At Jian Mengyan’s persistent urging, Zou Shuyang finally relented and agreed to let her be discharged from the hospital.
However, after Jian Mengyan’s discharge, Zou Shuyang was at a loss as to where she should go.
Logically, her home wasn’t safe right now. Last time was a coincidence—when the killer struck, Jian Mengyan just happened to be on the phone with him.
But what if there wasn’t such a coincidence next time?
But…
Zou Shuyang hesitated as he glanced at Jian Mengyan sitting in the passenger seat.
Was he supposed to let her stay at his place?
Noticing that Zou Shuyang hadn’t started the car for a while and was just staring at her, his face turning redder as he did, Jian Mengyan asked curiously, “What’s up with you? Why aren’t you driving?”
Zou Shuyang, whose mind had been filled with all sorts of inappropriate and colorful images, was lost in thought for quite some time before snapping back to reality. His face and ears flushed red as he quickly turned to start the car.
However, no matter how much he pressed on the accelerator, the car didn’t budge.
“Huh?”
Jian Mengyan leaned over, pointing at the car key, “Maybe you should turn it first.”
What a huge embarrassment!
Zou Shuyang’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.
Finally, the car smoothly got on the road. Jian Mengyan sat in the passenger seat, resting her chin on her hands, tilting her head as she looked at Zou Shuyang, “Now can you tell me?”
“Tell you… what?”
Touching his ear, Jian Mengyan teased, “Your ears are still red, you know.”
As Jian Mengyan’s words fell, Zou Shuyang’s neck also slowly turned red.
Jian Mengyan teased him, “So, what were you thinking about?”
Zou Shuyang remained silent, focusing on driving.
Jian Mengyan found it amusing and stretched out her words, “Ohhh, could it be… you were imagining something that would get your post locked?”
Zou Shuyang immediately cleared his throat, pretending to be serious, “How could that be? Am I that kind of person?”
So, Jian Mengyan stared at him, and Zou Shuyang quietly… felt guilty.
“Well…” Zou Shuyang finally admitted, “I was just thinking about where to take you after this.”
“Take me home, of course.” Jian Mengyan’s eyes widened in confusion, “Where else would you take me?”
“But what if the killer…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Jian Mengyan cut him off, “They won’t come back, right? But…”
Jian Mengyan seemed puzzled, “How did that person even get into my house?”
Bringing this up, Zou Shuyang asked, “That day when you called me, your last words—did you see the killer’s face?”
Jian Mengyan pursed her lips and shook her head, “Not exactly. I only saw a silhouette through the window.”
Worried something might happen, Zou Shuyang pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked at Jian Mengyan, “What did he look like?”
Jian Mengyan’s eyes moved as she thought, “He was a man, probably shorter than you, and he wore glasses. I saw the light reflecting off them.”
Shorter than him and wearing glasses.
Wasn’t that… Yin Zhuo?
Realizing this made cold sweat break out all over Zou Shuyang’s body.
Just thinking about how Jian Mengyan had been under Yin Zhuo’s nose for the past couple of days, and how Yin Zhuo could’ve acted at any moment, left Zou Shuyang feeling drained and weak.
Once someone has a suspect in mind, they can’t help but start looking for so-called “evidence.”
Zou Shuyang recalled that there were no signs of forced entry at Jian Mengyan’s home. The balcony and windows were sealed tight. It was almost as if the killer had been invited into the house.
And the only person who had gone to Jian Mengyan’s house that day was Yin Zhuo.
“What’s wrong?” Jian Mengyan shook Zou Shuyang’s arm, “Why did your face suddenly go pale?”
Meeting Jian Mengyan’s confused gaze, Zou Shuyang slowly calmed down.
He had let his concern cloud his judgment.
He had clearly seen the security footage showing Yin Zhuo leaving Jian Mengyan’s house, and by the time she was attacked, the footage confirmed that Yin Zhuo had already arrived at the hospital. He didn’t have the time to commit the crime.
Then who was it?
Seeing Zou Shuyang lost in thought, Jian Mengyan waved her hand in front of his face, then knocked on his head, “Are you really out of it? Hello, are you still here?”
Zou Shuyang grabbed Jian Mengyan’s hand to stop her, “Stop messing around.”
In the end, Zou Shuyang couldn’t win against Jian Mengyan and ended up taking her home.
Standing at her door, Zou Shuyang still looked worried, “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”
After explaining for the hundredth time on the way, Jian Mengyan sighed helplessly, “I’ll be fine. I’ve asked my mom to find a housekeeper for me. Nothing will happen, don’t worry.”
Even though Jian Mengyan said that, Zou Shuyang still looked concerned, frowning as he asked again, “Really?”
Her response was a gentle smile, and before he could say anything more, she shut the door with a “bang.”
“Meng…”
He was left talking to a closed door.
Touching his nose as if he could brush off the imaginary dust, Zou Shuyang sighed. Through the door, he called out, “If anything happens, be sure to call me, okay?”
Inside, Jian Mengyan leaned against the door, listening to his words, and couldn’t help but smile. Her dimples appeared as she chuckled softly.
“Okay, I know.”
Her voice was muffled by the door, and Zou Shuyang could barely make it out.
Not wanting to say anything more and risk annoying her, he dejectedly lowered his head and left.
Jian Mengyan’s smile lingered until she watched his car leave the complex.
After standing on the balcony for a while, she pursed her lips and returned to the living room. She reached into the gap between the sofa cushions, and after half of her arm was buried in there, she finally found a syringe.
