Chapter 27: I Am Qu Tuotuo

The subsequent interrogation proceeded much as Yu Dazhang had anticipated.

Kong Lingjie continued to feign ignorance, slowly revealing details of the case bit by bit.

This time, Lv Zhongxin felt more assured and was no longer desperate to solve the case immediately.

He fully understood that the complexity of this investigation had already surpassed his abilities.

Under normal circumstances, he would have reported the situation and requested the leadership to reorganize the special task force.

Though such a move might affect his future career prospects, it was unavoidable.

Inadequacy of capability was just that—no amount of forced effort could change the reality; it had nothing to do with diligence.

Yet, there still remained a glimmer of hope.

Lv Zhongxin wanted Yu Dazhang to give it a try, which also granted himself a chance.

At six in the evening.

Yu Dazhang, staring at Kong Lingjie on the surveillance monitor, felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.

“Ahhh—” A long yawn drew the attention of everyone present.

That chubby man was even tearing up...

“Sorry, sorry~” Yu Dazhang apologized with a wave, “The downside to being overweight is easily getting sleepy.”

He knew today’s interrogation would yield no result; his mentor and the suspect were essentially engaged in a stalemate, draining each other.

Hence, Yu Dazhang was quite relaxed at the moment.

There was another reason.

He was now certain that in this lifetime, Lv Zhongxin would no longer take his own life over this case.

If the trail went cold and the true culprit remained elusive, the case would turn into an unsolved mystery.

Solving it would be better, as the entire task force could then claim success.

Either way, it would not lead to Lv Zhongxin’s suicide.

That was already enough—what more could one ask for?

With the goal achieved, relaxation came naturally.

“Go home,” one of the team members told Yu Dazhang.

“Well, isn’t that inappropriate?” Yu Dazhang hesitated, preferring to nap there rather than leave.

He was the only rookie on the task force; even if breaks were rotated, he shouldn’t be the first to step away.

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” another team member patted Yu Dazhang on the shoulder.

“You’ve had a tough day; go home early and rest well. We’ve got this covered.”

Others quickly agreed.

“Come on, come on, if there’s any new development, we’ll call you.”

Yu Dazhang wore a hesitant expression, clearly reluctant to leave.

Seeing this, two team members approached him; one gently pushed him out, while the other opened the door.

“Go home and get some sleep. If you think of any breakthroughs, write them down or just call us.”

“Well, I…” Yu Dazhang stammered, “Are you sure I can really go?”

With a bang, the door was shut from the inside.

Yu Dazhang blinked at the door.

Why were they being so polite?

When had his popularity suddenly improved so much?

He only knew that he had accomplished what he most desired, but the others clearly saw it differently.

Those in this task force were all there to solve the case.

What was once within easy reach—the glory—was drifting further away.

They might even lose face; who wouldn’t be unsettled?

So now, in their eyes, Yu Dazhang was the hope of the entire team.

This chubby guy must not collapse; if he did, they would be truly defeated.

Returning home, Yu Dazhang was about to dig into his meal when his phone suddenly rang.

He thought it would be someone from the task force, but the caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.

Why couldn’t a strange number be from the task force?

Because this number was too flashy.

It began with 13... followed by 888888, the string of eights nearly blinded Yu Dazhang.

Just the number alone must be worth tens of thousands.

“Hello?” Yu Dazhang answered nervously.

“What are you doing? Just got off work, right?” came a clear, cheerful voice like that of a girl next door.

A woman?

Yu Dazhang was momentarily stunned, then realized:

“Wrong number.”

He hung up, tossed his phone on the table, picked up his bowl, and before eating, muttered:

“Is competition in KTVs so fierce now that girls are calling to drum up business?”

Li Xuehe placed a bowl of soup on the table and casually asked:

“Who was that on the phone just now?”

“Telemarketer,” Yu Dazhang replied vaguely, swiftly picking up food with his chopsticks.

—

At the Qu family villa.

Qu Tuotuo stared at her phone, which was playing a muted ringtone, stunned for a full minute before regaining composure.

“Scammer!”

Grabbing her newly purchased Peppa Pig doll, she punched it hard twice in the stomach.

After that, she immediately brought the doll close and gently caressed it, as if it were a real person.

Placing the doll back on the bedside, she angrily picked up her phone again.

“Did I really dial the wrong number?”

After carefully checking the number again, she was sure she hadn’t misdialed.

Two possibilities.

Either the other party had given a fake number, and she had just called a stranger.

Or…

He hadn’t recognized my voice…

The more Qu Tuotuo thought about it, the more she felt the latter was more likely.

She had considered calling him during the day but hesitated, not wanting to disturb his work.

Waiting all day, finally, it was after work hours.

She had even thought up several opening lines for the call, finally settling on the one that sounded most natural.

Had she known, she would have just stated her name at the outset.

More than a week had passed since their police-civilian cooperation at People’s Park.

During this time, Qu Tuotuo had been waiting for Yu Dazhang to come to her.

After all, she had helped him catch a thief; shouldn’t he come thank her in person?

Well, he had thanked her back then.

She had even asked for his contact information—didn't he understand the meaning behind that?

Or perhaps...

He never intended to see me again…

The thought made her heart ache.

Qu Tuotuo knew her looks; she had known since middle school.

The boys in her class would often sneak glances during lessons and frequently left various naive and awkward love notes in her desk.

She always ignored such things—no responses, no telling teachers—pretended she never saw them.

As she grew older, these occurrences became more frequent, and she gradually grew numb to them.

She even learned self-defense abroad.

After all, living far from home, she needed to protect herself.

Yet her beauty inexplicably failed to impress that jerk.

How was she so sure?

Simple: if that chubby guy truly regarded her as a goddess, would he have kissed her without hesitation?

Many liked her, but no one dared to approach like that.

Not a single one!

Unless they truly didn’t take her seriously.

Outsiders saw Qu Tuotuo as a sophisticated heiress who had studied abroad.

In reality, she was traditional, conservative, introverted, and had very few friends.

Su Mi was the only friend she could open her heart to.

She never dreamed that upon returning home, she would meet her lifelong nemesis.

Her prized self-defense skills served only to entertain that greasy, fat jerk.

“Trying to run away after messing with me?” Qu Tuotuo glared at the Peppa Pig doll on her bedside table, fuming:

“Not a chance!”

Picking up her phone again, she quickly composed a text message.

—

While Yu Dazhang was enjoying his meal, he glanced at the phone on the table.

A message?

In 2014, no one used texts anymore, right?

He tapped the screen with his chopsticks.

The message was from the same number…

Had the telemarketer switched to texting?

No, he quickly sensed something was off.

In his past life, he often received spam calls.

But as soon as he hung up or ignored them, they never called again.

He had never seen anyone persist with texts.

Could it really be meant for me?

Setting down his chopsticks, Yu Dazhang opened the message.

It read:

“I am Qu Tuotuo. You have five minutes to call back, or else…”

Or else what?!

Why was this turning threatening now… Yu Dazhang’s head throbbed.

“Lady, what have I done to offend you?”