After dinner, Zhao Yu and the other two returned to their temporary office to review the details of Han Kuan’s case. Han Kuan and Zhang Yu had been introduced by friends. The couple clicked as soon as they met, so they tied the knot before they had even been together for three months!
Han Kuan was a professional writer, who wrote from home daily. Zhang Jingru used to work in a post office, but later went to work for a bank. She became a credit officer and had recently been promoted to the deputy manager position in the credit department.
Han Kuan didn’t have a fixed income, and although he was not very famous, he had lucrative royalties that constantly streamed in from his previous works. As for Zhang Jingru, even though her salary was not high, it was adequate. Thus, the couple as able to live a good and comfortable life together.
The testimonies of the couple’s relatives and friends all coincided with Zhang Jingfeng’s testimony. According to all of them, Han Kuan was quiet, while Zhang Jingru was more outgoing. They complemented each other and got along quite well.
Although they had no children, they were always affectionate with one another and no one heard about any scandals regarding their marriage. They were basically the perfect married couple example in most everyone’s eyes.
As for close relationships that the pair may have had, Han Kuan had no close friends except for several of his old classmates from school and a handful editors from several publishing houses. Regarding Zhang Jingru, although she knew a lot of people, she only got together occasionally with a few of her work colleagues every now and then.
So, no matter from which point of view one looked at this case, it didn’t look like it was a murder, nor did it seem like a suicide either!
During his investigation thus far, Zeng Ke had also organized all of the chat and Wechat histories that he had procured from Han Kuan’s and Zhang Jingru’s mobile devices. Even though the team had read through all of them several times, they still hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary.
The three worked feverishly until late that night. When they were so exhausted that they could barely lift their heads up, Zhao Yu let Zeng Ke and Cui Lizhu return to the hotel to rest. But he, as usual, remained there, pondering over the case for a long time as he paced back and forth in front of the white boards.
When Zhao Yu finally got to the point where he couldn’t think clearly, he turned off the light and went into the small sideroom in the office to rest. As Zhao Yu was so exhausted, he fell asleep immediately.
Unaware of how long he had been sleeping, Zhao Yu was suddenly awakened by a noise from outside. As he opened his drowsy eyes, he glanced through the partially open door to see that someone had turned on the light in the office!
He looked at his watch to see that it was 3 o’clock in the morning, which meant that it could only be one person who would be working here at such an ungodly hour… Miao Ying! So, Zhao Yu quickly put on his clothes and went to check it out.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Miao Ying. She was dressed in a black suit and was getting hot water from the office machine. Hearing a noise, she turned around quickly.
When she saw that it was only Zhao Yu, she was instantly relieved. After all, she had come to the office alone, so she couldn’t be too careful.
“Wow, Meow… Why didn’t you go to the hotel to rest? It’s so late!” When Zhao Yu saw his goddess, he immediately went up to her.
Seeing that Miao Ying was shivering, he grabbed her nearly frozen hands and said with concern, “You are freezing!” Then, Zhao Yu wrapped Miao Ying tightly in his arms, attempting to warm her up.
“I’m okay,” Miao Ying said, while she took a sip of hot water and put her cold cheek on Zhao Yu’s neck.
Zhao Yu was totally not expecting this. Even though her cheek was uncomfortably cold, Zhao Yu didn’t move away from her. Instead, he took off Miao Ying’s down jacket and held her tighter in his arms.
He then said, “That’s better! See… It’s much warmer now!”
Zhao Yu then pulled Miao Ying into the warm, small room, where he rubbed her hands as he asked, “How is the case going? Do you think that you will beat me this time?”
“Ahh! Why did you have to bring that up?” Finally feeling warm, Miao Ying snuggled into Zhao Yu’s embrace.
She then said, “It’s a total mess! The monitoring system is broken and useless. And guess what Chief Zheng said? He said it was too cold, so the cameras were frozen! It’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing!”
Miao Ying frowned as she continued, “Moreover, their duties aren’t even clearly divided! Today, I saw criminal police, civil police, traffic police, and even some people from the security team, but there were no forensics people! They don’t know how to protect the scene or what to do with the security camera recordings. They don’t even have basic knowledge about how to conduct a proper investigation!”
She was clearly upset as she insisted, “I’m going crazy! If the case had happened in Qinshan, it would not have been like this at all!”
Miao Ying stomped her foot, then continued to complain, “I asked them to find a detailed report of the suicide that happened on the campus in the Golden City ages ago, but I still haven’t gotten it! There is just no excuse for that!”
“Meow!” Zhao Yu advised, “Don’t be so anxious about everything! Remember last time? In Quliang? We met with these very same problems, but we still solved the case in the end!”
Miao Ying sighed softly. “Yeah… I just thought that it would be more professional once I started to work in the Special Investigation Group versus dealing with the criminal policemen in Qinshan. Now, it seems that I was totally wrong, as these guys are far worse than my colleagues from the Rongyang Branch!”
Zhao Yu attempted to persuade her, “Actually… What you have just described is pretty normal! When I first joined the Special Investigation Group, I was as messed up as you feel right now!”
He smiled, then continued, “I felt this way not only because of the unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar teammates, and strange cases, but also because I had just become a team leader.”
