Chapter 71: A Perfect Match?

The moment those words were spoken, all the lingering intimacy and ambiguous warmth in the air shattered at once.

Liu Hong’s cheeks, still flushed and her gaze still dreamy, froze instantly.

She slowly, somewhat dazedly, lifted her head to look at the man before her, the same man who, just moments ago, had lavished her with both tenderness and domineering affection.

Those beautiful eyes brimmed with confusion and astonishment.

“Hair?”

“What hair?”

Her voice was barely a whisper, tinged with the bewilderment of a kiss abruptly interrupted.

But Chen Yu’s brow knit tightly into a knot.

He stared fixedly at the data panel hovering above Liu Hong’s head.

[Name: Liu Hong]
[Heart Rate: 68 (Angry)]
[Stamina: 35 (Weak)]
[Affection: 92 (Obsessed)]
[Innocence: 90]

Angry?

Chen Yu’s heart suddenly sank.

The data never lied.

Her emotions at this instant were not panic from suspicion, nor fear at being exposed, but… anger?

Why was she angry?

Was she furious that he had shattered this perfectly ambiguous atmosphere?

Or… was there another secret at play?

…

Thirty minutes earlier, at the City Investigation Squad.

Outside the interrogation room, in the hallway.

Su Qingzhu watched Chen Yu’s hurried, almost ruthless departure, her pretty face dark with fury.

She whipped her head toward Yan Zheng at her side, suppressing her anger, but her voice remained ice-cold.

“Master!”

“We just let him go like that?”

“That guy is out of control! What was that attitude just now? He actually dared to turn his back on you! Where does he get the nerve?”

Yan Zheng said nothing.

He simply leaned wearily against the wall, his square-jawed face lined with fatigue.

More clearly than anyone, he knew that, although Chen Yu acted unpredictably, his judgments were always terrifyingly accurate.

If he had lost his composure like that, it meant he must have grasped something crucial, something that could overturn the entire case.

But… what was it?

Yan Zheng couldn’t figure it out.

He fished out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. Thick smoke curled before his face, but it couldn’t dispel the confusion clouding his mind.

“Master! We just let Liu Gang go like that? What are we going to tell Zhang Fu?” Su Qingzhu’s voice was filled with urgency.

“Explain…” Yan Zheng exhaled a smoke ring and sighed deeply, as if trying to expel every ounce of foul air from his lungs.

At last, he stubbed out the cigarette, pulled out his battered old phone, and scrolled to a number he rarely dialed, but which was of utmost importance, and called it.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

“Hello.”

On the other end, a man’s voice, calm to the point of chilling, came through.

Yan Zheng took a deep breath, his tone growing heavier than ever.

“It’s me, Yan Zheng.”

“If I’m not mistaken, that detective from Sakura Country is your man, isn’t he?”

There was a brief silence.

“Yes.”

The voice remained utterly unperturbed.

“Good.” Yan Zheng’s eyes suddenly sharpened. “Then the strand of hair just sent for testing—how soon can we get the results?”

This time, the silence on the other end lasted longer.

It seemed to be a moment of weighing, of consideration.

Finally, that cold voice sounded again.

“It should be out soon.”

“Go get the results!”

…

In the villa’s living room.

“What hair? Tell me clearly!” Liu Hong’s voice had gone completely cold.

She pulled her hand free from Chen Yu’s grasp, slid herself backward, and widened the gap between them.

The face that had just been stunningly beautiful was now coated in frost.

Chen Yu looked at her and gave a bitter smile in his heart.

He’d been too reckless.

Because of a single wild, uncertain suspicion, he’d lost all composure in an instant.

He steadied himself and recounted everything as it had happened.

“…Just now, that detective from Sakura Country, Sanada Gouichiro, discovered a long black hair in Zhang Luoluo’s villa that didn’t belong to anyone present.”

Chen Yu’s gaze involuntarily drifted to Liu Hong’s own silky, jet-black hair.

Whether in length or hue, it matched all too perfectly.

“So you suspect the hair is mine?” Liu Hong’s voice was now glacial.

Her face had turned ashen in a heartbeat.

She looked at Chen Yu, disappointment clouding her eyes.

“You suspect me… of killing Zhang Luoluo?”

Chen Yu opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a single word.

All he wanted now was to slap himself, hard.

This woman before him—just days ago, she had entrusted him with her most precious gift.

And now, he had turned and stabbed her in the cruelest way possible.

Of course!

