Weisheng opened his eyes to look at the ceiling. He had been awake for a while, but getting out of bed was harder than usual. Liu Heng had been nice enough to let him rest for a couple of days - or at least until evidence was found.
But instead of starting his training, he was lying in bed, contemplating life and having a midlife crisis. The last time he had felt this way was in high school, when his father passed away out of nowhere, and the authorities closed his case without investigating properly.
Weisheng, out of everyone else, was too familiar with this feeling. So, he shamelessly stayed in bed.
He sighed deeply, keeping his eyes stuck to the ceiling while going through the peculiar life events he had just been through. Could it get any worse than this?
Suddenly, Weisheng's phone started to buzz. He was receiving text messages. Fortunately, his phone was on his nightstand, he didn't even have to move an inch.
He grabbed his phone to see Liu Heng's texts.
[Liu Heng: Yuan Yuan, I got a notif from the court to open Cang Tao and Gao Bojing's case. It turns out Cang Tao was murdered, too. At least, that's what his butler is saying. If you're good, you should come to the office. We can interrogate the witness together. Reply fast. If you don't come, I'll go alone.]
Weisheng jumped out of bed in an instant, frantically texting Liu Heng.
[Weisheng: Give me 15.]
Although he typed his desire to show up for the interrogation, his legs were trembling. How did the butler regain his memories? What if he recognized Weisheng as the murderer?
Weisheng changed into presentable clothes and rushed out of the room. As he walked out to the courtyard, he remembered he hadn't informed Xiaoling of his departure. He quickly went back inside and knocked at her room's door.
Xiaoling opened the door. Seeing him, she smiled.
"Have breakfast first, then we can start training," Xiaoling said gently.
"I have to go to work," Weisheng told her, "They're reopening all cases." He added nervously.
Xiaoling's eyes widened, "Let me come with you, then."
Weisheng shook his head, "I'm running late. I'll see you later."
He dashed away before Xiaoling could say anything. Worried about him, Xiaoling decided to follow him to his office. She finally resorted to pulling out one of her babies from the garage. Although she hated the idea of having them get dirty, she had priorities.
She caught up with Weisheng but kept her distance. Weisheng stopped outside his office and dashed inside. Xiaoling quietly followed him without him knowing.
Weisheng informed Liu Heng of his arrival. They headed toward the interrogation room together. Xiaoling quietly followed, blending into the environment.
Liu Heng and Weisheng sat before the butler. Somehow, Weisheng had faith that the butler wouldn't remember anything.
"Good morning, Mr. Qin Zhao," Liu Heng muttered in a professional tone while opening the reports, "Thank you for coming forward. I'm Prosecutor Liu Heng, and this is my colleague, Prosecutor Yuan Weisheng."
The butler, Qin Zhao, looked at Weisheng upon hearing his name. Weisheng gulped softly, wondering if he caught on.
"You're Mr. Cang's friend, aren't you?" Qin Zhao asked, "Actually, you came to meet him that day, too… Don't you remember what happened?"
Weisheng's eyes widened slightly, "What about you?... You don't remember either?" He tried to play dumb.
Qin Zhao nodded, "Mr. Liu Heng," He murmured, "I know for a fact that Mr. Cang Tao was murdered. But I can't remember who it was. I know I saw him, I just can't remember him."
Liu Heng looked at Weisheng, "You were there, too?"
Weisheng was flustered, "I did see him that day… But it was brief, and I left after a casual conversation."
Qin Zhao narrowed his eyes, "I'm not sure if you can call that a casual conversation," He disagreed.
Liu Heng's eyes scanned the screen. He knew a lot of people were watching and recording this interrogation. He wanted to tell Weisheng to leave but knew it would make things more suspicious.
Liu Heng cleared his throat loudly, "Let's go over his appearance, Mr. Qin Zhao. We'll discuss other things later."
Qin Zhao nodded, "As far as I remember, the man was tall, fit, and almost the same age as Mr. Cang. The man had brown hair and strange eyes. Maybe he was wearing a lens, but his eyes appeared to be pink."
Weisheng gulped, interlocking his hand under the table. Why did the butler remember so many details?
Liu Heng quietly looked at Weisheng. Before he could say anything, the door of the interrogation room opened, and the Chief Prosecutor walked in with a couple of officers.
"Mr. Yuan Weisheng," The Chief Prosecutor said, "I think we know where this is going."
Weisheng looked back at the officers and Chief Prosecutor. It was just so convenient that the Chief Prosecutor arrived out of nowhere.
Liu Heng quickly stood up, "W-Wait, it's just one statement from one person. We can't really accuse someone based on one statement."
"We're not accusing anyone, Mr. Liu," The Chief Prosecutor uttered, "I arrived here after hearing from the police that Mr. Yuan was always related to the victims, yet he never came forward. It isn't an accusation but a fact. I ask you all to cooperate."
Weisheng sighed and stood up, ready to cooperate. He knew this was going in the wrong direction, but he couldn't just run away.
As he voluntarily walked toward the officers, a dense wave of fog covered the room. His eyes widened when everyone in his sight disappeared behind the fog. He stretched his arm out to hold onto something, but someone grabbed his hand. It was a familiar touch. The hand pulled him out of the dense fog and then walked him out of the building. It felt like everyone other than them had stopped with time and space. He walked cluelessly, looking at Xiaoling's back as she guided him to her car.
Xiaoling turned to look back at him and smiled, "Let's go home!"
Weisheng's eyes widened in surprise, but he couldn't speak.