Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Upon receiving the emergency call, the police instructed them to protect the scene and set out immediately.

This was no trivial matter—if what Shu Xueyu said was true, then Zhou Ming would be suspected of intentional homicide, and the situation had to be handled with utmost seriousness.

Seeing that Shu Xueyu actually dared to call the police, Zhou Ming panicked for a split second, but after glancing at the surroundings, he calmed down again.

There were no surveillance cameras nearby, so even if Shu Xueyu suspected him, it wouldn't matter—the police have to go by evidence.

He stayed calm for only a moment. When he spotted the footprints left on the shore, Zhou Ming grew tense again.

He had watched some TV dramas, and footprints could give away a lot—would the police be able to figure out his movements from them?

Zhou Ming was kicking himself. He should've wiped away all the traces he left on the shore. Now...

Having been told by the police to protect the scene, Shu Xueyu and the others kept their distance from the incident site, afraid of contaminating it. With all these people watching, there was no way he could make a move.

A park worker noticed Shu Xueyu's drenched clothes and asked, "Miss Shu, want to change into some dry clothes for you and your daughter?" He then asked Shen Dongqing and the three anglers too.

Although the weather was hot, this was a wetland park with lower temperatures than the city, and being near the lake, a breeze could easily give you a chill.

The three anglers all shook their heads—no need to change. Their clothes were thin, and standing under the sun for a while with a light breeze, their clothes would dry before they even got cold.

Shen Dongqing also shook his head. His clothes were quick-dry, so a little wind would do the trick—no need to change.

Shu Xueyu glanced at her daughter, nodded, and got ready to change. But before leaving, she looked at those who stayed behind and asked Shen Dongqing to keep an eye on the scene and make sure nobody messed with it.

As for who might mess with it, Shu Xueyu didn't say. The others silently looked over at Zhou Ming, who was standing off to the side.

Zhou Ming's face went red then pale—half angry, half humiliated.

"Look at that face—this guy's actually thinking about messing with the scene while the lady's gone, huh?"

"Gotta say, after all these years of marriage, she knows the man in her bed."

"At first I thought she was overthinking—with this many people around, how would he dare? But now, she's clearly got foresight."

"Actually, the lady still doesn't know him well enough. If she did, she wouldn't have ended up in danger this time. If it weren't for the streamer, the cops probably wouldn't even have shown up—it'd just be reported as an accidental drowning."

"The stream's still going, and I've already signed up for swim lessons. Knowing how to swim is huge."

"Now that you mention it, I'm signing up too—just in case."

"Parents should sign their kids up. Adults are more careful, but kids don't watch out when they play, and falling in the water is way too dangerous."

Shen Dongqing didn't bother with the look on Zhou Ming's face. After hearing Shu Xueyu's request, he thought for a moment and said, "How about I film the whole scene with my camera?"

"The flying camera won't leave any traces, and it can shoot super close up."

Shu Xueyu kept nodding at the camera hovering next to Shen Dongqing, even pointing out several spots she wanted filmed in detail, before she finally felt at ease and went off with the staff member to change.

Watching Shen Dongqing carefully fly the camera around, filming the footprints on the shore from every angle, Zhou Ming's face darkened.

Although he could pass off his changing expression as being hurt that his wife didn't trust him, everyone there could still tell something was up.

Even if Zhou Ming hadn't planned to hurt anyone, his behavior already said a lot.

At this point, Zhou Ming was full of regrets—mostly that he hadn't moved faster when he saw the flying camera.

If he'd been quicker, could he have smashed the camera? Then Shen Dongqing couldn't have used it against him.

"Mr. Zhou, step back a bit, please." Huang Xin suddenly stepped in front of Zhou Ming, gesturing for him to move back.

"I'm not a suspect. What's the problem with me standing here?" Zhou Ming glared at Huang Xin with disgust.

"I've been watching you eye that camera, and I'm worried you might do something reckless." Huang Xin flashed a fake grin, then added, "Of course, this could just be me being paranoid, but—now's the time to keep your distance, Mr. Zhou."

