Life is rare in finding something one truly loves. To others, it might seem irrational to abandon millions in wealth, but he found it incredibly interesting.

However, his biological mother, Zheng Ruzhi, was very stubborn. After losing her son, she felt guilty and anguished for over twenty years, suffering from chronic illness because of it. Now that they had finally reunited, she just wanted to spend the rest of her life making amends for her past mistakes, seeking redemption for herself.

But her son was just as stubborn. Trying to get him to resign and return to the company was useless, and no amount of connections could force him. In the end, the elderly couple had no other choice but to coerce him into accepting ten percent of the company’s shares to secure their future, finally allowing him to continue in the criminal police team.

He was originally a dragon among men. If he hadn’t been separated from his family, he would surely have had a better future. With his intelligence and determination, he could have achieved great things in business or politics.

But fate gave him another choice. Through twists and turns, perhaps everything was the best arrangement.

…

At six o’clock in the evening, after Xiao Meng finished investigating the surveillance at the transportation department, he called Xie Kui, but the line was busy.

He hurried back to the Criminal Investigation Department office. As soon as he reached the corridor, he saw Xie Kui, phone in hand, rushing out of the main office in a hurry.

“The surveillance footage has been reviewed,” Xiao Meng, seeing his serious expression, quickly asked, “What happened?”

Xie Kui hung up the phone and ran straight out, saying, “Zhuang Zi’s in trouble.”

“What?” Xiao Meng immediately turned and followed him out of the office building. Once in the police car, he asked, “Xiao Zhang has been with her all this time, right?”

“Still unclear,” Xie Kui started the engine, and the car sped off. “Big Brother just left; he should pass by the crime scene on his way back. I’ve already asked him to check it out. I don’t know what’s going on now.”

…

One hour ago.

The incident occurred after Zhuang Zi returned to the hotel from the city library.

Today was the weekend, and she had spent the whole day at the library, studying numerous publicly available classic crime cases for decryption and analysis.

She was well aware that, as an outsider, overturning a case already closed by the police would be extremely difficult, certainly not something achievable overnight.

But now that the police were suspecting Jiang Zhihao, just the thought sent shivers down her spine.

As things had escalated to this point, she desperately wanted to know the truth, yet at the same time, there was a lingering fear of uncovering it.

If the person chasing her, the one responsible for her sister’s accident, was the same person — Jiang Zhihao…

Suddenly, her temples felt like they were being pricked with needles, causing her to furrow her brow in pain.

Fetching her car from the garage, instead of leaving immediately, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and dialed Jiang Zhihao’s number again.

She intended to subtly probe him, but ever since he left yesterday, his phone had been unreachable.

The cold light of the phone screen cast on her gaunt profile.

She lowered her head to edit a WeChat message: “Need to talk to you. Please return when you see this.”

Before she could send it, her slender fingers holding the phone suddenly tightened.

She abruptly looked up, fear and panic unconcealed in her pale eyes, her breath turning heavy in an instant.

Through the car window, she stiffened her back and swiftly scanned the surroundings.

In the dimly lit underground parking lot, aside from a distant low mechanical engine noise, the area was deserted, so quiet that not even the slightest sound of footsteps could be heard.

A sense of unease began to spread through the dead silence of the parking lot.

In the corner of her eye just a moment ago, did she really see a tall figure pass by?

Was it a trick of the light, or was she just being overly cautious?

She paused for a moment, then craned her neck slightly to look around, confirming that there was indeed no one there.

…

Later that evening, she had no appetite for food, so she bought a piece of bread from a nearby pastry shop and returned to the hotel.

As she ascended the stairs, Xiao Zhang was having dinner at a Cantonese restaurant across the street.

Carrying her purchase into the hotel lobby and heading upstairs, she stood in front of her room door, bowing her head to retrieve her room key from her bag.

Just then, her phone suddenly began ringing loudly in the quiet hallway.

Startled, she shook slightly, and the room key slipped from her fingers to the floor.

She pulled out her phone to check, and the incoming call was from Jiang Zhihao.

Answering the call while picking up the room key from the floor, she caught a glimpse in her peripheral vision of a figure standing at the end of the hallway near the window.

Stiffening her neck to look back, she recognized the silhouette, and her heart sank suddenly.