Something is Amiss

This was a red hair tie. At a single glance, Jialan recognized it as the very same one she had personally tied in Yaya’s hair!

Could it be that Yaya really came here last night? But why would she go to the opposite building? To deal with someone? What could a simple-minded girl possibly do to anyone?

After turning it over in their minds, everyone concluded that Ye Dajun must have missed Yaya so deeply that he simply dreamed it all. Red hair ties were common everywhere, and any store in the countryside sold them!

Just as Ye Xiaoxuan was about to speak, Guan Ling suddenly interrupted him, "Xiaoxuan, won't you accompany me downstairs to handle the discharge procedures for Big Brother?"

Ye Xiaoxuan was slightly startled, realizing the girl must have something to say to him in private. He had no choice but to nod and say, "Alright, Jialan, Yuer, stay here with Big Brother. Guan Ling and I will be right back as soon as we finish."

Once they stepped out of the ward, Ye Xiaoxuan asked Guan Ling, "What is it?"

With a grave expression, Guan Ling said, "Take me to the spot where Big Brother tried to jump off the building just now!"

Knowing she had grown suspicious of something again, Ye Xiaoxuan accompanied her upstairs. As they walked, he asked, "You don't actually believe that simple-minded girl was here, do you?"

Guan Ling gave him a sly, knowing smile and replied, "Actually, aren't you harboring doubts in your heart as well?"

Ye Xiaoxuan smiled faintly, nodded, and said, "I know Big Brother never lies. Since he said he saw the silly girl, I think there's a real possibility it's true."

Guan Ling snorted. "I've always found that silly girl highly suspicious! It's hard to say whether her mind is truly impaired or not. Besides, out of so many people, why did the Wolf King single her out and capture her?

"What's even more suspicious is that the timing of her appearance before you all was far too coincidental. It happened right after those three cases took place. Don't you think it's all too convenient?"

Ye Xiaoxuan nodded; this point was indeed difficult for him to explain. No one knew where the silly girl had come from that night or where she was headed. Before anyone could investigate, she had vanished again without a trace, as if she had never existed at all.

Of course, this sense of unfamiliarity might simply be a subjective feeling in Ye Xiaoxuan's heart. After all, the silly girl had only stayed at their home for a few days, and even then, she had been living at his uncle's place.

The one who truly cared about her was his eldest brother, Ye Dajun! Ye Xiaoxuan had never witnessed his brother show such deep concern for a stranger. Whether this stemmed from sympathy and a protective urge toward the vulnerable or genuine romantic feelings, let alone Ye Xiaoxuan, even Ye Dajun himself probably couldn't tell the difference!

The two of them reached the rooftop. The spot where Ye Dajun had attempted to jump was easy to find, marked as it was by footprints and scuff marks.

According to Ye Dajun's account, last night the silly girl had sat right here, watching him. Guan Ling rested her hands on the parapet and gazed across at Ye Dajun's ward. "From here, you really can see Big Brother's room, but you can only see him when he's crouching down or lying in bed!"

Ye Xiaoxuan nodded, put his hands behind his back, and took a few steps backward. Then, moving as if on an aimless stroll, he kept his head down and looked around everywhere.

Knowing he was searching for clues, Guan Ling did not disturb him. She squatted down nearby, cupping her cheek in one hand, and watched him unblinkingly.

Feeling her gaze, Ye Xiaoxuan gave a wry smile and said, "Did you drag me up here just to watch me work? Are you just going to sit there staring?"

Instead of moving, Guan Ling simply grabbed a piece of discarded newspaper, sat down on the ground, and looked at Ye Xiaoxuan. "I like watching you when you're working. You look so focused and full of masculine charm! Not at all like usual!"

Ye Xiaoxuan glared at her, let his eyes sweep past her, and deliberately put on an annoyed expression. "Do I lack masculine charm at ordinary times?"

Rolling her eyes, Guan Ling scolded him playfully, "Do you even need to ask? Don't you know the answer yourself? Normally you're all grins and giggles like a rogue—totally the face of a petty hoodlum!"

Ye Xiaoxuan let out a soft hum, walked slowly over to her, and said, "I am a petty hoodlum by nature! Can't stand the sight of me?"

Guan Ling snorted back, retorting fiercely, "I find you as hateful as a person can possibly be!"

Ye Xiaoxuan chuckled, crouched down right in front of her, and asked with his eyes fixed on hers, "Truly hateful?"

For no apparent reason, Guan Ling felt a flutter of panic in her chest. She shrank back slightly, bit her lip, and said, "Hateful indeed! What are you trying to do? Don't get any funny ideas—this is broad daylight!"

A wicked smile touched the corners of Ye Xiaoxuan's mouth. He leaned his upper body forward, bringing his face closer and closer to the young policewoman's lips as he chuckled, "So what if it's broad daylight? Are you scared?"

Guan Ling's face flushed red. She darted to the side and snapped at him angrily, "You brat, I praise you for two seconds and you start acting up again! Let me tell you, I won't let you bully me anymore. Push me too far, and I'll burn you to a crisp!"

With a hearty laugh, Ye Xiaoxuan remained in his crouching position, reached out to stroke the parapet in front of him, and said, "I only noticed something a bit off about this spot. Why would you want to burn me?"

Guan Ling turned her head to look and realized that on the inner side of the parapet right where she had been sitting, there was a patch of bloodstains. It was about forty to fifty centimeters off the ground; the blood was sparse and faint, distributed in a spattered pattern.

Guan Ling's face burned. So this brat really had discovered something and wasn't just trying to mess with her! A pang of guilt welled up inside her, mixed with a trace of disappointment. Naturally, she also felt rather embarrassed, so she quickly lowered her head and pretended to resume her search—only to actually spot another patch right beside her.

"Quick, look over here! There's some here too!" Guan Ling pointed at the other bloodstain and called out excitedly to Ye Xiaoxuan.

Frowning slightly, Ye Xiaoxuan told her, "Search everywhere around here; there should be more!"

The two of them circled the rooftop and indeed discovered several patches of bloodstains. Most of them were spattered, as if someone had coughed them up forcibly, yet aside from that, they appeared chaotic and followed no discernible pattern.

Guan Ling returned to the first bloodstain, measured its height, and knitted her brow. "Could it be a leg injury? These marks are so strange; I have no idea how they managed to spatter like this!"

After thinking for a moment, Ye Xiaoxuan ignored the dirt on the ground, laid flat on the rooftop, twisted his mouth to the side, and asked Guan Ling, "What do you see?"

Guan Ling's eyes lit up as she asked, "Was this one spattered while falling to the ground?"

Ye Xiaoxuan nodded, took Guan Ling by the hand, and tested the positions one by one.

Guided by Ye Xiaoxuan's demonstrations, the locations of the bloodstains gradually made sense. Some required a body crashing against the wall; others required a leap into the air to leave a mark.

By the time they reached the final spot, Guan Ling's face radiated undisguised admiration. She grabbed Ye Xiaoxuan's hand and exclaimed, "Are you telling me that a fight took place here?"

Ye Xiaoxuan shook his head. "I'm telling you that Big Brother likely wasn't making things up. The silly girl really was here, and she fought a battle with someone else. The other person got hurt!"

Guan Ling asked with a puzzled expression, "Why couldn't it be the silly girl who got hurt?"

Pointing at a bloodstain on the stairwell wall, Ye Xiaoxuan said, "Because the silly girl couldn't jump that high."

Guan Ling nodded, but her brow furrowed even deeper. "Since she defeated her opponent, why was Big Brother still drugged this morning? Also, is the person the silly girl dealt with Tu Yixiao? And is Tu Yixiao actually Faceless?"