Chapter 4

“Mmph… mmph! MMPH!”
The person on the bottom, after a moment of stunned silence, began to struggle violently.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she twisted and kicked, the person pressing firmly down on her back didn’t budge an inch. From afar, the flailing legs of the middle-aged woman made her look rather like a giant toad stuck in a mud pit.

As for the person on top—Luo Jingyao—she calmly let the woman thrash for a bit. Once she saw that the fruit knife had been picked up by the police, she slightly eased her hold. Then, in one smooth motion, she pulled Huang Guojun’s mother to her feet and even brushed the dust off her clothes.

With a soft voice, she said gently,
“Carrying a controlled blade in public is illegal, you know~ It’s really dangerous.”

Her attitude was so pleasant, it was as if she hadn’t just pinned someone to the ground moments ago.

The middle-aged woman was stunned at first—clearly not expecting the person who had just completely overpowered her to be such a slim and delicate-looking young lady. Once she came to her senses, her face contorted with rage as she raised her hand high, cursing aloud,
“Where did this little b*tch come from?! I’m seeking justice for my son—who asked you to butt in?!”

Luo Jingyao frowned slightly at the woman’s distorted expression and quickly shifted her body to the side, neatly avoiding the incoming slap.

Seeing their companion suffer a setback, a few of the burly men holding signs and banners let out a couple of roars and began charging forward. A fierce conflict was on the verge of erupting.

Just then, several figures stepped in at the right moment, blocking Luo Jingyao from view.

Led by Deputy Chief Zhang, several police officers scowled and shouted at the men,
“What do you think you’re doing? You dare assault someone right at the gate of the police bureau? Have you no respect for the law?!”

“Officer! She was the one who pinned me to the ground and attacked me! And now you’re blaming the victim instead of arresting her?!” the middle-aged woman wailed as she shoved the men aside and flopped back onto the ground with a loud thud, crying out to the crowd for sympathy.

“Everyone, please judge for yourselves—isn’t this clearly a case of them ganging up to bully a helpless woman like me?”

Deputy Chief Zhang pressed his temple to ease the throbbing headache and took a deep breath before speaking again, trying to keep his temper in check:
“If it weren’t for Coach Luo disarming you, you might have seriously hurt yourself. Then you wouldn’t be here shouting nonsense. The police respect your right to express your grievances, but this isn’t the way to do it.”

“If your behavior had caused actual harm or public panic, you wouldn’t just be sitting here making a scene anymore.”

“I… I…” Huang Guojun’s mother faltered, a flicker of unease flashing across her face. But she quickly doubled down and snapped back with indignation,
“Oh please! Everyone, take a good look—this is our police force! This is the Jinshi Police Bureau! They’re letting people beat others right in front of them and doing nothing about it!”

“If this is how they behave so publicly, imagine the injustice my son faced two years ago! He was probably tortured into confessing—he must’ve been forced to plead guilty! WAAAH!”

Her words soured the mood among the officers, who looked visibly angered and began to respond:

“Ma’am, you need to be reasonable!”
“It’s 2025. Our interrogations are monitored and recorded in full. That kind of misconduct doesn’t happen anymore.”
“False accusations are a crime too, you know!”

But instead of backing down, Huang Guojun’s mother only cried louder:
“So what? You think being a cop gives you the right to threaten people?! I just want the truth, but instead of investigating the murders, you’re all here bullying a grieving old woman! If that’s not suspicious, what is?!”

“You—!” one of the officers began, but was cut off by Deputy Chief Zhang raising his hand. He remained silent for a moment, visibly struggling with how to de-escalate the situation—he knew the longer this dragged on, the worse the fallout would be.

Before he could come to a conclusion, a head popped out from behind him.

Luo Jingyao, wearing a cream-colored tracksuit and her hair in a tidy bun for class, looked for all the world like a fresh-faced university student.

“Excuse me, ma’am…” she began, peeking around from behind Zhang. She studied the woman sitting on the ground and flailing dramatically.
“Auntie, from what you said earlier… are you saying your son didn’t kill anyone back then?”

“Of course not! Didn’t I make myself clear? Last week’s murder was exactly like the one from two years ago when the police falsely accused my son! Even the one in Hexi District today—it’s the same killer behind them all!” the woman declared loudly, utterly unaware of Luo Jingyao’s loaded tone.

“Ahh, I see,” Luo Jingyao nodded slowly, her voice dragging as though she were convinced.

But before the woman could bask in her self-righteousness, Luo abruptly changed her tone:
“Thing is… the police haven’t publicly released any details about any of these cases. Not even the media knows. So how do you know all that, Auntie? You must be pretty amazing.”

Right.
Even the media couldn’t dig that information up.
So how did she know?

A heavy silence swept over the crowd as the same question rang through everyone’s mind.

Did someone inside the force leak it to her?

But the very next thing Luo Jingyao said shattered that theory completely:

“And you said there was another murder in Hexi District today? Wow, even more impressive! I’m not even sure the police themselves have confirmed a connection between that and the other cases yet—but you sound so confident, Auntie…” she said, eyes wide in mock surprise.

