Lin Xi and Song Xu returned to the apartment after having lunch at the Song family estate.

They had just settled onto the sofa to rest when the doorbell rang.

Song Xu gently held Lin Xi down as she started to get up. “You rest. I’ll get it.”

When he opened the door, two police officers were standing outside. They flashed their badges. “Excuse me, does Lin Xi live here?”

“What do you want with her?” Song Xu asked, his face darkening.

Why are the police here? What could possibly involve Xi’xi?

From the living room, Lin Xi caught the sound of her own name. She walked over to the entryway and saw the two officers. “I’m Lin Xi. Is there something I can help you with?”

“We suspect you have a connection to the deaths of Li Sheng and his family,” one of the officers stated. “Please come back to the station with us to assist with our investigation.”

The words struck like a physical blow, and Lin Xi’s face drained of color.

She forced herself not to look back at Song Xu. “I don’t even know when they died. How could it have anything to do with me?”

“We received an anonymous tip,” the officer replied smoothly. “We just need you to come in for questioning. Please cooperate.”

Lin Xi turned a helpless glance toward Song Xu. “I’m going to the station.”

“I’m coming with you.” Song Xu stepped into his shoes while simultaneously dialing Song Chen’s number.

—

Lin Xi was escorted into the back of the police cruiser. Song Xu followed closely behind in his own car, his knuckles white as he slammed his fist against the steering wheel. His gaze burned with a ruthless intensity.

Who the hell is trying to frame Xi’xi?

Only he and Brother Yunzhou knew the truth about what had happened to Li Sheng’s family. Lin Xi was completely in the dark.

Inside the cruiser, Lin Xi kept her eyes glued to her hands, her heart hammering against her ribs. Although she truly hadn’t known about the family’s deaths, she couldn’t shake the terrifying awareness that their demise was, in fact, linked to her.

—

Upon arriving at the station, Lin Xi was led directly into an interrogation room. The atmosphere inside was suffocatingly oppressive. Across the metal table, two officers stared her down and began their questioning.

“Do you know Li Sheng and his family?”

“Yes.” Lin Xi sat upright, meeting the officer’s gaze directly. “We were neighbors for years.”

“And what was your relationship like?”

Lin Xi shook her head. “It used to be average—just the kind of neighbors who nod and greet each other in passing. But a few months ago, after I was accepted into university, his family insisted on forcing a marriage alliance. It became very unpleasant. My grandmother suffered a cerebral hemorrhage because of the stress. She’s still in a coma to this day.”

The officers nodded. They had already verified the records; Lin Xi had filed a police report a month ago regarding Li Sheng’s harassment.

“We checked the incident logs,” the male officer noted. “Li Sheng harassed you outside the Jiangbei University gates, and you called the police. Did he ever bother you again after that?”

Lin Xi thought back, a small shudder passing through her as she nodded. “Once. About a week or so after that incident, he tricked me into going back to the old neighborhood. He brought two other men to corner me at an intersection. Fortunately, I had pepper spray on me and managed to escape.”

“Why didn’t you report that to the police?” the officer pressed.

“I was terrified Li Sheng would retaliate,” Lin Xi explained, her voice trembling slightly. “No physical harm was actually done. At most, the police would have detained him for a few days and let him go. His entire family is completely unreasonable. With my grandmother comatose, I’m all alone. I was simply too scared.”

“And now you’re living at the Radiance Celestial Towers?” the officer shifted focus. “What is your relationship with the man you live with?”

“He’s my employer. I work there as a live-in housekeeper,” Lin Xi replied.

“Is it really just a simple employment relationship?” the officer pushed, a skeptical edge to his voice.

Lin Xi shot the officer a sharp look. “He is also my senior at university. He looks out for me.”

“Did you know that Li Sheng’s family is dead?”

Lin Xi nodded. “I only found out a few days ago. I went back to the old house to pack some belongings, and a neighbor told me. I was completely shocked.”

