90: Chapter 90 Qin Yi's Response

A moment later, Qin Yi's voice came through the phone, low and heavy. It was clear that he was not in a good mood.

"Shen Jianan, I've given serious thought to what you said just now. I think... you're right. Su Mo did betray me, and I don't know what these three years of our relationship actually meant to her. But what I can be sure of is that I truly gave my heart to her over these past three years."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jianan's lips curled into a smug smile, and an indescribable joy welled up in her heart; her provocation had actually worked.

She gripped Su Mo's hand tightly and mouthed to her: "Don't worry, Qin Yi has agreed..."

Su Mo's tears flowed uncontrollably once again, but this time, her face was beaming with an irrepressible smile.

However, Qin Yi's voice paused slightly, then continued with a hint of determination: "I can accept your proposal to work together to deal with Brother Dao and Wang Hao! But I still can't bring myself to contact Su Mo! I just... I can't get past the hurdle in my heart! Therefore, you will be the one to relay the time and location for meeting Brother Dao! If you agree, we will cooperate; if not, then forget this whole thing!"

Hearing this, Su Mo looked at Shen Jianan nervously, her fingers unconsciously twisting together, as if she were terrified that she might refuse Qin Yi's request.

Shen Jianan did not let her down again. A flash of determination crossed her eyes, and she agreed without hesitation: "Fine! I agree!"

"Mm, that's all for now. I'll set off to return to the Magic City tomorrow!" After saying this, Qin Yi prepared to hang up the phone.

Beside her, Su Mo was already streaming with tears. Her voice filled with gratitude and guilt, she whispered: "Qin Yi, thank you."

Although Su Mo's voice was very soft, it struck Qin Yi's heart like a heavy hammer. His heart trembled violently, his Adam's apple bobbed, as if something was lodged in his throat.

He remained silent for a moment, and in the end, without saying another word, he gently hung up the phone.

...

At this moment, inside the Jeep off-road vehicle, Shen Jianan handed a tissue to Su Mo.

Su Mo lowered her head, took the tissue, and gently wiped away the tear stains on her face, then softly thanked her: "Officer Shen, thank you." Although her voice was soft, it was filled with gratitude.

"You don't need to thank me; to be honest, I'm doing this for myself too," Shen Jianan said, looking at Su Mo with a smile. She paused for a moment, seemingly weighing her next words. "Alright, calm down. Call Wang Hao in a bit, and don't let him hear that you're upset. Just tell him that you've already made contact with Qin Yi. Say that Qin Yi is currently in Jingnan and will be returning to the Magic City tomorrow."

"Mm, I understand." Su Mo nodded, but immediately after, a flash of worry appeared in her eyes. After all, although Qin Yi agreed to cooperate with Shen Jianan, he was still unwilling to contact her. Thinking of this, her brows furrowed slightly, and she asked hesitantly, "Then what if Wang Hao asks me to contact Qin Yi in front of him? If Qin Yi doesn't answer the phone, wouldn't that blow my cover?"

Shen Jianan thought for a moment, her lips curving into a confident arc. She picked up her phone, waved it at Su Mo, and said with a smile, "That's easy to handle. Add my WeChat, I'll change my WeChat profile picture to match Qin Yi's, and then you can change the contact name. If Wang Hao asks you to contact Qin Yi, just send me a message on WeChat, and I'll pretend to be Qin Yi."

"Uh, but what if he asks me to call him?" Su Mo pressed, her eyes filled with a trace of anxiety.

"That's also easy to handle," Shen Jianan replied easily. "Wang Hao knows that Qin Yi has a new girlfriend, so just use that as an excuse. Say that Qin Yi doesn't allow you to call him, and that he won't answer if you do. Given Wang Hao's intelligence, you should be able to get away with it."

Su Mo thought about it, felt the plan was feasible, and nodded. Afterward, she looked at Shen Jianan, wanting to say something but hesitating, her eyes filled with a bashfulness that was hard to express. "Officer Shen, have you... seen Qin Yi's new girlfriend?"

Shen Jianan looked at Su Mo, nodded, and replied: "Mm, I have."

"What... what does she look like? Is she pretty? And Qin Yi... how did he meet her?" Su Mo's voice trembled slightly, her heart a complex mix of emotions.

Shen Jianan was silent for a moment, then answered truthfully: "She is quite pretty, she's 170cm tall, and has a nice figure. I'm not entirely sure how they met, but I suspect it was when he was buying a car." After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly, lamenting to herself: 'People always learn to cherish things only after they have lost them.'

Upon hearing this, the emotions Su Mo had just calmed down surged again, her disappointment evident on her face.

Seeing this, Shen Jianan opened her mouth, wanting to say something but hesitating again.

Matters of the heart are, after all, difficult for outsiders to interfere with.

She understood how Su Mo felt at this moment, but what is done cannot be undone.

Although she didn't know how decisively Su Mo had broken up with Qin Yi back then, she could guess a thing or two from Qin Yi's hysteria on the phone.

Deep love leads to deep hate; without a love that was once etched into the bones, there wouldn't be such hysterical hatred today!

Just then, Shen Jianan's phone rang inopportunely; the caller ID showed it was the Station Chief.

She didn't answer immediately, but looked at Su Mo again, waved her phone to show the caller ID, and then smiled helplessly: "The Station Chief is urging me to go back. If you don't have anything else here, I'll be going."

Su Mo hurriedly nodded. "Oh, alright, Officer Shen. Then I won't disturb your work." As she said this, she prepared to open the car door to get out.

