Chapter 17: Awakening (2/3)

Given the distance from the villa to the hillside, if Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang had been woken up by screams, some of their colleagues who were light sleepers should have heard them too. 

But in reality, only Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang had heard them, which didn’t add up.

However, the officers had also learned that the victim had only recently taken over the company, and Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang had no conflicts with him. 

In fact, the victim had recently given them bonuses for completing a task. 

Su Mingxuan, who had also received a bonus, hadn’t attended the team-building event due to family matters.

To the officers’ surprise, Chen Yao immediately confessed when questioned: 

“I lied. I was afraid they would ask too many questions, so I said that. Actually, we were all woken up by a phone call.”

Chen Yao quickly explained the whole story in the simplest terms, adding, 

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask  Han Shuangshuang now. Oh, and Sister Man’s hospital should also know about this. The phone number Sister Man called from wasn’t hers; she must have borrowed someone else’s phone.”

The whole situation was filled with inconsistencies, but Chen Yao had no reason to tell such an easily debunked lie. 

Moreover, Xiao Man’s claim in the phone call that “someone is trying to kill Xu Yan” had put the officers on high alert.

And what about the dog that had mysteriously appeared at the scene? 

According to these people, the dog was named Xiao Bai, was very smart, and was somewhat of an internet-famous dog. 

It had even saved someone before. 

They all speculated that this time, it might have been trying to save someone again.

If it had been trying to save someone but ended up so badly injured, it suggested that there had been a third person, no, a second person at the scene.

While preparing to hand the case over to the criminal investigation team, the officers recorded all the evidence and statements. 

Meanwhile, Han Shuangshuang had followed the ambulance to the nearest hospital. 

After getting out, she quickly searched for the nearest veterinary hospital and took a taxi there, paying extra for the urgency.

The veterinarian immediately took Xiao Bai for an examination, while Han Shuangshuang waited anxiously.

Director Xu had people with him, but Xiao Bai only had her.

The content creation department’s group chat was already buzzing about the incident.

Director Zhong, who hadn’t joined the team-building trip, only learned about Xu Yan’s attack when his colleagues started discussing it in the group. 

After Assistant Yuan mentioned which hospital they were at, Director Zhong quickly took a taxi there.

After what felt like an eternity, the veterinarian came out and said that Xiao Baï’s head had suffered an impact, but fortunately, there were no bone fractures, just some superficial wounds. 

Xiao Bai  would need rest to recover and might experience symptoms of a concussion.

Han Shuangshuang, holding Xiao Bai with her head bandaged, let her tears flow but couldn’t help smiling.

Previously, Xiao Bai had some fur on his head, at least more than on her body. 

Now, the fur on her body was starting to grow back, but the fur on her head had been shaved off for treatment.

She didn’t dare hold her too tightly, gently cradling her as she waited for Xiao Bai to wake up before taking  home.

Meanwhile, news about Xu Yan came through in the group chat. 

He had been struck on the forehead and was unconscious but not in critical condition.

Han Shuangshuang also updated the group about Xiao Bai’s condition.

Hearing that both the person and the dog involved in the incident were safe, the group chat became even livelier, with everyone speculating about what had happened.

Han Shuangshuang, having heard from Xiao Man that someone was trying to kill Xu Yan, guessed that Xiao Bai might have snuck out to play and had encountered the attacker. 

In trying to save Xu Yan, he had been severely injured. 

If no one had intervened, Xu Yan might already be dead. 

In the larger group chat, people were relatively restrained, but in smaller private chats, the discussions were more heated and speculative. 

Some thought it must have been Xu Yan’s enemies after all, as a boss, the most straightforward way to win a business battle was to eliminate the opponent. 

Others thought it might have been a robbery gone wrong, with Xu Yan refusing to give in and thus getting injured.

No one suspected Xiao Bai, as his good behavior in the office was well-known, and Xu Yan didn’t have any dog bite wounds. 

Because of the incident, the team-building event had to be called off. 

Those still at the resort packed up their things and arranged for the bus to pick them up early.

Chen Yao couldn’t leave, as the criminal investigation team had taken over the case. 

Their questioning was more detailed and thorough than the local officers’. 

Chen Yao was getting annoyed, but seeing the intense demeanor of the investigators, she suppressed her frustration and patiently answered their questions over and over, even taking them back to the scene.

While the investigators were examining the scene, someone’s phone rang. 

After listening for a few moments, the person hurried over to the team leader and said,

“Captain Xiao, the suspect has turned himself in.”

Chen Yao’s ears perked up.

The investigators ignored Chen Yao, and Captain Xiao asked a few more questions but didn’t delve too deeply. 

Leaving some people behind to secure the evidence, he immediately returned to the police station.

Of course, he took Chen Yao with him. 

Chen Yao also brought along Han Shuangshuang’s luggage, which she hadn’t had time to take.

Chen Yao felt a bit disappointed that the investigators didn’t discuss the case further in the car, leaving her itching to know more. 

Director Xu was a good person, so why had the suspect tried to harm him? 

Seeing in the group chat that Director Xu was out of danger and Xiao Bai was also fine, she felt relieved but was now very interested in the details of the case.

