Fang Si Ting sat back in his seat and picked up his folder. The two pages of paper contained only surveillance screenshots of the suspect’s last exit from the hotel, along with a few scattered social media post screenshots, all from before the show aired.
In other words, over the past three days, the Pursuit Team had no clue about the suspect’s whereabouts.
If Xiao Fen was the most high-profile suspect in the Criminal Team, this man was the most mysterious figure in the group.
“What are your thoughts?”
“He’s very likely hiding at home.”
This idea was quite bold.
“From the warm-up activity, the crime method he chose was theft, and his tense expression after committing the act was seen through by Professor Peng at a glance. This shows the man has poor mental fortitude and is terrible at disguise. If he wanted to escape under the high pressure of the full-team bounty, he would definitely choose to hole up in a place he considered safe.” Xu Nuo took the file from his hand and continued, “Expert Xu cracked his hidden and deleted social media posts, but only got these few pieces of information.”
On March 22nd this year, the suspect posted that he had rented an apartment in City A, standing firm in this big city, and attached a photo of the rental.
On April 17th, the suspect posted complaining about his boss, attaching a photo of streetlights and roadside trees under the midnight starry sky.
Not two days later, he said he had quit his job.
On June 23rd, he found a new job at a real estate agency, attaching a photo of cafeteria food: greens, shredded potatoes, steamed buns, and pork stewed with glass noodles.
On July 7th, he ate a delicious home-cooked meal.
On July 18th, he shared photos of decorating the rental apartment.
On August 17th, he said he was going to participate in the show but complained that his boss wouldn’t give him time off, so he quit again.
On August 29th, he burned out the socket in the rental.
On September 5th, right on the eve of the show, he posted a status with a photo of himself sitting in a car.
After that, he stopped posting social media updates.
“I verified his registration info. The address listed was his previous rental, not where he lives now. That means he already planned, when signing up, to hide in his current rental once the show started.”
“What about the company he joined before? They would have employee info too.”
“All fake,” Xu Nuo said. “If Expert Xu used some technical means and spent more time, he could probably dig it up.”
But right now, Xu An was tied up with two murder cases, and the other two network tech experts weren’t as skilled as him. They could only uncover this much.
Fang Si Ting pulled out the printed March social media post separately and studied it carefully for a minute before suddenly standing up and heading to the main hall. He turned on the lights and pulled up the electronic map on the big screen.
“The social media photo was taken in real-time, posted at 2:36 PM. The sun was on the balcony, window height about 1.2 meters, shadow stretched to 1.45 meters at a 65° angle. We can confirm the room is in the southeast corner.”
“From the glimpse of the view outside the window, the building has a renovation style from around the year 2000, standard floor height 2.8 meters…”
Fang Si Ting explained as his fingers flew across the keyboard. The map zoomed from a full view of City A to precise coordinates in the eastern district, then filtered out neighborhoods that didn’t match the construction year from the many options, and finally pinpointed the exact building from the remaining ones based on its exterior.
Soon, a neighborhood appeared on the screen.
“Opposite is Building 6.” Fang Si Ting zoomed in on the view outside the window in the photo. In the blur, the side of a “6” was visible. “From this angle, it should be Building 8, 9th floor, Room 905.”
The Live Stream Chat was stunned.
【Just from one photo, he pinpointed the guy’s address? What’s the difference from standing naked in front of him?!】
【There is a difference—he at least looks at clues. Naked? He wouldn’t even glance.】
【Is this humanly possible? Xu An is called a network genius, and even hacking into databases to search takes him at least fifteen minutes. Fang Yama did it in under five?】
Xu Nuo was already excitedly making a call on the side. “Yes, Building 8, Room 905. Correct. You can move in for the arrest.”
It was 1:27 AM now, when a person would be deep in sleep, completely defenseless.
“You’ve already found the address.”
“Yeah, just a rough range. Not as precise as Inspector Fang.” Xu Nuo said sheepishly, “I was about to mention it earlier, but you were deep in thought, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“How did you figure it out?” Appreciation flickered in Fang Si Ting’s eyes.
Xu Nuo picked up the printed social media post and pointed to another photo, grinning slyly. “There’s a delivery bag in the corner of this photo, peeking out from the trash can.”
Fang Si Ting looked closely. Behind the coffee table, a corner of a black delivery bag stuck out from the trash can. He suddenly understood and shook his head with a wry smile.
“No divine foresight like Inspector Fang’s, but I have eyes of fire and gold. Took a shortcut.” Pride and smugness shone in Xu Nuo’s arrogant eyes.
“Impressive,” Fang Si Ting said sincerely. Finding such a minute clue was no small feat.
As he spoke, Xu Nuo’s phone rang again. Half a minute later, he hung up.
“No one’s there. Clear signs no one’s lived there for days.” He sounded puzzled and disappointed. “Impossible. How could I be wrong?”
He picked up the printed social media photos again and examined them one by one.
Fang Si Ting was also perplexed.
The two discussed for a few minutes, each proposing hypotheses that the other shot down.
Suddenly, Xu Nuo’s eyes lit up. “He has a partner!”
“How so?”
Xu Nuo didn’t answer directly but had the Action Team colleagues photograph the suspect’s home setup.
Photos came back quickly. Xu Nuo said, “Just as I thought,” and laid them out in front of Fang Si Ting.
