After Mu Chaoxue died, the first to arrive wasn’t an ambulance, nor a police car.

It was a taxi.

The taxi pulled up and stopped, and two people stepped out — Xie Dong and Zhao Qiguang, both police officers.

Rong Qian was briefly stunned when she saw them. Had they followed her all the way to Hong Kong?

As it turned out, Rong Qian had guessed correctly. From the very moment she had stepped off the plane, Xie Dong and Zhao Qiguang had been tailing her, and had been observing her from the shadows ever since.

One could also call it protection.

They both knew who Mu Chaoxue was. Seeing that Mu Chaoxue had now died in the traffic accident, Xie Dong immediately called his superiors and coordinated with the local police station in Hong Kong.

Once Xie Dong stepped in to handle things, Rong Qian and the others were able to return to their hotel rooms without any trouble.

Xie Dong had things he needed to say to Rong Qian. Everyone except Zhao Qiguang and Zhang Hao — meaning Lu Huaiyi and Xu Yang — was asked by Xie Dong to step out of the room.

Out in the hotel corridor, Lu Huaiyi and Xu Yang exchanged glances.

“Let’s head off then. No plans for today — let’s just go rest in our own rooms.” Lu Huaiyi patted Xu Yang on the shoulder and turned to go, then noticed Xu Yang’s expression was off and asked with concern, “What’s the matter with you?”

“Do you know… Shen Yi?” Xu Yang hesitated before asking.

Lu Huaiyi nodded. “I know of him, yes.”

“You do?” Xu Yang perked up immediately and asked, “Have you ever met him? Is he Rong Qian’s boyfriend?”

At that, Lu Huaiyi couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.

Xu Yang frowned. “What are you laughing at?”

“You’re joking, right? A figure like Shen Yi has been gone for a very long time — he’s been dead for decades. And you’re seriously wondering whether a man who’s been dead for decades could be Rong Qian’s boyfriend?” Lu Huaiyi found the very thought absurd.

Hearing this, Xu Yang’s expression turned to stunned disbelief. How could someone who had been dead for decades have a photo taken together with Rong Qian — a photo in which both of them looked young?

The more Xu Yang thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

Inside the room, Xie Dong was questioning Rong Qian as though she were a suspect. He flipped open his notebook and, writing as he spoke, asked her: “Officer Rong, how did you find Mu Chaoxue? Did he say anything to you before he died?”

Rong Qian pressed her fingers to her temple. Her head was pounding.

Zhang Hao, seeing her state, quickly answered on her behalf: “Mu Chaoxue appeared out of nowhere. Once Rong-jie spotted him, she immediately gave chase. Who could have known Mu Chaoxue would be struck by a cargo truck? The driver has already fled the scene — we absolutely need the police here to track that driver down!”

“Understood. That’s already been communicated. Now, what did Mu Chaoxue say before he died?” Xie Dong was all business, his tone stripped of any personal feeling.

Zhang Hao thought back. When Mu Chaoxue had been speaking, the name he had heard most was Shen Yi — and apart from that, a name called Shen Fengren. But regarding that name, Shen Fengren, he had no idea who it referred to.

Just as Zhang Hao was trying to figure out what to say, Rong Qian spoke up. “Xie Dong, if there’s something you want to ask, just ask it directly. You don’t need to beat around the bush with me.”

“Fine. Tell me — do you know Mu Chaoxue?” Xie Dong asked her point-blank.

Rong Qian shook her head. “No.” She was telling the truth. At this point in time, she genuinely did not know him yet.

“So you thought to go after and catch him because you knew Mu Chaoxue had met with Thomas at the Hongxing Casino?” Xie Dong guessed.

Rong Qian nodded. “Yes, that was my thinking.”

“And did you get anything from him?”

Rong Qian considered for a moment, then looked up at Xie Dong and turned the question back on him with one of her own: “Do you know Shen Fengren? Thomas had quite a close connection with him. You’ve been investigating Thomas for so long — surely you’ve heard the name?”

To this, she saw Xie Dong’s brow furrow. “Did you just say Shen Fengren?”

“Yes, that’s right. Him.” Rong Qian was certain.

Xie Dong replied, “He’s been dead for a long time.”

“What did you say?” Rong Qian shot up from her seat. She stared at him in disbelief. “Shen Fengren has been dead for a long time? Then who was the person I met at the nursing home a couple of days ago?”

“A nursing home? You went to a nursing home to see someone?” Xie Dong’s gaze grew sharp as he pressed for details.

Rong Qian didn’t hide anything. “I had Chen Jia look into Shen Fengren for me. She gave me an address and told me Shen Fengren was at a nursing home — and I did indeed meet him there.”

“In that case, please give Chen Jia a call right now.” Xie Dong said nothing more, and Rong Qian had the very same intention. When she called and asked, Chen Jia told her that she had learned of Shen Fengren’s whereabouts from someone else.

Rong Qian immediately asked, “Who told you?”

“Someone from a group chat. I couldn’t find any relevant information on Shen Fengren, and I had a lot on my plate at the time, so I asked in the group. A member whose profile picture showed a police officer sent me an address and a photo.”

Chen Jia then reminded Rong Qian, “I sent you the photo at the time, and you didn’t say it wasn’t him, so I assumed that was the person you were looking for.”

Rong Qian felt her head spinning. If only she had thought to ask one extra question back then.

Chen Jia still didn’t understand what was happening, and asked anxiously, “Rong-jie, has something gone wrong? Are you calling because we found the wrong person?”

“Chen Jia, I have a task for you. Don’t let that person from the group disappear. I want them found — alive or as a body. You have to flush them out.” With that instruction given, Rong Qian hung up the phone.

By then, Xie Dong had already learned the name of the nursing home from Zhang Hao. He made one phone call, spoke briefly, then hung up. The expression on his face was strange.

“What happened? Was there an incident at the nursing home?” The moment Rong Qian saw his expression, she knew something was wrong.

Xie Dong told her, “The nursing home caught fire. A disabled elderly resident living on the second floor, who used a wheelchair, failed to escape and died in the blaze.”