“Good work.”

Gu Yezhou stood outside the interrogation room, listening to Xiao Zhang’s report.

As soon as Sang Ning returned, Old Chen had called her away.

Looking at Lin Zedong inside the interrogation room, Xiao Zhang sucked in a breath.

“Yesterday it was the younger Lin son. Today it’s the older one. The Lin family really knows how to keep things interesting. Wonder who the Lin Group will end up with in the end.”

“Whoever gets it, it won’t be you,” Gu Yezhou said, glancing at him.

Xiao Zhang: “…”

He hadn’t said he wanted the Lin Group.

He didn’t have that kind of fate.

“What’s happening with Li Xiaoqiang?”

Gu Yezhou flipped through the files in his hand. Xiao Zhang had already sent all the information to his phone, but he hadn’t had time to examine it closely at the café.

“Still not saying anything. His mouth is really sealed tight. I don’t know whether he truly didn’t know someone else was in the room at the time, or whether he was too panicked to notice.”

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Zhang asked, “Should I interrogate President Lin? Once his lawyer arrives, he’ll be able to get bailed out. One fingerprint alone is hard to convict him with.”

Gu Yezhou nodded, then turned and headed toward the detention room where Li Xiaoqiang was being held.

·

Sang Ning, who had been pulled into the technical squad, found Old Chen staring at her gravely.

She was baffled. “Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t you already find a fingerprint? Lin Zedong’s build completely matches the suspect’s profile. Old Chen, I think this case is almost wrapped up.”

“The case is almost there. But then I found this.”

Old Chen handed over an evidence bag containing a pair of black socks.

Sang Ning asked, “What’s wrong with the socks?”

They were clearly men’s socks, and the material…

“The threads are snagged. Where did you find them?”

Old Chen pointed to the pile behind him. “From the things brought back from the third floor above your place last night. These socks match the fiber you found at the corner of the victim’s mouth.”

Sang Ning frowned. “A pair of socks alone wouldn’t be enough to gag the victim.”

Old Chen nodded. “So I tested them again. There are traces of blood residue and skin tissue on them. But the results didn’t match anyone in the database.”

“What about Li Xiaoqiang and Yang Tao? Were they compared?”

Sang Ning took the socks from Old Chen and examined them. When she noticed the stitching along the edge, she suddenly said, “I’ve seen Lin Zehui wear these socks before.”

“It’s difficult to collect samples from the two Lin brothers,” Old Chen said in a low voice.

Just as Xiao Zhang had said, a single fingerprint wasn’t enough.

At most, it proved Lin Zedong had been to the victim’s home. That could have been half a month ago, or even earlier. In any case, with a defense lawyer involved, even if Lin Zedong’s expression had betrayed him, they couldn’t convict him immediately.

“Lin Zehui is easy. Leave him to me.”

Sang Ning’s expression turned serious.

Right in front of Old Chen, she removed Lin Zehui’s number from her blacklist and called him.

The whole sequence left Old Chen stunned.

Was this how young people did things now?

“I need you for something. Come to the station.”

Sang Ning didn’t give Lin Zehui any chance to speak.

After saying that, she hung up and smoothly blocked him again.

Old Chen stared. “You think… he’ll come?”

He had only been bailed out yesterday. Would he really be willing to come to the station today?

Wasn’t that walking straight into a trap?

“He’s not the killer. He may be a scumbag, but as for whether he committed murder—I believe him.”

Sang Ning’s tone was certain.

Old Chen fell silent and could only sigh. “Let’s hope so.”

Fortunately, Lin Zehui was very proactive when it came to trying to reconcile with Sang Ning.

In any case, he didn’t disappoint her.

After that phone call, he had still been giving instructions to the female secretary, Lin Shuyue, about group affairs. He hadn’t even finished hearing about the projects that needed follow-up before he ran off like smoke.

It took him only half an hour to arrive at the station.

“Ningning, I’m here! Ningning!”

Lin Zehui rushed in, dusty and travel-worn, huge dark circles under his eyes, shouting the moment he entered.

The officers immediately stepped forward and restrained him.

They knew him. They had seen him last night.

“Behave!”

Lin Zehui didn’t resist. He only kept calling Sang Ning’s name.

Sang Ning had just returned to the forensic room and hadn’t even had time to chat with her assistant before she left again.

Her assistant, Gu Yao, who loved watching drama, immediately followed her out.

“Ningning, you finally came to see me.”

Lin Zehui looked so moved he was about to cry.

Sang Ning examined his clothes. They were exactly the same as what she’d seen at the café.

That confirmed it.

The cold-faced man sitting in the café had been Lin Zehui.

“Here. Drop some blood into this.”

Sang Ning handed him a needle and a plastic cup.

Lin Zehui’s excitement instantly cooled.

Behind her, Gu Yao cautiously peeked inside and couldn’t help laughing. She had to hold it in, and her whole body trembled.

Old Chen, who had come along, frowned at the sight. He had always been strict.

“Why aren’t you back organizing files? What are you doing here?”

Gu Yao was administrative staff and still an intern. She had no right to inquire about case matters.

Who knew which big mouth had leaked so much information to her that morning.

Hearing voices outside, Sang Ning glanced over.

“You go back first. Old Chen, he’s inside.”

Old Chen nodded and strode in.

Seeing another officer enter, the smile on Lin Zehui’s face vanished completely, replaced by nervousness.

“Ningning, you called me here… because you suspect me?”

It wasn’t hard to understand. The police must have discovered something new and needed him to cooperate with the investigation.

“It’s okay, Ningning. If you say I’m the killer, I’ll admit it.”

Lin Zehui looked at Sang Ning with deep affection.

Sang Ning only felt that something had gone wrong with this man’s brain.

Old Chen gave a light cough. “Mr. Lin, please cooperate.”

Lin Zehui didn’t move. He only looked at Sang Ning pitifully.

Not until Sang Ning spoke did Lin Zehui say, “Be gentle.”

Sang Ning was speechless.

After collecting the sample, she immediately sent Old Chen to test it.

In the meantime, Lin Zehui was kept at the station. This time, though, his treatment was much better—he was placed in the break room.

“Ningning, I didn’t kill anyone. I hated Shi Li, but I really never wanted to kill him.”

Sang Ning lifted her eyes and glanced at him. “Then tell me exactly what happened from beginning to end.”

“You still suspect me, don’t you?” Lin Zehui looked wounded.

“If you don’t want to talk, then we’ll wait for the results. Once they come back, if the blood on those socks doesn’t belong to you, you can leave.”

Sang Ning stood as if to go, then said to the officer at the door, “Keep an eye on him.”

Seeing that Sang Ning had truly stepped out of the break room, Lin Zehui finally lost his composure.

He dropped the act, his voice turning cold and low.

“Sang Ning. Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

The moment he had seen that blinding red marriage certificate in her social media post, he knew—

This woman was serious.

All the jokes from the past had become real.