I Refuse to Log Off - Chapter 3

In the original plot, Zhou Mingyue debuted as a corpse. Part of one, to be precise.

Early one morning, a woman cleaning a public restroom found a blood-soaked arm on the sink.

Her scream opened the first arc of the novel.

That arm was Zhou Mingyue’s grand entrance.

Mine, on the other hand…

“Officer Zhao, I told you, he attacked me first! Why are you cuffing me?”

“I’m a good person. I really am!”

“Hey, hey, don’t shove. I can get into the car myself.”

My grand entrance involved Zhao Xianzhi, the novel’s number-one secondary male lead, personally handcuffing and arresting me.

My parents would tear their hair out if they found out.

I meant my parents in the real world. They both worked in government and cared deeply about appearances.

It was all that psychopath’s fault. Why did he have to scream so loudly? If he had not woken the neighbors, they would not have called the police, and I would not have been arrested.

All I had wanted was to see whether I could dislocate his leg bones without breaking the skin…

At seven the next morning, I sat in the Criminal Investigation Brigade’s office slurping rice noodles while lodging a complaint with Captain Zhao Xianzhi across the desk.

“See? I told you I was a good person, but you insisted on dragging me here.”

“That driver took me home while I was unconscious and said he wanted to cut off my legs. He was obviously a psychopath!”

“I was terrified. I might have hit him a little too hard by accident, but you can’t blame me, right? Who wouldn’t fear for her life in that situation?”

Zhao Xianzhi’s mouth twitched. He gave me a complicated look. By now, the police had uncovered the truth and confirmed that the psychopath was a serial killer.

And an exceptionally deranged one at that. He had kept pieces of his victims’ bones in his home and turned them into macabre ornaments.

I sighed dramatically and continued, “I’m an upstanding, law-abiding young citizen studying for graduate school. If people find out I’ve been hauled into a police station, how will I ever show my face again?”

Apparently worn down by my nagging, Zhao Xianzhi admitted fault without hesitation. “We were wrong. On behalf of the entire Criminal Investigation Brigade, I apologize.”

“I’m sorry. Please forgive us.”

He looked at the empty bowl that had held my pickled-cabbage rice noodles. “Are you full? Want another bowl?”

I honestly was not full, but sitting around a police station eating breakfast did not feel right, so I declined.

“I’m stuffed. If there’s nothing else, can I go home? I was out all night. My parents must be worried sick.”

It was not that I had refused to call. First, my phone had mysteriously died after I left home yesterday. Second, I did not remember the original Zhou Mingyue’s parents’ phone numbers.

Zhao Xianzhi called toward the hall. “Dong, take Miss Zhou home.”

I waved both hands. “No need. I’ll call a car.”

As I stepped out, I heard Officer Dong ask, “Captain Zhao, are we really just letting her leave?”

Zhao Xianzhi shot back, “What else should we do? She caught a murderer we’ve been hunting for five years. Lock her up and feed her prison meals?”

“Uh.” Officer Dong sounded embarrassed. “I just think there’s something strange about this. She looks so delicate. How did she manage to be that brutal? Dr. Qin said the man’s injuries were…”

I could no longer hear the rest. He was probably praising my professional technique—maximum pain without anything fatal.

What could I say? I was just that good.