Manipulate My Heart [操纵我心] [GL]

Chapter 4

"I've been suspended?!"

Shao Xinyan stared at the chief, shocked. Somehow, police bureau chief Li Hao looked even more distressed, clutching his head in both hands as if he wanted to hide himself from this conversation.

"Let me ask you this. Why were you there when Liao Zilong's mother killed herself?"

"Didn't I just answer that? I went there to pay my respects," Shao Xinyan said, harsh. She felt like she was about to lose her mind. "Wait, hold on. I'm a cop. You think I'd kill someone?"

"Your suspension will be lifted should you manage to locate surveillance footage from the bedroom where she committed suicide or find a witness to prove your innocence."

"Now you're just trying to make things difficult for me! What kind of bedroom has a surveillance camera? Plus, didn't the forensic anthropologist visit the scene? My fingerprints weren't on that knife."

Li Hao shot a look at Shao Xinyan and sighed. "Xinyan, don't you know a bunch of ways to erase fingerprints? Aren't you a police officer?"

"I..."

"Your current status makes things awkward. You have no way of proving your innocence. You probably would've made the suspect list had I not argued with my superiors to only place you on suspension."

Li Hao stood up, his tough and sturdy body evidence of his frequent trips to the gym. He turned his back to Shao Xinyan to fiddle with the blinds. When he spoke, it was absentmindedly, as if he weren't addressing Shao Xinyan and instead was talking to himself.

"I know why you went to his home. You wanted to find out the truth. But there's no way to even launch an investigation... If your intention is to reclassify all suicide cases as murders, that would be the only starting point for investigating them as such. Do you have the energy to undertake something like that? To ensure that every victim's case was a premeditated murder?"

"..."

Shao Xinyan bit her tongue. Li Hao's words sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't help but speculate that maybe the murderer had already figured out that the police had no way of recategorising so many suicide cases as murders. If she followed this line of thinking, it would mean that this was no ordinary murder. Her visit to Liao Zilong's home was a mistake— her being framed was proof enough of this.

Someone had been watching her from the second she entered Liao Zilong's home!

"Nothing is ever simple," Li Hao chuckled, looking at Shao Xinyan's shifting facial expressions.

"How could you let this happen?" Shao Xinyan demanded. "So many people are now considered dead from suicide—"

"Shh." Li Hao gestured for her to keep her voice down and whispered, "The walls have ears."

Li Hao beckoned Shao Xinyan closer and pretended to organise his files before he continued. "The number of suicide cases has already surpassed the global average for this year. This isn't normal."

"I thought I was the only person who'd noticed something was off."

"You're not the only one. A lot of your colleagues have as well. They're just too scared to say anything. Do you know Chen Zipeng?"

"Yeah. He's a famous specialist from the city's department of public safety. Why?"

"He's dead."

"W-What?! When did this happen?"

"Last night. This news hasn't been made public yet, but the department of public safety has already uploaded his certificate of death. He died in his own bathtub."

Shao Xinyan looked at Li Hao, surprised. "He was pretty young, right? Wasn't he only 52? How did he end up dying in his bathtub...?"

"It doesn't make sense. Nothing makes sense." Li Hao shook his head. "I just saw him two weeks ago. We talked about the recent suicide cases. He wanted to hand in a report changing the suicides to murders and having them investigated as such."

"Did he finish it?"

"I'm not sure. He'd only mentioned it," Li Hao said. "Two weeks after that, he ended up dead."

"Was someone watching him in case he got too close to the truth?"

"I'm not sure. Liao Zilong probably discovered something, too." Li Hao stroked his chin.

"I don't want you to risk your life for this. Being suspended right now is a good thing for you."

"You're right. It means I can launch my own private investigation," Shao Xinyan shrugged. "I can use my status as a police officer to my benefit."

"Enjoy your time off, Xinyan." Li Hao leaned back against his chair, his eyes serious. "Pretend some mysterious plague took these people's lives. Stay out of it. Do you want to end up like Liao Zilong? I'm trying to protect you. I don't want every competent officer of mine to end up dead."

"I won't die. I'm still full of life," Shao Xinyan grinned. "I want to find out the truth. Whatever the case, I'd like an answer."

"Ugh, you..." Li Hao swayed back and forth in his chair. "But, since you're going to be suspended, you can still... reach out to Zhou Bohan."

"That's all for now. You're dismissed."

Shao Xinyan nodded, letting the conversation end there. She knew what the chief meant by that; he wanted her to go investigate on her own. He was on her side. He hadn't blocked off all her paths. This was good news for her.

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Shao Xinyan left the police station and went downtown. On the way there, she kept turning over what Li Hao had said.

"Liao Zilong probably discovered something, too."

If Liao Zilong's investigation had caught someone's eye, then maybe she should pay his home another visit for leads...

"Fuck, I should've searched his entire home that day before calling the police. I messed up. I might be ambushed if I head over there now.

"Ugh, there's so much to do."

Shao Xinyan kept walking forward when suddenly, her phone started ringing. She glanced down. It was "Bestie Xue."

It was a call from her best friend, Zhuo Shixue. The only reason she'd been saved as "Bestie Xue" in her phone was because the other girl had furiously begged her to do it. Shao Xinyan smiled, warming as she thought of her best friend.

The two had first met in high school. They'd gotten along well and kept in touch even when they went their separate ways in college. They would share every detail of their lives with each other. She hadn't met up with Shixue ever since she'd come back— they'd always talk about finding a time to hang out, but it'd never happened.

Shao Xinyan picked up the call, only to be greeted immediately by the sound of crying.