Staring at the syringe for a moment, Jian Mengyan found a small, rarely-used metal bowl, placed a rolled-up piece of paper inside, and then tossed the syringe in as well. She retrieved a lighter from the stove and set the paper on fire.
She watched as the flames slowly devoured the paper along with the syringe, then sighed in relief. After poking through the ashes to make sure the syringe had melted completely, she flushed the remains down the toilet several times.
The only evidence was gone.
Back at home, the more Zou Shuyang thought about it, the more uneasy he became, so he called Jian Mengyan.
After five or six rings with no answer, his heart sank, fearing something might have happened to her.
Just as he was about to grab his car keys and rush over, Jian Mengyan finally picked up.
Her voice was groggy and weak, “Hello? Who is this?”
Was she sleeping?
Zou Shuyang’s heart instantly relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face, “Mengmeng.”
“Hm?” Jian Mengyan’s voice was rustling, but after a moment, she sounded more awake, “What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
Zou Shuyang, who knew Jian Mengyan’s personality well, told a small lie, “Nothing much. I just had a dream.”
Her voice, filled with a smile, came through the phone, “What did you dream about?”
Zou Shuyang exaggerated, “I dreamt that your house was on fire, and I wanted to save you, but I couldn’t.”
Jian Mengyan clicked her tongue, “Could it be that you’re developing PTSD?”
Thinking her joke was funny, Jian Mengyan giggled for a bit. Just as the veins on Zou Shuyang’s forehead started to throb, she reassured him, “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
When Zou Shuyang didn’t respond, Jian Mengyan clicked her tongue again in displeasure, “Come on, I’m not even scared. What are you afraid of?”
Zou Shuyang: …
Shouldn’t it be scary that the person involved isn’t worried at all?
So, Zou Shuyang pressed his lips together and fell silent.
The sound of soft breathing came through the phone, calming Jian Mengyan’s wandering thoughts, “Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged for the housekeeper. My mom just called to ask if I wanted to stay with her.”
Normally, Jian Mengyan didn’t live with her parents. According to her, it was because…
Her house was too big, and being alone in such an empty space made her afraid of ghosts.
A very relatable worry for someone living in luxury.
After a pause, Zou Shuyang asked, “Are you sure you’re not going to your mom’s?”
Then, the call abruptly ended, and right after that, he received a WeChat message.
Jian Mengyan: Zou Mama, your child has grown up. Please learn to let go.
Looking at Jian Mengyan’s completely black profile picture, Zou Shuyang smiled helplessly and decided to let it go for now.
Calming down, he laughed at himself. He had really let himself get spooked.
Slipping into his slippers, he walked to the living room and pulled out the whiteboard that was covered in notes.
Sitting on the armrest of the sofa, Zou Shuyang rested his chin in his hand and stared at the whiteboard.
It was covered with notes, linking Ding Jing’s disappearance to Shen Tinglan’s murder, and from Shen Tinglan’s murder to the deaths of Shen Jun and Cheng Hao. All the relevant people were connected by lines.
Yin Zhuo’s name was written next to Ding Jing’s name.
A line connected the two names, with the word “Couple?” written above it.
After pressing his lips together, Zou Shuyang found a small corner near Ding Jing’s name and wrote down “Jian Mengyan.”
Zou Shuyang’s gaze darkened.
Even though everything that had happened to Jian Mengyan seemed reasonable, still…
Deep down, Zou Shuyang couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew something about these cases.
He could even go as far as to say…
Zou Shuyang’s heart started to race.
He even felt that everything he had uncovered was because Jian Mengyan was guiding him.
From Cheng Hao’s death leading to Shen Tinglan’s connection to Jian Mengyan.
It was Jian Mengyan who told him about the many students who had died around Shen Tinglan.
And it was also Jian Mengyan who pointed out Yin Zhuo.
Staring at the whiteboard, Zou Shuyang muttered to himself, “Mengmeng, what exactly are you trying to do?”
Zou Shuyang still hadn’t figured out what Jian Mengyan was up to, but he did know what Director Zhong had done in the past.
Just as he was lost in thought, staring at the whiteboard, Xiao Tang called him.
After two days of consecutive overtime, Xiao Tang was exhausted. As soon as the call connected, before he could say anything, he let out a yawn, “Zou Team Leader, I’ve found the information on Director Zhong that you asked for.”
Zou Shuyang had asked Xiao Tang to investigate Director Zhong because his attitude toward Jian Mengyan had seemed too strange.
It was as if he had some nostalgia, mixed with a hint of pride.
And the fact that Director Zhong had met privately with Jian Mengyan the previous night had also made Zou Shuyang feel uneasy.
After yawning five or six times, Xiao Tang finally got to the point, “Zou Team Leader, you’re amazing. How did you know there was something wrong with Director Zhong?”
“Stop talking nonsense and get to the point.”
Xiao Tang didn’t feel bad about his failed attempt at flattery. He scratched the back of his head and said, “You probably didn’t know this, but Shen Tinglan didn’t die immediately after being beaten by Shen Jun. After Shen Tinglan was attacked, he was quickly found by a passerby who called the police and an ambulance. When Shen Tinglan was sent to the hospital, his condition was actually not that bad.”
Xiao Tang’s voice dropped as he continued, “The hospital assigned Director Zhong, who was just an ordinary doctor at the time, to perform surgery on Shen Tinglan.”
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