Lin Fan shook her head, and Qin Feng turned the car onto another road. "Let's go eat first."
"No need," Lin Fan felt uncomfortable and refused, "I'll go home for dinner. Just drop me off at the nearest bus stop, and I'll take the bus back."
Qin Feng ignored her refusal and half an hour later, the car stopped at a restaurant. Qin Feng got out of the car and gestured to Lin Fan, "Get off, I'll take you home after dinner."
After a moment's eye contact, Lin Fan relented first. She got off the car, closed the door, and put her hands in her pockets, clasping her fingers.
The restaurant in front looked upscale, making her feel uneasy.
Qin Feng walked ahead and held Lin Fan's arm as they entered. "Table for two," he said.
Qin Feng let go of Lin Fan, and they followed the waiter inside.
Once Lin Fan got some freedom, she quickly distanced herself from Qin Feng. He glanced back at her and touched his nose, wondering if he seemed intimidating.
After they sat down, Qin Feng flipped through the menu. "You haven't changed jobs yet?"
Lin Fan, holding a teacup, originally had her gaze wandering, but upon hearing his question, she quickly shifted her gaze to Qin Feng. Accidentally meeting his dark eyes symptomatically, she swiftly changed direction.
"I'm not sure what to do."
"Continue studying," Qin Feng suggested, "You can retake the exam next year and aim for a better school."
Lin Fan pursed her lips, meeting Qin Feng's gaze. She remained silent for a while before speaking, "I haven't decided yet."
Qin Feng ordered the dishes and read them out to Lin Fan, asking, "Is that okay?"
Lin Fan nodded quickly, feeling pleasantly surprised by the attention.
Qin Feng took off his police uniform jacket and placed it aside, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up his teacup.
"You don't need to be afraid," he took a sip of tea, his Adam's apple bobbing as his deep black eyes met Lin Fan's, "I'll help you."
Lin Fan smiled, her features softening. She was a very pretty young girl, perhaps experiencing too much cruelty, making her character much more reserved than her peers.
"Thank you."
After finishing his tea, Qin Feng held the cup. "Go study. The fees for No. 16 High School aren't too high, and the teaching quality is good."
"I've made up my mind. If I need anything, I'll come to you first," Lin Fan rubbed her hands, straightened her clothes, "Thank you anyway."
Lin Fan was very reserved, not speaking much.
Halfway through the meal, Qin Feng went out to take a call. Lin Fan took out her phone and searched for Lin Zhe's name. She had just heard Qin Feng mention this name on the phone, vaguely.
She tried a few words, and a piece of news popped up.
"Deputy General Manager of Taian Group Attends New Property Launch Event," Lin Fan quickly clicked into it.
"What are you looking at? Had enough to eat?"
Lin Fan suddenly looked up to meet Qin Feng's gaze, hastily putting her phone back in her pocket. "Have you finished eating?"
Qin Feng sat down, leaning back in his seat, raising his eyebrows. "Interested in Wang Yaran's case?"
Lin Fan's face went pale all of a sudden, extremely embarrassed. He must have seen the screen of her phone.
"Yeah," she replied.
"You say what you see, it's off work hours for me now." Lin Fan took out her phone, the picture had loaded successfully, and Lin Zhe was indeed the owner of that villa.
Lin Fan turned off her phone and looked at Qin Feng. "Is Wang Yaran really dead?"
"No," Lin Fan was startled, staring at Qin Feng wide-eyed, "Not dead?"
"Not dead. She's in South Korea, our people have contacted her parents."
Lin Fan was bewildered, "It's not her then?"
"Shouldn't be, Wang Yaran is still alive."
"Impossible."
Qin Feng took out his phone, opened Wang Yaran's information, and handed it to Lin Fan. "Here's all her information."
Wang Yaran, thirty years old, the general manager of Taian Group, from Jiangcheng. She knew Lin Zhe in college, got married after graduation, and has a son.
Four pictures, including ID photos and casual photos, indeed the same woman Lin Fan had seen before.
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Lin Fan frowned, biting her lip.
"She's in Korea."
Lin Fan put her phone down. "What is she doing in Korea?"
Qin Feng tapped the table, sitting upright. "Plastic surgery. Wang Yaran got into a car accident a month and a half ago, half of her face was destroyed. She received treatment at a hospital in Jiangcheng at first, but the injuries from the accident weren't too serious. She went abroad for plastic surgery half a month ago."
"What a coincidence?"
"Just that."
"But I smelled blood at her house, and I saw Wang Yaran's soul. What about her family? Her parents?"
"Her parents are traveling around the world, unreachable."
"Does she have any sisters? Who look similar?"
"No."
Lin Fan handed the phone back. "I hope I'm wrong."
"I'll investigate further."
Qin Feng dropped Lin Fan off at the entrance of the residential area, turned around, and headed back to the bureau. He hadn't slept for a day and a night. The case from another province was over, but he didn't rest, rushing back to Jiangcheng. If Lin Fan wasn't lying, it could be a homicide.
"Why did Captain Qin come back?" Xiao Liu was about to leave when he saw Qin Feng hurrying to the office and quickly turned back to ask, "What's wrong? Another case?"
"No, it's off work." Qin Feng entered the office, lit a cigarette, turned on the computer, and found the information about Wang Yaran and Lin Zhe. Traffic accident, plastic surgery due to facial disfigurement, inability to contact the woman's parents. Just as Lin Fan had said, too coincidental.
He took out his phone to make a call but found it low on battery and shut down. He plugged in the charger.
The phone quickly powered up, and a message popped up.
"Underground parking lot of Senyu Villa! Lin Zhe is going to dispose of a body!"
