You Huan and Ruan Xingzhuo didn’t take a cab; instead, they casually picked a direction along the road and started walking.
They walked for over ten minutes without saying a word.
Several times, You Huan secretly glanced at Ruan Xingzhuo, wanting to say something, but whenever she saw his tense profile, she swallowed the words that had reached her lips.
After another ten minutes, You Huan finally said, “Ruan Xingzhuo, why don’t we go find Xingxing?”
He was with her, but his mind wasn’t on her.
That way, both of them would feel uncomfortable.
Besides, she was worried about Ruan Xingyao too.
Hearing this, Ruan Xingzhuo stopped walking, lowered his eyes to look at You Huan, and after a few seconds, said, “Sorry.”
It was his fault—he had overestimated his emotions.
You Huan shook her head and said, “It’s late at night, and I’m worried about Xingxing too. Let’s go find her.”
Ruan Xingzhuo agreed, raised his hand to flag down a car, and went with You Huan to Changcheng Police Station.
Half an hour later, the two of them arrived at Changcheng Police Station.
It was already past nine in the evening, yet the lights inside the station were still brightly lit.
They didn’t call Ruan Xingyao but instead sat down at a small shop across the street from the station.
Fortunately, the shop hadn’t closed yet.
Ruan Xingzhuo bought two bottles of soda, handed one to You Huan, then sat across from her—his eyes, however, remained fixed on the police station opposite.
You Huan bit on her straw, glancing between Ruan Xingzhuo and the police station across the street.
After thinking for a bit, she said, “Should I find someone to look into Chen Yu?”
With her family background, investigating someone wasn’t hard at all.
Hearing this, Ruan Xingzhuo withdrew his gaze and looked at You Huan.
After a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, “Not for now. I’ll ask my sister later.”
You Huan said, “If you ask Xingxing, she’ll definitely say there’s no need.”
Ruan Xingzhuo replied, “Then we’ll listen to her.”
You Huan: “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Ruan Xingzhuo’s fingers froze for a moment on the soda bottle.
His gaze fell on You Huan’s face, meeting her open and straightforward eyes, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.
To cover it up, he took a sip of soda and shifted his gaze back to the police station.
You Huan propped her face in her hands, a little disappointed, and turned her gaze away.
******
After Ruan Xingyao arrived at the police station, she was called into Wan Laiming’s office.
Wan Laiming handed her a file and said, “Xiao Ruan, this is what we just got from the interrogation. Nothing unusual.”
Ruan Xingyao opened the file and began reading carefully.
The man’s name was Wang Tianping, and his girlfriend—the real owner of Buguo—was named Zhang Tiantian.
They were alumni from the same school, and after graduation, they both entered the same company, naturally ending up together.
On their 100-day anniversary, Wang Tianping took Zhang Tiantian on a trip to Nan Province.
According to Wang Tianping’s statement, after the trip ended, he returned to Changcheng first, while Zhang Tiantian said she wanted to visit her parents at home, so they parted ways.
Three days after Zhang Tiantian returned home, the company assigned her a business trip.
She set out from her hometown and had not returned to Changcheng since.
The transcript looked very reasonable.
Even the times and locations were clear—there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
As Ruan Xingyao went through the notes, her frown deepened.
She asked, “Have you tracked down Zhang Tiantian’s movements? Did she really go home?”
Wan Laiming replied, “According to the flight records, they did separate. Zhang Tiantian also indeed set off on her business trip from her hometown.”
Ruan Xingyao lifted her head, her beautiful eyes full of doubt.
“That can’t be right. Are you really only relying on flight records to verify the situation?” she asked.
What about surveillance? Location tracking? Or even people who had contact with Zhang Tiantian?
Had none of that been investigated?
Closing the file, Ruan Xingyao said flatly, “You’re not trying to test me, are you? To see if I really have the skills?”
Otherwise, how else could they hand her such a sloppy report?
The thought instantly annoyed her.
She was tempted to just throw in the towel.
After all, if her judgment was correct, this case would be no small matter.
When that time came, if Wan Laiming and his people tried to play games with her, they’d have to bear the consequences themselves.
Being stared at by Ruan Xingyao made Wan Laiming look slightly uncomfortable.
He coughed awkwardly and said, “Xiao Ruan, even though our technology is more advanced these days, investigations still take time.”
Ruan Xingyao pouted but didn’t press him further.
“Fine, then you all go investigate slowly,” she said.
Wan Laiming immediately added, “Xiao Ruan, look, since you’re already involved in this case, why not see it through to the end and give us a little more information?”
Coming from the deputy director of a police station, the request was somewhat shameless.
But Ruan Xingyao was a very special case.
Police across the country wanted to work with her—some to test whether her abilities were real, others hoping to gain an advantage.
But aside from what she provided during her livestreams, getting the chance to work with her offline was something only the Changcheng Police had managed so far.
There was no way Wan Laiming was going to let this opportunity slip.
Ruan Xingyao stared at Wan Laiming for a while before saying, “Alright then, since Buguo has recovered, I’ll go ask it.”
Wan Laiming immediately called his subordinates.
After asking about Buguo’s condition, he had someone bring the dog back.
Buguo had been given an injection at the pet hospital, and by now its body had fully recovered.
As soon as it saw Ruan Xingyao, it bounded over happily.
It rubbed against her leg, barking,
“Woof woof! Woof woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!”
【Human! Can you take me to my mom? I miss her so much!】
Ruan Xingyao picked Buguo up, placed it on her lap, and gently stroked its back.
She didn’t immediately answer Buguo’s question but instead looked at Wan Laiming and said, “I need to be alone with Buguo for a while. Can you all step outside?”
Wan Laiming really didn’t want to agree, but when he met Ruan Xingyao’s gaze, he ended up compromising.
He stood up and said, “Then we’ll wait outside.”
Ruan Xingyao gave a small smile and nodded in satisfaction.
Wan Laiming and the officer who had been looking after Buguo left the office.
But Chen Yu made no move to leave.
Still stroking Buguo’s head, Ruan Xingyao looked at Chen Yu and asked, “Why aren’t you leaving?”
Chen Yu replied, “Xingxing, I’m your assistant. I should stay by your side at all times.”
Ruan Xingyao’s brows furrowed in annoyance.
She said, “Do you really have to do this?”
This was making her very unhappy!
Chen Yu said, “Xingxing, this is my job. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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