“The suspect’s recent social media post said he was decorating the house, but his place looks exactly like when he first rented it—no changes. So, he decorated someone else’s place, not his own. The window frames match, so likely same neighborhood, same layout.”
“How do you judge it’s his partner’s home?” Fang Si Ting asked. He hadn’t spotted it at all.
Xu Nuo teased, “Date someone, Inspector Fang, and you’ll know.”
Fang Si Ting: “…”
Xu Nuo still explained, “From his lifestyle photos, the suspect doesn’t care much about food. Piles of instant noodle cups and stacked empty ones in the backgrounds, and he even burned the kitchen socket—clearly doesn’t cook often. So that big meal on July 7th at home was made by someone else. Not typical restaurant ingredients; some parts even a bit burnt. Only a partner would put that much thought into a man.
“The decor style in this rental isn’t particularly feminine, but guys generally don’t bother redecorating a rental, so I’m judging it’s a woman—or a same-sex partner. The meticulous one who cares about life details. I lean toward the latter.”
【Did humans evolve without me? I screenshotted and stared at those social media photos ten times over—saw nothing.】
【Don’t say it. These high-energy folks keep razor-sharp logic going at 1-2 AM, while I just crave barbecue right now.】
【How’d you know I’m eating while watching? Heh heh.】
【They already know where the suspect’s hiding, and I’m still babbling incoherently.】
【Bro, same. Didn’t get it. Can you two explain again?】
Fang Si Ting’s blood boiled too. An indescribable excitement surged through his nerve endings, coursing everywhere, clamoring nonstop.
Few people could keep up with his rapid thinking pace, let alone surpass him by spotting details he missed.
It felt like meeting a worthy opponent, a kindred spirit.
From head to toe, every cell reveled in it.
“Location changed. Continue the stakeout.” On the other end, Xu Nuo had already calmly notified the Action Team, hung up, gathered the files, and smiled gratefully. “Thanks for the help tonight, Inspector Fang. Otherwise, we might’ve made a huge mistake.”
“My help hasn’t even started. You sure you don’t need it?”
Xu Nuo paused mid-step.
“The show only started open auditions in August, but the suspect’s partner decorated a new place in July and didn’t live with him—instead renting separately in the same neighborhood. Doesn’t make sense if it’s for the show. And from his food and living conditions, their finances are average; no need for two rentals. Combined with his frequent job changes and fake addresses, this guy has strong anti-surveillance awareness.”
Xu Nuo’s heart skipped. “You mean…”
“He’s a real fugitive.”
【Wait, what?】
【My brain lagged again? Fang Yama means they picked a real-life fugitive for their civilian audition?】
【This ridiculous?!】
【Heard the Criminal Team guy had been on the run for years and still dared on the show as an actor. Damn, this time it’s a suspect starring as himself in a variety show!】
【Watching a show and getting confirmed as an idiot. Fang Yama deduced his real identity just from same neighborhood? I can only yell fuck nonstop.】
Fang Si Ting picked up the July 18th social media photo. “If the partner’s place is his hideout, the Action Team storming his home might’ve already alerted the snake by trampling the grass. Conventional arrest won’t work. If he slips away this time, the trail goes cold.”
“What should I do?”
Fang Si Ting opened the computer satellite map, zoomed in, pointed at intersections, and explained the arrest plan. He occasionally glanced up to see him listening intently, taking serious notes. The tension between his thick brows gradually eased.
What he excelled at most was hunting murderers.
“Got it. I’ll tell Captain Bai tomorrow.” Xu Nuo snapped his notebook shut with determination, watched him sip coffee—sharp, handsome features mostly hidden behind the cup, brows tinged with a hint of amusement.
For a moment, through the cold coffee aroma and icy gaze on those brows, it seemed like looking at someone else.
That afternoon, with Li Cunhou’s case, he had spoken up too.
For a moment, the two stared wordlessly.
The atmosphere grew subtly awkward.
“You helped me so much; I don’t even know how to repay you.” Xu Nuo, oblivious, felt a twinge of awkwardness and unease about the situation. “Us alone together in the dead of night—won’t people misunderstand?”
“Pfft—”
Fang Si Ting spat a mouthful of coffee onto his face.
“Sorry.” He coughed lowly a few times and impassively handed over some tissues.
Xu Nuo wiped his face. The budding awkwardness vanished; he laughed indifferently. “No big deal. I’m used to it.”
Fang Si Ting looked at him. “Between us, it’s just a normal superior-subordinate relationship, right?”
“I know.” Xu Nuo’s voice trembled; his smile strained. “Not everyone sees me with normal eyes like you do.”
Fang Si Ting said nothing.
“I—I’m going to wash my face.” Xu Nuo fled into the bathroom and splashed water on his face.
When he looked up, Fang Si Ting was already at the bathroom door, handing him tissue.
Water droplets slid down his face to his chin, dripping one by one.
Without makeup, his face was merely clear-cut. Wheat-toned skin bore two pimples, but it looked much more comfortable than before.
Pitiful too.
His face, lips, even his reddened eyes brimmed with watery sheen, gazing at him all pitiable and forlorn.
Fang Si Ting’s gaze on Xu Nuo seemed to pierce through to someone else.
Scrutinizing, probing, doubting, disappointed.
It lingered, wavered.
Finally, it settled into calm.
