Sacrifice the knight to save the king.
Throwing Zeng Demei under the bus would, at worst, force Qin Guan to admit his affair with Qi Min and the extortion scheme. He had always excelled at weighing risks, especially under pressure. Acknowledging the affair and its sordid details might invite public scorn and damage his career, but it was far better than facing criminal charges.
After clarifying his thoughts, Qin Guan lifted his head, feigning earnest sincerity.
"I really did see Qi Min! Now I remember—there was a witness!"
"That day in the park, I noticed a middle-aged woman behind Qi Min. She was about the same height, slightly heavier. I didn't get a good look since I was in a hurry. Qi Min introduced her as her mother. I nodded a greeting, but she spoke in a thick dialect I couldn't understand… You should investigate. Qi Min might hide, but her mother won't. Ask her, and you'll learn why Qi Min stayed hidden all these days."
"Maybe she was hiding from you," Qin Guan added coolly, shifting focus to Li Yang. "After all, as you said, Qi Min was a good girl—talented, beautiful, with a bright future. And you…"
Li Yang took the bait.
"What's that supposed to mean? Explain yourself, Qin!"
Restrained by officers, Li Yang thrashed like a circus monkey, desperate to lunge at Qin Guan.
"What's wrong with me? We were in love! Her mother knew me! We were engaged!"
"You… you look down on me because I'm poor? I may not have money, but I loved her with all my heart! Did you ever care? You heartless bastard! Why would she hide from me? We were engaged! We loved each other!"
Qin Guan watched Li Yang's hysterics with cold amusement. This fool couldn't outmatch him in a thousand years.
"Why she hid from you, I don't know. She didn't tell me." The calmer Li Yang raged, the more relaxed Qin Guan became.
"All I know is I saw Qi Min alive and unharmed. The 'disappearance' is a misunderstanding. Ask her mother—she saw me that day. She can confirm everything about Qi Min and Li Yang."
He erased the "disappearance," reframing it as a lovers' quarrel. Manipulation, blame-shifting, and distortion were his specialties.
As Qin Guan stood to leave, Old He yanked open the curtains.
"Is this the 'mother' you mentioned—Zeng Demei?"
Qin Guan froze. The officers hadn't taken them to an interrogation room but to an adjacent lounge. Beyond the one-way glass sat a haggard, middle-aged woman with unkempt hair and swollen eyes. She wiped her nose roughly, staring vacantly ahead.
Qin Guan's mind reeled.
"Who… is that?" he whispered, paling.
Old He smirked. "Zeng Demei, Qi Min's mother. You claimed to have met her recently."
This woman wasn't Zeng Demei. The woman he'd seen at the lakeside villa, Doumen Community, and the park—the one he'd burned into his memory—bore no resemblance to this frail, aged stranger.
"Impossible… She's not Qi Min's mother…" Qin Guan stammered.
"Really?" Old He scoffed. "Her ID, household registry, and face all prove it. Should we run a DNA test to convince you, Lawyer Qin?"
If this was the real Zeng Demei, then the woman who'd posed as her—the one who'd helped Qi Min deceive him—was an imposter.
Qin Guan pressed against the glass, studying the stranger's features. Though weathered, her face mirrored Qi Min's. Why had he never noticed? The fake "Zeng Demei" looked nothing like Qi Min.
She hired a stand-in? Why?
And why was the real Zeng Demei here? What game was being played?