Tang Xin pushed open the door to find Fu Xueli sprawled motionless on the dining table, as if she had fallen into a death-like sleep. In front of her sat an empty porridge bowl that hadn’t been cleared away yet.

Without a word, Tang Xin walked over and pushed her shoulder. “Wake up. How did you end up sleeping here? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

Fu Xueli’s head was buried between her arms. After a long while, she finally looked up at Tang Xin.

“……”

Tang Xin was startled. Fu Xueli’s eyelids were red and swollen, her face pale. Her whole person seemed dazed and confused, her breath carrying a faint scent of alcohol—she looked like she had been crying for who knows how long last night. Tang Xin frowned. “Don’t tell me, Fu Xueli, weren’t you always the most carefree person? Did this little bit of gossip really hit you this hard?”

“No.” Fu Xueli slowly straightened up. She felt utterly exhausted, completely drained of strength, her throat so hoarse she could barely speak. “Why did you come?”

Tang Xin got up and went to the kitchen refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of low-alcohol liquor, casually poured some into a glass, and asked offhandedly, “Have you been online recently?”

“No.” Fu Xueli leaned sideways against the chair back, her hair disheveled, her fingers rubbing against the smooth surface of the bowl as she stared at it for a long moment.

She listened to Tang Xin’s words half-heartedly, her mind in complete chaos.

The last look Xu Xingchun had given her before leaving last night kept appearing in her mind.

From stormy turbulence to final deathly silence. As if the last bit of light had been extinguished.

His calm departing figure, reflected in her eyes, felt more like a scalding pain.

She felt her heart contracting spasmodically, the tightness making her chest ache. She hadn’t expected herself to be so cruel, to actually push Xu Xingchun to this point.

For a moment, Fu Xueli had thought about regretting it, simply going back on her word and calling out to stop him, but then reason returned.

That one sentence she’d said before had already blocked any future path between them. How could she be so heartless, shamelessly entangling him and then watching Xu Xingchun continue to sink in pain?

It was better for him to give up on her sooner.

Seeing Fu Xueli zone out again, Tang Xin didn’t mind and continued gossiping in a low voice, her face showing a hint of a smile. “Ha, you know what? Ming Heqi didn’t commit suicide for love at all. The police have already released that information.”

“What?!” Fu Xueli’s wandering thoughts were instantly pulled back. “What’s going on?”

“The specifics are still confidential, and I’m not too clear either, but it’s been confirmed that Ming Heqi was murdered.” Tang Xin casually fiddled with her nails. “Yesterday I bribed an entertainment journalist. If nothing goes wrong, tonight Weibo will expose who He Lu was cheating with. No one’s going to get away with framing you, stepping on me to climb up—not possible.”

“Oh right, don’t worry anymore. Things change fast on the internet, different every day. After today, I guarantee that by tomorrow there’ll be an ‘Apologize to Fu Xueli’ hashtag on Weibo.”

“……”

Tang Xin finished the last of her drink and set down the glass. “Alright, this matter is temporarily settled. Next month I have a project that’ll probably require going abroad for a month. You’ve been resting at home these past few days, should be enough by now, right? I’ll send you the upcoming schedule on WeChat later.”

After this drama of the year produced an unexpected twist, all kinds of entertainment news flooded the internet. Tang Xin, capitalizing on the high attention, immediately arranged a press conference for Fu Xueli, with a few fan slots available too.

Halfway through the interview, a male fan suddenly shouted hoarsely from below, tears streaming down his face in excitement: “—Fu Xueli!!! The whole world owes you an apology!”

“…….”

Fu Xueli had been answering a question when she suddenly heard this guy’s rough yet slightly heartbroken voice, and immediately found it rather amusing. She couldn’t help pausing, controlling her facial expression to avoid laughing out loud.

But the reporters below couldn’t hold back, and here and there, the atmosphere lightened with laughter. The mood relaxed considerably.

An online media outlet continued questioning, “So may I ask about you and He Lu—”

“—Excuse me, we’ve already given a unified response. Our agency’s artist has no private contact with Mr. He Lu, their relationship is purely professional colleagues. We won’t answer similar questions, sorry.” A staff member politely interrupted the reporter.

Fu Xueli sat quietly without making a sound. After a while, she picked up the microphone and said seriously, word by word, “I’ll only say this once. Since my debut, I have never had a romantic relationship with anyone in the industry.”

The press conference concluded smoothly and uneventfully, nothing particularly noteworthy. In the afternoon, Fu Xueli had to rush to another location to shoot an MV, so her lunch break was very brief—she needed to eat, get her makeup done, and change clothes.

