Under the dim light of the streetlamp, the cold glimmers flickered in the narrow alley, and it seemed that a brutal crime was about to take place.

Just then, a loud shout came from the intersection, “Stop!”

Several beams of light shone over, dazzling Qiu Jiarong’s eyes.

Immediately after, several figures pounced forward, “Police! Don’t move!”

Upon hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Qiu Jiarong’s forehead. He abandoned Shao Changqing, who had fallen to the ground, and desperately tried to escape.

But where could he go?

The once quiet alley suddenly erupted, as people rushed in from various directions, completely blocking his way out.

With so many people, Qiu Jiarong felt like a trapped beast in a cage.

He turned around and attempted to run to the other end of the alley, but before he could take a few steps, several male police officers rushed toward him.

Qiu Jiarong swung the knife in his hand, but one of the tall detectives grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing the knife to fall with a clatter.

Qiu Jiarong was pressed against the wall by that person.

Lu Junchi walked over and handcuffed his hands.

Qiu Jiarong gasped for breath, raising his eyes to look at the people in front of him.

He had lost his weapon, his hands were restrained, but he still fought like a madman, biting and kicking incessantly.

Lu Junchi pulled down his hat and mask, firmly pressing him down. “Mr. Qiu, please accompany us to the headquarters and cooperate with our investigation.”

Ever since they received the information from Qin Yiyun, the police quickly confirmed that Qiu Jiarong had quit his job at the company a few days ago. He had been tracking Shao Changqing every day, seemingly plotting something sinister.

Based on this information, the police had been prepared in advance.

Tonight, they discovered that Qiu Jiarong had been lingering outside Shao Changqing’s company building.

They promptly called Shao Changqing, asking him to leave work as soon as possible, and informed him that the police would provide covert protection for him to facilitate the setup.

Sure enough, Qiu Jiarong couldn’t resist the urge and made a move against Shao Changqing on the street, only to be caught in the act.

The streetlamp illuminated Qiu Jiarong’s pale face, and only then did he calm down and was escorted into a police car.

Shao Changqing glanced at him and revealed a faint smile.

Other police officers arrived beside Shao Changqing and took him as a witness, leading him into another car.

At eleven o’clock in the evening, within the Haidu General Bureau, both Qiu Jiarong and Shao Changqing were brought here.

While Lu Junchi was still making preparations, Su Hui stood in the observation room, watching Qiu Jiarong being interrogated in the interrogation room.

Qiu Jiarong was in the interrogation room, gripping his own hair with his hands. His expression gradually became indifferent, with a touch of desolation.

Then, his gaze turned cold, his face twisted, and his mouth twitched incessantly. He started punching the armrest of the chair in front of him, thumping sounds echoing one after another, until his hands were bloody and oozing.

Su Hui stood in the observation room, looking at the man before him, who seemed like a madman, through the glass.

The white light shone on Su Hui’s face, and he blinked his eyes, appearing as icy as snow.

It wasn’t until Lu Junchi approached that Su Hui turned around and said to him, “I feel like something is off about his state. Has anyone searched his place of residence?”

After receiving the report from Qin Yiyun, Qiu Jiarong became the suspect in this case, and a search warrant had already been obtained.

Lu Junchi glanced at his phone and said, “They’ve arrived, so they should have results soon…”

Su Hui nodded. “Remind them to pay attention to any medications in the house. I suspect he may be taking some drugs that affect his mental state.”

That kind of madness couldn’t be faked.

Lu Junchi nodded and sent a message. Soon, a response came from the other side.

In the interrogation room of the Haidu General Bureau, Lu Junchi walked in. Today, he and Qu Ming would be conducting the interrogation together, while Su Hui remained in the external observation room.

The two men sat down in chairs, and Lu Junchi began, “Mr. Qiu, we have been following you for a day. We now have sufficient evidence to prove that tonight you intended to attack Shao Changqing.”

Qiu Jiarong took a deep breath and lifted his head. “I admit to the crime I committed tonight; it was impulsive. But Officer Lu, I had my reasons for doing so. Chen Lingling didn’t run away; she disappeared! Shao Changqing must be involved in this. He must have hidden her!”

Lu Junchi said, “Mr. Qiu, the woman’s real name is Chen Xuexian. The police are currently searching for her as well. But before that, we hope you can answer some questions.”

Qiu Jiarong’s breathing was heavy, and he spoke, “I just wanted to ask Shao Changqing about her whereabouts!”

