Chapter 594: Hidden Schemes

That evening, everyone sat around the conference table, with no one eating or drinking, all immersed in the day’s failure.

“Despite our tight security, Zhou Tiannan still succeeded!” Lin Qiupu sighed.

Old Zhang said, “I think Zhou Tiannan’s original plan was uncovered by us. He temporarily arranged for Yan Ke to swap the poisoned eye drops and threw him out as a scapegoat.”

Chen Shi shook his head. “I’ve said it a thousand times, Yan Ke didn’t switch the bottles. I’m not defending him; I hate Yan Ke more than anyone. But facts are facts. Yan Ke barely escaped legal punishment. Would he really take on a task that would land him back in jail? Zhou Tiannan’s tasks always seem harmless, which is why these people carry them out willingly.”

“But that’s not necessarily true,” Lin Qiupu argued. “We’ve speculated before that Zhou Tiannan has dirt on all these people. He could have threatened Yan Ke to poison him.”

“Yan Ke is a coward. If he were truly in such a dilemma, he would have run away.”

“Then why would Zhou Tiannan arrange such a seemingly meaningless task?” Lin Qiupu asked.

Old Zhang said, “Maybe it wasn’t meaningless. Yan Ke’s appearance did distract Chen. Perhaps someone else took the opportunity to act… Could it have been one of the bodyguards?”

“Impossible. We thoroughly checked the bodyguards’ identities. They all belong to the same company and know each other. The idea that someone could sneak in wearing a bodyguard uniform is unrealistic.”

Lin Dongxue said, “But posing as a reporter is feasible. Reporters don’t all know each other, and the organizers don’t either. I think the real culprit was among the reporters.”

Lin Qiupu pulled out a list. “I noted all the reporters at the scene. We’ll verify them one by one later.”

Chen Shi asked, “Why did Qu Jingli pay money?”

“That money might not have been for Zhou Tiannan. Their company’s expenses are many. It could be for something else,” Lin Qiupu suggested.

“I’m going to check the scene again!”

“I’ll come with you!” Lin Dongxue offered.

They returned to the hotel where the incident occurred. The hotel had returned to normal. Chen Shi parked nearby and stared at the entrance for a long time. Lin Dongxue asked, “Do you think there’s still a clue here? Should we go in?”

“No, I’m thinking… After the first successful murder, the police would definitely figure out his method. Zhou Tiannan using the same trick is almost impossible. How did he manage it?”

“The key is still that bottle of eye drops.”

At that moment, hotel staff were taking out the trash. Chen Shi approached them, exchanged a few words, and took a large bag of garbage.

He found a spot where they wouldn’t obstruct traffic and began sifting through the trash. Lin Dongxue, unsure of what he was looking for, still helped.

Suddenly, Chen Shi found something. He put on gloves and picked it up, showing it to Lin Dongxue. She was shocked. “An identical bottle of eye drops?”

Chen Shi opened it and sniffed. “I think this is the same bottle… I might know how it was done. Come with me.”

Chen Shi, his mind focused on the case, drove to a place Lin Dongxue had never been. She asked where they were. Chen Shi pointed to a neighborhood. “Zhou Tiannan’s place!”

“Are you going to confront him directly!?”

“It’s the only way to figure this out. I’ll record it.”

“No, I’m going with you!”

Chen Shi hesitated. Confronting Zhou Tiannan alone could be risky, but he also feared Zhou might reveal that he was really Song Lang.

After much deliberation, Chen Shi agreed.

At Zhou Tiannan’s door, Lin Dongxue held Chen Shi’s hand. He whispered, “He’s not a monster. No need to be scared.”

“Do you really have to do this?”

“We have no evidence to arrest him formally, but a private visit is fine… Actually, I’ve been here a few times before.”

The door finally opened. Zhou Tiannan, wearing a loose loungewear and holding a cigar, smiled at them. It seemed he had guests inside.

Lin Dongxue had seen him in photos before, and briefly during Yan Ke’s case. But facing this criminal, who remained untouchable by law, made her inexplicably nervous.

“What brings you two here?” Zhou Tiannan asked with a smile.

“We need to talk.”

Lin Dongxue glanced inside, seeing a flamboyant woman dining with Zhou. Likely one of those arranged to “serve” him regularly. Zhou called out, “I’ll be right back, just talking to the police.”

“Don’t keep me waiting, darling,” the woman cooed.

“Your girlfriend?” Chen Shi asked deliberately.

“So what? Can’t a teacher have a personal life? Miss Lin, good to see you again. You’re as beautiful as ever.” Zhou extended a hand, which Lin Dongxue hesitated to shake.

Zhou led them to the balcony at the end of the hall, leaning on the railing and puffing on his cigar. “So, what’s this about?”

“Your murder methods are quite clever,” Chen Shi said directly.

“Chen, your thoughts are all over the place. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“I know how Qu Jingli died. He killed himself!”

“Oh?”

“I don’t know what grudge you have with the Qu brothers, but you wanted them dead. You issued a death threat. At that time, the police were also investigating the Hong Group. Qu Jingli got scared. He knew your capabilities. If you said someone would die, they would die. Qu Jingli contacted you, willing to pay for his life. You pretended to agree to the deal, planning Qu Jing’an’s death. Once he died, Qu Jingli became the CEO and took over the company.

“But the play wasn’t over. You told Qu Jingli that to avoid police suspicion, he had to cooperate. You arranged for several unknowing people to act suspiciously on-site, deliberately letting the police see through them, making them think they were protecting Qu Jingli. In reality, you had already given him a poisoned bottle of eye drops. You told him it was a bluff, that the poison wouldn’t be fatal, just enough to make him sick, so the police would think they thwarted your plan, and he’d survive while you got the money.

“But in fact, you gave him a lethal poison. You had Yan Ke, unaware of the true plan, approach him disguised as a reporter. Yan Ke did nothing. Qu Jingli, thinking it was part of the plan, poisoned himself, thinking it was non-lethal, and ended up killing himself! He discarded the unpoisoned bottle I checked, took out the poisoned one, and performed the act.

“As I said this, I watched Zhou Tiannan’s micro-expressions closely. They confirmed that my reasoning was correct.”