Daylight streamed through the windows, overpowering the fluorescent lights on the office ceiling.
Qin Shu's workspace bore the signs of intense labor. A thick stack of fingerprint maps lay piled on her desk, the overall pictures and minute details creating a dizzying array.
Zhen Nuan felt lightheaded just looking at them. Noticing Qin Shu's red, swollen eyes, she asked with concern, "Did you stay up all night?"
Qin Shu smiled while rubbing her eyes. "It's fine. At least I found a fingerprint matching the one on the belt. It's a small line on the side of the right thumb, which actually made it easier to locate. However, the fingerprint doesn't belong to Shen Zetian or Dong Sisi—it's Jiang Xiao's."
Zhen Nuan stood stunned. "If it's Jiang Xiao's own fingerprint, then it has no evidentiary value, right?"
Qin Shu sighed heavily. "It's frustrating, but this is our job. We often invest tremendous time verifying something, only to find it leads nowhere. Even so, we can't abandon any potential clue."
Zhen Nuan nodded, her disappointment evident.
But she quickly recalled Yan Han's words and couldn't help wondering—was this truly the final step?
She picked up the evidence bag and carefully examined the fingerprint's position. Gradually, she sensed something amiss.
Just as she was about to investigate more closely, Qin Shu handed over two additional papers. "The shoe print comparison is also complete."
They showed two identical size 38 shoe prints.
Zhen Nuan studied them intently. "The footprints on the flowerbed membrane were made by shoes found in the sewer pipe. Were those the same style as Dong Sisi's wedding shoes?"
"Yes." Qin Shu confirmed. "But the shoe prints weren't made by Dong Sisi."
Zhen Nuan didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
"The two shoe prints appear identical in size and pattern at first glance. However, analyzing shoe prints requires more than just examining size and pattern—it depends on the wearer's gait and habits. The one on the left is Dong Sisi's shoe print, and the one on the right is from an unknown person wearing the same shoe. They appear similar superficially, but the three-dimensional models reveal significant differences."
Qin Shu pushed two models across the desk.
Zhen Nuan tentatively touched them and discovered they felt distinctly different.
At that moment, Guan Xiaoyu's voice carried from outside. "Beautiful Nuannuan, I knew I'd find you here."
"The results are ready?" Zhen Nuan turned around.
Last night, she'd felt deeply discouraged learning the bloodstains on the flower thorns didn't belong to Shen Zetian or Dong Sisi.
But after returning home, she'd still called Guan Xiaoyu and requested a comparison to determine if the blood belonged to Jiang Xiao. She didn't realize Guan Xiaoyu had already received the identical order from Yan Han.
Guan Xiaoyu handed her a picture displaying a DNA sequence.
Zhen Nuan understood immediately. "The blood on the thorns is Jiang Xiao's?"
"Yes."
Zhen Nuan expressed disbelief. "But I couldn't find any wound on Jiang Xiao that matches this thorn!"
Where had she gone wrong?
She examined the fingerprints, then the shoe prints, then the DNA sequence, and suddenly a realization struck her like lightning...
Outside the glass window, the north wind continued its relentless assault.
Yan Han's office remained unusually warm.
Zhen Nuan sat upright in her chair, legs together, back perfectly straight.
She held a cup of steaming tea, feeling simultaneously calm and slightly exhilarated.
She'd skipped lunch but had finally completed the second version of her report, submitting it to Yan Han early for review.
Over the past several days, clues had accumulated piece by piece, and this morning, quantitative change had finally achieved qualitative transformation. Each piece of evidence had formed a complete chain.
Now, she brimmed with confidence.
Across the dark red desk, Yan Han concentrated on reading the materials, his head bowed.
She took a barely perceptible deep breath and couldn't help watching him, attempting to discern clues from his expression.
His temperament appeared completely different when silent versus speaking. At this moment, he seemed remarkably harmless.
He concentrated on turning pages, his long eyelashes drooping, his nose high and straight.
Seeing him so absorbed, she naturally felt more confident, but when his brow furrowed, she feared he'd identified another flaw.
She genuinely dreaded his seemingly gentle criticisms. A few simple words could strip away pretense like a knife peeling skin.
Several minutes later, his eyelashes stirred, and Zhen Nuan immediately straightened her posture.
He glanced at her and teased deliberately. "Sitting so rigidly—are you nervous?"
"...No." Zhen Nuan relaxed her shoulders, picking up her water glass for a sip.
He turned to business. "The fingerprints on the belt belong to Jiang Xiao herself?"
"Yes."
"If that's the case, then they're worthless, correct?" he asked with apparent casualness.
Zhen Nuan felt momentarily stunned. She'd made the identical statement that morning. But afterward, she'd reminded herself to maintain rigor and rechecked the belt, discovering a critical flaw.
Zhen Nuan wanted to direct Yan Han to look further.
But facing his penetrating gaze, she suddenly understood—if it were him, he wouldn't stop at this juncture. He would continue forward. This question was deliberately posed to test her.
She subconsciously tightened her grip on her glass and attempted to speak clearly. "You can't assume that just because a fingerprint belongs to the deceased, it lacks value. I investigated and discovered the fingerprint's position is incorrect."
Zhen Nuan used a long piece of paper to simulate a belt, looping it around her teacup. "It's on the back of the belt, on the inside surface."
Yan Han cooperated. "Did the deceased accidentally press the belt while adjusting it?"
Zhen Nuan recognized he was employing this form of communication and discussion deliberately, driving her to express her ideas more reasonably and carefully, step by step.
"If that were the case..." Zhen Nuan stood and positioned herself sideways, reaching behind her back with her hands.
