Chapter Thirty-Three: Deception

Huo Yan walked straight toward the elevator without a word of protest, heading upstairs to find Li Qiao. Ning Shuyi settled herself onto a nearby sofa, waiting for Huo Yan to bring him down. About ten minutes later, Huo Yan returned, with someone trailing behind him—the very person they were searching for, Li Qiao.

Li Qiao’s appearance was unremarkable; he wasn’t short, though not as tall as Huo Yan, and his face neither handsome nor striking. His figure was a bit frail, and as he followed behind Huo Yan, he seemed timid, almost like a student caught by the school discipline director for some mischief. If one were pressed to find a redeeming feature in his looks, perhaps only his fair skin stood out.

Li Qiao was indeed pale, especially next to Huo Yan, whose skin had been bronzed by countless days under the sun. The contrast rendered Li Qiao’s paleness almost sickly. Ning Shuyi couldn’t fathom why Wang Yuluo had, after only a brief acquaintance and certainly without deep understanding, fallen for Li Qiao, even actively pursued him. Afterwards, she tolerated many discordant views while they were together.

Perhaps, she thought, love itself is blind.

Huo Yan led Li Qiao before Ning Shuyi, gesturing for him to take the single armchair beside her. Li Qiao sat down obediently, legs together, knees pressed tight, hands unsure, rubbing his thighs before finally placing them neatly atop his knees.

Ning Shuyi suppressed a smile; since military training at university, she hadn’t seen anyone sit in such a manner. It was obvious that Li Qiao's nerves and guilt had reached a certain pitch.

After all, a person with a clear conscience, when confronted by the police appearing at their door, would certainly be nervous, but more confused than anything—not as he was now.

"Did you tell him who we are and why we came?" Ning Shuyi asked once Huo Yan was seated.

Huo Yan nodded. "I showed him my badge and explained we’re here to learn about matters related to Wang Yuluo."

Ning Shuyi glanced at Li Qiao, who seemed frozen in place, and smiled gently at him. "No need to be nervous. We’re just having a chat."

Li Qiao forced a smile in response, but his gaze kept flicking toward Huo Yan, clearly out of fear, acting so docile and compliant.

With Huo Yan’s keen perception, he certainly caught the meaning behind these small gestures, and now fully believed Ning Shuyi’s earlier assessment before he went upstairs.

"Li Qiao, what’s your relationship with Wang Yuluo?" Ning Shuyi asked.

Li Qiao blinked, as if stumped by the question. He was unsure whether the police were here because Wang Yuluo had gotten herself into trouble and they wanted information from him, or whether Wang Yuluo was in trouble because of him, and that’s why they’d come.

It was clearly distressing for him, his fingers unconsciously digging at his knees, as if hoping that answers would pop out from the holes he made.

"Is the question so hard to answer?" Ning Shuyi raised a brow and pressed.

Li Qiao nodded, speaking hesitantly, "I really don’t know how to answer. My relationship with Wang Yuluo isn’t something that can be explained in a sentence or two."

"That’s alright. If two sentences aren’t enough, use three or four. If that’s not enough, five or six. After all, it’s just a relationship between two people—not as if you need to write a ten-thousand-word thesis," Ning Shuyi said with a smile.

Li Qiao, seeing he couldn’t dodge the question, replied awkwardly, "Well, it’s like this: Wang Yuluo and I used to be boyfriend and girlfriend. We got together in college—she pursued me relentlessly.

After a few years, due to differences in personality and, after entering society, diverging views on life and values, we decided to separate and cool off.

Recently, we’ve both had time to reflect, so things have warmed slightly, but only to the level of friends. There’s nothing deeper. So if you ask me what our relationship is, I really don’t know how to answer."

"That’s hardly unanswerable—you’re her ex," Ning Shuyi observed, recalling Yu Mengpeng’s previous description of Li Qiao; it was fitting, as he still took every opportunity to emphasize that Wang Yuluo had pursued him. "Have you gotten back together?"

"Back together?" Li Qiao echoed, feeling the question off-putting. He thought it best to distance himself further, so he waved his hands quickly, "No, no! Officer, you’ve misunderstood. We haven’t reconciled.

I’m just saying our relationship is somewhat more cordial than right after we broke up—'friends when meeting again,' you know? That’s all. I don’t know if Wang Yuluo wants to get back together, but I certainly don’t.

My career is on the rise, so I need to focus all my energy on work. Who has time for romance? I’m so busy with work I barely have time to sleep!"

"Is that so!" Ning Shuyi nodded, understanding. "So all those posts online smearing Wang Yuluo, spreading rumors about her, have nothing to do with you?"

"Officer, you must be joking…" Li Qiao’s eyes flickered, a faint sweat breaking on his brow. "I work from dawn to dusk, so busy I don’t get enough sleep—how could I have time to post online?"

"Did I mention that the posters usually update at night?" Ning Shuyi turned to Huo Yan when she heard this.

Huo Yan shook his head. "No, you didn’t. He said it himself."

Ning Shuyi turned back to Li Qiao, her face adorned with a faint smile, watching him silently.

Li Qiao felt uneasy under her smiling gaze. "Wait, what are you implying? Are you saying I posted online to smear Wang Yuluo, and then wanted to get back together with her?

That doesn’t make sense! If I wanted to reconcile, I’d try to please her, not attack her!"

"That’s not necessarily the case. Love denied can turn to hate—it’s not impossible," Ning Shuyi smiled, pulling out her notebook and reciting the time points provided earlier by Luo Wei. "After all, three months ago, Friday night at half past eight, two months ago, Saturday morning at ten twenty, and a month ago, Monday evening at six—you appeared near her residence each time!"