“Officers, I honestly don’t know when they died,” she urged, her voice growing desperate. “Lately, I’ve only been at the apartment or at school. You can check the surveillance footage.”

“Besides, I don’t even have the capability to kill anyone. I have no money, no connections, and I don’t even know how to drive. Someone is clearly trying to frame me and pin this crime on my head!”

Seeing her growing emotional, the male officer attempted to placate her. “Calm down, please. We won’t wrong an innocent person. No one is saying you killed Li Sheng. We brought you in strictly to get the facts.”

“I’m just a female college student with no money or power,” Lin Xi sobbed, tears spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks as the weight of her grievances crashed over her. “If I had even an ounce of influence, I wouldn’t have been bullied so ruthlessly by Li Sheng’s family in the first place.”

“Just because you don’t have the influence doesn’t mean others don’t,” the female officer sitting beside him interjected coldly. “As far as we know, your employer is the grandson of the Huayue Group’s chairman, and the future successor to the entire conglomerate. His influence is anything but small.”

Lin Xi wiped her tears, her gaze locking onto the female officer. “What does his influence have to do with me? I don’t understand what you’re implying.”

“Your relationship with your employer doesn’t seem entirely innocent,” the female officer pressed on, her eyes narrowing. “We have reasonable suspicion to believe you used your personal charms to entice someone else into doing your dirty work.”

Lin Xi took a deep breath, deliberately memorizing the female officer’s name and badge number. “There should be a camera recording this room, correct? You will be held accountable for your insulting assumptions.”

She straightened her spine, her voice suddenly turning cold and steady. “Regarding your unreasonable interrogation methods, I exercise my right to remain silent. I will wait for my lawyer.”

With that, Lin Xi closed her eyes and sealed her lips. No matter what the officers asked next, she didn’t utter another syllable.

She had heard Song Xu making a call earlier, and she trusted that Song Chen would arrive shortly.

The female officer was intentionally trying to shift the blame onto Song Xu. Lin Xi began to suspect that this was orchestrated by one of Song Xu’s business rivals. The target wasn’t her at all—it was a trap aimed directly at Song Xu.

At a time like this, any careless word could be twisted. The more she said, the more mistakes she would make. The best course of action was absolute silence until Song Chen arrived to get her out.

The police had zero physical evidence linking her to the deaths of Li Sheng’s family; they had no legal grounds to detain her.

Despite trying various tactics of intimidation and manipulation, the two officers couldn’t get Lin Xi to open her mouth again.

Every ticking second inside the integration room felt like an eternity. Lin Xi tightly interlaced her fingers in her lap, chanting a silent mantra in her mind: Be calm. I must stay calm.

—

Outside the interrogation room, Song Xu was fighting to maintain his composure. Lin Xi had been inside for barely ten minutes, but to him, it felt like a century had passed.

The heavy glass doors of the station slid open, and Song Chen walked in, with Bai Tiantian following closely behind.

“Where’s Xi’xi?” Bai Tiantian demanded the moment she spotted Song Xu.

“Quiet for a moment,” Song Chen interrupted smoothly, cutting his girlfriend off. He turned a grave, commanding gaze onto his younger brother. “Xiao Xu, give me the breakdown. What exactly is the situation right now?”

Song Xu weighed his words carefully. “Li Sheng was Xi’xi’s former neighbor. Apparently, his entire family is dead. Someone filed an anonymous report claiming their deaths are connected to Xi’xi.”

Song Chen’s brow furrowed into a deep V. “Did her family have a grievance with Lin Xi?”

“I can answer that!” Bai Tiantian chimed in from the side. “Li Sheng showed up at the university gates to harass Xi’xi before. I was right there with her, and we even ended up at the police station over it.”

Bai Tiantian launched into a detailed, sequential recount of everything that had transpired that day.

As Song Chen listened, his eyes locked onto Song Xu. Noting the subtle, guilty flicker in his younger brother’s shifting gaze, Song Chen’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

“I’m going in,” Song Chen said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I’m getting Lin Xi out first.”