Chapter 97 His Feelings
Su Xiaonuan's throat tightened slightly.
Ji Xianjun's dying words, choked with sobs, "I'm so jealous..." and his abrupt, unrelated statement, "You have no heart," now rippled through her heart like a pebble thrown into a still lake.
She had only vaguely suspected it before, but now that Jiang Luo had pointed it out, an indescribable sense of melancholy and heaviness gripped her.
She never gave Ji Xianjun any hints that went beyond the boundaries of being classmates. Even after he was injured, her visit was merely out of regret and sympathy for her rival.
Little did she expect that this insignificant "kindness" that she had long forgotten had been buried in his obsessive heart for so many years, and would eventually manifest itself in such a tragic way.
She didn't speak, but silently suppressed these surging emotions deep in her heart, like hiding a bitter nut.
Jiang Luo looked at her silent profile, then smiled again, a hint of relief in her eyes: "I knew it all along, so I never asked anything of him. He... he's been more than kind to me, at least he didn't drag me into anything worse." She sighed, "I just never imagined it would end like this..."
Not long after, there was a knock on the door of the break room, and a young policewoman came in and politely asked Su Xiaonuan and Jiang Luo to give statements.
The lights in the interrogation room remained bright.
Su Xiaonuan recounted the events of the night as objectively and in detail as possible, from receiving the challenge to Ji Xianjun's death by gunshot, and then to the sniper jumping off the building.
However, when mentioning Ji Xianjun's last words, she omitted the part about the "white moonlight" and only said that he was emotional and mentioned the past and his mother's illness.
The police officer taking notes diligently, occasionally glancing up to confirm a detail or two.
After the statement was taken and the document was signed, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Su Xiaonuan walked out of the interrogation room, feeling utterly exhausted, as if she had fought a game that had drained her of all her strength.
As soon as I entered the police station lobby, I saw Lu Zheng waiting there.
He changed out of his slightly dusty civilian clothes and put back on his crisp police shirt, but the weariness between his brows was still evident.
"I'll take you," he said succinctly.
Su Xiaonuan shook her head and pointed outside: "My car is over there, I can go back by myself."
Lu Zheng was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of Qin Haoran strolling over from the other end of the corridor. Qin Haoran had his usual slightly irritating grin on his face. He glanced between the two of them, then shook his head meaningfully, whistled off-key, and wandered back.
Lu Zheng: "..."
Su Xiaonuan couldn't help but find it amusing to look at his somewhat embarrassed yet forcedly aloof demeanor.
She took the initiative to speak, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere: "Officer Lu, I haven't seen you patronize my stall for a while. I thought you were tired of it."
Lu Zheng immediately shook his head, his expression serious: "No. It's just that I've been busy with cases lately and haven't been able to get away." He paused and explained briefly, "You know about the full moon murder case from before. There have been new developments recently, and I'm on the special task force. With the addition of the Ji Xianjun lead... I expect to be even busier for the next period of time."
His voice was deep and hoarse from staying up late for days, but it was clear and logical, exuding a convincing composure.
Su Xiaonuan nodded, indicating her understanding: "I understand. Then... be careful."
The two fell silent again. The cool morning air flowed between them, carrying a subtle tension.
In the end, Lu Zheng simply said in a deep voice, "Yes, you too. Go back and get some rest."
Su Xiaonuan hummed in agreement and turned to walk towards her simple, unadorned three-wheeled food stall.
She deftly unlocked the door, got on, and started the motorcycle.
Lu Zheng stood still, his gaze following the small tricycle as it disappeared into the sparse traffic of the early morning until it was out of sight.
Zhao Liyue appeared beside him at some point, arms crossed, a hint of teasing on her cold, beautiful face: "You have good taste, Captain Lu. This little girl looks soft, but she's got a strong backbone."
Lu Zheng's lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly, but he immediately covered it up with his usual indifference.
He glanced at Zhao Liyue, didn't reply, and simply said, "Go back to the meeting." After saying that, he turned and strode into the police station building.
Su Xiaonuan did not go straight home.
She rode her tricycle through the gradually awakening city streets, finally stopping in front of the property management office of her own residential complex.
She looked up at the familiar window, hesitated for a moment, and then went upstairs.
When I knocked on the door of Xiao Liu's apartment, there was a rustling sound inside. After a while, the door opened a crack.
Xiao Liu, still half asleep in his pajamas, was visibly startled when he saw Su Xiaonuan outside the door.
"Mr. Su? So early... Is something the matter?"
Su Xiaonuan looked at him and asked directly, "Master Liu, do you know Ji Xianjun?"
The sleepiness on Xiao Liu's face vanished instantly, his eyes flickered, and he nodded hesitantly: "I...I know him...we're from the same village. He...he came to see me a few days ago and stayed at my place for a few days. But he left the day before yesterday without saying a word."
He scratched his head, looking somewhat uneasy. "Boss Su, is it...that something happened to him?"
Seeing the genuine doubt and worry on his face, Su Xiaonuan's last bit of doubt disappeared.
Xiao Liu probably didn't know exactly what Ji Xianjun had done; he simply provided a temporary place to stay out of consideration for his fellow townsman.
She sighed, not going into details, only saying, "It's nothing serious, just asking. Sorry to disturb your rest, Master Liu."
After saying goodbye to Xiao Liu, Su Xiaonuan finally returned to her quiet little home.
She closed the door, temporarily shutting out all the disturbances of the outside world. Leaning against the door, she let out a long, deep breath.
Exhaustion washed over her like a tide. She didn't even bother to take a shower. She just quickly wiped her face with a wet towel, brushed her teeth, and collapsed onto the soft little sofa, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.
The next day, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, playfully dancing on Su Xiaonuan's eyelids.
When she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
She rubbed her throbbing temples and instinctively looked towards the second bedroom, only to find the door wide open.
Upon entering, the room was completely empty. Zhao Liyue had moved all her belongings away, leaving only a neatly made bed and an empty wardrobe.
On the bedside table was the key she had left for Su Xiaonuan.
Looking at the suddenly empty room, Su Xiaonuan felt a strange emptiness in her heart.
Although Zhao Liyue talks a lot, the time she's spent with him has made her used to the presence of another person in the house.
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