Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Tracking the Fugitive Criminal

When Wu Ming heard Jiang Li, her mind went blank for a second before she forced a laugh. "What are you talking about? That’s impossible.

Don’t mind me acting all mysterious, but I’ve lived this long without ever seeing a ghost. Are you sure you weren’t having a nightmare?"

Wu Ming’s tone was light as she comforted Jiang Li, but at the same time, she started searching for the contact information her master had left her.

’She figured Jiang Li must be acting this way because that talisman was causing trouble.’

"Oh, I see." ’Then I must have been seeing things.’

She had actually seen three bloody infants clinging to Wu Xueyan’s back.

Jiang Li glanced at the talisman beside her, picked up a red cloth to cover it, then spoke to Wu Ming on the other end of the line.

"Wu Ming, it’s nothing then. Sorry to bother you so late. You should get some rest."

"It’s fine, it’s fine! It’s no big deal. I’m just happy you called."

Wu Ming chuckled, pulling the contact information her master had left her out from inside a book.

’I should be able to find them.’ She hadn’t seen her so-called master in two years.

’This situation with Jiang Li is serious. My own skills are lacking; I have to find my master.’

After hanging up, Jiang Li looked around the familiar yet strange room. ’Qiao Siyuan must be comforting Wu Xueyan right now,’ she thought.

Jiang Li was exactly right. After leaving, Qiao Siyuan rushed to find Wu Xueyan, but he had just reached her door when he heard things smashing inside.

A flash of irritation crossed Qiao Siyuan’s face. He already had to deal with that psycho, Jiang Li, every day, which was nerve-wracking enough.

Instead of being understanding, she just had to cause him more trouble.

’I haven’t even been to work these past few days. If this keeps up, how am I supposed to support a family?’

Qiao Siyuan pushed the door open and walked in. The second it was open, an object flew toward him. Luckily, he reacted quickly enough to dodge.

"Qiao Siyuan, you bastard! How dare you show your face!"

Wu Xueyan clutched her belly, eyes red-rimmed as she glared at Qiao Siyuan. He had pretended not to know her today and had even protected that bitch, Jiang Li.

She was carrying a child for the Qiao Family, for crying out loud! How could he treat her this way?!

"Oh, careful, careful! Don’t hurt my precious grandbaby!" Chen Xiufang cried out anxiously from the side.

Qiao Siyuan glanced at the shattered cup on the floor, then looked at her in exasperation. "Wu Xueyan, will you ever stop? Can’t you see I’m busy enough as it is?"

"Qiao Siyuan, you’re scolding me! You animal! The moment Jiang Li came back, you changed. The old flame has been rekindled, hasn’t it!"

Wu Xueyan was hardly a forgiving woman. The thought of Qiao Siyuan having slept with that woman, Jiang Li, made her skin crawl.

Qiao Siyuan furrowed his brow. He couldn’t quite remember the details of what had happened that night.

"Wu Xueyan, haven’t we been over this? It’s all for the baby. You think I wanted to touch Jiang Li? It’s only because she was the best candidate.

Can’t you be a little more understanding? I haven’t been to work for days because of this. Can you please stop making a scene? Jiang Li is a psycho. Are you really going to argue with a psycho?"

Wu Xueyan bit her lower lip. ’She didn’t see anything that suggested Jiang Li was a psycho.’

Feeling wronged, tears welled up in Wu Xueyan’s eyes.

Qiao Siyuan looked at her. "Then let’s just call it off. The pregnancy isn’t that far along. Get an abortion, and we can try for another one."

"No, don’t!"

Wu Xueyan instantly panicked. The doctor had told her that if she terminated this pregnancy, she’d never be able to conceive again. If Qiao Siyuan were to find that out...

Everything she had painstakingly schemed for all these years would go down the drain.

"Qiao Siyuan, are you even human? This is your child! I’m not getting an abortion!" Wu Xueyan shouted, though she didn’t dare cause any more trouble, and plopped down on a nearby seat.

