SFTD -Chapter 242 A Spring Dream Leaves No Trace

Liu Da nodded and glanced at his watch.

“It’s already ten o’clock. Leave someone here to guard the scene and keep everything secured. Everyone else can head back.

Xu Biao, you’re going home with Zhou Hai tonight. He can’t drive himself, and I’m not comfortable letting him go alone.”

Xu Biao nodded. “I’ll take Hai Zi home. It’s too late anyway, I’ll just crash at his place for the night.”

Liu Da smiled faintly. Xu Biao had reacted quickly—exactly what he wanted. He hoped Xu Biao would stay with Zhou Hai. After all, Lu Xi was gone, and it would be better if someone looked after him.

But Zhou Hai shook his head.

“Just take me home. Don’t worry about me. I can handle it. Xu Biao can come pick me up tomorrow morning.”

Seeing the determination in Zhou Hai’s eyes, Liu Da said nothing more. The two packed up their things and left.

Captain Huang watched them walk away, then nudged Liu Da beside him.

“There’s almost no hope of solving this case anymore. Zhou Hai knows that better than anyone. Shouldn’t the higher-ups give him some extended leave so he can rest for a while?”

“Rest?”

Liu Da snorted.

“Rest so he can sit around mourning Lu Xi? Nonsense.”

With a flick of his sleeve, Liu Da strode away, leaving Huang Zhongsheng standing there dumbfounded. But after thinking it over, he realized Liu Da had a point and quickly began arranging personnel for overnight guard duty and the next day’s tasks.

After returning home, Zhou Hai didn’t let Xu Biao come upstairs.

The apartment was filled with Lu Xi’s scent—the only trace of her remaining. At any moment, it could trick him into believing she had merely gone back to her parents’ house and never truly left.

After showering, he lay on the bed hugging the drumstick-shaped pillow.

Xixi had told him to take care of himself.

He had promised her he would.

What he needed most right now was proper sleep.

Closing his eyes, tears slid silently down the corners of them. He tightened his arms around the pillow, and before long, he drifted asleep.

In his dream, Lu Xi wore that white strapless wedding dress as she ran endlessly across a grassy field. Dressed all in white like a fairy descended from heaven, she smiled brightly while waving at him.

Zhou Hai chased after her desperately but could never quite catch up. Yet seeing the joy on her face, the corners of his lips slowly lifted as well.

Only when they reached a hillside did he finally pounce and tackle her onto the grass.

The two laughed and played for a while before Lu Xi stretched out her arms toward him.

“Zhou Hai, hold me.”

Zhou Hai embraced her tightly.

The sensation felt so real that he slowly closed his eyes.

His Lu Xi had returned.

She had really come back.

The soft warmth of her trembling body in his arms made his heart shake violently.

“Xixi, don’t go. Stay with me.”

Lu Xi smiled and shook her head. She raised a hand and gently brushed his cheek with her fingers before cupping his face in both hands. Gazing into his eyes, she lightly kissed the tip of his nose. The faint fragrance drifting from her was unmistakably hers.

Then she pressed her palm against his chest.

“Fool, don’t say that. I’ve always been here. I live inside your heart. I’ll never leave. When you’re happy, I’m happy. When you’re hurting, I hurt too. So don’t be so sad. Look—I’m right here. As long as you want me to, I’ll come out and keep you company.”

Zhou Hai rolled over and pinned her beneath him. Sliding his hands along her slender arms, he lifted both her wrists above her head, fingers intertwining with hers as he captured her alluring lips in a kiss far more possessive than ever before.

He was afraid that in the very next second, Lu Xi would disappear again.

Only by exploring her with his lips did it feel as though he could confirm she was truly real.

Gradually, his kisses deepened, brushing over her teeth and palate, drawing trembling shivers and soft moans from the woman beneath him. Only then did Zhou Hai slowly open his eyes.

Lu Xi’s gaze was hazy, her cheeks flushed crimson.

That sight alone ignited overwhelming desire within him.

Their clothes fluttered apart, revealing endless springtime passion.

No one knew how much time had passed before Zhou Hai finally released her lips after surrendering himself completely. He removed his jacket and covered the tempting spring scenery of her body.

By then, his face was already streaked with tears.

It was her.

It really was her.

Even after enduring an entire day of agony, he had somehow been able to hold his Lu Xi once more.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhou Hai no longer knew what to say.

Lu Xi gently pushed against his restraint.

