AFTER finishing her meal, Su Manhua exited the restaurant and wandered around the parking lot but couldn’t find Ding Yi’s car. Feeling a bit puzzled, she took out her phone to call him. Just then, a car’s headlights flashed in the distance, and she saw Ding Yi waving at her from inside the car.

　　“Why did you change cars again?” Su Manhua asked, incredulous. “Is renting cars really this convenient?”

　　“A wily hare has three burrows. Our enemy is cunning, so we must be even more cunning,” Ding Yi replied.

　　Not knowing the reason behind their car accident, Su Manhua didn’t quite understand what Ding Yi meant. Seeing him turn off the lights without any intention of leaving, she asked in surprise, “Aren’t we going?”

　　“I planted a little device on Lee Lesi’s car. I’m going to test it out in a bit,” Ding Yi replied. He put on his earphones and opened the monitoring app on his phone.

　　Before long, Lee Lesi emerged from the restaurant. From their position, they could see her car. Her driver, who had been waiting impatiently, had just re-entered the parking lot after taking a walk. Seeing Lee Lesi coming out, he ran over to her and asked, “Ms. Lee, are we going back to the villa?”

　　Ding Yi turned up the volume, satisfied with the clarity.

　　“Nah, we’re going to the airport to pick someone up,” Lee Lesi replied. There was a “bang” as the car door closed, followed by the sound of the engine starting and the tires moving on the asphalt.

　　The device was placed under the car, so it picked up conversations from outside only when the car was stationary. Most of the time, it served as a tracking device.

　　Ding Yi mounted his phone on the holder, and Su Manhua noticed a small red dot moving on the screen.

　　“Is that Lee Lesi’s car?” Su Manhua asked. “Shall we follow and see what’s up?”

　　Ding Yi nodded. Initially, he had only intended to test the device and track Lee Lesi’s movements, but now he was curious about the person she was going to pick up.

　　“Okay,” Su Manhua agreed, glancing at the time. It was still not yet nine o’clock.

　　Ding Yi drove skillfully, maintaining a discreet distance as they followed Lee Lesi’s car. At an intersection, a car ran a red light and nearly collided with them. Although Ding Yi reacted quickly, the cars still grazed each other. The other driver was at fault, and the damage wasn’t severe. After the traffic police took photos, both cars drove away.

　　“Are we supposed to keep following?” Su Manhua asked. The red dot on the phone screen was now far ahead.

　　“No, let’s go find Syudong.” Ding Yi replied. He knew that following any further wouldn’t be feasible.

　　They had initially planned to meet Jhan Syudong to discuss something, but he was working late. So, Ding Yi decided to go directly to the police station.

　　Knowing they had business to discuss, Su Manhua stayed in the car to play on her phone when they arrived at the police station.

　　After meeting with Jhan Syudong, Ding Yi exchanged information with him.

　　“It seems,” Jhan Syudong analyzed, “that after the ledger incident, both Lee Lesi and Syu Yujhou are alarmed. They’re planning to transfer their assets abroad through investment immigration.”

　　“Unfortunately, although we caught Wang Chyuansheng last time, we didn’t find the ledger. We still don’t have concrete evidence of Syu Yujhou’s bribery. We only have photos of the ledger, but Lin Haichao is dead, and the names on the documents are Lee Fonghan and Lee Lesi. Syu Yujhou has managed to keep himself clean,” he continued.

　　Ding Yi was suspicious. If Lin Haichao had been bribing Syu Yujhou for over ten years, why was he only transferred to Hedong Commercial Bank in recent years? What benefits could Syu Yujhou have provided him? It didn’t make sense.

　　“Someone like Syu Yujhou wouldn’t only be taking bribes from Lin Haichao. It’s puzzling how he’s managed to stay under the radar for so many years. If we could obtain other evidence, handing the leads over to the disciplinary department might speed up the investigation significantly,” said Ding Yi.

　　“Wang Chyuansheng is starting to crack. If we push a bit harder, we might get him to talk in the next couple of days,” Jhan Syudong took a drag from his cigarette and said.