Lu Junchi leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Qiu Jiarong, applying pressure as he said, “Mr. Qiu, you need to understand your current situation. Based on tonight’s events alone, you are already charged with attempted murder. You are a detained suspect, and we have plenty of time to gather evidence. If you cooperate and confess, we can all save some time.”

Only then did Qiu Jiarong look up at him and ask, “What do you want to ask?”

“About the murder of Guo Chengfeng.”

“Guo Chengfeng? Who’s that? I don’t know him.”

Lu Junchi could tell he was still lying at this point, so he directly pressed the play button on his phone, playing the video that was found at Chen Xuexian’s home.

After listening, Qiu Jiarong’s facial expression finally showed a subtle change.

“Is that your voice in the video?” Lu Junchi asked him.

“N-No, it’s not,” Qiu Jiarong stammered, denying it.

Lu Junchi showed him several sheets of paper. “These are the voiceprint analysis results from the Bureau’s forensic laboratory. The experiment proves that the voice belongs to someone else, and that someone is you.”

Faced with solid evidence, Qiu Jiarong hesitated for a moment before speaking, “I remembered it wrong. I was at the scene at that time.”

“That person you were arguing with was Guo Chengfeng. Are you still going to deny knowing him?” Qu Ming asked sternly.

“I didn’t kill him!” Qiu Jiarong lifted his head. “I only had a few words with him.”

Lu Junchi then showed him a photo of the bloodstained clothing. “How do you explain the bloodstains on this garment? Through testing, we have confirmed that the blood belongs to Guo Chengfeng.”

Qiu Jiarong’s eyes widened, and his face changed drastically. “How did you get that clothing?”

Qu Ming replied, “It’s an important piece of evidence provided by the witness Qin Yiyun.”

“My mom?” Qiu Jiarong’s expression changed. “That’s impossible! How could my mom…”

Then he became anxious and said, “Don’t believe what she says. My mom is old now, her mind is confused. She buys all those insurances, health products, financial schemes, and she treats those salespeople better than her own son. She’s slandering me, she… she’s doing it to make me break up with Chen Lingling…”

Lu Junchi spoke, “Please answer directly. Your hair follicle DNA was found on the clothing, and there are also Guo Chengfeng’s bloodstains. How do you explain this?”

“Bloodstains? That’s impossible! I didn’t kill him! I really didn’t kill him! I don’t know why there would be blood on it, at that time…” Tears streamed down Qiu Jiarong’s face, and he grabbed his hair in frustration, pulling it out in large clumps, a distressing sight to behold.

“Maybe you won’t believe me, but at that moment, I was scared… I was afraid and ran away. When my beloved woman was in danger, I fled like a coward.”

At this point, Qiu Jiarong broke down, crying like a child.

“I… I despise myself. Why wasn’t I braver at that time… Later, I kept thinking about it over and over again, and I felt that it was because of my cowardice that she wanted to break up with me! I regret it so much, I wish I had been braver then, maybe she wouldn’t have left me…”

Lu Junchi looked at the frantic man in front of him and continued to ask, “Then why did you attack Shao Changqing?”

Qiu Jiarong became hysterical, saying, “It’s Shao Changqing who has the problem. Maybe he went to the scene afterwards. He killed Guo Chengfeng, and he’s with her. He must have hidden her. I thought, if I kill him or force him to reveal where Chen Xuexian is, I can save her and win her back. Maybe she will love me again!”

That’s probably why Qiu Jiarong had been tracking Shao Changqing all along.

Lu Junchi said, “Mr. Qiu, your story is well crafted, but the police need to see factual evidence. We found this substance in your home.”

Lu Junchi showed him a photo.

Qiu Jiarong wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and looked at the photo, saying, “This is melatonin. I use it to treat insomnia.”

“The bottle is a melatonin bottle,” Lu Junchi pressed his hands on the table and stood up. “We conducted tests, and it contains Sulpiride, a medication used to treat schizophrenia… Do you often experience hallucinations and other thoughts?”

