The weather in Xiangcheng was much warmer than in Tibet. It was June, with the sun warm but not scorching. Even the smog had retreated this season, leaving blue skies and white clouds, the Xiang River crystal clear—a rare perfect day.

You Mingxu wore just a short-sleeved shirt as she deplaned with her colleagues, escorting Gu Tiancheng. These past two days on the road, You Mingxu had only seen him from afar, never speaking. He had remained silent throughout the journey, but also calm, showing no panic or distress after being arrested. Such a person had probably long ago retreated into his world, abandoning everything outside.

A group of police officers boarded the waiting police cars, speeding back to headquarters. Several officers from Tibet accompanied them, planning to join the suspect’s interrogation.

This series of cases had occurred in a short period, with brutal and secretive methods. Although less than a few weeks had passed, it had created a huge impact not just in Xiangcheng and Tibet, but nationwide. Fortunately, the case was solved quickly. Now sitting in the car, the officers chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed. Some even said You Mingxu should treat them to dinner, since this time she might get a commendation.

You Mingxu smiled faintly and said, “Sure, if I get a merit citation, I’ll let you feast at my expense.”

The brothers burst out laughing. Fan Jia said, “Sister You, Sister You, I want crayfish!”

You Mingxu: “No problem.”

The brothers in the Criminal Investigation Unit had complex feelings about this “flower” of Yueshan Police Station. On one hand, You Mingxu was genuinely beautiful—pure without being garish, slim but not gaunt, graceful and delicate, truly no less stunning than movie stars. On the other hand, this “flower” was too fierce. Usually quite proud, occasionally throwing sharp remarks. Always giving sideways glances with those phoenix eyes that made your skin crawl. She’d even won the provincial police martial arts championship and reportedly practiced judo for over ten years. In other words, she was the toughest fighter in the entire station. So you want to pursue her? Better think twice—can you handle her? Are you worthy?

Of course, there were people from other departments who tried. For those who were subtle, You Mingxu would simply state: “I’m not interested in you.” For those who persisted, she’d utter one word: “Scram.”

Gradually, men became wary of her. As they fought more battles side by side, seeing You Mingxu’s fighting skills, endurance, and fierceness, those in her unit stopped seeing her as a woman. Those outside the unit could only admire this alpine flower from afar, not daring to trifle with her.

However, everyone had wondered the same thing: Who would eventually take this thorny flower away? It would have to be someone impressive enough to win everyone’s approval, otherwise the whole station would object.

Yueshan Branch was located at the foot of Yuelu Mountain, with several white, solemn buildings standing quietly and imposing. As the police cars stopped, You Mingxu jumped out, with several unit brothers following behind. They had only walked a few steps when someone ran over and whispered to her: “Sister You, Gu Tiancheng says he’ll only cooperate with questioning after talking to you first.”

You Mingxu looked up. Under the courtyard’s big tree, the man had changed into clean casual clothes, held by two officers, wearing handcuffs, seemingly looking this way.

You Mingxu said, “Fine.”

A colleague behind me asked, “Sister You, will you be okay?”

“I’m fine. You go ahead first.”

In the interrogation room, bright lights blazed, and a faint electrical hum made the enclosed space feel more silent and empty. Gu Tiancheng sat alone behind the table, his cuffed hands below the surface, his face expressionless, very quiet.

The door opened and You Mingxu entered alone, now in uniform with her hair in a ponytail. Gu Tiancheng stared at her constantly, actually feeling a trace of greed and excitement in his heart, and he quietly laughed to himself.

You Mingxu appeared not to notice, pulled out a chair to sit down, then took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, and offered it to him. He smiled and accepted: “Thanks.”

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked.

“Nothing just wanted to see you.”

She said: “Confess properly, leniency for those who surrender, severity for those who resist. However, in your case, there’s not much room for negotiation. Just give the victims’ families out there some closure, earn yourself some karma points.”

He exhaled smoke and said: “I don’t care about them.”

You Mingxu smiled: “What have you ever cared about?”

He said: “You are my journey’s end. I regret not killing you. But somehow I’m content being caught by you. I cherish you, perhaps more than anyone around you understands and values you, believe it or not. I called you here to give you some advice: Life isn’t worth much. Especially for a woman like you, taking certain things too seriously, being too loyal. If you’re betrayed or wronged in the future, you’re finished. You seem clever but don’t have many tricks up your sleeve. Don’t be foolish, human nature isn’t something good. Those people you protect aren’t worth it. Only you are worth it. Have you forgotten how Ming Tao dragged you down, how Zou Furong and Song Lan ultimately abandoned you and ran? Remember my words, if you don’t look out for yourself, heaven and earth will destroy you. Don’t keep being foolish. I truly care for you. Our connection, I’ll never forget even in death. I hope you won’t forget either, always remember these words I leave you.”

You Mingxu was silent for a moment, then smiled and answered: “You are beyond saving. Look at you, already twenty-eight, yet your understanding of the world and people is still as naive and narrow as a child’s. The important thing in life isn’t how others see or treat me, but what kind of person I am, and living true to myself every day, even if only one day remains. You think you’re living above it all, not caring about others. What you just said proves that from beginning to end, you’ve lived trapped in others’ opinions, fixating on how they treat you. It’s being trapped in all this that drove you mad, right? Fine, I understand now. You’re just a child who was hurt and never got back up. Desperately killing people recklessly, proving yourself, and making others notice you. Gu Tiancheng, your life is the one that wasn’t worth much. You never lived it well.”

