Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Neither Lei Yue nor the other police officer paid any attention to a small cat, just glanced at it. After Tian Li's sister opened the door, they sat down on the sofa and got straight to the point.

Lei Yue sat on a chair and was the first to ask Tian Li's brother-in-law a question, "Mr. He, do you know Liu Xingchang?"

He Wenlin's refined face looked confused, "Liu Xingchang? Who is that? I don't know him."

Lei Yue carefully observed his expression. Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he pulled out his phone, found a photo, and handed it over, "This person. Take a look."

He Wenlin took the phone, examined it very closely, and thought hard, but eventually shook his head, "He looks familiar, but I've been racking my brain and can't place him."

Lei Yue asked a second question, "Then do you know Qin Mei?"

This time, He Wenlin was stunned. He frowned, his expression somewhat doubtful and puzzled, then honestly nodded, "Yes, she's a colleague in our company's project team. We've worked together for several years, but we're only acquaintances, the kind of acquaintance you have with colleagues, not even friends."

Afraid of getting into trouble, He Wenlin cautiously explained a few sentences, then, making a connection, he asked nervously, "What happened to Qin Mei? She's not... dead, is she? I saw her this morning, and she was fine, along with other colleagues."

Finally hearing Qin Mei's name, Tang Qiu, as a cat, pricked up her ears, then jumped out of He Hongxuan's arms, who had been holding her, and leaped onto the back of the sofa. From a high vantage point, she looked down at the phone in He Wenlin's hand, waiting for Qin Mei's photo to appear.

He Hongxuan saw the cat run away and instinctively wanted to reach for her, but although he couldn't understand the adults' words, he could sense the tense and serious atmosphere. In the end, he just looked at Tang Qiu with longing eyes, still huddled in Tian Li's arms, glancing at the police officers and then at his father, who was being questioned.

Tang Qiu's sudden move broke the tense silence. Only then did the adults notice that He Hongxuan, a child, was still in the living room. Tian Li's sister quickly said, "Why is Xuanxuan still here? Go play in the bedroom. Tian Li, go with him and take the tablet from the coffee table. He can watch some cartoons, but not for too long."

Tian Li, despite her curiosity, said nothing but picked up He Hongxuan. She held him tight even as he squirmed and tried to resist, and carried him away.

Watching Tian Li take He Hongxuan into the bedroom and close the door, Lei Yue retrieved his phone, scrolled to Qin Mei's photo, and handed it over again, "Take a look. Is the Qin Mei you know this person?"

He Wenlin glanced at the phone and said with certainty, "That's her, my colleague. I wouldn't mistake her."

Tang Qiu committed the photo of Qin Mei to memory. The woman looked to be about the same age as Tian Li's sister, with a slightly receding hairline and a good-looking face, but she looked exhausted. Her round almond eyes were dull and vacant, as if crushed by the burdens of life. Just looking at the photo, you could tell this woman was unhappy and joyless.

Returning the phone, He Wenlin asked again, "What happened to my colleague? Is she okay?"

Lei Yue simply replied, "She's fine," then switched topics, "Did you have any conflicts with her during your work? Or, anything unusual about how you interacted at the company?"

These two questions invited speculation. He Wenlin frowned even more, wondering why the police were asking this. He felt a bit uneasy and irritated.

Swallowing nervously, He Wenlin recalled, saying, "Conflicts? There were some, but I wouldn't really call them conflicts. Just differences of opinion at work. For example, when a project encounters unexpected situations, there are always multiple solutions, and everyone argues a bit. But it's all work-related, just about the matter at hand. As for anything unusual..."

He Wenlin hesitated, looking uncertain. After a moment, he ventured, "Sometimes after work, when we chat together, she'd often look envious and say envious things. Does that count?"

Lei Yue pressed, "Envious? Envious of what?"

He Wenlin swallowed again and recalled, "Just... about family matters. Most of the colleagues in our project team are married, and when we chat, we inevitably talk about wives, husbands, kids. I also mentioned that my son is very well-behaved, just a bit introverted, doesn't like making friends, only likes playing with small animals. And about my wife, I said that although she's very capable at work, she's a bit ditsy in daily life, kind of slow. Sometimes when friends or relatives say sarcastic things, she doesn't react at the time, only realizes it weeks later. So the atmosphere at home is generally good. Whenever I talk about my family, she always shows that envious expression."

As he spoke, He Wenlin suddenly thought of something, sat up straight, and blurted out, "Oh, right! She mentioned to other colleagues that she wanted a divorce."

"To whom?" Lei Yue asked. "Did she ever mention getting a divorce in front of you?"

He Wenlin thought for a moment and shook his head, "She never said it to me directly, but I heard colleagues talk about it, more than once. It was quite detailed, so it's probably true. Colleagues also said they saw her arguing with her husband on the phone in the hallway. It got really heated, and they felt awkward and didn't want to listen further, so they left quickly. I don't know what they argued about."

He Wenlin paused, hesitated, looked at Lei Yue, and suddenly said, "Officer, I think I remember who that person in the photo you showed me earlier is. Can I see it again?"

Lei Yue obliged and quickly found Liu Xingchang's photo and handed it over.

