Sure enough, when they pushed to the left, the wall shifted—silently, without the slightest sound.

“This kind of mechanism must cost a fortune, right?” Sang Ning marveled.

Gu Yezhou gave a faint nod. “We’ll ask the landlord tomorrow who’s been living in this unit.”

As the hidden door opened, the lights flickered on. In the dimness, a dark red glow filled the space.

A large double bed came into view.

All around it hung whips, shackles, and restraints. On a rack nearby were neatly arranged outfits—maid uniforms, nurse costumes, and various other getups.

Sang Ning let out a cold laugh. “Someone’s got quite the imagination.”

After circling the room, she realized something—

Wasn’t this just the neighboring Room 303?

“If Shi Li’s belongings are all here, let’s see if there’s an ashtray,” she said, crouching down and shining her flashlight under the bed.

Meanwhile, Gu Yezhou was already searching. On the pillows, he found several strands of hair.

Then, inside a drawer, he discovered surgical scalpels—stained with blood.

His brow furrowed deeper, a growing sense of unease settling in his chest.

Sang Ning swept her light beneath the bed. Aside from a layer of dust, there was nothing.

“Can we change the lighting back to normal?” she asked.

At her words, Gu Yezhou reached out and adjusted the wall lamp by the bed.

The entire room shifted to stark white light—harsh and glaring.

Sang Ning narrowed her eyes, blinking as they adjusted.

Then she looked again—

And her eyes turned red.

Under the dim crimson glow before, everything on the bed had appeared uniformly red, masking its details.

Now, under the white light, the truth was laid bare.

The bed itself was pink.

And it was covered—every inch—with dark brown stains.

Blood.

“Those restraints are everywhere… Whoever was lying here back then… were they even still alive?” Sang Ning’s voice was barely audible, almost a whisper.

Gu Yezhou walked over to the window and yanked the curtains open.

What reflected back at them was their own faces.

A black film covered the glass.

Beside it sat an ashtray—smeared with blood.

The blood had stained the curtains as well, now dried into a deep brown.

“Found it.” Gu Yezhou placed the ashtray into an evidence bag, then crouched down to pick up several cigarette butts from the corner beneath the curtains.

Sang Ning’s voice sharpened with urgency. “If we can get DNA from those, we’ll find the killer.”

By the time they returned to the station, it was already the dead of night.

Two in the morning—nothing good ever happened at that hour.

Sang Ning hadn’t pulled an all-nighter in a long time, yet now she felt unusually alert.

For the first time, she realized that the floor above her apartment wasn’t just soundproofed—

It hid something far darker.

A place like that… who were the people brought there?

Ping’an Apartments had no surveillance cameras. Even if someone walked in openly, no one would notice.

Because the people who lived there—

Didn’t meddle.

Even if someone died, not a single neighbor would be curious.

Even if the stench of decay filled the air, they would pretend not to notice.

Only after the body was removed would they open their windows to air the place out.

“Boss, you’re back.” Xiao Zhang had just stepped out of the interrogation room, stretching lazily.

Gu Yezhou gave a slight nod and headed straight toward the forensics department with the evidence in hand.

Xiao Zhang quickly approached Sang Ning. “Dr. Sang, shouldn’t you be resting at home? Why come along? Is the autopsy report done?”

“It is,” Sang Ning replied calmly.

She stood before the one-way glass, watching Lin Zehui’s every move.

“Get anything out of him?” she asked.

Xiao Zhang glanced inside and sighed. “He just keeps saying he came to find his girlfriend… which is—well…”

He hesitated, unsure how to refer to her, then asked, “Dr. Sang… you didn’t actually marry him, did you? If so, you’d have to recuse yourself.”

“No. We’ve broken up. We have no relationship anymore. I’ll handle this professionally.”

As she watched the man inside, she noticed things she’d never seen before.

Even with his hands and feet cuffed, Lin Zehui kept fidgeting—hunching slightly, tilting his head, scratching here and there.

His expression remained composed.

It was clear—

His psychological resilience was strong.

On the surface, he looked like a carefree, unserious playboy. But there was a sharpness in his eyes she had never noticed before.

For a brief moment, she thought she saw a resemblance to his older brother.

That man gave off the same impression—

A calculating, capable businessman.

“Well, that’s good,” Xiao Zhang said with a sigh, clutching his thermos. “Lin Zehui’s the young master of the Lin Group. Not an easy situation. Honestly, it’d be best if he has nothing to do with this case… otherwise things will get messy.”

He glanced toward the entrance. “And look—his lawyer’s already here.”

Sang Ning followed his gaze.

Standing beside Lin Zedong was a man in glasses, refined and composed.

Sang Ning recognized him.

She’d seen this lawyer before.

Back then, a wealthy businessman’s daughter in a neighboring city had died. Sang Ning had suspected poisoning and insisted on an autopsy.

The family refused—and eventually hired this very lawyer.

His surname was Jin.

In the end, despite the opposition, the autopsy was carried out.

The girl *had* been poisoned.

The culprit was the businessman’s third wife, driven by greed.

All because he’d once said he intended to leave half his fortune to his only daughter.

That “half” had been enough to plant the seed of murder.

“Dr. Sang? I didn’t expect to see you here so late,” Lawyer Jin greeted her with a polite smile.

Lin Zedong, too, hadn’t expected to run into her under these circumstances—but after a moment’s thought, it didn’t seem so strange.

A murder case.

And his useless younger brother had shown up at the crime scene.

Of course he’d be detained as a suspect.

“Ningning. It’s been a while,” Lin Zedong said, his demeanor refined and gentle.

But Sang Ning had often heard Lin Zehui complain about this older brother—

A fox who smiled on the outside while calculating on the inside.

Calm and polished on the surface, but always scheming.

He had always warned her to stay away from him.

Sang Ning gave a slight nod in greeting.

Lin Zedong didn’t waste words. He turned to Xiao Zhang. “Officer, please bring my brother out.”

Xiao Zhang had seen plenty in his time. Within moments, Lin Zehui was escorted out of the interrogation room.

With no concrete evidence—and with Lawyer Jin present—

Lin Zehui’s actions could only be framed as a desperate attempt to reconcile with his girlfriend, accidentally entering the crime scene, with no knowledge of the case.

As for whether that ignorance was real or feigned—

Everyone had their own judgment.

After posting bail, Lin Zehui swaggered out of the station.

But he didn’t leave.

He lingered at the entrance, waiting for Sang Ning.

Lin Zedong cast him a cold warning. “Don’t cause trouble. If I find out you’ve done anything illegal, I won’t risk the Lin Group for you.”

The implication was clear—

If Lin Zehui had committed murder, the Lin family would abandon him without hesitation.