Zhen Ai's body went rigid as she tightly gripped the gun at her waist, frozen in place.
She stared intently at the bronzed fingers on the door, her heart in her throat. When he appeared, her heart nearly jumped out, only to plummet right after.
It was Zhao He.
Zhao He hadn't expected anyone here. Seeing Zhen Ai made him pause for a moment, but then he smiled faintly, closed the door, and casually locked it.
In an instant, Zhen Ai's previous tension eased, and she looked coldly at him. It was clear why he had returned to the crime scene. Just as Yan Su said, he was a psychopath, and Jiang Xin's death had opened a dark box within him.
Zhao He stood at the doorway, gazing at Zhen Ai by the bathroom entrance, and asked, "Someone died here; aren't you afraid?"
Zhen Ai ignored him.
Zhao He let out a few cold laughs and pulled out a lipstick, starting to write on the wall as he spoke. "I didn't expect to meet one of her friends here. I'm not lonely at all."
Zhen Ai recognized the lipstick in his hand—it belonged to Jiang Xin. The words he wrote on the wall were exactly the same as those on the bathroom mirror.
Zhen Ai tentatively asked, "Do you really like this phrase?"
"She liked it a lot," Zhao He replied with a strange smile. "The first time I ran a marathon for her, I used the prize money to buy her a necklace. How could she not like it?"
Zhen Ai fell silent, looking at the words on the wall and then at the mirror, realizing that this phrase could also be interpreted as "running a thousand miles for you."
But the lipstick and the mirror were clear symbols of that person—could all of this be just a coincidence?
The girl in the mirror looked pale.
After finishing the words, Zhao He turned to her. "This place holds significant memories for me. Do you know why?" His voice was soft and eerie, carrying an unsettling suspense, as if he were trying to scare her.
But Zhen Ai remained uncooperative, her expression calm, even carrying a faint smirk. "So it seems that killers enjoy returning to the crime scene. How boring!"
He was momentarily taken aback but then laughed. "You're so sure I'm the killer?"
Zhen Ai shot him a cold glance, unwilling to explain. "You have the face of a murderer."
Zhao He's eyes flashed with malice. "What does a murderer's face look like?"
"One that makes people inexplicably hate you," Zhen Ai replied tersely, as if speaking one more word would cost her life.
Zhao He's eyes burned with intense hatred. He was a murderer, yet she showed no fear or panic! Even at this point, he couldn't attract the slightest attention from her, not even with the twisted fear he instilled!
What bothered him even more was her claim that his face was simply repulsive.
Ha, was this why Jiang Xin toyed with his feelings?
He had always been lonely and introverted, while that girl named Jiang Xin, lively and radiant like sunshine, gradually warmed his heart. The first time he nervously gifted her a string of pearls, she happily kissed his cheek.
Was this the magic of love?
Was this blind love?
Even when she went out with other men, just one kiss or embrace from her would make his anger dissipate. He knew valuable gifts made her happy, so he tried hard to buy them for her. That gold necklace made her so happy that they spent the night together, and she promised to break up with her boyfriend soon.
But what he received was an unexpected fallout and severance.
Jiang Xin accidentally learned about Tyler's true background and could never break up with him. Not only that, but she resolutely refused to continue her secret affair with Zhao He.
For Zhao He, who had dreamed of being openly together with Jiang Xin, this was undoubtedly a thunderbolt.
He had never dated before; the hand-holding, kisses, caresses, and lovemaking with Jiang Xin all excited him, driving him mad. Just thinking that the beautiful moments that should have belonged to him were being enjoyed by another man drove him completely insane.
During those moments when he killed Jiang Xin, watching her wither away in his hands and her life slowly draining, he felt an uncontrollable arousal, as if he were falling from the clouds, his body reaching a perverse climax.
Ah, heaven! The feeling of killing was simply wonderful!
At this moment, as he looked at Zhen Ai, that scorching pleasure surged within him, pooling in his lower abdomen.
The humility of begging for love, the shame he had endured, the anger from betrayal—all erupted in an instant. His body, his emotions, needed to be released!
He could hardly contain the emotions on his face, grinning grotesquely. "This place is so meaningful to me; it was also where I killed for the second time."
Zhen Ai leaned against the door, her expression unchanged.
