“Exactly the same?” Yu Yan asked in surprise, “What kind of injuries are we talking about? Are they serious?”
“Very serious,” the police replied in a low voice. “The lightest outcome is paralysis, the worst is death.”
That serious? Then the one who was hit definitely wasn’t He Shuliu.
Yu Yan remembered it clearly. That night, he came home in the pouring rain at midnight. Although he was soaked from head to toe, there wasn’t any sign he’d been injured.
“Could you have made a mistake? Maybe the person who was hit just looks a lot like him?” she ventured cautiously.
“We thought so at first as well, but after careful comparison, we’re sure we didn’t get it wrong,” the police said with certainty.
For this, they had to thank Huang Wenxuan’s poor eyesight. He didn’t notice the monitor camera at the scene of the accident and dragged the victim right into the car without a care. That was how the surveillance footage caught a clear shot of the victim’s face.
Yu Yan still couldn’t understand. “But how could this be? If the one who was hit was really He Shuliu, then even if he wasn’t dead, he couldn’t possibly be here with me now, right?”
The younger police officer suddenly spoke up, “Does he have a twin brother?”
Yu Yan shook her head. “No, he’s an only child.”
The two police officers exchanged glances again.
“Has he behaved strangely since he came back these last few days?”
What counted as strange behavior?
Cutting her hand while slicing watermelon but not having a single scratch on it—did that count as strange?
Yu Yan thought for a moment and still shook her head. “No, he’s been normal, no different from before.”
He Shuliu had already come back. No matter what he’d become, she didn’t want him getting involved with the police.
Her intuition told her this was nothing good.
“Alright, we mainly wanted to remind you. There’s a good chance he’s connected to this case, and we’ll be back to check on a few things later.”
The police said, “You should keep an eye on him for now. If he remembers anything, let us know right away.”
Yu Yan nodded. “I will.”
“That’s it for now, we’re leaving.” The two police officers glanced at the slightly open security door, then turned and walked toward the elevator.
Actually, they hadn’t revealed much about the case involving Huang Wenxuan.
For example, that the jacket Huang Wenxuan was wearing when he died seemed to have been taken by someone. And that Huang Wenxuan’s corpse was extremely bizarre—not only was his heart gouged out, but his body had shriveled up as if all the flesh and blood had been drained, making it even scarier than a mummy.
They couldn’t imagine what kind of weapon could possibly do something like that.
The only thing they were certain of was that this case was definitely connected to He Shuliu.
In the days to come, He Shuliu would be their main focus of observation.
Yu Yan returned home.
He Shuliu had been waiting for her at the entrance the entire time. As soon as she stepped through the door, he immediately approached, looking as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.
“You talked for such a long time.”
“Not really,” Yu Yan glanced at the time, “just a few minutes…”
He Shuliu followed her, “So you really called the police?”
“Hm?” Yu Yan thought for a moment, then nodded. “I couldn’t reach you, so I had to ask the police for help.”
A smile appeared in He Shuliu’s eyes. “You really were worried about me.”
Yu Yan:
There he goes again.
She chose to ignore him completely, heading straight to the sofa and sitting down. The movie had only played for a few minutes before she’d paused it. Now she pressed play and continued watching on her own.
The soft sofa sank beneath them as He Shuliu sat down next to her and started watching the movie with her.
This time, he didn’t try to reminisce about the past with her. He simply leaned back, completely relaxed, his profile illuminated by the screen, looking peaceful and focused, almost unreal, as if shrouded in a dreamlike haze.
But Yu Yan couldn’t focus anymore.
She kept thinking about what the police had said. It sounded absurd and illogical, but she couldn’t help turning it over in her mind.
If the person in the accident really was He Shuliu, then the fact that he cut his finger without leaving a single mark made perfect sense. —Because he had an incredible self-healing ability.
But that was just too unrealistic.
No one could possibly have that kind of self-healing ability. If someone did, then they weren’t human anymore.
Yu Yan had seen He Shuliu hurt before. He would bleed, and he would whimper in pain, just like anyone else—completely normal, no different from anyone else.
