After speaking these words, You Mingxu felt a surge of cold-blooded determination stir within her—a police officer's instinctive reaction. Even though she had been on vacation in Tibet when the news broke about the serial murders and the killer fleeing to the Tibetan region, she hadn't even had time to return to her team before she started paying attention to potential suspects along the way.
Little did she expect that as soon as she moved, her sleeve would be tugged. She turned to look at the fool, frowning, "Let go, don't waste time." She tried to pull away, thinking it would be easy to break free, but he was stubborn, gripping her T-shirt tightly with a few fingers and staring at her with wide eyes.
You Mingxu suppressed her irritation and forced a smile, asking, "What's wrong?"
He lowered his head and said, "Wherever Sister goes, I go."
You Mingxu: "..."
She replied with a barely concealed smirk, "But Sister is going to catch bad guys. If you follow, you'll only get in the way and hold me back. Be good, find a quiet place to stay, and I promise I'll come back for you."
The fingers clutching her T-shirt tightened even more imperceptibly.
A moment later, You Mingxu decided to give up and not waste any more time arguing with him. She said, "Fine, I'll take you with me, but I walk fast. You have to keep up on your own. If you fall behind, you'll have to push yourself to catch up with me, okay?"
She had intended this as a mere brush-off, but for some reason, it seemed to strike a chord with him. His clear eyes blinked, and his mouth slowly stretched into an incredibly bright smile. "Okay, I'll chase after Sister!"
You Mingxu: "..."
"And if I catch you, what's the reward?" he asked again.
Impatiently, You Mingxu replied, "Whatever." Having decided to bring this burden along, she picked up the jacket she had tossed to him earlier and said, "Don't move." He immediately dropped his hands, puffed out his chest, and stood still. You Mingxu found it amusing but sighed inwardly as she bent down, leaning close to tie the jacket firmly over the wound on his right shoulder. As her face neared his chest, she caught the same scent of cologne that Gu Tiancheng wore, and it occurred to her that this man was the actual source of the fragrance. A thought flashed through her mind: Do police officers wear cologne? Not in her department, at least.
Although the fool's shoulder injury was still throbbing with sharp, clear pain, he endured it silently. He secretly glanced down and saw You Mingxu's black hair, soft and smooth. Her slender hands were busy adjusting the jacket over his chest, giving him a strangely comforting sensation. Just minutes ago, this woman had seemed strong, fast, and imposing—like a cold, towering mountain that made him look up in awe. Now, she felt soft and caring.
Sensing her look up, he immediately turned his head away.
"Let's go."
Though she was tracking Gu Tiancheng, You Mingxu couldn't just sprint off recklessly. Instead, she advanced step by step, following the direction she remembered him disappearing in and combining it with traces and footprints on the ground. She moved at varying speeds, occasionally pausing to wait for the fool, who managed to keep up, albeit with effort. While she searched for clues, the fool stood by her side, showing neither curiosity nor asking questions, as if he were already accustomed to such scenes.
"How did you end up getting hit by Gu Tiancheng's car?" You Mingxu asked.
He blinked at her, his face blank with confusion."Alright." You Mingxu thought for a moment, then asked, "How did you manage to escape from Gu Tiancheng the first and second times?"
This time he understood, smiling slightly as he replied, "When I woke up, I just ran away!"
You Mingxu glanced at him and decided it wasn't worth the effort to press further. Actually, she had her own rough theories: after the fool was hit, Gu Tiancheng had probably locked him in the trunk, unconscious the whole way, likely with his hands and feet bound and mouth gagged. The first time he escaped in the middle of the night, terrifying everyone—either he had another car key on him, or it was highly possible that when Gu Tiancheng went to puncture the tires at night, he'd unlocked the car and forgotten to relock it, allowing the fool to slip out.
The second time, Gu Tiancheng took him and the two girls into the woods. Perhaps the fool's police instincts were still intact, and he'd found another way to escape. Oh, and he'd brought Song Lan along too.
"When you were carrying Song Lan on your back, were you trying to save her?" You Mingxu asked casually.
He nodded immediately.
You Mingxu pressed further, "Then why didn't you save Zou Furong?"
He paused, looking at her strangely, "How could I carry two people?"
You Mingxu thought, Well, well, his mind's much sharper than when I first met him—he's even starting to question me back. And he's not stuttering much anymore.
"Then why did you drop Song Lan and come grab me when you saw me?" she asked.
He glanced at her, lowering his head shyly, and said, "I told you, you're my third least favorite sister. When I run into you, of course I have to save you first, no matter what happens to anyone else."
You Mingxu: "Oh."
As they spoke, the two had ventured deep into the dense forest. But there were too many fallen leaves piled up here, and no traces on the ground, making it nearly impossible to determine anything. You Mingxu scanned the surroundings with a grave expression, recalling directions in her mind and doing her utmost to deduce Gu Tiancheng's whereabouts.
"Sister..." he called out.
You Mingxu didn't even look at him: "Don't disturb me."
He immediately fell silent.
A short while later, just as You Mingxu was about to pick a direction and test her luck, her sleeve was tugged again. She said impatiently, "What is it now?"
The fool said cautiously, "Actually, sister, there's no need to rush. He'll come back. He won't kill those people silently, because for him, every murder is an ultimate indulgence in satisfying his desire for control and his inferiority complex. This time, being able to kill four people, including me, is the peak and conclusion of his criminal career—a grand, memorable feast. It would be a shame to have no audience. We'll all be his audience, and you especially will be. Because he likes you, and he wants to destroy you. Just imagining that scene, that temptation, will make his blood boil—he won't be able to resist it. So, he'll definitely bring all of them back to find you. And he'll kill them one by one in front of you. He no longer cares about being caught by the police."
You Mingxu froze, turning to look at him.
His eyes were clear and earnest, with a hint of anxious ingratiation.
"You..." You Mingxu asked slowly, "Just who are you?"
He bit his lower lip with his neat, white, handsome teeth, revealing a stubborn expression, then slowly lowered his head. For such a tall man, he looked as pitiful as a child at that moment: "I don't know..."As if to confirm his words, chaotic and scattered footsteps sounded in the distance. You Mingxu abruptly looked up and spotted several indistinct figures. She immediately shouted, "Get down!" Finding a dense patch of grass, she pulled the fool inside and crouched low together.
The fool was still muttering, "See, I told you they’d come back..." Frowning, You Mingxu clamped a hand over his mouth, her face full of disgust.
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