Yu Xing was taken to the office as soon as he entered the gate of the police station. He listened to Gao Changan's conclusion on the Han Xinyi case and then received an invitation from Gao Changan to assist in the investigation.

"Our team still believes that Liu Ping and the throat-slashing case are not unrelated, we just need a breakthrough. I think you might be able to help us break the case. It's voluntary, so if you're not comfortable, you can refuse me, no problem," Gao Changan said, about to light a cigarette but stopped before bringing the lighter to the cigarette. "Do you mind?"

With his hands in the pockets of his jacket, Yu Xing had just received a message and seemed to be very receptive. He nodded and said, "It's up to you."

"Thanks." Gao Changan finally lit the cigarette and took a puff, his tone tinged with weariness. "What do you think?"

After about five or six minutes of silence, just when Gao Changan thought he would refuse, Yu Xing finally said, "I agree."

He could have agreed without hesitation. By participating in the investigation, he would have the most convenient source of information and would be able to interact with people openly and honestly. However, if someone from another city showed too much enthusiasm for the throat-slashing case, they would definitely be suspected.

Yu Xing chuckled to himself inwardly - perhaps Gao Changan had never really eliminated his suspicions of him.

Having agreed to Gao Changan's invitation, Yu Xing signed a confidentiality agreement.

His current status was probably similar to that of Gao Changan's informant, or a temporary informant.

"What do I need to do now?" Yu Xing asked.

"What do you want to do now?" Gao Changan didn't give him any instructions, but instead asked with a strange sense of trust - or perhaps a sense of testing.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes, showing no signs of guilt. After thinking for a moment, he made a proposal that was not too surprising to Gao Changan: "Then... let me see Liu Ping."

...

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The interrogation room was small and stuffy, square and colorless.

Liu Ping sat wearily in the cold chair, his hands handcuffed and placed on the equally cold table.

A bright white desk lamp cast a low light on the table, not shining on his face, but creating a sense of oppression in the entire interrogation room.

Xiao Gu, dressed in uniform, and another middle-aged male police officer sat opposite Liu Ping. Xiao Gu, who had been relaxed when taking a statement from Yu Xing, now had a stern expression on his face. Despite his young age, he exuded a sense of awe-inspiring authority.

"Can we be done now?" Liu Ping's voice was hoarse, but he didn't even touch the bottled water that had been deliberately prepared for him on the table, as if it was a signal of resistance.

"No, you haven't told the truth yet," Xiao Gu said firmly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Liu Ping.

He could tell that Liu Ping was already very tired.

Not physically tired, but mentally.

When a person's spirit is exhausted, it's difficult to continue with a flawless performance. After a little more questioning, Liu Ping's perfect story would definitely start to crack.

Many criminals had played this game, using linguistic traps and half-truths to mislead the police. Everything they said was true, but when put together, it pointed to a well-woven lie.

These kinds of criminals were difficult to deal with, and every negotiation with them was mentally and physically exhausting. But Xiao Gu thought that Liu Ping had forgotten one thing -

Liu Ping was not a suspect lacking evidence of conviction. Without evidence, they could only detain him for two days before releasing him. But Liu Ping... was burdened with irrefutable evidence of attempted murder.

They had plenty of time to wear Liu Ping down, until he could no longer hide his disguise.

The difficulty now was that the police were also feeling the pressure.

Captain Yu Jiaming was under pressure, and so were they. Xiao Gu felt this way, and he didn't want the captain to be removed from his position due to the lack of ability from himself and his teammates. So, he looked at Liu Ping with an even colder gaze.

"Even if we question you for another ten hours, I won't be able to say anything I don't know, and is this not suspected of using torture to extract a confession?" Liu Ping let out a dry laugh from his parched throat, finally unable to endure the unbearable silence and spoke up.

"We've provided you with water and food, as well as plenty of sleep time. We haven't laid a hand on you. Where does the torture come in?" Xiao Gu blinked slowly. "Tell me, when did you come into contact with the perpetrator of the throat-slashing case, and what did he say to you? Then you won't have to endure this anymore."

"I told you I don't know!" Liu Ping's eyes were red, and he suddenly slammed the interrogation table, but was stopped by the restraints on the chair, unable to make a more intense movement.

Suddenly, the door of the interrogation room opened, and Xiao Gu, the middle-aged police officer, and Liu Ping all instinctively looked towards the door.

Gao Changan walked in.

Xiao Gu stood up, let out a sigh, and said regretfully, "Deputy Captain... I haven't gotten anything out of him yet."

"It's okay, you two can leave. I and Yu Xing will take over from here," Gao Changan said, and as the words fell, Xiao Gu was slow to react, thinking to himself:

Yu Xing? That name sounds familiar. Right, isn't he the good Samaritan who saved Han Xinyi?

The next moment, he saw a tall and superior young man walking in behind the deputy captain.

It really was that good Samaritan.

Yu Xing greeted Xiao Gu and saw Liu Ping's face change as he leaned back in his chair, seeming a little afraid.