After days of continuous high-intensity work, constantly rushing between schedules, Fu Xueli felt deeply fatigued and could barely keep going. She set a fifteen-minute alarm and curled up on the sofa, falling into a deep sleep.

People seemed to come and go around her, the noisy sounds ebbing and flowing. In her drowsy state, when Fu Xueli woke up and reached for her phone to check the time, she saw that Xixi had sent several messages half a minute ago:

“Sister Xueli, I’ve got the plane tickets, luggage is all packed~ Waiting for you in the car ^^”

Getting off the elevator into the underground parking garage, Fu Xueli walked toward the address Xixi had just sent, phone in hand.

“Xiao Fang, Xiao Fang.” Xixi pushed open the door. Only Xiao Fang remained in the spacious dressing room. She looked around. “Have you seen where Sister Xueli is? I don’t know where I dropped my phone, I can’t reach her.”

Xiao Fang looked up, puzzled. “Huh? I just saw Xueli touch up her makeup a bit and then go out. Did she go to the bathroom?”

“When was this?” Time was running short, and Xixi asked somewhat anxiously, “The roads are a bit congested now, I’m afraid we’ll miss the flight.”

Xiao Fang thought about it. “About fifteen minutes ago, I think.”

East Street Garden residential area.

“Does the suspect live here?” Liu Bo closed the police car door, surveying this half-dilapidated old-style building.

Lin Jin nodded gravely. “Should be no mistake.”

After all these years fighting criminals, although they had sensed from the start that Ming Heqi’s case wasn’t simple, they hadn’t had any leads.

With all the speculation online, they were momentarily overwhelmed. After initially determining that Ming Heqi hadn’t committed suicide, the case was filled with layers of doubts and contradictions.

The scene had left no clues for comparison, and the statements from everyone who appeared at the hotel that day were basically consistent, nothing to pick apart. So after repeatedly reviewing footage, hypothesizing crime scenes, then screening targets, the suspect they locked onto turned out to be Ming Heqi’s assistant.

That frail little girl who had cried to the point of near-fainting while giving her statement at the police station.

“Although I haven’t yet found the suspect’s motive, this assistant is definitely connected to Ming Heqi’s death.” Lin Jin said with certainty. “She definitely lied to us. Security footage from a street near the hotel shows that on the afternoon of August 17th, Zhu [surname] never went out at all, but stayed in a black Honda the whole time, waiting until half an hour after the incident before returning the same way.”

“Let’s go up and take a look.” Xu Xingchun spoke from the side.

Zhu Xia’s home was on the third floor, a rather winding apartment layout. Several investigating officers looked around the place—the walls were already mottled, spider webs tangled in the corners. Though it was hot summer, there was a trace of cold chill here.

“Knock.” Liu Jingbo stood by the door, silently drawing his gun. The others also instinctively hid on both sides.

Xiao Wang took two deep breaths and knocked twice on the door.

After waiting half a minute with no response, he raised his hand and knocked twice more.

Still no response. Just as Xiao Wang was about to press his ear to listen, Lin Jin beside him couldn’t help reminding, “Press the doorbell.”

“…..” Xiao Wang felt somewhat embarrassed. He glanced at them, then reached out to press the doorbell.

Nobody seemed to be home. Liu Jingbo and the others exchanged glances, finally deciding to force entry.

The moment the heavy security door opened and they saw inside the house, everyone present drew in a sharp breath.

Before their eyes, covering every surface, were photos of He Lu of all sizes.

Xu Xingchun bent down and casually picked up a crumpled ball of paper, opening it.

Densely packed, written over and over in black marker, was He Lu’s name.

Xiao Wang exclaimed, “How terrifying. Who would have thought this Zhu [person] was actually a crazy fan of He Lu. I remember Ming Heqi was He Lu’s girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

Actually, after seeing all this, Lin Jin and the others had already formed a simple judgment about the case in their minds. An investigator then found a fruit knife with bloodstains in the house. He placed the knife in an evidence bag. “This should be the knife used when Ming Heqi slit her wrists at the scene. We’ll take it back to compare the blood and DNA, and once the results come out we’ll be able to confirm.”

Lin Jin nodded.

Liu Jingbo continued wandering around this cramped room. Zhu Xia apparently rarely stayed home and didn’t pay attention to personal hygiene. Dust had settled in many places, the kitchen was dirty and messy. He strolled from the bathroom to the living room, and turning his head, saw Xu Xingchun standing motionless at the bedroom doorway.

“What is it? Captain Xu, did you find something new?” He walked forward.

