Why are you here?
Qu Qing's voice was so low that only Jiang Shuiying and Luo Yuwen could hear it. Jiang Shuiying and Luo Yuwen were still sitting in their original seats. Qu Qing went to wash his face and sat across from them.
There was a silence in the air at first, and then Jiang Shuiying spoke first:
"Ms. Qu, how did you know we were investigating you? And how did you know we weren't lovers?"
“I thought I was doing a good job.”
Qu Qing smiled and replied, "Ms. Jiang's acting is indeed good, but I recognized you the first time you entered the store. We actually first met in the dessert shop. Am I right?"
Luo Yuwen, who was standing by, understood what was happening. It turned out that Qu Qing had noticed it at that time.
Then Qu Qing said, "And when you first came, Miss Jiang ordered two cups of coffee, but then she said your 'lover' couldn't drink coffee at night."
Qu Qing's gaze lingered between the two of them: "If you are really lovers, I don't think you will forget this detail, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Shuiying felt a little ashamed after hearing this and regretted not discussing it with Luo Yuwen first.
"It seems I was really careless..."
Qu Qing shook his head and did not continue the topic. He just continued: "Actually, I guessed it. You are here for Yan Ming, right?"
"I...I heard you guys asking the boss about fruit and vegetable juice when I was at the dessert shop. Then you came to my shop again, and I actually guessed it then."
"I didn't want to tell you at first, but seeing how hard you work and come to my shop every day, I couldn't bear it."
After Qu Qing's explanation, the two of them immediately understood and stopped being polite. Luo Yuwen took out the notebook and began to ask Qu Qing about her whereabouts on the day Yan Ming died. He also asked how Qu Qing got together with Yan Ming, and why Yan Ming and Zhu Zhi suddenly broke up after being in contact.
Luo Yuwen: "Ms. Qu, let's begin."
Qu Qing nodded, and she spoke softly, taking the two of them back to two years ago when she first met Yan Ming.
At first, Qu Qing was only focused on running her small shop. She was constantly flying around in search of good coffee beans, and had no time to pay attention to the news. So when Yan Ming entered the shop, she didn't recognize the man in a suit and tie as the president of Yan's Group. She simply greeted him like any other customer.
Coincidentally, Yan Ming approached Qu Qing by talking about coffee beans, which was exactly the same method used by Jiang Shuiying.
Yan Ming has a high emotional intelligence and is very charming in his every move. He comes to the shop every now and then, and Qu Qing quickly remembers this regular customer. At first, Qu Qing didn't think Yan Ming was interested in her, just thought he was a regular customer who liked to drink coffee.
Qu Qing stared at the ceiling with a dejected look on his face. "Later, he came more and more frequently, and he would come every time I was in the store. Our topic of conversation stopped being coffee beans and started talking about other things."
"At that time I thought he was married, but he told me he wasn't married and had been single for a long time, so I believed him."
"Then there was a rainy night. I happened to be the only one in the store. He suddenly came in in the rain and said he didn't have an umbrella. I felt a little sorry for him because he was soaking wet, so I asked him to change his clothes in the lounge."
"That night, he confessed his love to me."
Qu Qing is an orphan. She has suffered a lot since she was a child in order to survive, and has never had a serious relationship. She could not resist Yan Ming's sweet words, and the two of them established a relationship, but this relationship was not to be seen in public.
When they first got together, Yan Ming was indeed a good partner. He was generous and emotionally supportive, and Qu Qing thought she had found someone who truly loved her. At that time, the store had just started and business was just starting to pick up. Yan Ming offered to invest in the store, but Qu Qing refused.
Later, the business of the store stabilized, and Qu Qing returned to the store after negotiating a stable supplier. Yan Ming began to come to the store every day, have a cup of coffee and accompany Qu Qing for a while before leaving.
If the two wanted to spend the night together, they would choose to go to a hotel or Qu Qing's home, and drive Qu Qing's car. Yan Ming's car would still be parked near the bookstore, and he would drive away the next day.
But things eventually came to light, starting with a female employee at the store. Qu Qing noticed that every time Yan Ming came, she seemed hesitant to speak, and soon after, she resigned from her job. Qu Qing didn't understand why, but before she left, she hinted that Yan Ming was a family man.
"I rarely watched the news before, and I rarely paid attention to what entrepreneurs were in this city. It was only after she told me that I started looking online. That's when I found out that Yan Ming had actually been married for a year."
Luo Yuwen frowned and noted this time point, then continued to ask: "Then, did you and Yan Ming break up?"
Qu Qing's thin body was wrapped in a loose cotton and linen dress, the long sleeves covering her wrists. She lowered her head and her expression could not be seen clearly.
"He was in my house at the time and I brought it up. He was very angry. He thought the affair was nothing and wanted to continue the relationship. That night I was very firm, and then..."
“Then he beat me.”
Although he was mentally prepared, Luo Yuwen's brows were still tightly furrowed after learning that Qu Qing was also a victim of domestic violence.
He turned his head to look at Jiang Shuiying and found that she seemed a little dazed, looking at Qu Qing without saying a word.
What's wrong with her?
But Luo Yuwen's thoughts were interrupted by Qu Qing's next words.
"After that, he realized that beating me was wrong and kept kneeling down to beg for my forgiveness. He told me he would divorce me to reassure me, and I believed him again."