Hearing this, Chen Xiufang immediately disagreed. How could they talk so lightly about aborting a pregnancy they’d had so much trouble achieving?

"Si Yuan, what nonsense are you talking? You’ve already done the deed with Jiang Li. Things have come this far; there’s no turning back now."

Qiao Siyuan sat down nearby, frustrated. ’How is everything getting more and more complicated?’ he wondered.

"Son, hurry back. How could she possibly get pregnant from just one night?"

Chen Xiufang said, hurrying Qiao Siyuan along.

Wu Xueyan, so angry her eyes were red, could only sit there wiping her tears.

Qiao Siyuan looked at Wu Xueyan, but his mind drifted to Jiang Li. He had to admit, Jiang Li was much more beautiful now than she used to be.

"Fine, I’m going back. I have to go to work tomorrow, so don’t come bothering me over nothing."

With that, Qiao Siyuan stood up and walked out.

Wu Xueyan bit her lip so hard it might bleed, terrified that Qiao Siyuan’s affections were truly straying.

Hearing a noise at the door, Jiang Li instantly became alert.

"Lili, I’m back. Huh, asleep already?"

Seeing the living room was pitch-black and empty, Qiao Siyuan headed for the bedroom.

Jiang Li got out of bed and hid by the door. The moment Qiao Siyuan opened it and stepped inside, she hypnotized him again.

After it was done, Jiang Li frowned in frustration. ’Letting this drag on isn’t a long-term solution.’

She took out her phone, checked Wu Xueyan’s social media account, then posted something to get a rise out of her, just like before.

Jiang Li picked up Qiao Siyuan’s phone, pressed his thumb to the sensor to unlock it, and sat down to go through his messages.

After some digging, she found what she was looking for. Qiao Siyuan was, as she’d suspected, a complete and utter scumbag.

Even while he was with Wu Xueyan, he was cheating on her.

After saving the data, she put the phone back, left the apartment, and got a hotel room.

The next day, Qiao Siyuan woke up aching all over.

"Oof... that vixen Jiang Li really knows how to wear a guy out."

Qiao Siyuan had just pushed himself up when he met Wu Xueyan’s furious gaze from the doorway. He froze.

"Little Xue, what are you doing here? What if Jiang Li sees you?"

Qiao Siyuan started to get out of bed to pull her away, but Wu Xueyan flung his hand off. "Jiang Li, Jiang Li, that’s all you think about now, isn’t it? That bitch Jiang Li!"

Wu Xueyan was trembling with rage. Chen Xiufang had told her that Jiang Li wasn’t home—that she must have gone out—so she’d decided to come and see, only to walk in and hear Qiao Siyuan’s words.

’And judging by the state of him, it must have been an intense night!’

"Little Xue, didn’t I tell you? It’s all for the baby," Qiao Siyuan said in a grave tone as he picked up his clothes and started to get dressed.

"I have to get to work. You and Mom should leave. If Jiang Li sees you, our whole plan is ruined."

Meanwhile, Jiang Li arrived at the address Wu Ming had provided, looking for her.

"Jiang Li, you’re here! Come in, come in, have a seat."

Jiang Li came in, sat on Wu Ming’s small sofa, and took out her phone, pointing at the screen. "Class-A Bounty: Xiong Wangtian, thirty-eight years old, wanted in connection with a major criminal case. Reward: two hundred thousand!"

"Wu Ming, you should be able to calculate his location based on his birthdate, right?

Let’s use him as a test run. If we really find him, we split the bounty fifty-fifty."

Wu Ming looked at the wanted man on the screen. "Okay, I’ll give it a shot."

Jiang Li nodded, sitting quietly to wait for news.

Wu Ming took a deep breath and began her calculations in earnest.

"Southeast corner."

Wu Ming shot to her feet, strode to the window to look down, then turned and called to Jiang Li.

"Jiang Li, let’s go check Building Eleven!"

Jiang Li stood up in surprise. ’That was fast?’