Looking around, Liu Bo followed Xu Xingchun’s line of sight and saw two large posters standing in the bedroom. One was of Ming Heqi, her face already slashed to pieces by a sharp object. And the other—

Liu Jingbo’s hair stood on end.

Although the woman’s eyes in the poster had been gouged out, leaving only two pitch-black holes, Liu Jingbo recognized her immediately.

This person was Fu Xueli.

—Not good, something must have happened!

Xiao Wang, holding his phone and dialing, waited a long time without Fu Xueli answering. He tried several more times—all out of service area.

Everyone around stared tensely at the phone. Xiao Wang’s palms gradually began to sweat. “Celebrities are all very busy, maybe she just hasn’t looked at her phone for a bit. Not answering is probably normal, right?”

Lin Jin’s brow furrowed tightly. “Quickly notify the people around Fu Xueli. If we’re not mistaken, the suspect probably knows she’s been exposed too. The next target is very likely Fu Xueli—the probability of a crime is very high.”

“No need to panic.” Liu Jingbo was about to say something when he glimpsed Xu Xingchun’s expression. He opened his mouth. “Quickly contact the bureau, have them pull up the phone numbers of Fu Xueli’s assistant and agent.”

They moved swiftly—in a moment they transmitted two strings of numbers.

Xiao Wang called one—it showed as powered off. Dumbfounded, he dialed the other number. Tang Xin answered immediately. “Hello?”

“Hello, we’re police officers from the Shen City Jinliang District Public Security Bureau. I’d like to ask, is Fu Xueli with you right now?”

The person on the other end sounded very anxious. “Fu Xueli isn’t with me, her phone is also off, I don’t know where she went! She’s not at home either. Right now we’re about to check the parking garage surveillance footage!”

The phone was on speaker. Hearing this, everyone present looked at each other speechlessly, their hearts sinking heavily.

Liu Jingbo looked up. Before words could leave his mouth, he saw Xu Xingchun’s figure disappear through the doorway.

—

An abandoned factory on the city outskirts, filled with dirty, disorderly gasoline cans. Fu Xueli was awakened by a basin of cold water. Her consciousness shifted from fuzzy to gradually clear, her mouth stuffed with a towel.

Her whole body shook violently.

Consciousness from before she lost it gradually returned to her mind.

She had gone to the parking lot… then walked a few steps, turned a corner and someone tapped her shoulder. The moment she turned around, gauze soaked with drugs was pressed over her face.

Enduring the severe pain throughout her body, she felt like she’d been torn apart. She tasted the rusty iron flavor of blood in her mouth. Her wrists were bound to a chair, unable to move at all.

Looking up at her surroundings, the sky had already darkened. Overhead, a cold white fluorescent lamp swayed back and forth—she had no idea what kind of godforsaken place this was.

“What are you looking at?” The person beside her dropped the bucket and slapped Fu Xueli’s face with a sharp crack, forcing her head to the side. “Finally awake?”

Seeing the scissors flash past her eyes, Fu Xueli felt her head splitting with pain and broke out in cold sweat. She closed her eyes in despair, not knowing whether there was more fear or dying desolation in her heart.

She really never imagined that something like being kidnapped could actually happen to her.

Zhu Xia walked in front of Fu Xueli, lifted her chin, her expression both crazed and cold, and laughed eerily. “Tsk tsk tsk, look at your beautiful face. What is it about you all that He Lu likes? If he likes your face, what if I ruin it now? Wouldn’t that be good?”

Psychopath.

Fu Xueli stiffened, biting down hard on her teeth to keep her whole body from trembling.

After saying this, Zhu Xia fell silent again, seemingly lost in thought. After a few seconds of quiet, she suddenly slapped Fu Xueli again, saying viciously, “The internet was right—you really are a whore. Don’t you love seducing men? Don’t you like He Lu? Why won’t you admit it?! Since you love seducing men so much, how about I call a man over to have you right in front of everyone?”

Fu Xueli quietly clenched her fists, mumbling indistinctly with great difficulty, “You… might as well… just… kill me.”

Seeing her miserable state, Zhu Xia felt physically and mentally pleased. She grabbed Fu Xueli’s neck, gradually increasing the pressure. “You think you won’t die? Oh right, do you know how Ming Heqi died? Don’t worry, after I’m done torturing you, I’ll let you experience the same thing.”

Fu Xueli gradually felt white light flashing before her eyes, losing her strength bit by bit. Even her breathing became intermittent.

“Damn it, how are they here so fast? This is cursed! Are you done yet or not?” A burly bald man hurried back from the window, interrupting them. “You’re taking so long—now look what’s happened, the cops are here.”