Indeed, he was the psychopathic killer Yan Su described—confident yet insecure, and he was clearly developing into a serial killer. She recalled Yan Su's words: "Next time, I'll catch him again."
Zhen Ai tilted her head, her lips curling slightly into a faint smile. "A man like you, who's so useless and unremarkable, should stop wasting his time."
Zhao He didn't know who Zhen Ai referred to as "he," but he clearly understood who she meant by "you." How dare she say he was useless and unremarkable!
"You're just like Jiang Xin, never taking me seriously. You say I'm useless? I killed someone and can still stand here; how am I useless?" His eyes glinted dangerously as he suddenly lunged at her. "Today, you'll die here, and I'll still be able to..."
A soft "pop" sound.
Zhao He halted in his tracks, eyes wide in shock. He looked down in disbelief and saw blood gushing from his left chest. He didn't have time to scream; before he knew it, he fell backward.
"Ai, open the door!" Owen pounded on the door. A second later, he kicked it open with a crash.
He rushed in and saw Zhen Ai expressionless, gripping the gun with smoke curling from the barrel, pointed directly at him. Her pale face was splattered with blood.
Owen immediately closed the door and rushed over, ignoring Zhao He's condition, quickly reaching for the gun in Zhen Ai's hand. He pulled it, but it wouldn't budge. Her eyes were vacant, as if she were staring at nothing, but she wouldn't let go.
Owen grasped her hand. "Ai, it's okay. Give me the gun."
Zhen Ai remained vacant-eyed but calmly replied, "He was going to kill me; I acted in self-defense. However, I deliberately provoked him. From that perspective, I led him to this."
Owen's expression was unclear, almost a sigh. "Maybe even if you hadn't led him, he still would have wanted to kill you. S.A. said Zhao He might return to the scene, so I rushed over from the parking lot."
Zhen Ai slowly lowered the gun, her gaze chillingly cold. "The moment he walked in, I wanted to kill him."
Owen was taken aback, anxiety etched on his face. She, however, stared blankly at the wall behind him. When Owen turned around, he saw the words on the wall and froze again.
She didn't want him to worry, so she calmly said, "It's just a coincidence; I asked."
Owen didn't press further. He moved aside to make a phone call and grabbed some tissues for the bathroom, but upon seeing the crimson English words in the mirror, he frowned.
He knew that although Zhen Ai claimed it was a coincidence, those words must have triggered her.
When Owen exited the bathroom, he found Zhen Ai sitting on the floor, dazed, her clothes splattered with blood, resembling tiny red plums. He squatted down beside her and gently wiped her face with a damp tissue.
She remained still, like a lost child, staring blankly at him with dark eyes resembling washed black grapes. Her quiet gaze made his heart race, prompting him to quickly look away.
Suddenly, he recalled Yan Su's question: "Owen, if one day she kills someone, what will you do?"
He silently closed his eyes. Ai, if you commit murder, I will help you dispose of the body.
After wiping her pale face clean, he moved to her neck, gently erasing the bloodstains. Her skin was delicate as porcelain, smooth and fair. He averted his gaze again, softly cleaning the blood from her clothes.
Just a few minutes later, several figures dressed like utility workers entered the room. They were expressionless and silent, fully equipped with gloves. They set up a chair in the middle of the room, moved Zhao He onto it, placed a silenced pistol in his hand, and pulled the trigger at his chest...
Zhen Ai sat quietly on the floor, watching as shadowy figures moved across her dark pupils, without a ripple of emotion.
After they finished, a masked man approached Zhen Ai and said to Owen, "Although she has a right to self-defense, we must take her back for questioning as a matter of procedure."
Zhen Ai stood up expressionlessly.
Owen stepped in front of her, firmly stating, "He tried to kill her; this is self-defense, and no questioning is necessary."
The man insisted, "It's the standard procedure."
Owen took a step closer, firmly blocking Zhen Ai. "I said I won't let anyone take her."
They stood in a stalemate for several tense seconds. After a heavy silence, the masked figures changed their clothes and left in their utility-worker guise.
"Ai, it's okay now." Owen let out a sigh of relief and turned to Zhen Ai, but his heart suddenly twisted in pain.
Zhen Ai's small face was pale, stubbornly gazing up at him. Her crescent-shaped eyes were filled with an unprecedented surge of emotion. She bit her lip for a long moment before tremblingly asking, "Is this how you all die a second time?"