If it were just Shen Dongqing and Huang Xin there, Zhou Ming might've risked it. But with the staff and anglers standing around, Zhou Ming snorted and reluctantly backed off.

Seeing the standoff between Huang Xin and Zhou Ming, netizens started chiming in.

"This guy's got the right idea—nipping it in the bud."

"First time I've seen 'all bark and no bite' made so obvious."

"Cruel but cowardly—how can one person be both?"

"The person above doesn't know much. The world's full of people who act tough at home but fold outside. As outsiders, we only see the quiet, timid side of them."

"What's all that rambling above? That's just called being a bully in your own house."

Shen Dongqing finished filming the scene in no time, then pulled some snacks out of his bag and handed them to Huang Xin.

"You must be tired—here, have something to eat." Huang Xin looked at the food offered to him and took it, even though he'd just had some snacks a bit ago.

He figured this was Shen Dongqing's way of rewarding him for what he'd just done.

Shen Dongqing distributed the snacks to everyone. The staff firmly declined, and Shen Dongqing didn't push it—he just told the three anglers to have some.

"You carried all this here on your back, so you might as well eat it. If you don't, you'll have to carry it back—all that effort for nothing."

Hearing this, the three anglers stopped declining and started eating.

They'd been fishing all day without eating much, and all that running and swimming earlier had worn them out.

Now they had to wait for the cops and couldn't just go grab a meal, so having something to tide them over was a must.

...

When Shu Xueyu came back, she saw a group of people huddled together munching on snacks and even swapping flavor reviews.

Only Zhou Ming stood off by himself, looking lonely and left out.

The reason things had turned out this way was that Shen Dongqing had bought snacks recommended by his livestream fans, and he had to give feedback on each one as he ate.

As Shen Dongqing ate and talked about the snacks, it naturally caught the three anglers' attention.

"Little bro, you're livestreaming, huh? Why do you gotta talk while eating snacks?" Meng Tao asked.

"Yeah, I'm livestreaming. Since my fans recommended these snacks, I give them my thoughts after trying them." Shen Dongqing explained.

"Oh, I see—so all these are..." Meng Tao finally got why Shen Dongqing's snacks were so random—only one of each kind, unless there were different flavors. That was the pattern.

He'd been wondering why Shen Dongqing liked so many different things, but it turned out he'd bought them that way on purpose.

"No worries, I'll just buy more later." Shen Dongqing understood what Meng Tao meant and waved it off casually.

Meng Tao hesitated, snacks in hand, then turned around to see two pairs of equally unsure eyes. The three of them huddled up to talk it over, and after a moment, Meng Tao shuffled over hesitantly, glancing at Shen Dongqing.

Shen Dongqing couldn't help but flinch. He wasn't cold—it was just that a big, burly guy suddenly giving you a shy, awkward look would throw anyone off.

"We just talked it over. If you're cool with it, we could help you review these snacks, so you don't have to go buy more," Meng Tao said. "What do you think?"

They'd just eaten a ton, and the snack packs were tiny—each of them had already downed four or five. It'd be a pain for Shen Dongqing to have to go buy more.

What made them hesitate was the fear that Shen Dongqing might think they were trying to hog the spotlight. They'd run into that kind of misunderstanding before, and it hadn't ended well.

Honestly, if they hadn't figured Shen Dongqing was a decent guy, he wouldn't have said anything at all.

"Really? Then thanks, I'd appreciate that." Shen Dongqing quickly handed out the snacks from his backpack, thanking them over and over.

Seeing how into it Shen Dongqing was, the other two guys relaxed and came over too.

"Hey, I can pitch in too." Seeing Shen Dongqing and the other three divvying up the snacks, Huang Xin quickly chimed in.

The five of them circled up, and Meng Tao's crew went first, describing the snacks they'd just eaten. Luckily, the wrappers were still around, and since they'd just eaten, they could remember what each one tasted like.

Shen Dongqing, meanwhile, quickly passed out the snacks—he rated the one-of-a-kind ones himself, and the same-flavor-different-variety ones he rated along with everyone else.

