Because they couldn't find Qi Min. No body, no direct evidence of harm. Even if it went to court, Qin Guan still had a strong chance of winning.
But what if, right at this crucial moment, a new complication arose?
What if that matter came to light...
The car continued forward. The officer had put away his phone.
They sat quietly, eyes closed, resting.
Qin Guan leaned back, seemingly asleep, but his heart felt like it was roasting on a spit.
What exactly had Qi Min said?
More precisely, what did she know?
No, she shouldn't have known anything.
The conflict between Qin Guan and his father-in-law over the first job change incident—all the information Qi Min had came from Qin Guan's mouth. Qin Guan hadn't even told her any details about going solo. When his father-in-law was hospitalized, Qin Guan sent her to care for him, with the clear excuse—to test if the old man knew about their affair.
His father-in-law giving Qi Min the wooden carving, the card, the old man's suggestive words—Qin Guan had never explained any of it to Qi Min.
"My father-in-law is indeed a good man," Qin Guan had said at the time, dismissively, and never mentioned it again.
After that, the immense pressure he faced with his father-in-law, he hadn't breathed a word of it to Qi Min.
He was smart. He never revealed what shouldn't be said. Besides, she was just a mistress, a plaything for the bed.
After his father-in-law was discharged from the hospital, Qin Guan never invited Qi Min to his home again. Their secret meetings also drastically decreased. He gave ample reasons: "Father-in-law just got home and needs care. I really can't get away."
He knew how to avoid suspicion, and more importantly, how to avoid danger.
But Qi Min must have known something.
Yes, she must have known—Qin Guan had suspected this for a long time. That woman—she could be incredibly foolish at times, yet remarkably cunning at others.
She had been an assistant at the firm for two or three years, handled all kinds of cases. She understood inheritance law. She was familiar with all the assets in Qin Guan's household—
Not long after his father-in-law's accident, during their first secret rendezvous, after their passion, Qin Guan was showering and getting dressed. She diligently handed him his watch but accidentally knocked it into the sink. She quickly retrieved it and wiped it dry. While doing so, she suddenly said, "Qin Guan, I remember you said this was a gift from your father-in-law when you first started working, right? It's quite expensive. I could never afford it. But for his wealth, it's pocket change."
She gently fastened it on his wrist, then said casually, "By the way, how did your father-in-law pass away so suddenly? Such a good old man. Didn't they say his surgery recovery was going well?"
Yes, she had said that.
Qin Guan had clearly smelled the probing intent in her words back then—what was she getting at? What else could it mean?
But he had restrained himself then. He hadn't asked anything. How could he? When she said it, she hadn't even looked up at him. If it was a probe, she was just too skilled. And if she was genuinely just making conversation? Wouldn't asking about it only make things worse?
The officer in the passenger seat was asleep now. The low, steady sound of snoring filled the car.
Leaning against the headrest, Qin Guan finally sorted it out in his mind—Qi Min had been probing him that time.
The reason for the probe was that she clearly had suspicions about him long ago.
Even though she ostensibly knew his father-in-law's death was an accident.
It was an accident.
After being discharged from the hospital, his father-in-law continued living in Jiayuan Community.
The nanny, Auntie Feng, was responsible for his daily care. Xu Ruyi also visited often.
And Qin Guan, of course, gritted his teeth and went every day.
Only a few days after returning home, a minor accident occurred—his father-in-law stood on a chair to get something from the top of the bookcase in his study and accidentally fell. He wasn't seriously hurt, but he sprained his ankle badly. He couldn't stand, let alone walk.
Xu Ruyi bought him a wheelchair.
"Dad, whatever you need, tell Auntie Feng, tell me. Don't try to do things yourself anymore, understand? I'll be really mad if you do this again!" Xu Ruyi was very worried, scolding her father like a child.
Her father relished every moment, nodding apologetically. "I know, I know! I won't dare do it again! I'll listen to you. I'll listen to everything you say!"
He obediently rested and happily let his daughter push him outside every day to get some sun and fresh air.
It was early spring.
"Come on, I'll take you for some spring outings!" he would say joyfully every day at this time, as his daughter and adorable granddaughter, laughing and chattering, pushed him out the door.
"Spring outings" really just meant a stroll in the nearby park—Jiayuan Community wasn't far from a park. It was a sizable park, filled with trees and flowers, featuring artificial hills and a stream. It had been one of his father-in-law's favorite places before the accident.
The day he had the accident was the day he went to that park.