Roses in Flames

Ye Yuntang bumped into the man's strong, broad chest, his nose filled with the refreshing and pleasant scent of his body.

These past few days, we've been investigating a case together, and we've been so busy we haven't had a moment to breathe.

But ever since the argument, she has felt empty, a little depressed, and a little sad.

The grievances that had been building up for several days suddenly surged up.

She raised her hand and pinched the man's taut, strong arm hard.

Xiao Lin felt a pain from being pinched, so he looked down at her.

Just then, Ye Yuntang lifted her head from his embrace. Her beautiful eyes were now covered with a thin layer of mist, and the corners of her eyes were red. She looked pitiful and wronged, like a little darling who had been bullied.

He rarely saw her with such an expression, and his heart instantly melted.

He gently stroked the corner of her eye with his large hand, his voice softening slightly as he asked, "What's wrong?"

Ye Yuntang sniffed and glared at him irritably, "You... haven't spoken to me for days, and I'm feeling uncomfortable."

Seeing her like this, all the coldness, awkwardness, resentment, and indifference in the man's heart vanished.

He leaned his thin chin against the top of her head and said in a deep, earnest voice, "I'm sorry."

Before she could say anything, she heard him say, "I'm not that kind of person. It's precisely because I've had feelings for you for a long time that I let you sleep with me when you suggested a one-night stand. I wouldn't have agreed to it with any other woman."

He tightened his arms, holding her even closer. "I only treat you like this. When will you finally understand?"

Ye Yuntang looked up at the man's deep, dark eyes, her heart feeling as if it were filled with something, a mix of sourness and tenderness, a sweet emotion mixed with a trace of unease, surging up in her.

It wasn't that she wasn't tempted, but the old scars from past relationships resurfaced uncontrollably.

In her previous marriage, Fu Shili treated her the same way at the beginning, his eyes and heart were always on her, and he expressed his love for her to the fullest.

But less than two years after their marriage, he cheated on her.

Those old wounds, like needles, pricked her, making her unable to help but doubt—

Is all of this real?

Can Xiao Lin's affection really last?

Does someone like her, who has experienced betrayal and is covered in scars, really deserve long-term affection and blatant favoritism?

Sensitivity and confusion surged within her, yet the man's strong and broad chest before her was irresistible.

Forget it, I don't want to.

Let's talk about the future later.

Just focus on having a good relationship with him; there's no need to be so anxious.

If one day the two of them really can't go on, they should end it gracefully.

After all, he's really a good person.

Thinking this, Ye Yuntang tiptoed and took the initiative to kiss the man's strong chin.

Before the man could react, she kissed his thin lips along his chin.

Even with just a fleeting touch, the man holding her tightly began to breathe heavily.

His previously restrained gaze dimmed at a visible speed, and the breath spraying on her face became scorching hot.

Before she could back away, he grabbed the back of her head with his large hand, forcefully pulled her back, lowered his head, and kissed her deeply.

The air in the emergency exit heated up instantly.

Their lips and tongues intertwined, their breathing deepened, and their hearts raced.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together. Ye Yuntang noticed his change, and with the last shred of her rationality, she reached out and pushed him away.

She lowered her long eyelashes, her eyes filled with panic, afraid that someone might pass by and see them.

"Let's stop kissing... This is a police station, someone will see us."

She glanced instinctively at his lower abdomen, her cheeks flushing. "What's wrong with you...?"

Xiao Lin noticed her gaze, and he felt a little annoyed, his ears unconsciously becoming irritated.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he said with a hint of helplessness, "Every time I kiss you, you act like this, like some naive kid who's never seen the world."

He himself felt ashamed, but in front of her, all his restraint failed him.

Hearing his words, Ye Yuntang blushed and her heart pounded. She turned her head away from him, saying, "Maybe it will get better if we do it more often."

The man stiffened, his ears turning as red as if they were about to bleed. "I don't know. Besides my feelings for you, I also have physical attraction to you."

Even if you do it too much, you might not stop.

Ye Yuntang gently pinched his arm. "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this here."

The man gave a soft "hmm," and said, "We've made up?"

Ye Yuntang glared at him. "Otherwise what? In the future, if we have a conflict, whether it's your fault or mine, you have to apologize first, or I won't talk to you anymore."

