Looking at this drop of diluted blood, Yu Yan felt a strange, indescribable sense of unease.
The watermelon had just been cut, and aside from He Shuliu, there was no one else who could have gotten their blood on it.
But there was no wound on He Shuliu’s hand.
Then how did this drop of blood… appear?
Yu Yan remembered the faint gasp He Shuliu had let out just now.
If it was just watermelon juice that had splashed, it shouldn’t have made him gasp like that.
Moreover, while rinsing his hand, he kept covering his left index finger. Rather than the act of rinsing itself, it seemed more like he didn’t want her to see.
Could it be that he really did cut himself—only the wound was so tiny and hidden that she hadn’t noticed?
Yu Yan glanced at the drop of blood again, deciding to go out and ask He Shuliu.
Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.
He Shuliu, who was arranging the fruit plate, heard the doorbell, exchanged a look with Yu Yan, straightened up, and walked toward the entryway.
Yu Yan continued dealing with the watermelon.
The security door opened. Across the living room, a slightly hesitant male voice sounded from outside the door.
“Hello……………… May I ask if Yu Yan, Miss Yu, is home?”
Immediately after, He Shuliu’s clearly unfriendly voice followed: “Who are you?”
As soon as Yu Yan heard his voice, she quickly hurried over. Sure enough, standing outside the door were the two police officers who had come to investigate before.
Her eyes widened in surprise: “Police Officer, is something the matter?”
He Shuliu’s gaze flickered faintly at the title she blurted out.
“It’s about the previous Missing Persons Case. There are still a few details we’d like to verify.” The older police officer answered steadily, turning his gaze to He Shuliu, “This must be Mr. He, right?”
He Shuliu tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanged: “You know me?”
“I showed them your photo before.” Yu Yan shot him a look, then turned to the police officers, “This is He Shuliu, he’s currently staying here for now. What would you like to verify?”
—For now.
He Shuliu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as his gaze brushed past her profile.
“Still the details from the day of the disappearance.” The police officer looked at He Shuliu, “Since the person involved is here, we’ll ask directly.
Mr. He, on the night you argued, where did you go after you left here?”
Yu Yan frowned a little.
The attitude of these two police officers seemed much more serious than before. The way they questioned He Shuliu didn’t feel like a routine inquiry anymore, but more like an interrogation.
Did they find out something bad?
However, faced with the officers’ tense gazes, He Shuliu himself seemed unfazed.
He rubbed his chin, as if recalling for a moment, then said carelessly, “Didn’t go anywhere, I just wandered around outside all night.”
“And after that? Didn’t you go home?”
“Why would I go home?” He Shuliu gave them a look as if they were idiots. “Yan Yan wasn’t there.”
Yu Yan suspected his brain had also been splashed by watermelon juice.
The two police officers exchanged a glance: “Since you didn’t go home, where have you been during the time you were missing?”
“I went up the mountain to clear my head,” He Shuliu replied.
“Which mountain? Where exactly?”
“I’m not sure which mountain, somewhere on the outskirts, all those mountains are pretty much the same, right?” He Shuliu put on a thoughtful face, “Maybe it’s called Anlu Mountain? Or An… something…………………”
“Andu Mountain,” the younger police officer corrected with a frown.
He Shuliu shrugged and changed his answer without care, “Then it’s Andu Mountain.”
Yu Yan said nothing from the side.
Andu Mountain was far from the city, not well-known, but vast, with mountain ranges stretching for miles. As long as you went into the mountains, anywhere could be called “Andu Mountain.”
This location was way too vague—he might as well have said nothing.
A strange look flashed across the older officer’s face: “So you’ve been on the mountain this whole time and never came down?”
He Shuliu answered lazily.
“Did you meet anyone?”
“I met a lot of people. Who exactly do you mean?” He Shuliu’s lips curled in a half-smile.
“This person.” The officer took out a photo. “Have you seen him?”
Yu Yan leaned over to look with He Shuliu.
The person in the photo looked about thirty, male, medium build, no outstanding features—someone you’d lose in a crowd.
He Shuliu looked troubled: “With a face like that, even if I’d seen him, I wouldn’t remember.”
“Think again,” the officer stared intently at him.
He Shuliu seemed to be getting impatient, but seeing Yu Yan’s respect for them, he still cooperated and answered.
“No.”
The two officers didn’t miss a single micro-expression.
His posture was relaxed as he answered, his breathing steady, his tone crisp and natural—no sign of pretense or lying at all.
“One last question,” the older officer continued, “Have you been injured during this time?”
“No,” He Shuliu said, “I just had a check-up today. If you want the results, I can tell you which Hospital.”
“No need.” The older officer checked his notes and nodded, “Sorry to bother you. That’s all for today. If you remember seeing the man in the photo, please let us know right away.”
Yu Yan was completely confused.
So they came all the way here so late just to ask these questions?
Seeing the two about to leave, she quickly spoke up: “Officers, can I ask what happened to the man in the photo? Has he gone missing too?”
Hearing this, the officer glanced at He Shuliu, then said to Yu Yan, “Could we talk outside for a moment?”
So… they wanted to avoid He Shuliu?
Were they afraid what they were about to say would upset him?
Yu Yan wasn’t sure, but still gave He Shuliu a reassuring nod, signaling him to stay inside. She followed the officers to the end of the hallway.
“We should be out of earshot here, right?”
“This distance is far enough. If we keep our voices down, he won’t hear.”
“Okay.”
The two officers whispered to each other, then looked at Yu Yan seriously.
