Many types of chronic poisons can control a person’s time of death—it’s not a difficult task. One can estimate the time of death in advance and administer poison gradually over time. When the time comes to strike, having the victim consume food that triggers the toxicity, or suddenly increasing the dosage, means that person likely won’t see tomorrow’s sun.

Xiang Rong’s death was sudden and clean, leaving the police with only a faint glimmer of hope and a pile of mysteries. He hadn’t even completed the sketch of “Brother Yu.” This meant all suspicions and accusations against Luo Yu had come to nothing. As for whether he was poisoned by someone else or took poison himself to protect his organization, no one would ever know.

Yue Mingxu, Xu Mengshan, and Yin Feng stood in the interrogation room’s observation area, watching Luo Yu inside—his face pale, forehead sweating, but with no visible injuries. Just as Yin Feng had predicted, he hadn’t threatened to press charges or refused to let the matter rest; he had swallowed this bitter pill.

Though Xu Mengshan didn’t know the details, he could sense something was off. He despised this scum and sneered, “Look at him—why couldn’t he have died earlier?”

Yin Feng responded coolly: “Vermin always persists for ten thousand years.”

Xu Mengshan frowned and said, “Now that Xiang Rong is dead, what should we do? Should I interrogate him, probe a bit?”

Yue Mingxu and Yin Feng spoke in unison: “Don’t.”

Xu Mengshan glanced at the two of them and smiled.

Without looking at Yin Feng, Yue Mingxu said, “Since Xiang Rong died without being able to testify, the organization might not know he revealed this ‘Brother Yu.’ Better not alert them—it’s better to watch Luo Yu secretly.”

Yin Feng said, “Of course, it’s also possible that before his death, Xiang Rong directing suspicion toward Luo Yu was part of their plan. They might want us to focus our attention on Luo Yu and the Kaiyang Group behind him.”

Yue Mingxu and Xu Mengshan exchanged glances, and Yue Mingxu asked, “If that’s true, what are they trying to do?”

Yin Feng answered flatly, “Who knows? The motives of psychopaths can’t be deduced through normal logic. When you learn the truth, it’s often beyond comprehension.”

Xu Mengshan clicked his tongue twice and said, “It’s like those puzzles I’ve seen online. Let me ask you: One day, a prince and princess are trying to escape from a devil’s castle. At the exit, the devil appears and says: ‘White represents angels, which oppose devils. The princess in the white dress cannot leave here.’ Then the devil pulls out a dagger. In the end, the prince dies, but the princess escapes alone. Why?”

Yue Mingxu was about to suggest the prince died protecting the princess but felt it couldn’t be that simple. As she pondered, she heard Yin Feng say, “The princess killed the prince and dyed her dress red.”

Yue Mingxu looked at Yin Feng, his expression as impassive as ever. Xu Mengshan said, “Impressive, truly professional.”

Yue Mingxu simply arranged for a junior officer to repeatedly question Luo Yu about some of his unclear past matters. Luo Yu barely bothered to answer, letting his lawyer speak for him most of the time. He just sat there looking unwell, occasionally glancing toward the dark glass, his gaze dark and obscure.

Before long, Yue Mingxu released him. The three of them stood upstairs, watching as Luo Yu walked slowly to the car waiting for him. At that moment, Luo Yu seemed to sense something and looked up at the three of them.

Yue Mingxu stood in the middle, hand under her chin, expression unchanged. Xu Mengshan grinned, while Yin Feng’s gaze was deep and somewhat contemptuous.

Luo Yu showed an extremely dark smile and gave Yue Mingxu the middle finger.

Yue Mingxu did not react. Xu Mengshan coldly snorted, “Scum.” Just then, Yue Mingxu suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder—Yin Feng’s hand had settled there.

She glanced at him sideways.

He said concisely: “To anger him.”

Yue Mingxu remained silent but played along. Yet in her heart, something suddenly seemed to flash like lightning. She had always thought Yin Feng and Yue Yingjun were different. Yin Feng was mature, a scoundrel, dominant, surely very shrewd and calculating. Completely different from Yue Yingjun, who had his little world inside. But now it seemed they were cut from the same cloth after all.

With this realization, looking at the man beside her, she felt less put off by his affected manner than before.

After Luo Yu got in the car and left, Yin Feng removed his hand and said, “That being the case, I’ll take my leave. If there are any developments, I hope you’ll share the information promptly.”

Xu Mengshan glanced at Yue Mingxu from the corner of his eye and smiled, “Certainly.”

Yin Feng nodded, his gaze falling on Yue Mingxu again. She just gave a light “mm” in agreement.

Yin Feng took the coat Tuya handed him, put it on, and turned to leave.

After they were gone, Xu Mengshan muttered, “This one doesn’t seem so bad…”

But Yue Mingxu said, “The previous one had nothing on his mind. This one’s mind is full of schemes. One was pure and clean, one’s true face is unclear. How is that not different? They’re worlds apart.”

——

In the following days, the police kept watching Luo Yu. He behaved himself, traveling only between home and his law firm, occasionally visiting clients, showing no obvious irregularities.

He even found time to text Yue Mingxu. Although she had blocked his numerous numbers in the past, he simply harassed her with new ones.

“Those jeans you’re wearing today look good, really suit your legs, makes me imagine things. —Y.”

“Been following you half the day, honor me with lunch?”

“Just spent the afternoon talking with a client, a bit tired, missing my baby.”

“It’s late at night, easier to think about women. Guess what I’m thinking?”

…

Yue Mingxu had never seen someone so brazenly shameless; every text message was extremely nauseating. She knew he didn’t miss her—he was deliberately trying to disgust her. She could only scan them briefly with revulsion before tossing them aside.

Seeing this, Xu Mengshan stroked his chin and said, “You know, dealing with this scum who might be the boss behind everything—since he’s so fixated on you, Sister Yue, you’re practically a walking bait, aren’t you?”

Yue Mingxu had considered this, but she was too disgusted by that man. Besides, wouldn’t Luo Yu be on guard against her?

But Xu Mengshan added, “Better not, though.”

Yue Mingxu looked at his expression and suddenly understood he was thinking of Fan Jia. This guy usually acted so carefree and unrestrained, yet that name had become a scar in his heart that couldn’t be touched.

She was the same way.

“Weren’t they saying they’d transfer a decorated criminal investigator here?” Yue Mingxu changed the subject. “Why haven’t we seen them yet?”

Xu Mengshan answered, “They say they’ll be here in the next few days. Heard they used to be in narcotics. Hey, what made such a tough character suddenly change fields? Looking forward to it.”

A narcotics officer? Images of the narcotics colleagues she knew flashed through Yue Mingxu’s mind—their tanned skin, serious expressions. They faced desperate criminals, and thus those officers’ eyes held an even colder light than the criminals’. Every one of them was hard as steel.