In the spacious music classroom, the piano keys were struck, and the elegant and soothing music flowed through the girl's fingertips.

The girl's long hair was casually scattered, her profile was gentle yet dignified, and her light makeup highlighted her delicate face. Her slender fingers, even though she was wearing a fashionable top and shorts that didn't match the piano, still made her appear like an elf, lively and serene.

After a prelude, the girl sang a melody full of nostalgia into the microphone.

[Suddenly growing up in an instant]

[Like a painting blurred by the hands of time]

[Where are we each going]

[Such a silly question]

[Who can answer it]

[Longing never speaks]

[No time for goodbyes, too noisy]

——

The phone placed aside suddenly vibrated, and the girl glanced at the content that popped up on the screen. Her hand paused, and both her singing and the piano stopped at the same time.

"What's wrong, Zhu Yan?" Several people who were watching nearby asked curiously.

"You guys go ahead with the other performances. I suddenly have something to do." Zhu Yan swiped open the homepage of her phone, opened WeChat, and saw the message sent by the person at the top. Without saying a word, she walked out of the music classroom.

"Could it be that her boyfriend sent her a message?" A girl from the same club smirked.

"Oh, this." Zhu Yan, upon hearing this, didn't feel embarrassed at all. She just held onto her phone, her expression changing, and her inner thoughts murmured—Boyfriend? Oh my god, thank goodness it's not. I can't even imagine being with that...

She thought for a while, words like "demon," "black and white," and "monster" rolled around in her mind, but in the end, they were all denied. She sadly realized that even after all these years, she still couldn't find the most fitting adjective for that person.

"Black and white" was quite fitting, but sometimes that person couldn't even be bothered to pretend and was just black. Yeah, cutting through and it's black...

Forget it.

She didn't dare to think about having a boyfriend. Maybe, possibly, probably, he could be considered a boss and a brother?

Without answering the girl's question, Zhu Yan left the classroom and found a place where no one was around. She opened the picture sent by "san" and carefully looked at it for a while before replying with a smile:

"Did you draw this? Why isn't there a photo of the target this time? Do you need to rely on drawings to confirm? And the drawing isn't lively at all, it looks like an ID photo."

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

san: Well~ I draw just as well as a photo, as long as you investigate whether he is a real person.

This request is a bit strange, but Zhu Yan didn't ask anything and agreed directly: "I'll do it as soon as possible. Do I need to contact the police...?"

san: No need, he may not be a criminal. This is my personal matter. By the way, his name may have Zheng or Song in it.

What a peculiar hint. Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow unexpectedly and replied with an "Oh," ending the conversation.

She thought that she would tell the people in the club later. She was confident that she didn't need to rehearse her performance anymore.

She needed enough time to investigate the new task sent by her boss—sigh, who could have known that the callus on her fingertip wasn't from playing the piano, but...

...

In the study, Yu Xing put down his phone and looked at the detailed sketch in front of him, pressing his temple with his finger.

Drawing was easy, but it was a bit difficult to draw based on the photo of Zheng Song that he had only glanced at in his memory.

In the transparent file bag, there was a document labeled "Medical Record of Dr. Zheng Song" with a photo of Zheng Song's identification card attached. If Yu Xing's memory wasn't good to a certain extent, he wouldn't have been able to remember it.

He tidied up a bit, seeing that it was still early, and put on a cap and a mask before leaving.

...

Bishui Garden was located in a bustling area of Longhu City and was a newly developed residential area.

In the villa area, you could see the lake view and artificial landscapes. There weren't many residents yet, so it was quiet. At this time, the sun was gradually setting, and the hot wind was firmly blocked outside the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows of Zhao Yijiu's house, spinning in discontent.

The air conditioner was set to a suitable temperature, and Zhao Yijiu leaned back on the recliner in the living room, reading a book. He wore a pair of Maekin anti-blue light glasses on his nose and a loose shirt, which softened his coldness and added a touch of scholarly aura.

"Xiao Jiu, I'm so touched! Last night was the first time I turned on the air conditioner this summer!" A cheerful voice came from the nearby sofa, giving off a sense of happiness as if he had obtained the whole world.

Zhao Yijiu glanced at the person next to him, expressionless, and said, "Zhao Mou, have you never seen an air conditioner before?"

"Why are you speaking like that! I've been busy with a difficult deduction recently, and I just barely made it back alive. Can't you say something nice? Also, who told you to call me Zhao Mou? Call me Brother—" The man lying on the sofa, in his late twenties, wore a delicate shirt and neatly ironed suit pants. He also wore a pair of silver-framed glasses on his nose. He had a rather delicate appearance, with his black hair slicked back. If it weren't for his relaxed and lazy posture, his appearance and temperament would be quite refined.

"...Brother." Zhao Yijiu fell silent for two seconds, thinking about how the other person had rushed over to heal him right after coming out of the deduction game last night, and indeed, he was his blood-related older brother. He reluctantly changed his address.

