I had thought of it earlier, and replied: "I was paying close attention to this serial case because I have a younger sister at home who is about the same age as the victim. A few days ago when I passed by here, I found that this person's behavior was very suspicious, following a girl, namely Xu Jingmiao. So I wanted to catch him."

  This explanation is a bit hollow, but the police probably can't think of anything else. Moreover, if we hadn't chased after him, Xu Jingmiao might have already met with disaster.

  We also know that the person we caught is named Chen Xingjian, 26 years old. However, he is not an unemployed vagrant, a disgruntled young man who takes revenge on society, or a suspect with obvious mental illness. He owns a small real estate company and is a wealthy second-generation rich.

  But because of the video footage, coupled with Old Ding's emphasis on this case, although there was no direct evidence, Old Ding still did as I wished and quickly launched a search investigation into Chen Xingjian.

  But the result was beyond everyone's expectation.

  I risked being suspected by the police that night to report it, just to catch him off guard. Because Chen Xingjian couldn't have predicted our appearance, we took him back to the police station that night, and Old Ding quickly launched a search. If there were any traces of evidence in his residence, he wouldn't be able to escape. But unexpectedly, Old Ding searched Chen Xingjian's home, office, villa, apartment, and car, but supposedly found nothing. Not a single sign of crime.

  Instead, they saw a hardworking and progressive young entrepreneur with a healthy family and harmonious interpersonal relationships, extremely normal. This completely contradicts their imagination of the suspect. And the people at the bar noticed that he came every day just after dark, but didn't notice whether he went out or not, so it was impossible to provide an alibi for the time.

  As for the victim, Xu Jingmiao, when the police asked her, she couldn't answer anything, including the man's height, appearance, or any characteristics. The man attacked from behind, and she was knocked unconscious quickly, so she didn't see anything at all.

  That night, the young man we met was not found by the police for a while, and the public collection of clues also yielded no results.

  The police asked me, Tan Jiao and my friends more than once: "Did you see the person who attacked Xu Jingmiao clearly? Was it Chen Xingjian?"

  We can't tell lies.

  "I said, 'No. But his build was very similar to that person's, and the chin. After we chased that person, he was the only one who appeared in the alley where the criminal disappeared...' The police didn't say anything."

  And afterwards, Chen Xingjian also said that since he was drunk that night and didn't remember if he had done anything provocative, he generously chose not to mind my friend's punches and kicks.

  The day he was released from the police station, we met again.

  At that time, I had not slept for three days and nights because of this case. My temples were throbbing, my beard was fully grown. Chen Xing saw a crisp white shirt and trousers, a calm and peaceful face, with a lawyer standing beside him. Despite the bruise on his forehead from my friend's punch.

  He was a different person from the arrogant and reckless one of that night, glanced at me a few times, and nodded slightly.

  Lao Ding's family members apologized and thanked him for assisting in the investigation.

  I watched him walk out of the police station and get into a car.

  ……

  As dusk falls, I lie in bed and watch the clouds slowly being swallowed up by darkness. My whole body is tired and languid, yet I couldn't sleep at all.

  Someone is knocking at the door.

  Very rhythmic and gentle. It's Tan Jiao. If it were Wu Miao, she would have shouted loudly already.

  "Come in." I said.