Yin Feng also stared at the coffee table. Several fashion and finance magazines were scattered across it, along with some snacks, beverages, a kettle, and tissues—but these items only occupied a small portion of the surface, leaving most of it conspicuously empty.

Their eyes swept around the room before simultaneously landing on a tea set tucked away in a corner of the bookshelf.

You Mingxu walked over and, wearing gloves, picked up the teapot. She found it clean but still damp inside. “It was washed recently. There’s plenty of space on the coffee table, yet they put it on the bookshelf.”

“And they placed it on the far inside of the shelf, not somewhere easily accessible,” Yin Feng added.

They exchanged glances, and You Mingxu immediately called her colleagues to send forensics personnel. At this point, they couldn’t afford to overlook any suspicious details or clues.

“So…” You Mingxu’s mind suddenly cleared, “With Fan Jia’s skills, taking down three men would have been easy. Yet she struggled so desperately with Zhou Rongfeng, even drawing blood with an ashtray. This makes sense now—there must have been something in the tea!”

“In their haste, they couldn’t clean everything thoroughly,” Yin Feng said. “There’s a good chance we can find residue on the cups.”

You Mingxu brightened—this could be the most direct evidence the police had found so far. For the first time in days, her face lit up with a smile. Watching her, Yin Feng felt his own heart lighten. He realized that to see her smile, he would willingly go through fire and water, no matter what it took.

You Mingxu pondered for a moment before saying, “Knowing Fan Jia’s personality, even if she suspected something in the tea, she would have taken the risk and drunk it anyway once she saw them slip up. Besides, she couldn’t have predicted losing her police tracker at that point.”

You Mingxu felt her eyes growing hot. She looked down at the floor for a moment, and when she raised her gaze again, it was clear. Yin Feng caught all these subtle emotions, and he couldn’t help but reach out to gently pat her head, just as she often did to him.

“You’re getting cheeky,” You Mingxu said.

Yin Feng muttered, “I want to be cheeky with you.”

You Mingxu pretended not to hear this ambiguous comment and brushed his hand away. “Stop fooling around. Let’s check Zhou Rongfeng’s room next. That’s where Fan Jia disappeared.”

—

Zhou Rongfeng’s office remained exactly as it had been during the day, blood stains still visible on the floor. The silence made it difficult to imagine the earlier chaos.

You Mingxu examined Zhou Rongfeng’s desk, cabinets, and sofa, finding nothing unusual. The tea set remained on the coffee table, with two half-drunk cups of tea.

Only the computer was missing, seized immediately by the police, though their search had yielded nothing.

You Mingxu frowned and said, “Something puzzles me. Zhang Wei hurriedly cleaned up the tea set, and when I arrived, they were destroying evidence on the computer. This suggests they’d already guessed Fan Jia was police. How did they know?”

“Her fighting skills?” Yin Feng considered. “Even drugged and sluggish, she still managed to wound Zhou Rongfeng and escape. An ordinary girl couldn’t do that.”

You Mingxu nodded. “True. If I were Zhou Rongfeng, I’d certainly be suspicious. But destroying the computer just because of that seems overly cautious, doesn’t it?”

“Fan Jia must have done something else,” Yin Feng said.

You Mingxu’s gaze fell on the space on the desk. “The computer! Fan Jia brought a decoder—she must have tried to collect evidence. Whatever they destroyed on that computer might have been what she accessed!”

Yin Feng nodded. “That’s possible.”

“Could that be why they fought—because Zhou Rongfeng caught her accessing the computer?” You Mingxu asked.

Yin Feng shook his head. “No. There are signs of struggle in the room, but if Zhou Rongfeng had discovered her then, why wouldn’t he call for help immediately? He tried to subdue her alone because he had ulterior motives.

Only after being knocked unconscious for a few minutes and realizing her unusual combat skills would he have checked the computer. Finding it compromised, he panicked and began destroying evidence and organizing a search.”

You Mingxu met his gaze for several seconds before speaking slowly: “So before they realized what was happening, Fan Jia might have already taken the crucial evidence out of this room.”

Yin Feng nodded.

You Mingxu threw open the office door to reveal a dark, quiet hallway lined with doors—some closed, others ajar. It seemed as though each might hide something unknown.

“Where would that foolish girl go next?” You Mingxu whispered.

Yin Feng’s eyes were clear: “When Fan Jia first escaped this room, she hadn’t alerted anyone else. Someone might have noticed the commotion, but there wasn’t a widespread search yet. Her mental state would have determined her choices.”

You Mingxu smiled bitterly. “She wouldn’t have been afraid. Having finally obtained evidence, her only thought would have been to bring it to us and regroup. But without her police tracker and under the influence of drugs, it must have been incredibly difficult.”

Yin Feng pulled her close and gently stroked her hair. He’d been doing this more and more lately. Whether moved by affection or sympathy, it was all he dared to do.

The man’s palm was large and lean, carrying a warmth and strength different from a woman’s. You Mingxu remained still for a few seconds before turning away.

Yin Feng lowered his hand, feeling satisfied even with those brief moments rather than disappointed. He pointed to the nearby stairs and said, “If Fan Jia was still thinking clearly, she would have taken the shortcut downstairs to get as far from Zhou Rongfeng as possible. Though it’s hard to say—she might have collapsed on the stairs after three steps. Then both she and the evidence would have fallen into that person’s hands.”

“Don’t jinx it,” You Mingxu said flatly. “I have to assume she didn’t collapse here because if what you described happened, all our deductions tonight would be meaningless.”

She descended to the second floor and said, “The main entrance is below, and we were watching it the whole time without seeing anything. Let’s assume further: Fan Jia was intercepted on the second floor. Where did it happen?”

Yin Feng followed behind her, looking around. They spoke simultaneously:

“Not in the stairwell.” “Not in the corridor.”

You Mingxu glanced at him as he grinned. “You go ahead,” she said.

Yin Feng answered, “It would have been too conspicuous, too easy to spot. Yet he not only subdued Fan Jia but avoided everyone’s notice. Either he’s still hiding her somewhere in this building, or he moved her through some secret passage. If I were him, I would have chosen a concealed location to act, maybe even disguised Fan Jia somehow to make it easier.”