An Unconventional Move

Trouble never announces itself.

Being the male lead was truly no easy task. Wen Yiqian had been sitting at home doing nothing, and somehow he had still ended up as the prime suspect.

“I don’t know how to explain it. All I can say is that I’m genuinely a bit unlucky.” Wen Yiqian scratched his head. “How about this: give me a chance, and I’ll help you find her.”

It was the best option available. If he were thrown into prison on a false charge, whether he ever got out would be left entirely to chance.

It was better to push for an opening. Whether he succeeded was another matter, but at least he would have room to move.

“You’ll help me find her?” Li Weiguo’s eyes narrowed.

Watching him nod, Li Weiguo let out a short, humorless laugh. “If you’re the one who took her, of course you could bring her back without any trouble.”

“But what would be the point?”

“To earn our trust?”

“Or to enjoy watching us dance?”

Each question landed like a jab. Wen Yiqian felt a headache building behind his eyes.

It wasn’t hard to see what had happened. Between his behavior the night before and An Zhi’s disappearance, Li Weiguo had already made up his mind: high-intelligence criminal who treats the law as a game.

No matter how well Wen Yiqian argued, the man was never going to trust him.

“Anything else?” Li Weiguo straightened up, looking down at him with a cold expression.

Wen Yiqian lowered his head slightly and said nothing.

“Take him in.” Li Weiguo raised a hand and gave the order.

Several officers moved in immediately.

If he was taken to the station, it was over. He couldn’t sit and hope An Zhi would walk back through the door on her own.

At this point, there was only one option left: take an unconventional move.

“You didn’t take the bait. How disappointing.”

Li Weiguo, already turning to leave, stopped.

He turned around and found Wen Yiqian watching him from beneath slightly raised eyelids, a strange smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

The shift was jarring: like a gentle, warm character in a horror film suddenly peeling off their face to reveal something entirely different underneath.

Even Li Weiguo, with years on the force behind him, felt a faint chill.

“What do you mean?” His expression tightened.

“You were sharp enough just now. Wasn’t I clear?” Wen Yiqian’s smile stayed in place. “Then let me be direct: I really did take An Zhi.”

“Do you know what you’re saying?” Li Weiguo’s fists closed.

He had suspected Wen Yiqian, but it had only been a suspicion.

“Of course I do.” Wen Yiqian’s lip curved. “I wanted to play the hero riding to the rescue, but you wouldn’t bite.”

“Where did you take her?” Li Weiguo’s composure cracked. He stepped forward, voice urgent.

“Don’t worry, she’s still alive.” Wen Yiqian’s smile widened slightly. “For now. But not for much longer.”

“Where is she?” Li Weiguo’s control gave way entirely. He grabbed Wen Yiqian and snarled the question.

“Let me go, or she’s dead within the hour.” Wen Yiqian lay back unhurriedly, his tone almost conversational.

Li Weiguo let out a sharp laugh and rolled his neck slowly, a series of cracks filling the silence.

“I’d think carefully before touching me. I have a bit of a temper.” Wen Yiqian read him without difficulty. “If I lose it, I’ll make sure to take a few people down on the way out.”

He watched Li Weiguo’s expression shift between fury and calculation. “Don’t believe me? Try it.”

With any other suspect, Li Weiguo’s temper would have settled the matter before any questions were asked. But thinking back on what this young man had pulled off the day before, handling two deranged criminals without breaking much of a sweat, he wasn’t like other suspects.

Li Weiguo hesitated.

The moment he started weighing his options, he had already lost the upper hand.

“Two choices.” Wen Yiqian sat up and held up two fingers. “First: get me a car within thirty minutes and let me go. I guarantee An Zhi comes back safely today.”

“You’re out of your mind.” Li Weiguo’s voice cracked with anger.

“Then you’re going with the second option.” Wen Yiqian extended both hands, wrists together. “Arrest me, and use your own resources to figure out where she is.”

He paused, smile unhurried. “Though I should mention: you have two hours. After that, she’s gone.”

“You’re bluffing.” Li Weiguo seized him by the throat, voice low and dangerous.

The smile dropped from Wen Yiqian’s face. He tilted his head up slightly and met Li Weiguo’s gaze without blinking.

Something in that look made Li Weiguo’s grip loosen before he had decided to let go.

Wen Yiqian pushed the hand away and rubbed his throat with no particular urgency. “Choose.”

In the end, Li Weiguo gave ground.

With a hostage in play, every exchange had been uphill. And he was not willing to stake An Zhi’s life on a gamble he might lose.

There was also this: letting Wen Yiqian walk might be the break they needed.

It was still a gamble, of course. Whether it ended with the criminal caught in the act or the tiger slipping back into the mountains, no one could say yet.

Beneath a corridor’s worth of murderous stares, Wen Yiqian took his time washing up before heading downstairs under police escort.

The commotion had drawn a crowd of residents, held back at a distance by the officers.

“What did this young man do to bring out so many police?”

“Did he kill someone?”

“I don’t think so. Wouldn’t a murderer be cuffed with a hood over his head?”

“Look at them. They seem more like they’re protecting him. Could he be someone important?”

…

“Xiao Wen, where are you off to?” His landlady, burning with curiosity at the edge of the crowd, couldn’t help herself.

“Breakfast!” Wen Yiqian called back with a grin.

“Don’t try anything.” Li Weiguo stepped in close and dropped his voice to something that could have stripped paint. “The car’s at the entrance. Remember what you said. If you run, I will personally find you at the ends of the earth.”

“Keys,” Wen Yiqian said pleasantly, extending one finger.

Li Weiguo, visibly swallowing his anger, dropped the keys onto his finger, then stopped and signaled his officers to hold their positions.

Wen Yiqian swung the keys loosely as he strolled out of the complex, the easy expression on his face fading the moment he was clear of the crowd.

The stakes this time were not ordinary. If he couldn’t find An Zhi and clear his name, he might be looking at the rest of his life behind bars.

The world outside wasn’t exactly safe either, but at least it was free.

And Wen Yiqian loved his freedom.

“Where are you, you foolish woman?” he murmured softly.

(End of Chapter)