"You aren't even human!" Xie Yanchuan roared, unable to contain his fury, and swung a fist at Fu Hanyi.
"Ah, what are you doing?" Liang Xinwei shrieked in fright.
Fu Hanyi pulled her behind him, effortlessly pinning Xie Yanchuan’s wrist with one hand before shoving him aside with a brutal force. He had combat training; Xie Yanchuan was clearly no match for him and stumbled back two steps. I reached out to steady him by instinct, but my hands only grasped at thin air.
Once he regained his balance, Xie Yanchuan shouted, "Fu Hanyi, if anything has happened to Yuanyuan, I will never let you off!"
Fu Hanyi wore a look of cold disdain. "Wretches live long lives. She’s perfectly fine!"
A wretch! A scoundrel!
I could no longer contain the grief and indignation in my heart. I lunged at Fu Hanyi’s body, pounding my fists against his chest, but it was all in vain. My tears streamed down as my body suddenly collapsed to the floor.
Fu Hanyi, just how heartless can you be?
"Please, both of you, stay calm," a police officer said, stepping in to mediate. "Let's look at the new evidence first."
In the office, my wedding dress lay on the table.
"Mr. Fu, Mr. Xie, we found this in a small grove near Qingshui Bay. Surveillance footage confirms that Wen Yuan was wearing this on the day she went missing." The officer looked at Fu Hanyi. "She went to a cruise ship under your name, Mr. Fu, to attend your and Miss Liang’s proposal ceremony. Do you have any memory of this?"
Fu Hanyi was momentarily speechless, his expression grim and inscrutable. Liang Xinwei pretended to be shaken, clutching Fu Hanyi tightly. "Oh my god, how could it be so torn?"
My heart gave a sharp throb. The dress was reduced to tatters, shredded into ribbons. The patterns symbolizing a lifelong union were unrecognizable; the beautiful meaning had been sliced apart, cut by cut, by an assailant’s blade. Blood had congealed on the fabric, turning the auspicious bright red into an eerie, dark crimson.
I had bought this wedding dress with the money left over after buying Fu Hanyi’s incredibly expensive imported medicine. It cost ninety-nine yuan. I chose it for the lucky number, hoping to wear it for a lifetime with Fu Hanyi, but it had become the cruelest irony of my life.
So much for a "lifetime." It was nothing more than a wealthy man’s brutalization of a poor girl’s sincere heart.
After staring at it for a moment, Fu Hanyi said in a low voice, "What does this prove?"
The officer analyzed, "The dress was sliced by a sharp blade, which was likely the assailant’s weapon..."
"Are you sure it was an assailant?" Fu Hanyi coldly interrupted the officer. The officer froze, seemingly caught off guard by the question.
My heart trembled. What did Fu Hanyi mean by that? Could it be...
Before the thought could fully form, I saw Xie Yanchuan rush toward Fu Hanyi, his face contorted with rage. "Fu Hanyi, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that Yuanyuan cut up this dress herself?"
Fu Hanyi looked at Xie Yanchuan with a cold, mocking smirk playing on his lips. "That possibility cannot be ruled out."
I stared, wide-eyed, unable to believe this was the man I had once loved so deeply. Even as a mere soul, I felt pain so intense I could barely breathe. Was he truly without a heart? How could he stand before my dress, shredded by an attacker and stained with my dried blood, and speak such cold-blooded words?
That I cut it myself... Ha! Just how worthless must I be in his heart?
I had never once wronged him, yet my deep devotion was met only with his mockery and contempt. Why had I ever fallen for this devil of a man?
Xie Yanchuan was trembling with fury, his restraint nearing a breaking point. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to hold back, and turned to the police. "Officer, when will the test results be ready?"
He was referring to the blood on my dress; it could be used for DNA matching. The officer checked the time. "They should be ready now."
Xie Yanchuan steadied himself. "If the blood is Wen Yuan’s, can we open a criminal case?"
"Of course."
Xie Yanchuan looked at Fu Hanyi and sneered with indignation. "Fu Hanyi, just you wait."
Fu Hanyi didn’t say a word, his face as cold as frost. His dark eyes, like a black pond under a moonless night, were inscrutable and ruthless.