He shook his head as he recalled, “Back then, when I was dealing with the Hasty Murder Case, I had no idea what I was doing! In fact, Ran Tao and Zeng Ke were really a big help. After I worked with them for some time and realized that we all got along well, I knew that everything would be okay.”
At this point, Zhao Yu could not help but say to Miao Ying with great affection, “You are doing well. And hey! At least you have me! As for me, in the beginning, I had no one at all, not even a single person to talk to!”
“Don’t say that, babe!” Miao Ying could not help but say with embarrassment, “At that time, if I had known that you could solve the New Zealand problem, I would not have been so foolish as to leave you!”
After she spoke of this, they kissed. After the kiss, Miao Ying confessed to Zhao Yu with relief, “Babe, about Cui Lizhu… It wasn’t my intention to find fault with her! It’s just that…”
“I understand. At first, I felt the same way about her as you do right now!” Zhao Yu touched Miao Ying’s beautiful face, then said softly, “Over time, you’ll get used to her. She might even grow on you!”
“Hmm… If you say so…” Miao Ying said very unwillingly.
She then added, “It’s just… Whenever I see her, I inevitably think of that girl! I also recall what happened to us at the General Ridge and the Gold Buddha Temple… And I think about the poisonous arrow that shot you! Alas… How could there be two people with such similar looks? Also, the first time that I saw her was in the middle of a dark night, which was really creepy!”
Zhao Yu said with a laugh, “Well, you can rest assured that we have tested her DNA, which proved that her parents were Tao Xiang’s fellows. So, she has nothing to do with that girl!”
“Well, maybe I’m being too eager for quick success!” Miao Ying nodded slightly, then took Zhao Yu’s hand in hers and said, “Honey, I saw both crime scenes today, for the electric shock case and for the frozen corpse case! I feel that the murderer’s method was coarse and unrefined, definitely not professional. Hence, it is only a matter of time before we find him! But somehow, after I saw the scene, I had a very strange feeling…”
Zhao Yu asked immediately, “What kind of strange feeling?”
“I can’t say for sure… But it was indeed strange…” Miao Ying said with some uncertainty. “It was like I was seeing a similar scene that I had once seen in a dream!”
Zhao Yu laughed and said, “No way! Have you read Han Kuan’s 11 Kills?”
Miao Ying shook her head. “Um… I don’t think so.”
Zhao Yu laughed as he pushed Miao Ying down on the bed gently. He then said with a flirtatious tone, “I see… Well, maybe you could experience some similar ‘strange’ feelings with me first…”
After dinner, Zhao Yu and the other two returned to their temporary office to review the details of Han Kuan’s case. Han Kuan and Zhang Yu had been introduced by friends. The couple clicked as soon as they met, so they tied the knot before they had even been together for three months!
Han Kuan was a professional writer, who wrote from home daily. Zhang Jingru used to work in a post office, but later went to work for a bank. She became a credit officer and had recently been promoted to the deputy manager position in the credit department.
Han Kuan didn’t have a fixed income, and although he was not very famous, he had lucrative royalties that constantly streamed in from his previous works. As for Zhang Jingru, even though her salary was not high, it was adequate. Thus, the couple as able to live a good and comfortable life together.
The testimonies of the couple’s relatives and friends all coincided with Zhang Jingfeng’s testimony. According to all of them, Han Kuan was quiet, while Zhang Jingru was more outgoing. They complemented each other and got along quite well.
Although they had no children, they were always affectionate with one another and no one heard about any scandals regarding their marriage. They were basically the perfect married couple example in most everyone’s eyes.
As for close relationships that the pair may have had, Han Kuan had no close friends except for several of his old classmates from school and a handful editors from several publishing houses. Regarding Zhang Jingru, although she knew a lot of people, she only got together occasionally with a few of her work colleagues every now and then.
So, no matter from which point of view one looked at this case, it didn’t look like it was a murder, nor did it seem like a suicide either!
During his investigation thus far, Zeng Ke had also organized all of the chat and Wechat histories that he had procured from Han Kuan’s and Zhang Jingru’s mobile devices. Even though the team had read through all of them several times, they still hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary.
The three worked feverishly until late that night. When they were so exhausted that they could barely lift their heads up, Zhao Yu let Zeng Ke and Cui Lizhu return to the hotel to rest. But he, as usual, remained there, pondering over the case for a long time as he paced back and forth in front of the white boards.
When Zhao Yu finally got to the point where he couldn’t think clearly, he turned off the light and went into the small sideroom in the office to rest. As Zhao Yu was so exhausted, he fell asleep immediately.
Unaware of how long he had been sleeping, Zhao Yu was suddenly awakened by a noise from outside. As he opened his drowsy eyes, he glanced through the partially open door to see that someone had turned on the light in the office!
He looked at his watch to see that it was 3 o’clock in the morning, which meant that it could only be one person who would be working here at such an ungodly hour… Miao Ying! So, Zhao Yu quickly put on his clothes and went to check it out.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Miao Ying. She was dressed in a black suit and was getting hot water from the office machine. Hearing a noise, she turned around quickly.
