Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 89

Chapter 89: Regret or No Regret

“Have some.”

Qin Luo lay on the rocking chair, silent.

Jiang Yan stood at the bedroom door with a bowl of noodles and sighed. “Jiajia called. She asked about you.”

Qin Luo still didn’t say anything.

Placing the bowl on the table, Jiang Yan said with dissatisfaction, “Don’t be silent with me when you come home, with your cold words. You don’t say anything when I ask.”

Qin Luo turned to look at her. “Then if I tell you these things, can you help me solve them?”

Jiang Yan waved her hand. “As you wish.”

The mother and daughter hadn’t seen each other in a year. Qin Luo had also been missing during the New Year, and had only called on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The neighbors all envied Jiang Yan for having a very famous writer daughter who had bought a large apartment for the family, had arranged everything properly, and had sent money every month without fail. This had made Jiang Yan have no one to complain to. No one would believe her if she said she was not filial.

Finally, when Qin Luo came home, Jiang Yan had walked a few meters, and then had thought of something and had walked into the bedroom. “Oh right, your aunt’s son is working in Shanghai now. If you have time—”

“I don’t have time.”

Jiang Yan said helplessly, “Your aunt just called to ask about you. She’s not asking you to help Little Feng with anything. Do we have to be so distant as a family?”

“Before my dad got sick, didn’t you tell me to stay away from his family?”

Jiang Yan was at a loss for words, her chest full of anger. She couldn’t help but have tears in her eyes. “You’re hurting me by saying that.”

…

Qin Luo was very stressed by her mother’s tears. She had not come home all year round to avoid this kind of moment. She turned back and was stunned for a long time, then said abruptly,

“Mom, can you just state your request?”
“Just tell me what you want me to do.”

Qin Luo took out her phone from her pocket. It was out of battery and had turned off. She couldn’t call her aunt.

“Do you want my number, or a home visit, or do you want me to give their family some money? Or you can tell me something I can solve, instead of beating around the bush and talking about feelings that have long been gone between us.”

Her mother’s teary eyes were interrupted by Qin Luo’s sharpness. Jiang Yan felt that it was getting harder and harder to deal with her daughter’s mood swings. She wiped her face.

“As you wish. Remember to eat your noodles later.”

With that, she reached out and closed the door.

Being sarcastic was just an occasional thing, but it was also her.

The occasional her was also me.

Qin Luo lay on the rocking chair, somewhat detached, and said slowly to the retreating footsteps, “Thank you for the noodles.”

She also didn’t understand why she hadn’t gone to Guo Rui’s house. After getting off the highway, she had had Zhan Luo drive straight home. Although she hated clashing with her mother, she still longed for a harbor.

A light boat wants to dock after passing the mountains.

There is no harbor more like a home.

Here, she could relax, be angry, and be rebellious without any scruples.

Qin Luo even knew that even if she had cursed tonight, Jiang Yan would have been helpless against her, because this was the ability that money had given her.

Wealth is like a magnet. It can make everything that has been lost attach itself to it. But she also understood the principle that a kind person cannot command troops. Jiang Yan’s soft personality could not withstand flattery. A lonely person always likes to seek applause everywhere, and Jiang Yan had been lonely all her life.

Qin Luo rocked the rocking chair. The sun was setting, and the traffic was increasing. The scenery outside the window of the large apartment was always bare.

She turned to look at the bedside.

This house had been bought for Jiang Yan for seven or eight years. The decoration had been done by a design team she had found. But because she had not come back to live here many times, she always felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Besides, who would put their own books on their bedside?

The Red String, Hitting a Rock, The Twelfth Floor of the Building, Her Kill…

Qin Luo counted them. There were a total of twelve. Jiang Yan had bought them all back. She didn’t even have such a complete set in her office.

—Maybe only a mother would like trophies.

Qin Luo was bored. She stood up and blindly opened a book. It wasn’t until she sat down on the rocking chair and opened it that she realized it was Her Kill.

She placed it on her lap and gently flipped to the prologue.

The scene of her and Shen Yiyi meeting at the production flashed before her eyes.

“You’re being too deliberate!”
“Did you deliberately let her wear my clothes?”

Crazy.

Qin Luo cursed in her heart, forcefully flipped a few pages, and looked down at the middle paragraph:

“There are no angels. Only by becoming a demon yourself can you permanently solve the problem. She showed her iconic smile, like the countless times she had smiled at customers at the front desk, with a gentle and tolerant smile, she had made an appointment for Xiao Han’s death.”

