Sheriff Uncle, open the door quickly! I've come to solve a case!

"She could have asked anyone for something this dangerous, why didn't she ask you, her boss who's most likely to be in the media spotlight? Why did you agree to it?"

"I……"

Qin Qingzhou casually dropped a bombshell.

"You and she are lovers, aren't you?"

"You know her home address, and you readily agreed to her outrageous requests. You were even able to enter her house before she got home, which means you know her door lock code. Moreover, I investigated her WeChat, and your chats with her are unusual."

"You would only send her a message after 8 p.m., a string of numbers that didn't make any sense, which was her hotel room number."

All of them are affirmative sentences.

This shows that Qin Qingzhou had already investigated the matter thoroughly; he was only asking him to confirm it again.

Having been completely exposed, Du Anning had no way to explain and could only lower her head: "Yes..."

Qin Qingzhou coldly recorded: "What time did you complete the fake kidnapping and leave?"

Du Anning was completely exhausted, her shoulders slumped limply: "Around eight o'clock, I turned off the live stream, chatted for a bit, and then left."

Did you two have sex during that time?

His question was too direct, and Du Anning blushed. But when she saw Qin Qingzhou asking with a serious expression, she didn't dare to be embarrassed anymore.

"without……"

Qin Qingzhou glanced at him distrustfully.

Du Anning panicked: "Really, no, I'm not that kind of person. How could I possibly sleep with her in this situation?"

Qin Qingzhou: "Where did you go after you left?"

Du Anning's eyes flickered slightly, a subtle expression that Qin Qingzhou happened to notice.

"I'll just go home then..."

No one responded, not even making a note. He cautiously looked up and saw Qin Qingzhou's sharp eyes.

Qin Qingzhou: "I don't mind interrogating you at the police station."

"I went to meet another female anchor!" Du Anning shouted with her head down, her guilty voice echoing in the stairwell.

Qin Qingzhou then lowered her head to take notes: "Time and place?"

"...From nine o'clock until this morning, at the Maple Leaf Hotel in the city."

Qin Qingzhou put away her notebook, turned and left, saying to the police officer at the stairwell door as she left, "Take him away."

Du Anning was dragged away by police officers, her hands held by her wrists. She struggled like a pig being led away, shouting, "I've confessed! Why are you arresting me! Hey! I didn't kill him!"

Later, Qin Qingzhou went to the female anchor to verify, and it was confirmed that Du Anning had indeed been with her since 9 pm last night.

The hotel also reviewed the surveillance footage, which showed that Du Anning did not leave the hotel overnight after entering, providing a definite alibi.

However, because he fabricated a kidnapping, which violated the law, he should be detained for every single day.

As for Li Ku, Yun Song did have a conflict with Zhang Min due to the cooperation. He only expressed that he was annoyed by Zhang Min and would find an opportunity to terminate the live-streaming sales contract. He had no other intentions.

On the night of the incident, he was working overtime at the company all night because of Zhang Min's interrupted live stream, which can be proven by company surveillance footage, thus ruling out his involvement in the crime.

Neither of the two suspects in this case could have committed the crime.

Everything starts from scratch.

There must be something they missed.

Perhaps the perpetrator wasn't someone she was close to?

Zhang Min has a very wide social circle, with men making up the majority of the members. This matter is also under constant media scrutiny, making it no easy task to identify the suspect.

Moreover, the surveillance footage of the stairwell showed no suspicious persons entering or leaving.

Zhang Min lives on the seventh floor, so if she didn't use the stairwell, it's even less likely she would have climbed in through the window.

How exactly did the murderer get into Zhang Min's house?

Qin Qingzhou stood silently in the center of Zhang Min's bedroom, constantly reconstructing the killer's movements in his mind.

His phone suddenly beeped with a WeChat notification. He paused, took out his phone, and saw that it was a voice message from Bai Zhizhi.

A sweet, childlike voice came through the phone.

"Uncle~ Why haven't you come yet? Zhizhi isn't the first one to be picked up today."

It’s over.

He had completely forgotten about it.

There was a hint of blame and disappointment in the little guy's tone.

Oh no, I'll have to put the baby to bed tonight.

He couldn't get away right now, so he could only call Lin Yuhe.

"Sister He, could you please pick up Bai Zhizhi for me? I'm at the scene. Just take him to the police station and drop him off at my office. Thank you."

After settling Bai Zhizhi in, Qin Qingzhou continued working.

It was already past 10 p.m. when I got back to the police station.

Qin Qingzhou was relatively calm while handling cases during the day, but now that he was back in his office, he started to feel uneasy.

Pushing open the door, little Bai Zhizhi was already asleep on the sofa.

It looks just like a little kitten.

Qin Qingzhou gently covered her with the small blanket.

Bai Zhizhi was a light sleeper and woke up in a daze.

"Uncle~"

"Okay, you can keep sleeping. I'll wake you up when we get home."

"No." Bai Zhizhi rubbed her eyes and stretched out her hands as Qin Qingzhou picked her up with one hand.

Qin Qingzhou carried her back to his desk, patting her back gently as he organized the documents.

Bai Zhizhi had just woken up, her voice soft and childlike, her body still radiating warmth: "Why didn't Uncle come to pick me up?"

"Are you sad that I couldn't pick you up because I had a new case?"

Bai Zhizhi buried her face in his collarbone: "Just a little bit."

"Zhizhi has a lot of fun things she wants to share with her uncle. Since her uncle didn't come to pick her up, Zhizhi has been keeping them in mind. She will tell her uncle when she sees him."

"I'm sorry, how would you like me to make it up to you?"

Bai Zhizhi stubbornly shook her head: "Uncle is going to catch a big bad guy, so Uncle doesn't need to apologize. Zhizhi wants to eat ice cream, so Uncle will take Zhizhi to eat ice cream."

"Okay." Qin Qingzhou felt her voice soften considerably.

Bai Zhizhi slowly shared with Qin Qingzhou what happened at kindergarten that day, most of which revolved around the three of them.

The little girl sat on his lap, leaning against him, her fingertips playing with the zipper of his coat.

Qin Qingzhou listened silently while looking at the files, nodding occasionally.

It always seems like this when I'm with Bai Zhizhi.

It calms the mind and softens the heart unconsciously.

When Bai Zhizhi finally got tired and quietly leaned back in a daze, Qin Qingzhou took out her phone and searched for Minminzi.

Live streamers usually offer replays, and Qin Qingzhou randomly clicked on a few, but none of them seemed particularly special.

Bai Zhizhi watched along with them, and suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

She pointed at Zhang Min, looking puzzled, and said, "This young lady has many fans!"

Qin Qingzhou responded to her: "She does indeed have many fans."

Bai Zhizhi shook her head while making "Mmm" sounds: "But why hurt someone you like?"

Bai Zhizhi stared at Qin Qingzhou with wide eyes: "Zhizhi likes Uncle, Zhizhi wants to protect Uncle, Zhizhi will not hurt Uncle."

"Uncle, do you like Zhizhi?"

Qin Qingzhou nodded in confusion.

"Will my uncle hurt Zhizhi?"

"Won't……"

"But why would someone who likes this girl hurt her?"