Rong Qian could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Shen Fengren had been burned to death in a fire at the nursing home? How was that possible? The coincidence was too convenient — Rong Qian didn’t buy it for a moment.

But Xie Dong told her that there was indeed a body at the fire scene.

Rong Qian then asked him, “All right. Tell me — what was the name of the person who died in that fire?”

She had assumed he wouldn’t know, but Xie Dong told her, “Already confirmed. His name was Cao Guohua. He had been placed in the nursing home by his family because they wanted nothing to do with him.”

“Cao Guohua?” Rong Qian was confused for a few seconds, then it clicked — this was a meticulously orchestrated conspiracy!

Rong Qian could scarcely believe it. If she had been unable to travel through time to see Shen Yi, then simply hearing Shen Fengren’s words, combined with the news of this fire, any rational person would have immediately suspected Shen Yi of being behind it all.

Shen Fengren’s move was ruthlessly clever.

Rong Qian steadied her composure and asked Xie Dong: “You said Shen Fengren has been dead for a long time. To your knowledge, how did he die?”

“Death sentence. Shot by firing squad.”

Rong Qian went still. Shen Fengren had served time in prison? Who had put him there?

“Are you certain he was executed?” Rong Qian still didn’t believe Shen Fengren was truly dead.

Xie Dong thought for a moment before answering: “The information we have indicates he was indeed executed. However, he was imprisoned in the United States and the execution was carried out there.”

“That doesn’t add up. He’s a Chinese national who broke the law here in China too — how would he end up in an American prison?” Rong Qian immediately sensed something off.

Xie Dong shook his head. His tone was filled with barely contained contempt. “Don’t go calling him a Chinese national. He doesn’t deserve that. He was nothing but a lapdog working for the Americans — all he ever thought about was how to stir up trouble, how to get a war started, the more people who died the better. A piece of human filth like that, raised without any decency — I’d have liked to put a bullet in him myself!”

“Ahem, ahem.” Zhao Qiguang, seeing Xie Dong’s reaction getting out of hand, quickly cleared his throat twice to remind him to keep his emotions in check.

Xie Dong only grew more furious the more he thought about it.

When Shen Fengren had been arrested back then, he had been utterly brazen — declaring that as someone who held American citizenship, even if caught, he was entitled to serve his sentence in America.

And somehow, no one knew what methods he had used, but he had actually managed to get his way.

Rong Qian was no fool. She knew full well how powerful Shen Fengren’s backers were.

If he had been able to spring Thomas from prison back then, then escaping the death penalty and going on to live under a new identity wouldn’t have been beyond him at all.

Having pieced this together, Rong Qian felt fairly certain she now understood the shape of Shen Fengren’s plan all along.

If she was reading it right, the next step would be Shen Fengren showing himself.

“Officer Rong, do you know why I’m so determined to catch Thomas?” Xie Dong suddenly asked her.

Rong Qian shook her head. But thinking about it, this Officer Xie had indeed been unusually invested in this case.

“Because Thomas was responsible for my father’s death.” Xie Dong clenched his fist. Even now, he could not swallow the injustice of it. Thomas — he had to catch him, no matter what.

Hearing this, Rong Qian went quiet for a moment. Then something came to her. “Are you saying… Xie Yan was your father?”

“How do you know that? Did you know my father?” Xie Dong looked at her in surprise.

Rong Qian felt two things at once — surprise that she hadn’t guessed sooner, and the sense that it was completely inevitable. No wonder — she had felt from the very beginning that Officer Xie Yan seemed strangely familiar to her.

Without thinking, she replied, “More or less. I only shared one meal with your father.”

“Officer Rong, I’d ask you not to joke about my father.” The look Xie Dong gave her was laced with a clear warning.

His father had passed away when Xie Dong was still a child. At that time, this Officer Rong hadn’t even been born yet — not even close to being born; her own parents couldn’t possibly have even met yet.

“I… never mind. The more I say, the worse it gets.” Rong Qian caught herself in time and quickly changed the subject. “When did your father have his accident?”

“1987. I was only five at the time.” Even at five, Xie Dong had already begun to form memories.

He had a vague recollection of a man coming to their home who looked extraordinarily handsome — tall and lean, wearing a very well-cut suit.

Children understood little of the world. They only knew that anything beautiful was simply called “good-looking.”

Xie Dong could no longer remember what that man’s name was. He only knew that the man was very gentle. Every time he came to visit, he would crouch down and ruffle Xie Dong’s hair.

He had encouraged him, too — saying that he should grow up to be a police officer as well, and that perhaps one day he might even work alongside a girl he liked. When that time came, he’d have to ask Xie Dong to look after her.

Hearing that it was 1987, Rong Qian realized: that was still one year before Shen Yi’s accident…

As for Xie Yan’s death in the line of duty, Rong Qian felt a deep pang of sorrow. Back then, he had still been such a vibrant and spirited detective — working alongside her father…

Her father. Rong Qian suddenly snapped back to reality. Right — there was still her father, Rong Xiwen!

“I knew it. My father must be hiding something from me!” Rong Qian slapped her own thigh.

Xie Dong heard her, and his brow furrowed. He told her about the time Rong Xiwen had taken the video away.

Only now did Rong Qian find out that the reason Xie Dong hadn’t come looking for her was because Rong Xiwen had been quietly cleaning up behind the scenes on her behalf.

What did that prove? It proved that Rong Xiwen knew that her time travel was real — and yet had deliberately played dumb, pretending to know nothing.

The more Rong Qian thought about it, the more agitated she became. She was itching to grab her father by the collar and confront him on the spot.

“Where’s my phone? I’m calling him right now!” Rong Qian fumed, looking around for her phone.

But Xie Dong told her, “The director is here as well. If you have something to ask him, why not do it in person?”

“Perfect — even better!” Rong Qian set off without a moment’s hesitation.

Though the hotel where Xie Dong and the others were staying wasn’t far, Rong Xiwen was not actually in the hotel at that moment.

When Rong Qian asked, she learned that Rong Xiwen had gone to the same Cantonese restaurant that Shen Yi had once booked exclusively for their meeting all those years ago.

It was clear that Rong Xiwen had already known she would come looking for him — and had gone ahead to wait for her at the old familiar place.