The investigators took Chen Yao straight home, then contacted Han Shuangshuang.

Learning that she was still at the veterinary hospital, they went there and brought her and Xiao Bai back.

Although the suspect had turned himself in, there were still many twists and turns in the case that needed to be unraveled, and all relevant parties had to be questioned.

Han Shuangshuang had already been to the local police station, but this time she was taken to the district police station. 

Xiao Bai had woken up but still seemed a bit dazed and couldn’t respond much.

She was worried about Xiao Bai, so she carried him with her to give her statement.

Like Chen Yao, she honestly recounted everything she knew. 

Unlike Chen Yao, who had mentally navigated many complexities, Han Shuangshuang was intimidated by the investigators’ presence and didn’t dare lie.

The investigator taking her statement showed no expression, as he had already heard a similar account from someone else.

But how could this be so hard to believe?

A comatose patient who had been lying in bed for over ten days suddenly woke up, called someone to save a person, and described an incident dozens of kilometers away in detail…

What kind of supernatural plot was this!

However, in front of Han Shuangshuang, the young investigators didn’t show much emotion.

Only when they returned to the station and discussed the case with their team did they realize that some things simply defied logic.

Some colleagues had already gone to the hospital to investigate. 

That morning, the comatose patient named Xiao Man had indeed suddenly woken up, made a phone call, recorded a video, and then fallen unconscious again, startling many doctors.

Unfortunately, her awakening had been fleeting, and she remained unresponsive to the outside world.

It was said that her brother had refused to sign off on further examinations, but after waking up, she had recorded a video granting medical decision-making authority to a trusted colleague, as if she knew what had happened while she was unconscious.

The whole thing was surreal, and the answers likely lay with Xiao Man herself. 

But whether she would wake up again was uncertain, and this might remain a mystery forever.

However, this didn’t significantly impact their ability to reconstruct the case.

According to the suspect’s own confession, he had come to the area with his lover for a trip.

That morning, they had gotten into an argument, and in a fit of rage, he had strangled her to death. 

Panicked, he had gone up the hill to find a place to bury her, only to encounter Xu Yan, who had been out for a morning jog. 

Terrified, he had tried to knock Xu Yan unconscious with a shovel to escape (the investigators noted that this was his own account, and they suspected he had intended to kill Xu Yan to silence him).

At that moment, a dog had suddenly appeared, pounced on him, and bitten his face. 

In pain and fear, he had struck the dog and fled. 

Later, back at the villa, he had grown increasingly afraid, thinking he needed to get a rabies vaccine immediately. 

After getting the vaccine, he had felt even more terrified and decided to turn himself in.

Filled with regret and guilt, he voluntarily turned himself in at the police station. 

(Detective’s words: It’s true that he was afraid of getting rabies. That weakling didn’t even manage to kill the dog. When he returned to the villa, he discovered that his lover wasn’t dead. Moreover, his attempt to silence her by killing her seemed to have failed as she had disappeared. )

(He didn’t dare stay to search for her and felt that the dog bite incident had escalated beyond his control. No matter what, it would lead back to him, so he had no choice but to surrender. Truly, he’s both incompetent and reckless.)

This suspect left the detectives utterly speechless. 

He didn’t even bring the “corpse” when he went to dig the grave. 

What if someone saw him in the dark? 

Yet he was so terrified that he resorted to murder to silence witnesses. 

His psychological resilience is extremely poor, yet he dared to attempt murder-twice and failed both times.

However, thanks to this, the victims are still alive, and his own life is spared.

After completing her statement, Han Shuangshuang was free to leave. 

She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since early morning, and it was already nearing afternoon. 

Starving, she ordered takeout on her way home, which arrived just as she got there.

Han Shuangshuang placed Xiao Bai back in his dog bed and began eating her takeout while scrolling through her phone. 

She saw a message from Chen Yao in the work group, saying that the person who injured Manager Xu had turned himself in. 

Unfortunately, the police were tight-lipped, so she couldn’t get more details.

Even though Chen Yao said this, curiosity got the better of her colleagues, who kept pestering her for more information.

But Chen Yao had only heard a few sentences and couldn’t squeeze out anything more.

Han Shuangshuang didn’t speak in the group. 

After leaving the work chat, her fingers unconsciously scrolled to her recent call list.

She was supposed to visit Sister Man at the hospital, but Xiao Bai couldn’t be left alone.

Seeing an unfamiliar number, she hesitated for a moment before calling back.

The person answered quickly-it was a woman’s voice.

Han Shuangshuang felt a bit disappointed but quickly asked, 

“Hello, did you call me from this number around six in the morning?”

The woman immediately replied, 

“You must be Han Shuangshuang !”

The woman sounded excited and told Han Shuangshuang that after making the call and recording the video, Xiao Man had fallen unconscious again. 

She asked Han Shuangshuang to add her on WeChat so she could send the video Xiao Man had recorded.

After hanging up, Han Shuangshuang added the woman on WeChat and received the video.

As soon as she opened the video and saw Xiao Man’s pale but alive face, she couldn’t hold back her tears.

She forced herself to watch the entire video, then stared blankly at the screen as it automatically stopped playing.