“Fool. Do you believe me now?”

Zhou Hai nodded and cupped her face again.

“Tell me—who stabbed you? Did you see them?”

Lu Xi shook her head.

“I didn’t see anything. Someone suddenly covered my mouth, and then I felt a cold sensation in my back. Instantly, all my strength disappeared. After that, it was like I couldn’t hear or see anything anymore… and then you appeared.”

Zhou Hai hugged her tightly. His right hand rested against her chest, but the cool sensation beneath his palm made him slowly raise his head.

“I’m sorry, Xixi. I failed to protect you.”

Lu Xi shook her head and pressed her cool fingers against his lips.

“There are many things neither you nor I can control. Don’t forget—my parents still need you to look after them. Little Lolita needs you too. If even you collapse, what will they do?”

Zhou Hai said nothing more.

He simply held Lu Xi in his arms as they watched the setting sun slowly sink into the horizon.

Only when the alarm clock rang did Zhou Hai jolt awake.

Opening his eyes with difficulty, he realized he had fallen asleep in the study while hugging the drumstick pillow.

After washing up, Xu Biao’s phone call arrived right on time.

Three weeks passed.

During those three weeks, Zhou Hai had barely slept or rested, yet the case had completely run cold.

Even the Third People’s Hospital and Zhongtai Insurance—the two locations they had previously uncovered—yielded nothing. Captain Hu had ordered exhaustive searches of both places, but no clues surfaced.

Zhou Hai visibly wasted away.

He had never been heavy to begin with, but now his eye sockets were sunken deeply inward, and his eyes were bloodshot.

In those three weeks, he had only called Little Lolita twice.

As for the Lu family, he never dared visit them once.

He simply felt he had no way to face them.

The bridal studio case had reached a dead end.

That mastermind lurking behind everything seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth without leaving a single trace behind.

Zhou Hai knew continuing the investigation like this no longer had much meaning.

But he refused to give up.

Liu Da, Captain Hu, and everyone close to him had tried persuading him countless times, yet Zhou Hai still would not let go.

At the beginning of another work week, Zhou Hai buried himself in work once again.

The whiteboard was densely covered with information related to both the Mi Gao poisoning case and the bridal studio murder case—all known clues and conditions connected to them.

He desperately searched for overlooked details.

This was no longer the first time he had conducted such a meticulous review.

Without the slightest impatience, he carefully sorted through every single detail.

After all, once people reach a conclusion by following a certain path of reasoning, they subconsciously continue thinking along that same route. This forms a fixed pattern of thought.

And Zhou Hai wanted to break free from that trap.

Just as he was deep in thought, the office door opened.

Liu Da entered alongside an elderly man.

With a wave of his hand toward Xu Biao and the others, they tactfully left the office.

Still immersed in thought, Zhou Hai continued scribbling on the whiteboard. Then he grabbed a nearby reference book, checked some records, and added more notes.

From beginning to end, his brows never relaxed.

Then suddenly, as if he had realized something, he waved impatiently behind him.

“Xu Biao, get me the toxicology reports for the four victims in the Mi Gao case. Hurry up!”

His hand waved through empty air for a moment without response, and irritation immediately surfaced on Zhou Hai’s face.

He abruptly hurled the whiteboard marker in his hand.

The blue marker slammed against the wall, leaving behind a long streak of blue ink.

Zhou Hai spun around, eyes wide, ready to explode in anger.

But the instant he saw who stood behind him, all his fury vanished.

“Why are you here?”

The visitor was none other than Lu Xi’s father—Lu Zhengfei.

Originally, Lu Zhengfei had intended to come and beat Zhou Hai senseless.

Zhou Hai had practically abandoned Zhou Luoluo at the Lu family home without a word. Lu Xi was already dead; in Lu Zhengfei’s mind, Zhou Hai no longer had any connection to their family.

So when Liu Da contacted him today, he agreed immediately.

Even if it was only to return that child, he had to come.

But seeing Zhou Hai reduced to such a skeletal state—and seeing the whiteboard covered in case details—every harsh word he had prepared became lodged in his throat.

He truly loved Xixi.

At that moment, Lu Zhengfei felt a sharp ache in his heart.

His daughter’s death seemed to hurt Zhou Hai even more deeply than it hurt them as parents.

And for Lu Xi’s case, he had pushed himself to the brink of collapse.

Suddenly, Lu Zhengfei pitied this child deeply.

“Stop.”

“Stop all the investigation.”