Qin Guan could hardly believe his eyes.
There was nothing under the driver's seat!
The black stockings he'd hidden there before chasing Zeng Demei were gone!
His heart lurched. He pulled the car over and frantically searched every crevice beneath both the driver and passenger seats. He checked the center console, rummaged through the trunk—no trace of the black plastic bag containing the stockings. The tangible evidence he'd "paid" three million yuan to retrieve from Zeng Demei, the stockings bearing traces of Qi Min's and his own DNA, had vanished into thin air.
"What the hell?"
The summer sun pierced his scalp like countless needles, his skin crawling. He knew ghosts didn't exist and objects didn't disappear without reason. Someone had broken into his car and stolen the bag!
Bang!
He slammed the trunk shut and kicked the tire in fury.
Who else could have done this but Li Yang?
When Qin Guan had parked outside the supermarket to tail Zeng Demei, he'd run into Li Yang. When he returned, Li Yang had been waiting near the car. Only that fool had the time!
No wonder Li Yang had accused him so boldly of murdering Qi Min. No wonder he'd called the police. That lowlife must have secretly opened Qin Guan's car while being kicked to the ground and stolen the stockings!
With that "evidence" in hand, the idiot suddenly had clarity, confidently pinning the blame on him. Otherwise, how could that clueless moron suddenly speak with such logic, as if coached by a mastermind? That "mastermind" was the stockings themselves—maybe Li Yang had played the same suffocation game with Qi Min, recognizing their significance instantly!
"Goddammit! Why is everything going wrong today?"
Qin Guan slumped into the driver's seat and punched the steering wheel. Venting anger was one thing, but solving the problem was another.
What now?
What did Li Yang plan to do with the stockings?
Demand them back? But asking would mean admitting his affair with Qi Min. What legitimate colleague hides a woman's stockings under his seat?
Dealing with Li Yang's nonsense was manageable, but if that fool handed the stockings to the police… The officers had likely already found Qi Min. Combined with the DNA evidence, their two-year affair would explode into the open. Xu Ruyi would find out!
"Idiot! Idiot! I'm such a goddamn idiot!"
Furious and self-reproaching, Qin Guan cursed himself for hiding the stockings in the car. But—
After a moment of rage, his logical mind reasserted control. He took a deep breath and replayed the scene with Li Yang. When Li Yang had accosted him at the supermarket, he'd ranted about Qin Guan sleeping with and murdering his "wife" but never mentioned the stockings. If Li Yang had them, why withhold such damning proof during the confrontation?
Unless… that freeloader planned to blackmail him.
Possible. A parasite like Li Yang would do anything for money. The thought coalesced in Qin Guan's chest like molten metal, heavy and suffocating.
Everyone wants to extort me? Do they even know who I am?
He gritted his teeth. Li Yang had always been a thorn in his side. He needed to deal with him before that fool ruined everything. What if Li Yang contacted Xu Ruyi? What if—
Suddenly, a chilling thought struck him.
What if it wasn't Li Yang?
The possibility sharpened Qin Guan's mind. After all, Li Yang was exactly as Qi Min described—a brainless hothead. If he'd gotten the stockings, why stay silent? He didn't even know about Qi Min's scheme—she'd used him as a pawn and would abandon him once she got the money. Why would Li Yang want the stockings? And given his impulsive nature, wouldn't he have immediately handed them to the police?
Besides, Li Yang didn't have Qin Guan's car keys. Stealing from a parked car in broad daylight required skill and audacity he lacked.
If not Li Yang…
Qin Guan inhaled sharply, his gaze lifting to the rearview mirror. The empty car hummed with cold air conditioning, its icy tendrils slithering through his shirt and into his pores.
If he'd been wrong from the start, only one person could have silently, safely opened his car.
The person he dared not suspect.
Xu Ruyi.
Hands trembling, Qin Guan picked up his phone, took a shaky breath, and dialed her number.