Silent Witness - Chapter 17

During the five-minute walk home, Li Hewei’s face remained grim. She felt deeply for Tao Ling while also worrying about the future. Tonight’s attack was clearly a hired hit, with the initial strikes aimed at her vital points. Who was the mastermind behind this? Was Tao Ling’s presence in her life a blessing or a curse?

“Welcome home,” Li Hewei murmured, entering the password. The security door suddenly swung open from the inside, and Cheng Yingqiu’s radiant smile appeared, pulling her back from her tangled thoughts.

Tao Ling changed her shoes and was led by Cheng Yingqiu into the living room. “Let me check your injured arm,” Cheng Yingqiu said.

“Be careful not to touch the wound,” Li Hewei reminded her, picking up their outdoor shoes and placing them in the shoe cabinet.

Cheng Yingqiu let out a soft “Aiyo!” “I know, I know. You must be heartbroken that she got hurt because of you, right?”

“Isn’t it normal to feel heartache?” Li Hewei retorted defensively, as if her secret had been exposed.

Cheng Yingqiu glanced at the gauze-wrapped wound on Tao Ling’s left forearm before carefully releasing it. Turning to the busy woman beside her, she asked, “Sis, why do you seem so strange tonight?”

“What’s strange?” Li Hewei asked, her head still bent over her work. News of her attack had spread through the Criminal Investigation Brigade, and colleagues were constantly stopping by to check on her. She was busy responding to their messages, not even looking up.

“I don’t know, it’s just a feeling,” Cheng Yingqiu said. When Li Hewei ignored her, she turned to Tao Ling for conversation, only to find him equally focused on his work. Resigned, she decided to follow their example and chat with her own friends.

Li Hewei: [Image] [Image]

He Ying: That looks painful. Xiao Tao should rest tomorrow, right?

Tao Ling: It’s not a bone fracture. I won’t miss work.

Zhao Xiaoting: Sis, don’t even mention Tao Ling. You only took half a day off last month when you had a severe cold.

He Ying: Sigh, what can we do? We’re all destined to be workaholics.

Soon after, Li Hewei received a private message from Qiu Wan and left the group chat to open the conversation.

The interrogation is done. He took a 5,000 yuan deposit from someone and stabbed you for the remaining 15,000 yuan.

Just stabbed me?

Be extra cautious when you’re out. I’ll assign two people to protect you discreetly.

As expected, Li Hewei took a deep breath. Can you find out who hired him?

Give me time. Qiu Wan asked, Do you have any enemies?

Who could possibly be my enemy? Li Hewei pondered for a moment before changing her answer. Actually, I’m not sure myself. Having only been in this unfamiliar world for eighteen days, she genuinely didn’t know if the original owner had offended anyone.

The phone number Huang Mao used has been disconnected, so we’re now in a situation where the enemy is hidden while we’re exposed. The situation is far from optimistic.

I understand.

Weighed down by these thoughts, Li Hewei locked her phone screen, got up, and returned to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“I knew something was off,” Cheng Yingqiu muttered. “Hey, what’s up with her?”

Tao Ling glanced toward the master bedroom, her brow furrowed. “Maybe it’s related to tonight’s attack.”

“Attack? I thought you guys were just competing and she fell?” Cheng Yingqiu scrolled through their chat history, double-checking to make sure she hadn’t misremembered.

Tao Ling guessed that Li Hewei probably didn’t want to worry them and was deliberately concealing the truth, so she immediately fell silent.

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask her myself!” Cheng Yingqiu declared, striding purposefully to the door. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door swung open.

Li Hewei ignored her, her gaze fixed on the figure on the sofa. “Tao Ling, be careful with your wound when you shower. Don’t get it wet.”

“I know,” Tao Ling replied, her voice as soft as a warm breeze across a field. A gentle smile spread across her face, her eyes softening. “Good night, Sister Wei.”

“Good night.”

“Am I invisible?” Cheng Yingqiu demanded, blocking the door with her arm. “Tell me, why was Tao Ling injured?”

“Just as you suspect. She took a knife for me,” Li Hewei said, her gaze shifting away, her face etched with weariness.

Cheng Yingqiu’s indignation flared. “I told them they shouldn’t have interviewed you! ‘The Divine-Pen Detective’—it’s just stirring up hatred! Last month, someone threw a flowerpot at you, and now this!”

“What interview?”

Cheng Yingqiu explained, “Your forensic sketches have repeatedly helped the police solve cases. Shu Prefecture Broadcasting and Television Station did a special interview with you in late June, and it aired on three channels in early July.”

Li Hewei’s eyes widened, as if waking from a dream. “So that’s why…”

Cheng Yingqiu’s voice swelled with pride. “Exactly! There are only two forensic artists in all of Shu Prefecture, and the other one is retiring soon. That’s why the Shu River Criminal Investigation Brigade wants to recruit you.”

“I’m not going.” Working for the Criminal Investigation Brigade in the provincial capital would mean endless overtime and sleepless nights.

“Right, you turned them down, saying you were still young and needed to gain more experience in smaller cities.” Cheng Yingqiu shifted to a more comfortable stance, leaning against the doorframe, her voice filled with worry. “But Sister, are we going to live in constant fear?”

