Bai Yang grabbed Zhou Jin’s hands with both of his and shook them vigorously. “I’ve finally realized it — you’re our guardian angel, Jin Jin.”
Zhou Jin laughed. “Get out of here.”
Bai Yang sighed. “That tone — sounds just like Captain Tan.”
Zhou Jin: “You become what you’re around. You become what you’re around.”
---
A sleepless night.
Just past seven in the morning, Zhou Jin went to the train station to meet Chen Xiaoyu’s parents and bring them to the station.
A forensic officer accompanied them for the identification. Zhou Jin did not go in.
Through the heavy door, Chen Xiaoyu’s mother’s voice broke apart — raw, inconsolable sobs spilling out, calling “Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu” over and over, as though she believed, desperately, that if she called loudly enough, she might somehow wake her daughter.
Chen Xiaoyu’s father wept in choked silence, holding his wife tightly in both arms.
His eyes were webbed with red. He stared at the sheet-covered body with a look of stunned disbelief, and after a very long time, managed to ask: “Why has it come to this? Why!”
“Can anyone tell me — why has my daughter ended up like this?!”
Zhou Jin pressed her lips together and stepped a little further from the door. The sound of weeping grew slightly quieter.
Yu Dan was also there. Seeing the shadow across Zhou Jin’s face, she came to stand beside her and asked: “It’s not the first time you’ve seen something like this. Does it still hit you this hard?”
Zhou Jin said: “I’m all right. It just makes me think of my mom and dad.”
“And what about you?” Yu Dan asked. She meant the day Zhou Chuan’s body had been identified.
Zhou Jin gave a short, quiet laugh — hollow, edged with something bitter. “Same as now. I didn’t dare go in then, either.”
Yu Dan put her arm around Zhou Jin’s shoulders and gave her a gentle pat. She wanted to offer some words of comfort, but couldn’t find any that felt adequate.
In the face of life and death, words are powerless.
Yu Dan would continue gathering further information from Chen Xiaoyu’s parents.
Zhou Jin, meanwhile, made her way to the reception room to debrief with the detectives who had come from Ningyuan and Jingang regarding the circumstances of those crime scenes.
It was not until midday that Jiang Hansheng arrived at the serious crimes division on his own, making his way to the reception room to find Zhou Jin.
When the detectives from Ningyuan and Jingang heard who he was, they greeted him warmly, reaching out to shake his hand.
“When Mr. Jiang was at the provincial bureau, he helped our Jingang criminal investigation unit with a case — a true master detective! We’d always heard of you but never had the chance to meet in person. To think we’d get the opportunity to work together!”
Jiang Hansheng maintained his precisely measured politeness: “You’re far too kind.”
“I hear you’re no longer at the provincial bureau. Where are you based now?”
Jiang Hansheng said: “I teach at the university.”
“So you’ve stepped back from the front line?” the other detective said with a note of genuine regret. “With a talent like yours — going into teaching really is a step down, isn’t it.”
Jiang Hansheng said: “I wouldn’t say that. It’s a good position.”
The detective sensed he had overstepped with that remark, and quickly laughed it off to smooth things over.
Zhou Jin noticed it was almost past mealtime, and said: “Shall we all eat together? My treat.”
The others promptly declined. “No, no — oversight’s been tight lately. We’re on official business, and there’s still plenty to get through. We’ll need to swing by the crime scene shortly — we can grab something to eat on the way.”
Zhou Jin didn’t press them further. After she had seen them out, only she and Jiang Hansheng remained in the reception room.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment.
The tips of Jiang Hansheng’s ears were faintly flushed. He was the first to lose his composure: “Was I last night—”
Zhou Jin cut him off: “Yes.”
Jiang Hansheng: “…”
Zhou Jin laughed and stopped teasing him. “Don’t worry. You have the best manners when you drink of anyone I’ve ever seen — even if one cup does knock you flat.”
Jiang Hansheng exhaled with the relief of a man who had just been pardoned, reached over to take her hand, and said: “I saw your messages.”
“…Oh.”
Just thinking about them, Zhou Jin still found it a little cringeworthy.
Jiang Hansheng replied with complete seriousness: “The headache is gone. I drank the honey water.”
Zhou Jin said: “You really didn’t need to make a formal report of it.”
“Zhou Jin.”
Jiang Hansheng suddenly stepped closer. She instinctively drew back — then his hand closed firmly around hers, and Zhou Jin stopped.
Jiang Hansheng looked down at her and said: “That was the first time you’ve ever sent me a message on your own.”
Zhou Jin blinked, feeling inexplicably caught out. “Was it?”
“I thought it warranted a proper reply.”
“Noted.” Zhou Jin lowered her voice. “Now — food. Let’s eat.”
Jiang Hansheng seemed to smile at that. “All right.”
---
Since Zhou Jin still had work to see to, the two of them went to the nearby Sichuan restaurant as usual.
By now the lunch rush was well and truly over, and the restaurant was nearly empty. The owner and his wife were both absent — the server explained they had gone on a trip.
Jiang Hansheng couldn’t handle spicy food, so when Zhou Jin ordered, she made a point of including one milder dish.
When she tried to place the order, though, no one came for what felt like a long while. After some waiting, A’Juan finally appeared, drifting out slowly from the back courtyard.
When Zhou Jin saw her, she didn’t think much of it and smiled. “Your parents are out traveling, so you’re holding the fort?”
A’Juan’s face was a little pale. She sniffled and said: “Yes. Yes.”
Zhou Jin ordered quickly, and throughout the whole process she could hear A’Juan’s runny nose. Mildly concerned, she asked: “Have you caught a cold?”
Jiang Hansheng raised his head.
Sensing his gaze, A’Juan glanced over — and their eyes collided. A’Juan startled, nearly falling into the deep darkness of his eyes.
A faint cold sweat appeared at her temples. Her reply to Zhou Jin sounded distinctly strained: “Yes.”
Zhou Jin reminded her to take care of herself. A’Juan thanked her and hurried away.
Jiang Hansheng watched A’Juan’s thin figure retreat. After a long moment, he suddenly rose to his feet and said to Zhou Jin: “Wait here.”