Sender: Lin Fan.
Lin Fan entered the stairwell, suddenly feeling her heart pounding wildly, her mind going blank. She staggered forward, pressing herself against the wall, taking deep breaths to ease the sudden palpitations.
It took her a while to recover, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Wang Yaran crouching in front of her. Lin Fan was so scared she almost fell down the stairs, her heart feeling like it might stop right then and there.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.
Lin Fan shook her head.
Wang Yaran stared at Lin Fan. "How can you communicate with the living?"
Lin Fan furrowed her brows, puzzled by the odd question. "Because I'm alive."
"You have the same aura as me," Wang Yaran said, "Are you not a ghost?"
Lin Fan's heart began to race, inexplicably reminded of Ouyang Yu's words.
She didn't say anything, and Wang Yaran continued, "I remember who I am now. My name is Wang Yaran, and my husband is Lin Zhe. I have a child, who is two years old this year."
"Who killed you?"
"My husband." Wang Yaran smiled faintly, a line appearing on her neck, gradually oozing blood. She was still crouching, looking into the distance. "We've known each other for eleven years, and he killed me."
"Lin Zhe?" Lin Fan looked at her body, her heart skipping a beat. "Where is your body?"
Wang Yaran buried her face in her hands, her long hair falling to reveal a cut on the back of her neck, her back covered in blood.
Lin Fan suddenly realized what was wrong, why she didn't feel cold anymore.
"He's going to dispose of my body. He took it out of the freezer. The frozen blood melted, the floor was covered in blood, and he put my flesh and blood into a pot, cooked it, and disposed of the remains."
Lin Fan's scalp tingled, her fists clenched.
"At Senyu Villa?"
She looked up, the corners of her pale lips lifting. "My soul is incomplete, and it's at its limit to maintain until now."
Lin Fan reached out and grabbed her, turning to run outside, her touch icy cold.
"Let's go, take me to find the body, the police will catch him."
Innocent souls wrongfully dead, unable to reincarnate.
With an incomplete soul, where would it disappear to?
Vanish into thin air?
Lin Fan rushed out of the residential area and hailed a taxi. She dialed Qin Feng's number, but his phone was switched off. Lin Fan was on the verge of losing her mind; perhaps she should just throw away Qin Feng's phone.
"Will you vanish into thin air?"
"Probably. I've spent too long in the mortal realm; a ghost shouldn't linger for so long in the mortal realm."
Su Ya turned transparent after only a month.
"How long have you been floating?"
"Maybe two months. I don't remember anymore."
The taxi driver glanced at the pretty pale girl in the rearview mirror, talking to thin air. His scalp tingled, almost mistaking the gas pedal for the brake.
My god! He encountered a ghost.
"Why is your soul incomplete?" Lin Fan furrowed her brows, growing anxious. Wang Yaran hadn't done anything wrong, she was just pitiful.
"I met someone, and they took away a part of my soul."
Lin Fan tried Qin Feng's number again, still switched off.
What's wrong with his phone?
Thirty minutes later, the car stopped at Senyu Villa. Lin Fan tried to enter but was stopped by security, so she backed off.
It was now ten o'clock at night. Lin Fan sneaked around to the back of the villa, climbed over the wall, and quickly made her way toward the villa area. Villa No. 8 was lit up, and Wang Yaran floated over, coldly eyeing the building.
"Is the body inside now? If it is, I'll call the police."
"I'm not sure. I can't enter the house; there are talismans on the windows."
Lin Fan turned to look at the airborne Wang Yaran. She had returned to her normal ghostly appearance, just another ordinary female ghost.
"How can we get in?"
"The terrace door of the master bedroom on the second floor is not sealed." Lin Fan typed quickly on her phone to send a message to Qin Feng, "I've seen Wang Yaran. It looks like she's been dismembered, and the body is inside the villa. Hurry up."
After sending the message, Lin Fan switched her phone to silent mode and put it in her pocket. She rubbed her hands nervously and climbed onto the window, aiming to reach the second floor via the direction of the air conditioner. The structure of the villa was similar, so Lin Fan crawled over.
Midway through, the room door opened, and Lin Zhe walked out carrying a bag. He glanced around quickly and swiftly entered the garage.
Lin Fan's mind raced as she clung to the edge of the window, attempting to jump down to the air conditioner. Wang Yaran followed Lin Zhe to the underground garage, and Lin Fan wanted to call out to her, but she swallowed her voice and jumped down to the air conditioner, heading straight for the underground garage.
The garage was very large and chilling, with white lights illuminating the floor. The black cars looked like monstrous creatures. Lin Fan cautiously moved forward, surveying her surroundings alertly.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew behind her neck. Lin Fan dodged to the side, avoiding the steel rod hitting the cement, making a clanging sound. She turned around to see Lin Zhe holding the steel rod, swinging it densely towards her. Lin Fan dodged and rolled to quickly create some distance. She scrambled up, not bothering to brush off the dust on her, and shouted behind him, "Wang Yaran, where are you? What are you doing?"
Lin Fan had no way out now; behind her was the wall, and beside her were rows of vehicles.
The only exit was where Lin Zhe stood, holding the steel rod.
Lin Zhe instinctively turned around, and Lin Fan leaped onto a car and jumped down, heading straight for the other end.
Quickly unlocking her phone, Lin Fan dialed Qin Feng's number, but it was still switched off. She typed furiously.
The wind-carrying steel rod smashed onto her shoulder, knocking Lin Fan forward onto the ground, her mouth full of sand. She quickly rolled away as the steel rod slammed heavily onto the floor.
"If you're seeking death, then don't blame me for being ruthless."