What would've been a boring wait for the cops turned lively as Shen Dongqing got everyone in on it, and the livestream viewers got hyped, rooting for their favorite snacks.

The staff didn't join in the snacking, but watching everyone have fun lightened the mood, and smiles crept onto their faces without them even realizing.

Only Zhou Ming stood there by himself, ignored and stuck, his face stone-cold.

...

Before long, the cops showed up and found Shu Xueyu and the others to get the rundown.

After questioning, the officer looked at Shu Xueyu's pissed-off face and frowned. Her logic was sound, but the problem was it was all speculation—there was no hard evidence.

Even though the other witnesses' statements sided with Shu Xueyu, there still wasn't enough proof, since Zhou Ming could talk his way out of everything else.

After being questioned, Zhou Ming came out with a grim face, using it to mask the panic churning inside him.

Seeing the cops gathering evidence on the shore, Zhou Ming's heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he snuck glances at the investigator.

There wasn't much evidence to log on the shore, and by the time they finished questioning, the investigator had already wrapped up his notes.

"Officer, can you tell if my daughter fell in or was pushed?" Not getting a good answer from the questioning officer, Shu Xueyu got anxious and, ignoring everything else, rushed over to the investigator.

The investigator met Shu Xueyu's anxious gaze and shook his head. "The footprints on the ground are too messed up to tell if she was pushed or fell in."

The footprints couldn't tell them anything?

Shu Xueyu stumbled, staring blankly at the cops.

Zhou Ming had been eavesdropping on the conversation. Even though he couldn't hear what the cops were saying, one look at Shu Xueyu's face told him she hadn't gotten good news.

"Officer, if I'm not a suspect, can I head out first?" Zhou Ming spoke up, itching to get out of there ASAP.

"Wait—maybe the useful marks got washed away by the water, that's why you can't tell. I took photos of the scene earlier—please take another look, please." Shu Xueyu refused to give up, her voice almost begging by the end.

She knew she was being a bit pushy, but she was scared that if she didn't keep at it, Zhou Ming's crime might get buried.

"Alright." The investigator could tell Shu Xueyu wasn't going to accept that. He glanced at Zhou Ming, then nodded.

Shu Xueyu led the investigator over to Shen Dongqing—the videos were all saved on his camera.

Shen Dongqing wasn't far off and had overheard the conversation between Shu Xueyu and the investigator. He knew this might be Shu Xueyu's last shot, but he was a little scared to meet her hopeful eyes.

After the cops arrived, he'd carefully checked out the scene, especially the footprints, and they looked the same as when he'd filmed. Watching the video wouldn't change the cops' minds.

But this was all Shu Xueyu had left.

Shen Dongqing sighed to himself and switched the camera to playback, starting to scrub through the footage.

Since the screen was a bit small, he accidentally scrubbed too far back, and the screen showed Shen Dongqing's side profile and the clear lake.

"Shen-ge, I'm kinda hungry—can we stop and grab a bite?" Huang Xin's voice came through.

Shen Dongqing remembered—this was a few minutes before they ran into Shu Xueyu.

"Sorry, I went back too far." Shen Dongqing said as he moved to fast-forward, but suddenly froze, a thought hitting him.

He knew how good the camera from the system was, and from this angle, at this time—could it have caught Zhou Ming and the others?

"What's wrong?" Seeing Shen Dongqing stop, Shu Xueyu asked.

"Sister Shu, I might've caught the moment Niuniu fell into the water, but I'm not sure yet—I need to check." Shen Dongqing said cautiously.

Shu Xueyu stood frozen. She'd brought the cops to watch the video without much hope, just unable to give up, but who knew things would actually take a turn.

Caught between extreme joy and sorrow, Shu Xueyu felt dizzy, but she quickly steadied herself and glanced over at Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming seemed to have relaxed, bugging the cops and demanding to leave early, totally clueless about what was going on over there.

The investigator also got serious—if they needed evidence, video was more direct, and the footprints were just an important supporting clue.

