HH Chapter 93

He naturally knew the significance of the old letter case to Pei Qinghuai, but everything was still uncertain. For now, Qin Nan remained the primary suspect.

Pei Qinghuai straightened up. “We need to trick Qin Nan into revealing himself. Tomorrow, we’ll bring Tang Jiale and Qin Nan back to the station separately. Given Qin Nan’s personality, if he’s really behind all this, Tang Jiale would be his biggest accomplice. He controls the overall direction, but when two people are involved, there will always be a point where one diverges.”

“Understood,” Cheng Ye replied.

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The next afternoon, the police brought both Tang Jiale and Qin Nan to the station separately. Cheng Ye and Pei Qinghuai handled Qin Nan, while Fang Yuan and Jiang Fei dealt with Tang Jiale.

Cheng Ye decided to confront Qin Nan directly, presenting all the evidence. Qin Nan wasn’t particularly surprised, as if he had anticipated it. “I did go to those places, but how could I act? I couldn’t just kidnap someone in broad daylight.”

Cheng Ye smiled. “True, but this evidence is enough to keep you here for 48 hours.”

Qin Nan frowned slightly. “That’s illegal detention.”

“Do you need me to explain what illegal detention is?” Cheng Ye smiled. “Why not make it easy? Confess, and it’ll be easier for both of us.”

Qin Nan glanced at Cheng Ye with a smirk. “Isn’t it your job to prove my guilt?”

Suppressing his anger, Cheng Ye asked, “Do you want to know how we found you?”

Qin Nan hesitated. “Sun Xiaoyu?”

Cheng Ye sneered. “Here’s a fact: Sun Xiaoyu’s friends didn’t know you two were dating. Sun Xiaoyu listens to you very well.”

Then Cheng Ye looked at the time. “It’s lunchtime. Do you want to eat?”

Before Qin Nan could respond, Pei Qinghuai interjected, “We didn’t buy enough food today.”

Cheng Ye shrugged at Qin Nan. “Sorry, looks like there won’t be any for you.”

“You!” Qin Nan glared at Cheng Ye, his white shirt now looking a bit disheveled.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fei and Fang Yuan had also come out, with Chen Xiaonuan bringing in their meals.

“How’s it going?” Cheng Ye asked.

“We’re gradually breaking her down,” Fang Yuan said. “But she almost tricked us a few times.”

“Stop joking and let’s eat,” Cheng Ye said.

The group gathered together, discussing the findings from the previous night. They had identified three villages along the route taken by the car with fake plates, one of which happened to be Qin Nan’s hometown. They were now reviewing highway surveillance footage. If the car did head towards his hometown, and if Qin Nan was indeed involved, he would have returned there.

Pei Qinghuai paused, chopsticks in hand. “I have a question.”

“If you were kidnapped and suddenly saw a stranger, and then realized that stranger was your boyfriend or girlfriend, what would be your first reaction?”

“I’d think I was saved,” Chen Xiaonuan said, taking a bite of meat.

“Exactly. In this scenario, Sun Xiaoyu is the kidnapped person. If Qin Nan is the perpetrator, he would witness someone going from hope to despair.”

Having interrogated Qin Nan, Fang Yuan chuckled. “True, if it were him, it wouldn’t be surprising.” He tapped his head. “The guy’s not right in the head.”

“Qin Nan is too arrogant. He might not realize he’s also just a pawn,” Pei Qinghuai said, poking at his rice. “The kidnapper isn’t Qin Nan, but Qin Nan has his own motives, and the kidnapper has theirs. They’re just partners who can sever ties at any time.”

He paused, looking at his teammates’ puzzled expressions. “For now, the most important thing is to find the victims. Let’s head to Qin Nan’s hometown after lunch.”

The two suspects were left sitting in separate interrogation rooms with no windows, waiting for an hour or two without anyone coming in. They had no choice but to wait.

Meanwhile, a police car sped towards Qin Nan’s hometown. The area was mostly inhabited by elderly residents, with only a few lights on at night. Cheng Ye and his team used flashlights to search around, joined by another team to assist in the investigation. A few villagers, awakened by the commotion, poked their heads out to watch.