"My thumb is inverted, so my fingerprint should also be inverted. But examine the picture Qin Shu included in my report. The fingerprint marked on the belt angles diagonally upward, positioned at ten o'clock..."
"So she's placing her hand under the belt and pulling downward, like this. She's attempting to create the illusion she was being pulled."
Zhen Nuan tilted one shoulder backward, slipped her fingers beneath the belt, stretched her thumb upward, grasped it, and pulled down.
She demonstrated with such an awkward posture that he watched silently for several seconds before finally breaking into laughter, revealing white teeth.
"See..." She turned and caught him laughing, suddenly realizing how comical her actions appeared.
The brighter his smile grew, the more embarrassed she became. Blushing, she returned to her chair and stated firmly, "That's why there's a ten o'clock angle on the inside of the right thumb."
He regarded her meaningfully, murmured "Hmm," then asked, "Have you always been so reserved and resistant to humor?"
She felt slightly startled, looked at him with surprise, then quickly lowered her gaze and whispered, "You're the boss."
He smiled thoughtfully and lowered his head to continue reading the report.
She exhaled softly, uncertain what he'd meant by that sudden remark. She quickly picked up her water glass and drank several gulps in rapid succession.
The office fell quiet, filled only with the soft rustling of his long fingers turning pages.
After a moment, he inquired, "Did Qin Shu compare the shoe prints?"
"Yes." She craned her neck to view the report in Yan Han's hands.
"The shoe prints appear superficially similar, but the three-dimensional models differ significantly. Dong Sisi walked steadily with her center of gravity forward, showing heavy wear on the forefoot, and her right foot exerted more force than her left. However, the unidentified person walked lightly with their center of gravity backward, displaying signs of internal rotation."
"These aren't footprints from the same person. Someone attempted to frame Dong Sisi, and this person's feet are smaller than Dong Sisi's."
"The unknown person's shoe prints collected in the flower garden all showed weakness at the front end and unsteady steps. They resembled small feet wearing oversized shoes."
Yan Han listened to her articulate numerous concepts outside her professional domain and appeared to praise her. "It seems you've learned considerably."
Zhen Nuan's face flushed slightly as she uttered a soft "Hmm."
"Didn't you compare the unknown person's footprints with Jiang Xiao's?"
"Qin Shu explained that although Jiang Xiao's footprints were collected, they were too damaged for effective analysis. However..." Zhen Nuan pursed her lips with evident pride. "Captain, you'll understand when you reach the next section."
He glanced at her and proceeded to the following page, which displayed the DNA sequence.
"The blood from the plant thorns belongs to Jiang Xiao?"
"Yes."
"Jiang Xiao had visited the flower garden, so being pricked by a thorn isn't surprising. When the results arrived, did you feel disappointed? The bloodstains you worked so diligently to find turned out to be a useless clue."
Zhen Nuan secretly marveled at his perceptiveness and admitted honestly, "It was indeed very frustrating. But, reconsidering it later..." She smiled faintly. "Jiang Xiao didn't have any wounds matching that thorn."
Yan Han posed the obvious question. "Could Jiang Xiao have sustained an injury elsewhere, causing blood to drip there?"
"I considered that momentarily, but you said we can't draw conclusions without verification. So I asked Guan Xiaoyu, and she confirmed the bloodstains were either splattered, dripped, or caused by a piercing wound."
Yan Han leaned back in his chair, observing her slightly flushed but bright face with interest.
"I wondered—where on a plant would thorns close to the ground pierce someone?" Zhen Nuan posed the question herself before answering. "When Jiang Xiao fell from the building, she broke the nail on her left big toe."
"I retrieved the unknown person's shoes. They appeared very clean with no surface evidence. However, I used a long-handled mirror to examine inside the left shoe and discovered a black blood spot on the upper wall. The thorn likely pierced through Jiang Xiao's left toenail. I requested testing..."
She smiled, radiating childlike happiness.
"It's Jiang Xiao's blood. The unknown person struggling with Jiang Xiao in the flower garden was actually Jiang Xiao herself. The fingerprints on the belt also explain why she was adjusting the belt in such an awkward position."
Yan Han stated evenly, "This evidence proves Jiang Xiao fabricated the illusion someone was pulling her from behind, and that she and Dong Sisi were struggling in the flower garden. She intended to frame Dong Sisi. But this isn't sufficient to prove she wasn't pushed down the stairs."
Zhen Nuan took a deep breath. "First, there are no traces of anyone else in the flower garden except Jiang Xiao and the unknown person—who was Jiang Xiao herself. You must pass through the flower garden to reach the railing.
Second, Jiang Xiao showed no signs of resistance or struggle. This question troubled me extensively. Now it appears she committed suicide.
Third, the surveillance video provides alibis for Shen Zetian and Dong Sisi."
Yan Han observed her relieved expression at length before smiling faintly. "Remember your state when presenting me this report today."
Zhen Nuan felt momentarily stunned.
At this moment, she finally comprehended.
Jiang Xiao's fingerprints, Jiang Xiao's bloodstains—these clues that appeared useless when judged by common sense and habit had unexpectedly become the key to solving the case.
In cases involving human lives, all inadvertent or seemingly "useless" details required careful screening.
Zhen Nuan looked into Yan Han's clear, dark, quiet eyes and suddenly recognized him as someone from whom she could genuinely learn and grow.
She nodded with conviction. "I'll remember. Thank you...Captain."
He smiled and lowered his head. "However, Jiang Xiao displayed no suicidal tendencies. How she died remains a question you should consider."
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