What motive could she possibly have?

In the memory’s replay, the murderer had clearly been a man!

He must have lost his mind!

“Chen Yu, do you trust me?”

Liu Hong’s voice suddenly broke through his regret.

It trembled, but her gaze was unwavering as she looked at him.

Before he could answer, she spoke, enunciating every word:

“I don’t know Zhang Luoluo!”

“I’ve never been to her home!”

“That hair you mentioned isn’t mine!”

Each word landed like a nail, hammered deep into Chen Yu’s heart.

“I’m sorry!”

Chen Yu bowed his head abruptly.

“Hong-jie, I’m sorry. I was an idiot! I was reckless!”

The air in the living room grew unbearably awkward.

He looked up, meeting Liu Hong’s reddened eyes, and an overwhelming guilt and tenderness surged within him.

This woman had suffered enough.

Instead of bringing her comfort, he’d wounded her once again.

Chen Yu felt as if someone had clenched his heart in a fist, squeezing until he couldn’t breathe.

He stood, walked over to Liu Hong, and slowly knelt down before her.

Looking up at her with a sincerity unlike any he’d ever shown, he said,

“Hong-jie, I shouldn’t have doubted you! I swear, from now on, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you, to love you!”

“I promise, I will never let you suffer even the slightest injustice again!”

“I—”

Chen Yu wanted to say more.

But a soft, cool hand gently pressed against his lips.

Liu Hong’s cheeks turned faintly rosy as she slowly shook her head.

The ice in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a tenderness and infatuation deep enough to drown him.

Her gaze grew languid once more.

In that instant, Chen Yu felt his blood surge to his head in a roaring rush!

This woman!

She was like a vixen sent by the heavens to test his self-control!

What hot-blooded young man could withstand such exquisite temptation?

The next second.

Chen Yu could no longer restrain the wildfire in his heart. He shot to his feet, scooped up her soft, voluptuous body in a single motion!

“Ah!” Liu Hong gave a short, startled cry, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.

Chen Yu said nothing, just lowered his head and pressed his lips fiercely to hers once more, tasting the sweetness he could never forget.

This kiss was more forceful, more wild than any before!

Cradling her in his arms, he strode with long, urgent steps toward the bedroom.

He kicked the door open.

The curtains were drawn, and the room plunged into darkness, save for a sliver of light that slipped through the gap, illuminating the dust motes swirling in the air.

Chen Yu laid her gently on the soft, wide bed.

The whole room thickened with a heady, intoxicating tension.

Time itself seemed to halt.

The only sounds were their ragged breaths, their pounding hearts—nothing else existed in that space.

Chen Yu leaned down, his burning fingertips tracing slowly over the straps of her dress.

Just as he was about to strip away the last barrier, to journey at last into that longed-for paradise—

“Woooo—woooo—”

From outside, a shrill, piercing siren tore through the silence, growing ever louder until it screeched to a halt right outside the villa!

Both their bodies jerked stiff with shock!

All longing, all the intoxicating atmosphere, was doused instantly by that abrupt, blaring siren!

“Detectives?!”

Liu Hong’s face turned ghostly pale.

Chen Yu’s brow furrowed tight as he leapt from the bed.

“Hurry! Straighten your clothes!”

In a flurry of panic, the two of them scrambled to fix their disheveled attire, but the scorching, sultry haze in the air simply refused to dissipate.

The next moment!

Bang!

The villa’s front door was battered open from outside!

A clamor of hurried, heavy footsteps rang out!

Chen Yu and Liu Hong had just rushed out of the bedroom when they saw Su Qingzhu lead a squad of heavily armed agents charging in like wolves.

Su Qingzhu’s eyes landed at once on Chen Yu and Liu Hong, both breathless and poorly dressed.

She caught the sickly-sweet scent in the air.

She was stunned for a moment.

Then, on her ice-queen face, a wave of uncontrollable disdain and revulsion surged up.

She shot Chen Yu a withering glare, as if she were looking at a pile of disgusting trash.

Finally, her gaze, sharp as a blade, locked onto Liu Hong’s ashen face.

Su Qingzhu lifted her chin high, held out her credentials, and, adopting an official tone, barked loudly,

“Ms. Liu Hong!”

“The DNA test results are in. The hair found at the scene of Zhang Luoluo’s murder is a perfect match to your DNA!”

“You are now formally suspected of involvement in the homicide of Zhang Luoluo. Please come with us to headquarters for questioning!”

“Take her away!”