But she also knew, that was “before”.
Now, this He Shuliu… Yu Yan remembered his unusually warm body temperature and strange skin tone, and suddenly she hesitated.
She thought for a moment, then said to He Shuliu, “Give me your hand.”
He Shuliu was watching the movie. When he heard her request, he blinked in confusion but obediently complied.
He held out his right hand in front of Yu Yan, his fingers slightly curled. “What’s up?” he asked curiously.
Yu Yan didn’t answer. She took his hand and placed it on her lap, inspecting it carefully.
He Shuliu’s hands were beautiful—long fingers, clearly defined veins, joints both strong and delicate, as flawless as a sculpture.
With such pretty hands, even the slightest wound should have been easy to spot.
But after looking carefully, she couldn’t find a single scratch.
“The other one.”
At her words, He Shuliu simply turned and placed his left hand on her lap as well.
Yu Yan continued her inspection. To be thorough, she kneaded his fingers inch by inch, even gently feeling between each one.
That was all.
“Yan Yan,” He Shuliu called her softly.
Yu Yan didn’t reply, still carefully searching his palm.
He Shuliu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Suddenly, he flipped his wrist and grabbed her hand in return.
Yu Yan froze, feeling a shadow fall over her.
“Yan Yan…” He Shuliu placed his other hand beside her leg, leaned in, and drew close. “Why do you keep touching me?”
Yu Yan was at a loss for words.
Yes, she had been touching him just now, but she hadn’t meant anything by it. She only wanted to check if there were any wounds she might have missed.
But could she really explain it that way?
Yu Yan remembered how He Shuliu reacted when he washed his hands—he didn’t admit to cutting himself at all. So even if she told him her suspicions now, he’d probably answer just like he did back then.
Yu Yan hesitated for a few seconds before finally saying, “Those two police officers just now… said you’d been in a car accident.”
He Shuliu paused. “A car accident?”
“Yeah, and a really serious one,” Yu Yan said after a moment. “Were you really in a car accident? The night we fought?”
She’d wanted to say “broke up,” but was afraid that would take the conversation off track, so she chose the milder “fought”.
Though honestly, fighting wasn’t exactly a mild thing either.
He Shuliu didn’t seem to expect her to ask such a strange question.
He blinked and tilted his head slightly. “What do you think? Do you think I was in a car accident?”
Of course she didn’t think he’d been in a car accident—he looked perfectly healthy, and the hospital hadn’t found anything wrong with him.
But those two police officers had sounded so certain. She didn’t think they’d lie to her about something like that.
Yu Yan fell silent.
A subtle, uneasy silence filled the room. No one spoke. Only the jumps and shrieks of the horror movie played on.
Her eyelids started to itch.
Yu Yan looked up and saw that He Shuliu was lightly kissing her eyelids.
“You still haven’t answered my question…” She raised her hand to stop him.
But He Shuliu seemed not to hear, following her movement to kiss her palm instead. His tongue traced between her fingers, sending a shiver of tingling numbness through her.
Yu Yan’s lower back felt weak.
She tried to pull her hand away, but He Shuliu gripped her wrist. He lowered his head and gazed at her, his dark eyes as deep and sticky as a bottomless swamp, the flickering light from the screen casting a strange, mottled glow in his pupils.
“I’ve never been in a car accident. I have no idea why those police officers came looking for me.”
He spoke softly, her face reflected in his eyes. “Yan Yan, do you believe me?”
Yu Yan met his gaze, feeling as if she were looking into a bottomless vortex.
Would she believe him?
Of course she wanted to.
But his subtle reactions only made her more suspicious.
What really happened that night?
Did he really not get into a car accident? Did he really know nothing?
Suspicion was like a drop of ink on paper—once it existed, it would never truly disappear.
And yet, even so, Yu Yan didn’t want to keep digging.
After all, they were going to break up sooner or later.
As long as he was normal and stable now, whatever he became in the future had nothing to do with her.
“I believe you.”
She looked straight into his eyes and answered calmly.