The sudden shift in topic did not seem to fluster Qi Junyang. Glancing sideways at Zhuang Zhuoyi, he chose not to answer.
“It seems our Director Liu sleeps here.” Zhuang Zhuoyi focused intently on the newspapers, appearing entirely unconcerned by Qi Junyang’s silence. “Being trapped for two days was quite an ordeal for that fatty. Is it intuition?” Zhuang Zhuoyi stood up and looked back at Qi Junyang. “Did years of professional habit make you sense that something happened here? Or perhaps, you were also involved in the kidnapping?”
Qi Junyang looked at Zhuang Zhuoyi, his glacial facial expression making it exceedingly difficult to guess his thoughts. He asked coldly, “Are you implying something?”
Interesting. A flash of excited brilliance crossed Zhuang Zhuoyi’s eyes, and when he lowered his head, the corners of his eyes curved into a smile. He took out his notebook from his pocket, tore off a blank page, flipped it over to examine it back and forth, and murmured, “This sheet will do.”
Noticing a fleeting flicker of vigilance on Qi Junyang’s face, Zhuang Zhuoyi flashed a mischievous and cunning smile. “Those outside appear to be police cars.”
Hearing this, Qi Junyang glanced outward, spotting two police cars driving in from a distance. Remaining completely motionless, he asked calmly, “So what?”
Smiling without a word, Zhuang Zhuoyi took the lead and walked out.
The approaching police cars pulled up and parked near Zhuang Zhuoyi’s car, and three or four officers stepped out. As the two parties drew closer, Qi Junyang had already formulated how to handle the police questioning. Yet the fellow beside him was extremely difficult to deal with; shaking him off easily would likely take some careful effort. Just as he was pondering how to shake off Zhuang Zhuoyi, his peripheral vision caught the corners of the man’s lips curving into an enigmatic smile.
“Junyang,” Zhuang Zhuoyi addressed him affectionately, “when we shook hands just now, I noticed your fingers lack any fingerprints at all. Removing them must have been quite painful, right? In fact, you have already been dragged into this case, and the police will undoubtedly question you. If I tell them about these characteristics, do you suppose they will focus their investigation primarily on you?”
“Are you threatening me?”
“My meaning is very simple. Agree to be my assistant, and I will smooth over all your troubles for you. If you refuse, you will find yourself entangled in endless trouble.”
“Do as you please.” Qi Junyang remained as concise as ever.
“Is that so?” With that, Zhuang Zhuoyi came to a halt, taking his time to appraise the man who truly seemed unbothered by his threats.
Isn’t this becoming even more interesting? Thinking this, Zhuang Zhuoyi pulled the previously torn sheet of white paper from his pocket. Under Qi Junyang’s watchful gaze, he first looked back at the oncoming police officers, then laughed aloud and asked, “Are you looking for me or for him?”
The group of officers immediately focused their attention on Qi Junyang. Taking advantage of the moment, Zhuang Zhuoyi suddenly pressed the blank paper against Qi Junyang’s mouth, remarking considerately, “Your mouth is dirty.”
“What are you doing?” Under the watchful eyes of the police, Qi Junyang could not afford to make a move, and could only question him in a suppressed voice.
What am I doing? Zhuang Zhuoyi smiled cunningly. “Lip prints, much like fingerprints, are entirely unique. This serves as the criminal record you left in my hands. Qi Junyang, agree to my terms and we live in peace; otherwise, I will post your lip print and portrait all over the internet.”
His eyes brimmed with murderous intent. Qi Junyang was the third person today who wanted to eliminate Zhuang Zhuoyi!
Just as Qi Junyang was being pushed to his limit, the police officers had closed the distance. Zhuang Zhuoyi abruptly discarded his cunning expression, turned solemn, and murmured in a low voice, “Rest assured, I will not let the police take you away. Since you belong to me, I will protect you.”
The strength packed into the man’s hands suddenly drained away. He looked at Zhuang Zhuoyi in astonishment.
Disregarding Qi Junyang’s reaction, Zhuang Zhuoyi reached behind to clasp his hand and strode forward to meet the police. Little did he know he had just narrowly brushed past a mortal trial.
The two sides finally converged, and Zhuang Zhuoyi showed the police no pleasant expression. Before he even opened his mouth, his arrogant attitude made them itch with irritation. Yet he showed not an ounce of restraint, casting a sidelong glance. “If you need anything, have your chief come talk to me.”
Damn it! This kid is far too fucking arrogant! Spouting tall tales without batting an eye, treating the police like monkeys in a circus who on earth raised such an unruly brat? I seriously want to spit right in his face!
The officer who was silently venting his frustrations steadied himself and said sternly, “Mr. Zhuang, your actions are obstructing police work. Might we ask you to accompany us down to the station for a chat?”