Shen Dongqing nervously played the video. The flying camera had shifted after he stopped, pointing straight at the lake.

The main focus of the frame was Shen Dongqing, but behind him, figures on the opposite shore were visible. When the image was zoomed in, their movements were crystal clear.

Shen Dongqing recognized them—it was Zhou Ming and his daughter by the shore. They had been a bit away from the water, but then Zhou Ming broke off a branch and handed it to the little girl, who ran to the lake's edge and used the small branch to splash the water.

The investigator stared at the camera screen. The key point of the whole case was whether the little girl had been pushed into the water by Zhou Ming—if so, everything after was a continuation of intentional murder.

The footage continued. Zhou Ming walked over to his daughter, looked around, and pushed her—the girl fell straight into the lake.

Even from nearly three hundred meters away, the camera captured the moment with remarkable clarity.

The girl was not far from the shore at that point, but she couldn't climb out on her own. Zhou Ming only needed to reach out a hand to pull her up, but he stood motionless, watching her struggle as the current carried her away from the shore.

Soon, a figure came running from not far away, and only then did Zhou Ming suddenly dive into the water, swimming toward his daughter.

But he had barely swum a short distance when he suddenly raised his hand toward the shore, signaling for help, and was pulled up by Shu Xueyu.

Shu Xueyu suddenly slapped herself hard, startling both Shen Dongqing and the investigator.

"Sister Shu, what are you doing?" Shen Dongqing blurted out.

Shu Xueyu burst into loud sobs. She hated herself—hated that she had misjudged someone, hated that she hadn't gone to save her daughter first. Her daughter had been relatively close to the shore at the time; if she had gone to save her, she might have been able to pull her out.

But she had believed Zhou Ming's excuse about a leg cramp, pulled him up first, and missed her chance to save her daughter.

Through Shu Xueyu's choked sobs, Shen Dongqing understood her regret.

"It's not too late to see his true colors now. The evidence is here—Zhou Ming will at least do prison time and repent for his wrongdoings," Shen Dongqing consoled.

"I want him dead." Shu Xueyu gritted her teeth. Zhou Ming didn't deserve to live. She'd find the best lawyer and make sure he paid with his life.

Zhou Ming was getting impatient. He wanted to leave, but the police wouldn't let him, saying the investigation wasn't done. What wasn't done? Wasn't everything already clear?

"What's your badge number? Just wait—I'm gonna file a complaint against you right now," Zhou Ming said angrily.

The officer he was talking to was speechless. He could tell something was off about Zhou Ming—earlier he'd been all bluster, and now he was cocky and confident. This guy had definitely done something; the question was whether the investigators had found anything yet.

Just then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and his face changed slightly.

Zhou Ming noticed the officer's change in expression and figured he'd scared him. "Enough, I don't have time to mess around with you. I'm outta here. We'll talk later."

Zhou Ming figured the cops couldn't touch him anyway—if he just walked out confidently, that would be that.

As he headed out, he regretted being too soft earlier. If he'd known the cops were scared of complaints, he should've said that from the start and saved himself all that wasted breath.

"Mr. Zhou, sorry, but we've found some evidence. I'm afraid we'll need you to come with us," the officer said, blocking his path.

Zhou Ming turned around annoyed, only to meet the officer's stern face, and suddenly felt something was wrong.

Earlier, the officer had been scrutinizing him but seemed helpless. Now, he was staring at Zhou Ming intently.

Zhou Ming glanced over at Shu Xueyu and noticed that at some point, she, the investigator, and Shen Dongqing had all gathered together. Shu Xueyu's expression was eerily cold, completely gone from her earlier defeat.

As if sensing his gaze, Shu Xueyu looked over, her eyes like icy daggers stabbing right through him.

Zhou Ming swallowed hard, feeling like he was in deep trouble.

He cautiously looked around, realizing only one officer was near him. A thought popped into his head: run.

This was Mingshan Wetland Park—near the mountains, no cameras, and it would be dark soon. If he bolted from here, maybe he could get away.

