The First Time (Revised)

The interrogation room.

The young man had a dark bruise at the corner of his eye. He hung his head timidly, his hands cuffed to the table, his clenched fists rubbing together uncontrollably.

The police officer across from him tapped the table.

Ji Jingxing jolted.

His whole body trembled, and his lips quivered open and shut several times before he found his voice.

"Yes... I killed Jiang Lian."

"I used Brother Bai's phone to lure him out, threatened him with his younger sister, and tied him up..."

Like a machine following its programming, Ji Jingxing repeated those lines once again.

Something came to Ji Jingxing's mind, and he retched several times. Then he raised his deathly pale face and continued.

"When I finished tidying up, I realized he was still looking at me..."

He laughed and cried at the same time.

"He was still looking at me. His gaze never left me. Those eyes just kept staring right at me, so... I dug them out."

Ji Jingxing suddenly raised his voice again.

"Ji Jingxing! Do you know what you're saying?" The officer sitting across from him urged him earnestly, "You've got your whole life ahead of you, and your father is still waiting outside. What good will taking the blame for someone else do you? I'll ask you one more time."

"Did you kill Jiang Lian?"

"How could it have been me, officer?"

The bright light made Bai Xiaofan close his eyes. He reclined in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head and both legs propped on the table, swinging them back and forth as he moved, utterly at ease.

"Didn't the killer turn himself in? I'm a victim too, officer. I treated him like a brother, and he actually used my phone to lure my dear classmate Jiang Lian out and kill him. That man has a venomous heart and horrifying methods. What he did was truly atrocious. I support shooting him."

Bai Xiaofan clutched his chest in an affected display. "It pains me to think I spent nearly a year with him and still failed to see what kind of person he was."

"Tell me, if I'd seen his true colors sooner, would Jiang Lian still have died? And died... so miserably?"

"Alas, how pitiful, how regrettable, how lamentable."

Luo Ningsang heard those words as he pushed the door open.

Bai Xiaofan noticed him. "Oh, who's gracing us with his presence? Finally willing to spare some time to see your dear creditor?"

"Shut up." A vein throbbed at Luo Ningsang's brow as he waved the officer out.

Soon, only the two of them remained in the room.

Luo Ningsang's face was expressionless. "Call me Consultant Luo."

Bai Xiaofan's narrow, foxlike eyes narrowed slightly. "That doesn't change the fact that I'm your creditor."

Luo Ningsang didn't argue with him over something so pointless and proceeded with the routine questioning.

Bai Xiaofan cooperated readily enough. In any case, he only repeated the same old story. He had only called Luo Ningsang over to put him through some trouble, but now... he had a new target.

The image of Shen Yu sitting in his wheelchair flashed through his mind.

"I hear you've got yourself a younger brother?"

The pen in Luo Ningsang's hand punctured the paper.

"Oh, now I remember. The one who burned down the school. He's got some nerve..."

Smack—

Luo Ningsang slammed the pen onto the table with all his strength.

"Answer what I ask. Don't say anything else."

Bai Xiaofan leaned his whole body across the table instead, propping his chin in both hands. "In such a hurry? Did I hit Consultant Luo's sore spot?"

Luo Ningsang raised his hand and laid his pistol flat on the table, its muzzle pointed at Bai Xiaofan. His calm tone concealed fury like a whirlwind beneath the water.

"You talk too much."

Bai Xiaofan raised his hands in surrender. Just as Luo Ningsang gathered his things and prepared to leave, he suddenly spoke. "Consultant Luo, tell me, does Shen Yu know you sold the house your parents left you to pay his compensation for burning down the school?"

Bang—

A gunshot thundered through the room.

A bloody cut appeared on Bai Xiaofan's cheek, and blood trickled slowly down.

Luo Ningsang kept his arm raised, wisps of white smoke curling from the pistol's muzzle. His dark eyes were dull and lightless as he looked at Bai Xiaofan like a dead man.

"Warning."

"—the first."

The interrogation room door was pulled open. Lin Xinluo's anxious gaze fell on Luo Ningsang. She snatched the gun from his hand and dragged him out of the room.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Lin Xinluo poked him in the shoulder, the last note of her voice still trembling.

"What are you doing?! He isn't even a suspect. All the evidence clears him! It was just routine questioning, and you shot at him?!" Lin Xinluo wanted nothing more than to kick him, pry open his head, and see what was inside.

"If you don't want to live a peaceful life anymore, just tell me. I've got plenty of ways to find you something to do! What are you trying to do now? If that bullet had been off by even an inch, you'd have spent the rest of your life in prison."

Luo Ningsang said, "That works too."

Lin Xinluo was furious. "Huh? What about Xiao Yu, then? What's he supposed to do?! You're the only person he has left who's close to him in this world. You just dust your pants off and walk away, and what about him?"

Even so, she lowered her voice, afraid it would carry to the office down the corridor.

Luo Ningsang crouched down helplessly, ran all ten fingers into his hair, and rubbed his head in agitation. His eyes reddened in an instant. "...He threatened me with Xiao Yu."

Seeing him stuck down that dead end, Lin Xinluo felt both angry and anxious.

Luo Ningsang was stubborn as a mule. Once he settled on an idea, nothing could shake him. Just as he unfailingly brought Aunt Jiang gifts every week, come thunder or lightning, once his mind was made up, it wouldn't change.

Lin Xinluo raised her arm and slapped him in one clean motion. Grabbing him by the collar, she practically pointed at his nose as she scolded him. "Who the hell does he think he is? You're one of Ancheng's top detectives. Do you think you can't protect Shen Yu? The point is, he hasn't even made a move yet, and here you are, building up his courage while tearing down your own?"

Luo Ningsang lowered his eyes. "I can't let him be in danger. Better to put a bullet through Bai Xiaofan's head..." That's safest.

His words were cut short when Shen Yu appeared at the end of the corridor, turning his wheelchair.

"Brother, what are you talking about?"

Lin Xinluo put the pistol back at Luo Ningsang's waist and hurried forward. "Nothing, just some questions about Ji Jingxing's confession. Your brother was planning to look for a breakthrough there. Xiao Yu, why did you come out?"

She changed the subject quickly, afraid Shen Yu would keep asking.

"Um... I heard a really loud noise just now, so I came out to see." Only when Shen Yu drew closer did he see the five clear red finger marks on Luo Ningsang's face. He fell silent for a moment. "Did one of Consultant Luo's romantic entanglements come knocking?"

Luo Ningsang: "..."

Lin Xinluo: "Hahahahahaha."

Luo Ningsang pinched Shen Yu's cheek. There wasn't much flesh on it, but it was soft. "Cutting ties with me so soon? You little ingrate."

Shen Yu tried to pull his hand away but couldn't budge it. His words came out muffled. "Then what was it?"

Luo Ningsang said, "I bumped into something by accident."

Even with Shen Yu giving him a reproachful look that said, Are you trying to fool a child? Luo Ningsang's expression didn't change. "Really."

Shen Yu: "..."

Shen Yu said, "I'm going to the school with Brother Zheng to investigate."

"No." Luo Ningsang refused without thinking.

Shen Yu lowered his eyes. "You just promised you'd help me."

Luo Ningsang was silent for a moment. "I'll have Lu Yanjin go with you. You have to promise not to leave their side for even half a step, not even to use the bathroom."

Shen Yu's delighted expression froze on his face.

"Otherwise, you can't go."

In the end, the desire to go out won out over reason. Shen Yu nodded, somewhat glumly.

"All right."

I'll just go squat on the toilet in a bit.