Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 19

Chapter 19: Suspected of Being on Fire

A name clash?

So she was angry about this?

The unintentional possessiveness in Shen Yiyi’s words fell into the hunter’s dense net. Qin Luo was secretly delighted but dared not show it on her face.

She explained directly, “The production staff usually calls the actors by their intimate names to cultivate a working relationship. Liu Jia called her that, so I followed suit. I’ll call her by her English name next time, how about that?”

“No need.”

Qin Luo took a step forward, her fingertips gently caressing her wrist. “Yiyi, I really can’t bring myself to call you by your full name. It feels too much like we’re strangers.”

“I don’t want to become strangers with you.”

Her eyes were full of affection, something that couldn’t be faked. Shen Yiyi wanted to look away, but her wrist was held firmly in the other’s palm, the grip just right, as if neither could let go.

Besides the warmth, Qin Luo’s hand was still damp.

But the stereotypical anxiety didn’t act up at this moment.

Shen Yiyi felt the hot, sticky liquid evaporate on her skin. The sense of oppression caused by the original chaos and disorder dissipated on its own. Her thoughts were stuck in place.

She had thought that after sixteen years, things would be different, that at least with her ever-worsening mysophobia, she should have been more resistant to Qin Luo’s touch.

But the muggy Shanghai weather seemed to have lit a fire in her. She was easily melted by the sun, and easily set on fire.

Shen Yiyi turned her head and happened to look directly at the sun. Only then did she realize she was gradually unable to meet her eyes. So she looked away, but she didn’t try to break free.

Shen Yiyi had her pride.

She knew that if she couldn’t break free, she would be in an awkward situation. She just said lightly, “I still have work to do.”

“Where are you going to do it?”

Seeing that Shen Yiyi was no longer entangled over the name, Qin Luo felt relieved.

But she was still unwilling to let go, just loosening her grip, holding her lightly. “How about I give you the card to the internal creative meeting room? No one goes there, and it’s quiet.”

Shen Yiyi relented. “Okay, thanks.”

Qin Luo finally smiled and let go. She hadn’t intended to hold on for too long anyway.

She took a wet wipe from her bag, pulled one out, and then naturally took Shen Yiyi’s hand, holding it openly, using the excuse of wiping her hand to hold it earnestly, carefully wiping the wrist she had just held back and forth.

A wave of panic.

Shen Yiyi quickly pulled her hand back. “Alright, stop wiping.”

Qin Luo’s hands were empty, but her smile was full. “Seeing that you’re not angry anymore, I’m relieved.”

***

Qin Luo swiped her card to open the door of the internal creative meeting room, turned on all the lights, then adjusted the room temperature, and casually asked for her phone number.

“Yiyi, I forgot the WiFi password for this meeting room. Can you give me your phone number so I can share the password with my device?”

Shen Yiyi took out her phone and sent Qin Luo her phone number via WeChat.

Not six seconds later, her phone rang.

“My number.”

Qin Luo hung up the missed call and busily typed a note on her phone: 110.

No, 110 sounded too serious. Calling her would be like calling the police.

What about 11-0?

Hmm, it looked like she had been beaten by a large margin.

Or A110… that way it would be at the top of the list, and she wouldn’t accidentally call Shen Yiyi when she really needed to call the police.

Qin Luo locked her screen with satisfaction.

When she looked up again, she saw Dr. Shen spraying alcohol on the table, arranging her laptop bag according to a strict procedure, and then taking out her notebook.

Qin Luo didn’t want to disturb her again and thought she’d say everything at once. “If you want water, go to the room next door. There’s a water dispenser. But if you don’t want to drink from the large bottle, there’s also a vending machine downstairs. If you need anything, give me a call. I’ll be around all afternoon. Your afternoon meeting starts at 1:30 and ends at 3.”

Shen Yiyi opened her computer and then took a leather cord from her bag to tie her hair, but her eyes never left the screen the entire time.

She replied somewhat perfunctorily, “Mm, thanks, I understand.”

Cute… even when she’s busy and ignoring people, she’s cute.

Qin Luo smiled at her back. “Let me know when you’re done. I’ll take you home.”

“No need. I’ll go back by myself when I’m done.”

Qin Luo was used to hitting a wall, but she wasn’t used to seeing her and then parting ways. She had seen the production’s schedule. Dr. Shen’s training class was in two days. She wouldn’t be able to see her for 48 hours.

Stubborn, so stubborn.

Her crush was clearly born in the year of the horse, so why was she as stubborn as a donkey?

Although Qin Luo was reluctant, she remembered that she had been too forward today. Shen Yiyi had first been passive-aggressively attacked by Liu Jia, then angered by Sun Jingyi at noon. If she insisted on taking her home, it would definitely backfire.

She had to control the pace. Being too aggressive would only cause the river of love to shatter this clay Buddha.

She took a deep breath. “Okay, then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

Shen Yiyi turned and forced a smile at Qin Luo. “Mm, see you the day after tomorrow.”

It wasn’t a bright and sunny smile, and it even carried a sense of distance and politeness. But Qin Luo was still smitten. Shen Yiyi was like a deer hunter appointed by Aphrodite, her arrow aimed at the space between her brows, ready to be released at any moment.

Qin Luo was mesmerized. Her heart didn’t brake, and her thoughts took a turn. “Then how about I pick you up the day after tomorrow!”

She threw her strategy to the wind. She just wanted to be shot by Cupid’s arrow.

Shen Yiyi pursed her lips. Sure enough, being polite and courteous was useless with her. She quickly turned back. “No need. I’m not sure if I’ll be at the station or the dorm. It’s too much trouble for you. I’ll just take a taxi.”

