Chapter Thirty-Two: A Face Full of Toughness

Chapter 32: A Face Full of Flesh

Qin Ruonan leaned against the bathtub, closing her eyes amid the swirling steam. The room was utterly silent, not a sound to be heard, yet inside her heart it was as if a typhoon had just passed through—she could not find a moment’s peace.

The water in the tub kept rising, nearly overflowing. She reached out and turned off the faucet.

If only emotions could be like the water from a faucet—just turned off with a twist of the hand. She rested her head heavily on the edge of the tub, silently wishing that feelings could be stopped abruptly, without lingering or hesitation, sparing one the torment and confusion that love often brings.

At least then, she wouldn’t be trapped in this agonizing limbo.

She might not have believed it herself before—how deeply attached she was to someone, unable to let go despite everything. From the first innocent stirrings of affection in her heart, to the first time she dared to pour her feelings onto paper, only to be met with silence and an unresolved, awkward ending; she had forced herself to give up, to move on. Then, when she was reassigned to the Major Crimes Unit of C City’s Public Security Bureau and reunited with an old acquaintance, she realized that what she thought was buried was merely hibernating—and from the moment she saw that man again, those feelings had begun to revive uncontrollably.

Whenever she thought of An Changpu, a tremor ran through her, every nerve on edge with tension. She had once believed that distance brings clarity—that getting closer would reveal flaws beneath the idealized image, allowing her to let go and find peace. But day after day spent together only deepened her entanglement, dragging her further into danger.

In her university days, her youthful infatuation had been simple—drawn to his tall, handsome appearance and sunny disposition. Now, with maturity and through working alongside him, she saw that this man was not just a pretty face; his mind and professional skills matched his looks. Usually the epitome of a gentleman, polite and courteous, yet steadfast and unyielding when it mattered most. Faced with difficult, prickly situations, he never resorted to brute force but always found a way to resolve problems smoothly, defusing tensions with gentle, effective solutions.

The more she came to know An Changpu, the clearer it became that the seed of affection within her was not uprooted but thriving.

As for herself, Qin Ruonan was fairly confident in her own abilities and investigative acumen. An Changpu had praised her capabilities more than once during their cooperation. Yet romantic feelings between a man and a woman were not forged by shared work alone; it was not a matter of "women are no match for men."

She had never asked An Changpu what type of woman he liked—partly out of shyness, partly out of fear.

But the answer seemed obvious enough. Men’s tastes varied, but ultimately shared common traits: attractive features, a shapely figure, a gentle or lively personality, a soft-spoken tone, and of course, a certain vulnerability that allowed a man to feel his masculinity affirmed.

Thinking of these qualities, Qin Ruonan could not help but picture Tao Yinyin.

Indeed, Tao Yinyin embodied nearly all the traits men admired in women. Whenever she faced her, Qin Ruonan felt an involuntary pang of inferiority.

To be fair, Qin Ruonan was not unattractive. Maybe she was being modest; objectively, her features were delicate and refined, and together they created an effect that was even more pleasing. Her tall, slender frame, paired with her short hair and crisp style of dress, gave her an air of spirited elegance. Yet, despite this, she lacked the feminine softness and charm. Her lean figure was offset by long limbs and a strong bone structure, with arms and legs that were firm and angular—traits that distanced her from the warm, alluring feminine ideal.

Perhaps Qin Ruonan’s style fit the popular trend of androgynous fashion, but no matter how much it was praised, if it was not what she truly desired, it would always feel like a burden.

She turned her face toward the mirror on the opposite wall, its surface blurred by steam. The reflection was hazy, her features indistinct, her mid-length hair uneven.

Was she being foolish? Just because someone once said they liked women with long hair, she had suddenly entertained the idea of growing hers out?

A wave of irritation swept over her. She again recalled the look of surprise on Tao Yinyin’s face when she had unconsciously taken the front passenger seat today.

She needed to be more careful in the future. Things were different now. Perhaps she could still indulge in unrealistic fantasies before, but with Tao Yinyin standing there so vividly, should she not take the hint and step back?

There was a popular saying these days: "Liking you is my business; it has nothing to do with you."

Her feelings for An Changpu were her own affair, unrelated to him. Whether she could let go depended on herself, but at least from now on, she must be careful not to cause trouble for others.

Lost in thought, Qin Ruonan suddenly shivered, realizing the water in the tub was growing cold. She quickly drained it, wrapped herself in a towel, and returned to her room.

She still had cases to solve. Regardless of her mood, she could not afford to fall ill—no colds or fevers could be tolerated in this line of work.

The next morning, as An Changpu entered the office, he found Qin Ruonan already seated at her desk. He was not surprised; her enthusiasm and dedication were well known. Approaching his own desk, he handed her two breakfasts.

“There’s a new breakfast shop near our place. Business is booming. I picked up two for us to try!”

Qin Ruonan was focused on the computer, checking the known male contacts around Qian Yuling based on the household registry. She glanced briefly at the breakfast, smiled faintly, but her eyes returned to the screen as she politely replied, "Thank you, I’ve already eaten."

An Changpu paused, sensing she had no intention of taking the food. He placed the extra breakfast back on his desk. He couldn’t very well insist she eat it if she said she had already eaten, yet he felt something had shifted between them. After their time working together, their relationship had grown comfortable, even if Qin Ruonan was never the lively, outgoing type who would joke and tease openly. But this polite distance felt different—colder.

What was wrong? An Changpu racked his memory; there hadn’t been any conflicts between them recently.

Maybe he was overthinking. He rubbed his nose and stopped probing, turning instead to eat his breakfast heartily. He passed the unclaimed breakfast over to Mo Dou, who had just arrived and hadn’t eaten.

Watching Mo Dou eat with relish, Qin Ruonan remained expressionless as she busily sifted through data. An Changpu still felt a nagging unease.

Soon, Qin Ruonan printed out a stack of personal information sheets and handed them over.

“Take a look at this. I just pulled up the records of the men we know have had contact with Qian Yuling, including their registry photos. Their backgrounds are straightforward, and none match Fang Da’s description of a ‘face full of flesh.’”

An Changpu took the documents and examined each one carefully. Indeed, as Qin Ruonan said, the men were of similar age, with clean records and plain backgrounds. Their registry photos were recent enough to resemble their current appearances. They all had refined, dignified looks typical of men in their thirties or forties.

None bore the “face full of flesh” described in the sketch.

Could it be that Fang Da had fabricated the “face full of flesh” story to slander Qian Yuling? An Changpu hesitated.

Seeing his furrowed brow, Qin Ruonan guessed he was wrestling with the same doubts she had moments before. She said, “I think that man with the ‘face full of flesh’ must exist. Consider this: Fang Da tries every means to stop Qian Yuling from dating or remarrying, hoping to keep his options open. If she remarried, he’d lose the chance to reconcile. Do you think someone with such intentions would invent a completely fictitious person just to frame his ex-wife?”

“That makes sense. I remembered yesterday, after we finished the sketch with Fang Da, I chatted with the artist a bit. They said that based on Fang Da’s description of the ‘face full of flesh,’ he must have indeed seen such a person—not just imagined one. So there must be other men in Qian Yuling’s life she hasn’t told us about,” An Changpu concluded.

“Let’s go visit Qian Yuling,” Qin Ruonan said, checking the time as she stood and grabbed her coat from the chair.

An Changpu nodded, gathered the files, and together they headed downstairs.

Chapter 32: A Face Full of Flesh