Qin Guan knew he would succeed in placating Xu Ruyi.
Holding her hand as he poured out his heart, Xu Ruyi kept her face turned away without responding, but silent tears streamed down her cheeks.
When a woman still wept for a man, no matter how stubborn her outward demeanor, it meant she'd already accepted him back in her heart.
"Give me a chance to redeem myself, please, darling..."
Qin Guan kissed Xu Ruyi's hand tearfully, his voice thick with remorse and affection. "For our family, for Little Pear... Grant me this opportunity... I beg you... If you truly can't forgive me yet, if the pain's too much, that's alright too. Drive me out, let me prove my repentance through actions, fulfill my promises through deeds... Just give me this chance..."
"My life truly can't exist without you and Little Pear..."
His performance was masterful - earnest tone, heartfelt delivery.
Xu Ruyi remained silent, weeping soundlessly, refusing to meet his gaze.
But Qin Guan wasn't anxious anymore.
Women needed time after such betrayals. Even sensible Xu Ruyi couldn't immediately forget being cheated on and assaulted by his mistress.
He didn't push for instant reconciliation.
True to his words, he sprang into action - apologizing, reminiscing about their sweet past, praising Xu Ruyi's dedication to their family, thoroughly condemning his own "momentary weakness"...
When Xu Ruyi stayed unresponsive, he considerately adjusted her hospital bed, ordered premium tonics from the Cordyceps and bird's nest shop nearby, arranged 24-hour nursing care, then sent Auntie Feng and Little Pear home to rest.
Now that his wife was back on his team, Lawyer Qin regained his signature meticulousness.
Xu Ruyi's compliance told him everything - he was back in control.
His priority became cementing Xu Ruyi's lie. Though the police had recorded her statement, he needed to contain this at the current stage.
If officers discovered her fabricated story during follow-up investigations, Xu Ruyi's fragile composure would crumble under two rounds of questioning at most. She'd spill everything - Qi Min's blackmail included.
Though an experienced lawyer, Qin Guan lacked police connections. Cops disliked attorneys like him - expensive defense lawyers who'd represent serious criminals. They considered him unscrupulous; he deemed them inflexible.
After circling his firm, he finally found leverage - a junior assistant's brother-in-law worked at the precinct.
The callback came thirty minutes later: "It's classified as accidental - lady fell down stairs at night. No case filed since hospital reports confirmed it. Standard private settlement."
Qin Guan feigned apology while exhaling internally - the cops had actually bought that clumsy lie without verifying Yang Qingqing's story!
But the interrogating officer's probing gaze still haunted him.
Could they really have skipped due diligence?
At 1 PM, Qin Guan arrived at Tianfu Hotel's near-empty lobby during the sweltering afternoon lull. A fawning manager awaited at the service entrance - owing Qin a favor from defending his brother.
Dressed casually with a baseball cap, Qin scanned the area. No police presence.
He needed to fabricate Yang Qingqing's stay records before any potential checks. The manager already understood, shooing receptionists away under the pretense of fetching coffee.
"Yang Qingqing.. Stayed fourth floor." Qin whispered urgently. "Check-in three days ago, checked out this morning."
He produced a forged ID copy - unusable for official purposes but sufficient for hotel records.
The manager's face suddenly paled as he accessed the system. "This... How...?"
Qin Guan leaned over, then froze.
The screen clearly showed Yang Qingqing's check-in record - from two days ago.