Chapter 99: Forum

Chapter 99: The Investigation

Shen Qingye looked at the young man's expressionless face and felt a pang of guilt. She cleared her throat lightly and invited him to join them in eating.

Han Songlin declined twice but couldn't refuse in the end. He picked up a skewer and glared at the kitten, which was affectionately rubbing against Shen Qingye while eating, as if he were biting into its flesh.

Shen Qingye and Yue Lingchuan exchanged glances, their eyes full of amusement.

None of them were big talkers, so they simply focused on eating in silence.

At one point, Shen Qingye asked Han Songlin if he knew anyone in their class who could write in different fonts or use their left hand to write. He replied that he wasn’t sure. Shen Qingye wasn’t surprised—given his personality, his relationships with classmates were probably only slightly better than with strangers.

After the meal, the two of them, concerned about the case, didn’t linger. They bid farewell to Han Songlin and left, leaving him alone to watch the kitten lazily licking its paws after its meal. He tentatively reached out his fingers again, only to be predictably swatted away by the kitten.

Han Songlin curled his lip and muttered under his breath, "Ungrateful little thing."

...

Upon returning to the station, Shen Qingye learned that Brother Niu had already arrived, and Teacher He had delivered the students' assignments.

The two quickened their pace and arrived at the first team’s office. Inside the brightly lit room, a casually dressed man in his forties or fifties sat at a desk, frowning thoughtfully at a pile of documents in front of him.

Shen Qingye immediately realized that this must be Niu Hongbo, the handwriting analysis expert from the forensics team—Brother Niu.

The office was silent. Captain Yang and the others sat at their desks, staring intently at him but not daring to utter a word, afraid of disrupting his train of thought.

Shen Qingye took a few quiet steps forward and sat down beside Captain Yang, whispering, "What’s the situation now?"

Captain Yang shook his head, his expression grim. "As soon as Old Niu arrived, he reviewed the letter and confirmed it was written with the left hand. Teacher He just delivered the students’ assignments. Old Niu scanned through them, screened out the obviously mismatched ones and some from female students, and now there are about ten left."

He tilted his chin toward Niu Hongbo and added, "Left-handed and right-handed writing are naturally different. If, as you suspect, the person deliberately concealed their ability to write with their left hand, they likely altered their writing habits intentionally, making the analysis even harder. Plus, with such a heavy workload..." He shook his head again. "We might not get results even by tonight."

Shen Qingye rubbed her temples, her eyes darkening with worry. Time was running out, but with limited leads, there was little they could do, no matter how anxious they were.

She tried to analyze further, "If the person who wrote this letter really is the culprit, then his motive might be because Qin Jiayu rejected his feelings and chose to be with Zhou Yuanfeng instead. He lashed out in resentment and decided to take revenge—against both Qin Jiayu and Zhou Yuanfeng?"

Li Mingliang chimed in, "If that’s the case, why not just target Qin Jiayu? Why go through all this trouble to frame Zhou Yuanfeng?"

Yue Lingchuan added, "It’s also possible he already disliked Zhou Yuanfeng. Combined with the Qin Jiayu situation, he might’ve felt Zhou stole her from him. All these grudges added up, leading to this decision."

Captain Yang growled outright, "What kind of damn ‘love’ is that?"

Shen Qingye almost laughed at his outburst, but the heaviness in her chest kept her from doing so.

Lao Huang scratched his head and sighed. "Right now, we don’t even know who holds a grudge against Zhou Yuanfeng. There are no leads."

And with Qin Jiayu’s condition still unknown, along with the uncertainty of when the perpetrator might strike, the air was thick with tension.

The atmosphere in the office grew tense, everyone’s expressions serious. After a long silence, Captain Yang snapped at Yue Lingchuan. "Alright, standing around here won’t help. You and Xiao Shen should go rest."

Yue Lingchuan hesitated and opened his mouth to argue, but after glancing at Shen Qingye, he changed his words. "Xiao Shen should go back. You should rest too, Captain. I’m not tired—I’ll stay here and keep watch."

Shen Qingye shot back quickly, "I’m not tired either. With the case still unresolved, I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. I’ll stay and wait."

Captain Yang snapped impatiently. "Wait for what? Just sitting here won’t help. Get some rest and come back ready tomorrow!"

Yue Lingchuan frowned in disagreement. "If anyone should go back, it’s you—"

Before he could finish, Captain Yang cut in. "What kind of captain would I be if I left during my own team’s case? Stop arguing. I can handle one night without sleep. Besides, I can manage on a desk or chair. You two hurry back and get some sleep. We’ll need you at full strength tomorrow."

Seeing Yue Lingchuan still wanting to say something, Captain Yang glared at him. "Man up, quit being so wishy-washy."

After speaking, he turned to Li Mingliang. "Head home too, Li. Lao Huang and I can handle things here. No need to keep so many people around..."

Seeing his insistence, the others could say no more and reluctantly agreed.