This time, He Wenlin looked at it for an unusually long time. After several minutes, he said hesitantly, "This person... seems to be Qin Mei's husband. I think I've seen him a few times, but always from a distance, arguing and tugging with Qin Mei. I haven't really seen his face clearly. The only time I saw his face was when he came to pick up Qin Mei by car, but he didn't talk to us, just picked her up and left directly. I'm not sure, but it should be him."

Lei Yue then asked a few more questions, similar to the previous ones, all about the relationship between Qin Mei and He Wenlin. He Wenlin was baffled and nervous, afraid that the police or his wife would misunderstand. To prove his innocence, he even showed his chat records and call logs.

As the person who prevented Liu Xingchang from killing He Hongxuan, Tang Qiu, piecing together Lei Yue's questions and He Wenlin's answers, gradually figured it out.

The reason Liu Xingchang wanted to kill He Hongxuan was most likely because of He Wenlin. Tang Qiu didn't bother guessing why Liu Xingchang hated He Wenlin; she speculated that Liu Xingchang's real target was He Wenlin, but because of his ability and the risk involved, he gave up and instead wanted to kill He Hongxuan to exact revenge on He Wenlin.

What a despicable and vile person, Tang Qiu sneered inwardly. Seeing Lei Yue and the other police officer get up to leave, she quickly jumped off the sofa, intending to slip out when the door opened.

But Tang Qiu's move gave Lei Yue the wrong idea. He looked with interest at the little creature by his leg and wanted to bend down and pet it, but restrained himself, mindful of his job. He politely bid farewell to He Wenlin and Tian Li's sister.

To prevent anyone in the house from stopping her if they realized she wanted to leave, Tang Qiu sat still when He Wenlin and his wife saw the two police officers to the door. Only when the door opened did Tang Qiu dart like the wind, leaping several times and slipping through the crack before anyone could react.

Behind her came urgent shouts, and the sobs of He Hongxuan, who had come out a step too late. Tang Qiu ignored them, nimbly ran and jumped, taking shortcuts out of the neighborhood instead of following the main road.

By the time she got home safely, it was nearly midnight. Since there was nothing planned for the next day, and she had told Lei Yue earlier that she would go for a night run, after thinking for just a second, she changed back into normal clothes and went out.

After running her usual route and returning home, Tang Qiu washed up, then sat on the living room sofa skimming through the criminal law book. She was looking for the laws on sentencing for intentional murder.

When she heard Lei Yue asking He Wenlin about Qin Mei, Tang Qiu realized she had been mistaken. She had thought that by preventing Liu Xingchang's criminal act, even if he was sentenced, the term would be very short. That's why she wanted to figure out the relationship between Qin Mei and Liu Xingchang, to find Qin Mei and get back the 1 basic attribute point she had lost.

But now, calming down and thinking carefully, Tang Qiu realized her thoughts were too optimistic and simplistic.

Especially when she flipped to the provisions on intentional murder, her idea was confirmed.

The book stated: As long as the perpetrator commits an act of intentional murder, it constitutes the crime of intentional homicide, regardless of whether the victim is actually killed, and regardless of whether the homicide is in the stage of preparation, attempt, or abandonment. It all constitutes a crime.

That is to say, even if Liu Xingchang's offense is deemed minor, he'd still face three to ten years in prison.

Liu Xingchang has now been arrested. Even if Tang Qiu is not very familiar with police procedures, she knows that from now until Liu Xingchang is released from prison, he won't be able to come out. The system's warning of Qin Mei's early death would be at least three years later.

Three years—Tang Qiu couldn't wait that long. Even if she remembers it clearly and sets reminders, she cannot guarantee she can save Qin Mei in three years. Tang Qiu never makes long-term plans, so she must resolve this matter quickly.

Putting down the criminal law book, Tang Qiu thought of ways to prevent Liu Xingchang from killing Qin Mei.

After much thought, Tang Qiu suddenly recalled that besides the Confusion Mask and the Pet Perspective Experience Card, she seemed to have another unused item. She remembered the name: Malice Attraction Sticker.

At the time, she couldn't find a target for this item, but now Liu Xingchang appeared, fitting her needs perfectly.

Muttering under her breath, she retrieved the item from the system. She wasn't surprised to see it was in the form of a sticky note. She had grown accustomed to the system's plain style and appreciated it. Sometimes she wondered how this system suited her aesthetic so well, as if tailored for her.

Finding a black pen, Tang Qiu placed the Malice Attraction Sticker on a book, ready to use it. But as she was about to write Liu Xingchang's name, the pen hadn't moved yet, but the characters appeared quietly, stroke by stroke, as if her thoughts had turned into ink, writing the name "Liu Xingchang" on the sticker-like item.

As the three characters fully appeared, the sticker suddenly caught fire from the upper right corner without any flame. Tang Qiu was startled. For safety, she quickly yanked the book out from under it, letting the sticker twirl and fall onto the floor tiles to burn.

A small, palm-sized piece of paper burned quickly, leaving no debris or ash. After burning, it vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

Tang Qiu stood still with the book in hand for a few seconds. The system interface did not pop up. She wasn't disappointed. Although the Malice Attraction Sticker had no instructions, judging by its name, the item would probably take some time to take effect.

Tang Qiu had plenty of time and wasn't in a rush. Besides, Liu Xingchang would be out in at least three years. Three years was enough for this item to fully play its role.