Within a minute, an officer brought the results. "The DNA of the blood on the dress has been matched. It is indeed Wen Yuan’s."
Fu Hanyi lifted his eyes lazily. A flicker of light gathered in his gaze, but it faded just as quickly. He remained calm, without a trace of sorrow or panic that the blood was mine.
Liang Xinwei, on the other hand, showed a look of distress. "Sister..."
Xie Yanchuan urged them excitedly, "You can open a criminal case now, right? The blood is Yuanyuan’s; she has clearly met with foul play. It’s been five days. I beg you, open the case quickly—don’t delay the rescue efforts. Yuanyuan has always been strong; she might still be alive. No, she must still be alive!"
By the end, Xie Yanchuan’s voice was choked with emotion, yet filled with an incomparable determination, as if I were truly still alive.
But I was already dead. Brother Yanchuan, we will never see each other again.
The officer looked over the results and said to Xie Yanchuan, "Mr. Xie, please come with us to give a statement."
"Alright..."
"You cannot open a case!"
Before Xie Yanchuan could finish, Liang Xinwei interrupted. Xie Yanchuan looked at her with fury. "Liang Xinwei, you ingrate! You stole everything from Yuanyuan, and now you have the audacity to stop the investigation? Does Yuanyuan’s disappearance have something to do with you?"
Liang Xinwei looked frightened and shook her head quickly. "Brother Yanchuan, how could that be..."
"Don't call me that. It’s disgusting," Xie Yanchuan snapped.
"Brother Yanchuan," Liang Xinwei continued, her voice soft, pretending not to mind his rudeness. "I understand how you feel, but this concerns Hanyi, and the repercussions would be too great. We cannot jump to conclusions. The police can continue to search for my sister as a missing person, but they cannot open a criminal case."
Xie Yanchuan sneered, "That is not for you to decide."
"Xinwei is right," Fu Hanyi said in a low, flat tone. "There are no eyewitnesses, and we haven't found Miss Wen injured. Using only blood on a garment as evidence for a criminal case is far too reckless."
*Ha.* These two were truly singing from the same songbook.
"Bullshit!" Xie Yanchuan was completely enraged. He reached out to grab Fu Hanyi’s collar, his handsome face twisted with resentment. "Fu Hanyi, it’s bad enough that you two scum played with Yuanyuan’s feelings, but why are you stopping this investigation?"
The moment Xie Yanchuan’s hand touched Fu Hanyi’s collar, the police pulled him away. Fu Hanyi stood unmoved, his lofty and prestigious presence making Xie Yanchuan look unhinged.
Liang Xinwei said anxiously, "Brother Yanchuan, you can’t hit Hanyi; you’ll end up in prison. Quickly, apologize to Hanyi—he won't hold it against you..."
"Get lost!" Xie Yanchuan cut her off, his voice filled with loathing. "I don’t hit women, but you’d better keep your mouth shut!"
Liang Xinwei wore a look of grievance.
Fu Hanyi spoke heavily, "Mr. Xie, I will forgive your behavior in light of your distress over your sister’s disappearance. However, a criminal case cannot be opened." Fu Hanyi then turned to the officer. "Miss Wen was on my cruise ship, so I am somewhat involved. I do not wish for my reputation to be tarnished before the truth is revealed. I hope you will proceed with caution!"
*Reputation!* He cared about his reputation!
*Ha.* He was a titan of the city.
With that final sentence, heavy as a mountain, the two officers immediately nodded. "Very well, Mr. Fu. We will continue to treat this as a missing persons case and search for Miss Wen’s whereabouts."
"Then I won’t disturb your work any longer," Fu Hanyi said, nodding politely. "If you get any news, please contact me immediately."
I scoffed. Now that his reputation was at stake, he wanted the police to contact him personally. Such a selfish man—and I had been blind enough to love him deeply.
"Of course, Mr. Fu. I'll see you out," an officer said.
"Why can't you open a case? The blood proves it's Yuanyuan's—why can't you?" Xie Yanchuan watched Fu Hanyi walk away, his eyes red as he roared in helplessness. "Fu Hanyi, do you have to see Yuanyuan’s corpse with your own eyes before you believe she’s dead and agree to open a case?"