I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 267: Chapter 265: As If I Don’t Know You

That evening, Su Miaoyi stood in front of a whiteboard, organizing clues related to Lu Xian.

Just as she was writing, the doorbell rang.

Su Miaoyi instinctively erased everything on the whiteboard before going to open the door.

Qin Chengyuan was standing at the door.

Su Miaoyi’s heart skipped a beat. "Chief."

Qin Chengyuan looked travel-worn and seemed to be in a hurry. The urgency made his already serious expression even more severe.

Su Miaoyi stepped aside. "Please, come in."

Qin Chengyuan’s gaze shifted from her face to her arm.

She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt at home, leaving the gauze on her arm exposed.

Qin Chengyuan entered and changed his shoes in the entryway.

He had received news the day Su Miaoyi was injured.

But he was out of town for a conference and couldn’t come back.

Shen Yanzhou had told him she was fine, but he was still worried.

"It’s nothing, I’m all better now," Su Miaoyi said.

"I’ve been out of town for meetings these past two days," Qin Chengyuan said. "Yan Zheng said you were hurt in many places."

"They’re all minor injuries." Su Miaoyi entered the living room. "Please, have a seat."

"Did you get stitches on your arm?"

"Just here," Su Miaoyi said. "I can get the stitches out in a few days. Lu Zhishen spoke with the doctor when they were stitching me up. They did a neat job, so it probably won’t leave a scar."

Qin Chengyuan sat on the sofa without saying a word.

Su Miaoyi went to pour a glass of water. "Have you eaten yet?"

She wasn’t sure where he had come from, but she had a feeling he’d come straight here after finishing his work.

"I ate on the plane," Qin Chengyuan said.

"You came right after you got off the plane?"

Qin Chengyuan nodded.

"I’m fine now," Su Miaoyi said. "If anyone tries to kill me now, I’ll have them on their knees begging for mercy in minutes."

Qin Chengyuan looked at her.

Su Miaoyi gave him an obedient smile.

Qin Chengyuan’s severe expression finally softened, and a small smile appeared on his face.

He often thought that maybe he should have stopped her from going to the police academy back then.

As a father, he had always supported her fully, respected all of her choices, and did his utmost to help her achieve whatever she decided.

But also because he was a father, he couldn’t help but be selfish.

When she had gone missing, when she was gone, when she was injured and in danger, he would regret every decision he had ever made.

He’d wonder if he should have strongly opposed her going to the police academy.

If he shouldn’t have let her learn martial arts as a child.

If he shouldn’t have agreed to let her enter this line of work after graduation.

If he shouldn’t have agreed to let her go undercover.

And yet, he always came back to the same thought: if time could be turned back... he would still respect every single one of her choices.

All of his reluctance stemmed from his perspective as a father, not from what she wanted for herself.

"I received news the day you were injured. Yan Zhou and I asked about your condition, and I haven’t told Shilan since," Qin Chengyuan said.

Su Miaoyi nodded in understanding.

In truth, if not for Qin Chengyuan’s position, which required the city bureau to report many things to him, she would have preferred he didn’t know either. With things like this, family would only end up heartbroken and worried, and she didn’t want that.

"I’ll be better soon, so let’s not tell her," Su Miaoyi said.

Qin Chengyuan nodded. "Is it still safe for you to live here?"

"They’ll find me no matter where I move," Su Miaoyi said. "This is already the third place I’ve moved to. I don’t want to move again. The security here is already top-notch. Besides, if my home security is too tight, they’ll just lure me somewhere else, like what happened this time."

Qin Chengyuan frowned. "We need to improve the surrounding surveillance and increase security."

"Don’t worry, I can totally handle myself."

"Even so, you can’t let your guard down. You have to be even more careful in situations like this," Qin Chengyuan said.

"Okay."

Qin Chengyuan looked at her. "You’d better not just be saying that to humor me."

Su Miaoyi pressed her lips together and smiled.

Qin Chengyuan grunted, then paused before asking, "Do you remember anything about Lu Xian?"

"I’ve started to remember some things," Su Miaoyi said, then began to tattle. "He was always calling me a nepotism hire."

Qin Chengyuan looked at her.

Su Miaoyi frowned, her expression full of dissatisfaction and anger. "He said the only reason people at the city bureau liked me was because my dad is Qin Chengyuan, and they all wanted to suck up to me. He would veto any method I proposed. He was always finding excuses to yell at me. If someone else did the same thing, it was fine, but if I did it, I’d definitely get chewed out. He was always telling me to get the hell out of the city bureau."

Watching her indignant expression, Qin Chengyuan said, "You never mentioned any of this at home before. Every time I asked how work was, you just said it was going well."

Su Miaoyi pursed her lips, then let out a heavy sigh. "I was young and stupid! If I’d told you sooner, maybe I would’ve stopped getting yelled at, and maybe I wouldn’t have had to write so many self-criticism reports."

"That’s easy for you to say now," Qin Chengyuan said with a laugh. "As if I don’t know you."

Su Miaoyi laughed. "Well... if I came to you for everything and had you solve all my problems, that would make me seem... so incompetent. Then I really would’ve been what Lu Xian called me, right? I was young, proud, and just starting my career with a burning passion. I wanted to prove myself and achieve something on my own. I had to rely on myself."

After she finished, she looked at Qin Chengyuan again. "So if I had told you back then, what would you have done?"

"Me...?" Qin Chengyuan said deliberately. "I would’ve pretended I didn’t hear you."

Su Miaoyi pouted, not believing him. "That’s what you say, but I know you better than that."

Qin Chengyuan laughed.

Su Miaoyi smiled along with him.

"So how was Lu Xian discovered back then?" she asked.

"The cult case you were involved in was never solved, but the investigation was always ongoing." Qin Chengyuan’s expression turned serious. "By that time, you had already left for your mission. It was during the Chinese New Year holiday, so everyone was off. Yan Zheng was visiting relatives with his parents when he discovered some clues and pinpointed a location. He couldn’t get in touch with Lu Xian, so he and Zheng Qi took a few men and went there directly."

"But when they got there, they ran into Lu Xian. At first, Yan Zheng and Zheng Qi didn’t think anything of it. They assumed Lu Xian had also discovered the location and gone over. But then Lu Xian suddenly made his move..."

Su Miaoyi’s eyes tightened.

"Lu Xian must have realized that while Yan Zheng and Zheng Qi might not suspect anything in that instant, they would eventually figure it out. He knew he was exposed, so he attacked immediately. Yan Zheng took a bullet from him," Qin Chengyuan said. "He was in the emergency room for over ten hours. The doctors said he was incredibly lucky to have survived."

Su Miaoyi clenched her jaw, swallowing past the ache in her throat.

’So that line she saw in the vision, the one she heard—"I can even be ruthless to the brothers I’ve gone through hell and back with"—was about Zhuang Yanzheng.’

’No wonder Zhuang Yanzheng was so unwilling to talk about it.’

’He was the one who faced Lu Xian’s betrayal most directly.’

"If he’s not in Jinghai, where would he go?" Su Miaoyi asked. "Has there been any news of him these past few years?"

"No," Qin Chengyuan said. "He fled right after he hurt Yan Zheng, and there’s been no news of him for years."

Su Miaoyi was silent for a moment before asking, "There’s a list of names from an orphanage missing from the city bureau’s system. Could that be related to him?"

...