The next day.

Aunt Qin saw her come out of her room, looking exhausted early in the morning, and asked with concern, “Did you have another sleepless night?”

Zhuang Zi, bleary-eyed, looked at Aunt Qin and couldn’t help but yawn. “Good morning.”

Aunt Qin advised earnestly, “You’re still young, you should find a way to treat your insomnia. I have a remedy for it. Would you like to try it?”

Zhuang Zi, sitting at the table, asked casually, “What remedy?”

“Use lotus seeds, longan, lily bulbs, and millet to make porridge. I’ll buy the ingredients when I go out shopping and make it a few times for you to see if it helps.”

Zhuang Zi nodded gratefully, “Thank you, Aunt Qin.”

Aunt Qin smiled, “You’re welcome.”

After breakfast, Zhuang Zi called Xiao Zhao to accompany her to the hospital to visit the injured man from yesterday.

She didn’t intend to skimp on the compensation, but since it was her fault that caused the man to be hospitalized, a visit to apologize was the least she could do.

Xiao Zhao arrived quickly. Since he didn’t drive and Zhuang Zi’s car was in the shop for repairs, they had to take a taxi.

“I heard there was an accident yesterday, Miss Zhuang?”

She paused, feeling that sense of shame creeping back.

The incident caused by her attempt to get a fake ID had probably spread throughout the Criminal Investigation Department by now.

Fine, let them know. If she had such a despicable idea, how could she be afraid of others’ ridicule?

“Yes,” she said, not elaborating.

“Well, no matter how urgent things are, you must call me first next time,” Xiao Zhao advised earnestly. “Captain Si said you rushed out to help a friend and got followed!”

Zhuang Zi was stunned, looking at Xiao Zhao.

“You are very loyal, but going out on your own, what if something happens again?”

Zhuang Zi, lost in thought, stared at Xiao Zhao. Si Hang…

He hadn’t told anyone that she had gone out to get a fake ID, which led to her friend’s arrest and the subsequent car accident?

…

At the Police Station

Si Hang had just returned to his office after a meeting.

Having cracked a major case in the neighboring county a couple of days ago, he finally had some rare downtime today.

There were a few resumes on his desk of recent graduates about to start their internships at the bureau. He picked them up, ready to review them, but then paused. Instead, he reached for the desk phone and instructed Xiao Meng, “Go to the records room and ask the manager to bring over the file on the 2016 major accident liability case at Hongxing Stone Factory in Luocheng City. Tell them it’s for me.”

Last night, he had searched for it but couldn’t find it.

On reflection, he realized that the case involved high-profile individuals and might have been specially sealed to prevent adverse societal impact.

Although he couldn’t be entirely sure, the contents of the anonymous tip-off letter from that time lingered vividly in his memory.

Back then, he had found the language of the anonymous letter peculiar. Unlike typical letters, it had a style resembling a translated document, leading him to wonder if the whistleblower might have been a foreign employee at Ruihong Group.

But after reading the document Zhuang Zi had translated for him last night, his chest had tightened momentarily.

Half an hour later, Xiao Meng returned and placed a file box in front of him, curious, “Why do you suddenly want to look at this?”

Si Hang opened a drawer and took out the human trafficking case materials that Zhuang Zi had translated, “Just remembered something.”

Xiao Meng, having other work to attend to, left without asking further.

Si Hang retrieved the anonymous letter from that year’s file and compared it with Zhuang Zi’s translated notes, looking for any clues.

Different cultures have unique linguistic quirks. Having read many foreign documents before, he knew that translations from different countries had distinct characteristics.

The coincidence lay in the fact that the translated document started with a whistleblower letter, where the US police had used the tip-off to launch an investigation that uncovered a major transnational trafficking ring.

Upon comparison, the writing styles of the two whistleblower letters were very similar. Moreover, the anonymous letter included “Mr.” after each police officer’s title, a common practice in foreign texts but rare in domestic ones, which usually started with “Dear Leader.”

A person who regularly worked in translation might unconsciously adopt foreign linguistic styles in their writing.

He scrutinized the whistleblower letter in his hand, squinting slightly.

While he couldn’t be completely certain, it wasn’t impossible.

Perhaps Zhuang Zi held the key to this puzzle.

Based on his experience in criminal investigation and reasoning, he had a strong hunch…

In a flash, fragments of her strained relationship with the Zhuang family, her being hunted down with no concern from her relatives, her seeking him out to take over her case—these scattered clues pieced together like fleeting shadows in his mind.

Frowning, he leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Zhuang Zi.

A woman who suddenly seemed very mysterious to him.

…..

At Home

At six in the evening, Aunt Qin promptly finished preparing dinner.

Xiaomi, helping to wipe the dining table, curiously asked, “Is Uncle not coming home for dinner again?”

“He’s busy,” Aunt Qin replied. “He has to work overtime at the police station every night and rarely eats at home.”

Xiaomi sighed, “Uncle works so hard.”

Zhuang Zi walked into the dining room, intending to help in the kitchen, but she noticed a bag of garbage Aunt Qin hadn’t had a chance to take out yet.

Being particular about cleanliness, she worried about the smell if left too long, so she took it out herself.

Each floor’s elevator lobby had large garbage bins, regularly emptied by the property management staff.

She changed her shoes at the entrance and headed out. After disposing of the garbage and returning, she realized she had forgotten to take the keys.

Having not slept well the previous night, she had been in a daze all day.

Just as she was about to ring the doorbell, a voice suddenly spoke behind her, “What are you doing at the door?”

Startled, she quickly turned around.

Si Hang strolled over from the elevator, his hands in his pockets, looking at her intently.

Her brain was slow to react, and she frowned slightly.

Wasn’t he working overtime? Why was he home so early today?

He approached and stopped two steps away, looking down at her.

She turned away, “I went out to throw the trash and didn’t take the keys.”

He glanced at her and stepped forward.

Zhuang Zi immediately felt an imposing presence behind her. Glancing sideways, she saw his hand reaching out, the neatly pressed sleeve revealing a glimpse of a pristine white shirt cuff. His well-defined fingers pressed the keypad on the lock at an unhurried pace.

She cautiously stepped forward, increasing the distance between them.

Si Hang inadvertently glanced at her again. Without heels, her head just reached his chin. Lowering his eyes, he saw her long, curled eyelashes, dark and thick. A strand of soft hair tucked behind her ear revealed a fair and clean cheek.

Standing so close, he caught a faint, clean scent from her.