…

Get a grip, Qin Luo!

Don’t be a dazed hostage.

“Okay, then I’m leaving. You get back to work.” Qin Luo took another deep breath, quietly backed out, and closed the door.

As she left, she reached out and tore off the production’s sign on the door, and then sent a message to the production assistant.

[From now on, let me review Director Shen’s work matters before you send them out. Also, she’s working overtime in the internal creative meeting room. Don’t let anyone disturb her.]

The production assistant blinked at the WeChat message.

Damn, so the gossip the set workers were spreading in the little group chat is true? Screenwriter Qin is chasing that Dr. Shen?

The production assistant quickly found Dr. Shen’s WeChat and added a suffix to her name: Shen Yiyi (Brought in by investment)

***

The “brought in by investment” Dr. Shen’s fingers were constantly sliding on the trackpad, the cursor darting around the screen, unable to find a place to land.

She wasn’t a leader. She didn’t have that many important matters that only she could handle.

All forensic identification reports could only be processed through the office’s backend system. All she had in her hands right now was a rushed toxicology report.

The report was the feedback from the myocardial tissue sample sent for testing from the “suicide boy,” with a long list of poison comparisons and quantitative calculations.

But she had already seen this report. Looking at it again now was just for the sake of peace and quiet.

Although she had done a lot of mental preparation when she came in the morning, when she saw Qin Luo push open the door, her tightly wrapped outer shell still cracked.

She blamed these false cracks on the midday sun.

Although it wasn’t even a quarter past nine, the surroundings were unbearably hot. She was suddenly embraced by an old friend, and fragmented memories rushed at her. The unfinished regrets surged up from her stomach, like vomit stuck in her throat, choking her like she was on fire.

And just then, Qin Luo arrived with a cooling presence.

The malicious intent to piece together the fragments whispered in her ear, saying that Qin Luo hadn’t left, that Qin Luo was still here, that nothing was set in stone.

So looking at Qin Luo became a very light and easy thing to do.

Shen Yiyi had no intention of listening to what Liu Jia was saying. At that moment, she was only trying to comfort herself, telling herself that Qin Luo’s appearance meant nothing, that they should be like they were in the past, that they should pass by each other casually, like they had at the elevator, and forget, suppressing this dangerous thought.

But then Qin Luo had smiled and touched her hair.

At this thought, Shen Yiyi looked at the blank computer screen. She closed the computer, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at the empty chair beside her.

There were no overlapping shadows, no pain piercing through her life.

As long as Qin Luo hadn’t left, the area she was in would be enveloped in her light and shadow, a plainness that made Shen Yiyi feel uncomfortable.

The WeChat notification sound suddenly rang out, dropping a deep-water torpedo into the quiet space. Could it be a notice from the department? Shen Yiyi’s heart trembled slightly. She frowned and took out her phone.

Oh, it wasn’t a work message, nor was it from Qin Luo.

It was a message from the family group chat.

Her uncle had sent a photo of himself and her aunt in front of the high-speed rail station, and then @Shen Yiyi, [We’re on our way.]

Then, one by one, the family members replied.

[It’s cold on the high-speed rail. Make sure Little Lin wears more clothes.]
[Have you found a place to stay near the hospital?]
[Be safe.]
[Yiyi, when your uncle gets to Shanghai, you have to take good care of him.]

The complicated and chaotic conversation was like a tangled wire. One wrong connection could cause a disaster.

Shen Yiyi held her breath and typed in the group chat, [Okay, I know,] wanting to quickly exit.

But as soon as she showed her face, her uncle called her.

Her uncle asked cautiously, “You’re not busy, are you?”

“No, I just had some free time. I was about to take a lunch break.” Shen Yiyi adjusted her breathing in the stuffy conference room, trying to make her voice sound as lively as possible.

“Have you entered the station yet?”

“Not yet. Your aunt was asking if you wanted to eat some thread noodles. She’ll bring you a bag.”

Shen Yiyi bit her lip and said soothingly, “No need. I eat at the station. If you bring it…”

Her clumsy uncle had annoyed her aunt. She snatched the phone and held it to her ear. To be heard over the station announcements, she deliberately raised her voice. “Paopao, Auntie will buy you some thread noodles. The ones in the Shanghai restaurants definitely don’t taste as good as the local ones Auntie makes. I was going to have your uncle tell you that if you’re busy, you don’t have to come pick us up, but he just wanted an excuse to see you.”

Faced with her elders’ concern, Shen Yiyi could only force a smile.

“Auntie, I really don’t have time tonight. There’s a meeting at the station, and I was too embarrassed to tell Uncle. How about after you get settled, I’ll find some time to see you in a day or two?”

“Okay, then you take care of yourself too.”

“Mm, okay.”

“Then Auntie will hang up now.” Her aunt was about to press the button, but she heard her uncle trying to grab the phone on the other end. The hang-up button wasn’t pressed, and the remaining sound echoed in her ear. “Oh, let me say a few words to her. What are you talking about? Every time you talk, you make her unhappy. I just—”

Shen Yiyi closed her eyes and hung up the call, then threw her phone on the table.

Bang—

Atropos raised her long sword, and a destructive sound echoed.

The boiling blood began to grow too intense, fermenting. Some hidden danger was struggling to its death in a vortex. She turned her head to look at the chair, and the blurry, colorful shadow turned with her.

Shen Yiyi looked down at her watch, the shadow following her every move.

Only 12 minutes had passed since Qin Luo had left.