Without even glancing at the officer, Zhuang Zhuoyi focused his attention on the watch on his wrist and remarked offhandedly, “What if I refuse?”
“You hardly seem to have that right.”
“Are you lecturing me on human rights?” Zhuang Zhuoyi arched a handsome brow, an aloof and oppressive aura radiating above the crowd.
No one understood why Zhuang Zhuoyi harbored such a deep aversion to the police, but officers who had crossed paths with him knew full well that it was best not to provoke this cunning Young Master Yi. This fellow treated people he disliked like sworn enemies, acting with absolute ruthlessness.
Amidst the tense standoff, an officer standing at the very back stepped forward leisurely, smiling affably as he said, “Since Mr. Zhuang is busy, we can discuss this another day. It is simply that certain matters relate to the ongoing investigation. At that time, we hope Mr. Zhuang will be willing to lend a hand.” With a wave of his hand, he led the remaining officers toward the small warehouse.
Narrowing his phoenix-like eyes as he watched the group depart, Zhuang Zhuoyi sneered, “Lei Bin is casting a long line to catch a big fish with me.”
Meanwhile, the officer who had just sparred with Zhuang Zhuoyi was complaining to Lei Bin, arguing that the captain should have come down personally to face Zhuang Zhuoyi. A nearby colleague rose to the captain’s defense: “Captain Lei has his hands full as well. Don’t we still have that Tan Xiaoqing from Interpol waiting to be hosted over there? Show some consideration for the captain.”
After leaving the outskirts, Zhuang and Qi did not head straight home. Zhuang Zhuoyi brought his newly hijacked bodyguard-cum-assistant directly to the hotel room where Zhuang Zhuoran had a rendezvous with the deceased on the night of the incident.
After pulling strings with the hotel management, he located the room service attendant who had cleaned the room the following morning. Pacing back and forth inside the room, Zhuang Zhuoyi asked her, “Could you please describe to me what this room looked like in the morning?”
The young woman blinked, recalling, “It was very messy, and a glass had been shattered. The ashtray, however, was quite clean with only a single cigarette butt. There was an empty glass on the left bedside table, and the glass on the right bedside table was full. The bathroom was relatively clean.”
“Were the toiletries in the bathroom left untouched?”
“Yes,” the girl replied. “Our room is a double business suite, and the bathroom was stocked with two sets of toiletries. When I came in to clean in the morning, I noticed one set remained untouched.”
One set remaining untouched meant that aside from his own cleanliness-obsessed older brother, the victim had not bathed there. Zhuang Zhuoyi nodded and continued, “What about the refrigerator? Was anything missing from the small refrigerator in the room?”
“Yes. A bottle of French mineral water was missing.”
Walking past the foot of the oversized bed, Zhuang Zhuoyi came to a halt, turned around, and smiled gently at the young woman. “Were both glasses in the room taken away by the police?” The girl blushed and nodded, thinking to herself, He is so handsome!
Qi Junyang turned and walked out the door, preferring out of sight and out of mind. Catching sight of Qi Junyang’s back from the corner of his eye, Zhuang Zhuoyi pulled out his phone, which had been buzzing insistently for a while, and checked the caller ID—it was his lawyer, Sun Chen.
The caller expressed profound displeasure as he informed Zhuang Zhuoyi that he had successfully acquired the police files, and very reluctantly agreed to rush over to the business hotel and rendezvous with him.
Consequently, Zhuang Zhuoyi lingered in the room for another twenty-odd minutes, chatting with the young woman about various topics. Throughout the duration, Qi Junyang stood stationed by the doorway without stepping inside or wandering off. Yet from Zhuang Zhuoyi’s perspective, it was a position from which he could advance or defend at a moment’s notice. Had Qi Junyang’s defensive instincts already been forged into his very bones and blood?
Before long, Sun Chen sped over and arrived at the door, staring at Qi Junyang in unglamorous, dumbfounded silence. After being called by the people inside a couple of times, he finally snapped back to his senses, nodded stiffly at Qi Junyang, and hurriedly bolted into the room.
Cleverly dismissing the young attendant, Zhuang Zhuoyi didn’t even need to issue a reminder before the designated Guardian Qi automatically secured the door. Sun Chen opened his laptop and plugged in a flash drive. After pondering for a moment, Zhuang Zhuoyi turned his head and smiled, “Junyang, come take a look.”
Disliking the familiar address, Qi Junyang frowned as he walked over and stood behind the two men. The sheer invisible pressure emanating from him broke Sun Chen out in a cold sweat.