He reached out and ruffled her hair, his voice deep and gentle, "Okay, whatever you say, baby."

Ye Yuntang, "..."

What a scoundrel! He's quite good at sweet-talking women.

……

During the afternoon meeting, Chen Yang planned to close the case, but Xiao Lin raised his own opinion, "I don't think this case can be closed yet."

All eyes turned to Xiao Lin.

Chen Yang looked puzzled. "Brother Xiao, the chain of evidence is complete. Xie An has confessed to using the wire that strangled Wang Jun and the knife that was used to dismember him."

Xiao Lin tapped his long, slender fingers lightly on the table. His voice was steady and powerful as he posed his first question, "Xie An confessed that he randomly picked up the wire from the coffee table to commit the crime, but why was it such a coincidence that the wire happened to be on the coffee table?"

The meeting room was quiet.

Xiao Lin continued, "I've verified that Jiang Zhaodi worked at a wire factory. She's most familiar with that type of wire and it's the easiest for her to obtain."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang's expression turned serious.

Xiao Lin then presented his second point: "Jiang Zhaodi and Wang Jun were married for two years and spent every day together. Xie An later took her place. Even if they were twins and looked exactly alike, could their personalities, habits, tone of voice, and mannerisms be completely identical?"

"Moreover, Xie An and Wang Jun never lived together, so it's impossible for him to imitate them perfectly."

If the person you share your bed with every day suddenly changes their personality and becomes gentle and considerate towards you, does she really not notice anything at all?

"I don't think any person sleeping next to you would be so foolish as to not even realize that the person next to you has a different soul, right?"

Chen Yang nodded thoughtfully, "Brother Xiao, you're right. Everything is too perfect, as perfect as a meticulously choreographed play."

Xiao Lin stopped tapping his long fingers on the table, his dark eyes narrowed slightly, "There's more to this case than meets the eye."

Everyone looked at Xiao Lin, who stood up and walked to the front of the conference table.

He picked up a black ballpoint pen, walked solemnly to the whiteboard, and wrote down lines of clear and powerful characters with a heavy stroke of the pen.

Suspicion 1: If Jiang Zhaodi knew that Xie An had killed Wang Jun and dismembered the body, why didn't the two of them escape? Instead, they stayed at Wang Jun's house and lived there with peace of mind.

Second point of doubt: Xie An's mother was seriously ill, so why didn't he take Jiang Zhaodi out of the country as soon as possible?

Question 3: Xie An did so much for Jiang Zhaodi, so why was Jiang Zhaodi's reaction unusually cold after Xie An was arrested?

Xiao Lin turned around, his dark eyes sweeping over everyone in the room. "Logically speaking, given Jiang Zhaodi's experience and personality, when faced with a man she once deeply loved, she would at least break down, cry, become hysterical, or be in great pain."

"But she didn't."

"She remained calm throughout, and her interrogation testimony was perfect. Why did she suddenly become like a stagnant pool?"

Xiao Lin picked up his pen again and wrote down a conclusion on the whiteboard that sent chills down everyone's spine:

"There is only one explanation for this reaction: she is not numb or indifferent, but she has already thought about her own ending."

"From the very beginning, she never intended to live alone. When Xie An was captured, it wasn't that she didn't care, but rather that she was also prepared to face destruction."

Xiao Lin wrote three words on the blackboard: Jiang Yaozu.

"According to my investigation, Jiang Zhaodi's younger brother, Jiang Yaozu, attends a closed-management university. He is not allowed to go out at all during the school year and can only leave the school to go home during the winter and summer vacations."

"And recently, during the winter break, Jiang Yaozu should be back."

Xiao Lin raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as ice. "Xie An and Jiang Zhaodi clearly had three months to escape. They could have flown abroad and vanished without a trace, but instead they didn't flee or hide. Instead, they stayed at the crime scene. Why is that?"

"Because they never intended to escape. They stayed for another purpose: to wait for Jiang Yaozu to return so they could kill another person."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

My God, this is terrifying.

Xiao Lin looked at Chen Yang, "Captain Chen, immediately send someone to investigate Jiang Yaozu's whereabouts!"