Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Love Even If We Die.

Beijiang City, West District, Xiangyang Road.

Heavy rain pouring like a torrent.

In the dimness under a sky pressed down by dark clouds, car wheels sped through puddles, splashing water everywhere and scattering away months of lingering heat, drawing quiet curses from pedestrians.

Taking two quick steps at a time, hastily smoothing down his soaked hair, He Linfeng reached out and pushed open the glass door in front of him.

Yuedu Department Store.

Just after being transferred, he had run into a case of a headless dismembered body. He had been living in the bureau’s assigned dorm for half a month before finally getting a day off to tidy up his new home.

Perhaps due to the bad weather, the inside of the mall was extremely quiet, and the decor was also in an old-fashioned retro style from the last century, making it feel for a moment like he had wandered onto the set of some film crew.

He Linfeng took out his phone and checked the navigation.

He hadn’t gone to the wrong place. The niche brand he was used to indeed had opened a store here, and it was the only one.

A wave of warm air, far above body temperature, brushed past him. Below, a crowd of elderly men and women had gathered to take shelter from the rain. Even though it was clearly a good place to pass the time, not many people were actually moving around.

Raising an eyebrow slightly, He Linfeng nimbly passed through the crowd and headed straight for his destination.

Unexpectedly, however, the entire third-floor home goods area was deathly silent.

Taking advantage of his height and long legs, as soon as he got out of the elevator, he could already see from a distance a man with a ponytail kneeling on one knee, holding a bouquet of red roses in his arms, looking up pleadingly like a pitiful little dog.

As for the object of the confession, whose pant leg was being grabbed, it was unexpectedly a young man in a suit and tie. His skin was pale, a pair of delicate gold-rimmed glasses sat on his nose bridge, as if he had not rested for a long time—or as if he had just been dug out of a coffin. His thin lips were pressed together, and with just a lowered gaze he exuded a bone-chilling coldness.

He Linfeng originally had no intention of joining the commotion.

Before being officially transferred to the criminal investigation brigade, he had also been a small community police officer at a local precinct, dealing all day with trivial matters like family disputes and lost cats and dogs. His past experience repeatedly proved one thing—when couples argue, it is best to avoid it.

But the other man’s face just happened to match He Linfeng’s aesthetic perfectly.

So he slowly edged a little closer and asked, “What’s going on?”

“It’s Manager Jia. There’ve always been rumors that he’s been pursuing President Jian. I didn’t expect it to be true,” said a staff member at the outer edge, lowering their voice without thinking in response to the natural tone of the question. “Strange though—Manager Jia used to have a girlfriend. Love really does come like a tornado…”

Wind.

The somewhat complicated syllable rolled twice on her tongue before fading away awkwardly. The onlooking saleswoman’s pupils shook in shock, only realizing belatedly that the person beside her was an unfamiliar customer.

Judging by age, the other party looked to be at most twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He wore only a basic-cut shirt, sleeves casually rolled up, buttons fastened just up to below the collarbone—relaxed and unrestrained, like a runway model.

His fox-like eyes were slightly upturned. When he looked over with focus, even his voice carried a hint of charm:

“Don’t panic.”

“I’m just passing by.”

For some reason, the saleswoman’s cheeks felt a little warm.

However, the rustling movement in the corner ultimately alerted the two main figures at the center of attention. Without hesitation, the young man known as President Jian stepped forward and coldly shook off the pursuer’s grip: “Get lost.”

Plop.

The roses fell, and the scattering petals covered the faint metallic scraping sound.

Around them, some employees showed looks of regret, but no one dared to actually cheer. Although Manager Jia was usually gentle and polite, who would dare offend the boss for a colleague?

As is well known, Yuedu Department Store has been able to operate until today entirely to fulfill a small wish of President Jian. Otherwise, where would they find such a leisurely and well-paid job?

Only He Linfeng quickened his pace and walked a little further inside.

