The girl glanced nervously at Li Shaoquan, but when she saw that he didn't even look at her, she lowered her eyes in disappointment and mumbled, "We met on WeChat… through the 'People Nearby' feature."
So it was an online romance, classic trap.
Li Qiao stared at the girl for a long moment, then shifted her gaze to the girl's brother. Judging by their clothes and appearance, their family clearly wasn't well-off.
And earlier, when they were turning in their personal belongings at the police station, both were carrying old, off-brand phones.
If money was their motive, things would be easy to resolve. But if the girl was genuinely hoping for a relationship with Li Shaoquan, then…
With that in mind, Li Qiao shot a meaningful glance at Li Shaoquan, who was still squatting in a corner, drawing invisible circles on the floor, completely miserable. She was trying to piece together the whole picture.
Just then, the two slightly older men in the room started getting anxious. After exchanging a look, one of them turned to the girl's brother and said, "Hey bro, what now? We didn't even finish hauling today's load of cement. You'd better make up for our lost wages."
Bro?
Hearing this, Li Shaoquan stiffly lifted his head, his voice slow and confused: "Aren't you two his uncles? Big uncle and second uncle?"
"Come on, don't be ridiculous. The three of us just work on the same construction site. We came along today just to back him up!"
Li Shaoquan immediately grabbed his head in both hands, his expression blank: "…FML."
…
Elsewhere, Qiu Huan had just left the police station. Sitting in his car, he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment before dialing Shang Yu's number.
"Boss Shang, you busy?"
A low and slightly hoarse voice came through the line. "What is it?"
Qiu Huan crossed one ankle over his opposite knee, lounging back casually while gazing out at the fast-passing city streets. His tone was teasing. "Can't I call you unless I need something?"
On the other end, Shang Yu stayed silent. There was only the soft click of a lighter, followed by the sound of a cigarette being lit and slowly exhaled.
Qiu Huan rubbed his thick eyebrows, unimpressed, and cut to the chase. "I saw your girl at the Nanyang police station."
"Mhm. She's handling something?" Shang Yu asked, his voice calm.
At that, Qiu Huan smirked, clicking his tongue. "That I don't know. But I heard from the officers that she's a suspect in a kidnapping case, and—"
Beep—
Before he could finish his sentence, the call abruptly ended with the sound of a disconnection tone.
Qiu Huan stared blankly at his phone, then let out a laugh laced with mild irritation. "Tch… Seriously underestimated how protective Boss Shang is of that girl."
…
At the police station.
Roughly fifteen minutes later, the door to the holding room opened. Xiao Wang entered, trailing behind the deputy director.
Once inside, the deputy marched over and slammed a file folder onto the table. "Which one of you is Li Qiao?"
Everyone else in the room instinctively looked toward the left end of the row of wall chairs.
Li Shaoquan quickly stood up and, with alarm in his eyes, glared at the posturing deputy director. "What are you going to do?"
The deputy jabbed a finger at him and barked, "Shut your mouth. No one asked you."
Then he flipped open the folder, plopped into a chair, and gave Li Qiao—who was strikingly pretty—a long look. His eyes flickered with undisguised lust.
Clearing his throat, he raised his chin arrogantly and ordered, "Li Qiao, right? I need to question you. Come to the front."
A heavy silence fell over the holding room.
Li Qiao didn't move. She sat perfectly still in her chair, regal and unmoved, her dark, fawn-like eyes glinting sharply as she shot him a glance. "Who are you?"
For the past six months, she'd been busy with school and graduation, and hadn't been keeping up with personnel changes at the Nanyang police department.
This man calling himself "the bureau"… Did the chief get replaced or something?