When she saw that it was only Zhao Yu, she was instantly relieved. After all, she had come to the office alone, so she couldn’t be too careful.
“Wow, Meow… Why didn’t you go to the hotel to rest? It’s so late!” When Zhao Yu saw his goddess, he immediately went up to her.
Seeing that Miao Ying was shivering, he grabbed her nearly frozen hands and said with concern, “You are freezing!” Then, Zhao Yu wrapped Miao Ying tightly in his arms, attempting to warm her up.
“I’m okay,” Miao Ying said, while she took a sip of hot water and put her cold cheek on Zhao Yu’s neck.
Zhao Yu was totally not expecting this. Even though her cheek was uncomfortably cold, Zhao Yu didn’t move away from her. Instead, he took off Miao Ying’s down jacket and held her tighter in his arms.
He then said, “That’s better! See… It’s much warmer now!”
Zhao Yu then pulled Miao Ying into the warm, small room, where he rubbed her hands as he asked, “How is the case going? Do you think that you will beat me this time?”
“Ahh! Why did you have to bring that up?” Finally feeling warm, Miao Ying snuggled into Zhao Yu’s embrace.
She then said, “It’s a total mess! The monitoring system is broken and useless. And guess what Chief Zheng said? He said it was too cold, so the cameras were frozen! It’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing!”
Miao Ying frowned as she continued, “Moreover, their duties aren’t even clearly divided! Today, I saw criminal police, civil police, traffic police, and even some people from the security team, but there were no forensics people! They don’t know how to protect the scene or what to do with the security camera recordings. They don’t even have basic knowledge about how to conduct a proper investigation!”
She was clearly upset as she insisted, “I’m going crazy! If the case had happened in Qinshan, it would not have been like this at all!”
Miao Ying stomped her foot, then continued to complain, “I asked them to find a detailed report of the suicide that happened on the campus in the Golden City ages ago, but I still haven’t gotten it! There is just no excuse for that!”
“Meow!” Zhao Yu advised, “Don’t be so anxious about everything! Remember last time? In Quliang? We met with these very same problems, but we still solved the case in the end!”
Miao Ying sighed softly. “Yeah… I just thought that it would be more professional once I started to work in the Special Investigation Group versus dealing with the criminal policemen in Qinshan. Now, it seems that I was totally wrong, as these guys are far worse than my colleagues from the Rongyang Branch!”
Zhao Yu attempted to persuade her, “Actually… What you have just described is pretty normal! When I first joined the Special Investigation Group, I was as messed up as you feel right now!”
He smiled, then continued, “I felt this way not only because of the unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar teammates, and strange cases, but also because I had just become a team leader.”
He shook his head as he recalled, “Back then, when I was dealing with the Hasty Murder Case, I had no idea what I was doing! In fact, Ran Tao and Zeng Ke were really a big help. After I worked with them for some time and realized that we all got along well, I knew that everything would be okay.”
At this point, Zhao Yu could not help but say to Miao Ying with great affection, “You are doing well. And hey! At least you have me! As for me, in the beginning, I had no one at all, not even a single person to talk to!”
“Don’t say that, babe!” Miao Ying could not help but say with embarrassment, “At that time, if I had known that you could solve the New Zealand problem, I would not have been so foolish as to leave you!”
After she spoke of this, they kissed. After the kiss, Miao Ying confessed to Zhao Yu with relief, “Babe, about Cui Lizhu… It wasn’t my intention to find fault with her! It’s just that…”
“I understand. At first, I felt the same way about her as you do right now!” Zhao Yu touched Miao Ying’s beautiful face, then said softly, “Over time, you’ll get used to her. She might even grow on you!”
“Hmm… If you say so…” Miao Ying said very unwillingly.
She then added, “It’s just… Whenever I see her, I inevitably think of that girl! I also recall what happened to us at the General Ridge and the Gold Buddha Temple… And I think about the poisonous arrow that shot you! Alas… How could there be two people with such similar looks? Also, the first time that I saw her was in the middle of a dark night, which was really creepy!”
Zhao Yu said with a laugh, “Well, you can rest assured that we have tested her DNA, which proved that her parents were Tao Xiang’s fellows. So, she has nothing to do with that girl!”
“Well, maybe I’m being too eager for quick success!” Miao Ying nodded slightly, then took Zhao Yu’s hand in hers and said, “Honey, I saw both crime scenes today, for the electric shock case and for the frozen corpse case! I feel that the murderer’s method was coarse and unrefined, definitely not professional. Hence, it is only a matter of time before we find him! But somehow, after I saw the scene, I had a very strange feeling…”
Zhao Yu asked immediately, “What kind of strange feeling?”
“I can’t say for sure… But it was indeed strange…” Miao Ying said with some uncertainty. “It was like I was seeing a similar scene that I had once seen in a dream!”
Zhao Yu laughed and said, “No way! Have you read Han Kuan’s 11 Kills?”
Miao Ying shook her head. “Um… I don’t think so.”
Zhao Yu laughed as he pushed Miao Ying down on the bed gently. He then said with a flirtatious tone, “I see… Well, maybe you could experience some similar ‘strange’ feelings with me first…”
