"So, I will request you to please come to the police station to answer some questions."
An Yueqin slightly stiffened. She glanced at Yunru's watch. There were only forty-five minutes remaining until her two hours were up.
She clenched her fists. "This is unbelievable. I just came here to relax, but then out of nowhere, this man comes and starts to misunderstand our relationship. He even brought a cop with me, and you both are implicating me in a criminal case when I have got nothing to do with it. You cannot just randomly demand for me to come with you. You have no evidence against me."
"We have two witnesses, Mrs. An. One is Han Zhiyuan's four-year-old son who saw you in the driver's seat when the second accident took place. He recognized you clearly. First witness is Mr. An Guoting himself. He saw you outside the Grandeur building when the first attempt on his life happened. The third incident was at the hospital when he was poisoned. However that is unreliable because Mrs. Zhu Caihong saw that woman wearing a mask. We have enough justification for you to be at the police station now."
An Yueqin clenched her fist. "You…this is madness! I will not be going with you."
She felt her heart racing faster as time ticked by.
Yunru smiled. "You have to cooperate with the police, or you will land yourself in even more trouble."
She looked at the time again quickly. Forty minutes were remaining. She didn't show panic in her expression, but the clogs in her mind were working to think a way out of this.
Can I run away from here?
But she didn't feel too hopeful. If Yunru was ready, it also meant that he must have some officers stationed in place. Her escape would make things even more difficult for her.
Then go with them…?
She bit her lower lip.
If I just get done with his questions as soon as possible, I can still narrowly come back in time here.
That was too tight of a deadline but better than escaping.
"Alright," she took a calm breath. "I am innocent. I have nothing to fear about."
Yunru stared at her quietly. "Let's go."
—
At the police station, Caihong and Shuang immediately rushed as soon as they got the news. Caihong felt her heart beat fast as she stepped in.
Inside, she saw An Guoting and Yunru. Then there was a woman's back to her who faced Yunru.
She took a deep breath and slowly walked by her side. Shuang raised her brow as she finally saw her too.
Caihong was dumbfounded.
It's really her…
"...Mom?"
An Yueqin stiffened and looked up. They stared at each other for a while. But An Yueqin didn't show much emotion.
Instead she asked, "They are…?"
An Guoting's gaze dimmed. His chest felt stuffy by her indifference.
"Your daughter, Mrs. An. She is An Caihong. Now, she is Mrs. Zhu Caihong. The woman beside her is Miss An Shuang, her step-sister."
Caihong felt a strange feeling bubbling in her chest. She had never met her birth mother, but now that she was in front of her, she didn't know what to say.
Shuang, on the other hand, frowned at An Guoting's strange behavior.
"Oh…"
Seeing such an indifferent reaction from her made Caihong confused.
Does she really not remember us…?
Yunru asked, "Mrs. An. All these people can claim here that you are Mrs. An. Mrs. Zhu can show you more pictures if you need. Will you still deny your identity?"
"I will still be adamant. I don't know anything about them."
Caihong froze. She felt uncomfortable, and she awkwardly smiled.
Shuang folded her hands. "Is it amnesia like Xiaosi had?"
Yunru smiled. "Only she can clarify this if she lost her memory somehow or is she hiding on purpose."
"Please don't waste my time, officer. I don't have anything to do with this."
"I already told you about your involvement. Now you have to answer my questions. If you are not An Yueqin, then what is your name?"
"...Qiu. Long Qiu."
"Do you have any ID proof?"
She impatiently opened her purse and showed her driving license. Yunru took a look.
It was Long Qiu in it with her picture.
"Happy now?"
"Not until it passes the fake ID test."
She widened her eyes. "T-this is preposterous!"
"Not really. There are people here who can claim a different identity of yours. Then…" he raised his brow, "I found something that states your name as Shufen. It's something I found while looking into the Underworld. Shufen, An Yueqin and now Long Qiu. Can you really blame me for doubting you?"
An Yueqin inwardly shook hard. Shufen was a name she hadn't heard in a long time.
"You seem pale, Miss Long, if that's who you are."
Yunru submitted her ID for checking and looked at her. "So, tell me. Where were you at the time when the conference took place?"
He told her the date.
She seemed unfazed. "I wasn't anywhere near Grandeur."
"Can you prove it?"
"No. I was at home. Can you prove that I was there?" She narrowed her eyes.
He smiled. "Mr. An saw you outside the building."
"He must have misunderstood it," she looked straight at him, "Are you really certain it was me, Mr. An?"
An Guoting clenched his fist. "She had worn a scarf-"
"So you cannot be a hundred percent sure. It could be any woman. That's one down."
Yunru said, "You seem to be in a hurry."
"Nobody would like to stay in the police station for long."
"Valid point. Then let's go to the second one. Mr. Han Zhiyuan's son clearly saw you."
She smiled. "He is just a four-year-old child. Can his testimony really be accepted in that accident's confusion? I don't think so. As for the third incident, you admitted it yourself that Caihong saw a masked nurse. She didn't see her face. So, you cannot drag me into it."
Yunru raised his brow. He leaned. "This is interesting. You don't know any of them, right? Your husband and your daughter?"
"No."
"Then how is it that you addressed Mr. An so formally as Mr.. An, but for Mrs. Zhu, you comfortably called her just Caihong as if there was some close relationship between you two?"