HH Chapter 21

Yan Ya pursed her lips and let out a sheepish chuckle. “It’s an emergency.”

She regained her serious expression. “You were right, Tian Mingwei was indeed a monster. During the initial autopsy, I noticed a circular blunt force trauma on the skull, and it was quite severe.”

“Tian Mingwei was an unemployed vagrant who took on odd jobs. I compared tools from his home to the injuries on the skull. The issue was, he didn’t even bother to clean them. The mix of soil and blood had been there for so long that it was impossible to distinguish after two years. This took quite a bit of time.”

“What about Tian Yunxin?” Cheng Ye suddenly asked. Yan Ya paused for a second before Pei Qinghuai responded first. “She was studying abroad two years ago; she had no time to commit the crime.”

Cheng Ye’s eyes brightened slightly. “How do you know that?”

Pei Qinghuai shrugged. “I had some free time earlier, so I went through Tian Yunxin’s past records.”

“Really…” Cheng Ye slowly furrowed his brows. He felt like there was something he needed to say, something crucial. He looked at Pei Qinghuai with a serious expression. “We’re teammates. Next time, tell me sooner.”

“I’ll try,” Pei Qinghuai replied, raising his eyebrows.

Yan Ya took a step back, a faint smile forming on her lips. She cleared her throat and spoke softly. “Captain, I’ll be heading out now.”

As soon as she closed the conference room door, Yan Ya dashed toward the office area with a look of excitement. “Come quickly, the captain has some juicy gossip!”

Hearing the words “captain” and “gossip,” everyone couldn’t stay seated. They swarmed around Yan Ya in an instant.

“Let me be clear, don’t keep us in suspense. Just spill it!” Zhang Yibao said, almost pressing his ear against Yan Ya’s mouth.

Chen Xiaonuan also blinked her eyes, staring at Yan Ya expectantly. Yan Ya raised her chin and coughed solemnly before speaking. “Just now, in the conference room, our captain and Teacher Pei were together…”

Yan Ya drew out her words, and Zhang Yibao leaned in so far he nearly fell over. Yan Ya continued slowly, “Guess what our captain said to Teacher Pei?”

She didn’t pause. “Our captain said, ‘We’re teammates.'”

Zhang Yibao suppressed a smile. “Really?”

Yan Ya nodded. “Absolutely. Every word. He looked at Teacher Pei with such sincerity.”

Imitating Cheng Ye’s gestures, she acted it out. “We’re teammates. Next time, tell me sooner.”

Chen Xiaonuan glanced around, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Our captain is quick to slap himself in the face. The collaboration isn’t even over yet.”

The three of them huddled together, laughing quietly. Suddenly, a head popped up behind Chen Xiaonuan. “What are you talking about? Let me hear it too.”

Chen Xiaonuan screamed, accompanied by Fang Yuan’s yelp as he held his face. Chen Xiaonuan’s mouth twitched as she slowly turned to Fang Yuan. “It was a reflex. You scared me.”

Fang Yuan, holding his face, looked at Chen Xiaonuan pitifully. “How am I at fault when I’m the one who got hit? Can’t you be reasonable?”

Chen Xiaonuan closed her eyes. Zhang Yibao and Yan Ya exchanged glances and quickly left the scene. Chen Xiaonuan exhaled and smiled at Fang Yuan. “Are you feeling wronged?”

Fang Yuan stood there, watching as the others dispersed. He instinctively took a few steps back. “No, not at all. Chen Jie, you carry on. I’ll be going now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Yuan disappeared from Chen Xiaonuan’s sight. Yan Ya, who had been watching the scene from a distance, leaned on Chen Xiaonuan’s desk. “If you’re this fierce, you’ll have trouble finding a partner.”

This comment made Chen Xiaonuan’s ears turn red, and the flush quickly spread to her cheeks. “Who said I’m looking for a partner? I’m not.”

Yan Ya chuckled softly and said something cryptic. “But someone might be looking for one.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Fei had already brought Li Xiaoyan to the interrogation room. Today, Li Xiaoyan was dressed cleaner than usual, and her hair and makeup were carefully done. She seemed surprised to be brought in again and showed some resistance as soon as she sat down.

Pei Qinghuai and Cheng Ye stood in the adjacent observation room, watching Li Xiaoyan’s movements. After a few minutes, Cheng Ye noticed something and began to fidget with his hands in his pockets.

He had recently seen this person’s actions; it was impossible to forget. Li Xiaoyan was now repeating the gestures of the woman in the video. Her hands dropped to her abdomen, her right hand overlapping her left, rubbing together.

“She’s getting anxious,” Pei Qinghuai said calmly. “What do you think she’s anxious about?”

Cheng Ye relaxed slightly. “She’s wondering why we’re arresting her and not Tian Yunxin.”

“Let’s follow her lead,” Pei Qinghuai said, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Seeing Pei Qinghuai’s brief glance, Cheng Ye felt like he was watching a seasoned hunter toy with their prey, while the prey remained oblivious.

He followed Pei Qinghuai, recalling a thought.

Psychologists are all a bit twisted.

Pushing open the interrogation room door, Cheng Ye discarded his previous thoughts, sat down, and looked at Li Xiaoyan. He lowered his head, pursed his lips, and then spoke. “After our investigation, we’ve confirmed your claim about killing Tian Mingwei. We are now arresting you according to the law.”

Cheng Ye’s expression was blank as he delivered the official statement. The two officers behind Li Xiaoyan exchanged glances and moved forward. Panic flashed in Li Xiaoyan’s eyes as she looked at Cheng Ye, then at Pei Qinghuai.

“Didn’t he say I was covering for someone?” Li Xiaoyan asked.

Caught off guard, her outburst seemed almost laughable. Naturally, Pei Qinghuai was willing to play along.

“I’m just a small officer. How could my words be trusted? Our captain is always right.” Pei Qinghuai appeared innocent. “Unless you really are covering for someone?”

This back-and-forth left Cheng Ye impressed with Pei Qinghuai’s acting skills. Seeing Li Xiaoyan stunned, Pei Qinghuai spoke again. “You might as well tell the truth. It could reduce your sentence.”

Li Xiaoyan looked like she was about to cry. She swallowed nervously, squirming in her seat, her eyes darting around. She seemed desperate enough to claw at her own skin.

Pei Qinghuai’s face remained expressionless, but compared to Cheng Ye’s stern look, he seemed much more approachable. Li Xiaoyan glanced at Pei Qinghuai several times before speaking softly.

“My daughter wants to kill me.”