Night.
The duty room was quiet.
"Sister Chen, I'll head out first."
"Okay."
The door closed with a soft click.
Chen Yingyin was left alone in the police station.
She leaned back in her chair and flipped through the case file in her hands, her brows slowly knitting together.
The heading was stark.
[Four people were brutally murdered in Qiushuiyuan Community. Each victim bore three claw-like wounds on the chest.]
[The deceased were…]
This was already the fourth murder case in Qiushuiyuan.
And the murderer still hadn't been caught.
The only consistent clue was those three claw marks.
They looked like wounds made by a wild animal—but they didn't match any known predator. Not a tiger. Not a lion. Not a bear.
There wasn't even a zoo or forest anywhere near Qiushuiyuan.
At first, Chen Yingyin had suspected the killer used a long blade and deliberately carved the marks to mislead investigators. But forensic results ruled that out completely.
They weren't knife wounds.
They were claw marks.
The entire station had headaches over this case. Experts from multiple fields were invited in, but every one of them left shaking their heads.
No one recognized the wounds.
"Tsk… what on earth could cause something like this?"
Chen Yingyin frowned and spun the pen between her fingers.
Her gaze drifted toward the surveillance monitor.
Inside a single holding cell, Xiao Lin sat on the wooden bed, head lowered, expression bleak. Because he was suspected of multiple murders, he'd been placed in solitary confinement.
Once the case was publicly announced, he would be sent to court for sentencing.
So young…
Chen Yingyin sighed and shook her head.
At that moment—
Click.
The door was gently pushed open.
Thinking it was the junior officer who had forgotten something, she spoke without looking up.
"What did you forget—"
Her voice stopped.
She looked up, stunned.
"Long time no see, Sister Yingyin."
Gu Yan closed the door behind him, waved casually, and smiled.
Chen Yingyin stared at him for a second before frowning. She hadn't seen him in years, but she recognized him instantly.
"Gu Yan? What are you doing here?"
She didn't bother hiding her displeasure.
In her eyes, Gu Yan was a headache—talking back to elders, defying his parents, and acting like a shameless bootlicker despite being a grown man. He used to be such a cute kid.
Gu Yan didn't seem bothered at all. He walked over, dropped onto the sofa, and looked at her lazily.
"Didn't I call the police this morning?"
"I was curious whether that guy had been caught, so I called Uncle Chen to ask."
"He said you were on duty tonight. Thought I'd drop by and say hello."
Every word was true. He really had called Chen Guoping earlier.
…That damn old man.
Chen Yingyin rubbed her temples, remembering how her father had lectured her again during the day—about marriage, no less.
She glanced at Gu Yan's youthful, smiling face and shook her head helplessly.
No matter how she looked at it, there was no universe where she'd end up with someone this much younger.
What on earth was Dad thinking?
"Alright, I know why you're here," she said flatly. "But you can see I'm busy."
"If you have nothing else to do, leave."
"The person you reported—Xiao Lin—has been arrested and will be sent to court soon."
"Are you satisfied now?"
Her hand waved dismissively, clearly trying to shoo him out.
Gu Yan smiled inwardly.
Yes. This was exactly how things went in the original plot.
Xiao Lin was arrested—wrongly accused as the murderer.
Later, someone would step in and bail him out.
Chen Yingyin would have a massive fight with her father over it.
And from that point on, she'd devote herself to chasing Xiao Lin, trying to put him back behind bars.
Then came the familiar progression.
Repeated encounters. Gradual understanding. Life-and-death situations.
She would discover his so-called "integrity" and "kindness," convince herself he wasn't a real murderer, and eventually become one of the protagonist's strongest supporters.
Her luck, like the other heroines', was terrifying.
Once these people fully matured, they'd all become enormous threats.
So—
"Satisfied. Of course," Gu Yan said calmly.
He stood up, smiling as if he were really about to leave.
Then, as if casually remembering something, he turned back.
"But Sister Yingyin… I heard Xiao Lin's background isn't simple."
"What if he gets bailed out?"
"What happens if someone like that stays loose in society?"
Chen Yingyin's expression darkened.
She set the file down and looked straight at him.
"Impossible."
"In the cases I handle, there has never been any question of protecting criminals."
"Xiao Lin is just a migrant worker who recently came to Jianghai City."
"And even if he did have some background—"
"I'd like to see just how powerful it is."
"How exactly is he supposed to escape justice?"
As a police officer, Chen Yingyin had always believed in punishing evil and upholding the law.
She might feel regret that Xiao Lin committed such crimes at such a young age—
But she would never let him walk free because of it.
Gu Yan nodded, looking relieved.
"That's good to hear."
"My friend is still in the hospital."
"I was worried Xiao Lin might do something extreme after getting out."
"After all, my friend was fooled by his innocent, kind appearance at first."
"Innocent… and kind?"
Chen Yingyin frowned slightly.
She recalled Xiao Lin's guilt-filled expression in the interrogation room.
It hadn't looked fake.
But then she remembered the way he'd stared at her earlier—greedy, unsettling—and his casual attitude during the initial questioning.
Her certainty wavered.
…No. He was going to be sentenced anyway.
Whether he was acting or not didn't matter.
She shook her head and shot Gu Yan an annoyed look.
"This is exactly why you're irritating. A few words from you and now I'm overthinking."
"Why are you telling me all this? Do you have a grudge against Xiao Lin?"
"No grudge," Gu Yan replied calmly. "I didn't even know him."
"He just almost killed me."
"Almost killed you?"
Chen Yingyin froze.
She stood up abruptly.
"What happened?"