Feng Tian’s gaze remained fixed on the scar adorning Qi Yan’s chest, her eyes flickering with a mixture of emotions as they traced the jagged mark.
Slowly, she raised her hand toward the scar, a compelling urge to touch it.
Yet, at the last moment, she hesitated and withdrew her hand, swallowing hard.
“Um, this… it’s nothing, I was involved in an accident five years ago, but I don’t remember much anyway.” Qi Yan, who had mistaken the expression on her face for curiosity, said with a weak smile before turning his back to her.
As Qi Yan buttoned his shirt, he couldn’t help but gaze at the scar.
It was a constant reminder of the enigmatic night he so desperately wanted to remember.
The memory was elusive, fragmented, like trying to grasp mist with his bare hands.
He yearned to piece it together, to unlock the secrets buried beneath his fractured memory.
Lightly exhaling, Qi Yan frowned as he thought back to that night, well, technically what was left of it in his memory.
His last clear recollection was driving to Cheng Rou Ling’s residence, a promise of romance in the air after returning from a five-day trip.
Beyond that point, the events of that fateful night were cloaked in darkness, as if they had been erased from his mind.
Awakening eight months later in a hospital bed, he was confronted with the mystery of what had transpired after that visit.
Of all the questions that he was bombarded with, the only ones that caught his attention were the questions about his brother,
“Qi Yan, you were found miles away from YM corps, were you aware of what your brother was going to do?”
“Were you an accomplice, what happened that night?”
At first, Qi Yan did not understand the reason why those fingers were being pointed at him, so he didn’t really care due to the fact that everything still seem blurry to him, until after a few days, when suddenly he realized that both Qi Sheng and Cheng Rou Ling were nowhere to be found.
“Wait, officers, let me see if I’m getting you right, eight months ago, I was found miles away from YM corps where a murder had taken place, and after investigating, the evidence did not point to me as the culprit, but to my brother who has been missing for the past eight months. Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, Qi Yan, but…”
Immediately cutting the detective off, Qi Yan sighed in disbelief as he gently scratched his jaw,
“Wait, wait, so you are saying that my brother murdered not just anyone, but Feng Lin, the president of Royals, his boss in cold blood.”
“Yes, from our investigation, we found out from her husband that Qi Sheng was in love with Feng Lin, we believe they both had a fall-out due to the news of her pregnancy resulting to the incident.” The officers explained. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
The police were relentless in their investigation, as they continued to question Qi Yan about Qi Sheng’s action.
But Qi Yan firmly believed in his brother’s innocence, even as the police painted a damning picture.
And the more the police probed, the more muddled his memories became.
The night of the accident remained shrouded in obscurity, and the truth seemed to elude him.
The absence of answers left him contemplating the fate of his brother and the unsettling question of why he had become the focal point of suspicion.
“We saw that you called him several times during the estimated time of the murder, which leads us to our questions, maybe he told you anything, or did you sense anything strange about him, or did you see anything that night?”
“I do not remember anything.” Qi Yan answered back.
And thankfully, even though the officers did not believe that he had lost the memories of that night alone, they had no choice but to compile, since the doctor already confirmed it. so, they had to leave him alone.
That night, Qi Yan twisted and turn on his hospital bed as all his effort to retrace the event of that night proved to be futile, he knew there was more to the case and if there was one thing he was sure of, that would be the fact that Qi Sheng would never murder anyone let alone Feng Lin.
Eventually draining himself of the little energy he had, Qi Yan fell asleep that night, with only one question lingering on his mind.
“Qi Sheng… Where are you?”
The next day, instead of those two officers which had been visiting him for the past few days, a new detective who introduced himself as Gu Jinyan was the one who came.
Gu Jinyan recognized the skepticism and mistrust Qi Yan harbored toward the police force, but he was determined to mend the gap and extract any piece of information that could aid in the ongoing investigation.
“Qi Yan… I know you don’t trust the police, and I also know you believe that Qi Sheng isn’t the murderer. But if you continue to stay silent like this and refuse to tell us anything, then… there is no way we can help Qi Sheng out of this mess.” Gu Jinyan said.
“I don’t remember anything, all I know is I was on my way to my girlfriend’s place and…”
“We’ve checked with Miss Cheng, and she said she didn’t meet with you that night, she was at the office the whole night, and her alibi checked out.”
“What about the CCTV?”
“Unfortunately, they were all broken, so the only conclusion we have is that the accident happened when you were on your way to YM Corps to find Miss Cheng since you did not meet her at home.” Qi Yan sighed, it was clear that the case had a lot of plot holes and the memories he lost were the only existing clues, he was about to ask if Cheng Rou Ling was alright since she was also there that night, but what Gu Jinyan said next shattered his whole world.
★★★★★
The shopping spree eventually ended two hours later, both Xiaorui and Zhou Yishan groaned out simultaneously the moment they step out of the mall,
“I don’t know how ladies do this for hours without getting tired.” Zhou Yishan said as they watch the staff move the stuff they bought,
“Is there anything you would like to eat, you must all be hungry.” Feng Tian asked as they settled inside the car, immediately Zhou Yishan turn to face Xiaorui whose expression also matched his,
“The only thing that is perfect for a day like this is….”
“Roasted chicken with beer!” Xiaorui and Zhou Yishan yelled, causing both Qi Yan and Zhai Liang to shake their head at their childishness.
“The people who made you two cops are putting this country in danger.” Zhai Liang muttered to himself as he gently rests his head on the window.
They later arrived at the restaurant recommended by Xiaorui and Zhou Yishan thirty minutes later, although they could have gotten there earlier, but since they both could not agree on one location at the same time, they all had to spend extra ten minutes on the way.
Gulping down his beer in one go, Zhou Yishan belched loudly,
“You are still disgusting even in front of a lady, I wonder what that poor girl sees in you.” Zhai Liang said causing Qi Yan to lightly smirk as he continued to listen to Xiaorui and Zhai Liang who could not stop bickering amidst themselves before finally passing out leaving only Zhou Yishan who was also on his way.
“H-hey, Qi Yan, look after my beer, I have to pee…” Zhou Yishan slurred as he began to make attempts to stand, which he finally succeeded in doing after his third attempt.
Throughout the dinner, Qi Yan couldn’t help but notice that Feng Tian had been uncharacteristically quiet since their departure from the mall.
Her enigmatic demeanor piqued his curiosity, and as he observed her, he could not help the lingering doubt in his heart as he continued to stare at her, that if one day he eventually finds Qi Sheng, and it turns out he really was involved in the death of Feng Lin, will the woman before him still claim to like him.
Qi Yan knew he was feeling something for Feng Tian, and the probability that she might be involved in his brother’s disappearance scared him a lot because he knew that whatever it is that he was feeling for Feng Tian was developing fast.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yishan who had managed to stagger himself out of the restaurant groan loudly in satisfaction as he continues to pee, not caring about the location.
He was about to head back inside when suddenly his eyes landed on the silhouette of Sui An, who had a cell phone to his ear while staring at Feng Tian and Qi Yan from outside the restaurant.
“Oh, hey you there, I know you, why do you look familiar?” Zhou Yishan slurred.
On hearing Zhou Yishan’s voice, thinking he had been caught, Sui An withdraws back into the dark.