Chapter 23: Returning Evil for Good

Lu Chengfeng looked at Qin Yanbin and said, "Let's go outside; don't disturb my colleagues."

Shi Wei quickly pulled Qin Yanbin up and guided him out. He made a point of greeting Shu Yan, "Director Shu, I'm sorry for the interruption."

Shu Yan paused for a moment and replied, "It's fine."

Back in the task force conference room, once everyone was seated, Lu Chengfeng began briefing Qin Yanbin: "At around seven o'clock this morning, a passerby out for a morning jog discovered Xia Linlin's body at the southern estuary. She was wedged between some rocks, and we suspect she was washed ashore by the tide."

Qin Yanbin’s eyes widened in shock. "The seaside? You mean Linlin went to the beach to commit suicide? That’s impossible. Linlin was terrified of water. Even if she were to take her own life, she would never choose to jump into the sea."

"Besides, we only had an argument. She isn't the impulsive type; she wouldn't kill herself over a few words, let alone travel all the way to the estuary to do it."

Lu Chengfeng looked at Qin Yanbin and, after a few seconds of silence, said, "I didn't say it was suicide."

Qin Yanbin froze.

Lu Chengfeng continued, "She was drowned. In other words, it was a homicide. She was held under the water until she drowned. Furthermore, based on our autopsy results and investigation, we suspect the perpetrator is likely someone she knew."

Qin Yanbin looked incredulous. "Linlin was such a kind person; who would want to kill her? It couldn't have been someone she knew. You must be mistaken."

Lu Chengfeng did not address this, instead asking, "Have you been in contact with Jiang Xue in the last two days?"

At the mention of Jiang Xue’s name, Qin Yanbin became visibly flustered.

"Yanbin, the three of you left the club first on Valentine's night. Did something happen?" Shi Wei pressed.

Qin Yanbin hung his head in silence.

Shi Wei grabbed his shoulders. "Speak up! What happened that night is critical. It is highly likely that Jiang Xue killed Linlin. If you know something, tell us now. Don't you want to catch the killer and avenge her?"

Lu Chengfeng signaled for Shi Wei to stop, giving Qin Yanbin a moment to collect his thoughts.

Just then, Lu Chengfeng’s phone rang. Seeing it was Liu Xun, he answered immediately.

Lu Chengfeng: "Liu Xun, any leads?"

Liu Xun sounded rather triumphant: "Found it. The video surveillance team just called me. They located Jiang Xue's car. At 11:10 PM on Valentine's night, it was spotted on a road near the estuary."

"Jiang Xue was driving. Guess who was in the passenger seat?"

Lu Chengfeng looked at Qin Yanbin and placed his phone on the table, turning on the speaker.

Lu Chengfeng: "Liu Xun, tell us. At 11:10 PM on Valentine's night, Jiang Xue was driving near the estuary. Who was in the passenger seat?"

Liu Xun hesitated briefly before replying, "The passenger in Jiang Xue's car was the victim, Xia Linlin."

Hearing this, Qin Yanbin finally believed it. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "That vicious woman, Jiang Xue! I'm going to kill her!"

Shi Wei held him back. "Brother, calm down. Tell Chengfeng what you know, and he will arrest her."

Liu Xun asked, confused, "Captain Lu, who is that?"

Lu Chengfeng picked up the phone. "Find out where Jiang Xue is right now. Get ready to make an arrest."

"Understood." Liu Xun didn't ask further and hung up.

Lu Chengfeng turned back to Qin Yanbin. "Can you tell us now? What happened after you left the club on Valentine's night? Why did you and Xia Linlin argue, and what was it about?"

Qin Yanbin took a deep breath and closed his eyes to steady his emotions.

Opening them again, he began to recount: "We were drinking in the private room. In the middle of it, I received a call from a friend, an assistant director in Beijing. He wanted to invite me to act in a film he’s starting next month."

"My second short drama with Xia Linlin was also scheduled to start filming next month, so there was a scheduling conflict. I spent some extra time on the phone with my friend trying to coordinate it."

"When I hung up and turned around, I saw Jiang Xue standing right behind me. I asked her what she wanted. She didn't say a word, just suddenly lunged and kissed me. I didn't even have time to react."

"That was when Linlin walked in. She saw it and was furious, demanding to know what we were doing. I tried to explain that Jiang Xue had kissed me out of nowhere. I told Jiang Xue to explain herself, but she just stayed silent."

"Linlin misunderstood, thinking there was something going on between us. She wouldn't listen to my explanation and ran off. I tried to follow her, but Jiang Xue grabbed me and confessed that she liked me."

Qin Yanbin stopped, slamming his fist against the table in frustration.

"If I had known Jiang Xue was that malicious, that she would hurt Linlin, I would have found a way to reach her and protect her."

Lu Chengfeng: "You didn't go out to look for her afterward?"

Qin Yanbin shook his head. "No. I had an argument with Jiang Xue. I yelled at her, 'Linlin is your best friend! She’s always looked out for you. How could you do this? Do you have no conscience?'"

"It was something like that. But Jiang Xue just called Linlin a hypocrite, saying she only pretended to be nice on the surface while secretly looking down on her for her rural background, just using her as a prop to make herself look better."

"She said Linlin was the truly vicious one, intentionally recommending her for a role that would get her internet hate, just to watch her suffer without lifting a finger to help."

Shi Wei sighed and shook his head. "I always thought Jiang Xue was ungrateful. This is a classic 'The Farmer and the Snake' situation."

Qin Yanbin: "That's exactly what I told Jiang Xue. Linlin was kind and simple-hearted. She only helped Jiang Xue because Jiang Xue was always complaining about her family background and lack of connections."

"I never imagined Jiang Xue would twist Linlin’s kindness like that."

"And then?" Lu Chengfeng interrupted.

Qin Yanbin continued, "We argued for about ten minutes. My friend, the assistant director, called me again, so I had to answer. Jiang Xue didn't pester me further and left."

"After the call, I lied to Shi Wei and said we were heading back. I went downstairs to pay the bill and tried calling Linlin, but she kept hanging up. She wouldn't reply to my messages either."

"I had no choice but to take a taxi home. On the way, my friend sent me the script. He told me to look it over while he tried to adjust the schedule for early March."

"I thought Linlin was just upset and needed some cooling-off time, so I decided to contact her the next day. Once I got home, I focused on reading the script."

"I read until 1:00 AM. I was so exhausted that I just went to sleep."

Lu Chengfeng frowned. "So, when Jiang Xue left the club, she must have contacted Xia Linlin. Did Jiang Xue drink that night? If she had, she wouldn't have been driving."

Qin Yanbin: "Right, she said she drove and didn't drink—just juice. Linlin had two drinks, but she had a high tolerance; it didn't affect her."

Lu Chengfeng's phone rang again. It was Liu Xun.

He answered quickly: "What's the situation?"

Liu Xun: "Something happened to Jiang Xue."