Rong’s father had a habit of reading while leaning against the headboard before bed, but today, for some reason, he simply couldn’t settle his mind.

Suspecting his glasses were blurry, he took them off, wiped them clean, and put them back on.

This movement woke Rong’s mother beside him. She mumbled, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Soon, soon—I’ll sleep once I finish this page.” Rong’s father said this absent-mindedly, the hand holding the book clearly distracted.

Rong’s mother saw through him. “I’ve been listening for ages—you haven’t turned a single page.”

With that, she turned over, her back to him. Rong’s father himself had no idea what was wrong with him tonight—he just couldn’t focus.

Ring ring—

The phone on the nightstand rang. Rong’s father glanced at it—an unfamiliar number. Who would be calling him this late?

“Hello, who is this, please?” Rong’s father picked up, asking out of habit.

Then, after listening for a moment, a look of horror spread across his face. He cried out loudly, “What did you say?!”

This sudden shout startled Rong’s mother so badly she sat bolt upright in bed, hurriedly asking, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Rong’s father said, his face pale, “Something’s happened to our daughter!”

Hearing that something had happened to their daughter, Rong’s mother flew into a panic. The couple scrambled out of bed in a fluster, not even bothering to change out of their pajamas—they just grabbed coats, threw them on, and rushed out.

But just as they stepped out of the bedroom, the front door opened.

There was Rong Qian, walking in listlessly. Seeing her parents, she even asked lazily, “What are you two doing up so late?”

“You—you’re asking us? What’s with all those injuries on you? Get to the hospital, quick!”

Rong’s father was shaking with fear—he had already heard everything. His daughter had been chased down by criminals and beaten, and was now seriously injured!

Seeing all the blood on Rong Qian, Rong’s mother nearly fainted. How could she come home acting as if nothing had happened?

“Oh come on, this isn’t my blood. I’m really fine. Don’t make a fuss, you two—it’s late, go back to bed. I’m going to take a shower.” Rong Qian felt exhausted; right now all she wanted was a hot shower to relax.

Rong’s mother’s heart pounded with anxiety. She asked nervously, “Is it really not your blood? Then isn’t that bruise on your face from being hit?”

“Oh, you mean this.” Rong Qian brushed it off lightly. “My internal injuries were already taken great care of by a certain someone, so they’ve healed up. It’s nothing serious—it’ll probably fade by tomorrow.”

With that, Rong Qian waved at her parents, headed upstairs to grab her pajamas, and then went to take a shower—the whole time looking perfectly “healthy”!

Rong’s father scratched the back of his head, looking puzzled. “Honey, have you noticed—aside from the dirt smudged on her face, our daughter actually looks healthier than before?”

“She does seem a bit more filled out than when she left, doesn’t she?” As a mother, she could spot any change in her child at a single glance.

Although they’d been startled at first sight of her, judging from her current state, it almost looked as if she’d been living a “pampered, well-fed” life somewhere?

Once he was sure their daughter was alright, Rong’s father went back to the bedroom and changed into proper clothes. He said to Rong’s mother, “Honey, you go to sleep first—I’m going to head out for a bit.”

“Find out exactly what’s going on with our daughter,” Rong’s mother instructed him.

Rong’s father nodded to show he understood, and then, before Rong Qian finished her shower, he quietly slipped out the door first.

After Rong Qian finished showering and came out, Rong’s mother caught her and asked her the same questions over and over. Only once she was certain her daughter was truly fine did Rong’s mother finally go back to her room to sleep.

Back in her own room, Rong Qian closed the door and flung herself onto the bed!

Although it was nighttime now, to Rong Qian it was as if she’d just had a morning—she felt no sleepiness at all.

She had originally wanted to go find Shen Shuhuai to ask him some questions, but on second thought, after everything that had happened, it was already too late at night, and on top of that, if she didn’t come home, who knew how worried her parents would become.

