Chapter 96 Su Xiaonuan, you really have no heart
As he ate, without warning, large tears slid down his cheeks, dripping into the scalding soup and splashing up tiny droplets of oil.
He looked up, his face still streaked with tears, and smiled at Su Xiaonuan. It was a bitter and desolate smile.
“Su Xiaonuan, you…you really have no heart.” His voice was choked with sobs. “You are so kind and gentle to everyone, like a little sun, shining equally on everyone…I’m so jealous, jealous that they, like me, have ever…received even the slightest bit of care from you.”
Su Xiaonuan stared at him in astonishment, her grip on the spatula tightening, unsure how to respond.
She never imagined that behind Ji Xianjun's obsession lay such thoughts.
Just then, something unexpected happened!
Suddenly, Ji Xianjun put down the bowl in his hand and lunged at Su Xiaonuan with all his might!
"Watch out!" Almost simultaneously, Zhao Liyue, who was hiding in the shadows, was the first to rush out, her speed so fast that she became a blur.
"Bang!"
A suppressed, silenced gunshot rang out!
Ji Xianjun's body trembled violently in mid-air, and his lunge towards Su Xiaonuan turned into an embrace before he crashed heavily in front of her.
Su Xiaonuan was knocked back half a step by him, and the spatula in her hand fell to the ground. She subconsciously reached out to support his sliding body.
The area she touched was warm and sticky. She looked down and saw a bullet hole in his chest, near his heart, from which blood was gushing out, quickly staining his Zhongshan suit embroidered with a silver moon, and also staining her hands red.
His body twitched slightly in her arms. He raised his head, his gaze gentle and calm like never before, even with a hint of relief.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end only a mouthful of blood spilled out, his head lolled to the side, and he lost all life.
His face held a strange serenity.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Su Xiaonuan froze on the spot, her face turning deathly pale.
The lifeless body in her arms was still warm, and the strong smell of blood filled her nostrils. Her hands were covered in a sticky, warm liquid... Her mind went blank, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.
She had thought that the worst that would happen tonight was that he would be sent to jail...
"Sniper! One o'clock, abandoned water tower! Surround him!" Zhao Liming's furious voice rang out, and with a wave of his hand, the police officers who had been lying in ambush all around pounced out like cheetahs.
Zhao Liyue rushed to Su Xiaonuan's side immediately and quickly checked Ji Xianjun's vital signs.
After confirming the death, she sighed, looked at the pale-faced Su Xiaonuan, patted her shoulder firmly, and said in a comforting voice, "Xiaonuan, it's alright. This isn't your fault. This ending... might be the best for him. Take a break."
After saying that, she immediately turned around and joined the hunt for the sniper.
Lu Zheng also walked over quickly. He first glanced around warily, then squatted down and carefully checked Ji Xianjun's condition.
His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were cold.
He gestured to the police officers next to him to set up a cordon, then gently moved Ji Xianjun's body from Su Xiaonuan's arms, laid it flat on the ground, and covered it with a white cloth.
After doing all this, he stood up, supported Su Xiaonuan's slightly trembling shoulders, and led her to the rooftop ventilation shaft, away from the corpse. "It's alright now," his voice was deep, carrying a reassuring strength, "Take a deep breath."
Su Xiaonuan took a deep breath as instructed. The icy night wind rushed into her lungs, but it couldn't dispel the heavy smell of blood and the chill in her heart.
She looked at her blood-stained hands, her fingertips still trembling uncontrollably.
Just then—
"Bang!"
Another gunshot rang out from the direction of the abandoned water tower, exceptionally clear! This was followed by a commotion and a gasp!
Lu Zheng and Su Xiaonuan simultaneously turned their heads sharply to look.
In the darkness, a blurry brown figure flashed at the edge of the water tower, and like a puppet with its strings cut, it jumped off without hesitation!
The height of a dozen or so stories vanished in an instant.
Lu Zheng's expression changed drastically, and he pressed his earpiece, urgently asking, "What's going on?!"
Su Xiaonuan stood there, staring in the direction where the person had disappeared, feeling a chill run through her body.
Ji Xianjun is dead, and the clues to the Moonlit Murder Case that had just emerged have been abruptly cut off in such a decisive way.
His final, seemingly random word "jealousy," the mysterious organization behind him, the crescent moon mark... all the mysteries, instead of being solved, have become even more profound and unfathomable, like the deep night.
It was already past midnight when I got back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
The building was brightly lit and bustling with people, even busier than during the day.
The air was filled with the unique scent of caffeine and fatigue characteristic of staying up all night.
Lu Zheng escorted Su Xiaonuan to the door of a temporary rest room and said in a low voice, "Rest here for a while and catch your breath. We may need to take a statement later."
Su Xiaonuan nodded, her face pale, her hands stained with dark red blood hanging at her sides, her fingertips trembling slightly.
She pushed the door open and went in.
The lounge was softly lit, and a young woman sat on the sofa, sipping a cup of hot water.
She looked up when she heard the noise.
Su Xiaonuan was slightly taken aback.
Under the light, the woman's eyebrows and eyes did indeed resemble her somewhat, especially her face shape and nose, but upon closer inspection, they were completely different.
The other person had a gentle and delicate temperament, and there was still lingering fear in their eyes, like a frightened fawn.
But when she tried to force a grateful smile at Su Xiaonuan, the curve of her lips and the softening of her facial features made Su Xiaonuan momentarily see her own soft and cute self in the mirror.
"Hello... thank you for saving me." The woman's voice was soft, hoarse with the pain of surviving a disaster.
Su Xiaonuan sat down on the single sofa next to her, shook her head, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I didn't save you, the police did." She paused, then asked, "Are you alright?"
"It's alright, they didn't make things difficult for me, they just kept me locked up." The woman put down her water glass and clasped her hands together. "My name is Jiang Luo."
"Su Xiaonuan".
The two fell silent for a moment.
The only sound in the lounge was the low hum of the air conditioner running.
After a while, Jiang Luo suddenly spoke softly, as if talking to herself, or as if speaking to Su Xiaonuan: "I...I used to be Ji Xianjun's girlfriend."
Su Xiaonuan suddenly turned her head to look at her.
Jiang Luo smiled bitterly, her gaze unfocused and fixed on the void: "A very short period of time, not long after his mother passed away. During that time... he was very depressed. I know he always had someone in his heart." She paused, then turned to look at Su Xiaonuan, her eyes filled with complex emotions, "Seeing you, I think I understand a little."
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