Chapter 76

After returning, Shi Tingyu locked herself in her room, and Lu Weiguo didn’t dare to disturb her.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, he went back to the camp to continue training.

Instructor Lü also received a notice from above that Shi Tingyu was to temporarily stop her training.

When it was time to resume training, Shi Tingyu would report back.

Instructor Lü followed orders without question. He knew that Shi Tingyu must have something urgent to handle, and it wasn’t a personal matter.

Otherwise, a military spouse like her wouldn’t have a superior officer notifying him about her leave.

In the evening, when Lu Weiguo returned from training, Shi Tingyu still hadn’t come out of her room.

Seeing this, Lu Weiguo gently pushed the door open to take a look.

The room was filled with many drawings; some had only outlines without features, some had eyes and noses but no mouths, and others had only mouths with no eyes or noses.

In short, there were all kinds, and his wife was busy sketching with a pencil.

He quietly closed the door, went to the garden to pick some vegetables, and headed to the kitchen.

Today, he was cooking.

The noise from the kitchen woke Shi Tingyu. She glanced at her watch and saw it was already six-thirty in the evening.

Smelling the faint scent of food from outside, she put down her drawings and stood up to stretch.

She then noticed the mess in the room.

She quickly tidied up, organizing the drawings into neat piles on the desk.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Lijian squatting at the door, wagging its tail at her.

Shi Tingyu patted the dog’s head and told it to go play by itself, then headed to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the man was standing by the coal stove, stir-frying with a spatula in hand.

The stove was low, making him look exceptionally tall.

Shi Tingyu chuckled and said, “Let me do it.”

Lu Weiguo glanced at her and asked, “Did you finish the drawing?”

Shi Tingyu shook her head, “Just a rough sketch.”

Seeing her rotating her wrist, Lu Weiguo quickly urged, “I’ve got this, you go stretch, you’ve been sitting all day.”

Shi Tingyu didn’t argue and went to the yard to exercise.

Lijian mimicked her movements, making Shi Tingyu laugh non-stop.

Lu Weiguo watched her while cooking, a smile occasionally flashing in his eyes.

After dinner, Lu Weiguo didn’t let Shi Tingyu wash the dishes, telling her to rest well. That night, he didn’t bother her at all in bed.

Shi Tingyu didn’t know whether to feel happy or disappointed.

The drawing was finished three days later.

Shi Tingyu handed the drawing to Lu Weiguo, “There are three sketches here, numbered one, two, and three. Let the interrogator show them to Wang Ming in order and tell me his reaction to each.”

Wang Ming’s description was too vague. These sketches should resemble the subject somewhat; they weren’t full faces, but partial features.

Since they couldn’t get more specific information, they could use the sketches to provoke a reaction from Wang Ming.

Lu Weiguo memorized everything and hurried to the interrogation room with the sketches.

Shi Tingyu then reported back to Instructor Lü.

Seeing her return, everyone visibly relaxed.

They had thought they’d have it easier without Shi Tingyu, but that wasn’t the case.

With her gone, none of them met the standards, and Instructor Lü’s face was perpetually stern.

When Shi Tingyu was around, at least he showed a bit of a smile in front of her; now, he was always gloomy.

Their days had become increasingly difficult.

Now that Shi Tingyu was back, the girls were much more enthusiastic than when she first arrived, except for Lu Wenchuan.

But before they could celebrate for long, Shi Tingyu was called away again.

This time, it wasn’t Lu Weiguo who came, but Feng Wei.

Shi Tingyu guessed it might be about the interrogation room, so she followed him.

Everyone inwardly groaned, wondering when these tough days would end.

As expected, Feng Wei took Shi Tingyu to the interrogation room.

When Captain Zhao saw her, he smiled broadly, though he kept his voice low to avoid being overheard by Wang Ming in the other room.

“Xiao Shi, after much consideration, I think it’s best for you to observe his reactions yourself. I’m worried that our focus might differ from yours, affecting your assessment.”

Shi Tingyu nodded. This time, the red bricks were already stacked by the door.

The interrogator inside received the signal and started showing Wang Ming the drawings Shi Tingyu had made.

When Wang Ming saw the first drawing, which lacked a nose and mouth, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

His hand on the table tightened briefly before he regained his composure, but Shi Tingyu caught the fleeting moment.

It seemed the eyes were drawn quite accurately, even if not perfect, they were at least six or seven out of ten.

Next were the second and third drawings.

Shi Tingyu had already anticipated Wang Ming’s reactions, knowing where to modify her drawings.

The interrogator said, “Do you think the drawings will become more accurate, and eventually, we’ll identify the person just by the drawing?”

Wang Ming glanced upward and slowly said, “I don’t know who you got to draw these, but honestly, the eyes, nose, and mouth don’t resemble at all.”

“Impossible,” the interrogator seemed provoked.

Wang Ming’s mouth twitched into a brief smile before returning to normal, “His mouth is clearly large with a thick lower lip, but your drawing is way off.”

Outside, Shi Tingyu smiled at his statement.

He was clearly lying, trying to mislead them in the opposite direction.

The interrogator continued to probe and obtained some descriptions from Wang Ming.

Shi Tingyu carefully discerned the information, then returned with a sheet of notes.

This time, she felt confident she could draw a highly accurate likeness.

Shi Tingyu worked quickly, finishing the drawing by mid-afternoon.

She brought the drawing to the interrogation room.

Captain Zhao had been closely following the case and hadn’t left.

He was surprised to see her return so soon.

With a smile, Shi Tingyu handed him the drawing, saying softly, “Captain Zhao, this is the final version.”

Captain Zhao looked at the drawing, deeply impressed. Though he didn’t recognize the person, he felt sure he could identify them if they were in front of him.

“How close do you think this final version is to the target?”

“About eighty to ninety percent,” Shi Tingyu replied.

Captain Zhao, excited by her confidence, had her stand next to him and handed the drawing to a nearby young soldier, instructing, “Take this drawing to Chengzi inside and show it to Wang Ming.”

The young soldier took the drawing, saluted, and went inside.

Captain Zhao and Shi Tingyu stood in a spot where they couldn’t be seen from inside.

When the young soldier closed the door and came out, Shi Tingyu moved to the doorway to observe Wang Ming’s reaction.