Stepping out of the precinct building, the cool evening breeze brushed against their faces, dispelling the day’s lingering heat. Shen Qingye took a deep breath, exhaling the heaviness in her chest.

The moon was full tonight, its bright light casting a faint glow over the dim floors of the police compound.

Shen Qingye looked distracted.

Since gaining her ability, this was the first time she had worked a case without relying on it. She had to track down every lead herself.

On one hand, she felt anxious—frustrated by the lack of useful leads. On the other, she thought it might be a good thing that no clues had surfaced yet.

It meant no lives had been lost.

Life was always precious.

Yue Lingchuan stood beside her and, noticing her expression, patted her shoulder gently. "Trust Lao Huang’s expertise, and trust Captain Yang and the others. They’ve been doing this job for years—they know what they’re doing."

Shen Qingye managed a weak smile. "I know..."

But she couldn't shake the urgency.

No deaths were a relief, yet it only made everyone more anxious. They feared that even a slight delay might lead them to another dead girl.

But dwelling on it now wouldn’t help. All Shen Qingye could do was pull herself together and trust the veterans.

Tomorrow would be another busy day. Pulling herself together, Shen Qingye looked up at Yue Lingchuan and gave him a brilliant smile. He blinked in surprise before returning it.

His chiseled features were already striking, but with that smile, it was like sunlight on water—warm and mesmerizing.

Whether it was the wind or the moonlight, Shen Qingye couldn’t tell, but his eyes seemed especially bright, reflecting only her image in their depths... nothing else.

Her pulse quickened. Slowly, she blinked and averted her gaze, suddenly awkward.

......

On the way back, Yue Lingchuan insisted on seeing her home. Through the rearview mirror, Shen Qingye watched the tall, sturdy jeep keeping a polite distance. Her lips pressed together slightly, and her face softened unconsciously.

Once home, Shen Qingye bid Yue Lingchuan goodbye before heading toward the house.

The villa’s front door was shut tight, but a sliver of light peeked through the gap. She felt a rush of warmth as she pushed the door open—sure enough, the living room was brightly lit, with Shen Linyue curled up on the sofa watching TV.

"You’re back?" Shen Linyue said casually.

It was nearly eleven, well past her mother’s usual bedtime. Her being up could only mean one thing—she had been waiting.

Shen Qingye felt her heart swell. She immediately clung to her mother, burying her face in her mom's familiar scent and inhaling deeply.

Shen Linyue frowned and tried to push her away. "Ew, you little pest! You’ve been out all day and didn’t even shower before hugging me. Back off!"

Instead of letting go, Shen Qingye nuzzled closer, whined petulantly. "Nooo, I don’t wanna..."

Stuck in her daughter's octopus hug, Shen Linyue sighed in resignation, putting up with the sloppy kisses and baby talk. With an exaggerated eye roll, she added, "There’s pork trotter soup in the rice cooker for you."

Shen Qingye let out a happy yelp and dashed to the kitchen.

Shen Linyue watched her back as she walked away, let out a quiet sigh, and shook her head.

This wasn’t raising a daughter—it was raising an eternal little troublemaker.

...

After drinking the soup and taking a shower, Shen Qingye unwound and slept soundly.

The next morning, she woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. After breakfast, she even remembered to grab a large to-go order on the street. When she arrived at the station, she happened to bump into Yue Lingchuan.

The two of them both chuckled at each other’s large bags of breakfast.

Yue Lingchuan shook his head and said, “Guess no one’s starving today.”

No sooner had he spoken than Li Mingliang also walked over, carrying a bag of breakfast in his hand.

They looked at each other, at a loss for words.

·

In Group One’s office, Captain Yang didn’t bother turning around at the commotion. “Everyone here?”

Shen Qingye said ‘yes’ and looked up to see Brother Niu leaning back in his chair, rubbing his eyes with exhaustion, while Captain Yang and Lao Huang were leaning in together, staring at a piece of paper on the desk.

Shen Qingye had a hunch and quickly dropped the food before moving closer.

“Did you find out who wrote the letter?”

Captain Yang replied, “Brother Niu stayed up all night and found a few close matches. But we still can’t confirm who it is.”

Shen Qingye lowered her head to look at the paper and saw three names written clearly on it:

Yang Xingdong, Zheng Jun, and one more...

Ke Zhiwei.

Her stomach dropped, and she had a lightbulb moment. But before she could grasp it, the office door burst open.

“Captain Yue!”

Turning around, she saw Jiang Cheng.

Shen Qingye was surprised. He was usually cool-headed and hardly ever this rattled. For him to act like this now… was there another new case?

Yue Lingchuan asked what was wrong, but Jiang Cheng didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Captain Yang and said, “Captain Yang, are you currently investigating Zhou Yuanfeng’s case?”

Captain Yang nodded curiously. “Yes.”

He asked, “What’s the matter?”

Jiang Cheng’s expression was grim. He took a deep breath and said, “You’ll wanna see this.”

“There’s been some ugly rumors on the local forums.”