My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

Zhao Ran shifted his gaze from the knife wrapped in brown paper to Jiang Yi's face.

She didn't speak immediately, but quietly looked at him for a few seconds.

The light in those eyes changed slightly.

The previous laziness and jokingness have been replaced by seriousness.

"You said your sister died."

Her voice changed too; it was lower than before.

"Jiang Miaomiao?"

"Yes."

Jiang Yi stood by the door, his back against the wall. The knife wrapped in brown paper hung beside him, its tip pointing downwards. It wasn't pointing at her, but it wasn't retracted either.

His gaze remained fixed on her face, as if searching for some answer in every subtle change in her expression.

Zhao Ran did not look away.

Contrary to Jiang Yi's expectations, she did not show any panic or defensive anger after being exposed.

She simply endured his gaze for a moment, then lowered her head, looking at her leg wrapped in snow-white gauze, and gently tapped her fingers twice on the armrest of the wheelchair.

"Your video is correct; it was indeed me that night."

She spoke softly, with a rare, almost candid calmness.

"I did go to the Zhongshan branch of the police station that night, and I did see your sister."

Jiang Yi's fingers tightened slightly on the kraft paper packaging of the knife blade.

Why did you go to see her?

Zhao Ran did not answer immediately.

She sat in her wheelchair, tapped her fingers twice on the armrest, and then looked up at him.

Her expression didn't contain the provocation or amusement he had expected; instead, it carried a hint of hesitation.

"I told you, you probably won't believe me."

Whether you tell me or not is up to me to decide whether I believe you or not.

Zhao Ran's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, as if he were weighing his options.

Then she spoke, her voice still low, even softer than when he came in, as if afraid of being overheard:

"I went and beat her up."

Jiang Yi's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

His pupils contracted slightly, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but the sound got stuck in his throat and didn't come out immediately.

His grip on the knife tightened and loosened, his fingertips sliding across the cool parchment surface, making a soft rustling sound.

He finally found his voice: "You hit my sister?"

Zhao Ran did not look away.

She looked into his eyes, her tone not so much as an explanation, but rather a statement of a fact that she herself could hardly call glorious.

"I did go and beat her up. Don't ask me why, I was just... in a bad mood that day, so I asked around and found out where she was locked up, and then I went there."

"I didn't intend to do anything to her, I just punched her once, pushed her twice, and said a few scary things to her."

"But when I left, she was perfectly fine. She could talk, and she could even yell at me."

"As for your claim of recanting my testimony, I simply cannot conceive of it, and that matter has nothing to do with me. I have no need to get involved in that mess."

Zhao Ran paused here, then somewhat guiltily shifted his gaze from his face to the windowsill next to him, where the curtains were half-drawn, as if he were refining his words.

"Hitting people is a bad habit I developed from practicing martial arts, and I can't help it. If you want to hit me for her, I can accept it."

She paused, then looked back at him, her tone more serious than before: "Believe it or not, I didn't kill anyone. I had no reason to. From beginning to end, my only target was you."

Jiang Yi stood there, his fingers still gripping the knife wrapped in brown paper, but the grip had loosened somewhat.

He looked at her, as if reassessing what the person in front of him had said.

The silence lasted for a few seconds.

Zhao Ran seemed to sense that Jiang Yi's attitude was softening. Before he could speak again, Zhao Ran reached out and patted the armrest of the wheelchair, calling out with his usual slightly impatient tone, "Hey, Jiang Yi, put the knife down first, okay?"

She paused, then her tone unusually softer: "You must be tired from your journey. Let's talk this out. If you're really going to fight me, you should at least make things clear first, right?"

Jiang Yi's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he slowly picked up the knife from his side and placed it on the shoe cabinet by the door.

The metal struck the wooden table with a dull, soft sound.

Instead of walking back to the door, he took two steps forward and stopped about two steps away from her.

Who gave you the surveillance video?

Zhao Ran didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Did Xia Anmian give it to you?"

Jiang Yi neither answered the question nor denied it.

Zhao Ran shifted her gaze from his face to the knife wrapped in brown paper on the shoe cabinet. A slight smile played on her lips, her voice tinged with helplessness: "Fine, you don't need to tell me. I already guessed. Only she has the ability to get the surveillance footage and send it to you."

"My sister died of a heart attack. She likely had a congenital heart condition. What if it was a relapse after you hit her?"

Zhao Ran's lips twitched.

"Jiang Yi, are you ever going to stop? Why are you so insistent that I did it?"

"It couldn't have been Xia Anmian who did it. That place is full of her people; she could do whatever she wanted with ease."

"She deliberately obtained the surveillance footage from the day before yesterday, but what about yesterday's? Why didn't she get it? She's really scheming!"

Zhao Ran crossed his arms and complained angrily.

Jiang Yi shook his head uncertainly.

"Impossible, it couldn't have been her. If she had, why would she have seen me?"

Zhao Ran's lips twitched.

"What kind of brain circuit is that? I even saw you, why are you so insistent that I did it?"

"This is different."

Jiang Yi shook his head.

Zhao Ran chuckled.

She looked at Jiang Yi, then suddenly stood up and tackled him against the door.

"Let me go!"

Jiang Yi struggled to grab the dagger beside him, but his hand was caught in Zhao Ran's thigh as soon as he reached out.

Zhao Ran moved closer to Jiang Yi, staring at him intently.

"Jiang Yi, do you think I'm easy to reason with?!"

Zhao Ran kissed him directly.

After venting his anger, Zhao Ran quickly tied Jiang Yi up.

As she dressed, she said, "Think it over carefully. When you encounter problems, calm down and don't be so impulsive."

"I'll find someone to check for you."

She paused after speaking.

"If it really has anything to do with me, I will definitely not shirk my responsibility."