Gu Tiancheng said nothing, his facial features finally showing some rigidity. After a while, he looked up and smiled. You Mingxu saw his eyes were red, seeming to glisten with unshed tears. But a person like him wouldn’t cry. He just pressed his lips together tightly. Soon, his face relaxed again, expression returning to its usual dead calm.

You Mingxu stood up and said: “Also, I’m not as miserable as you say. I can trust my life to every brother by my side, and if I died for any one of them or strangers like Ming Tao, that’s my duty as a police officer, what’s wrong with that? And stop talking about feelings and love, you took my undercover act seriously? Sorry to say, sister has dumped more men than women you’ve been with. You’re just… below average among them. Don’t pine for me, not even after death, I never take responsibility. Alright, I’m leaving. Confess properly. Gu Tiancheng, before you die, be yourself one last time.”

You Mingxu walked out of the interrogation room, silence remaining behind her. She closed the door, and two officers came to take over. It was now late afternoon, long shadows of sunlight stretching down the corridor, bright and quiet. She stood by the window smoking for a while, then felt annoyed at her smoking habit. Throwing away the remaining half cigarette, she walked toward the office.

But in the hall, she saw a group of people. Mostly older couples, all with tears in their eyes, emotionally agitated. She knew these were the families of the victims of the highway serial killings. She quietly watched them for a few moments, then turned and walked away.

That day, everyone worked until late at night before getting off. You Mingxu was also exhausted—they had arrived in Xiangcheng this morning, and now she just wanted to get back to her place, sleep like the dead, and forget everything.

As she was leaving, Fan Jia came over carrying an armful of case files. You Mingxu asked as if casually: “Did Gu Tiancheng confess?”

Fan Jia nodded: “He did. His attitude was fairly cooperative, just didn’t say much. I felt like he seemed distracted.”

You Mingxu was silent for a moment, then smiled: “I’m going.”

The early summer night was cool and clear, with stars filling the sky. The police station building still had many lights on, and You Mingxu thought they looked like iron giants, silently looming there. Now the fatigue accumulated over many days was about to overwhelm her like a tidal wave. She walked out of the station, waiting for a taxi.

Out of police instinct, she quickly noticed a car parked by the road—a black BMW with hazard lights on, no one inside. She looked around and saw three figures.

They all looked somewhat familiar.

They stood far away at the corner of the station’s high wall, one crouching, two standing. The crouching one hugged his knees like a child, head down. The standing man and woman were both looking down as if trying to persuade him of something, occasionally looking this way.

You Mingxu jolted, internally cursing her bad luck, turning to walk toward the other end of the street.

But it was too late.

The crouching person suddenly looked up and stood. The two beside him quickly tried to steady him, but he shook them off and was already running toward You Mingxu: “Sister—Sister—I’m here—”

You Mingxu: “…” Damn it!

She watched expressionlessly as he ran closer. He wasn’t running fast, probably because his wounds hurt, one hand still covering his bandages, steps stumbling, hopping like a lame toad. But You Mingxu didn’t go to meet him either, just quietly watching.

This supposedly famous Mr. Yin Feng reached her, his pale face slightly flushed, eyes full of sparkling joy.

The two who followed, the woman looking worried and somewhat sad, said: “Yin Feng, you can’t run, your wounds are still serious.” She glanced at You Mingxu after speaking.

The young man seemed quite composed, just standing behind Yin Feng with hands at his sides, not speaking. Must be Yin Feng’s assistant.

You Mingxu looked Yin Feng over. He had changed into hospital clothes and his face was clean now, with adhesive bandages on his face and hands, and gauze wrapped around his body. But he was barefoot, his fair large feet covered in mud with some red scrapes. Additionally, there were several fresh small wounds on his forehead and palms.

You Mingxu asked: “How did you end up like this?”

Yin Feng thought for a moment and answered: “I also think these clothes don’t look good.”

You Mingxu felt a nerve twitch in her forehead, then turned to look at the man behind him. The man was quite quick-witted and immediately understood, quickly explaining: “Teacher Yin insisted on finding you after he woke up. He saw you on TV when they reported about your branch catching the suspect. Then he snuck out of the hospital when the nurses weren’t looking. The new injuries are from falling on the way. Officer You, please persuade Teacher Yin to return to the hospital. His injuries are serious, something bad could happen without proper treatment.”

You Mingxu glanced at the young man’s gentle scholarly features, thinking that Yin Feng’s… assistant was quite capable of handling things. Then she wondered what kind of person the principal was before his brain was damaged.

You Mingxu said to Yin Feng: “Did you hear what he said? You could die without proper treatment, hurry back to the hospital.”

The woman also tugged Yin Feng’s arm pleading: “Yes, please go back to the hospital, I beg you to stop this.”

You Mingxu glanced at the woman.

Yin Feng suddenly shook off the woman’s hand, showing a disgusted and somewhat fearful expression, saying: “What’s it to you? I don’t know you. Don’t touch me again, or I’ll hit you.” Then he looked at You Mingxu, his expression becoming timid and soft: “Mingxu, when I woke up that day, you were gone. Why didn’t you come find me?”

Seeing You Mingxu not respond, panic flashed quickly through Yin Feng’s eyes, and he immediately bit his lip, neck straightening: “Anyway, I found you, so no one can take me away now!”

The woman beside him showed a complex, bitter smile as she looked at You Mingxu. The assistant maintained a neutral expression, staying silent.

You Mingxu was quiet for a moment, then said: “Mr. Yin Feng, you’re mistaken. I’m not your sister, I have no obligation to you. The case is closed, we have no connection anymore. Why should I care about you?”

Yin Feng stared at her blankly, his eyes slowly turning red.

You Mingxu said coldly: “Don’t cry!” and turned to leave.