Su Muyu took off her shoes, walked into the bathroom, crouched down, and hugged her knees as she began to sob uncontrollably.
She worried that Lu Heng might hear her crying, so she turned on the showerhead to mask the sound with the water.
That evening, she had experienced too many things; the fact that she didn't break down was already a sign of strength.
As she recalled the horrifying scenes she had witnessed that night, her fear of Lu Heng grew, though she understood that he did all those things to protect her.
Otherwise, she should have been dead when she jumped from the rooftop.
This conflicting feeling of fear and reluctance to flee left her feeling very conflicted, yet she found herself desperately craving the sensation of being protected.
Throughout her life, she had been bullied and never dared to tell her family.
She had never known what it was like to be protected until the moment Lu Heng pulled her behind him; she felt it genuinely.
It was a sense of security that she couldn't resist.
She knew in her heart that this mix of fear, longing, and enjoyment was pathological, but she couldn't resist it.
She hid in the bathroom for half an hour before leaving and then saw that Lu Heng was already lying in bed, his eyes closed, not knowing whether he was asleep.
She tiptoed to the window, sat on a chair with her knees hugged, and planned to spend the night that way.
Lu Heng wasn't sleeping; he was just resting with his eyes closed. When he heard the squeak of the chair, he said, "You can sleep on the bed; I can sleep on the floor."
"No… no need, I'm fine this way," Su Muyu shook her head, her voice tense.
"Suit yourself," Lu Heng said, then began to drift off to sleep.
In her heart, Su Muyu thought that if Lu Heng really wanted to do something, she probably wouldn't resist.
Moreover, she wasn't sleepy. Staring out of the window, she was lost in thought, repeatedly recalling the incomprehensible events of the previous night until she felt as if her brain was about to fry.
...
The next day.
It was five-thirty in the morning and still dark.
Someone knocked on the door loudly.
Lu Heng quickly opened his eyes and went to open the door.
Su Muyu, who hadn't slept, also stood up quickly, anxiously watching towards the door.
The person knocking was from the law enforcement team, who showed their credentials and took them for questioning.
On the way to the Detective Bureau, Lu Heng and Su Muyu were placed in different vehicles to prevent collusion.
Upon reaching the Detective Bureau.
Both were arranged in separate interrogation rooms to give their statements.
Usually, female students are the best breakthrough point as they can easily reveal useful information.
Thus, Shao Feipeng from the Ningyun District Detective Bureau decided to interrogate Su Muyu himself, and to ease the suspect's nerves, he arranged for a female colleague to take notes.
Shao Feipeng said, "Last night, that is, at 9:45 PM on September 9th, where were you?"
Su Muyu nervously picked at her fingernails, "The evening self-study ended at 9:40 PM; I should have just left the school gate."
Shao Feipeng asked, "And then?"
Su Muyu replied, "I ran into a classmate, and he pulled me into his car."
These events occurred just outside the school, where there were cameras, so this part couldn't be lied about.
The reason the law enforcement team could find Su Muyu so quickly was that they had accessed this surveillance footage.
Shao Feipeng prompted, "Continue."
Su Muyu said, "He said he was taking me somewhere, I was a bit scared and didn't want to go, so I got out of the car."
Shao Feipeng asked, "Where did you get out?"
Su Muyu answered, "Near Mujing Road."
Shao Feipeng's expression grew serious, sensing that things were not as simple as he had anticipated, because there were no security cameras near Mujing Road.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he took out a photo of Lu Heng, held it up, and asked, "What is your relationship with this person?"
Su Muyu: "We were classmates."
Shao Feipeng: "Just classmates?"
Su Muyu pouted, her face flushed with embarrassment, and mumbled while fiddling with the corner of her clothing, "He never said there was anything else, how would I know..."
The female officer taking notes beside her couldn't help but snort with laughter at Su Muyu's innocent expression.
...
After interrogating Su Muyu, Shao Feipeng found her responses to be impeccably perfect, with no loopholes.
Leaving the interrogation room, Shao Feipeng asked someone to bring Su Muyu's records, and then he saw her report card, which was nearly all top ten in her grade.
He then realized that the girl he had just interrogated had a very high IQ and wasn't going to be an easy breakthrough.
There was no breakthrough with the girl.
Shao Feipeng proceeded to another interrogation room to question a male suspect.
Shao Feipeng: "Where were you at 9:50 PM on September 9th, last night?"
Lu Heng: "I was at a budget hotel."
Shao Feipeng: "And then what happened?"
Lu Heng: "I received a call from a classmate, and then I rode my motorcycle to pick her up."
Shao Feipeng: "Pick up who?"
Lu Heng pointed to the wall on his right: "Su Muyu, she should be in the adjacent interrogation room, right?"
Shao Feipeng: "Where did you pick her up?"
Lu Heng: "Near Mu Jing Road, I guess."
Shao Feipeng: "And then what? Where did you guys go?"
Lu Heng: "I took her to He Di Road for a ride and then returned to the hotel."
Shao Feipeng: "What did you do when you got back to the hotel?"
Lu Heng: "Do you really need to ask? Sir, haven't you ever rented a room before?"
Shao Feipeng's face darkened and he asked, "What time did you get back to the hotel?"
Lu Heng: "Around… 11 PM, I think. I didn't really pay attention to the time."
At this point in the questioning,
a senior detective walked in holding a report, whispering to Shao Feipeng,
"We checked the hotel surveillance, and the two returned to the hotel at 10:58 PM. Also, we found an eyewitness at the crime scene.
"A taxi driver passing by the abandoned factory saw a fire and went to investigate. He then saw someone attempting to burn a body to destroy evidence.
"The dashcam in his taxi captured the scene, and there was indeed a figure at the crime scene.
"The dashcam showed the time was 10:55 PM; it would be impossible in three minutes to get from the abandoned factory back to the budget hotel."
Based on the timing, Lu Heng and Su Muyu had a perfect alibi.
However, Shao Feipeng still felt there was something off about this young man.
He slammed his fist on the table and barked, "Confess! Gong Chusheng is in the hospital, and he said you killed someone!"
A playful gleam crossed Lu Heng's eyes as he thought: How can he talk if he's reduced to ashes?
But that was something he couldn't say aloud.
Lu Heng adopted a look of shock and countered loudly, "What do you mean, killed someone? I thought you came to the hotel for a prostitution sting?"
Shao Feipeng's face darkened once more as he covered his forehead, restraining the urge to swear.
He was a detective inspector. Hotel raids had been off his duty list for over twenty years.
He was feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of this case involving four deaths, two of whom came from extremely influential families.
His superiors had ordered him to solve the case quickly.
He had thought catching this couple would lead to a swift resolution, but it turned out to be vastly different from what he had expected.