　　Their criminal investigation team had a young talent in pretrial work who had been sent to city B for training six months ago. Now back from training, he had made significant progress within just two days.

　　“Wasn’t he a tough nut to crack? I thought he’d never talk,” Ding Yi said. With this breakthrough, Gu Wei would be done for, and Syu Yujhou would lose his sharpest tool.

　　Ding Yi couldn’t understand how people like Syu Yujhou and Gu Wei managed to cooperate without friction for decades.

　　“Everyone has a weakness, and his is his eighty-year-old mother,” Jhan Syudong said. Even the most ruthless people have their soft spots. “Enough about him. Any news on Lee Mu?”

　　Ding Yi sighed and replied, “I can’t tell if I overestimated him or if he’s just that good at hiding. It’s been a month, and we haven’t gotten any useful information from him.”

　　“What about the ‘Crab’?” asked Jhan Syudong.

　　“The same. It’s always a one-way communication from Lee Lesi, and they only talk about trivial matters. Have you sent anyone to investigate Lee Fonghan?” Ding Yi asked. Lee Fonghan was Lee Lesi’s father and the former chairman of Fonghan Group. He had retired five years ago and moved back to his hometown.

　　“Yes, Lee Fonghan died four years ago and was buried in his hometown. Lee Lesi even stayed there for a few days to mourn,” Jhan Syudong replied.

　　“That’s strange!” Ding Yi said and frowned. Then he handed an earphone to Jhan Syudong, then played a recording from his phone.

　　Jhan Syudong put on the earphone. At first, there was just the noise of wind and tires. After the car stopped, a woman got out and called, “Dad—”

　　“Get in the car,” a man’s voice, which was low and faint, almost inaudible, replied.

　　Jhan Syudong took off the earphone and handed it back to Ding Yi. “Is the woman in the recording Lee Lesi?” he asked. Ding Yi nodded, and Jhan Syudong was puzzled. “Could it be that Lee Fonghan isn’t dead?”

　　“Do you think the man’s voice in the recording sounds like ‘Crab’?” Ding Yi asked. Could Lee Fonghan be using Jhan Yeh’s identity to covet the Jhan family’s assets? “Was Lee Fonghan buried or cremated?”

　　“I heard he was buried. The voice doesn’t quite match, but it’s too faint to tell. I’ll have someone compare Lee Fonghan’s fingerprints in the household registration database,” Jhan Syudong replied.

　　“Could you also check Lee Lesi’s household registration records? It would be best to trace them back to the original documents from when she first registered,” said Ding Yi. That “Dad” she called out was troubling him. What role was this person playing?

　　“No problem. I’ll let you know the results once we have them,” said Jhan Syudong.

　　Since Jhan Syudong was working late, Ding Yi didn’t stay long. After discussing their business, he left.

　　After driving away from the police station, Su Manhua yawned several times. Seeing her exhaustion, Ding Yi felt a pang of sympathy.

　　“Tired? I will take you home,” he said.

　　“A little,” she admitted. She had been out since early morning and had spent the entire day facing Lee Lesi, her nerves constantly on edge.

　　“You’ll start your vacation tomorrow, right? Where would you like to go? I’ll accompany you,” said Ding Yi.

　　Su Manhua smiled and replied, “I just want to sleep in for a whole day.”

　　“Can you really sleep that much?” Ding Yi asked.

　　“I’ve been busy helping students find internships recently. It’s been exhausting!” Su Manhua replied.

　　This was her first cohort of undergraduate students, and probably the last. The principal had talked to her a few days ago, asking her to prepare for guiding graduate students next year.

　　“Have you found placements for them? If not, I think I could help,” Ding Yi said.

　　Joy flashed across Su Manhua’s face, but she quickly cooled at the thought that Ding Yi would likely seek help from that friend named Liou Yan. Her attitude instantly turned cold.

　　“No, I’ll manage on my own,” she said firmly. She would rather struggle a bit than see him bow to another woman.

　　“What’s wrong?” Ding Yi asked, curiously. He couldn’t fathom her sudden change in demeanor, not realizing her thoughts had taken such a turn in just a minute.

