There are many types of slow-acting poisons, and it is not difficult to use them to control the time of someone's death. By estimating the time of death in advance and administering the poison consistently over time, then when the time comes to act, having the person consume a conflicting food that triggers the toxicity or suddenly increasing the dosage—more often than not, that person will not live to see the next day.
Xiang Rong died suddenly and cleanly, leaving the police with a few faint glimmers of hope and a pile of unsolved mysteries. He hadn't even completed the sketch of that "Yu Ge." In other words, all suspicions and accusations against Luo Yu had fallen through. As for whether he was poisoned by someone else or took the poison himself to protect the organization behind him, no one knew.
You Mingxu, Xu Mengshan, and Yin Feng stood in the observation room, watching Luo Yu inside, his face pale and his forehead sweating, yet with no visible external injuries. Just as Yin Feng had predicted, he did not file a complaint or refuse to let the matter rest, instead swallowing the grievance in silence.
Though Xu Mengshan didn't know the full story, he could sense something was off. He despised this scumbag and sneered, "Look at him. Why doesn't he just die and be reborn sooner?"
Yin Feng replied calmly, "Troublemakers always live for a thousand years."
Xu Mengshan frowned and said, "Now that Xiang Rong is dead, what do we do? Should I interrogate him and test the waters?"
You Mingxu and Yin Feng spoke in unison, "No."
Xu Mengshan glanced at them and chuckled.
Without looking at Yin Feng, You Mingxu said, "Since Xiang Rong is dead and there's no evidence, the organization might not even know that he revealed this 'Yu Ge.' It's better not to alert the enemy. We should keep a close watch on Luo Yu instead."
Yin Feng said, "Of course, it's also possible that Xiang Rong pointing the suspicion at Luo Yu before his death was part of their plan. They want us to focus our attention on Luo Yu and the Kaiyang Group behind him."
You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan exchanged a glance. You Mingxu asked, "If that's really the case, what are they trying to achieve?"
Yin Feng replied indifferently, "Heaven knows. The motives of a bunch of psychopaths can't be reasoned with logically. Even when you uncover the truth, it might be beyond belief."
Xu Mengshan clicked his tongue and said, "Just like some test questions I've seen online. Let me ask you: One day, the prince and princess were trying to escape from the devil's castle. When they reached the gate, the devil appeared and said, 'White represents angels, the opposite of devils. The princess in the white dress cannot leave here.' Then the devil pulled out a dagger. In the end, the prince died, and the princess escaped alone. Why?"
You Mingxu thought the prince died protecting the princess but felt it couldn't be that simple. As she pondered, she heard Yin Feng say, "The princess killed the prince and dyed her dress red with his blood."
You Mingxu looked at Yin Feng, whose expression remained as unreadable as ever. Xu Mengshan said, "Impressive. You really are a professional."
You Mingxu then arranged for a junior officer to repeatedly question Luo Yu about some of his past unresolved matters. Luo Yu couldn't be bothered to answer, leaving most responses to his lawyer. However, he sat there slumped, his complexion poor, occasionally glancing toward the tinted glass behind which their gazes seemed dark and obscure.
Before long, You Mingxu had him released. The three of them stood upstairs, watching Luo Yu walk slowly to the car that had come to pick him up. At that moment, Luo Yu seemed to sense something and looked up, his eyes meeting theirs.You Mingxu stood in the center, chin in hand, her expression unchanged. Xu Mengshan grinned, while Yin Feng’s gaze was deep and tinged with a hint of disdain.
Luo Yu flashed an extremely sinister smile and flipped You Mingxu the middle finger.
You Mingxu showed no reaction. Xu Mengshan snorted coldly, “Trash.” Just then, You Mingxu suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder—it was Yin Feng’s hand resting there.
She glanced sideways at him.
He said succinctly, “Annoy him.”
You Mingxu remained silent but cooperated. Yet a sudden flash of insight seemed to cross her mind. She had always believed that Yin Feng and You Yingjun were different. Yin Feng was mature, a scumbag, domineering—certainly shrewd and adept at assessing situations. Completely unlike You Yingjun, who harbored a small, innocent world within. But now it seemed they were, after all, cut from the same cloth.
With this realization, the man beside her didn’t seem as pretentious and irritating as he had at first.
Once Luo Yu got into his car and drove away, Yin Feng withdrew his hand and said, “In that case, I’ll take my leave. If there are any developments, I hope you’ll share the information promptly.”
Xu Mengshan glanced at You Mingxu out of the corner of his eye and replied with a smile, “Of course.”
Yin Feng nodded, his gaze lingering on You Mingxu. She merely gave a soft “Mm” of acknowledgment.
Yin Feng took the jacket handed to him by Tuya, put it on, and turned to leave.
After they had gone some distance, Xu Mengshan muttered, “This one doesn’t seem too bad either…”
But You Mingxu said, “The one from before had nothing weighing on his mind. This one is filled with concerns. One is clean and simple, the other is murky and unclear. How is he not worse? He’s far worse.”
—
Over the next few days, the police kept a close watch on Luo Yu. He remained well-behaved, shuttling daily between his home and law firm, occasionally visiting clients—nothing out of the ordinary.
He even found time to send text messages to You Mingxu. Despite her having blocked countless numbers of his in the past, he persisted in harassing her with new ones.
“The jeans you wore today looked great, really accentuated your legs—got me imagining things. —Y.”
“You’ve been tailing me all morning. How about lunch?”
“Just spent the afternoon with a client, feeling tired. Miss my baby.”
“Late at night, it’s easier to think of a woman. Guess what’s on my mind?”
…
You Mingxu had never encountered anyone so shameless. Every message was dripping with sleaze. She knew he wasn’t actually missing her; he was deliberately trying to disgust her. Each time, she’d skim the text, shudder with revulsion, and toss her phone aside.
When Xu Mengshan saw this, he stroked his chin and said, “You know, dealing with scum like him—who might even be the mastermind—and he’s fixated on you? Sis You, you’re basically walking bait, aren’t you?”
You Mingxu had considered it, but the thought of that man genuinely sickened her. Besides, wouldn’t Luo Yu be wary of her?
Xu Mengshan then added, “Forget it, though.”
From his expression, You Mingxu suddenly understood—he was thinking of Fan Jia. This guy usually acted carefree and unrestrained, but that name had become a scar in his heart that couldn’t be touched.
She felt the same.
“Wasn’t there talk of transferring a decorated detective over?” You Mingxu changed the subject. “Why haven’t we seen anyone yet?”
Xu Mengshan replied, “They said he’d arrive in the next couple of days. Rumor has it he used to be on the narcotics squad. Hey, a tough character like that suddenly switching tracks? I’m really looking forward to it.”Narcotics officers? You Mingxu's mind conjured images of the narcotics colleagues she knew—their sun-darkened skin, their unsmiling expressions. They faced nothing but desperadoes, which was why their eyes held a chill fiercer than any criminal's. Every one of them was an iron-willed tough guy.
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