Certain details within the files were crystal clear. The deceased was named Wen Chen, twenty-six years old. Judging by his pre-mortem photographs, he was a rather delicate-looking young man—very much the type his older brother favored. Skipping past the photos, he noted the time of death: August 8 at 04:30 AM. Cause of death: poisoning (potassium cyanide). Forensic confirmation verified that the deceased had engaged in homosexual intercourse prior to death, and a ligature mark was found around the neck. Aside from potassium cyanide, no other drug traces were detected in the victim’s system.
The report time was 06:00 AM, and the crime scene was located at the fifth beach in the southern suburbs. There were no footprints surrounding the corpse, save for half a bottle of French mineral water which, upon laboratory testing, bore the fingerprints of both Haotian Chairman Zhuang Zhuoran and the deceased himself, while also containing potassium cyanide.
Preliminary investigations into the suspect, Zhuang Zhuoran, indicated that he was indeed the person who had relations with the deceased Wen Chen on the night of August 7. Zhuang Zhuoran’s self-testimony stated that he entered Room 2102 of the business hotel with the deceased around 11:00 PM on August 7, engaged in relations thereafter, and fell asleep around 01:00 AM. He woke up at 05:00 AM on August 8, noting that the deceased Wen Chen had already departed, and left the business hotel himself at 06:00 AM.
According to Zhuang Zhuoran, Wen Chen had been introduced by He Gui, manager of Qiyun Business Company whose background records were still pending investigation.
The remainder of the files consisted of photographs of the hotel room, which largely matched the attendant’s description. During his review, Zhuang Zhuoyi paid extra attention to a single clue.
A glass filled to the brim with water was found inside the hotel room, bearing the victim’s fingerprints. Upon chemical analysis, it contained traces of granulated sugar.
“Granulated sugar?” Zhuang Zhuoyi wondered aloud. “Like the kind used for coffee in hotels?”
Sun Chen shook his head. “No, the cheap kind packaged in bags from a supermarket.”
“Hmph, now that is interesting.” Idly scrolling down his mouse, Zhuang Zhuoyi viewed the crime scene photo of the glass. Judging by its placement, it should have been on the left-hand side of the bed. He immediately retrieved his phone and called Zhuang Zhuoran: “Ask no questions for now; tell me, which side of the bed did you sleep on that night?”
Taking advantage of the phone call, Sun Chen turned back to look at Qi Junyang and smiled. “Hello, I am Sun Chen, Zhuoyi’s personal lawyer.”
His polite greeting was met with thorough and utter disregard. An awkward Sun Chen turned his head back.
Stowing his phone away, Zhuang Zhuoyi resumed questioning Sun Chen: “Have you investigated the background of the deceased?”
“I checked some things,” Sun Chen said with a bitter expression. “Wen Chen’s father passed away last year, and his mother resides out of town year-round. The kid lived alone, had no steady job, and appeared to be a newly registered high-end gigolo who also went by the alias Bobby.” As he spoke, Sun Chen cast a furtive glance at Qi Junyang’s grimy, worn-out backpack, privately wondering if Zhuang Zhuoyi’s germaphobia had miraculously been cured.
Noticing the less-than-benevolent gleam in Sun Chen’s eyes, Zhuang Zhuoyi offered no explanation, simply stating: “A high-end gigolo cannot operate solo; there is usually someone from the circle acting as a matchmaker. This afternoon, I am going to meet Manager He, and you can go find Xiao Liu and have him investigate Wen Chen’s usual haunts.”
Just as Sun Chen opened his mouth to voice an objection, footsteps suddenly echoed from outside. Turning toward the sound, Zhuang Zhuoyi signaled Qi Junyang to step outside and check.
It appeared to be some supervisory staff conducting routine patrols outside, and Qi Junyang closed the door tightly to muffle the ambient noise. Unconcerned with external developments, Zhuang Zhuoyi continued scanning the police records while reminding Sun Chen, “Your eyeballs are practically glued to the man.”
Sun Chen remained silent, still lost in his own reverie. For no other reason than the fact that the fellow who had just stepped outside neatly filled the blank space in his mental catalog of “handsome guy archetypes.”
Just look at that physique slender perhaps, but a textbook golden-ratio inverted triangle! And look at those facial features dripping with pure sex appeal! Coupled with that shock of silver-white hair, it practically radiates a weathered, vicissitudinous charm!
As Sun Chen drooled toward the doorway, Zhuang Zhuoyi found it amusing and teased, “Why not pounce on him? I recall you lose all humanity the moment you lay eyes on a handsome man.”
“What if I pretend to be innocent?”
“You’ll get struck by lightning.”
“If pretending to be innocent gets me struck by lightning, my world would have been a perpetual thunderstorm ages ago.”
Jokes aside, Sun Chen reined in his illicit daydreams, turned back around, and assumed a solemn expression. “This guy is no soft touch, Zhuoyi. What on earth are you playing at?”
Zhuang Zhuoyi smiled. “The most dangerous things are always best kept right before one’s eyes.”