“Today was the twelfth time she had poured the powder into the cup.”
“It was rare that he had not paid attention to the medical report, nor had he asked about the stray cat that had disappeared in the complex.”

Although she had written it herself, her attention was always diverted by the plot when she read. Qin Luo yawned, stood up, and got into bed. She flipped a couple more pages.

According to You Ning, the twelfth scene should be filmed next week, which would be right here.

Thinking of You Ning, Qin Luo’s chest felt even more constricted. She hadn’t figured out how to digest that kiss yet. She didn’t want to affect their cooperation because of a failed relationship…

Qin Luo was too sleepy. The smell of home was like a catalyst. She fell into a deep sleep.

In her dream, she was in control of a strange perspective. She was sitting in a corner of the kitchen, making a cup of drain cleaner. The stinking blue liquid was sloshing, very viscous. She didn’t know what reagent had been added, but suddenly the color of the water became clear. After adding tea leaves, it even covered up the pungent smell. She heard a laugh of relief, a clear and bright laugh that couldn’t be stopped.

The dream was intermittent, and she turned over with difficulty.

Then she became a strange third-person perspective, as if she were watching an old soap opera. Xiao Han’s tall figure was in the snowy screen with a bad signal.

Qin Luo couldn’t tell if it was a screen or a car window.

In short, he was sitting upright, with only his upper body exposed. He was holding a tablet in his hand, his fingers sliding on the screen. But his waist and shoulders were moving rhythmically. And then, she saw a head slowly rise from the bottom to the top, with some residual liquid in its mouth.

Slap—

A pair of hands were pressed against the screen.

Qin Luo didn’t have time to distinguish whether the head was male or female. She was so shocked she wanted to vomit…

Qin Luo sat up in bed with a start.

It was a rainy day, and there was no sun. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was already ten the next day.

Jiang Yan had not taken away the bowl of noodles on the bedside table. The noodles had turned into a cake, very sticky.

…The content of the dream was still echoing in her mind. Her throat was so dry, and she wanted to vomit again.

Qin Luo held her chest and reminded herself that it was just a dream.

It was a dream.

But why had she seen the bracelet on Xiao Han’s wrist so clearly?

She had been too sleepy last night and had forgotten to charge her phone. Qin Luo had to plug in her phone first, and then took the bowl to the kitchen.

“Mom.”

The house was too big, and her voice echoed in the house. After a long time, there was no response. She must have gone out.

But Jiang Yan had left her breakfast before she had gone out. Qin Luo lifted the pot lid and found another bowl of noodles.

In Qin Luo’s memory, she had only eaten Jiang Yan’s cooking for about three years.

From the plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes she had seen when she had come home from school in her third year of junior high, to a bowl of wontons before she had gone to college, the deepest memory was the meal that Shen Yiyi had had. There was no smell of smoke, no extra emotions, only the Shen classmate who had eaten a lot of rice.

She had just had a nightmare and had no appetite to eat. Qin Luo washed the bowl and went back to the bedroom.

An electronic device that could be revived with two bars of battery was a powerful weapon to punish humans. The notification sound was endless.

Qin Luo looked at them in reverse chronological order.

The latest call was from You Ning.

Then there was the production assistant, the producer, the second screenwriter, and Liu Jia.

Qin Luo frowned and chose the most important one, Li Wenping, to call back. “Sister Li, I just saw my phone. What’s wrong?”

“Oh my, why did you only answer now? Lu Xi was taken away by the police again today.”

Qin Luo was in a daze. The bracelet from her dream kept reappearing in front of her.

She asked with confusion, “Why was she taken away?”

“I called a leader at the public security. The implication was that she was suspected of murder and was taken in for questioning.”

Qin Luo couldn’t believe it and took a deep breath. “It’s Shang Yi’s case.”

“Yes, probably.”

Li Wenping said with a worried look, “I’ve already called the other investors. The news will be blocked until the filming is over. I’m already looking for other outsourcing companies to take over her camera crew. After all, the progress can’t be delayed.”

“You and President Liu will be in charge of monitoring the news on Logos’s side.” At this, Li Wenping sighed deeply. “You’re fine on your side. I’m just afraid that his wife will cause trouble. After all, Shang Yi is also one of the investors.”

“I’m really afraid that the project will be implicated because of this.”