“This case shouldn’t really be shared with you, but given the special circumstances, we won’t hide it,” the older officer said quietly. “The man in the photo isn’t missing—he’s dead.”
“Dead?” Yu Yan was startled.
The officer nodded: “His name is Huang Wenxuan. On the night you two argued, he hit someone with his car—a Hit-and-Run. We only found his body in the mountains today.”
Yu Yan was confused: “You mean, he hit someone, and then he died too?”
“Yes,” the officer said, “and we’ve ruled out suicide.”
“So after the Hit-and-Run, someone else killed him…?” Yu Yan still couldn’t make sense of it. “But what does this have to do with me and He Shuliu?”
“Because there’s Surveillance Footage that captured him hitting someone with his car.”
“The person he hit—looks exactly like your ex-boyfriend, He Shuliu,” the officer glanced at the security door at the end of the hallway, lowered his voice, and spoke with a heavy tone.
The hallway light had already gone out, and the security door was left ajar. A dim light seeped through the crack in the door.
He Shuliu stood at the entryway, head slightly bowed, quietly listening to the conversation in the hallway.
The two officers’ voices were indeed very soft. For ordinary people, even with the door open, let alone closed, there’d be no way to hear what they were saying.
But he could hear it—clear as day.
It was obvious they already suspected him.
He Shuliu had actually expected this outcome for a while.
There were too many traces left at the scene.
He hadn’t meant to leave any clues, he was just in too much of a hurry—too desperate to see Yu Yan, with no mind for anything else.
No one knew what he had been through.
That night, after Yu Yan drove him out, he wandered the streets alone, aimless and lost.
The late-night streets were dim, silent, empty—no one around.
He Shuliu didn’t know where he was going, nor did he care.
Yu Yan’s words kept echoing in his mind, like sharp blades, cutting and stabbing him over and over.
He didn’t understand.
He didn’t understand what he had done wrong, didn’t understand why Yu Yan abandoned him.
She hadn’t even given him a chance to make things right.
Was it because of that annoying colleague? If she didn’t like his attitude, he could change.
He’d do anything to make her happy.
The only thing he couldn’t do was leave her.
He couldn’t leave her. Only by staying by her side could he go on living—could he feel the meaning of life.
Yes, he had to go back. He had to see her.
Maybe everything she said was just out of anger. As long as he apologized sincerely, they could go back to how they were…
His longing to see Yu Yan grew stronger and stronger. He Shuliu wiped the tears from his face and turned to head back.
Just then, an SUV suddenly sped toward him. He turned his head, but the blinding headlights forced his eyes shut—
With a screech of brakes, the SUV came to an abrupt stop.
A man holding a phone jumped out of the car in a panic. Seeing He Shuliu lying motionless on the ground, his face went deathly pale.
“Oh no, oh no………………”
He’d been hit too badly.
Most of the bones in his body were broken, his arms twisted, skin split open—he lay in a pool of blood, completely motionless.
The man squatted down in a panic, trying to lift He Shuliu, but didn’t dare move him, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Hey, are you okay? Are you still alive? Please, you can’t die!”
He Shuliu couldn’t make out what the man was saying. All he felt was unbearable pain, thick blood gushing from his body.
…Was he going to die? So soon?
But he hadn’t seen Yan Yan yet… he hadn’t made it back to her side.
At least, not now.
Give him a little more time—let him see Yan Yan, at least…
The panicked man kept trying to wake him. Seeing He Shuliu unresponsive, the man grew more and more frightened, and with trembling hands, checked his breathing.
His breath was weak, pupils unfocused.
Even if he was rushed to the Hospital now, he probably wouldn’t make it.
How much compensation would it take to kill someone? Would he have to go to jail? He definitely would, right?!
He was only in his early thirties, his best years just beginning… No, he absolutely couldn’t go to jail!
Staring at the dying young man, a chill ran down the man’s spine, and a bold idea began to take shape.
He glanced around warily. Luckily, this stretch of road was remote—he didn’t see any cameras, nor any passing cars.
He quickly went back to the car, put on a pair of gloves, then opened the trunk and dragged He Shuliu’s blood-soaked body over, loading him like cargo.
This process was undoubtedly a second injury for the victim, but the man didn’t care anymore.
After putting He Shuliu in the trunk, he took out a bottle of water and a towel, and cleaned the blood off the ground.
When everything was done, he got back in the driver’s seat, turned the car around, and sped toward the outskirts.
The car drove for over an hour, bumping and swaying, before finally stopping on a deserted hillside.
The car door opened.
The man got out with a backpack, dragged He Shuliu from the trunk, and hauled him up the mountain, finally finding a hidden spot. He took a shovel from his bag and started digging.
He Shuliu couldn’t move, his eyes covered in blood.
Every breath tugged at his insides, drawing out even more blood.
This man was going to bury him here.
He wanted to leave, but couldn’t move a single finger.
How much longer could he hold on?
Yan Yan was still angry at him—she’d never come looking for him.
But he wanted to see her.
Even if he died, he wanted to die by her side…
He Shuliu’s eyelashes trembled, his chest suddenly heaving with rapid breaths.
The man digging the grave noticed.
He shone a flashlight at He Shuliu, saw he was barely hanging on, and after a moment of shock, seemed to make a decision.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a Folding Knife.
“Sorry, man. You’re not going to make it anyway, let me help you out…………………”
The man gritted his teeth, raised the Folding Knife, and stabbed it hard into He Shuliu’s neck.
He Shuliu’s pupils dilated instantly.
Blood sprayed out. A Butterfly landed silently on his neck.
He stopped breathing completely.