Zhao Mou became happy at this, got up excitedly, and approached Zhao Yijiu, saying mysteriously, "Let me tell you, I was so excited when I thought about the feeling of the air conditioner last night that I used the TV remote control as the air conditioner remote control. And guess what—"

His tone was quite intimidating, and Zhao Yijiu, thinking of his brother's identity, hesitated for a moment. "Did you turn it on?"

"Heh, guess what happened, it didn't work!"

"... " Zhao Yijiu's face darkened. "Boring."

His brother really lived up to the stereotype of people from Tianjin—like a comedian.

"Hey, Xiao Jiu..."

"What now?" Zhao Yijiu wasn't at peace even when reading a book. He saw the bandage on his shoulder under his loose shirt and restrained himself from doing what he used to do as a child, which was to throw a punch without a word.

Zhao Mou noticed his intention and wasn't afraid at all. He leisurely crossed his legs and said, "I wanted to say that you don't need to return the 'heartbreak' to me for now. After all, you're planning to participate in the evaluation game tomorrow, and once you become an official deductionist, you can use this knife."

"It's called 'Heartbreak.'" Zhao Yijiu corrected with a cold face and added, "I didn't plan on returning it to you now in the first place. I promised someone that I would let them take a look."

Although... he couldn't contact Yu Xing at all.

Zhao Mou became interested and got up, taking the book from Zhao Yijiu's hand. His eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Right, last night, I didn't ask because you looked weak. With your abilities—how did you get injured?"

Faced with this question, Zhao Yijiu, who originally wanted to snatch the book, furrowed his brows slightly and reflected, "Inexperience, I was careless."

Although he was quite skilled, his way of thinking hadn't adapted to the pace of deduction, which almost cost him his life. Since returning home, he had kept this in mind.

He couldn't make the same mistake again.

"You'll adapt." Zhao Mou looked at his younger brother and smiled, his eyes long and narrow, with a shrewdness that couldn't be ignored. "You said that someone else who participated in the test with you also survived, right?"

"Yes."

"How is he?"

"He's strong."

"Strong? Stronger than you?" To make this introverted younger brother, who almost never looked at people, admit that someone was strong... Zhao Mou's eyes flashed with a glimmer of interest. "How strong?"

"He..." Zhao Yijiu recalled for a moment but couldn't find an adjective all of a sudden.

Good acting, pretending to be scared with great skill?

Good skills, but too hollow?

Good-looking... let's forget about that.

After a while, Zhao Yijiu reluctantly started praising, "He's quite special, with many hidden things, high intelligence, and... a bad personality. Why, do you have any thoughts about him?"

"Oh~" Zhao Mou narrowed his eyes, his long and narrow eyes looking gentle when he smiled, but the shrewdness in them couldn't be ignored. "Of course, I'm interested. If he's a potential talent, persuading him to join us would be a good choice. Oh, by the way, how bad is his personality?"

Just then, the doorbell at the front gate suddenly rang.

The conversation between the two immediately stopped, and Zhao Mou walked to the door, seeing a man outside wearing a cap and a mask.

He was a stranger.

The disguise covered the person's appearance completely, making Zhao Mou feel cautious.

He asked through the intercom, "Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"

Despite his casual appearance at home, when speaking to outsiders, Zhao Mou's tone was polite and gentle, like a fox with hidden sharp claws.

Zhao Yijiu's expression changed, and he walked over with a surprised look that seemed to say, "You actually told him our home address!?" When he saw that Zhao Mou didn't press the talk button, he said in a cold voice, "Hmph, didn't you ask how bad his personality is? It's this kind—finding someone's address by who knows what means and then arrogantly coming to their door."

After speaking, he opened the door and glanced coldly at the young man standing at the door.

Seeing that it was him who came out, the only visible eye of Zhu Yan curved into a smile. "Surprise~"

Zhao Yijiu was about to close the door directly.

"Don't, don't~" Zhu Yan quickly propped open the door with his hand, his strength surprising Zhao Yijiu for a moment, and he was slightly stunned. In the blink of an eye, Zhu Yan had already opened the door wide. "It's not easy for me to come here. Can I—"

Zhao Mou's figure was seen by him.

"Can you let me stay for a while? Brother Jiu!" In an instant, his slightly teasing tone took a turn, sounding weak, pitiful, and helpless.

"Come in."

Zhao Yijiu couldn't be bothered to say anything about it and made way for him.

"Hehe, thanks, Brother Jiu." Zhu Yan called him smoothly, noticing the interested gaze that Zhao Mou was looking at him with. "Who is this?"

"If you managed to find my home address, how could you not know who he is?" Zhao Yijiu directly exposed him and retorted.

"Oh, Mr. Zhao Mou, nice to meet you," Zhu Yan also went along with it, immediately taking off his mask to show politeness. He extended his hand calmly and revealed a smile. "Hello."