What happened next was like for most victims of domestic violence, but Qu Qing's situation was more complicated. She wasn't Yan Ming's official partner, and Yan Ming knew her address and all her information, making her requests for help useless. Amidst this recurring pain, Qu Qing's feelings for Yan Ming grew even more complicated.
"I wanted to leave him, but I didn't know why my body couldn't leave him. I didn't know what was wrong with me at the time."
"I always seemed to be imagining that I had left him, but the next second his fist was already coming. This went on for two years, until this year I really left him."
Qu Qing stopped talking and rolled up her sleeves, revealing shocking scars all over her arms. It wasn't until then that Luo Yuwen realized why Qu Qing always wore long-sleeved dresses—it was all to hide her scars.
Hearing this, Luo Yuwen felt that Qu Qing must be sick at this time, but she didn't know it herself.
Luo Yuwen slowed down his voice and tried to make his tone gentle: "Then why did you and Yan Ming break up?"
Qu Qing shook her head, saying only that Yan Ming had gone on a business trip and suddenly lost contact with her, something she hadn't expected. At first, Qu Qing thought she was dreaming, that the man who had tortured her for two years had suddenly vanished. It wasn't until two weeks later, when she tried to call Yan Ming and couldn't get through, that she realized he had truly left her.
Luo Yuwen had a rough guess in his mind at this time. According to the timeline, Yan Ming should have met Zhu Zhi on that business trip, so he directly cut off contact with Qu Qing. He already had a new target at this time.
"I don't know if I should be glad, but I finally left him."
After that, Qu Qing devoted herself to her work and life, running the shop with all her heart. As her life gradually improved, she also ushered in a new life.
Everyone was silent, leaving only the sound of Qu Qing sobbing.
Luo Yuwen then began to question Qu Qing about his whereabouts on the day Yan Ming died. Qu Qing had only gone to the bookstore to order desserts for employees at noon, and had been inside the shop the rest of the time. There were surveillance cameras in front of both the bookstore and the dessert shop, and the police had checked them before, and no unusual findings were found, so Qu Qing was not a suspect.
The investigation became more and more complicated. Qu Qing was not a suspect and his motive for the crime was not obvious. It seemed that the matter had reached a dead end.
Luo Yuwen wrote down the clues and tried to connect all the clues he knew so far in his mind.
Zhu Zhi was forced to be with Yan Ming, and Qu Qing was deceived and was the victim. Zhu Zhi ordered fruit and vegetable juice on the day Yan Ming died, and Qu Qing was in the store and had no time to commit the crime.
Judging from the descriptions of these two people, they were both hurt by Yan Ming. Yan Ming is not a good person as the public knows. Instead, he is a domestic abuser with violent tendencies.
What about the river water?
Has Jiang Shuiying been hurt by Yan Ming in the years since they got married?
"Ms. Jiang, you..."
Luo Yuwen's thoughts were interrupted by Qu Qing's voice. He raised his head and saw Qu Qing with tears in his eyes looking at Jiang Shuiying beside him.
He turned his head and found that Jiang Shuiying, who had been silent since the questioning, was actually crying.
It’s just that Jiang Shuiying wasn’t sobbing, she just kept her eyes open and let the tears slide down her face, so Luo Yuwen, who was immersed in the case just now, didn’t notice that Jiang Shuiying had almost wet her clothes with tears.
Luo Yuwen took a tissue and handed it to her, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, you guys continue."
Luo Yuwen hesitated to speak, and swallowed his words of comfort. At this time, Luo Yuwen thought that Qu Qing's experience was too touching, so Jiang Shuiying was so sympathetic.
Later, Luo Yuwen asked Qu Qing for the surveillance video. After watching it, he found that it was just as Qu Qing said. She only went out for a short time at noon and came back soon. She spent the rest of the time in the store. Luo Yuwen noted the time and returned the surveillance video to Qu Qing.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Qu. It was not my intention to remind you of these things."
Qu Qing shook his head and said it was okay.
When Luo Yuwen sorted out the clues and was about to say goodbye to Qu Qing and leave, he found that Jiang Shuiying's eyes were still red, which made Luo Yuwen a little worried.
But the next second, Jiang Shuiying hugged Qu Qing. Qu Qing was shocked at first, and then accepted Jiang Shuiying's hug.
"Thank you, thank you for speaking up, Miss Qu. I'll come to have coffee with you again in the future."
"Your store will definitely prosper."
Qu Qing leaned on Jiang Shuiying's shoulder and smiled: "Okay, I'll borrow your good wishes, Miss Jiang."
***
In the car, Jiang Shuiying was extremely silent, sitting quietly in the passenger seat, and did not even discuss the clues with Luo Yuwen. The two returned to Yan's house in silence.
The two stood at the door, and Jiang Shuiying spoke first: "I'll go back first, Luo Yuwen."
Luo Yuwen actually had a lot of questions in his mind, and he had many questions that needed Jiang Shuiying to answer personally. After thinking about it, he called out to Jiang Shuiying who had already followed the housekeeper in.
"Wait a moment."
"Miss Jiang's previous black tea was delicious. I wonder if I can have it again today?"
Jiang Shuiying understood. She rubbed her red eyes and replied, "Okay, please come in, Mr. Luo."
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