Shen Jianan asked again: "Where does Miss Su live? Should I give you a ride?"

Su Mo shook her head with a smile and pointed to the Riverside Left Bank Apartment building nearby. "No need, Officer Shen, I live right here."

Shen Jianan nodded. "Alright then, I won't give you a ride. If there are any developments with Wang Hao, let me know in time. Try to secretly record your conversations, but be careful not to expose yourself."

"Mm, alright, Officer Shen." Su Mo thanked her and then opened the car door to get out.

Shen Jianan rolled down the car window, looked at Su Mo, and urged her again: "Contact me immediately if anything happens, and protect yourself!"

"Mm, I will. Thank you, Officer Shen." Su Mo nodded, her eyes shining with gratitude.

"I'm off." Shen Jianan smiled, started the car, and quickly drove out of the parking space.

Su Mo watched Shen Jianan's car leave the parking lot, wiped the tear stains from her face again, and took her sunglasses out of her bag to put them back on.

Then, she took a deep breath and walked toward the apartment building.

...

On the way back to the police station, Shen Jianan took a deep breath and called the Station Chief back.

As soon as the call connected, the Station Chief's slightly dissatisfied voice came through the phone: "Shen Jianan, you're something else, aren't you? Your wings have gotten stiff, haven't they?"

Shen Jianan shook her head helplessly, her brows furrowed. She thought to herself: 'It seems there's a "mole" in the team.' However, facing the Station Chief's questioning, she could only pretend to be ignorant and asked in a calm tone: "Station Chief, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Still pretending with me? Are you investigating Brother Dao? Don't you know that this Brother Dao has always been handled by the Criminal Investigation Division?" The Station Chief's voice was filled with dissatisfaction and sternness.

Shen Jianan sighed, tapping her fingers lightly on the steering wheel, and explained: "Oh, Station Chief, I don't want to investigate either, but the case involves Brother Dao, so I can't pretend I don't know. After all, our duty as police officers is to uncover the truth and uphold justice. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Heh, a case? What case? Isn't it just that conflict that happened at the International Finance Center on Friday night? I've seen the case file; that Qiangzai has already admitted it was him acting on lust and harassing the other party's girlfriend that caused the conflict. There are employees as witnesses, surveillance footage as physical evidence—what else is there to investigate?" The Station Chief's words carried a note of disdain and doubt.

Shen Jianan's eyes became firm. She straightened her back and said with a resolute tone: "Station Chief, you can't put it that way. Just because there are witnesses and physical evidence, does that mean the case is definitely clear? I don't think so. I've already found out that the conflict was not an accident at all; it was instigated by someone behind the scenes. Moreover, I've also investigated that Qiangzai; he is one of Brother Dao's subordinates. I now have reason to suspect that Brother Dao was the one who instigated it."

"Enough! The people from Criminal Investigation have noticed you; they just called me, telling you not to get involved in cases related to Brother Dao. Furthermore, they require us to cooperate and close the case at the International Finance Center as soon as possible." The Station Chief's words carried a mix of helplessness and sternness.

Upon hearing this, a surge of anger welled up in Shen Jianan's heart. She slammed the steering wheel and said angrily: "What? What kind of joke is this! Is this how they handle cases in Criminal Investigation?! Station Chief, the case still has suspicious points, the real culprit hasn't been caught, and we're just closing it so hastily? This isn't according to regulations! I don't agree!"

"Shut up! Do you even know what the basic requirements for a police officer are?! Obey orders and follow instructions! No matter where you are, come back to me immediately! The International Finance Center case must be closed immediately! This is not a discussion with you! It is an order!" The Station Chief's voice came through the receiver with unquestionable authority.

Shen Jianan wanted to retort, but the Station Chief had already hung up the phone.

She slammed the steering wheel in anger, her chest heaving up and down, and her breathing became rapid.

She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her emotions, then slammed on the gas pedal. The car instantly accelerated, speeding toward the police station.

...

Meanwhile, in the small alley outside Qin Yi's small courtyard, two familiar figures slowly appeared. The people were none other than Qin Jianren and his wife, who had left in disgrace that morning.

Qin Jianren was hugging a full case of moutai tightly in his arms, with two cartons of Yunyan Da Zhongjiu deliberately stacked on top, making them look particularly conspicuous. Su Fangfang was carrying a shopping bag of Estée Lauder skincare products in one hand and a red Chow Tai Fook bag in the other.

This time, they had really spent a fortune, totaling nearly one hundred thousand yuan.

Some villagers saw that Qin Jianren and his wife had come again and couldn't help but point and whisper.

Standing in front of the courtyard gate, Qin Jianren and Su Fangfang couldn't help but look at each other, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

In Qin Jianren's eyes, there was both anticipation and nervousness. He gently patted the case of moutai in his arms, as if to give himself courage.

Su Fangfang took a deep breath, trying hard to calm the tension and embarrassment in her heart.

She felt her face stiffening due to the fluctuation of her emotions, so she unconsciously raised her hand to rub her cheeks, trying to make herself look more natural.

After adjusting her state, Su Fangfang gently raised her hand and knocked on the iron gate, creating a "dong-dong" sound.

At that moment, her heartbeat seemed to accelerate along with the knocking, nervously waiting for a response from inside the gate.

Meanwhile, Qin Jianren stood to the side, his hands tightly gripping the moutai case, his eyes fixed on the gate that was about to be opened, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.