The principal’s son, Hu Yang, was brought directly to the Military Police Bureau as a person of interest. Xiaoqiu and Nannan were taken along as well.

The three were placed in separate rooms. Shi Ting personally conducted the interrogation of Hu Yang.

Hu Yang was tall and lean, wearing round-framed glasses—he had the look of a studious young man. His eyes were red, and his emotions were barely under control.

“You’re grieving over Cailing’s death?” Shi Ting studied him from across the table.

Hu Yang sniffled. “She was my girlfriend. Of course I’m devastated. She was fine just days ago—how could she just be gone like this? And I heard… I heard it was a terrible way to die.”

“When did you last see her?”

“The evening of the eighth.”

“What was said? What happened?”

Hu Yang bit his lip. “We were arguing.”

“What about?”

“She wanted to break up with me. I refused, and things escalated.”

“What reason did she give for the breakup?”

“She said she was pursuing new hope—those were her exact words. I asked her what ‘new hope’ meant, and she wouldn’t say. We’d been together for two years. How could she just try to end things with a vague reason like that? Of course I wouldn’t agree.”

“So you killed her?”

Hu Yang shot to his feet, his voice raised. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I loved her. How could I kill her?”

“Even after she tried to break up with you, you didn’t hate her?”

“No.” Hu Yang’s voice was firm. “I only wanted to understand why she was leaving me—was there something I’d done wrong?”

As he spoke, he broke down, sobbing. “But now she can never tell me. And what would it matter even if I knew?”

“Where were you on the morning of the tenth, at ten-thirty?”

“Playing basketball.”

“Who can verify that?”

“Everyone who was playing with me at the time.”

“Had you and Cailing been intimate?”

Hu Yang’s face flushed. He rubbed his hands together and didn’t answer directly. “Is that against the law?”

“That’s not the Military Police Bureau’s concern.”

Hu Yang exhaled with relief. “About half a year ago—it was her birthday. I booked a private room at the Da Qian Men dance hall and invited her and a few close friends to celebrate. That night we both had too much to drink, and then we went up to the suite on the top floor, and… afterward, we found other opportunities as well. But she was always willing. I never forced her.”

“When was the last time?”

Hu Yang seemed to remember clearly. “Two months ago. Not long after that, she brought up breaking up. Though I refused to accept it.”

“Between Nannan and Xiaoqiu, who was closer to Cailing?”

“Both were, I’d say.” Hu Yang thought for a moment. “Cailing would sometimes complain about Xiaoqiu in front of me, and sometimes about Nannan—but most of the time, the three of them were inseparable. A little friction here and there is normal. That’s just how it is among girls.”

“We will continue investigating. You are responsible for every word you’ve said here.”

“I swear I haven’t lied. No one in this world loved Cailing more than I did.”

When Hu Yang came out, Principal Hu had already been waiting outside for some time. The moment he saw his son, he rushed forward, fussing over him. Reassured that Hu Yang was unharmed, he turned to Shi Ting with a smile. “Director Shi, my son truly is innocent.”

“Whether he is innocent or not, we will determine through our investigation. Principal Hu, you may take him home now.”

The principal expressed his gratitude profusely and led Hu Yang away. Bai Jin walked over. “The families of those two young women have arrived. They’re asking to take them home.”

“Did anything come out of the questioning?”

“Yes.” Bai Jin said. “Xiaoqiu told us that Cailing broke up with Hu Yang because she had fallen for someone else.”

“Did she name the other person?”

“A private detective.”

“A private detective?”

“Xiaoqiu only knew he was a private detective—she didn’t know specifically who he was. She said Cailing wouldn’t tell her. Cailing had fallen for this detective at first sight and was completely captivated by him, which was why she ended things with Hu Yang. Xiaoqiu also mentioned that Cailing said the detective was very handsome, always dressed in white, and she called him her ‘white knight.'”

Just then, Zheng Yun returned from outside. He had conducted a thorough search of Cailing’s home and found only one item of interest—a diary. The diary also mentioned the white knight, but said nothing about anything else.

Zheng Yun said, “I examined the note Cailing left behind and compared the handwriting to the diary. It was definitely written by her.”

After writing the note, Cailing hadn’t gone to school, nor had she gone to a friend’s house. It was highly probable that she had gone to meet the white knight.

“Cailing had a cat—a white, long-haired one. It went missing two months ago. Her father remembered it vividly. He said Cailing adored that cat, cradled it day and night. When it disappeared, she could barely eat or sleep. Mr. Wang had used all his connections to search for the cat but found nothing.”

Shi Ting considered this. “It’s very likely that Cailing, desperate to find her cat, saw an advertisement for a private detective somewhere and went to his office. And that’s where she fell for him on the spot.”

“But Shun Cheng has so many private detective agencies—we can’t possibly check each one individually.”

“I think I know who this white knight is.” Yan Qing had overheard the conversation and wheeled herself over.

~

Huaxi Fang was one of Shun Cheng’s well-known wealthy districts—a place of towering buildings and endless entertainment venues. The most famous among them was the Da Qian Men dance hall.

