The panic lasted only half a second. The man quickly released his grip, a gentle smile lifting his face. Even as he stood, he did not forget to straighten his shirt collar.
"Ladies, Investigators, may I ask why you've come to see me?"
Zhang Xiao took a photograph from her pocket and held it out to him. "Mr. Chen, do you know the person in this photo?"
Chen Hanbin, the arcade owner, paused when he took the photograph.
It showed a middle-aged man with a crew cut, smoking directly at the camera.
His fingers trembled almost imperceptibly. Then, as though nothing had happened, he pushed the photo back. "No. I've never seen him."
Liu Jialin had not spoken once. She merely watched him in silence, her gaze as sharp as a scalpel, as though it might pierce through his carefully feigned calm.
Under her stare, Chen Hanbin grew terribly uncomfortable. The shirt on his back was soon soaked with cold sweat, while the hand gripping the edge of the desk tightened in secret, trying to keep him steady.
Zhang Xiao suddenly smiled. She pulled another photograph from her pocket. This time, she did not hand it over but held it directly before him. "What about this one?"
In the photograph, Chen Hanbin sat in a bar with the crew-cut middle-aged man, their arms around each other's shoulders.
Both held up wineglasses, their faces flushed with laughter. The middle-aged man's arm was draped across Chen Hanbin's shoulder, their intimacy resembling that of old friends.
Chen Hanbin's smile instantly froze. It was as if all the strength had been drained from his body. He suddenly collapsed backward into his office chair, its legs scraping against the floor with an ear-piercing squeal.
His face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled. For a