Return to before death

Yan Ran looked at him questioningly and immediately received an affirmative answer.

I talked to Ye Ting in a coffee shop yesterday. We didn't pay much attention to the fact that it was a public place, and we got straight to business.

And today we receive news of her death—what a coincidence! Or was there someone in the coffee shop yesterday trying to stop her from investigating?

"How did you die?"

"Let's talk as we walk." Sheng Xuanling not only didn't shake off her hand, but instead held it back and led her toward the scene of Ye Ting's death.

The warmth from his hands made Yan Ran feel unreal; shouldn't his hands be ice-cold?

After his explanation along the way, she finally understood that Ye Ting had died from a gunshot wound.

This time, Qin Zhiyuan was handling the case again; they were old acquaintances.

Qin Zhiyuan knew that Sheng Xuanling had been paying attention to this matter recently, so he called him immediately. As for Yan Ran, he was mainly unaware that she had also gotten involved.

So when Qin Zhiyuan saw Yan Ran, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

"Mrs. Zong, what a coincidence, we meet again."

He wore a professional smile and politely extended his right hand while maintaining a respectful distance.

Sheng Xuanling's gaze, which had been wandering around, finally settled on his right hand, as if trying to stare a hole through it.

Qin Zhiyuan awkwardly withdrew his hand and looked at Sheng Xuanling, puzzled.

What is he doing? It's just a hand outstretched, why is he staring at it like that?

For no apparent reason, a chill ran down Qin Zhiyuan's spine. Without even thinking, he knew it was Sheng Xuanling watching him; only his gaze could have such an impact.

"What a coincidence." Yan Ran pouted and withdrew her hand that she had almost reached out.

Luckily, she didn't stick her hand out, otherwise she would have lost face terribly.

She reached out her hand, but the other person withdrew their hand. So her hand was left hanging in mid-air, and someone unaware of the situation might think she wanted to shake hands with them, but they simply ignored her.

Wouldn't she be a sucker?

"Let's get down to business." Sheng Xuanling spoke up, breaking the awkward silence, her gaze fixed on Qin Zhiyuan, a warning in her eyes.

Yan Ran silently took a step back, giving the two of them some space. In this strange scene, she felt like a third wheel.

"Ahem." Qin Zhiyuan coughed lightly, indicating that he understood. He had clearly seen Yan Ran's actions, and he didn't want to continue misunderstanding, lest this terrifying man in front of him do something.

But his action turned Yan Ran's suspicions into certainty.

If he knew that his small action caused such an accident, he would be so angry that he would cough up blood.

The saying "the more you explain, the more confused you become" perfectly describes the current situation.

It's fine if you don't try to cover it up, but if you deliberately try to cover it up when you clearly didn't do it, the implication is self-evident.

"When she died, Ye Ting was sitting on the sofa watching TV when she was shot directly in the head. There were still bloodstains on the sofa," Qin Zhiyuan explained, pointing to the sofa beside him.

Actually, he said this specifically to Yan Ran. Sheng Xuanling was also present at the scene of the incident that morning, and he knew the situation perfectly well.

"Look closely, there's a small hole in the French window that she's facing away from. We initially suspect that the other party was sniping from the rooftop across the street. Judging from Ye Ting's appearance before her death, the other party must have come prepared."

Yan Ran gently touched the small hole in the window, then looked up at the rooftop opposite.

No, her finger was hovering above the small hole. The opposite rooftop was at the same height as this side, so the cracks in the glass should be roughly the same in every place.

However, the cracks here are significantly more numerous than in other places.

She moved her body slowly, her eyes constantly searching the buildings across the street.

There's no mistake, that's the place!

“I think the killer shot at a different location.” Yan Ran’s eyes were full of confidence. “If you look closely at the cracks in this glass, it’s clear that it would have been impossible to do it from the opposite rooftop.”

Sheng Xuanling looked at her with a hint of approval.

"So, the real killer was there, carrying out this assassination." Yan Ran pointed to a building next to her, raised her head and stared straight at it. Although she couldn't see clearly over there, her gaze remained fixed on one spot, "1503."

Yan Ran accurately reported a number, and in just a few minutes, she deduced the exact location of the murderer.

Clearly, the killer did this to cover his tracks, making it impossible for the police to find him or even deduce the location where he shot the sniper.

Qin Zhiyuan stared in shock at Yan Ran, who exuded confidence. Was this really the Yan Ran he knew?

Whenever she attends a public event with Zong Zhengqing, she always has a gentle smile on her face, but when she is with other people, she has an unapproachable look on her face.

They don't seem like people who can observe so carefully, and even draw the same conclusions as their long investigations based on just this one clue.

This person is absolutely talented!

No wonder she's a star reporter!

It's such a shame he didn't become a criminal investigator.

His gaze fell on Sheng Xuanling beside him. This person, despite having excellent observation and reasoning abilities, had no intention of becoming a criminal police officer, no matter how much he tried to persuade him, even if he talked himself hoarse.

Gradually, he gave up.

Now, a Yan Ran who was no less impressive than Sheng Xuanling appeared before him. How could he not be excited?

He believed this was an opportunity given to him by God, and if he didn't seize it, he would regret it for the rest of his life!

"I wonder what Mrs. Zong thinks of the police?" He couldn't reveal his purpose at first; he wanted to lure her into the trap step by step.

"It's alright," Yan Ran answered honestly, her mind still preoccupied with Ye Ting's case.

She and Ye Ting had just talked about Zhang Xinyi yesterday, what a coincidence!

Was Ye Ting killed because she knew about Zhang Xinyi?

If it's because of Zhang Xinyi, then the murderer must be someone from the coffee shop yesterday.

But with so many people in the coffee shop, it was impossible to confirm immediately.

Perhaps they could find some clues on the other side. She looked up at Sheng Xuanling and received a look of approval from him. She nodded slightly, and the two reached a consensus without Qin Zhiyuan's knowledge.

"Would Mrs. Zong be interested in becoming a police officer?"

The moment Qin Zhiyuan spoke, Yan Ran and Sheng Xuanling walked out the door together, and his words drifted into the air and could no longer be found.

"Hey! You guys!"

He was getting anxious; was she even listening to him?

Yan Ran turned her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression. Weren't we supposed to be solving a case? What else did he want to say? Was there some other clue here?

She subconsciously searched around the room. Although a long time had passed, a faint smell of blood still lingered in the air. She had been too focused at first to notice the smell, but now it made her feel nauseous.

She wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

"N-nothing." Receiving a threatening look from Sheng Xuanling beside him, Qin Zhiyuan shrank back, not daring to say anything more. "Let's go to the other side and see if we can find any clues."

"it is good."

Yan Ran responded softly. Originally, there was nothing wrong with it, but Qin Zhiyuan's appearance made her start to suspect something. They certainly wouldn't harm her, but they might be hiding something.

What else didn't she know? She frowned, her mind racing as she carefully recalled every word they had spoken that day.

Apart from Qin Zhiyuan suddenly asking her how she felt about the police, everything else was related to the case. Was there something wrong with this policeman?

"What are you thinking about?" Sheng Xuanling looked down at Yan Ran, who was clearly absent-minded, and asked softly.

Yan Ran's eyes cleared, she shook her head, and quickened her pace.

The three arrived at the building Yan Ran had pointed out. They entered the elevator, only to discover something horrifying: the building didn't have a fifteenth floor; the elevator jumped directly from the fourteenth floor to the sixteenth.