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

When Zhao Hanting escorted the two men to the entrance of the branch office, the night wind was blowing in from the street corner, making Gu Qinghan shrink her neck in the cold.

She stood on the steps and glanced back at the lit windows of the branch office building. The interrogation room on the third floor was still lit, and she wondered what that Jiang Yi was doing inside.

"Cousin, you should go back," Gu Qinghan said.

Zhao Hanting stood at the door, his hands in his pockets, the collar of his police uniform flapping up in the wind.

He looked at Gu Qinghan, then glanced at Su Xiaoyue behind her, who was standing with her head down and saying nothing. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.

"Let me know when you arrive," he said.

"Um."

"besides……"

Zhao Hanting paused for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"Don't get involved in Jiang Yi's matter. My dad said that Anmian will come tomorrow and let her handle it herself."

Gu Qinghan's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not respond.

Zhao Hanting glanced at Su Xiaoyue again.

The girl hasn't said a single word since she came out of the interrogation room.

Her eyes were swollen and red like two peaches, her lips were dry and cracked, and her whole face looked like it had been soaked in water from crying, but there were no more tears left.

She stood quietly behind Gu Qinghan, like a flower broken by a storm, its petals scattered on the ground, leaving only bare branches trembling slightly in the night wind.

Zhao Hanting wanted to say something comforting, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

He sighed, turned around, went up the steps, pushed open the glass door of the branch office, and went inside.

Gu Qinghan took out her phone and called a ride-hailing car.

A white sedan turned into the street corner, its hazard lights flashing on and off in the night, and stopped in front of the two people.

She opened the car door, let Su Xiaoyue get in first, then sat in the passenger seat herself and gave the address of the Su family villa.

When the car entered the main road, the heater inside was turned up high, making Gu Qinghan feel a little sleepy.

She leaned back in her seat and glanced at Su Xiaoyue in the rearview mirror.

Su Xiaoyue sat in the back seat, turning her head to look at the rapidly receding night view outside the car window. The neon lights of Kyoto cast colorful shadows on her face.

Red, blue, and yellow, alternating like a silent, slow slideshow.

Her expression was calm, abnormally calm.

Gu Qinghan had known her for ten years and knew that this kind of calm was more terrifying than crying and making a scene.

When you're crying and screaming, your emotions still have an outlet. This kind of calm comes from when everything is blocked inside, completely blocked, without even a crack.

"Xiaoyue," she called softly.

Su Xiaoyue did not react and continued to look out the car window.

"Xiaoyue," she called again, her voice a little louder.

Su Xiaoyue's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly turned her head to look at Gu Qinghan.

Those eyes looked particularly empty in the neon light, like two hollowed-out boxes, with nothing inside.

"Hmm?" Her voice was very soft, so soft that it seemed like a breath could dissipate it.

Gu Qinghan opened her mouth, wanting to say "Are you alright?", but that question was too stupid.

She's not good, she's not good at all.

"What you asked Jiang Yi in the interrogation room just now... those questions..." Gu Qinghan carefully chose her words, "Did you really believe what he said? That the person you were dating online was his sister?"

Su Xiaoyue was silent for a few seconds, then shifted her gaze from Gu Qinghan's face and looked out the car window again.

It doesn't matter anymore, it's no longer important.

What exactly happened is no longer important.

Anyway, I'm leaving soon.

"I don't know," she replied to Gu Qinghan. "I don't know who to believe."

The carriage was quiet for a while.

The driver tuned the radio to a midnight music program. The host's deep voice flowed through the quiet space as he played an old song with a slow melody, as if slowly stitching up some wound.

"Sparse and cold".

Su Xiaoyue suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"Your friend... Xia Anmian... what kind of person is she?"

Gu Qinghan's fingers paused on her knee for a moment.

She hadn't expected Su Xiaoyue to ask this question, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

The man named Jiang Yi has a girlfriend, and that girlfriend is her best friend.

"She..." Gu Qinghan leaned back in his seat, looking at the asphalt road ahead illuminated by the car headlights. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke.

"She's different from me. You know me, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I laugh when I'm happy and curse when I'm unhappy. Anmian is different; she hides it very well."

"Hidden very well?" Su Xiaoyue repeated these four words, as if savoring their meaning.

"Mm." Gu Qinghan nodded.

"I've known her for over ten years, and to be honest, I still wouldn't dare say I fully understand her."

"It might also be related to her family background. She was born into that kind of family, so she was naturally taught not to show her emotions. She kept her personal life very secret. I only recently found out that her boyfriend was this man."

"And what about her feelings for Jiang Yi?"

Su Xiaoyue's voice suddenly interrupted Gu Qinghan.

Gu Qinghan's fingers paused again.

She couldn't answer that question.

It wasn't because she didn't want to answer, but because she genuinely didn't know.

But from childhood to adulthood, in her understanding, there was never a man in Xia Anmian's life.

Well, I didn't include my own cousin.

Besides his cousin, there was only one other man like Jiang Yi.

Moreover, in order to be in a relationship, she seemed to disguise herself as an ordinary person, just so that the man wouldn't feel inferior.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Anmian finally spoke.

"It should be good."

"Is she... pretty?" Su Xiaoyue asked again.

Gu Qinghan glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

Su Xiaoyue continued to look out the car window, the streetlights casting a half-bright, half-dark shadow on her profile.

Her birthmark was on her left cheek, almost invisible under the dim streetlights, leaving only a thin layer of light red, like rouge smudged on.

"pretty."

Gu Qinghan wanted to lie to her, but after thinking about it, he decided it wasn't necessary.

Su Xiaoyue said "Oh" and didn't say anything more.

The car stopped in front of the gate.

Gu Qinghan paid the fare, opened the car door, and a gust of cold wind blew in, making her shiver.

She walked to the back seat, opened the car door, and Su Xiaoyue got out of the car, stood at the door, and looked up at the gray and white three-story villa.

"Let's go in." Gu Qinghan tugged at her sleeve.

Su Xiaoyue didn't move, still looking up at the second-floor window.

"Qinghan," she suddenly said.

"Um?"

"Tell me, how lonely must a person be to be unable to let go of a conman?"

Gu Qinghan's fingers tightened suddenly.

She didn't answer the question because she didn't know the answer.

Or rather, she knew the answer, but the answer was too cruel for her to say.

Su Xiaoyue waited a few seconds, but received no answer, so she didn't ask again. She lowered her head, took out her keys from her bag, and opened the door.

The housekeeper had already gone to bed, and only a dim wall lamp remained in the living room.

The two changed their shoes in the entryway and walked up the stairs one after the other.

The wooden staircase creaked softly underfoot, its sound particularly clear in the quiet night.

When they reached the second floor, Su Xiaoyue suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Gu Qinghan.

"Qinghan, aren't you staying here tonight?"

Gu Qinghan was about to say, "I'll stay with you."

My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

She took it out and glanced at it; it was a message from someone she had asked to check her bank statements when she had a spare moment.

The message was very short, just one line: "Qinghan, I found it and sent it to your email."

(No classes in the afternoon; a chapter will be randomly released in the afternoon or evening.)

(Please give me a good review, I only need a few more ratings before I leave the page qwq)