Chapter 336: The Extra Knock

Only the words "Commemorative of the Xipu University Nancheng Alumni Association" were printed on the bags; it seemed these were souvenirs Dong Qianjin had brought back from the event.

"You and that young lady have been working hard; these are for you." Dong Qianjin managed to squeeze a smile onto his sorrowful face.

Qi Fei sternly refused. Seeing that Dong Qianjin was someone who couldn't be swayed by petty favors, he had no choice but to give up and drive away.

No sooner had he left than Liu Tong appeared. Looking at the black sedan that had just driven off, he pursed his lips and said, "Ah, just missed him. I have something to find him for."

"Dong Qianjin?" Qi Fei asked curiously. "Liu, are you investigating the case?" He didn't even believe his own words; Liu Tong, the most detached leader he had ever met, wouldn't be this concerned.

Liu Tong immediately denied it. "With a golden duo like you and Shanqiu, what do I have to worry about? I'm looking for him for other matters."

"Liu, you have to tell me; Dong Qianjin is a party involved in this case," Qi Fei said seriously.

Liu Tong laughed. "Who is whose captain, anyway? Remember the 'request for care' the bureau received when Dong Zihun was found? I thought it didn't matter at the time—we handle cases with full effort regardless of connections—so I just went through the motions to put his mind at ease. I don't know where this guy found out my residential complex, but he left something at the guard station yesterday. I originally wanted to tell him to take it back in person; now I'll have to pay for the postage to mail it back myself. What a nuisance!"

"Huh?" Qi Fei couldn't help but laugh. So he wasn't the only one being gifted things. He teased, "Did you check, Liu? Is it anything good?"

"I don't know what it is. It looks like a dedicated logistics delivery, and it probably wasn't cheap. I don't want to open it; it'll be impossible to explain later," Liu Tong said with a look of disgust.

"Haha!" Qi Fei burst into laughter.

This left Liu Tong confused. "What are you laughing at?"

"You find it a nuisance, but Dong Qianjin prepared the good stuff specifically because you're a leader. The ones he gave me were just souvenirs from the gathering," Qi Fei said, unable to stop laughing.

Liu Tong sighed. "Some people just have to divide others into different social classes. Oh, right, Tian Mi found someone to complain to the higher-ups, saying you were tailing her without reason. I've already replied, stating she is a suspect in the case and we are conducting a normal investigation."

"Ah, Liu is wise," Qi Fei said with a grin.

"How did you learn to be so oily-mouthed, just like Wu Shanqiu?" Liu Tong rolled his eyes. "I haven't even finished what I was going to say. What's going on with Tian Mi?"

"We're trying to wait for the rabbit to hit the tree stump; Tian Mi is the 'stump'," Qi Fei said.

Liu Tong understood immediately, joking, "Why do I feel like you're cursing someone?"

"This 'stump' is not that 'swine'," Qi Fei laughed.

However, despite his joking, he remained troubled by what happened that night. He felt the message sent to Tian Mi had an ulterior motive and was aimed at them.

Just as he was thinking, Liu Tong added, "You're joking, but Tian Mi has evidence. She says you knocked on her door three times in the middle of the night. You should be more careful with your methods next time..."

Before Liu Tong could finish, Qi Fei interrupted him anxiously: "Liu, Tian Mi says we knocked on her door three times?"

"Right. She said it was in the middle of the night, three times, and it kept her and her mother from resting. She complained quite a bit. I could only say you must have found a lead and were in a hurry, what else could I say?"

"That's not right. We only went to find her twice that night. The first time was when she had her assistant relay a message telling us not to tail her, and the second time was when I returned halfway because I was worried something might happen to her. Where did the third time come from?" Qi Fei felt something was wrong and, leaving Liu Tong behind, headed straight for Nancheng Investment.

Tian Mi had just finished a meeting and was striding toward her office, her assistant following closely behind, carrying her pale purple handbag.

Seeing Qi Fei appear, her face, which couldn't hide her thoughts, immediately showed signs of displeasure.

Qi Fei already knew her temper and didn't care about her feelings. He walked up to her and asked, "I need to verify something with you. You complained that we knocked on your door three times last night. I remember it was only twice. Are you sure it was three times?"

Tian Mi clearly misunderstood his meaning and was proud that her connections had "worked." She retorted sarcastically, "What? Do you want to find fault with me and say I'm making false accusations? My memory is excellent. You did knock three times. Do you want to deny that too?"

Qi Fei couldn't help but laugh helplessly. "I'm not here to confront you. I suspect someone wanted to harm you that night." His smile vanished, and he said gloomily, "I am very certain we only knocked twice. The third time was not us."

Tian Mi felt the chill in Qi Fei's words, and her arrogant posture finally softened a little.

Qi Fei continued, "Tell me about the three knocks again."

This time, Tian Mi was inexplicably compliant, though she didn't apologize for misunderstanding Qi Fei. "Uh, this... The first time was after I had my assistant call you to tell you to stop tailing me. You came in and asked how I knew you were outside. Then you left. About ten minutes later, someone knocked again. My mother had already gone to sleep, so I went downstairs to open the door myself. But by the time I got there, the knocking had stopped. Just as I was about to go back, the knocking started again. When I opened the door, it was you and that female officer. Of course I thought all three knocks were you."

Qi Fei listened intently, a chill running through his heart. It seemed that just before their second visit, someone had tried to knock on Tian Mi's door; this person was likely the killer.

If they had been a few minutes later, this woman might not have been alive to appear at Nancheng Investment today.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask, "When the second knock sounded and you went downstairs, was there any unusual movement?"

"Unusual movement?" Tian Mi frowned, the deep vertical lines appearing on her forehead again. "If you must ask, I only saw car headlights sweep past the window. A car must have passed by, but my house is by the road, so that's normal."

Qi Fei listened, and an idea formed in his mind. The headlights Tian Mi mentioned must have been his car; the killer must have seen the car approaching and abandoned the attempt.

However, there should have been someone else at the scene at that time. Qi Fei suddenly thought of Li Shuangshuang, who had been waiting near Tian Mi's house the whole time. In other words, she likely saw the person who knocked on the door, but...