He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, and he had a strikingly handsome face that immediately drew a lot of attention. In almost the same instant, the ponytailed man who had not spoken all this time suddenly lifted his shirt hem and pulled out a gleaming, reflective fruit knife.

“Ah!”

“President Jian! President Jian, be careful!”

Shouts that had gone out of tune and panicked warnings pierced the eardrums one after another. The crowd, scattering backward on instinct, firmly blocked He Linfeng’s path. Just as he was about to throw something to knock the ponytailed man’s wrist off course, the suited young man seemed to have eyes in the back of his head—he ducked sideways, turned back, and with his left leg delivered a flying kick straight to the attacker’s jaw, knocking it askew.

Clean and decisive, with full force.

He Linfeng, whose heroic moment had nowhere to land: …

At this rate, the person he was supposed to rescue might end up completely reversed.

【Beep.】

【Mission failed! Mission failed!】

【The system will unbind from the host in fifteen minutes.】

A ringing filled both ears. Jian Qing habitually ignored the eerie mechanical voice that sounded like auditory hallucinations, dropped his center of gravity, and forcefully pressed down on the ponytailed man’s neck.

—Jia Xiangyu.

Or rather, a transmigrator.

After half a month of anxious preparation, when it actually came time to kill him, he was still weak as a bean sprout.

But very quickly, a large hand patted Jian Qing’s shoulder: “Easy, you’re going to crush him to death.” The tone was familiar and teasing, faintly carrying a hint of reassurance.

With his guard fully raised, he reflexively grabbed at the other person.

But he grabbed nothing.

Smiling faintly, the man withdrew his hand. The pads of his fingers, rough with light calluses, brushed across Jian Qing’s palm. His already loosely fastened collar shifted open as he bent down, revealing a large expanse of skin.

“Hello, Criminal Investigation Team Consultant He Linfeng,” he said with complete seriousness, as if putting on a peacock display without the slightest awareness of his own appearance. “May I ask if there’s anything I can help with?”

Jian Qing turned his head calmly.

Along with Jia Xiangyu’s furious accusation: 【He Linfeng? Why is he in Beijiang? That guy definitely wants to pick up the credit!】

Another one.

Used to it, Jian Qing smoothly pressed the shortcut key to call the police. After all, most transmigrators at the beginning always wore the skin of kindness and virtue, trying to complete a “strategy the protagonist” mission.

Hypocritical, greedy, full of lies.

However…

Criminal Investigation Team Consultant?

“It’s real,” as if guessing what he was doubting, the man generously pushed his ID forward. “Don’t believe me, take a look yourself.”

“Whoever you are, please stay away from me.” The blade grazed his left cheek, leaving a streak of blood. Yet Jian Qing acted as if nothing had happened, letting the red slowly drip down from his lens.

With his face pressed tightly against the floor, Jia Xiangyu struggled to breathe with numb limbs: 【System? System? You never told me the protagonist could fight like this!】

At the very beginning, when he learned that he had been thrown into a poorly written, abruptly unfinished web novel he had once skimmed through, Jia Xiangyu thought heaven had finally opened its eyes on him—like those reincarnation novels from popular web fiction sites—letting him cheat his way to the peak of life with a system.

But what happened?

Forget golden fingers—this garbage system didn’t even have a shop. Its settings were like a low-quality early-era galgame: strategy points increased by “conquering the protagonist,” the progress bar could be exchanged for reward points, and those could be used to obtain real-world intervention rewards.

Beauty, lifespan, wealth… everything was available, including the chance to “return along the original route,” bringing all earned benefits back to the original world and transforming himself into a rich, handsome, and successful man.

Of course, for Jia Xiangyu, the original world didn’t have much worth missing. Flirting with girls to farm points—given his new body’s looks—was practically effortless enjoyment.

But Jia Xiangyu forgot one thing: in “Beijiang Criminal Investigation Records,” the protagonist was Jian Qing.