It was the largest dance hall in all of Shun Cheng, offering the finest entertainment, the most captivating music, the most fashionable dances, and the most glamorous performers. Among them was Qin Peipei, renowned as Shun Cheng’s foremost socialite—breathtakingly beautiful, with a figure that turned heads and a voice like something from the heavens. Countless wealthy and powerful men in Shun Cheng were willing to spend fortunes for even a moment of her attention.

As their car passed by the Da Qian Men’s entrance, the hall had not yet opened for the evening, but its gilded gates gleamed like the entrance to a palace.

Bai Jin sighed admiringly, “The wealthy really do live well.”

Zheng Yun shot him a sideways look. “What’s so wonderful about this? It’s all just gilded excess—absurd and wasteful.”

“Old Zheng, you only say that because you can’t have it. I understand completely.”

“Keep that sour grape to yourself. Eat too many and your teeth will rot.”

While the two bickered, their driver, Old Zhao, had already pulled the car up in front of a narrow residential building. Hanging above the entrance was a placard bearing the boldly written words: “Number One Detective Agency Under Heaven.”

When Yan Qing saw those words, she couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Yan Qing and I will go in,” Shi Ting said. “The rest of you stay down here and keep watch.”

The detective agency was on the ground floor. The door was closed, with a handwritten sign hanging on it: “Come In to Solve Your Case.”

Yan Qing remarked, “He really does fancy himself a detective.”

Shi Ting stepped forward and pushed the door open. Immediately inside was a decorative screen painted with watercolors—vivid and abstract, impossible to make out what it depicted.

Past the screen, the space opened up considerably. A sofa and tea table occupied the center, and the walls were hung with more paintings equally indecipherable in subject.

“Anyone here?” Shi Ting called out.

Before anyone could emerge, a white cat suddenly darted out from the back, letting out a meow.

Yan Qing’s face instantly went pale, and Shi Ting was at her side in an instant, crouching down and shielding her in his arms. “Don’t be afraid,” he murmured.

Yan Qing gripped his jacket with trembling, bloodless fingers.

“Coming, coming!” A clear, bright male voice rang out from within. “Looking for a person or looking for a cat or dog? I may specialize in major cases, but small ones aren’t beneath me either…”

The young man who emerged from the back was wearing a white mandarin-collar shirt—buttons fastened crookedly—with slippers on his feet and disheveled hair. He was a thoroughly unkempt sight.

This young man was none other than Long Yue, the private detective Yan Qing had encountered at the market.

When Bai Jin had said that Cailing had fallen for a detective who liked to dress in white and was quite good-looking, she had immediately thought of Long Yue.

“Miss Mingming?” Long Yue’s eyes lit up—but then he quickly glanced down at himself, muttered “Give me just a moment,” and disappeared back into the room, firmly shutting the door.

The cat remained where it stood, meowing.

Shi Ting said softly, “Don’t be afraid. This cat isn’t aggressive—it’s just licking its own paw.”

Yan Qing still clung to him tightly, her head pressed against his chest, not daring to look at the cat at all.

“It’s all right.” He gently patted her shoulder. “I’m here.”

The first time Yan Qing had been called to a crime scene, she had witnessed a cat feeding on a body. The experience had left a deep psychological mark, and ever since, even the sight of a cat was enough to frighten her.

She was frightened now too—but with Shi Ting beside her, her nerves were not nearly as frayed as they might have been. What occupied her thoughts, strangely, was the realization that he had remembered she was afraid of cats.

She had only mentioned it in passing. Yet he had carried it in his heart, and the moment that cat appeared—before she had even had time to react—he had already moved to shield her.

A warmth bloomed in Yan Qing’s chest, and heat rose in her cheeks.

“My apologies—just woke up.” When Long Yue emerged from his room a second time, he was impeccably dressed. His all-white ensemble gave him a distinctly prince-like air—no wonder Cailing had called him her white knight.

Shi Ting said evenly, “Please remove the cat first.”

Long Yue’s gaze moved between Shi Ting and Yan Qing. Shi Ting’s arm was drawn close around her—clearly a protective posture.

“Of course.” Long Yue picked up the cat and carried it into the adjoining room, closing the door. “So Miss Mingming is afraid of cats.”

“Miss Mingming?” Shi Ting’s brow creased.

“I asked her name and she wouldn’t tell me, so I came up with one myself. You can’t just have no name for someone.” Long Yue shrugged.

Shi Ting gave him a look as if he had said something deeply puzzling, then turned his attention back to the person in his arms and said gently, “It’s gone now. The cat’s been shut away.”

Yan Qing cautiously lifted her head and looked around the room. Seeing no sign of the cat, she finally sat upright.

As Shi Ting rose to stand, she was still holding onto the hem of his jacket, tucking herself behind him—as though bracing for the cat to spring out at any moment.

Shi Ting noticed the cat was a white, long-haired one—very similar to the one Cailing had lost.

—