“Since you’re neither a police officer nor a reporter, why don’t I take a guess… you’re the killer, aren’t you? Otherwise, how would you know everything so clearly?”

Huang Guojun’s mother’s expression changed dramatically. She shot up from the ground and shrieked,
“You… you’re slandering me! Twisting the truth! You have no evidence—how can you say such nonsense?”

“Oh? So Auntie does know that you can’t make baseless accusations without evidence?” Luo Jingyao shrugged, her tone light.
“No worries, you say your nonsense, I’ll say mine. It’s not illegal to talk nonsense, after all.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she discreetly tugged the corner of Deputy Chief Zhang’s sleeve from a spot the others couldn’t see.

Zhang snapped out of his bystander mindset in an instant. His expression darkened as he stepped forward and said in a deep, stern voice,
“Ms. Huang, the police now have reason to suspect your involvement in a serious criminal case that occurred in Jinshi last week. We ask that you cooperate with the investigation.”

“Nonsense! I’m a good person—I’m the victim here! You think you can slander people just by flapping your lips?” Huang Guojun’s mother shouted as she subtly began backing away. Her voice lacked its previous confidence as she added,
“I’m tired today, so I won’t argue with you anymore. But if the police don’t give me an answer in the coming days, I will be back!”

After throwing out her harsh words, she quickly turned around, pushed through the crowd, and disappeared from sight.

The men who had followed her lead naturally didn’t linger either. Within less than half a minute, they were all gone—leaving behind only a mess of foam boards and banners with red text on a white background.

And just like that, a loud and chaotic farce ended in bleak silence. With nothing left to watch, the media and the onlookers gradually dispersed.

Deputy Chief Zhang let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat off his shiny forehead, and turned around with a polite smile.
“Thanks to Coach Luo’s quick reflexes today. If that woman Huang Guifen had really caused a scene, the consequences would’ve been unthinkable.”

“No need to thank me,” Luo Jingyao replied with a smile, waving it off casually. Then as if suddenly remembering something, she added,
“The Special Case Investigation Team said they went out on a case. Since class is canceled today, I’ll just head home.”

“Alright then, Coach Luo, take care.” Deputy Chief Zhang saw her off warmly before turning to help clean up the mess.

On the other side, as soon as Luo Jingyao left the Jinshi Public Security Bureau, she flagged down a taxi on the street and hopped in.

It was nearly 10 a.m.—not rush hour for this newly developed first-tier city—so traffic was smooth, and the taxi arrived at Sanjiang Road in the Hexi District in just over 20 minutes.

She didn’t actually know the exact location of the crime scene that the Special Case Investigation Team had gone to, but Hexi District was the older part of Jinshi, and Sanjiang Road wasn’t very long.

With her bag slung over her shoulder, Luo Jingyao walked slowly down the narrow, somewhat worn-out street. Occasionally, she would peek into the dim alleys on either side.

Before long, she spotted signs of police presence.

After all, this was a serious criminal case—the police response was significant. Police cars, cordons, and security measures were all in place. It was impossible to pretend not to see.

It was an old residential complex. The police van she had seen earlier with Lin Jiafan and the others was now parked in front of one of the buildings.

Outside the cordon stood mostly elderly residents, with only a few younger people scattered among them.

After some hesitation, Luo Jingyao walked up to the edge of the police line. She glanced toward the dark entryway where officers were coming in and out, but couldn’t really make out anything useful.

“What’s going on here? Why are there so many police cars?” A middle-aged woman wearing a mask walked by with groceries in hand and asked curiously.

A helpful old man nearby responded immediately,
“Someone died! Right there—second floor, left unit of Building 2.”

“That unit’s been empty for ages. How could someone die there?”

“That’s what happens in unguarded open neighborhoods—anyone can come and go…”

As chatter buzzed in her ears, Luo Jingyao tilted her head and looked up toward the left unit on the second floor.

Through the blue sliding glass windows—popular two or three decades ago—she could vaguely see movement inside. The police must have been examining the scene.

Withdrawing her gaze, Luo Jingyao turned and began walking toward the neighborhood entrance. She wouldn’t be able to enter the scene anyway, so she needed to think carefully about her next steps.

Suddenly, a loud screeching noise—glass windows being dragged open—came from above.

She instinctively looked up and saw a man jump out of a second-floor window!

The building was right next to the crime scene building.

He seemed very familiar with the area. After leaping from the window, he grabbed a thick external drainage pipe, slid down a bit, stepped onto a first-floor security grille, and finally jumped down to the ground—landing smoothly. Then he bolted toward the neighborhood exit at lightning speed.

“Don’t run—fk!”**

Before Luo Jingyao could even process what was happening, a familiar male voice came from above. When she looked up, she saw the blond young man crouched on the second-floor window ledge.

His hands were gripping the window frame tightly, and his long face had turned pale from the height.

Their eyes met.

Hmm… how to put it?

Staring contests aren’t scary—it’s only awkward if you flinch first.