A man.

A cold-blooded, merciless capitalist.

No matter how humbly and tenderly he tried to please him, the strategy progress bar remained at zero. Jia Xiangyu even suspected that if affection values could go negative, he would have already plunged beyond the Mariana Trench.

He spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, forcibly ignoring the surrounding contemptuous and fearful whispers, and struggled to reach the fruit knife that had fallen nearby:

There was no time.

The main mission had made no progress, and the garbage system was about to abandon him.

The strategy rules clearly stated that transmigrators who were unbound from their systems would all be erased by “rules.”

【Die Even If I Must Love,】 the final challenge flashing on his retina flickered on and off. Jia Xiangyu couldn’t hold back a curse: 【Who the hell came up with that stupid name.】

—A broken story is still an ending. The fastest way to finish a novel is to eliminate the protagonist.

If not forced into a corner, who would willingly play star-crossed lovers with a paper character?

“Jian… Jian Qing,” Jia Xiangyu forced out a trembling breath, turning his head toward that cold, condescending face. For a moment he blanked, stuttering, “I… I like you.”

Honestly speaking, when he first transmigrated here, he had indeed felt some genuine affection for Jian Qing.

A beautiful and wealthy child of fate, wrapped in mystery, fragile yet strong—aside from the fact that the gender required some mental adjustment, he was practically the perfect romantic target.

But what met Jia Xiangyu’s confession was a pair of emotionless black eyes.

Clear and cold, reflecting his flushed and embarrassed state, yet never truly placing him in its gaze.

“Go to hell!” Humiliated and enraged, Jia Xiangyu struggled madly with all his strength. After more than ten seconds of flailing, all he managed was to wrinkle the opponent’s straight suit trousers.

The backup stabilizing force, He Linfeng, couldn’t help laughing: “Alright, brother, you should really go practice more in prison.”

With that small frame, he could take on two of him with one hand.

“I didn’t bring handcuffs since I was on leave,” He Linfeng said, magically producing a sealed plastic bag as he picked up the fruit knife and stepped beside Jian Qing. “Can I borrow your tie?”

He was very experienced—his skill in restraining suspects was top-notch.

Before the other could answer, he added on his own, “Forget it, forget it. Restraining someone is minor—I’m more worried you’ll punch me in the face later and damage the police image.”

Jian Qing silently clenched his knuckles: …

For some long-winded reason, he had always maintained a friendly attitude toward police officers, but this one in front of him really made him question Beijiang Bureau’s hiring standards.

Fortunately, before the situation became even stranger, blue-and-white police cars cut through the rain curtain, arriving with sirens blaring.

Criminal Investigation Team intern policewoman Song Xiaotong had been assigned to follow along, and unexpectedly gained an acquaintance.

“Consultant He,” while desperately forcing on a timid, oval-faced expression, she was busy dispersing the crowd and taking statements. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and only when a bottle of opened mineral water was handed to her did she look up in surprise and say, “Why are you here?”

Leaning loosely against the glass railing on the third floor of the mall, He Linfeng flipped through the product manual on his tablet while answering casually, “I should be the one asking you. What kind of complicated situation is worth the Criminal Investigation Team coming out for?”

Frowning in confusion, Song Xiaotong answered as if it were obvious: “But… that’s Jian Qing.”

—A city-level urban legend within Beijiang’s public security system.

Threats, kidnappings, family annihilations… between victim and suspect, a certain CEO’s identity kept flipping back and forth, yet every time he ended up walking out of the police station clean, adding another wave of heat for media outlets struggling for headlines.

“You’ve never heard of the H Province number one unsolved case?” Surprised by the senior’s unusually dull reaction in a professional matter, she lowered her voice as she repeated her guess that he was deliberately testing her: “2.13. On New Year’s Eve twenty-two years ago. A family of five.”

“Only Jian Qing survived.”