Li Hewei shrugged it off. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, reckless people are just a minority.” She, with her protagonist’s aura, was bound to escape danger. But what about Tao Ling? How would she avoid her impending doom?

Cheng Yingqiu pouted. “You’re so nonchalant. We’re the ones panicking.”

“What else can we do?”

“Sister Wei,” Tao Ling called out softly.

Li Hewei looked up. From her perspective, Tao Ling stood before the sofa in a thin white shirt, the warm ambient light of the living room casting a glow on her profile. Yet her naturally cool complexion made her seem to radiate a translucent, jade-like luminescence.

“Stay vigilant, and everything will be fine,” Li Hewei said, reassuring Tao Ling while also informing Cheng Yingqiu. She locked the door behind them, her heart racing inexplicably as she recalled the gentle, spring-like gaze she had caught earlier—a sensation she realized she had experienced more than once.

The other day at Tao Ling’s hometown, in the bathroom that afternoon…

Li Hewei unconsciously recalled the moment she realized her sexual orientation and the first person she had a crush on after her heart began to stir.

At 17, during her final year of high school, she found herself irresistibly drawn to a tall, slender transfer student with short, stylish hair who was quite handsome playing basketball. One day, she accidentally discovered the girl kissing her girlfriend near the dormitory, which gave her her first glimpse into same-s3x relationships.

During her demanding university years, she buried herself in her studies, leaving no room for emotional pursuits. Later, while interning, she developed feelings for a veterinarian at a local animal hospital. She painstakingly prepared to confess her feelings, only to learn the vet had resigned and returned to her hometown. Over time, the intense emotions faded across the distance, until she learned the vet was in love with a woman six years younger, finally letting go of her lingering attachment.

In her fourth year of work, she couldn’t escape the industry’s curse: developing feelings for a straight woman. Fortunately, she heeded a friend’s advice and pulled back just in time. That woman is now the mother of two children.

So, aside from the fact that they were all women, Li Hewei couldn’t find any common thread between them.

She pinched the crease between her brows, stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the shower. The hot water cascaded down, soothing her frayed nerves, but the bruises on her shoulders and arms from the earlier collision throbbed with pain. Could this be ovulation? she wondered, making me more susceptible to hormonal surges?

Her mind was in turmoil.

After showering and drying her hair, she curled up on the rocking chair on the balcony, chatting with Cheng Yingqiu until she finally got her answer.

Sister, I promised Qiu Wan I’d have lunch with her on Sunday.

Okay, I know.

Do you know I’ve been agonizing over this for two days? I was completely smitten the moment I finished watching the video.

?

Lust makes you lose your mind, lust makes you lose your mind! A street dance group on my WeChat Moments posted a compilation video, and Qiu Wan was the lead dancer!

Two minutes later, Li Hewei opened the video she had received and skimmed through it. The compilation featured six street dance tracks, each with a distinct style. Whether it was the lock dance, characterized by sharp arm and wrist movements showcasing intense rhythm, or the jazz dance, which exuded a cool and sultry vibe through hip sways and waist twists, Qiu Wan executed each style with effortless grace.

Sister, have you watched it yet? She dances in a suit, a button-down shirt, and a sleeveless tank top, showing off her perfectly defined abs. And her expression control is insane—who is she trying to seduce to death?

Li Hewei’s expression remained neutral. She has a striking contrast.

You’re so calm. Right, you don’t like women.

You’re acting completely out of character.

Am I not allowed to be moved?

Moved so quickly? Weren’t you avoiding her like the plague yesterday?

Being moved doesn’t mean I like her, let alone want to settle down with her. I get moved watching girl groups dance and listening to singers perform too—should I date them all? Cheng Yingqiu scoffed. Everyone appreciates beauty, Sister. You just don’t understand the allure of women.

“Everyone has a natural appreciation for beauty,” Li Hewei murmured, biting her lip as she gazed out the window at the boundless night. Her thoughts swirled: What exactly drew her to Tao Ling?

Was it her classic doe eyes? When Tao Ling smiled, the corners of her eyes curved upward like crescent moons, her gaze clear and luminous, yet sometimes veiled in a faint, misty haze. Li Hewei even suspected she could look at a telephone pole with profound affection.

Or was it her personality? The quiet resilience that radiated from her core, sparking a protective instinct in others and drawing Li Hewei closer. But Tao Ling spoke so little, rarely expressing her own needs, leaving others to guess her thoughts.

Cheng Yingqiu, noticing Li Hewei’s prolonged silence, called her.

Li Hewei snapped out of her reverie and answered.

“Sis, what are you doing? Why aren’t you talking?”

The two were polar opposites. This cousin of hers was a chatterbox, striking up conversations with waitstaff while waiting in line at restaurants.

“Cheng Yingqiu, you need to find a boyfriend to cure your talkativeness.”

“It’s not talkativeness, it’s a desire to share! I’ll still share even with a boyfriend. It’s incurable.”

Li Hewei had no retort. “At least I’ll get two days of peace and quiet.”

“You’re ditching me.”

“I’m tired.”

“Fine, good night, Sis.”

Li Hewei hung up and shuffled back to bed in her slippers. She agreed with Cheng Yingqiu’s point: attraction was simply an appreciation for all that was beautiful.