Qin Luo had a hard time expressing any opinion on this. She was silent on the other end of the line. At times like this, she would always think of Liu Jia.

“Alright, that’s all. You should come to the production soon to discuss changing the outsourcing team.”

“Okay, I’ll go as soon as possible.”

After hanging up, she immediately called Liu Jia.

Liu Jia answered almost instantly.

But she was panting, and it sounded like she was on a treadmill. “I’m on a business trip in Xiamen. I heard about it this morning.”

She went straight to the point. “I’ve had the lawyer look at the contract. Shang Yi’s wife can’t touch the money that Logos invested in the movie. Don’t worry.”

Qin Luo said, “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Liu Jia pressed the slow down button and started to walk slowly. “Then you don’t have to worry about Shen Yiyi either. I’ve already told her on the phone that she should talk to me about Shang Yi’s case in the future. She’s promised me that she won’t bother you again.”

Hearing the name, Qin Luo’s heart ached.

She knew that she had called Guo Rui on the way back yesterday, and then had canceled her trip and had gone back to her own home. This had made Guo Rui worried and had made her call Liu Jia.

Liu Jia’s mouth was unrestrained. She must have said a lot of harsh things to Shen Yiyi last night.

But it didn’t matter. A clean break required a quick knife like Liu Jia.

Compared to worrying about Shen Yiyi, she felt more guilty toward Liu Jia.

During this time, she had been disappearing for no reason, and in the end, it was always her who had to clean up the mess. Qin Luo said apologetically, “I went back to Fengjiang without saying anything. I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Liu Jia awkwardly stopped. She wiped her sweat and was silent for a long time before she joked, “It’s fine. It’s what I deserve as a boss.”

But Qin Luo was not amused. She changed the subject. “Why did you go to Xiamen?”

“I’ve been under a lot of pressure recently. I came to vent.”

“…”

“Hahahahahaha.” Liu Jia laughed at herself. “I just love to see a cultured person speechless. I’m just kidding. There’s a media content management conference in Xiamen. I came to see my little lover on the side. Oh right, I heard from President Li that the production is looking for an outsourcing company. When are you coming back to the production?”

“I’ll be back in the afternoon.”

Liu Jia didn’t know if she should ask about what had happened yesterday. Guo Rui had probably already comforted her. She didn’t want to trigger Qin Luo’s old illness. “Okay, then you should adjust your state.”

Qin Luo hung up the phone and then called Zhan Luo.

The drive back to Fengjiang was long. Qin Luo was worried that Zhan Luo would be tired, so she hadn’t had him drive back to Shanghai last night.

She hadn’t expected to have to rush back today after just arriving yesterday.

Although he was a driver, this sudden back and forth, such a long journey, was comparable to a business trip. Qin Luo felt a little bad, so she specially treated Zhan Luo to some local food, and then went to the riverside to see the river view. It wasn’t until three in the afternoon that they returned.

And before they returned, Qin Luo had called Jiang Yan to explain the company’s situation, and had also transferred a sum of money to her on WeChat as compensation for her willfulness last night.

Jiang Yan had sighed for a long time on the phone. Before she had hung up, she had said, “Remember to go to bed early.”

By the time Qin Luo was almost in Shanghai, a call came from the missed call from Guo Rui.

“Did you sleep all day at home?”

“I’m already back in Shanghai.”

Guo Rui was on speaker and said, “Ah.”

“It’s work. I had to come back in a hurry.” Qin Luo bit her lip, recalling how she had been sobbing to her friend on the phone yesterday. It was very embarrassing.

But what had happened yesterday was in the past. She didn’t want to repeat it. Repeating it would keep her stuck in the same place.

She said naturally, “It was my fault for not controlling my emotions yesterday. I’m fine now.”

“It’s good that you’re fine now.” Guo Rui asked tentatively, “Then are you really dating that assistant director?”

“We’re not dating.” Qin Luo took a breath and decided to be honest with her friend. “But we kissed.”

“Cough cough cough cough!”

Guo Rui was so shocked she started to cough. “…Then what… then you should get some rest first. I’ll hang up now!!”

Guo Rui covered her phone, held her breath, and carefully glanced sideways.

The speaker volume was not loud just now. Shen Yiyi, who was sitting opposite her, probably hadn’t heard clearly…

She saw Shen Yiyi come back to her senses and slowly stand up from the sofa.

She said calmly, “Since Qin Luo is back in Shanghai, then I’ll go back too.”