Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Give Me a Reason to Smile

Chapter 404: Give Me a Reason to Smile (Update 3)

Night.

The stars in the sky twinkled like blinking eyes.

A thin, translucent gray cloud drifted away.

Revealed, the moonlight cascaded over the earth…

“Report in: What are you doing?”

Mu Qingwu’s gentle voice flowed through the phone’s earpiece and reached Xiao Yu’s ears.

“Reporting.”

Lying in bed, Xiao Yu watched the moonlight through the window and murmured, “I miss my sister, I miss the little one, and I miss home today.”

“Really?”

Mu Qingwu teased, “Have you managed to work hard today?”

“Extremely hard.”

Xiao Yu sighed, “Unfortunately, our target is too cunning. We haven’t caught him yet.”

Half a month passed by.

The suspect ‘Big Brother’ seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Without knowing his exact identity…

Relying on deduction alone made it nearly impossible to track him down…

“Keep pushing. Hurry up and catch the villain.”

Mu Qingwu cheered him on, “Get home sooner, so we can meet again sooner.”

“Meet again?”

Xiao Yu chuckled, “I recall Miyazaki once said that meeting is a release for the deep longing built up when apart. In our absence, beyond taking care of ourselves and living well, we must learn not to fear. Autumn returns again and again, and the ones destined to meet will meet soon. It’s not autumn that’s romantic; it’s an autumn with you.”

“I’m not afraid. I’ll just be waiting,” Mu Qingwu replied.

“No fear here either. Our meeting was bound to happen quite late,”

Xiao Yu said softly, “May we always be there for each other for a long, long time… Sister, good night!”

At that moment, as he held his phone, he looked up to see Wang Dong entering the room.

“Don’t wait too long; we’re heading home soon…”

……

City J, suburban residential area.

The area had been the scene of two incidents.

“Didn’t expect we’d circle back to this place,”

Wang Dong, his expression troubled, studied the area ahead. “Investigations reveal that Che Yu frequented this place during high school, and that’s when he picked up Muay Thai.”

“Further inquiry uncovered a young man renowned for his impressive skills; he even won awards in Muay Thai.”

“We finally concluded—it must be him!”

“Guan Changxuan, male, 29… Six years ago, after an astonishing performance in a Muay Thai tournament, he was diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer!”

“Now, six years later, his lung cancer has advanced to mid-stage. All evidence points to his inability to commit the crimes, yet we can infer that Che Yu likely learned Muay Thai from him.”

Cancer?

Xiao Yu let out a small laugh.

What kind of wild twist is this?

After contracting cancer, did he resort to murder as a sacrificial rite to prolong his life?

Xiao Yu and Wang Dong arrived outside the suspect’s residence—a courtyard house.

Team Two members had long cordoned off the courtyard and the house within.

“His Muay Thai skills are impressive,”

Wang Dong grinned and said, “Why don’t you take the lead?”

“Seems you’re unreliable…” Xiao Yu rolled his eyes and quipped, “You’re too far behind—I worry my invisible wings won’t be able to protect you!”

Wang Dong: ……

The little guy sure knows how to talk a big game, doesn’t he?

At that moment, a young man stepped out from the bungalow.

I suppose you could still call a 29-year-old a young man.

The young man stood about 1.8 meters tall with a sturdy build.

His ordinary face was accompanied by a warm, harmless smile.

Upon seeing that smile, Xiao Yu sensed that he longed for genuine friendship and trust.

Yet beneath it lay an undercurrent of chill and menace, deeply ingrained in his very bones.

It instinctively made one want to keep a respectful distance…

This was none other than the suspect, Guan Changxuan—the cancer patient himself.

“Who are you looking for?”

Standing inside the courtyard, Guan Changxuan smiled as he regarded Xiao Yu and Wang Dong outside the gate.

“We’re here for you.”

Xiao Yu approached the gate and walked straight toward him.

“For me?”

Guan Changxuan appeared both surprised and puzzled.

“Do you know Che Yu?”

Standing face-to-face, Xiao Yu asked calmly.

“Che Yu?”

After a brief blink, Guan Changxuan maintained his smile, “You must have mistaken me—I don’t know anyone named Che Yu.”

A dismissive snort, a curled lip, lowered brows, and narrowed eyes—clear signs of disdain—Xiao Yu glared coldly at him.

At the mere mention of that name, you immediately react with disdain.

If you don’t know him, why show such disgust?

Xiao Yu coldly remarked, “Does lying even matter?”

“Lying?”

Guan Changxuan looked surprised, rubbing his nose as he asked, “What do you mean?”

That subtle gesture of rubbing his nose betrayed the truth.

A man’s nasal soft tissue itches when he lies.

Any expression of surprise lasting more than a second is feigned… Xiao Yu grew more convinced he had found the right person.

Without further ado, Xiao Yu accused, “You’re behind the massacre five years ago, aren’t you?”

“What massacre?”

Guan Changxuan gazed into Xiao Yu’s eyes, “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“When someone has a lie ready, they stare right into your eyes to make you believe them.”

Xiao Yu scoffed, “Pretending to stay calm in front of me serves no purpose… With the Seven-Star Lifeline incomplete, Che Yu ended his life. You must be furious now, right?”

“……” Guan Changxuan remained silent.

But his pupils suddenly dilated.

Dilated pupils… fear, anger, rage!

“I’ve burned through many brain cells searching for you; it took me a full half month.”

Xiao Yu calmly said, “Even when I finally found you, I couldn’t fathom how you managed to leave no trace after committing the last two cases.”

Guan Changxuan still offered no word; the warm, harmless smile had long vanished from his face.

Instead, he gazed at Xiao Yu with cold, contemptuous eyes.

One corner of his mouth lifted in a sneer.

“Ha ha…”

Xiao Yu laughed, “You think that’s funny?”

“Haven’t you noticed for yourself…”

Finally, Guan Changxuan spoke in a cold tone, “You’re standing a bit too close to me.”

“Is that so?”

Xiao Yu’s laugh grew even merrier, “And then?”

Then… Guan Changxuan raised his hand and reached for Xiao Yu’s neck.

That grab was lightning-fast.

In an instant, his hand had reached Xiao Yu’s neck.

Within a mere two centimeters, he could have gripped Xiao Yu’s throat.

Yet his hand froze, unable to move another millimeter.

The coldness on his face melted away as Guan Changxuan stared in disbelief at his own hand.

He stared at a hand that had materialized on his wrist.

Crack!

He could hardly believe his eyes as that hand snapped his wrist single-handedly.

A surge of excruciating pain mixed with a sharp ache suddenly coursed through Guan Changxuan’s entire body from his wrist.

As he quickly retreated, his face still bore an expression of disbelief.

How could this be?!.