Chapter 122 Time

Chapter 122: Time

In the room, the man's clothes were disheveled, his hair a tangled mess. Hearing the noise, he abruptly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, looking wrecked—a far cry from his usual put-together self.

Upon seeing the visitors, his eyes instantly lit up as he hurried forward, asking anxiously, "Have you found anything? Any leads?"

Shen Qingye observed his seemingly genuine urgency, her fingers flexing slightly at her sides. She couldn’t wrap her head around how he could keep it together so well—how, after killing his own daughter, he could still appear so composed.

Lu Yingzhuo said, "We’re still working the case. If there are any leads, we’ll inform you immediately." He studied his expression. "Right now, we’re here to ask you some questions."

Qu Peiyun’s gaze dimmed at this. He forced a smile and stepped aside to let them in. "Ask away."

The group settled on the sofa across from Qu Peiyun. Lu Yingzhuo asked, "Around what time did your family finish lunch and return to the lodging area?"

Qu Peiyun thought for a moment. "It should’ve been around 12:30, not quite 1:00."

Lu Yingzhuo pressed, "What exactly happened then?"

Qu Peiyun replied, "After we got back, I was about to put Jing Jing to bed, but before I could even touch the bed, she woke up and refused to sleep. I tried forever to get her to sleep, but she wouldn’t settle, so I had to play with her for a while. During that time, Ru Ning got a call—there was an issue at work, so she left to handle it—"

Yue Lingchuan interrupted, "What time was that?"

Qu Peiyun paused. "Maybe... around 1:00?" He thought again. "Probably not even 1:30 yet. Shortly after she left, I checked the time—it was only 1:30 then."

Lu Yingzhuo asked, "And then?"

"Then... her grandmother and I kept playing with Jing Jing. We had to keep at it forever before she finally conked out. Since she was sleeping with her grandmother, I left after she fell asleep. Before I left, I checked the time and realized it was already past three."

Lu Yingzhuo tapped his pen. "She played for that long?"

Qu Peiyun gave a hollow laugh. "That’s just how she is. Sometimes, once she’s past her window for napping, she just refuses to rest. But if she doesn’t nap in the afternoon, she gets tired too early in the evening and wakes up cranky the next morning. No way around it—we’ve gotta get her to nap."

Yue Lingchuan asked again, "After she fell asleep, you went fishing?"

Qu Peiyun nodded. "Yes. After she was asleep, I went back to my room, picked up my fishing stuff, and left."

Shen Qingye asked, "Do you usually enjoy fishing?"

Qu Peiyun replied, "Somewhat. But I’m swamped at home—no time for hobbies. Here, since I had time to kill, I went for a while. If I’d known... I wouldn’t have gone..."

He lowered his head, scrubbing at his face, and took a deep breath, his whole body shaking.

Shen Qingye glanced at him before asking, "What time did you arrive at the pond?"

Qu Peiyun answered hoarsely, "Around 3:20-ish."

Shen Qingye pressed, "After you got there, you didn’t leave again?"

Qu Peiyun shook his head. "No. Since the child was asleep and there was nothing else to do at home, I stayed there the whole time. Around five, I figured Jing Jing would be up any minute, so I came back."

Shen Qingye asked, "Were there many people fishing at the time?"

Qu Peiyun thought for a moment. "Just a couple others."

Shen Qingye asked, "Could you see each other?"

Qu Peiyun replied, "Yes."

At this, Shen Qingye and Yue Lingchuan exchanged a glance. If so, someone could vouch for his alibi.

So how did he do it?

From the time Jingjing fell asleep to when he went fishing, the whole thing only took about ten minutes—barely enough time to pull it off.

Shen Qingye paused, lost in thought. Ignoring the finer points, Lu Yingzhuo tapped his knee and asked, "I heard that during lunch, you and Song Runing had a conflict?"

Qu Peiyun hesitated. "Conflict?"

It took him a second to catch on. "Oh, you mean that."

He thought for a moment, then frowned. "It wasn’t a fight... Runing’s got a temper, but she doesn’t mean anything by it. Besides, it was really my fault—I didn’t follow through on something I promised to take care of. It was only natural for her to get upset. We smoothed things over later."

Lu Yingzhuo looked at him. "Song Runing called you out in front of everyone. Didn’t that piss you off?"

Qu Peiyun shook his head. "That’s just her—she goes after the problem, not the person. Why would I be angry? If I took it personally every time, I wouldn’t have stuck around this long..."

Then it hit him. "Wait... what do you mean by that?"

He looked up at the police officers, stunned. "You’re saying... you think I hurt Jingjing because I was mad at Runing?"

"You think I killed Jingjing?"

Qu Peiyun’s eyes widened in panic. "Leaving aside whether I was angry or not, even if I was, how could I possibly harm Jingjing? She’s my own flesh and blood—I raised her myself! How could I ever hurt her? Officer, you’ve got to look into this! I—I—"

He floundered, hands waving, face twisted in shock.

Lu Yingzhuo studied him for a long moment before saying, "Alright, the case isn’t closed yet. Everyone is a potential suspect—this is just routine questioning. Don’t read too much into it."

Only then did Qu Peiyun relax slightly. But after a pause, he let out a bitter laugh. "I know—I’m a jobless guy stuck at home playing househusband—of course you think I’m bitter. And it’s not just you—even Song Runing thinks that way. Did she tell you she suspects I harmed Jingjing?"

The group exchanged glances but remained silent. Qu Peiyun muttered to himself, "If I’d known just bringing up another kid would make her think like this, I’d have kept my mouth shut..."

He said to them, "It’s my fault. All my fault."

"All my fault."

Shen Qingye studied his defeated look for a long while before finally saying, "Song Runing never said those things."

Qu Peiyun looked up, startled. "What?"

Shen Qingye continued, "She’s moved on, but you clearly haven’t."

Qu Peiyun stiffened. Her sharp stare made him swallow hard. "I..."

Shen Qingye gave him a long look but said nothing more. She stood up, bid farewell, and left.

Qu Peiyun stayed frozen in place until they left. Then he sagged with a shaky exhale.

·

Next, they tracked down the teahouse owner, asking if Song Runing had left at any point. The owner thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "I don’t think so."

"I kept looking over now and then, and from what I remember, she was always there, pacing around, looking quite anxious. A couple times I got close enough to catch her chewing someone out."

They caught on and then went to find the tourists who had been fishing with Qu Peiyun in the afternoon. When asked if he had left at any point, they all said no. And when questioned about what time he had arrived, they answered in unison:

"About 3:20."

"About 3:20."

"I remember it was around 3:20-ish."

"..."

One, two, three...

Hearing it again, Shen Qingye looked up at the old man and asked, "You remember that well?"

The old man brushed it off with a wave. "Ah, the kid mentioned it himself when he first arrived. I overheard him and it stuck with me."

Shen Qingye hesitated.

"Qu Peiyun said it himself?"