But after returning home, Rong Qian still couldn’t calm her mind. Lin Jie’s final words to her before he died—”Be careful, Shen Fengran”—kept echoing in her ears.

Rong Qian was quite surprised; she hadn’t expected to hear the name Shen Fengran from his mouth.

He was the illegitimate son of Meng Yuxin and Shen Chi, Shen Yi’s half-brother through their father. Shen Yi had once said that he was a madman!

Could it be that Shen Yi’s disappearance had something to do with this Shen Fengran?

With this thought, Rong Qian couldn’t stay lying down any longer. She sat up with a flip and opened her computer, intending to look up Shen Fengran’s current situation.

But after typing in the name “Shen Fengran,” she found that no such person existed in any records at all.

Rong Qian was baffled. “How can there be nothing? Could it be that he’s already dead?”

Rong Qian thought it over for a long while. If an ordinary search engine couldn’t find him, the information available was probably insufficient. In the end, Rong Qian decided that tomorrow, once she got to the bureau, she’d have Chen Jia look into it for her.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Rong’s father rushed to the police station in the middle of the night. The moment he entered the conference room, he found that everyone who had been at the scene earlier was already there.

Qi Lei was the captain of the armed police unit. He could have gone off duty and left, but as the full eyewitness to this case—and the one responsible for providing the recorded footage—he had stayed behind.

The moment Rong’s father appeared, everyone prepared to stand up, but he waved his hand to indicate there was no need, telling them to carry on.

Seeing that Rong’s father had arrived, Qi Lei played the video footage he had shown earlier once more through the projector.

The video began from the moment of their raid. Rong’s father watched his daughter, held hostage by the man in the skull mask, being forced to retreat step by step, with nothing protecting her from behind—his heart leapt into his throat with tension.

Fortunately, she didn’t retreat any further, and Rong’s father finally let out a breath of relief.

But what was strange was that, in the video, Rong Qian had appeared utterly exhausted and weak one moment—yet the very next moment, after the screen suddenly flickered, when Rong Qian reappeared in view, she looked vibrant and full of energy.

Rong’s father had Qi Lei pause the video, and after watching it back and forth several times, he raised a question: “Why does the recording glitch here?”

“I’m not sure either—maybe it malfunctioned. Is there a problem?” Qi Lei could only guess.

Rong’s father frowned slightly, but in the end he didn’t bring up the detail he’d noticed. He had the video continue playing, and soon they reached the part where Rong Qian revealed the man’s identity.

Qi Lei paused the video here. He said to Rong’s father, “Chief, starting from this point, the conversation gets very strange. Please listen carefully.”

“Go on, go on!” Rong’s father urged.

So the video continued playing all the way until Lin Jie died in Rong Qian’s arms. But no one had been able to make out Lin Jie’s final words—only Rong Qian had heard them.

When the video finished playing, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Qi Lei watched Rong’s father’s expression and noticed him rubbing the bridge of his nose, seemingly with a headache.

At this point, Xie Dong stood up and said, “Chief, Officer Rong mentioned several names to this criminal—Thomas, Lin Feng, and a man named Shen Yi.”

“Thomas is Huo Xijun, who’s currently hiding out in Canada. As for the one called Shen Yi, we found nothing—his identity is unknown.”

“And Lin Feng?” Rong’s father asked.

“We found out Lin Feng’s identity too. This criminal’s real name is Lin Jie, and Lin Feng was his older brother, who died when Lin Jie was just a teenager. But Lin Jie hasn’t used that name in decades—he changed his name to Shen Robin.”

Rong’s father’s brow tightened. “He changed his surname to Shen?”

Xie Dong nodded. “Yes—and that’s exactly what’s strange about this. Decades ago, Officer Rong might have only just been born—how did she know the name Lin Jie? And the things she said were all very strange too.”

In truth, Xie Dong’s words were already understated. “Strange” didn’t begin to cover it—the more he thought about it, the more utterly inexplicable it seemed!