Chapter 207: This Is the Real You

"I've never heard that name," Liu Qi denied.

That answer was exactly what Yu Dazhang had expected.

Since she had already written off Ceng Ceng Lisi as a discarded piece, naturally she could not admit to knowing her when someone asked.

"No matter how you look at it, you were still schoolmates. There's no need to go this far."

As he spoke, Yu Dazhang took out a medicine bottle wrapped in a transparent sealed bag from the bag he carried with him.

"You must recognize this at least."

He waved the medicine bottle in front of Liu Qi's eyes:

"The bottle you used for the switch must have been destroyed, but you didn't expect the lab to keep a portion of it, did you?"

Liu Qi stared at the medicine bottle for several seconds, then looked at Yu Dazhang in confusion:

"What switch?"

"This is the medicine my father used to take regularly. I remember when I donated to the lab last year, I commissioned them to run a drug experiment."

"What you're saying is really strange. This medicine should have been at the lab in the first place."

She's telling the truth… Yu Dazhang saw no trace of lying on her face.

This woman is formidable. No wonder the officers who investigated the case before never found any cracks in her.

Even she herself believed Liu Zhengyang had died a natural death.

The only thing that could make her panic was the matter of framing Liu Siyuan.

"Time's about up. We should get to the main point."

Yu Dazhang stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and called Ye Zhiyu in.

Returning to the desk once more, he pointed at Liu Qi and said:

"Begin."

Ye Zhiyu nodded, took out his phone, and started fiddling with it.

Before Liu Qi could figure out what they were about to do, she suddenly heard the man who had entered later shout:

"Look at me!"

Liu Qi instinctively looked over, but the other party blinded her with the phone's flashlight.

"What are you doing?!"

She cried out and subconsciously closed her eyes.

Ye Zhiyu quickly circled around the desk, came to her side, and placed his hand on her forehead.

His other hand was placed on the back of her neck.

"Take a deep breath, feel the air fill your lungs~"

"Slowly exhale, let the tension and stress leave your body with the breath~"

"Each deep breath makes you feel more relaxed and at peace~"

Yu Dazhang could stand this least of all.

After hearing Ye Zhiyu say a few lines, he felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

Afraid that his yawning might affect Ye Zhiyu, he walked to a rest area nearby and sat down on the sofa.

Five minutes later.

Ye Zhiyu stepped away from Liu Qi and nodded at Yu Dazhang:

"Done."

After speaking, without waiting for Yu Dazhang to reply, he walked straight outside.

Only the two of them were left in the room again.

"Remember now?"

Yu Dazhang returned to the desk, picked up the medicine bottle on it, and waved it in front of Liu Qi.

This time, she was no longer as calm as before.

Instead, her eyes suddenly went wide, she leaned back against the chair, then raised a hand and unconsciously touched her cheek.

Surprise, self-protection, suppressed emotions…

This is the real you… Yu Dazhang smiled.

Ye Zhiyu was right. The subconscious is a person's truest self.

When Liu Qi's memories were awakened and she faced the evidence, she could no longer mask her inner emotions.

"Wondering how to argue your way out?"

Yu Dazhang scoffed:

"Save your effort. A forensic doctor may not treat illnesses, but they will test and keep records of the drug components in a corpse." "Once the purified drug matches the drug test, that's ironclad evidence."

After those words, Liu Qi's face was uglier than ever, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the medicine bottle on the desk.

But after only two breaths, she steadied herself, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth:

"Officer Yu, what does any of that have to do with me?"

"I did commission the lab to run a purification experiment, but that doesn't prove I ever came into contact with the purified drug."

Her mouth is really tough… Yu Dazhang gave her a long look, then took out his phone and pulled up a photo.

"Take a look. You should be very familiar with this person."

He aimed the phone screen at Liu Qi. On the screen, a young man was handcuffed to an interrogation chair, his face full of terror.

With just one glance, Liu Qi panicked.

Yu Dazhang was very satisfied with her reaction:

"I can tell you recognize him. This is the lab technician who did the drug experiment back then."

"He can prove that he once gave you a bottle of purified verapamil."

"You can distance yourself from Ceng Ceng Lisi, but your relationship with this person, you cannot deny."

Not a single error in any line—every word hits the mark—read it all!

Donations and commissioning drug experiments—these two things alone bound their relationship together.

That was why Yu Dazhang waited until the lab technician was caught before coming up to find Liu Qi.

Once the lab technician was in custody and interrogation began, a confession was only a matter of time.

And before that confession, what Yu Dazhang had to do was keep Liu Qi steady.

Time passed second by second; the office was utterly silent—listen closely and you could even hear the two of them breathing.

Liu Qi kept her head lowered, eyes on the desk, lost in thought.

Two minutes later, Yu Dazhang spoke again:

"Did you think your plan was airtight?"

His tone carried a note of mockery:

"You underestimate the police. In fact, you'd already given yourself away long ago."

"The moment I saw the investigation report from Liu Zhengyang's death scene, I pegged you as a suspect."

At those words, Liu Qi finally reacted.

She raised her head, studying the man before her, trying to find some trace of a lie on his face.

But she failed.

"What, don't believe it?"

Not a flicker of guilt crossed Yu Dazhang's face—if anything, there was a hint of playful mockery:

"You left two fingerprints in the study."

"One on the desk, the other on the chair Liu Zhengyang had been sitting in."

"Unfortunately, neither of those fingerprints needed to be left there."

"According to the butler, after you entered the study you went straight to Liu Zhengyang—there was no reason at all to touch the desk or the chair."

"So those two fingerprints were left on purpose, because without them the scene wouldn't feel perfect to you."

"A truly logical crime scene should have only your footprints, but no fingerprints of yours."

At this point, Yu Dazhang paused.

He noticed Liu Qi's face growing uglier by the second.

Like someone whose lie had just been exposed in public—guilt and panic on her face, eyes darting.

Too clever by half… Yu Dazhang knew he had hit the mark on Liu Qi's little scheme.

When he first read the scene report, he'd noticed that the two fingerprints Liu Qi left were the most complete of any.

Compared with everyone else's prints, they looked as if they'd been deliberately pressed there.

It was precisely that stark contrast that made Yu Dazhang suspicious of her.

But it was only suspicion—he had no hard evidence to prove Liu Qi had done it on purpose.

"I have to say, you're very clever."

Seeing that Liu Qi was still silent, showing no sign of admitting anything, Yu Dazhang narrowed his eyes slightly and went on:

"But unfortunately, sometimes being too clever only brings you trouble."

"You could have pulled it off seamlessly, but you just had to chase after so-called perfection."

"And in the end it backfired—you overplayed your hand."

(End of chapter)