“I… I only bought melatonin, and I have online purchase records… I don’t have schizophrenia, I don’t. Someone must have swapped my medication…” Qiu Jiarong’s fingers trembled slightly, sweat pouring down like rain. He forced a smile and said, “Officer Lu, that night, I was indeed at her place. Later, Guo Chengfeng rushed in, but I didn’t kill anyone. You have the recording, yes, you have the recording that records what I did. It can prove my innocence. Please play the rest of the recording…”

Lu Junchi said, “The recording didn’t capture the later part, and we can’t prove whether you left and came back. In addition, we found Guo Chengfeng’s blood on a knife in your home. That’s the murder weapon.”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Jiarong’s eyes trembled, like a snake being squeezed by the neck, instantly turning lifeless. His lips twitched a few times, and he muttered to himself in a low voice, “I… I didn’t kill anyone…”

At this point, Qiu Jiarong’s expression finally showed a slight change. The murder weapon, evidence, and even his own mother’s testimony.

He suddenly realized that in the eyes of the police, he was likely the killer of Guo Chengfeng.

In an instant, his lips twitched frantically, and images he couldn’t remember seemed to flash in his mind.

He seemed to see Chen Xuexian smiling at him, reaching out her hand, gently stroking his cheek, and then kissing him, as if rewarding him.

He also saw a corpse, the body of Guo Chengfeng… the floor covered in blood.

Qiu Jiarong held his head in his hands.

Cold sweat emerged from his forehead, visibly drenching his hair.

Could it be that he really committed murder?

At this point in the investigation, he couldn’t even remember whether he had or not…

Approaching half-past eleven in the evening, Lu Junchi came out of the interrogation room. He looked down and glanced at Su Hui, who was sitting in the observation room. “Professor Su, did you notice anything?”

Su Hui praised him, saying, “You maintained a good pace during the interrogation, and in the end, he completely broke down.”

Qu Ming added, “He’s truly a madman. Regardless of whether he actually killed Guo Chengfeng, he has already developed murderous intent. He’s a criminal.” After pausing for a moment, he continued, “By the way, did that woman really have such great charm?”

Lu Junchi said, “Throughout history, how many conflicts have arisen over women?”

Su Hui replied, “Beauty, desire, jealousy—these factors alone can drive people crazy. For some men, they have a mentality that anything fought over by everyone must be good, something they won’t cherish when it’s by their side, but will feel a sense of loss once they lose it. Chen Xuexian had a firm grip on these dynamics, manipulating those men psychologically.”

Lu Junchi asked, “So, do you think Qiu Jiarong is the killer now?”

Su Hui replied, “It’s possible that he killed the person, and he’s lying to confuse the police, or maybe he genuinely has mental issues and has forgotten what he did. There’s also another possibility: he didn’t kill the person…” He paused for a moment and turned to Lu Junchi. “In that case, the outcome might be even more terrifying.”

At that moment, Qiao Ze had just finished questioning Shao Changqing. He printed a copy of the interrogation record and showed it to Lu Junchi. The whole process went smoothly.

Lu Junchi glanced through the record and said, “This person is a bit suspicious. He keeps insisting that he doesn’t love Chen Xuexian and doesn’t know her whereabouts, but I sensed something from his answers.”

Qiao Ze asked, “What is it?”

Lu Junchi looked up and said, “Possessiveness.”

It was a strong desire of love. Shao Changqing himself didn’t realize it, but when mentioning Chen Xuexian, it was as if that woman already belonged to him, as his private possession. No one else could match her, let alone possess her.

Su Hui also took the testimony and flipped through it.

Lu Junchi was right. From the testimony, it was evident that Shao Changqing had a different kind of emotion towards Chen Xuexian. It was the most primal desire, his own twisted emotions, not just love.

It was like seeing a beautiful butterfly in the garden and wanting to catch and possess it.

Su Hui raised his eyes and asked Lu Junchi, “I’d like to visit Shao Changqing’s house. Is it possible?”

“It’s getting late today,” Lu Junchi checked the time. It was already close to 11:40, approaching midnight.

Su Hui said, “I think we’ve reached this point, and applying continuous pressure might yield results. It’s easier to get closer to the truth.”

Lu Junchi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, agreeing with Su Hui’s suggestion. He entered the interrogation room, overlooking Shao Changqing sitting in the interrogation chair. “Mr. Shao, thank you for your cooperation. It’s late tonight. I’ve noticed that your address is on my way home. Can I give you a ride?”

Lu Junchi’s tone sounded gentle, but it left no room for refusal.

Named as giving him a ride home, naturally, they would stop by his place on the way.

Shao Changqing smiled slightly and looked at him. “Officer Lu, you’re so kind. Then, I’ll respectfully comply.”