Zhou Ming completely forgot about his physical limits and the fact that without gear, he couldn't survive in the wild. Driven purely by the fear of being caught, he made a rash decision and took off running.

If he hadn't run, things might've been different, but the moment he did, the other officers instinctively chased after him.

He hadn't even made it ten meters before an officer tackled him, slamming him to the ground, his mouth full of grass.

"Ow, easy, easy!" With his hands pinned behind his back, Zhou Ming felt pain in his wrists, shoulders, and knees, and yelled out.

With a prior escape attempt and the clear footage of him pushing the girl, Zhou Ming was cuffed. There was no need to take him to the local station—they headed straight for the main precinct.

Everyone else was done after giving their statements, but Shen Dongqing had to tag along because the video evidence was on his camera, and the cops hadn't brought a USB drive, so they needed to copy it at the station.

Huang Xin wanted to go too, but he had no reason to, so he could only watch wistfully as Shen Dongqing got into the cop car.

"Come by my place tomorrow—I'll hand you the camera," Shen Dongqing said, offering the only comfort he could.

Huang Xin nodded, watched the cop car drive off, then waited for a bus and headed home.

Shu Xueyu wanted to follow too—she wanted to see Zhou Ming in his defeated state—but looking at her daughter, she gave up the idea and took her to the hospital first.

...

Seeing the familiar police station, Shen Dongqing sighed. How should he put it? He'd always walked into the local station on his own, but he'd only ever arrived at the main precinct in a cop car.

Zhou Ming was brought out by the officers. Having had time on the ride over to think through the worst-case scenario, his expression had actually improved a bit, but the moment he saw Shen Dongqing, his eyes burned with hatred.

If not for the officers' firm grip, he looked like he wanted to bite Shen Dongqing to death.

Zhou Ming didn't know exactly what evidence Shen Dongqing had provided, but he was sure his downfall was Shen Dongqing's doing.

Shen Dongqing had been busy all day, and sitting in the car had made him drowsy and queasy. But meeting Zhou Ming's gaze snapped him awake, and he offered a smile.

What a joke—a coward like this, who only dared to hurt his own daughter and wife—how could Shen Dongqing be afraid of him?

The officer beside him hadn't expected Zhou Ming to be calm in the car but go berserk once he got out. He tightened his grip and barked, "Behave yourself."

"Brother Xiao, you free tomorrow afternoon? I heard there's a great hotpot place—want to check it out together?" Du Wei sidled up to Xiao Ze. After days of hard work, they finally had some time off, and he wanted to grab a bite together.

But as he spoke, Du Wei noticed Xiao Ze wasn't answering, his gaze fixed elsewhere.

What was over there?

Du Wei followed his line of sight and saw a strikingly handsome face.

The person seemed a bit sleepy, eyes half-lidded. When the man being restrained by the officers did something, he seemed to snap awake, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips—a casual, almost provocative grin.

"Brother Xiao, is that a new colleague?" Du Wei asked.

Although Shen Dongqing wasn't in uniform, his demeanor was far too relaxed. Regular civilians were usually a bit nervous entering a police station, so Du Wei could only guess he was a new recruit.

Looking at Shen Dongqing's face, then back at Xiao Ze, Du Wei said quietly, "Brother Xiao, your title as the best-looking guy in the unit is in jeopardy. Though in my opinion, you're still the most handsome—it's just that his face has broader appeal."

Du Wei occasionally scrolled through short videos, and for some reason, the platform seemed to think he was into handsome streamers, always pushing those videos to him. From the comments, he could tell which type of good-looking guy was most popular.

Xiao Ze was handsome too, but in a calm, rugged way. The videos he saw of guys with similar looks didn't get as many likes as the prettier, more delicate types.

Xiao Ze snapped back to attention, gave Du Wei an exasperated look, and said, "He's not a cop. Probably a civilian reporting a case."

Not a cop?

Du Wei felt a bit embarrassed but quickly spotted the key detail: "Brother Xiao, you know him?"

Xiao Ze didn't answer, but when he saw Shen Dongqing wave at him, a slight smile tugged at his lips.