He smiled at Liu Ping, and for a moment, Liu Ping's expression twisted, feeling the pain from his injuries again.

"You two, keep an eye out." Gao Changan saw Liu Ping's reaction and immediately urged Xiao Gu and the other officer to leave. Once the door to the interrogation room was closed, a smile appeared on his face."Liu Ping, you've persisted for so long, quite determined."

Liu Ping said, "I don't know, I didn't persist."

He looked at Yu Xing sitting across from him and couldn't help but ask Gao Changan, "Why is he here? Didn't you say he was just passing by?"

When Liu Ping was first arrested, he asked the police about Yu Xing's background. He thought he had gotten involved with undercover special police or something, but the police told him—

"He's just a concerned citizen. You're just unlucky!"

This made him extremely frustrated.

Before Gao Changan could answer, Yu Xing reached out and waved, greeting with a smile, "Hey, nice to see you again."

"..." Liu Ping didn't dare to say anything to him, and Yu Xing's sudden arrival caught him off guard.

After that, Yu Xing began a very strange line of questioning, with Gao Changan listening attentively and becoming more spirited as he listened.

Yu Xing asked, "Do you like people who are eerie?"

Liu Ping was puzzled, he looked at Gao Changan and found that Gao Changan had no intention of speaking, so he had to hold back his anger and answer, "I don't like them."

"Then do you like people who are cold and look down on you?"

"...I don't like them."

Yu Xing became interested and looked very puzzled, "Since you don't like them, why did you target Han Xinyi, who greets everyone with a smile, but you want to destroy her?"

Liu Ping immediately tensed up and reverted to his unapproachable attitude, "She smiles at everyone, and it makes me want to ruin her."

"Oh~" Yu Xing drawled, not sure if he believed it or not, "Then let me ask another question. I heard that the day you acted, you specifically took a day off."

"Yeah." Liu Ping replied briefly.

"Then I'm curious, as a working person who has to take a day off to commit murder, and living far from Han Xinyi's house, how did you find the time to check all the surveillance cameras from the bookstore to Han Xinyi's house?" Yu Xing seemed to see through him, propping his chin with one hand, speaking in a calm and cheerful tone, "The police checked the surveillance cameras, and on that day, you didn't appear in front of any of them, you avoided them all, indicating that you were well aware of the distribution of the cameras."

"There weren't many cameras on that street to begin with, and it's not difficult to remember. I'm not an idiot. If I've decided to kill someone, can't I even do this little thing well?" Liu Ping said in an incomprehensible tone, "You mean to say that I didn't go to that street at all."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, looking mischievous, "I see. Then how do you explain that there was no trace of you in the surveillance footage from the previous month?"

Liu Ping was stunned.

"If you want to figure out the location of the surveillance cameras, you must have scouted the area, right? Before taking action, you must have personally checked it several times, but within a month, your figure was not captured by any surveillance cameras. You... never went to that street at all." Yu Xing stared at Liu Ping, noticing a moment of panic in his expression, and laughed, "Care to explain?"

...

In the end, Liu Ping gave a vague reason, and Yu Xing asked many more strange questions before leaving the interrogation room with Gao Changan.

"Good job, your intimidation of Liu Ping seems to be even greater than ours." Liu Ping, who had been tight-lipped the whole time, had a flaw, and Gao Changan was very happy, coming out and patting Yu Xing's shoulder hard.

"This kind of person isn't afraid of the police, but is more afraid of someone like me who has beaten him up." Yu Xing shrugged and said to Gao Changan, "Today was just to make him panic a bit. I'll come back tomorrow and ask again. There should be some results then."

Gao Changan nodded, calming down a bit. He felt that his decision was correct. This person named Yu Xing, whatever he did, could indeed bring good news to him in this case.

Yu Xing rubbed his chin and a picture flashed through his mind, "Next, I want to have another contact with Han Xinyi."

"Oh?"

"Liu Ping and Han Xinyi really had no contact at the company? Just listening to Liu Ping's testimony and their colleagues' testimonies is not enough. Han Xinyi, as the victim, might have a unique perspective." His words were very much in line with Gao Changan's thoughts, and if Yu Xing went to ask Han Xinyi, Han Xinyi might not have any resistance.

Gao Changan said, "Good, remember to inform me of any discoveries as soon as possible."

Yu Xing planned to find Han Xinyi, but as soon as he left the police station, he saw Han Xinyi standing on the side of the road, waiting for someone.

In the time it took for him to look over, Han Xinyi also looked over, and in the moment their eyes met, Han Xinyi's eyes lit up little by little. She waved to Yu Xing and happily shouted, "I finally caught you!"

Yu Xing walked over, somewhat surprised, "You were waiting for me?"

"Yeah!" Han Xinyi's eyes curved as she smiled sweetly, "I was planning to go shopping today, and as I passed by here, I saw you entering the police station! I just wandered around the boutique across the street, waiting for you to come out."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, as if a little surprised, "Waiting for me for what?"

