Perhaps it was because she had been lost in thought for too long, or perhaps her strange expression was too obvious, but Guan Xia suddenly heard the police officer calling her, "Miss? Miss Guan?"
Guan Xia quickly snapped back to reality and turned her attention back to the officer in front of her.
The officer frowned, his expression still stern, but there was a faint glint of excitement in his dark, bright eyes as he asked, "Miss Guan, did you remember something?"
Guan Xia hesitated for a moment. Though her encounter with the repairman didn’t quite match the description on the interface, she gritted her teeth and answered, trusting the system, "Officer, yesterday when I was coming home, I ran into a repairman in the hallway. I’m not sure if he counts as suspicious, but when he asked if I needed help, I noticed there was a stain on his sleeve."
She raised her arm and pointed to the spot highlighted in red on the interface earlier. "Right here—a small brown patch. I think it might have been blood."
The officer’s excitement became even more apparent as he pressed urgently, "What did he look like?"
Guan Xia tried her best to recall and describe him. "He wasn’t very tall, maybe half a head taller than me—probably just over 170 cm. He had a square face, sparse and messy eyebrows, narrow eyes with single eyelids, but his nose was high and straight. His lips were a bit thick, and oh—he had a mole on the right corner of his mouth."
Perhaps because her description was so detailed, the officer gave her a surprised glance as he took notes.
Guan Xia couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. Truthfully, her memory wasn’t that great, but the interface had gone above and beyond. The moment the officer asked what the man looked like, the video rewound and paused perfectly on the moment she had faced the repairman directly. It even zoomed in on his face, as if afraid she wouldn’t see clearly, making Guan Xia feel slightly dizzy from staring at it.
Suppressing the urge to sigh, she explained seriously, "Officer, I graduated from art school. It might be a professional habit—I’m pretty good at remembering faces."
She paused, then took another careful look at the enlarged face in her mind before adding, "That repairman’s face… maybe it’s just my imagination, but something felt off. His nose didn’t look very… real."
She tried to phrase it diplomatically. In truth, it wasn’t just "not real"—it looked downright fake, completely defying anatomy, like a skyscraper built on flat ground. She had no idea which cosmetic clinic could have produced such a result.
Guan Xia thought she had said all she needed to, assuming the routine questioning was over. But then the officer cleared his throat awkwardly and gave her an almost sheepish look. "So, Miss Guan… since you said you graduated from art school, would you mind drawing a sketch of the suspect for us?"
Guan Xia stared at him for a long moment. She couldn’t refuse a request from the police, but a sinking feeling told her that the peaceful, leisurely life she had worked so hard to achieve was about to slip away.
After exchanging WeChat contacts with the officer and watching him leave, she shut the door with a sharp click.
Dragging herself to the study where she usually painted, she pulled out an A4 sheet and clipped it to her drawing board. As she sketched, she tried reasoning with the system that had suddenly appeared.
Considering it had taken twenty-five years after her transmigration for this so-called "cheat" to show up, Guan Xia couldn’t help but grumble, "Why don’t you come a little later? Maybe wait until I’m on my deathbed."
The interface vanished with a whoosh, as if it had never existed in the first place.
Guan Xia only grew angrier.
Before transmigrating, her life hadn’t been great—her parents divorced, neither had time for her—but the monthly alimony payments had at least gotten her through college. Her job was dull and often required overtime, but the pay was decent enough to support herself and fund her hobbies.
But after transmigrating? Not only was she reborn as a baby, but she also woke up in an orphanage. From the moment she could speak, she was forced into the ruthless competition for survival. She had to relearn the social skills she’d barely grasped in her past life and refine them just to stand out among the other orphans—to eat enough, stay warm, and avoid being bullied. It was only by honing her artistic talent that she earned a benefactor’s sponsorship, got into art school, and eventually became a comic artist, finally achieving the comfortable life she’d dreamed of.
If this "informant system" had come earlier, she might have eagerly chosen a path as a police officer. But now? Even if she had the chance to join the force, she couldn’t bear to give up the life she’d fought so hard for. She wasn’t lacking money or free time—why would she willingly dive into something as dangerous as this?
Just thinking about the lives of police officers in crime dramas made her shudder. She tried negotiating with the system as calmly as possible. "Look, System, I had it rough before, but I’m doing fine now. I don’t really need a cheat. Why not bind to someone else? I’m sure there are plenty of people out there willing to dedicate their lives to protecting others—like that officer earlier?"
The interface remained indifferent, as if everything that had happened was just Guan Xia’s imagination.
Pursing her lips, she persisted. "Honestly, System, if you’d bound to me twenty years ago, I would’ve used you to fight crime with everything I had. But you’re way too late. I’m just an ordinary office worker now—no strength, no combat skills, and I barely leave the house when I’m drawing comics. Someone like me would just waste your potential. I’m saying this for your sake—find someone else."