　　“Nothing. I’ll take a nap,” Su Manhua replied. She needed to find some time to talk to Jhan Syudong about the situation.

　　Before long, she fell asleep. Ding Yi kept one hand on the steering wheel while using the other to grab a jacket from the back seat and cover her.

　　When they arrived at her apartment complex, Su Manhua was still sound asleep, showing no sign of waking up. Ding Yi couldn’t bear to disturb her, so he parked in a temporary spot and sat quietly, watching her serene face.

　　Feelings weren’t something one could control. After regaining his childhood memories and recalling how Ru Mong had hurt his father and him, he had sworn off love, not wanting to end up like his father. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from falling hopelessly in love with her.

　　She had a warm heart. Before they were even friends, she had written a long list of dietary restrictions for him when he had stomach bleeding.

　　After their car crash into the river, at that life-and-death moment when they were nearly swept over a waterfall, she suppressed her fear of death and begged him to let her go, just so she wouldn’t drag him down.

　　What’s more, to protect the ledger that Lin Chian had died for, she had bravely and smartly preserved the clues. She was passionate and persistent in her feelings. How could he not love someone like her?

　　Jhan Syudong had said that since Ding Yi returned from Hedong, he seemed more like a real person. Ding Yi didn’t deny it. Only he could feel the warmth inside him. Even the nightmares that had plagued him for years had become rare.

　　He was just troubled that he had dragged her into this case, afraid he wouldn’t be able to protect her, even from the slightest harm.

　　Originally, he had planned to resolve the case and then develop their relationship upon returning to Hedong. But human feelings weren’t something that could be switched on and off. Once he loved, how could he pause?

　　Su Manhua was so tired that she sensed someone watching her but couldn’t open her eyes. The presence of those eyes was so strong that it made her neck uncomfortable. She adjusted her position and smelled Ding Yi’s familiar scent.

　　His breath seemed so close. She forced herself to open her eyes, squinting at his enlarged face, and her sleepiness vanished.

　　Seeing her uncomfortable, Ding Yi leaned over to adjust her seat, intending to make her more comfortable. But unfamiliar with this newly rented car, he couldn’t find the seat adjustment button after a while.

　　Su Manhua opened her eyes to see him hovering over her. Her face turned red, almost dripping with embarrassment. Just then, Ding Yi found the adjustment button. Seeing her blushing and wide-eyed, he froze for a second before the seat-back suddenly reclined.

　　“Ah!” Su Manhua yelled softly. Unprepared, she instinctively grabbed Ding Yi’s tie. Without any support, Ding Yi was pulled down onto her.

　　Their combined weight flattened the seat-back.

　　Ding Yi propped himself up on his elbow to avoid crushing her, eyes flashing with lust.

　　“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” he said slowly in a low hoarse voice.

　　Embarrassed and flustered, Su Manhua stammered, “I-I didn’t mean to!”

　　Ding Yi smirked and said, “You did it on purpose! Since you’re so enthusiastic, let me fulfill your wish—” His unfinished words were swallowed as their lips met.

　　At the scene, Su Manhua’s eyes widened in disbelief. Was she dreaming? Was he kissing her?

　　Her clear eyes made Ding Yi a bit annoyed. His lips moved to her eyes, and once she closed them, he returned to her tempting lips.

　　The seat-back had a slight dip at the neck, so Ding Yi supported her neck with his left hand, lifting her chin to meet his kiss.

　　Unlike last time, Ding Yi was patient. She kept her lips tightly shut, but he tenderly traced and explored until she surrendered and joined him.

　　To avoid losing control, and because this wasn’t the right place, he eventually released her.

　　Her skin, now covered in a rosy hue, looked even more enticing. He couldn’t resist pecking her several more times.

　　Ding Yi had rented an SUV, which had a more spacious seat. Now, lying side by side, their bodies almost touching, they looked at each other with tender affection, their foreheads touching, breathing in sync. No words were needed, as the intimate atmosphere flowed between them, their hearts seemingly connected.

　　Cupping her cheek, Ding Yi stroked her soft skin with his thumb, thinking he needed to resolve his case quickly so he could take her home and be with her as he wished.