“—People inside, attention. You are surrounded.”

The voice from outside carried through a megaphone, echoing clearly inside the factory.

“Hurry up and deal with this woman.” The bald man was very agitated, saying frantically, “I shouldn’t have agreed to help you. Didn’t get any money, and now we’ve got cops on us!”

After half an hour of standoff.

“The kidnappers finally agreed to let one of us go in to negotiate.”

A hundred meters from the factory, several police cars were parked. Lin Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Both Zhu Xia and Fu Xueli are inside, along with an adult male.”

After reviewing the surveillance footage and confirming Fu Xueli had disappeared from the parking garage, they quickly activated the major case investigation mechanism. The Criminal Investigation Unit assembled police forces to crack the case, then tracked all the way here.

Xu Xingchun’s temples throbbed. He said nothing, his expression seeming to waver for a moment.

“Wait.” Someone stopped his forward movement. “I know how you’re feeling right now. But Xu Xingchun, don’t be impulsive. We should wait for the negotiation expert—they’re already on the way. This time the hostage’s identity is special. I’m betting they don’t dare act rashly right now. If you go in now to rescue the hostage and fail, resulting in the hostage being killed, facing disciplinary action is the small matter—how much social pressure will there be?!”

Liu Jingbo advised.

A voice came through the earpiece from the surveillance personnel in back. “No good, the hostage seems like she can’t hold on much longer. She’s already in a semi-conscious state. We can’t wait that long. Should we force entry to rescue her?”

“No, that’s too risky. One person inside has a gun, and another person’s emotional state seems off. Something could easily go wrong.”

“Command center has issued orders—we can shoot to kill as a last resort.”

The risk of shooting to kill was actually very high. First, it was already late at night with too many obstructions around. Second, the kidnappers were obviously very experienced, keeping themselves pressed tightly against the hostage. If they rashly shot to kill, they might very likely harm Fu Xueli.

The people inside the factory were getting impatient, firing several shots into the air.

“Should we discuss further what to do? Zhu Xia has explosives strapped to her body. She knows it’s a dead end for her. She’s not in a normal psychological state right now and could self-detonate at any moment. Going in rashly right now is really too dangerous—”

Xu Xingchun lowered his head. After being quiet for a while, he finally showed some reaction. “I’ll go in.”

Lin Jin immediately fell silent, looked at him for several seconds, and sighed. “Alright.”

After Xu Xingchun had walked several meters away, he couldn’t help shouting at his back, “Be careful!”

Fu Xueli was held tightly against the bald man’s chest, a coldly gleaming sharp knife pressed against her throat. Zhu Xia held a gun with both hands, aimed at the young police officer who had just stepped inside.

“Don’t move first.” Zhu Xia said in a trembling voice. “Right now you can’t come closer.”

Xu Xingchun looked quietly at the bald man. “I’m not here to negotiate. Release her—I can be your hostage.”

Fu Xueli’s whole body had already gone soft. She could only be held up by force, her vision already beginning to blur. Hearing that familiar voice, her heart tightened. She forced her eyes open and began kicking wildly with her feet.

“What are you doing? Stay still.” The bald man said impatiently, using his elbow to forcefully pin Fu Xueli’s head in place, pressing the knife a bit tighter against her throat.

A shocking sight.

“—Don’t touch her!” In that split second, Xu Xingchun breathed deeply, his throat dry, his voice trembling. “Don’t touch her. I can be your hostage.”

“She can’t hold on… much longer. You might as well trade for me. I’m a police officer—taking me as hostage means the people outside won’t move against you easily.”

The bald man went along with this idea and glanced at Zhu Xia, discussing, “How about… we switch?”

Zhu Xia shook her head, sizing him up. “I’m afraid he’s too cunning. He’s a cop—his resistance capability is too strong. We can’t switch.”

“You—throw over everything you have on you. No guns!” Seeing Xu Xingchun standing motionless, Zhu Xia strained her neck.

An anxious voice came through the earpiece.

“—Xu Xingchun, you must follow commands. You can’t act rashly like this.”

“—Wait, don’t throw your gun. Be careful in case something unexpected happens!!! Stall them for a while first.”

“—This is too dangerous. Calm down. The sniper is already in position.”

“Xu Xingchun.” Fu Xueli suddenly called his name, blinked, and tears fell from her eyes as she choked up.

“Xu Xing—”

Xu Xingchun lowered his eyes and turned off the walkie-talkie. The last words being transmitted cut off abruptly. He removed his earpiece and tossed it aside.

Under the gaze of all three people, the gun hit the ground heavily as he slowly raised his hands.