Still, no response.
Guan Xia massaged her temples, exasperated. Admittedly, she still had a bit of that teenage idealism left in her, but the moment she imagined facing real-life criminals, any heroic fantasies evaporated.
She knew her limits—she wasn’t strong, wasn’t fast, and had no talent for martial arts. Even if she abandoned her career to train, she doubted she’d last more than a few seconds against actual criminals.
As for cooperating with the police… the thought alone made her shake her head. She knew that if she revealed everything, they’d trust her—after verification—but that trust would come with constant surveillance, protection, and relentless demands to maximize her usefulness.
She understood the reasoning, but as an ordinary person, she knew she couldn’t handle that kind of life. After much deliberation, Guan Xia sighed in resignation and decided to ignore the system.
She’d contribute where she could, but she wouldn’t go out of her way to seek danger.
After spending over half an hour sketching and refining the repairman’s portrait, she wasted no time sending it to the officer.
After receiving a simple "thank you" in reply, Guan Xia tucked her phone into her bag, hung up the freshly washed laundry, and prepared to change her shoes to leave.
Just as she reached the entryway, her phone rang.
Without even guessing, Guan Xia knew it was her unreliable best friend. Pulling out her phone, she confirmed it was indeed Pang Le.
Answering the call, Pang Le’s carefree voice chimed in her ear, "Bestie, I heard there was a murder in your neighborhood?"
Recalling Pang Le’s vast and intricate network of connections, Guan Xia wasn’t surprised and simply replied, "Yeah, it happened right above my apartment. The police are still at the scene."
Pang Le gasped dramatically. "I’m coming to get you. Stay put." Without waiting for a response, she hung up.
Knowing her friend’s temperament all too well, Guan Xia didn’t dare disobey and obediently sat on the couch.
After scrolling through short videos for over ten minutes, a set of light, hurried footsteps stopped outside her door, followed immediately by a rapid series of knocks.
Guan Xia opened the door, and Pang Le glanced at her legs, grinning. "It’s been three days, and you’re still not healed? You really should listen to me and exercise properly. How are you supposed to keep up with me when we’re in our fifties otherwise?"
Guan Xia rolled her eyes and used her hiking pole to hook the handle of her suitcase, pushing it toward Pang Le. "Keep up with you? More like survive you. What kind of sane person climbs three mountains in five days? I’m just glad I made it back alive. Stop lecturing and carry this for me."
Pang Le swept aside the hair that had fallen annoyingly over her chest and obediently picked up the suitcase, even extending a hand toward Guan Xia. "Need me to hold you? Or I could carry you if you prefer."
Guan Xia glanced at Pang Le’s figure-hugging mermaid dress and scoffed, then strode ahead with her hiking pole, leaving her friend behind.
After locking the door, Guan Xia had barely taken a step down the stairs when Pang Le casually set the suitcase against the wall, craned her neck to look upstairs, and winked at Guan Xia. "I’ve never really seen a homicide detective up close. Wait here—I’m going to take a peek."
Without waiting for a response, she bounded up the stairs in a few quick strides.
Guan Xia watched Pang Le’s retreating figure with a headache, recalling the photo of the detective team she’d once seen on her phone. She already knew exactly what Pang Le was about to say.
Two or three minutes later, Pang Le came clattering back down, her expression practically glowing. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at Guan Xia. "Have you seen the captain of that detective team? He’s seriously good-looking."
Guan Xia continued descending the stairs without turning around, replying dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, sure. Handsome, whatever."
Pang Le followed, carrying the suitcase, and laughed before sighing regretfully. "Handsome, sure, but he’s clearly the difficult type. What a shame."
Guan Xia glanced back at her, skeptical. "I bet you’re just saying he’s difficult because you secretly want the challenge."
Pang Le fell silent for a few seconds before clicking her tongue. "Nah, not this one. Too much effort. I’ll stick with toying with that lawyer for now."
Guan Xia raised an eyebrow. "Giving up already? That’s not like you."
She recalled the photo of the young man—though slightly blurred, his sharp jawline and towering height compared to the crowd were undeniable. His broad shoulders and narrow waist suggested regular workouts, likely due to his profession. Compared to Pang Le’s usual dating pool, his aura was far more composed and restrained. But still, Guan Xia couldn’t see why he’d be so unapproachable that Pang Le wouldn’t even try.
As she pondered, Pang Le added, "He’s different from the guys I’ve met before. Clearly the type who’s driven by ambition and works relentlessly for it. I wouldn’t mind chasing him, but it’d take way too much energy. Not worth it for me. There are plenty of other good-looking guys out there—no need to climb mountains for one."
Guan Xia let out a dry laugh. "You keep telling me to fix my lazy habits, but maybe you should work on your collector’s mentality first."
Ignoring the jab, Pang Le tossed her long hair over her shoulder and gracefully strode past Guan Xia, leading the way downstairs.