"I... you saved my life, and I haven't thanked you yet. I've only been working for a short time, and I don't have much savings, so I can't give you anything. I just thought, could I invite you for a cup of milk tea." Han Xinyi blushed, "The milk tea at that bookstore is super delicious! Can you... go with me?"

She looked cautiously at Yu Xing's expression and added, "I heard you have a girlfriend. Will she misunderstand? It's okay, if she misunderstands, I can explain to her. I just want to thank you!"

Listening to this speech full of implications, Yu Xing chuckled inwardly. He had originally wanted to find an opportunity to ask Han Xinyi some things, so he agreed on the spot.......

Regardless of the undercurrents between the police and the murderer, and their confrontations, the lives of ordinary people continued. Aside from the shadow cast by the homicide lingering in their minds, life was no different than before.

It was a sunny day, and the wind chimes at the entrance of the bookstore would occasionally ring out with a pleasant sound, indicating that even this secluded bookstore had many patrons.

The male clerk had just returned from the restroom and was heading to his post when the new receptionist called out to him, "Zhang Yu, could you help me deliver these two books to the criminal investigation section?"

The young lady at the front desk handed him two books with a polite nod.

Zhang Yu silently took them and walked towards his work area.

His mood had been terrible these past few days, with many things weighing on his mind, leaving him in a state of confusion and irritation.

Ranran, who had taken a sick day, did not return to work the next day as the eerie substitute clerk had said. Instead, she submitted her resignation to the boss and never came back.

It was said that she had come to the store in person to resign, healthy and speaking naturally. So, Ranran was not in trouble, but why did she resign?

Zhang Yu hadn't seen Ranran that day due to his shift schedule. After that, all his messages to her on WeChat and other social media platforms sank like stones in the sea, as if Ranran no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Thinking this way was, of course, wishful thinking on his part, as he had asked other clerks and found that no one had received a response from Ranran. He was not special; he was just one of the former "colleagues."

Ranran hadn't updated her Moments recently and hadn't returned to the address Zhang Yu knew. She had moved out directly.

She had vanished as if off the face of the earth.

This was one of his worries, but there was another matter that forced Zhang Yu to divide his attention among the people he encountered every day.

It was the day Ranran was on sick leave when the strange substitute clerk inexplicably told him, "You are very handsome." Later, when he saw a report about the throat-slitting killer at Ranran's old residence, the phrase "the murderer targets good-looking young men" haunted his mind.

He was indeed handsome, with a line of admirers in his college days that could fill a cafeteria window.

Ever since he learned of the common trait among the victims of the throat-slitting case, the female clerk had taken root in his mind.

Having read many crime stories, Zhang Yu couldn't help but fantasize that the nameless female clerk might be the throat-slitting murderer... Was what she said to him then a death threat?

Similarly, if the female clerk was the murderer, Ranran's odd behavior could be explained—she could have been threatened or coerced by the murderer, or perhaps... she was friends with the murderer and had become an accomplice of sorts?

Zhang Yu didn't exclude this line of thought just because he liked Ranran. He never believed that the girl he liked was some pure and innocent little bunny. On the contrary, every girl with depth of thought had a multifaceted personality to some extent.

He only prayed that Ranran wouldn't stray down the wrong path and that if she could stop in time, perhaps everything could still be turned around.

...However, he also knew that all his speculations were baseless, just his own wild thoughts.

Zhang Yu sighed, carefully placed the detective books back on the shelf, and stood still beside it.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught a strange color.

Before he could react, his scalp tingled, and he turned his head in surprise to see that on the side of the bookshelf, visible only to him, someone had crudely scribbled a few words in pencil.

"You're next."

The childlike strokes sent a chill down Zhang Yu's spine. He looked around like a startled cat, and just at that moment, the wind chimes jingled, and a slender figure flashed by his field of vision.

It was a female customer who had just walked out of the store. For some reason, Zhang Yu's gaze stuck to this figure, his heart pounding with nervousness—this silhouette was so familiar.

The woman seemed to sense something and turned half her face back.

A black mask covered her face below the nose, but those eerily expressive eyes were all too familiar to Zhang Yu.

His pupils shrank, and he involuntarily stepped back.

He was certain he wasn't mistaken; this was the substitute clerk!

What was she doing here? Dressed as a regular customer and wearing a mask, she had avoided recognition by everyone in the store.

Before she left, the threatening words "You're next" had appeared in his work area!

The woman seemed to smile briefly, no longer looking at him, and disappeared from the store entrance.

The next moment, Yu Xing and Han Xinyi walked in through the still-open glass door.

Han Xinyi was visibly excited, pointing to the criminal investigation section and introducing it to Yu Xing, "This is the place! They have great milk tea here, and the books are good too. I like to sit there and read detective novels... Huh?"

Her voice trailed off, and Yu Xing followed her pointing finger, catching sight of a clerk who seemed to have just been startled out of his wits.

Yu Xing's lips slowly curled into a smile, his eyes brimming with interest.